Adding To The Flock

[carola]

Well, if you get so disappointed with the red one you don´t want to see it anymore, just hand it over, I´ll take it. 😉

 

The red-tortoise M600 on the other hand is definitely not for me. Black and tortoise? Yes please. Red and tortoise? Meh...

[jmccarty3]

I have the M600 red tortoise on pre-order as well. The Fritz-Schimpf photos are most supportive of my decision to do so. I was also influenced by the unexpected beauty of the M800 brown tortoise that I was fortunate enough to buy recently.

 

I must say that of all the non-vintage tortoises, my favorite remains the M450 green tortoise. I am convinced that it is one of the most beautiful pens that Pelikan has ever produced.

[N1003U]

3 hours ago, carola said:

Well, if you get so disappointed with the red one you don´t want to see it anymore, just hand it over, I´ll take it. 😉

 

The red-tortoise M600 on the other hand is definitely not for me. Black and tortoise? Yes please. Red and tortoise? Meh...

 

While I am not thrilled with the look of the finish on the red M101N, it is a nice pen. I just would have preferred to see a different finish. I am disappointed? Yes. Am I so disappointed that I don't want to see it anymore? No (or at least not yet--let's see if it grows on me with a little more time  ). I do find the new M600 special edition interesting, especially after seeing the more detailed pictures posted earlier today (interesting enough to me to buy the ballpoint and make it a set). Based on the photos, the cap, section and piston knob on the M600 seem darker red and less orange than the M101N. The chatoyant stripes in the cellulose-acetate binde always seem to look good in person on the Souverän. I like some of them more than others, but I don't think I have seen one I would call disappointing.

 

My standard production red/black M600 is in Germany at present, so I will have to wait to compare it to the new special edition.

[Bo Bo Olson]

a Crown Royal Rye.....my wife's whiskey is Crown Royal (which is a mix I think of 120+ 12 year old whiskey's made for King George in 1936), and I'm to keep my cotton-picking hands off it.......as I've done for the last decade or so. I didn't know they made a rye.

There are Canadian rye whiskeys, but once they closed down the Canadian PX down in Baden, my choice had become limited. I did love the couple times I got there, looking at so many whiskey's I'd never heard of. 

I don't get to the states often every decade or so. The last time I had three $50 or + bourbons, and that was one bottle too many. So I went over to the Customs folks, with a big smile and told them all about them, like the one with the little pewter  horseman on it. Two liter, is two 1/2 bottles of normal sized booze bottles. So it was not worth their time to make out a customs bill for that little booze, besides which they got grinned at. A seldom occurrence.  I did not want to get my name on the International Smuggler's List, for the rest of my life for the small fee of alcohol. They don't bill you on how much the booze cost, just the alcohol above the limit, and that is cheap!

 

For me Real is a good 30 minute drive....which over here in Germany is much, much longer than in the States. I've gotten some nice booze there. They had for a couple years a three pack of Glenlivet, 12, 15, & 18 year old, with a little booklet telling you how each whiskey tasted. When I teach folks scotch I use them in a snifter glass...just a smidgen, half a finger in the bottles are not large. Do start with the oldest, and work one down.

If going out, order the 12 year old Crown Royal as first drink, then the 8 year old  VO or CC as the second drink. Third and the rest of the night the 4 year old Seagram 7. Your taste buds are half shot after the first drink, fully shot after the second, so why throw away good money on what you can not taste.

[Bo Bo Olson]

 

I have three out of the four, not the red one, and my 605 is blue. The 215, I got because I fell in love with the regular flex nib of the 200's, and being then a bit snobbish, didn't need a 200........right...... now have....A W.Germany, Germany old style, and three limited ones, and the marbled brown, which became un-limited, luckily, a very nice looking pen. My 120 was a seldom used pen when my car mechanic gave me three or four pens in he knew I collected them. So the gold plating looks brand new, not like it is, from the '50-60's.

It's real easy to 'suddenly' have a double hand or three  full of Pelikans in only a decade or so.

Thank whomever for the advice on the silver plate of the Hunter....If there is a problem, back to Pelikan it goes....

My speckled red 200 was a tad more subdued than expected....but I'd ordered sight unseen.

 

In all the pens in the two bags of pens (one of which I won**), were '80-90's  and nothing later, I'm thinking now it was that the widow died, and her man died sometime in the mid '90's. A man with such good taste was bound to have had another Toledo or equivalent, had he lived much beyond '93-4, of the Hunter. Different colored 800's.

There were three black and gold W. Germany 800's in both lots.

** Folks that don't collect pens or watches might well have thrown all the boxes away. In the '90's was a long time ago, (before the used pen market)  before one 'knew' more could be had for boxes.

I my self tossed the box of my P-75 ('71), in I knew how it worked, like a P-51, open and squeeze..........40 years later I discovered had I looked in the box, I'd known I could have used cartridges also.

