My Pelikan Frustration

[mineiro]

Like most people here, I love good and beautiful pens, not just for watching but also to use them.

Pelikans are a true pleasure to use, but I have one big disappointment with my M800 pen: the ink window gets scratched just by screwing on and of the cap. Even if taking good care that there is no dust. So it is really the cap doing this.

Is this a common phenomenon and what can be done to avoid this, except not using the pen?

 

Thanks for the advice.

[RobertJRB]

Like most people here, I love good and beautiful pens, not just for watching but also to use them.

Pelikans are a true pleasure to use, but I have one big disappointment with my M800 pen: the ink window gets scratched just by screwing on and of the cap. Even if taking good care that there is no dust. So it is really the cap doing this.

Is this a common phenomenon and what can be done to avoid this, except not using the pen?

 

Thanks for the advice.

 

I've checked all my pens. Some have it, some don't but most have a few.

The pen with the most scratches is my M420. I don't use it often, but the marks are clearly visible. Off course this is a silver cap pen so it might the reason. Also its a black body so u can clearly see every scratch.

 

My other pens show little to almost no scratches. My m800 demo shows almost none while I use that every day.

 

So I think its part bad luck, part color (black shows really good, red stripe almost not visible).

 

I can't see a solution to this except buying a colored pen were its hardly visible.

[The Good Captain]

I have quite a few Pelikans and enjoy using them. Admittedly, it's nice to keep them in as good a condition as they were when bought. Easier when that was from new, obviously. However, I've purchased all mine with one thing in mind.

To use AND enjoy. Should that include marks etc from writing, which if I'm not mistaken, that's what pens were designed for, then so be it.

I don't really plan to sell mine unless a need arises so marks on them will end up being someone else's problem.

Enjoy your 800 and consider yourself fortunate to have it!

Edited January 3, 2013 by The Good Captain

[WestLothian]

My M800 and M600 caps start to engage the thread just above the ink view window, so there is no reason for contact.

 

Minor scratches can quickly be polished away with 1 micron or 0.3 micron film or abrasive paste.

[mineiro]

Has anybody tried to "polish" the inside of the cap to try to solve the problem?

Did it work or was it a disaster?

[thott]

Hello,

 

The scratches at the cap end at the barrel is quite normal for daily used Pelikan pens.

 

The gap between and barrel is so small that the slightest angle during

putting the cap back will create fine scratches.

To avoid it, try to put the cap back in a straight way.

 

It is easy to remove fine scratches with a polish paste, e.g. DISPLEX.

 

But do not use it with old Pens made by Celluloid and Ebonit !!! Take care with

glas, gold parts and imprints

 

Here a file (in German) with polish products:

 

to polish pens

 

But I would not overdoing it. If you use your pen daily with fun, scratches

will be not avoidable.

 

Try to put on the cap in straight way, to reduce the scratches and have fun to use your pen

daily........

 

Thomas

[WestLothian]

.

Edited January 4, 2013 by WestLothian

[WestLothian]

The great thing about polishing plastic it that you can get it as good as new or even better.

Plating and coatings are problems on metals and glass screens but the surfaces of these pens have no added finish.

It does not need to be with a machine, it can be done by hand; the important thing is to check the size of the abrasive particles.

[NedC]

I don't know what the German word for wabi sabi is but…

[thott]

I don't know what the German word for wabi sabi is but…

 

It is diffucult to translate with one word...

Harmonie zwischen dem nicht perfekten Alter un der wahren inneren Schönheit.

 

The real beauty and perfection is within the unchanged shown age with all it

imperfection.

 

Many collectors says, the pen must show his age and usage.

 

Thomas

[mineiro]

Thank you all for the practical and philosophical input. I will use a combination of both. Polish the inside of the cap (if it doesn't help, it doesn't hurt), be careful and enjoy the fact that my pens show through their scars that they have been enjoyed.

[Rick Propas]

Excellent advice!!

 

I have quite a few Pelikans and enjoy using them. Admittedly, it's nice to keep them in as good a condition as they were when bought. Easier when that was from new, obviously. However, I've purchased all mine with one thing in mind.

To use AND enjoy. Should that include marks etc from writing, which if I'm not mistaken, that's what pens were designed for, then so be it.

I don't really plan to sell mine unless a need arises so marks on them will end up being someone else's problem.

Enjoy your 800 and consider yourself fortunate to have it!

[Bo Bo Olson]

After finger polishing the pen to get rid of the scratches and buffing with a flannel cloth, WAX the pen.

A Q-tip with polish should be able to polish the inside of the cap.

 

 

Mars from posting can also be prevented by Waxing the pen.

Mostly I don't have any mars, to start with, but I buy old pens and once in a while there is a mar that easily polishes out with Semi-Chrome.

 

There is better but they would not ship to Germany.

Something they use in three stages to polish Plexiglas fighter cockpit canopies.