Pelikan Nibs Lustre

[asegier]

Dear Pelikan Owners,

 

I haven't really asked this when I first acquired my Pelikan pen, but I thought it would be a good idea to ask anyways. When I first acquired my first Pelikan, I noticed that the nib was a little dull. Now I'm not familiar with Pelikan enough, so I took my Montblanc and compared the nibs. Sure enough the Montblanc had a nice shiny surface on the nib. So I took a closer look at the Pelikan Nib. The nib seems to have micro scratches so I contacted CultPens, where I ordered my pen from. They said that they never touched the pen and that it came out of Pelikan like this. I asked them if they could take a picture of another new Pelikan with it's nib, so I could take a look, and it seemed similar. I was wondering if this is common with Pelikan nibs? That they don't really concern themselves with making their nibs have a pristine lustre. I kind of expected this because Montblanc has it, and Pelikan pens aren't really cheaper then Montblancs...

 

For reference my pen is an M805 Stresseman. I also obtained an M400 Tortoiseshell with two-tone nib and noticed the same similar issue.

[BillH]

I just looked at a couple of each in my collection and you are correct, the Montblanc nibs are polished to a mirror-like lustre and the Pelikans are not, although my copy of the M805 Strese is very close. I do not see micro-scratches though, just different polishing. All the Pels of various ages that I looked at are finished similarly. Interestingly, the nib on the lower end model Epoch is polished to a mirror finish.

 

I've never considered it an issue though and do not expect that all higher end nibs be polished to the mirror finish a new MB has. Maybe that's just me? I had many Pelikans before I bought my first MB so never knew. One might wonder in that case (as I did) whether the MB nib had been specially polished by the seller to garner a higher price. But now I can see how buying Pelikans after being used to MB's polished nibs one might consider them dull.

[asegier]

I just looked at a couple of each in my collection and you are correct, the Montblanc nibs are polished to a mirror-like lustre and the Pelikans are not, although my copy of the M805 Strese is very close. I do not see micro-scratches though, just different polishing. All the Pels of various ages that I looked at are finished similarly. Interestingly, the nib on the lower end model Epoch is polished to a mirror finish.

 

I've never considered it an issue though and do not expect that all higher end nibs be polished to the mirror finish a new MB has. Maybe that's just me? I had many Pelikans before I bought my first MB so never knew. One might wonder in that case (as I did) whether the MB nib had been specially polished by the seller to garner a higher price. But now I can see how buying Pelikans after being used to MB's polished nibs one might consider them dull.

 

Indeed. I had Montblanc's before Pelikan's, so that definitely set the standard for me. I came to expect a finely polished nib to go with that price tag. That being said, I've enjoyed Pelikan's writing experience much more. It's sad though that they couldn't do the same for their nibs. I would've hands down said my Pelikan M805 is my favourite pen if it were. Though it is still my favourite pen nevertheless

[Calabria]

I haven't noticed that. I do take a jewelry polishing cloth to a nib if it looks dull - which happens to MB and Pelikan nibs alike

[jrusting]

I tend to favor the "05" or Palladium trimmed pens, which have full rhodium plated nibs; this far my pens have had highly polished/reflective nibs across the board...

[sargetalon]

I have not appreciated this to any large degree. The nibs are not dull in my experience but also do not have a mirror quality shine to them. I tend to like the somewhat muted lustre. No issues with scratches to the nib though. Are you able to share pics to better show the issues the you've encountered?

Edited April 11, 2017 by sargetalon

[inkstainedruth]

Hmm. Now you've got me curious. Unfortunately, I will probably have to wait till tomorrow (and daylight) to look at the nibs on the two M405s I got a couple of weeks ago (well, at least one of them, anyway -- they both have two-toned nibs, instead of the Stresemann having the completely rhodium plated one, in order to get the nib width I wanted).

I'm not sure looking at the older birds will do much good, but those two pens are brand new.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[asegier]

Hmm not a bad idea. I will try to get pics.

 

 

Hmm. Now you've got me curious. Unfortunately, I will probably have to wait till tomorrow (and daylight) to look at the nibs on the two M405s I got a couple of weeks ago (well, at least one of them, anyway -- they both have two-toned nibs, instead of the Stresemann having the completely rhodium plated one, in order to get the nib width I wanted).