 

[chromantic]

The blue-striped M405 arrived. I was expecting it to be pretty much identical to the blue M400 except with silver furniture but it's not. Where the 400 is very dark, with the stripes glinting from mysterious depths, the stripes on the 405 are a much brighter blue and very shimmery/sparkly. How fun!

I may have to rethink Yonaga (though I'll probably still try it) and go with something a little brighter.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Chromatic, that was an unexpected bit of info, that the blue stripes are so different.

[chromantic]

Bo Bo, perhaps "much" is a bit strong, but there is a definite difference when viewed side by side. In my darkened room here, with just the light from the monitor, you can distinctly see the blue stripes on the 405, whereas the 400 barrel looks almost as dark as the cap. The 405 stripes also seem closer to the surface while the 400's look like they're deeper down. The 405 looks much like the red, green and anthracite in that regard and I've remarked before that my blue 400 looks very different from those.

[inkstainedruth]

On 12/17/2020 at 10:47 AM, chromantic said:

The blue-striped M405 arrived. I was expecting it to be pretty much identical to the blue M400 except with silver furniture but it's not. Where the 400 is very dark, with the stripes glinting from mysterious depths, the stripes on the 405 are a much brighter blue and very shimmery/sparkly. How fun!

I may have to rethink Yonaga (though I'll probably still try it) and go with something a little brighter.

That's very interesting.  When I got my blue M405, I almost got an M400 instead (it was a tiny bit cheaper) but there was just something about the rhodium trim that was so attractive against the blue and black (I got it when I got my M405 Stresemann, and was looking to see what else Rolf Thiel had at the time -- that being the year I actually had a major pen shopping budget for once, and that isn't going to happen again any time soon unless I win the lottery).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Bo Bo Olson]

Bulleit Kentucky Bourbon Whisky....not the rye. I'd never had any until today, the lady upstairs had gotten some cheap on Amazon Black Friday...11 Euro vs today's price o E18....seven year old bourbon, very good sipping whiskey.

 

Over the generations since I lived in the States, ever so many good to great bourbons have crawled out of the shadows.

 

I told somewhere here, about buying three bottles of $40-50 bourbons, some even on sale; and going smiling to German customs in it was more than two liters allowed, bragging on how good they were.....and customs are not use to smiling folk. Having been 'nice' to them, they didn't think it was worth their time to fill out paperwork for so little (1/3 a bottle).

 

Do Not, try to smuggle booze, the taxable amount has nought to do with bottle worth, but the alcohol content, and the tax is cheap. Beats getting caught and being on the International Smuggler list for the rest of your life.

Had I been a cheap fool smuggler, I'd be controlled world wide, ever since. It don't matter if it was a $50 bottle or a $5.00 bottle....the tax has only to with the alcohol, not it's age or taste. The tax on alcohol is dirt 'cheap'.

So don't bring cheap booze back, bring something with some taste.

[N1003U]

3 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

Bulleit Kentucky Bourbon Whisky....not the rye. I'd never had any until today, the lady upstairs had gotten some cheap on Amazon Black Friday...11 Euro vs today's price o E18....seven year old bourbon, very good sipping whiskey.

 

Over the generations since I lived in the States, ever so many good to great bourbons have crawled out of the shadows.

 

I told somewhere here, about buying three bottles of $40-50 bourbons, some even on sale; and going smiling to German customs in it was more than two liters allowed, bragging on how good they were.....and customs are not use to smiling folk. Having been 'nice' to them, they didn't think it was worth their time to fill out paperwork for so little (1/3 a bottle).

 

Do Not, try to smuggle booze, the taxable amount has nought to do with bottle worth, but the alcohol content, and the tax is cheap. Beats getting caught and being on the International Smuggler list for the rest of your life.

Had I been a cheap fool smuggler, I'd be controlled world wide, ever since. It don't matter if it was a $50 bottle or a $5.00 bottle....the tax has only to with the alcohol, not it's age or taste. The tax on alcohol is dirt 'cheap'.

So don't bring cheap booze back, bring something with some taste.

 

I do remember having a conversation some years back when I entered with a number of Pelikans (it was the year the gold-trimmed M200 demonstrator was popular, so maybe 2012 or so), and I listed them in a spreadsheet, carefully sorted by value to get a combination that was as close as possible to the 430EUR limit, and even marked the ones that I was claiming as duty free and the ones that were subject to import taxes. You are correct, the folks in the customs office do seem to appreciate honest and friendly people.

 

In that spirit, as it were, I guess I am going to have a conversation with the Zollamt the week when I enter carrying a 1.75 liter bottle of bourbon (Woodford Reserve). According to this link, the duty-free limit for distillates entering Germany with an alcohol content above 22% is 1 liter. One is allowed up to two liters for alcoholic beverages (not wine or beer, which are calculated separately) up to 22%.

 

[TitoThePencilPimp]

20 minutes ago, N1003U said:

 

I do remember having a conversation some years back when I entered with a number of Pelikans (it was the year the gold-trimmed M200 demonstrator was popular, so maybe 2012 or so), and I listed them in a spreadsheet, carefully sorted by value to get a combination that was as close as possible to the 430EUR limit, and even marked the ones that I was claiming as duty free and the ones that were subject to import taxes. You are correct, the folks in the customs office do seem to appreciate honest and friendly people.

