Penbashing: a Pelikano with an external fill-knob

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Call me weird, but I've always felt that fountain pens should be designed to use bulk ink, from a bottle, rather than cartridges. And that they should have nibs that actually look like nibs, rather than like abstract metal sculpture (which is why the Parker 25 I received decades ago sits unused in a desk drawer, while my Pelikan M200s rack up the mileage. And that one should not have to disassemble a pen in order to fill it. And that the barrel color should indicate the ink color.

 

But I've already got Pelikan M200s in blue, green, and red (transparent demonstrator model), as well as a black/charcoal M150. I wanted a pen for brown ink (and still want one for purple), and I just didn't feel right shooting a coat of paint onto a beautifully finished $60-$90 pen. And nobody else seems to make anything comparable in brown or purple, at least at a comparable price.

 

So I decided to take matters into my own hands. In the modelbuilding hobbies (especially model railroading), "kitbashing" is the art of taking the parts from one or more kits, along with detail parts and scratchbuilding supplies, and building a model completely different from what the kit designer had in mind. So why not penbashing?

I started out with a Pelikano: they're relatively cheap. I began by finding a plunger-fill converter. Since I didn't want to track down a converter that was an exact fit for a Pelikano, I used a Lamy converter, sealing it into the socket with hot-melt glue.

I drilled out the end of the barrel

Using 2 sizes of aluminum tubing, and an aluminum rod, all held together with CA, I fabricated an extension for the converter's fill-knob, turning a rounded end on it with a drill press and a fine mill file ("the poor man's lathe"). It took two tries, but once I had an extension that would fit the converter, and would stick out through the hole in the end of the barrel, I force-fit it onto the converter, and turned my attention back to the barrel.

 

There are internal ribs in the blind end of the barrel, apparently to help seat the cartridge properly. Since my converter was now permanently attached to its socket, that wasn't a factor, and the ribs were interfering with the free movement of the fill knob. So I carefully reamed, filed, and carved until the ribs were no longer in the way.

 

Finally, it was time to paint. I used Testor's brown spray enamel, and I carefully masked off the smooth "window" area of the barrel, and both the stainless steel areas and the Pelikan logo button on the cap; I left the hilt unpainted, since (1) it would just wear off anyway, and (2) I didn't want to get paint onto the nib, or into the feed. After a day of field testing, I left it alone for 2 weeks, to dry thoroughly.

 

I'm delighted to be able to say that it works, and works quite well.

[Bill D]

Fascinating! Thanks for sharing that with us. Keep us filled in about how it holds up in regular use.

 

This sort of conversion could be an interesting replacement for the old m75 Go, as they become harder to find.

 

Bill

[JulioPB]

Interesting:

 

But I was thinking, and want to know, if a Pelikano, and a Pelikano Jr, can be converted in an ED.

 

Julio

[Garageboy]

Wow, impressive!

 

[diplomat]

Interesting:

 

But I was thinking, and want to know, if a Pelikano, and a Pelikano Jr, can be converted in an ED.

 

Julio

 

There are two big vent holes in the back of a Pelikano.

 

hbquikcomjamesl (james?),

That is an impressive work! and a nice hobby to have.

To remove the internal ribs in the blind end of the barrel should have been a tough work...

 

Cheers,

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Not particularly tough; just time consuming.

 

I used a piece of brass tubing, slightly larger than the converter handle extension, chucked in my drill press (also useful for drilling paper or foam rubber), and then used a small screwdriver inserted through the fill knob hole to clean out what the tubing left behind.

 

converted in an ED.

Huh? Please elucidate.

[fierdog]

That's awesome. Very cool.

[HerosNSuch]

(which is why the Parker 25 I received decades ago sits unused in a desk drawer, while my Pelikan M200s rack up the mileage. And that one should not have to disassemble a pen in order to fill it. And that the barrel color should indicate the ink color.

Absolutely wonderful work. As for the purple, there is a Waterman Kultur demo model in purple if you would like to save yourself some work.

Is there any chance that you would like to see that Parker put to good use?

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Well, mechanically and hydraulically, the penbashed Pelikano is holding up beautifully. If I go for more than a few days without using it, the feed tends to run dry (my M200s take several weeks to reach that state!), but with an external fill knob, all I have to do is give it a twist to re-wet it, and it's fine.

 

The paint-job, on the other hand, didn't last. Surprisingly, given that the barrel looks and feels like PS, acrylic, or maybe butyrate, the Testors model paint just didn't bond very well to it, or fully harden, and it seems to have re-dissolved in my own skin oils.

 

When I get a chance (hopefully this weekend), I'll strip it down and try some of that new Rust-O-Leum "Universal" on it.