I'm not sure looking at the older birds will do much good, but those two pens are brand new.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Looking forward to your thoughts as well and comparison on your pens. You have a Montblanc as well to compare?

[inkstainedruth]

Hmm not a bad idea. I will try to get pics.

 

 

 

Looking forward to your thoughts as well and comparison on your pens. You have a Montblanc as well to compare?

 

No, no MBs at my house. Mostly I think those are overpriced for what you get. I've tried a couple of vintage-ish ones that weren't too bad, but the nib on a friend's 146 didn't exactly overwhelm me; and his 149 had a nicer nib, but the pen itself was much too big and heavy for my hand.

The best I can do is this: a nibs on the two M405s, alongside that of the 1990s era M400 and the 1950s era 400 (although those two pens have gold nibs) and alongside the M200 nib.

I didn't do anything to adjust the image besides crop it and add sharpness to the image; the background is a lap desk and it was slightly slanted, because of the padding on the back -- so I was having to hold the pens with one hand to keep them from sliding while taking the photo (with my phone) with the other.

The pens, from left to right: 1990s era M400 Brown Tortoise (F nib); 1950s era 400 Striated Green (OB nib); 1990s era M200 Green Marbled (M nib); [new] M405 Blue-Black -- i.e., Striated Blue (EF nib); and M405 Stresemann [Anthracite], B nib.

Interestingly enough, the M200 nib looks pretty shiny (although perhaps not to the level of a "mirror" finish). Additionally, the nib on the vintage pen, while not rhodium plated, appears to be two-toned, with the logo a darker/different gold from the rest of the nib.

The nib on the Stresemann may not be "correct" but I decided I'd rather have a B nib even if it wasn't the "right" nib, rather than a different width (so I guess it's correct for the other M405, but -- not being a C-worder -- I don't care ).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: If people want, I can try to take close ups of specific nibs, but I'm about to be heading out to dinner in a little while, and I'm not sure what the weather will be like tomorrow.

Edited April 12, 2017 by inkstainedruth

[asegier]

 

No, no MBs at my house. Mostly I think those are overpriced for what you get. I've tried a couple of vintage-ish ones that weren't too bad, but the nib on a friend's 146 didn't exactly overwhelm me; and his 149 had a nicer nib, but the pen itself was much too big and heavy for my hand.

The best I can do is this: a nibs on the two M405s, alongside that of the 1990s era M400 and the 1950s era 400 (although those two pens have gold nibs) and alongside the M200 nib.

I didn't do anything to adjust the image besides crop it and add sharpness to the image; the background is a lap desk and it was slightly slanted, because of the padding on the back -- so I was having to hold the pens with one hand to keep them from sliding while taking the photo (with my phone) with the other.

The pens, from left to right: 1990s era M400 Brown Tortoise (F nib); 1950s era 400 Striated Green (OB nib); 1990s era M200 Green Marbled (M nib); [new] M405 Blue-Black -- i.e., Striated Blue (EF nib); and M405 Stresemann [Anthracite], B nib.

Interestingly enough, the M200 nib looks pretty shiny (although perhaps not to the level of a "mirror" finish). Additionally, the nib on the vintage pen, while not rhodium plated, appears to be two-toned, with the logo a darker/different gold from the rest of the nib.

The nib on the Stresemann may not be "correct" but I decided I'd rather have a B nib even if it wasn't the "right" nib, rather than a different width (so I guess it's correct for the other M405, but -- not being a C-worder -- I don't care ).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: If people want, I can try to take close ups of specific nibs, but I'm about to be heading out to dinner in a little while, and I'm not sure what the weather will be like tomorrow.

 

Very interesting. You bought the 405 with a two-toned nib. I originally thought of exchanging my nib to two tone, but thought it wouldn't match well. So I have the single tone rhodium plated nib. CultPens were willing to do a nib exchange with me, but after lots of thought, I thought gold would look out of place on a 805 (as the xx5 lines are all silver trim).

 

In either case, I feel it's more prominent on single tone silver colored nibs.