Cap Compatibility 140, 400(N, Nn), M200, M400

[DCirjan]

I somehow got the way in which nib compatibility works. I have a different question, however, and hopefully someone can provide a reply. Do you know whether the caps from these models are interchangeable ? Any advice would be extremely, extremely helpful ...

 

 

[Bo Bo Olson]

400n's cap is longer than the 400/400nn; one of the ways to tell the difference between an n and the 400 and 400nn..

140 cap will fit a 400/nn, but feels/sounds a bit odd screwing in on the barrel of the 400. The cap 'screws on' with 1/8th of a turn which is too little.There is no reason to do that. The top is different...the green stripes a bit different....

 

 

Some of the 400nn's have a small click, that is like a minor lock to keep the cap from unscrewing.

[DCirjan]

Wow, thank you so much for the info, Bo Bo Olson... this is valuable information. I know it might sound a little bit blasphemous, from an aesthetic and historical point of view, but what do you know anything on the cap compatibility between the new M models and the vintage 140/400(nn): would a modern cap fit an vintage model ?

I am asking since I have little experience with the old models ...

Edited June 1, 2019 by DCirjan

[Bo Bo Olson]

400's will fit 400's be they old or new.

Some 400nn's has the click 'lock', others don't.

I have a couple '54 light tortoise Pelikans....one a 400 the other a 500. The '90's 400 darker tortoise looked dull and blaaa with the 500's rolled gold cap on it. A surprise I'd not expected.

 

We all start somewhere. My Pelikan start was a 140. I'd read here on the com, they were semi-flex......and had no idea at all what that ment. At the flea market, I put that 140's nib to my thumbnail.. ...and suddenly knew what the fuss was all about.

 

My first 400 was won at a live auction. Being new to live auctions...for my own stuff, had been dragged to sit till my rear was well bored for my wife's stuff....had not checked the nib.........thought the auction house right it was a '50's tortoise...there fore semi-flex.

I just watched a pair of brick ugly Lamy 27's or 99's that I'd thought worth the E 20 and not much more.....well I put my number up.....at 20, and before I could take a deep breath it broke 75 by the time I could get my hand down...........went for 85. For them ugly pens.

That pretty vintage Pelikan would be going for the world ..............80 going once..........nothing..... 80 going twice.....nothing............and I left burn marks on my wife's hand as I yanked the number paddle out of it......*0 going....wave, wave, 80....mine.

It was not a '50 semi-flex nib...............it was a '90's regular flex.................... I was a one pen semi-flex snob....took me years to really come to admire and like the regular flex nib.

It is better for two toned shading inks....is a nice comfortable ride. The semi-flex is often too wet for two toned shading inks.

 

The vintage feed is four vertical combs/rills in a '50-65 Pelikan, Modern has many horizontal comb/rills.

The rough sawn ebonite holds ink better than pressed modern plastic. Lamy had to go over to acid treating it's plastic feeds so it would be more like ebonite....rougher.

[LyaT]

M200 cap fits 400nn as it screws on. I cant say if it is safe to use it, because the M200 cap is shorter. 400nn nib is longer than M200/M400, nearly the size of M600. It all depends on the inner cap.

[Spelikan]

Interesting. I bought a 140 online from a reputable dealer, and have sensed it does not have the correct cap. There is a decided, unsmooth CLUNK when I twist the cap in and off. Downward pressure (as an experiment, not as a practice) ameliorates this to some degree.

The cap band has PELIKAN (all caps) and a single, heavy-struck o on it (looks like a degree symbol, but in-line).

I am planning on bringing it along to DC, to see if I can find a cap that fits better.

Thoughts in the meantime?
Thx!

~ S.

Edited June 2, 2019 by Spelikan

[carlos.q]

Interesting. I bought a 140 online from a reputable dealer, and have sensed it does not have the correct cap. There is a decided, unsmooth CLUNK when I twist the cap in and off. Downward pressure (as an experiment, not as a practice) ameliorates this to some degree.

 

....

 

Thoughts in the meantime?

 

I believe that is the click lock mechanism, featured in some vintage Pelikans, that prevents the cap from unscrewing accidentally. So it's a feature not a bug. Edited June 2, 2019 by carlos.q

[Spelikan]

I believe that is the click lock mechanism, featured in some vintage Pelikans, that prevents the cap from unscrewing accidentally. So it's a feature not a bug.

 

Right, that's what I'm learning from this thread! But the cap just doesn't seem right for this particular 140-- that's what I'm hoping to suss out.

 

Do the 140s (sometimes) sport "Click Lock" caps...?

 

Ed-- Wait, I found the answer:

https://thepelikansperch.com/2014/10/12/pelikans-secure-locking-cap/

 

... Pelikan's Perch. I should have known!

 

~ S.

Edited June 2, 2019 by Spelikan

[Bo Bo Olson]

From what I've read, not all 400nn's have that locking click.

I had thought it only in the 400nn.........so guess my 140's are from before that.

[DCirjan]

M200 cap fits 400nn as it screws on. I cant say if it is safe to use it, because the M200 cap is shorter. 400nn nib is longer than M200/M400, nearly the size of M600. It all depends on the inner cap.

thanks so much for this small experiment

[Bo Bo Olson]

The 400N's cap is longer than the 400/400nn....at least with the ones I have. My 400NN's cap is the same length as my 400's.

I had thought one of my 400's a 400n, but the cap was not as long as the 400n.

The 400n's cap is longer. That was the way I found out my 400n, was only a 400.....transition, but still a 400. The slight rounding of the piston knob of the 400n, is rather minor and takes lots of looking to see the difference.

 

The 400n's longer cap set the balance further back like the 400nn. It took me two years of testing to come to the conclusion the 400nn, has a slightly better balance than the 400's.

 

By the way, that is one hell of a green cap....that I wonder if it's a match for the pen it's on.

If not, go Frankie.

Edited June 4, 2019 by Bo Bo Olson

[LyaT]

 

By the way, that is one hell of a green cap....that I wonder if it's a match for the pen it's on.

If not, go Frankie.

That cap is from M205 Olivine. It is a good green, especially under sun light.