So, I'm still a college student, which at this point in my life is probably not something to brag about, but I need to mention it for setting.

I started using fountain pens just before I re-entered the educational milieu, yet my cheapie pen that I had at the time was not being used for the general notes I was taking in class (special occasions only!). Well, ever since I started branching out into the many splendid world of pen collecting, I've found just how practical a FP can be in daily life. In my quest to dispose of all disposable pens from my life, I've collected special pens for most writing applications that I encounter frequently (the details of which I won't bore you with, hehe)... and, I've decided that as an English major with a daunting amount of notes to take, I need a school pen that I can depend on.

Ok, actually I just need an excuse to buy another FP, period, but, for school pens, the Pelikano fits the bill, thats all there is to it. Its light, its cheap, it has a smooth-writing nib and its sturdy as Amish furniture. Personally, I'm going to use it (for the time being) with Private Reserve "Black Magic Blue" carts, because they're inexpensive and bold of pigment (that and changing a cart out in the middle of class is easier than whipping out the bottle and reloading the converter), but I'm ever so tempted to buy a little supply of J. Herbin's Violet Pensee and chuckle to myself at the little "French School Kid Ink Color" joke that no one in the class will get but me.

Anyway, cheers, Pelikan - In addition to your massive quality all the way up the price line, your Pelikano is the modern every day use school pen.

Yes, I do agree. They are both inexpensive and very good pens.

Find me a convertor that works with it =/

I am nearly certain that the Pelikan cartridge converter will also work with the Pelikano:

http://www.pelikan.com/pulse/Pulsar/en_US....l?contentId=963

Was considering getting the Pelikano -- agree that the price is very good -- but the plastic grip with the raised bits was uncomfortable for me. While I held the pen, the ridges irritated the top surface of my middle finger.

How about the "Jr." version? The rubber grip is friendly and the nib is the same, as far as I know... the only thing its missing is the clip on the cap and a practical way to converter fill it (worried the rubber grip will stain if it gets dipped in there too deeply)

The Pelikano is undoubtedly very good at what it's built to do, and at a very affordable price. In my opinion, the latest incarnation easily surpasses its predecessors in terms of design. I've sung its praises here before now, and occasionally use one for note-taking at the computer.

Nevertheless, I do tend to place it in the 'cheap and cheerful' category. It has its qualities, but it isn't exactly what I'd call an inspiring writing instrument.

That's exactly what I thought too. The rubber grip on my girlfriend's Lamy ABC got stained. Understandably, kid's pens aren't really meant to be filled from bottles...

Will think about it. Am saving up for another FP

It's the modern Sheaffer Cart pen

I found a BLACK Pelikano yesterday in Bologna, Italy. It's going to be a nice addition to my orange and my red Pelikano.
The Pelikan converter works just fine in mine.
It's an amazing pen, a real work horse that I'm not afraid to bring on a trip.

I've use mine as my main correction pen to grade papers with.

Samovar

In addition to the black Pelikano there are also turquoise and pink ones as limited editions.

Pink Pelikano

Regards
Hans-Peter

Are the pink Pelikano still available in Germany? I'm in Europe for the summer and I haven't seen any yet

I don't know about brick and mortar stores, but they are available at least in some online stores, including eBay
And it is still listed on the German Pelikan website.

Regards
Hans-Peter

Well, pressurewave, I have passed through the Master's and Doctoral levels of education and now I am retired and on the other end of life. I must admit that, through many years of graduate student poverty, I found the Pelikano and Pel Junior to be consistent, durable pens that take abuse and keep on writing. I personally prefer the Pel Junior for its wide diameter. But, like you, I can only speak well of it. - I have found that a Pelikan converter fits my Pel Jr.s quite well.

Yeah, the Pelikano Jr. is pleasantly wide, and the rubber grip, though it was a little weird at first, is actually rather comfortable. Like a number of people were saying in this thread, I don't mind carrying it around in my pocket and don't find myself constantly obsessively checking to make sure its still where I left it (like I do with my other Pelikan).