 

In that spirit, as it were, I guess I am going to have a conversation with the Zollamt the week when I enter carrying a 1.75 liter bottle of bourbon (Woodford Reserve). According to this link, the duty-free limit for distillates entering Germany with an alcohol content above 22% is 1 liter. One is allowed up to two liters for alcoholic beverages (not wine or beer, which are calculated separately) up to 22%.

 

Thank you. I ordered 10 yr Bulleit from Amazon ( did not know you can order liquor from Amazon). I am on my third glass today. 

 

It reminded me of a drink I had years ago on my first camping trip to Yosemite. I texted my friend, and she said it was Bulleit. We drank this everyday for the whole month we were up there. Thank you, it brought back many pleasant memories.

 

 

[stoen]

Hi,

it's been a while since my last visit, mostly due to the site having been off-line for upgrade.

 

Here's a nice little one: an early yellow #100 with a moderately flexible fine tip nib. Somebody had given a remark that vintage pens as such shouldnt really belong to the "adding to the flock 2019-2020" thread. Yet, with due respect, I find it nice enough to be worth showing, having been restored in 2020, and a being great writer.

 

Hope you like it.

🙂

 

[mana]

59 minutes ago, stoen said:

Somebody had given a remark that vintage pens as such shouldnt really belong to the "adding to the flock 2019-2020" thread. Yet, with due respect, I find it nice enough to be worth showing, having been restored in 2020, and a being great writer.

Huh? First time I hear of such a remark, weird. Vintage Pelikans absolutely belong to this thread.

 

But what a lovely pen, it is gorgeous! 😍

[OCArt]

32 minutes ago, mana said:

Huh? First time I hear of such a remark, weird. Vintage Pelikans absolutely belong to this thread.

But what a lovely pen, it is gorgeous! 😍

+1

[carola]

2 hours ago, mana said:

Huh? First time I hear of such a remark, weird. Vintage Pelikans absolutely belong to this thread.

 

But what a lovely pen, it is gorgeous! 😍

Same.

[stoen]

8 hours ago, mana said:

Vintage Pelikans absolutely belong to this thread.

Glad to know I was wrong. Thanks for letting know!

🙂

[Bo Bo Olson]

Of course modern pens belong to this thread.

Also.

The era of grand nibs......'30-65, Vintage.

I did finally get a pen from the '70's....(forgot what's called, but full silvery looking metal) Not inked yet. Nib was regular flex. I'd shyed away from that era '66-82 in no one described the nibs, and I don't care for nails and semi-nails. And really didn't feel like (back in the day) of risking up to E-20 on a gamble, as newer person. I was cheap even when I was no longer a 'noobie'.

 

I think of semi-vintage as from '82-97; nice springy regular flex nibs, gold or steel.

Even in F, but better in M, regular flex is great for two toned shading inks.

 

Modern '97 to now....good nibs are on the 200 and 1000. I'm not prejudiced......I did wait to judge. But I'm not into fat blobby nail or semi-nails nibs.....not into fat and blobby nibs as is. They don't write with the clear line of the vintage and semi-vintage.

 

There are many who prefer butter smooth at all costs.....and on poorer paper fat and blobby could well be the way to go. (I do have some butter smooth nibs, 5 or 6...well often enough one stumbles onto such pens.....

I do have a toothy nibbed pen, one does need one of them too, and they do have a lot of feeling. (2? is possible).

 

Both vintage and semi-vintage in M or B go well on rougher classic paper, Laid or Linen Effect. I'm sure modern round nibs will float on them well. Hummm....Hummm squared.....

Ah, Ha....have such nibs, have such paper.........hummm.

[TitoThePencilPimp]

18 hours ago, stoen said:

Hi,

it's been a while since my last visit, mostly due to the site having been off-line for upgrade.

 

Here's a nice little one: an early yellow #100 with a moderately flexible fine tip nib. Somebody had given a remark that vintage pens as such shouldnt really belong to the "adding to the flock 2019-2020" thread. Yet, with due respect, I find it nice enough to be worth showing, having been restored in 2020, and a being great writer.

 

Hope you like it.

🙂

 

Lovely. Is that a tortoise binde?

[stoen]

21 hours ago, TitoThePencilPimp said:

Lovely. Is that a tortoise binde?

Thanks. They “officially” called it a “yellow” binde (German: gelb). Similar to tortoise, with a slightly more yellowish hue. While more common in model 100N pens, especially in combinaton with red caps and mechanisms, or in 101N pens, with tortoise cap tops and cap tubes, the “yellow” binde doesn’t seem really that uncommon in model 100 pens assembled in some central european Pelikan factories between 1932 and 1935. A wholly different questions is how many of those were “lucky” enough to survive the destructions of WW2.

 

Thanks everybody for your kind words. Here is one more picture. Hope you like it:

 

 

All the best!

🙂