Of all the pens I own, I think the one I have been most disappointed with as far as the nib has been my Pelikan M800. The nib just seems REALLY toothy. I've tried different inks, and no matter what I've tried, it is by far the scratchiest of all my higher end pens, and I'm hard pressed to think of a modest pen that is less smooth.

I have seen other posts that suggested that Pelikan nibs are not the smoothest. Is my experience unique? How can I decide if that is just the way Pelikans are, or if my nib needs to be looked at?

I think the comments about Pelikans not being the smoothest is just that - they're not as smooth as, say, Sailors. But they should be reasonably smooth and not be scratchy at all. If your Pelikan nib is noticeably scratchier than your other pens, I'd definitely get someone to look into it (a second opinion from a local pen shop, ChartPak, etc).

My 200 has got a medium nib that is scratchy, out of the box. On the other hand, I have a 150 with a fine nib that is very, very smooth right out of the box.


NBW

I have owned about 20 Pelikans, all sizes and not once did I encounter a scratchy nib. Lucky...?

Definitely lucky. Or perhaps you just use their broader nibs, or got them before their current QC problems cropped up.

I think you are correct about current problems.

I want to clarify, the Pelikan doesn't seem scratchy the way my obviously out-of-alignment pen did. (I had dropped that pen, nib first, onto a hard floor). But it seems very "unsmooth", like I have to expend more energy to move it across the paper. More than my other nibs.

To add to the anecdotes, the 2 modern Pelikans I bought recently were both deliciously buttery smooth right out of the box (M620 and M215, both with F nibs), with glide. My friend's recent modern Pelikan was also smooth right out of the box (M200, OM nib).

Kenny, what size nib is it? If it's a new pen, try contacting Chartpak to see if you can do a nib swap. If you send the whole pen, they do test before returning it to you, and they're fast.

IME, I think Pelikan nibs are supposed to have a little toothiness in them. It's a quality that some people like, while others dismiss it as scratchiness.

I might be wrong though

When did the QC problems start cropping up?

The quality issues are at least 20 years old. I have scratchy EF nibs on my 1988 M750 and M760 anniversary pens.

As a matter of fact, the nib output is shows no consistent quality at Pelikan - and they know that, but don't bother too much. In the US, they have Chartpak to compensate their deficiencies, istead of doing the job inhouse before sending out their products.

While Pelikan makes nice bodies, they unlearnt how to make good nibs. So people with good nibs are the lucky ones. I myself am not, having 4 mediocre to bad nibs.

This is how I would describe mine. It was purchased last December.

I guess I've been rather fortunate with the Pelikan nibs that I've owned. I had an M150 with a very smooth (M) and also an (F) that I bought for it. Both were quite smooth. Not the smoothest I've ever owned (that's actually a Levenger True Writer ( nib, of all the strangest things...), but they were very nice. Also had a terrific (M) on an Epoch, which I exchanged for an (EF) which was also very nice. My (now Julikko's) M215 was the one that was the nicest, though. An awesome (M) that had just the slightest hint of tooth to it.

Truly an enjoyable experience to write with it. I'm sort of sad to see it go!

However, I know that many folks here, and some that I know personally, have had scratchy Pelikans. Is there any way that you could use the grocery bag trick on it and see if it would help?

Otherwise (here's where I sound like a parrot), get in touch with Chartpak. They'll treat you right. Abi on their repair team was awesome with the Epoch swap.

But... but my 2.5 week old M steel-nibbed M205 Demo is very smooth and nice to write with.

Only my Marlen Vienna 18K F and Platinum Stainless Armor 14K WG pens are smoother

this is why sometimes it's best to purchase pens from nibmeisters, i suppose.

Hi,

Some Pelikan nibs need an adjustment of some sort to make them write properly. I was lucky to get all good ones when I bought Pelikans before I was a dealer. Now, every Pelikan I have sold has had a custom nib, so I don't pay much attention to what the nib was, but what it will be.

Dillon

I've had a really mixed bag with Pelikan nibs ... just all over the place. Actually, my experiences leave me with a rather laughable opinion of their QC. I've had mediums that wrote like fines, fines that wrote like mediums, nibs that skipped, nibs that didn't write without excessive pressure, nibs that rained ink, new nibs with tines out of alignment ... And yet I do love me a Pel with a properly adjusted nib.

This has been my experience, exactly. The medium nib on my 200 writes like a fine nib and the fine nib writes like a medium. I just got my pens, though, so I'm really reluctant to send the nibs anywhere at this point.

The nib issue is distracting, but I just switch pens to keep things interesting until my next paycheck and then I'll order a couple of replacement nibs from Mr. Binder.

NBW

Then I have to ask: With so many people having problems with their nibs, why is Pelikan such a lauded pen? I just bought a Piccadilly Circus with a medium nib and now I'm worrying.

I guess because once they're tuned correctly, they work pretty wonderfully. Plus, Chartpak exchanges nibs on new Pel pens if you aren't satisfied with it, so if yours doesn't write well, its just a matter of waiting the time it takes to get it exchanged.

