Need Some Advice

[prf5]

This is about my Pelikan m400, which I bought new less than a year ago. It's an EF nib. Initially, the pen gushed and I sent it to Chartpak. They returned it fairly promptly, but the nib was so stingy that it barely laid down a line. I returned it again and Chartpak replaced it with what appeared to be the best of the three by far. Chartpak was very responsive and helpful. Nonetheless, the pen wrote somewhat like an M, I guess. The line definition was poor and it was a chore, regardless of whether I used Pelikan ink, Aurora, J Herbin, or Diamine (tried 'em all).

 

I sent the pen to a well-known nibmeister with samples of how it wrote and what I was going for. He sent it back and fulfilled exactly what I asked for, except this: The pen requires a lot of pressure to make a strong line. It flexes! But it writes like a rock on a stone tablet. I mean, we are beyond scratchy -- we're talking screech and distraction.

 

The question is, what do I do? The nibmeister (who did a fine job as far as I can tell) suggests that I send it back for a flow control adjustment. Is that a good idea? Are there alternatives? I've thought of getting another nib, selling the pen, maybe trying another ink (although Aurora is fairly free-flowing). The irony is that once I had a pen that flowed like a river; now I have a pen that writes consistently but faintly, almost, but not quite, like invisible ink -- unless I insist.

[sargetalon]

Sorry to hear that you are having ongoing troubles with your nib. Pelikans are known for being very wet. If, by adjustment, your nib has swung the other way, I would take the nibmeister up on his offer for another adjustment. Sounds like you need more of a flow. The nib would be scratchy if there is little to no ink to cushion it on the paper. Pelikan's nibs run wide, especially the gold ones so it's not surprising to hear that your EF may have behaved more like a medium (I have experienced similar). Some try to combat this by reducing flow but I don't find that to be satisfactory usually. A bit of a grind to reshape the tipping of the nib is usually the way to go. Cutting off the flow, in my opinion, only serves to degrade the writing experience. Good luck getting it sorted out. The pen is worth it once you get it writing well.

[Joe in Seattle]

Just a thought: I bought an M400 with an EF. As you experienced, it wrote too broadly. I swapped the new nib for an EF steel nib which writes much truer to the intended dimension. It was a $25 investment that continues to pay off – I sold the gold nib in the marketplace here.

[JimCouch]

The question is, what do I do? The nibmeister (who did a fine job as far as I can tell) suggests that I send it back for a flow control adjustment. Is that a good idea? Are there alternatives? I've thought of getting another nib, selling the pen, maybe trying another ink (although Aurora is fairly free-flowing). The irony is that once I had a pen that flowed like a river; now I have a pen that writes consistently but faintly, almost, but not quite, like invisible ink -- unless I insist.

 

Send it back and have it adjusted for flow. Swapping pens or nibs will just create a new set of problems. My best writing pen is an OMAS I purchased from John Mottishaw and had tuned at the time of purchase. A good nibmeister should be able to tune the pen t your writing style and preference. Let the person working on your pen know what angle you hold the pen at and how much (or little) pressure you want to use when writing. It will be worth the trouble to send it back.

[DrCodfish]

You'r almost there, don't give up on your pen. In order here is what I suggest:

1. since the professional has offered to make the adjustment this would be the first step, the challenge of course is that it is hard ot describe the flow you seek. Some of these folks characterize flow or wtrness as being on a scale from 1-10, 1 being dry, and 10 being wetter but your perceived flow rate of "7' might be another man's "4" so of course there is no guarantee of satisfaction, unless you send your best pen along and suggest that you would like too replicate the flow rate (don't laugh, I have done this).

