Pelikan M215

[monsoonmalabar]

[Edited for image sizing]

Pelikan M215

My first 'expensive' pen. Tried Wality and Reform piston fillers and fell in love with the mechanism. I wanted a piston filler, something higher quality (black and silver colours) but couldn't bring myself to spend a lot of money on a 'resin' (a.k.a. 'plastic') pen, especially one that was 'just a black pen' and not very eye-catching (like my black Pilot 78G). If I was going to spend the money, it had to be worth it. With its metal barrel and eye-catching but tasteful design, the Pelikan M215 turned out to be the answer. I bought this one from the writing desk (UK) for £69. The sale of my Wality contributed to the cost.

 

1. Appearance & Design (10/10) - A timeless shape. Classic black and silver colours. Looks classy and elegant but not too much of the 'bling' factor - relatively understated.

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2. Construction & Quality (9/10) - Unusually (so it seems to me) this pen has a lacquered metal barrel which gives it some heft. It has rhodanized, chromium-plated rings (inlaid, flush with the barrel). Chromium-plated furniture and a screw-on cap. All of this makes it feels like a high-quality pen and, as has been pointed out before, makes it seem far more expensive than it is. The cap, section and piston knob are plastic as far as I can tell.

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3. Weight & Dimensions (9/10) - As I mentioned before, the metal barrel gives it some weight but not too much. I haven't yet written with it for a very long time but I can't imagine getting tired with it. It's a small/medium-sized pen (12.5cm capped). Medium diameter, thinner than the Wality (which was a bit to thick for me) but much thicker than the Reform 1745. I was worried from other reviews that it might be too short for me to use unposted but it isn't. The size makes it comfortably portable but the weight also makes it suitable as a 'desk pen'. Personally I plan to use the Pelikan as my 'desk pen' and carry either the Reform with me on the move (large ink capacity, small and light) or the Tombow Object (light, takes cartridges).

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4. Nib & Performance (9/10) - Stainless steel, but the smoothest nib I own! I got some sense of what the phrase 'buttery smooth' means. Not uncomfortably slippery (you know that you're writing) but no scratch. Moderately wet line. A great nib - easily interchangeable but I don't think I'll be changing it. The fine nib is perhaps a touch broader than I would like but it doesn't make my writing illegible on narrrow-ruled paper like the medium Wality did. I would even consider writing on wide-ruled paper for this pen

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5. Filling System & Maintenance (10/10) - Piston filler, one of this pen's great attractions. Smoothest mechanism I've ever used - (there's that phrase again) 'buttery smooth'! Very quick to fill and no hassle. Large ink capacity (more than the reform). Discreet window showing ink level:

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6. Cost & Value (10/10) - An expensive pen by my standards (69GBP) but by no means top of the range. I think it's well worth the money. I would hesitate paying this much for a plastic pen but the little details of the M215 give it such a quality feel that its great value for money. Feels as though you should have paid a lot more for it.

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7. Conclusion (Final score 9.5) - Very close indeed to being my perfect pen! I'll post an update when I've lived with it for a while.

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Edited July 1, 2009 by monsoonmalabar

[jd50ae]

Ahem......

 

Pelikans rule.

[MYU]

Hello Monsoon... can you please resize your images? They are enormous in dimension (2560 x 1920) and file size (most over 400kb). We require images to be within 800x600 and recommend no more than 300kb in size (a little more is OK). Thanks...

[HenryLouis]

I like this pen, but honestly I'll wait until the silver trim M205 comes out.

[monsoonmalabar]

Hello Monsoon... can you please resize your images? They are enormous in dimension (2560 x 1920) and file size (most over 400kb). We require images to be within 800x600 and recommend no more than 300kb in size (a little more is OK). Thanks...

 

Images resized. Sorry if people have had problems viewing the large sizes :embarrassed_smile:

Edited July 1, 2009 by monsoonmalabar

[MYU]

^^ Thanks for doing that... but you didn't have to reduce them THAT much. The limits are actually the preferred sizes, so you can see all the glorious detail. Anyway, no harm done--pictures still look good.

[UNDERDOG]

Nice review. Got one just like it recently and would agree it's a nice pen (for all the reasons you cite).

 

^^ Thanks for doing that... but you didn't have to reduce them THAT much. The limits are actually the preferred sizes, so you can see all the glorious detail. Anyway, no harm done--pictures still look good.

