Pelikan Toledo M700

[rhr2010]

I just acquired my first Pelikan Toledo, a modern M700. It is a wonderful pen that I purchased from a fellow FPNer. It is in mint conditions and really stunning. It was long time that I wanted a Pelikan Toledo, but typically I like to use my fountain pens and the early Toledos of the thirties are just too expensive and rare for my daily use.

 

Anyhow, since is my first Toledo, I have a couple of questions:

 

1)Is there any concern about the gold plating of the binde if you are going to use the pen. I don't plan to abuse the pen, but I want to use it. You know, post it in your shirt, daily notes etc. My concern is that the ph of my hand could be slightly acidic and I do not want to wear off the thin plating. Any experience on this front?

 

2)My pen has the two chicks logo and the two golden bands on the cap. I am assuming it is not the latest produced, since I would expect 1 chick, maybe? I now got straight the old Pelikan logos, but still have to figure out dates of the modern ones.

 

3)The nib is a one tone gold nib, 18kt, not a two tone nib. Does this say anything about the date of production?

 

3)I tried to mount the nibs of my vintage Pelikan 400, 400N and 400NN and 140 and they all seem to fit well in the modern M700. Is it ok to mount these vintage nibs in the modern pen? I mean threads seem to match well, I just wonder if there is any concern about wear and tear when you mount these vintage nibs.

 

I am excited about my first Toledo!

[Soot]

I think I can answer 1 and 4. [btw, you have two number 3's]

 

1. All these platings will eventually wear off with use; how long it will wear off depends on various factors. In other words: YMMV. I really don't think the ph of your hand will do much damage to the plating, how acidic can your hand be? I've seen worn out platings that is worn out so evenly with daily use that it gives out a "vintage" look, which is actually pretty nice.

 

4. All vintage 400 series nibs will fit without any problems. No worries with that (unless it's one of those friction fit nibs).

Edited March 10, 2011 by Soot

[strngdrvnthng]

Congratulations on your aquiring such a gem. Some pics would be nice. I wish you health to enjoy. Cheers, John C.

[1000km]

Yes, the sweat from your hands contains various corrosive substances that gradually eat through gold plate. Keep your hands clean and wipe your pen with a soft jeweller's cloth.

 

"Two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks has had to send his statuettes back to the Academy board for refurbishment - because the gold awards started to corrode after coming into contact with the actor's sweaty hands."

http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/oscars/news/2011/02/28/17433841-wenn-story.html

Edited March 10, 2011 by 1000km

[eric47]

2)My pen has the two chicks logo and the two golden bands on the cap. I am assuming it is not the latest produced, since I would expect 1 chick, maybe? I now got straight the old Pelikan logos, but still have to figure out dates of the modern ones.

 

3)The nib is a one tone gold nib, 18kt, not a two tone nib. Does this say anything about the date of production?

 

Those would indicate an earlier production. What does it say on the piston knob, "W. Germany" perhaps?

[rhr2010]

Thank you for your replies. I am not too worried about the formation of a vintage looking patina, I am more worried about waking up one day with black Pelicans on the binde :blink:

 

I don't have the pen with me now, I will check all the writings later on.

[rhr2010]

The cap of my Pelikan M700 looks like the one that Mottishaw has for sale here http://www.nibs.com/PelikanSpecialEditionPens.htm

It appears that they made a more traditional cap like all the Souveraens as you can see here http://www.ruettinger-web.de/e-pelikan-modell-souveraen.html

 

I will see later if mine says W Germany somewhere. Does anybody know anything about the two cap variations?

 

In addition mine sports a single tone 18kt nib that looks older than the standard Souveraen nibs.

[eric47]

The cap of my Pelikan M700 looks like the one that Mottishaw has for sale here http://www.nibs.com/...EditionPens.htm

It appears that they made a more traditional cap like all the Souveraens as you can see here http://www.ruettinge...-souveraen.html

 

I will see later if mine says W Germany somewhere. Does anybody know anything about the two cap variations?

 

In addition mine sports a single tone 18kt nib that looks older than the standard Souveraen nibs.

 

I'm pretty sure only the M700 got the inset capband that you see here. The other Toledos (710, 900, 910, etc.) all seem to get the standard Pelikan cap.

