How are Pelikan fountain pens and nibs to write with?

[davisgt]

Perhaps you could purchase just the nib unit of your choice for the 1911S you don't use. If you purchased the pen recently,  perhaps the vendor would be willing to make a nib exchange.  Just a thought.  

[Azulado]

I have one Pelikan M200 (M) and two M150 (M and F). They are all very soft pens, different from all the others I have. Their nibs are unique. 
However, on the two M150s, the nibs scratched because of the edge of the slit. I have micro-meshed exclusively in that area and now they write excellently.
 I haven't tried any of the Japanese ones that other forumers refer to, but I can't imagine anything smoother. 
For smoothing, don't touch the contact surface, as you would kill the personality of the nib. They are also very well polished. Richard Binder explains it very well, just the edge of the slit. No eights. It's a complicated operation because you have to lift the nibs a bit to be able to pass the sandpaper. Imagine, there is hardly any space. But with patience it can be done. Be careful, it is only to remove almost microscopic burrs, be careful with the micro mesh. The best thing to do would be to have micro mesh sticks. 
As for the width of the nibs, they seem to me to be standard European, similar to Kaweco or Lamy. 

http://www.richardspens.com/pdf/workshop_notes.pdf

 

[Bo Bo Olson]

IMO a scratchy Pelikan is caused by the nib being misaligned by the robot football kicker kicking a display case across the post office.....happens often...Never hear of that happening in a B&M.

 

I was just really enjoying a nice springy Pelikan 200 LE Amaythist in a nice springy B nib with the then teardrop tipped nib.

 

Sadly the grand 200nib  has been ruined by the double ball...that came in for the 200 some 5-6 years ago. Get one before that with a tear drop tip....thinner, cleaner line and being used a hell of a lot cheaper.

 

Same 200's tear drop tipped =same springiness as the '82-97 gold nibs.

 

After Pelikan went over to the stiffer (but for the 1000) double ball nibs in '98, all double ball nibs are fat and blobby. Nibs that use to be nice springy regular flex became semi-nails...400/600 and the 800 became a nail.

 

I have hand full of semi-vintage and another had ful of vintage...the factory stubbed semi-flex is @ as wide per width as the semi-vintage....half a width narrower than the fat and blobby double ball.

 

I find the old pens to be smooth enough....and leave a nice clean line.

The double ball nib is often over polished into baby bottom...something you don't hear abou the old nibs....more than likely sent in for repair if ever.

 

Suggest buying post '55 Plastic Gasket 2.0 pens....10 years of the grand 400nn....and don't buy any that are older than '97.....out side the 200 up to 6 years ago.

 

I expect a plastic gasket 2.0 to last 100 or more years so a 1956 Pelikan 400nn is only 68 years old so you have another 38 years with out problems....more or less.

[Targa]

On 11/12/2024 at 10:18 PM, PhiloPlume said:

Thank you!  I already have too many fine point pens that write like a medium or even a broad so I am going to pass.  They are probably so smooth because of the more ink the nibs are putting out.

 

They are smooth regardless, in my experience.  In any event ink flow is readily tunable.  Although you can send pens off for someone to work on and return months later, only to find you liked it better before, it's best, IMHO, to just learn to do it yourself.  In fact it is one of the graetest pleasuers of FP using - you get to play with it like a toy.  

In the case of Pelikan 800 nibs, you can generally slow the ink down a bit simply by massaging down the tines with your fingers, and maybe a little pressue on the shoulders.  Of course too much pressure and you can splay the tip, so, gentle.  If it needs heavier work, the nib is easily removed - unscrew the nib/feed unit, then press the nib and feed out of the ring that clamps them together.  You can then work at the nib slit width.  One of my favourite approaches is to use a once-folded bit of post-it note paper, cut to a thin pointy triangle.  Slip that into the nib slit, so just a fraction of a mm is left open at the point, then using fingernails (or if you are very very careful, plastic pliers) to gently press the nib tips together.  

I will attach a couple of pics to show what the nib should look like when seen from underneath, some backlit.  (not Pelikans, but same idea)

 

[Bo Bo Olson]

Pelikan made the driest inks made by a major manufacture 4001. So they made wetter nibs to match that.

Back in the Day, Waterman made wet inks, so made thinner nibs than Pelikan nibs. Use to have flame wars until Japanese pens stopped being nitch.

 

There are Noodler ink users that think Waterman is dry ink!

 

A dry ink will cause a pen to write 1/2 a width narrower.

A slick paper will make a ink write 1/2 a width narrower.

 

Using a modern Pelikan nib, with a wet ink will make for fat nibs.

..............

If you are real heavy into spiderwebs and baby spiderwebs, stay with Japanese pens.

 

A wide wet nib is real good for classic rough laid or linen effect papers. some inks really show off in M....but you want to narrow to two tone shade nibs...go Japanese. Can't use wet Japanese inks, in they will make your skinny nib run fat.

Defiantly can suggest dry 4001 inks with Japaneses narrow nibs....for as narrow as it can get until a slick paper is added.

[PhiloPlume]

On 11/14/2024 at 1:10 PM, davisgt said:

Perhaps you could purchase just the nib unit of your choice for the 1911S you don't use. If you purchased the pen recently,  perhaps the vendor would be willing to make a nib exchange.  Just a thought.  

How/where does someone purchase different nibs for Sailor Pens?

 

I am glad you posted this because I took the pen apart, including the nib, and soaked the nib in windex over night getting rid of the Noodler's Purple that was in the nib and converter.  I then rinsed and put it back together and put Waterman's purple in it and the pen writes so nice now!!!  Wow!  I love it now!  Still pretty tiny but I am going to keep using it.  The fine nib writes like a smooth extra-fine.  Perfect.