Handmade full titanium Pelikan replica by Mr Zhuang

[wtlh]

I posted it also in the Pelikan forum, but I thought the topic is also perhaps relevant here.

 

I have recently received a Pelikan M400 replica from Mr Zhuang, who is a well-known pen customiser in China.  The pen cost around 500 GPB body only, so if you are going to purchase a genuine Pelikan nib unit you will be looking at around 100 to 200 extra.  Including shipping and tax, this puts the pen in the price range of a Toledo M700.

 

However I have to say it is worth the money.  The workmanship is fantastic, the decorative cap and blind cap rings are all separate pieces screwed onto the main body and they are also titanium oxidised to a golden colour.  The barrel and section, caps and the entire piston mechanism are machined out of a solid titanium alloy stock, then hand polished.

 

The piston uses two o-rings to function as the piston seal, there is an extra o-ring sealing the section and the barrel.

 

The only other non-titanium parts on the pen are the Pelikan nib unit, and a plastic inner cap ensuring a tight seal when the pen is capped.

 

Everything can be disassembled, and Mr Zhuang had kindly supplied me a wrench for the piston, which is fixed by left-handed screws like M800, but smaller. This tool is really useful for disassembling my M101Ns too, given the TWSBI wrenches are too wide for those.

 

The pen is a faithful copy of the original in terms of dimensions, perhaps only a couple of mm longer.

 

The clip is hand forged using titanium, then oxidised to gold colour.  Because it is hand forged in his small workshop it was not possible to reproduce the Pelikan beak.  However the overall shape was done nicely and does not look out of place.

 

Given corrosion resistance of titanium alloy, this pen do not have a plastic inner barrel.  Ink comes into direct contact with the metal barrel itself.  Titanium alloy TC4 is virtually immune to any acid or alkaline attack, at least in the range of all fountain pen inks we can think of, including Parker 51 and Superchrome.

 

The pen weighs 46g, which is quite heavy, but understandable given it is essentially milled out of a solid titanium bar with thick barrel walls.  Writing with it I felt it to be more comfortable than a Lamy 2000 SS.  I am usually a light pen person, and prefer full resin pens, but this pen for some strange reason do not feel heavy in hand.  I attribute it to the shape of the Pelikan section and the overall balance.  I wrote unposted.  The pen can be posted but it will become back heavy.

 

The only negative would be that it has no ink window.  But it is not a big deal because 

1) the pen has a ink capacity identical to M400, which is respectable.

2).the way Pelikan feed is designed, which has a big buffer exposed outside meaning that I can turn the piston slowly until I can see ink rising in the buffer, and then turn the piston back down.  This allows me to accurately determine how much is left in the pen.

 

Overall, highly recommend if you want to buy yourself something special.  Mr Zhuang makes titanium replicas of other brands too, Montblancs, Parker 51, etc.  He also makes titanium piston replacements for Pelikan and Montblancs.  Other than titanium he also works on other metal like stainless steel and silver, I am considering a full sterling silver Parker 51 flighter as my next purchase...

 

PS:

In the writing example:

Nib: Richard Binder XXF full flex M250 14k

Ink: Pilot/Namiki Blue.

 

 

[Waltz For Zizi]

Does he work in other materials too? Can he make just a cap in resin for a pen of my choosing? Or do you know anyone who can make a cap out of resin?

[wtlh]

15 hours ago, Waltz For Zizi said:

Does he work in other materials too? Can he make just a cap in resin for a pen of my choosing? Or do you know anyone who can make a cap out of resin?

I know he does work with Ebonite.  He claims his Ebonite stocks are imported from Germany.

 

A cap or any component of the pen body is fine.  But you will likely have to send him the original, probably the pen as well as he has to get the exact dimensions right.  There is also a limit on what he is able to reproduce depending on the shape.  For example, he was reluctant to produce a titanium Lamy 2000 for me because he said the section shape is a lot more complicated to make than it may appear without large machinery and he wouldn't be confident making it.

[Waltz For Zizi]

19 minutes ago, wtlh said:

I know he does work with Ebonite.  He claims his Ebonite stocks are imported from Germany.

 

A cap or any component of the pen body is fine.  But you will likely have to send him the original, probably the pen as well as he has to get the exact dimensions right.  There is also a limit on what he is able to reproduce depending on the shape.  For example, he was reluctant to produce a titanium Lamy 2000 for me because he said the section shape is a lot more complicated to make than it may appear without large machinery and he wouldn't be confident making it.

I wouldn't be so strict the cap to resemble the original as long as it caps the pen properly. It can even just be in the shape of an unfinished tube with no clip for all I care. But ebonite and metals are just not my jam, and also I'm afraid the nib of the pen might get damaged sending it half way around the world, since I don't have a cap at all for the pen I want the cap made. Thanks anyway!

[wtlh]

On 9/22/2022 at 11:47 AM, Waltz For Zizi said:

I wouldn't be so strict the cap to resemble the original as long as it caps the pen properly. It can even just be in the shape of an unfinished tube with no clip for all I care. But ebonite and metals are just not my jam, and also I'm afraid the nib of the pen might get damaged sending it half way around the world, since I don't have a cap at all for the pen I want the cap made. Thanks anyway!

Yeah I would also agree it is not practical.  Just out of interest which pen are you looking to have a replacement cap for?

 

The other thing is that Mr. Zhuang isn't cheap, in fact he was one of the most expensive pen smith I have used (only Ariel Kullock and his customized Parker 51 caps were more expensive).  You will be looking at around 100 to 200 GBP for a cap depending on materials.  Unless it is a grail pen and you are really looking for a high quality job I would not think it is cost effective to go that route anyway.

[Waltz For Zizi]

3 hours ago, wtlh said:

Yeah I would also agree it is not practical.  Just out of interest which pen are you looking to have a replacement cap for?

 

The other thing is that Mr. Zhuang isn't cheap, in fact he was one of the most expensive pen smith I have used (only Ariel Kullock and his customized Parker 51 caps were more expensive).  You will be looking at around 100 to 200 GBP for a cap depending on materials.  Unless it is a grail pen and you are really looking for a high quality job I would not think it is cost effective to go that route anyway.

I have a MB White Meissen and someone replied to me in a thread that he also needed a cap for one and they (MB boutique) asked him 2000$ for one, but then afterwards told him that they cannot make him a new cap since it's a L.E and they cannot repair those if you do major damage to them because they destroy the tools they used to make the pens to minimize the risk of them falling in the wrong hands and then someone making more pens. They can repair nibs and pistons but not the aesthetic of the pen.

I guess I'll be using it as a desk pen( a lamy safari cap fits it well) until I find someone closer to home, to make me an acrilic cap for cheaper.

[wtlh]

I know Mr Zhuang successfully repaired a Pelikan Toledo which had a cracked section.  He replaced the section with sterling silver one and the new section was a perfect fit and arguably even better than the original.  The transparent ink window and the rest of the pens are untouched.

 

For the caps I suppose the clip is still intact? I learned that it would be very difficult to reproduce any metal components with intricate designs as these are not molded but are pressed in multiple stages using industrial presses which will be impossible for small businesses to operate.