 

The early version M700s came with a single tone nib, like n. 3 here; but not two-tone. (N.3 is for the old-style M6xx, which is the same size as the M400.) That's the older engraving that you'll also see on old-style M400s. But the Toledo's is 18K not 14K.

 

I suspect W.Germany is probably on top of the piston knob. The nib is indicating an early production M700. I waited for years before I finally found one of those -- I wanted specifically W.Germany with the single tone nib.

Edited March 10, 2011 by eric47

[rhr2010]

I think my Pelikan M700 is the same as the one sold by Mottishaw apart from the nib. My pen does not say anywhere West Germany. I attached some photos that I took i a hurry, sorry for the bad light.

[eric47]

My pen does not say anywhere West Germany.

 

Did you look on top of the piston knob? See here. Mine looks like the first photo.

[rhr2010]

The top of my knob is smooth. No imprint. The link that you post talks about 710, what is the difference between 700 and 710?

[1000km]

:ltcapd:

 

The top of my knob is smooth.

[eric47]

The top of my knob is smooth. No imprint. The link that you post talks about 710, what is the difference between 700 and 710?

 

I know it talked about the M710, which generally differs from the M700 in the following way. Sterling rather than vermeil, and a standard looking M400 cap. There's a review of the original (now out of production) M710 here. There is at least a new one recently released in red.

 

My M700 (early) has a piston knob like the one in that photo with W. Germany on it. If yours is smooth, then it's possible that yours has been replaced with a regular M400 knob -- or perhaps later they changed the design. That I don't know -- I think someone like Rick P. would be able to enter into the details of that.

 

I won't comment on the price, but are some good photos of an M700 with a W. Germany piston knob here.

Edited March 11, 2011 by eric47

[rhr2010]

1000km...I guess that is funny...English is not my first language, I had to check the slang dictionary

[eric47]

I won't comment on the price, but are some good photos of an M700 with a W. Germany piston knob here.

 

Even better, take a look at this auction. That's exactly like my M700, W. Germany on the knob, with a single-tone 18K nib.

[rhr2010]

Thank you eric47. I suspect mine is later production maybe, maybe Propas will shed light. It is unlikely that the knob was changed, the pen appears mint and never inked, it seems it came out from a factory that way.

[Pelikanyo]

Thank you eric47. I suspect mine is later production maybe, maybe Propas will shed light. It is unlikely that the knob was changed, the pen appears mint and never inked, it seems it came out from a factory that way.

 

The nib and smooth knob indicate an early issue of the M700.

Enjoy it...it's a beautiful piece.

 

Regards,

Pelikanyo Paul

[rhr2010]

Thank you Pelikanyo Paul. It is indeed a great pen and the nib has a lot of flex. I generally do not particularly like fine nibs but this one is different, it is smooth and "buttery" and offers a nice line variation with no effort of my hand. It behaves very differently from my other modern Pelikans.

 

Do you know that my pen is early production from personal experience or is there a place to read the temporal sequence of these "modern" pens? Which year are you thinking about?

 

[eric47]

Thank you eric47. I suspect mine is later production maybe, maybe Propas will shed light. It is unlikely that the knob was changed, the pen appears mint and never inked, it seems it came out from a factory that way.

 

The nib and smooth knob indicate an early issue of the M700.

 

Paul,

 

I know the single-tone nibs tend to indicate early production. But what's the story on the knobs? My early production (single-tone nib) M700 is like the eBay auctions, beveled edge with "W. Germany". But the smooth knobs? Do they come before or after?

 

Thanks.

 

My searched and waiting to get my M700 with those W.Germany knob and the single-tone nib because it's like the one I saw so many years ago -- and I vowed to get one like it. I'm glad I did because I prefer the older production nibs to current nibs; so I have old-style M400s, old-style M600 (M400 size), and even an old M250 (born that way).

Edited March 15, 2011 by eric47

[Pelikanyo]

 

Paul,

 

I know the single-tone nibs tend to indicate early production. But what's the story on the knobs? My early production (single-tone nib) M700 is like the eBay auctions, beveled edge with "W. Germany". But the smooth knobs? Do they come before or after?

 

The smooth knobs came before. This was in fact the only Pelikan that wasn't marked "PELIKAN" anywhere on it. The "W. Germany" knobs were obviously next, but were used for a while after the wall came down.