Pelikan 140 Ef Nib

[JonB55198]

Hi Group,

 

If you haven't my original post, please see here: One Red Fountain Pen Post. The premise is that I will be making a series of up-trades starting with a Red Wing Sung 322. My plan is to get to my current Grail Pen: the Pelikan M1000 Green Striated with Triple-Broad, Double-Broad or Cursive Italic Broad nib.

 

Well, I made my 3nd trade and Lex was kind enough to trade me two pens. I traded my Wearever Pennant and Stypen UP! for a Waterman Kultur and Parker 45. So, as promised in my original "deal" with the FPN, I'm going to review each pen that I receive in trade along the way. This review will be for the Waterman Kultur.

 

Pelikan 140 EF Nib:

Appearance & Design (9/10) – This pen has classic Pelikan design written all over it. The classic green striated barrel with the black cap and gold trim are, in my opinion beautiful. The nib itself is a little plain, but that's the way things used to be I suppose. If the nib were fancier, it would have received a 10 out of 10.

 

Construction & Quality (10/10) – There is a reason that Pelikan is known for its quality. This pen is a perfect example. You can feel the quality when you operate the smooth piston, feel the balance in your hand, etc. The threads on the barrel worked flawlessly. Removing the nib from the section was easy as well. I'm sure this pen will outlast my lifetime and possibly the lifetime of the user after that too.

 

Weight & Dimensions (8/10) – The pen is a little small for my tastes. But, it is lightweight as other modern pelikans and easy to use for long sessions. It was very well balanced both posted and un-posted. There is not much else I can say about it.

 

Nib & Performance (8/10) – This nib was by far the wettest writer that I have ever used. It wrote amazingly wet. I was very impressed and wanted to keep it so badly. But alas, it came time to trade and it was sent away. As for the flexibility of the nib, I would say that it is about as flexible as Noodler's ahab. I expected a little more flex out of it. But, that's fine. For $100, you get a good amount of flex. One problem I did encounter that I am not sure is isolated to this example or to the model in general is some scratchiness. The nib would sometimes scratch on upstrokes as if the tines were not aligned properly. I examined it with a loupe but couldn't determine what the problem was. The previous owner noted the same problem. For this reason I rate it an 8 out of 10. GREAT wetness, OK flex, POOR scratchiness in some directions with some pressure levels.

 

Filling System & Maintenance (9/10) - The pelikan piston filler is amazing. It operated very smoothly. Cleaning it was as easy as removing the nib by screwing it out, and flushing it with a bulb. This prevented the need to cycle the piston to clear out ink and saves a bit of piston life. I think I would have given it a 10 if it disassembled as easily as the TWSBI. For this pen, I read you have to gently put it in a vice of some sort, and drive out the piston with a wooden dowel. That's not something I would consider user friendly.

 

Cost & Value (9/10) – A 140 in this condition can be had for around $100. Considering the modern M200 is about this price as well, I would MUCH rather have the 140. First of all, it is vintage, so you know the price is probably only going to go up. Second, you are owning a piece of history and a more rare writing instrument. What more could you ask for $100.

 

Conclusion (53/60 = 88%) - If you are a fan of Pelikan, piston fillers, flexible nibs or vintage pens, then you have to have this for your collection. I'm pretty sure you can find an example like this for $100 and it is well worth the investment.

 

 

 

 

[APHK]

I recently bought a Pel 400NN with an EF nib. An excellent writer - the smoothest nib of that size that I have ever used (M1000 EF, Platinum 3776 F, Pilot 823 F) and as an added bonus, semi-flex.

[anaximander]

Thanks for the nice review! The Pelikan 140 is one of my favorite pen models. I have two, in black and burgundy, respectively. I think they're under-rated in general, but maybe it's because they're a bit small for many people. Posted, I find them the perfect size for me. And the nibs really are amazing, with a nice semi-flex quality.

[watch_art]

I love my 140. One of my favorite production pens of all time. That nib is just a dream. I like this one better than the 400NN I used to have - but I think that's b/c of the rough shape it's in.