Now if it were me, in the following order, here is what I would do:

1. you can make an effort to adjust the nib for more ink flow yourself, I have done this with succes. I think if you search the topic "ink flow adjustment" you may find some help here on FPN. The technique I have used in the past is to use the thumb and index finger to gently and ever so slightly pinch the outer most points of the nib;s wings together. Use so little pressure the first time that you see no rersults, then, use progressively (slightly) more pressure. What you are doing with this approch is actually bending the nib into a tighter curve (thus slightly widening the slit) so don't think of this as something you can easily 'undo', ... not for the faint of heart. Of course if you try this, you are probably eliminating any futher free-of-charge assistance from the nib specialist if you muff up the procedure, in which case, the next step is:
2. Send the pen back to the nib secialist, admit your foolishness, beg forgiveness, grovel, prepare to shell out whatever the penance might be, and promese never to be so brazen in the future (whatever you do, don' t mention my name). If you chose to attempt to make the adjstment yourself, it might be worth trying it on a lower spec pen if you have one. The more I read this, the more option two sounds like a bad Idea, ... but I think that is probably what I would do.

[prf5]

I have studied your responses to my request for advice. First, thank you, all of you, for the considered and detailed suggestions. The nibmeister had ground the nib to .3 mm, but apparently it needs a flow adjustment to accommodate my light hand. If the adjustment doesn't work, the next step is to buy a stainless nib.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Why not buy a stainless nib anyway....just buy one for a width you don't have. I have been very impressed with the 200's nib....in I had a slew of 140 (2), vintage 400's(5)....I didn't "need" a 200 nib, but I bought a 215 any way....just for a 200's nib.

The 200's nibs I've seen in transmailing, some 8 or so...match my semi-vintage '90's 400. They are nice true regular flex nibs with a bit of spring.

 

Th advantage of a Pelikan is you can buy a semi-flex or 'flexi'/maxi-semi-flex nib from the '50-65 era and have a lot of fun....you don't really need to buy the whole pen. Try Penboard.de to see if they have any of that era's nibs.

[prf5]

Why not buy a stainless nib anyway....just buy one for a width you don't have. I have been very impressed with the 200's nib....in I had a slew of 140 (2), vintage 400's(5)....I didn't "need" a 200 nib, but I bought a 215 any way....just for a 200's nib.

The 200's nibs I've seen in transmailing, some 8 or so...match my semi-vintage '90's 400. They are nice true regular flex nibs with a bit of spring.

 

Th advantage of a Pelikan is you can buy a semi-flex or 'flexi'/maxi-semi-flex nib from the '50-65 era and have a lot of fun....you don't really need to buy the whole pen. Try Penboard.de to see if they have any of that era's nibs.

 

Hello Bo Bo. Both you and Joe in Seattle recommended that I buy a steel nib. Once the flow has been adjusted, I will follow your suggestion. One thing that surprised me about the current 14K nib, despite the problems, is how much it flexes.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I don't know what pens you have and normally use. I'm a bit surprised you find the nib has some spring to it......could be you are pressing too hard.

Mostly the modern gold nib is considered a by many to be semi-nail. The pre '97-82/3 gold nibs has the spring of a 200's nib.

 

A 200's nib is not a 'Springy' nib like a Falcon or a MB, (more tine bend, but less tine spread @ 2X) but a true regular flex. A true regular flex can be mashed to 3X tine spread vs a light down stroke.....shouldn't mash it too much though.

 

Some day soon, you need to jump to semi-flex. The 140 is semi-flex, unless it is a H or D nib...those are semi-nail and nails. The nibs are so marked and can be avoided.

 

I have some 30 semi-flex nibbed pens....so do push their use a bit.

Edited April 21, 2015 by Bo Bo Olson

[prf5]

I don't know what pens you have and normally use. I'm a bit surprised you find the nib has some spring to it......could be you are pressing too hard. Mostly the modern gold nib is considered a by many to be semi-nail. The pre '97-82/3 gold nibs has the spring of a 200's nib.

 

To clarify, this is a new 400. The flex was noted by the nibmeister and demonstrated on paper. The problem I have, and the reason for asking him to tune it further, is that I don't want to press at all. Right now, it's necessary to press to produce readable text and that's unacceptable. Since you had noted that current 400 nibs are nails, I thought you might find the amount of flex interesting,

[Bo Bo Olson]

semi-nail.

