The Pelikan M215, with a medium steel nib, I ordered from Gadgeteer in Omaha came in today, a bit sooner than expected; as an aside, I was very pleased with the service there. I also bought a bottle of Pelikan Brilliant Black, since I've been meaning to try some more inks beyond Quink.

Appearance
Since I special ordered and didn't specify, I didn't know whether the pen would be the blue or black M215; it turned out to be the black one with the horizontal platinum rings. All in all a very attractive pen -- it looks somewhat like my Esterbrook J, if a bit more upscale. The pelican beak clip goes well in a shirt pocket. 5/5

Filling
Now I see that the Germans are the masters of filling systems. The piston operates very easily -- and the ink window is a great touch, compared to having to unscrew the barrel to see a cartridge or simply guess at the state of the ink supply in a sac. 5/5

Feel
Again, it's about the shape and size of the vaunted Esterbrook J...but, having a metal barrel, is a bit heavier than the Estie or the M200. If heft is any harbinger of durability, I'm going to be using this pen for a long time. The cap comes off easily, but I don't think I have to worry about it coming off too easily. 5/5

Performance
The nib is a bit toothy, but the writing experience is pleasant overall. I'm glad I went with the medium, which is about comparable in width to an Esterbrook 2668 and somewhat more narrow than a Parker Reflex medium point. The pen seems to start without any trouble. 4.75/5

Overall score: 19.75/20. I'd suggest this pen to anyone looking for a quality writing instrument; it cost me $109 ($116.63 with Nebraska sales tax), but can be had for less online. It's a good value.


EDIT: spelling

Nice Review, Jeff. Thank you.

Yep - love the Pelikan piston system. I had trouble with MB's piston knob - the shape of it made it slippery for me. The Pelikan piston knob is so much easier for me to use.

We need to work on your ink supply issue.

You're welcome

The Pelikan black ink is nice; I'm going to try it in some of my other pens as well. I should probably get some of the blue at some point; I've seen others using it and it's a very attractive ink as well, but black is what I usually use.

What surprised me about the piston is that it's even easier to operate than a lever.

Thanks for the review. I have been thinking of getting the blue version of this lately. This just makes it harder/easier to get it, depending on your point of view.

Very nice review - thanks, and enjoy your wonderful new Pel!

Nice write up.
I have both the blue and the black. I just ent the black to Chartpak to have an EF nib exchanged for a Fine. I love these two pens. The blue is my everyday pen, with Watermans Florida Blue ink.
You will enjoy this pen for a long time to come

This morning B.C. (before coffee), I knocked out a quick comparo shot for Old Griz re a pic request in the Photography forum about which M215 is classier. LATER, I see he asked the question in February.

So I'm putting it here. Now, where's that coffee?

BTW, the nib for the blue accidentally became a dog toy, replaced by a Binder 0.7mm cursive italic; the black is a fine.

Bill

Thanks for the picture, Bill.

I'm liking this pen more and more every day; I believe I've finally found the perfect medium-point pen for regular use, superseding my Parker Reflex and Esterbrook J for the most part (though those pens can always have other inks in them!). This is, in other words, a pen on the caliber of the Parker "51."

Bill - were you able to get an unplated cursive italic from Richard? This has been a question on my mind for a while, but I've never gotten around to asking him about it.

No. I bought the nib from him at the Ohio show. I have seen postings that nibmeisters can remove the plating for an extra fee.

Bill

This past week, I ordered an unplated polished steel stub nib from Richard Binder for my m215. He informed me that Pelikan doesn't make their polished steel nibs, nor their two-tone gold nibs available to him for modification. However, he was able to remove the plating from one of his modified gold-plated steel nibs (for only a few dollars extra,) so that the nib would match my black m215. (I posted a bunch of m215 photos at this thread here.

Pelikan m215 with Binder 0.6 mm stub:

i haven't been terribly impressed with the looks of either of these pens...

until now. Bill, this pic of them side-by-side has me rethinking them. Unfortunately, that means I have to buy both of them!

dang it - i don't need anymore Pelikans!!!!!!!!!!

TMann - That's great news! Thanks for the info!

I bought a rollerball version of the blue pinstriped pelikan for my sister as a graduation present. (She is not an FP sort of person at all.) I do not think she really gets it at all. Alas.

I'm with KCat here. I don't need more pelikans, but those two look really great in that picture (do you all remember the class action talk - this message is being noted as evidence ). Nice review by the way.

Just an update -- the somewhat toothy nib has gotten worse and has taken to picking up paper fibers and stuff, so after I get back from my summer vacation later this month I'm going to be shipping the M215 in to Chartpak for nib repair or replacement; it's my opinion that since this pen cost as much as anywhere between four and a hundred Esterbrook J's, it should write at least as well as one. Since I hear Chartpak is good about stuff like this, I'm certain that it will in fact be far better than an Estie once they get done with it.

A toothy medium nib on an M215??? Either our definition of toothy is hugely different, or these nibs vary wildly...

You're absolutely right to send it back - but couldn't you unscrew the nib and just send that? If it's a steel nib I'd think they'd replace rather than repair it.

I bought a 215 last month, fine nib, and it writes fine for me, but I was expecting to be impressed; I wasn't. My Lamy Safari actually writes better.

Not to say that the 215 isn't an amazing pen, but my fine nib is just sort of ho hum. Still, the 215 is an everyday pen for me.

My 215 is doing a lot better now that I have had the nib replaced ... it's nothing exciting, of course, but a very nice pen that holds a lot of ink

Take a look at www.fuellhalter.de

Very good german online pen-shop with lots of Pelikans.
Very good service.

Regards, The Legend

I ordered my black M215 with a medium nib... but that proved too wide for me.
So I got a polished 200 fine nib from Richard Binder.

Richard is such a perfectionist that he refuses to let any pen or nib leave his hands that doesn't support superbly. My fine nib flows and glides brilliantly.

That said so did my medium nib which is now stuck in a drawer

I got the black striped one with the .7 cursive italic. A bit toothy, but gosh, it looks so beautiful!!!!!!

Just got mine today(the black striped one).
First impressions : I LOVE IT.
Nib even smoother than I expected and it looks absolutely great!
I'm really happy with my purchase.

I bought a M215 back in July and it has become my everyday writer. I purchased the blue/black in fine point:

Click to view attachment

I have loaded it with several different Noodler's colors and I really can't complain at all about this pen. I know there was a comment regarding the M215 writing no better than a Lamy Safari and I would have to disagree.
I started out with a Safari, which is a fantastic value for anyone looking for a beginners fountain pen. Their nibs write very similar, but the writing experience is much different. I usually post the cap while writing and the Lamy tends to be a bit too long for me when writing with the cap posted. Also, with it being ABS plastic, I find that the front grip section tends to loosen occasionally. The M215 is a nice, solid weight and a great size for posting the cap. It feels more balanced with the cap posted while writing. I never have any annoying issues that sometimes pop up with other mid-to-low end fountain pens. The piston-filling mechanism is great and easier to clean than a converter. And, of course, the main feature you are paying for with the M215, it looks really sharp. I would not be embarrassed walking into a meeting with this pen popping out of my front shirt pocket.

Anyone have the other Rectangle or Lozenge styles? I think they are relatively new. I have found them here: http://www.goldspot.com/Pelikan_pens/Tradi...Series_215.html

Later,
Tom

I've got a blue 215 and what a sweet writer. The extra weight over the 400 just feels right. While at a conference the last 2 days it received many compliments on it's elegance. The best value in the Pelikan lie and able to hold it's head up with it's more expensive brethren.