As of right now, I own 5-7 Pelikans, from M150 Traditions, to the M620 Cities editions. All have been great writers from the start, with the exception of the M620 Place de la Concorde. Its medium nib was defective and needed to be swapped out by Pam Braun of Oscar Braun Pens. After that, it became a daily writer for months. I've had 2 Pelikans [both M200s] develop hairline cracks on the cap, just above the trim ring. One was fixed last year-- the other one is at Chartpak now.

Make of that what you will but overall, I love Pelikans.

I bought a Peliken based mainly on the praise of this forum. While it has been just ok, it is rather scratchy. My assumption was that this was the nature of Pelikans. Now I am confused. Is this brand more scratchy by design or is this really just a hit and miss thing.

My 150 pelikan has a fine nib that writes like a medium but it writes as smoothly as a river of cream. I'm very satisfied with the pens and the nibs can be fixed/exchanged. It's sure not stopping me from writing. 9

NBW

Maybe there are some quality control problems brewing at Pelikan...

Richard Binder has seen thousands of Pelikans and he seems to heavily appreciate them. I know he grinds them up a lot, now selling a wide range of Pelikan nib customizations. I think part of it is that the nib design is very workable plus the easy interchangeability of the nibs is a key advantage.

Certainly if a nib is found to be scratchy, it can be reworked or exchanged. And if you've bought an M800, that additional cost (even getting an additional nib) is comparatively small.

I don't know why so many people are pro-Pelikan. Maybe it's just a reaction against Montblanc, or maybe just because there are a lot of stik-in-the-mud types here who have been using pelikans for decades.

For the record: I do not like Pelikan pens at all. I find them dull to look at and dull to write with. And yes, the nibs are not great either. There are literally dozens of other, much better brands out there.

I have had the same experience. This is why I have completely given up on Pelikan as a brand. What puzzles me is, if Bock make Pelkan nibs, then why are Bock nibs so different - and smoother - on other pen brands? <_<

This is true Maryann, but shouldn't be the case! I used to buy all my Pelikans from John Mottishaw just for that reason, or else buy pre-loved ones from people I know and trust - but pens should be perfect right out of the box - every time! If you have to send them back or complain it surely taints that pen - it does in my mind anyway, and it never has the 'appeal' it had when I was waiting for it to arrive!
I ask for the nib to be tried before I buy, and make my needs clear at that stage - maybe more of us should do that.

Has anyone here noticed a decline in Pelikan at a certain point in time? I can't imagine that they've always had problems, given their reputation.

I have to agree about appearance... rather ordinary to look at. I much prefer the vintage tapered look, especially when combined with tortoise shell style barrels. I wonder how far you can go back in the vintage line before losing the screw-out nib section?

I have a White Tortoise. When I first got it, the tines were misaligned. I didn't like it at all!

Some VERY careful "twanging" solved that.

I was still not happy.

Further examination showed some small amount of baby bottoming. About a half hour's total worth of "writing" (swirls, straight & diagonal lines, etc.) on a brown paper grocery bag solved that problem. BTW, do this for a few minutes, examine with a 20X magnifier, and try writing on the type of paper you normally use. Repeat as necessary.

Now it's fun to write with!

What are the general guidelines for smoothing out a nib on a brown paper bag? Do you press firmly most of the time? Do you need to vary the writing angle frequently? I imagine only nibs with a generous tipping of iridium are worthwhile candidates?

I did find a link to some chatter about this... no specific recommendations on what to do other than normal writing position and just figure 8's, spirals, vertical and horizontal lines.

I also found an interesting thread about using a penny!
Nib smoothing, paper bag and penny

I received my first Pelikan, an 805 fine, just last week. The nib had me a little worried at first, as it felt a bit scratchy (not horrible, but worse than I expected) using Pelikan Royal Blue ink. However, after I'd used about half a fill of that, I decided to try some other inks, and I found that with Noodler's Walnut and PR American Blue it is much, much smoother. In fact, it's one of the smoothest pens I've used. I don't know if that's a function of the Pelikan ink being a little thinner than the others, but it seems a possibility to me. It also might be that I tend to write somewhat firmly and I've been trying to lighten up of late. So for what it's worth, I'd try a few different inks before giving up, just my $.02.

It does seem that ink saturation/viscosity has an effect on how the pen performs. Some pens can't handle a thicker ink because of the ink feed design. That's great to hear about Noodler's and Private Reserve working well in the Pelikan. I've also found Pelikan inks to be a bit on the watery side.

Last night I tried out the paper bag routine on one of my semi-scratchy fine points. It definitely made a subtle difference. I did the usual figure eights, some circles, then I dragged the nib sideways at a 45 degree angle, sweeping back and forth like a figure eight. I performed all this for two sessions of 5 minutes a piece.

The penny idea is interesting... can't find an old one at the moment, but I'm going to try that as well; the idea is that the copper bonds to the nib and increases smoothness. It's probably temporary, but if it works and holds for a good long while, it's worth doing.

Well I bought a second hand model soveran 800 yesterday at Mora and it wrote as butter smooth and it is a medium nib. The ink I used in the pen was parker penman's emerald green. Before buying it I tried Omas, Montegrappa, Sailor and Dunhill pens and the Pelikan was better than all of them. I know many people who are happy with their Pelikans and I can understand why. Pelikan is one of the oldest names in terms of pen manufacturing, of course quality control problems happen. My next pens will be a soveran 1000 and a man 100 or a vac.