Pelikan M805 Review

[cgreenberg19]

Pelikan M805

Overview:

The Pelikan M805 has been regarded by many people as their favorite pen. Due to the pen’s great nib and convenient filling system I’d say it’s right up there on my list favorites. The pen is pretty attractive as things go. The pen feels great in hand for me except for one thing. I have fairly small hands and I prefer a smaller pen just for the writing comfort. My one issue with this pen is that it is slightly back weighted because of the all metal piston filler mechanism under the blind cap. This wouldn’t be an issue if I had larger hands, but if you are like me with little hands you should be aware what I call the Visconti Opera Master factor because of the Opera Master’s heavy metal blind cap. I don't have any complaints beyond that one. The section is just long enough with the right amount of girth. At the end, the section flairs out to a metal ring that I enjoy. The writing experience with this pen is just something else. The broad nib lays down a nice, wet line and it never skips or hard starts which is my idea of a perfection. As always, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the rest of the review.

Writing Experience:

As you will see in the writing sample the pen lays down a very wet line that takes 40-60 seconds to dry depending on the ink. I have Diamine Oxford Blue in the pen which overall is a pretty wet ink and this pen is a gusher without a wet ink, so naturally wit this Diamine, the pen still lays down a crazy wet line. The pen is also a very good reverse writer. I don’t tend to use my pens that way, but in a pinch the pen could still preform well. The pen does offer a tiny bit of flex, but the feeling of the nib is very different compared to the close in size M1000 that is a very bouncy writer. This is partly due to the wider shoulders on the M800 as opposed to the skinnier ones on the M1000. The nib has that big hunk of Pelikan tipping which I like because when Pelikan discontinued their specialty nibs they sadly took away their double and triple broads. So, what I’ve learned is every Pelikan nib size is a size broader than any other standard western nib you might run into like a Jowo or a Bock. My broad acts like a double broad which is not a problem for me the broader the better, but if you ordered a broad, you probably wanted a broad, not anything finer or wider and if you get a size other than a broad that could be annoying. Other than my small gripe about the nib size inconsistency I love the way this pen writes.

Measurements:

Length (capped): 141.3 mm/5.56″

Length (uncapped): 127.6 mm/5.03″

Length (posted): 164.0 mm/6.46″

Diameter (section): 10.7 – 12.0 mm/0.42″ – 0.47″

Diameter (barrel): 12.8 – 13.4 mm/0.50″ – 0.53″

Weight (all): 30 g

Weight (cap): 9 g

Weight (body): 21 g

Design:

The design of this pen is basic, yet elegant. If you want a big flashy pen with lots of bright colors and interesting materials a Visconti is the way one should go. My particular pen is the back barrel with silver trim model. Looking back on it now, I would have gone with a slightly more exciting color on this pen, but the black works fine. This pen was bought in 2017, so it has a single chick finial and nib. The cap screws off in about 7/8 of a turn. On pens like the Visconti Torpedo it takes 4 full turns to uncap, so if you need to quickly jot something down, you’re in big trouble. The pen is a piston filler that holds just over a milliliter of ink, so you write for a pretty long time. This pen has a green link window just below the section because of the solid black barrel. The most eye catching feature of the pen is the pelican bill shaped clip. In all, I like the design of this pen.

Presentation:

Pelikan boxes are pretty odd. With most manufacturers packaging is provided with the pen, however with Pelikan pens are included with a tiny cardboard box that can barley fit the pen and retailers buy additional packaging. The Pelikan box most of us are familiar with are the coffin boxes with the gray top. There are also the slide out Pelikan boxes commonly used for less expensive pens. Then there are the boxes for the special editions like the white M600s and the M101Ns and then there are large round gift boxes that include a bottle of Edelstein ink and a nice pen case. My pen came in the very basic cardboard box, but I bought the pen at a very good price. While a normal M805 retails for just around $500 I purchased mine for about $300. Granted, I didn’t get it from an authorized retailer, but the pen writes really well and it’s still the same product I would get for the extra $200.

As always, thanks for reading! Feel free to comment and share your thoughts.

 

 

 

[farazqamar]

great review! I love the m800 size.

[cgreenberg19]

Thanks!

[WLSpec]

Nice review! I enjoyed reading it. This pen has been on my want to buy list for a while - I guess the price is just a little too much for me right now. The size seems perfect though, so I'll keep my eye on it