I'm chucking my lamy safari 'EF'. My question is would the Pelikan M200 in "F"
nib size, take maybe 500 pages of writing to 'break in' the nib so it's not scratchy?

(no way I will try any EF or XF again)

If you purchase your M200 from a penseller that tests and adjusts nibs prior to shipping, you should have no break in period at all.

Richard Binder (http://richardspens.com, for instance, sells M200 bodies for $45, and stock gold-plated steel nibs for $20 for a total of $65. For that cost (plus shipping), you'll have an M200 guaranteed to write beautifully out of the box. I've not purchased an M200 from him directly, but I've picked up a couple second hand and they write fantastically well.

I understand John Mottishaw (http://www.nibs.com) also provides this service. I'm sure there are others, but I can't think of them off the top of my head.

edited to add:

As noted elsewhere on this forum, there seems to be a lot of variation in how thick a line the Pelikan nibs put down; my F writes a line very similar to my M, for instance.

Don

Pelikan finepoints can be variable in width. I have an M200 with a Richard Binder EF ground from an F and it's a wonderful nib. But it is wider than the EF on my Lamy Safari, which, as luck has it, is truly an EF -- and not scratchy.

Doug

P.S. It seems that many modern makers have a bit of a prob with finer nibs.

Can you chuck that Safari in my direction?

Oh...and with the cap on, please.

Before throwing away your Safari and spending money on a new pen, read:

www.nibs.com/Article6SmoothingAdjusting.htm

- and you will probably be able to fix the problem.

Pelikan aren't exactly renowned for their fine nibs. I'd only buy one from a meister like RB or John Mottishaw. Out of the box they are often neither smooth nor fine. Regarding the 200, do remember it's at the opposite end of the size spectrum from the Safari.

You can buy excellent modern pens with fine or extra fine nibs quite cheaply - they're usually Japanese. A Pilot 78G for $30 should be excellent. Oh - an "M" Pilot will probably be as fine or finer than an F Pelikan. www.isellpens.com should have some, or use ebay. No breaking in will be necessary.

Yeah, there was no break-in period necessary on my M200 F.

Please chuck the EF Safari over here . More realistically, you could probably sell it quite quickly on the marketplace here.

Hi,

I also fill and adjust Pelikans before shipment.

Most Pelikan Fs are good. The EFs are not so good though so I need to regrind all of them.

Dillon

Same situation here on a M250 fine. The nib is scratchy out of the box. It is definitely worth buying a complete pen (or nib) from a nib meister.

In the case of the M250, it was really a great price so I got it elsewhere. Now I have to "smooth" it or send it to Chartpak. The price just went from "great" to "so-so".


Mike

If you are going to buy a Pelikan, I would definitely buy from Richard Binder because of the nib tuning he will do before he sends it out... when you consider his years of experience and fantastic service, you will not get a better deal even though you might spend a couple of dollars more...

Thanks everyone. I knew I would get the perfect answer here.

I will definitely get my new m200 (F) from Richard. I just cannot go
through the 'scratchy nib' experience again. And those before and
after pics on Johns site are unbeliveable, such talent.