I am interested. I always hope for folks to have good nibs. In there are @ 45 nibs of this and that width and flex....stub, CI, oblique etc. I say chase the nib....then the model.

In it is a new 400 it should be butter smooth....as semi-nail.

 

I was lucky living in Germany to lay my hands on 'cheap' vintage pens....and their grand nibs.........in I could not afford new pens.

I now have a new 215 which is real good, and a 600 bought new....that all I can say is the semi-nail nib is butter smooth.

Been spoiled with 30 vintage semi-flex and 15-18 'flexi'/maxi-semi-flex nibs, that are flatter tipped, stubbish, some what narrower than modern, and have a nice clean line.

 

The nibmeister should have taken the nib off to see if there is a problem with the feed channel.

He should have noticed the lack of flow...or hard start.

 

Having to press to start a word, can be caused by baby bottom, which should have been checked by the nibmeister. But having to press when writing the rest of the word....is not just baby bottom.

Feed channel is all I can think of.

You should let three drops of ink back into the ink bottle.

Edited April 22, 2015 by Bo Bo Olson

[prf5]

The nibmeister should have taken the nib off to see if there is a problem with the feed channel. He should have noticed the lack of flow...or hard start. Having to press to start a word, can be caused by baby bottom, which should have been checked by the nibmeister. But having to press when writing the rest of the word....is not just baby bottom. Feed channel is all I can think of. You should let three drops of ink back into the ink bottle.

 

Hi Bo Bo. When I contacted the nibmeister, he immediately depicted the problem as a warranty issue, so I think he knows that he ought to have checked the feed as well as grind the nib. I routinely fill the pen the "Pelikan way." In any case, the pen is on the way back to the nibmeister and we will see what he does with it.

[prf5]

An update: the nibmeister returned my Pelikan yesterday. He made a flow adjustment at no charge. Finally, I have a pen that writes a nice EF line with very light pressure. Especially important to me, the pen maintains a constant flow when I write quickly. Writing that is smooth and quick is affected no doubt by the pen's size, weight, and balance. These observations are not news to many of you, but with the nib and flow adjustments I can appreciate first hand why the Pelikan Souveran is such a highly rated pen.

[casualmerlinconstant]

An update: the nibmeister returned my Pelikan yesterday. He made a flow adjustment at no charge. Finally, I have a pen that writes a nice EF line with very light pressure. Especially important to me, the pen maintains a constant flow when I write quickly. Writing that is smooth and quick is affected no doubt by the pen's size, weight, and balance. These observations are not news to many of you, but with the nib and flow adjustments I can appreciate first hand why the Pelikan Souveran is such a highly rated pen.

Glad it was fixed for you in the end. I too have had major issues with Pelikan Gold EFs. Ended up buying a new nib from Richard Binder after countless warranty mib swaps from pelikan

[prf5]

Glad it was fixed for you in the end. I too have had major issues with Pelikan Gold EFs. Ended up buying a new nib from Richard Binder after countless warranty mib swaps from pelikan

 

Thanks. In reviewing the Pelikan threads, it seems that a lot of folks have had problems that are similar to what we experienced. At the same time, many people are very pleased with their Pelikans and regard the nibs as superior.

 

What drew me initially to the m400 was its size, weight, and balance. I wanted a black pen because I favor its low-profile look. Since I am not a collector and don't care for most of Pelikan's other designs, it's unlikely that I will be in the market for another. But now that the nib problem has been fixed, I will be able to find out how good the pen really is and how well it meets my needs.

 

The members of the Pelikan forum are very helpful in responding in specific questions and problems. However, given Pelikan's distinctive concept of nibs and its quality control issues, perhaps first-time buyers should be alerted to what they might be getting when they place an order.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Glad your problem is fixed, now it is time to try a 'true' regular flex 200 nib.....and if you think a modern 400 semi-nail nib flexes, you press much too hard.