 

[monsoonmalabar]

^^ Thanks for doing that... but you didn't have to reduce them THAT much.

 

Done. I'm a perfectionist!

[duna]

I really appreciate your review of my preferred pen. I too use a Reform in my pocket diary (so thin and always ready to write) but I have a M215 in my bag, my preferred user. The metal sleeve makes for a better writing experience (i cannot write well with pens under 18 grams) and for a better 'feel' without making the pen heavy. I planned to purchase a gold nib but the steel one turned out to be as good as my M800's (HEH ...almost. The M800 is another planet but the M215 is close). I can survive to a lost M215 but I cannot imagine losing my M800 that way so the green M800 sees a lot of drawer. Sad, but the M215 is a good backup, only a tad small for my tastes. Boys, Pelikans are great pens. We need an... M615.

[ethernautrix]

I have one like it; it's one of my favorite pens. Until recently, it had a JMKeuning monster nib in it, but last week, I switched that out for a Binder medium italic, which I filed down to a fine italic, and it's FABULOUS!

 

A friend at work tried a bunch of my pens (A BUNCH), and she decided to buy a Pelikan M215 (the "lozenge" (?) design; I call it the "harlequin"). That's an endorsement right there!

[Pen2009]

I also have a 215 (blue one) with a fine nib. I carry this in my shirt pocket. This is a smooth writer as your review concluded. I also like the fact that it is easy to post its cap on the barrel. I don't need to push it down; I just post it and the cap stay there without falling off.

[Lloyd]

, but I switched that out for a Binder medium italic, which I filed down to a fine italic,

You dared to tamper with Sir Binder's nibwork??? HERETIC!

[ToasterPastry]

I have tried many pens--A BUNCH!--and I believe that the cost vs. quality vs. looks vs. weight vs. size of this pen makes it one of the best pen values on the market. I would compare this pen to ones that sell for hundreds of dollars more. It's only...only...drawback is the stainless steel nib (which isn't really much of a drawback at all). One question for others is whether or not to hot-rod the pen with a M400 nib, or possibly other nib, to make the writing experience of this pen to be the penultimate!

[monsoonmalabar]

the penultimate!

 

:ltcapd: Love it!

[carlc]

 

Excellent review.

 

The pictures are about 1mm too small! - Heh heh - how to upset a perfectionist!

[Cursive Child]

Great review. This was my daily pen before I lost it at airport security.

 

Perfect weight, girth, and a buttery smooth nib (after a free nib exchange from Chartpak - the original was toothy). Started up without problems, even if inked and stored for a while. Persuaded a friend of mine to buy one too.

 

The only issue I had with mine, was that small flecks of paint started coming off from the bottom of the barrel, above the piston knob.

[ethernautrix]

, but I switched that out for a Binder medium italic, which I filed down to a fine italic,

You dared to tamper with Sir Binder's nibwork??? HERETIC!

 

Ha! You should see what I did with the P51 Special that FarmBoy recently restored to glory. I filed that nib into a pointy nail, but not a round nail, so it's got just a hint of italic. I am FEARLESS!

[Lloyd]

, but I switched that out for a Binder medium italic, which I filed down to a fine italic,

You dared to tamper with Sir Binder's nibwork??? HERETIC!

 

Ha! You should see what I did with the P51 Special that FarmBoy recently restored to glory. I filed that nib into a pointy nail, but not a round nail, so it's got just a hint of italic. I am FEARLESS!

You need to fall on your knees and pray to the FP gods for redemption!http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/evil/evilgrin0030.gif

Edited July 2, 2009 by Lloyd

[stevlight]

I love this pen--I have the Lozenge. This is the pen that I lend out to people that want to try FP's.

 

 

I am FEARLESS!

 

--The ONLY way to live! Rock on Ethernautrix

Edited July 2, 2009 by stevlight

[HenryLouis]

, but I switched that out for a Binder medium italic, which I filed down to a fine italic,

You dared to tamper with Sir Binder's nibwork??? HERETIC!

 

Ha! You should see what I did with the P51 Special that FarmBoy recently restored to glory. I filed that nib into a pointy nail, but not a round nail, so it's got just a hint of italic. I am FEARLESS!

 

Absolutely blasphemous! :roflmho: