Are pelikan m600 fine nibs more like mediums?

I think im probably looking for a true medium which do you think is closer?

There is no "true" anything. Someone just today posted a chart, I think it was even in answer to another post of yours. Have a look.

Like *David* said, there is no true medium. There is even variance in nibs of the same size and type. My Pelikan fine feels like a medium-fine and the medium is only a hair's width wider. Either one should work well for you unless you are very picky.

Hi Jim. When I get home tonight I'll break out my Pelikan 650 Medium and upload a photographed comparison of it and various other fines, mediums etc. Regards,

PeteWK

Thanks pete that would be great

OK, these are the usual suspects. Each of them has a full medium nib. There are no F/M nibs among them and yes I can tell the difference.

These pens just happened to be the medium nibs that I had inked at the time and most of them are Sheaffer. I do have other brands in medium nibs but the Wahls and Watermans tend to be rather flexible and that would throw the test off. As it is the Targa appears thicker than it really is on the downstroke because its a semi-flex. The Crest also appears wider on the cross-stroke because the pellet of iridium is oval shaped creating line variation without flex.

The final picture shows the line width of the cross-stroke in thousandths of an inch. For comparison there is a very broad snorkel line there which is .040.

The PFM line at .028 is spot on and the closest to the Pelikan but discount the results from the Targa due to flex.

Jim, I originally purchased the Pelikan 650 Souveran new with a B nib in it. It was way too wide for everyday use. I ended up selling it on eBay and then getting an M nib to replace it. It's still very wide for an Medium but not so far out that it's unusable. Its a pleasure to write with, and wet as well but bear in mind that I have about 100 pens that I could ink if I wanted to. If I only had a few to choose from, I would go with a fine, which I'm sure would be right there with the other mediums.

Ignore the line width of the bottom section. I wrote that with a PFM Stub that happened to be in my pocket.

PeteWK

BTW Jim. If you want to try a Fine as my email mentioned, I have that same Targa Matte Black with a perfect fine nib but a little finish loss from the previous owner posting the cap too firmly too often.

PeteWK

Pete,

Nice job !! Above and beyond!!

John

PeteWK,
I'm impressed with your post and your knowledge, but is it fair to compare modern pens with vintage? I'm no expert on vintage pens but I have heard that vintage nibs run finer than moderns.

Ben

P.S. No, I'm not trying to be a jerk. I really do wonder how the two compare.

Hi Ben. Don't apologize. You're not a jerk for asking, just curious. And that's a very valid question. I would, however, seperate my fountain pen collection into several categories for the discussion's sake.

EARLY - These pens are completely different from what most of us use every day. I would put the dates of these pen before say, 1924. I say that because that's when Sheaffer came out with the first commercially viable plastic pen.

CLASSIC - These pens would run from 1925 until the beginning of the Second World War. I would say that the Parker 51 signals either the end of this period or the beginning of the next.

MODERN - This era runs from WWII until the 1970s. These pens make up the bulk of what you'll find on eBay. These often make great users and are generally repairable and or restorable.

CONTEMPORARY - This type of pen is the exactly what it sounds like. If it was from the 1980s, you can probably still find it new in box somewhere. This era signals the end of the time when many people commonly carried fountain pens.

As for the nibs running finer on older pens, I would say no. The reality is that your typical company sizes their nibs in house. The reason more pens run wide these days is that the big four aren't making the majority of pens anymore. Now companies that size their nibs larger are making them. The makes it seem like there's been some change like that.

In truth, if you buy a new Sheaffer or Parker, you'll probably find that their nib sizes are about the same as they were 60 years ago. At least that's been my experience.

The reason I would advise someone to go Classic or Modern (Vintage you might say) is that for 30 to 50 dollars one can get a reconditioned pen with 14k nib and lots of sex appeal while the same package in a new pen will kill 200 plus dollars.

PeteWK

Thanks Pete

Sex appeal? O_o

Ahem... different strokes for different folks?

Sorry, I just had to say that.