Pelikan M200 vs M1000 nib?

[MuddyWaters]

Hi all, 

 

Recently I ordered myself a Pelikan M200 (my first Pelikan). I ordered it because I had read in previous posts by Bo Bo that the M200 still has a vintage style steel nib that has a bit of flex/softness, and which does not just have a big blob of tipping material at the end of the nib like the Pelikan M400-M800. 

 

Now, I have been enjoying the M200 quite a bit. The nib is maybe my favourite, but the pen is a little small. I was wondering if I should look into M1000 because I had read, also in Bo Bo posts, that the M1000 nib is also different from its colleagues. The M1000 is very expensive but if it writes the way that I want, it could be a unique pen that serves me well for long writing sessions. 

 

I would be interested if the Pelikan M1000 nib has some flex and no baby's bottoms. I mention the latter because I know that is an issue on M400-M800 versions. It does not seem to be a problem with my M200. 

 

Anyway, would love your thoughts everyone, including @Bo Bo Olson

[PAKMAN]

I've got M200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 Pelikans.  Size wise I tend to write more with the M800 size. The M1000 is a pretty big pen. The nib is soft and wet. I have to go down a nib size to get the line I want from a M1000. The nib is not actually flexible but does give some line variation when writing.  

[Mr.Rene]

1 hour ago, PAKMAN said:

I've got M200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 Pelikans.  Size wise I tend to write more with the M800 size. The M1000 is a pretty big pen. The nib is soft and wet. I have to go down a nib size to get the line I want from a M1000. The nib is not actually flexible but does give some line variation when writing.  

I agree too...Regards 👍

[Christopher Godfrey]

Or you could try buying an M600 from someone like Indy-Pen-Dance who will add some flex to the 14k nib for you...?

[OCArt]

The M1000 and the M300 have the best modern Pelikan nibs in that they are soft and bouncy, totally different from the nibs in all the other models.

[MuddyWaters]

9 hours ago, Christopher Godfrey said:

Or you could try buying an M600 from someone like Indy-Pen-Dance who will add some flex to the 14k nib for you...?

Yes, I even thought of getting an m600 and putting in the m200 nib, since they are apparently interchangeable. 

[Calabria]

The M200 and M1000 are totally different pens - I would travel to a brick and mortar store to try out the M1000 before you commit to the high price.

 

Current Pelikan nibs are a bit disappointing - they have no line variation or flex. Pelikan stopped grinding their nibs to interesting points sometime in the 90s, I think. Rather than buying a new pen, I’d try and hunt down vintage nibs for your M200 (all M400 nibs will fit), or buy a NOS model that has the right size and nib for you. While they’re not cheap, they’re mostly less expensive than new pens and offer a much more interesting writing experience.

 

Good luck!

[stephanos]

On 9/18/2024 at 7:31 PM, Calabria said:

The M200 and M1000 are totally different pens - I would travel to a brick and mortar store to try out the M1000 before you commit to the high price.

...

 

I couldn't agree more that you should try in person before you buy - especially with the M1000.

 

You could also take an alternative route: get yourself a model 140. These are no longer produced, so you'd have to go vintage. But they are amongst the most robust pens I've encountered and the nibs are almost always a pleasure to use. The 140 isn't a huge pen, but I do find it a little girthier than the 200/400 series. Your location flag places you in Canada: I don't know how easy the 140 is to get where you are, but in Europe, at least, they have been readily available.

 

A word of warning about fitting nibs onto your 200: ensure that the cap is long enough that you won't destroy the nib when closing the cap. I haven't changed nibs between models for quite a while, so I don't remember whether there is any danger, but as a matter of good practice it pays to be extra-careful when swapping nibs between models.

 

[Bo Bo Olson]

On 9/16/2024 at 6:48 PM, Christopher Godfrey said:

Or you could try buying an M600 from someone like Indy-Pen-Dance who will add some flex to the 14k nib for you...?

Buy a 600 and buy a '50-65 Pelikan factory stubbed semi-flex gold nib. the 600 will take a 400/400nn's nib.

 

I had one of those a semi-flex B on my 605 for a long time before I had the semi-nail BB stubbed to a B.

A tad late I should have had that fat blobby nib made into a CI...a bit more lively than a stub.