 

Still working at getting you into semi-flex in a year or three.

[prf5]

Glad your problem is fixed, now it is time to try a 'true' regular flex 200 nib.....and if you think a modern 400 semi-nail nib flexes, you press much too hard.

 

Still working at getting you into semi-flex in a year or three.

 

Hi Bo Bo, It's one step at a time. I expect to install a 200 nib in the near future. As you note, I previously said that the 14k nib flexes -- and it did when I had to press hard to get text on the page. With the flow adjustment, I can write with my normal light touch, and the nib now behaves like a semi-nail.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Good one step at a time.

The next is a semi-flex 140....and I do recommend a OB. The nib width was narrower back then, so a vintage OB is like a modern M or fat M. It is a writing nib, not a signature nib. And the OB is wide enough that one can get use to it because it has more built in slop than an OM or OF.

The Oblique will give you great line variation. The regular B does too, but the Oblique is better for that.

I Do Not recommend a modern oblique, even in regular flex 200, they are only for folks with left eye dominance. Line variation in modern is so minimal I don't notice any.

 

A good poster said the stub and cursive italic is max line variation always....and most are nail or semi-nail (What else can you do with a boring modern blob of a nib). The semi-flex or 'flexi'/maxi-semi-flex are max line variation On Demand.

 

The vintage nibs of '65 and before are flat, flattish bottomed stub or stubbish nibs, no American Bump under like the '82/3-97. Or the 'double kugel' fat blobby modern nib of '98 to now, which is designed for the cross over BP/RB user who don't have the three minutes to learn how to hold a fountain pen.

That is why it's fat, blobby so it can be held like a pencil or ball point, and is stiffer so the ham fisted ball point user don't bend the nib.

 

I got real spoiled by the vintage German nibs.

[canibanoglu]

I'd say for around $200 spring for a nice vintage Pelikan 400 with a nice semi-flex nib and you'll never look back. I recently acquired a M400 white tortoise (stunningly beautiful btw, also my first M400) and I love writing with it, the nib is really reliable but it is a bit "boring". Comparing it to its ancestor is like comparing me to an olympic gymnast.

 

As Bo Bo says, vintage Pelikan nibs are narrower than their modern counterparts, the 400 I mentioned has a B nib that writes a medium line by today's standards, under normal pressure. Tipping material is very little and it can produce line variation without applying any pressure at all, because of the nib's shape. Add a bit of pressure and it can easily deliver 3B. Really nice to write with.

 

I jumped into vintage pens with my 400, I actually didn't know much about vintage Pelikan then (a couple of months ago) and I can only say that I improved only a little bit. All I saw was a tortoise pen with a B nib that was advertised as flexible. I usually don't put much emphasis on advertisements' flexibility claims (not many people know what real flex is, much of what people call flex today would be semi-flex at best and springy on average) but folks over at penboard.de know their stuff. Anyway, I paid for the pen right away, not knowing what to expect. I was blown away by the nib upon its arrival (the pen itself didn't draw water at first so tried the nib in my M101N). Looking back, I lament the fact that I spent so much money on modern pens. Now all I want is to explore Pelikan's vintage pens.

 

As far as nib width goes on semi-flex pens, I beg to differ with Bo Bo. However much I like the B nib on my 400, I sometimes wish I'd gone for something a bit thinner, maybe an F. The reason is that when your normal strokes are thick, you need to write in a bigger font so that when you flex your letters look more coherent. That is of course very dependent on your usual font size.

 

Don't make the mistake I did, go vintage right away!

[prf5]

I continue to evaluate the newly ground and adjusted m400, and am becoming more and more impressed as I go. In addition to the nib's smoothness, instant starts, and responsive flow, I am finding that it writes clear and well-defined text on serviceable photocopy paper and medium quality writing tablets. This capability is especially important to me and increases the value of the pen as an everyday writer.

 

I still expect to experiment with other nibs, but for now the "boring" nature of the current nib allows me to focus less on the instrument and more on what it produces.