Interesting question, though... what sort of ink is right for school work? Certainly I put less emphasis on using waterproof ink on class notes and anything in a cartridge will be better than the awful goopy nonsense in a disposable pen... but, oof, not sure if I can afford to drain my Noodler's or J. Herbin bottles onto pages of notes on a weekly basis, hehe.

For the time being I decided on Private Reserve carts - good price... not very waterproof but decently fast drying and I love the very vibrant colors.

Mind if I ask what you studied?



Hehe - what is your "grading color"? Every teacher has one... personally, I'm all about Lamy's Red for grading, though I've considered branching out to Noodler's Fox red (so expensive for a 1oz bottle!).

I use J. Herbin Orange Indien and Sheaffer red, nothing too fancy. My mom, also a teacher, corrects with Herbin Rose Cyclamen.

I have to try Lamy red when I run out of red ink.

Cheers

Samovar

If the Pelikano Junior were available in a fine point, they'd be irresistible to me. Even the F Pelikano puts down a wider line than I like, and I don't really see the logic of sending a set of inexpensive pens to Richard for modification that would cost far more than the pens themselves. Given that Pel nibs seem to run a bit wider than their competitors, I would really prefer an EF Junior. For me, their primary purpose is annotation of documents, so I put a lot of tiny print in the margins and between lines.

Has anyone else tried the left-handed version of the Junior? My observation was that the nib was no different--a standard medium. The change was in the section. The shape of the rubberized grip is reversed. That's reasonable for a school pen, but I was a bit frustrated to learn that, despite many retailers' assertions to the contrary, the nib was not oblique.

For the record, I've bottle-filled a Junior several times with a variety of Noodlers and Private Reserve inks (virtually all shades of blue) and never had any trouble with staining the rubber section. They are fun pens, so it may be worth risking a stained section to have a good, durable, inexpensive pen.

As a former teacher, I graded exclusively in Private Reserve Dakota Red. Now I edit documents in Dakota Red or sometimes Levenger Always Greener (if someone else has already taken a pass with red). For me, the search for the perfect green seems even more challenging than blue or red!

I understand your thoughts on the pen and nib... being that I'm a "medium" junkie, the "beginners nib" or the "medium" work just fine for me (though, you're right, they are a little broader than any other medium I've used... pretty wet, too). Definitely not worth it to have it modified, but... I wonder how easy it would be to change the nib out on the Pelikano... if so, you could probably find a spare Pel. nib around somewhere and it would almost certainly be cheaper than modifying the existing one. Of course, that may be a case of casting pearls before swine (not to speak ill of the pelikano, I think we've pretty well established that I'm coo-coo for these things).

Good to know you didn't experience any staining on the bottle fill, by the way, and also to get another confirmation that the pel converter is a-ok in the Pelikano and the Jr.

Also, re: The Perfect green - I'm a sucker for Noodler's Marine Green and also for their Hunter... but I like the darker greens, myself. That is a good editing color, though, for sure. Actually, I think I'm going to go post a topic in ink about grading papers and editing. Hoo hoo hoo!

Edit: Eep! Or I wont... that question seems to have been beaten to a dangerous pulp... better not re-introduce it. It looks like it made a few people angry. Ah, yes, the ink/self esteem debate. We discuss this frequently around the office.

The nib assembly can be pulled out fairly easily, but the nib itself is not attached, so it needs to be positioned carefully before pushing it back into the section.

I had originally bought a Pelikano Jr. as my first fountain pen over the summer, but when school started I wanted something a little less bulky and with a clip. I picked up a green Pelikano and I have loved it ever since, and use it exclusively. Unfortunately, the giant cartridges (GTP/5) that I bought with my Jr. fit in the Pelikano, but very tightly, and they develop little stress fractures at the bottom. It doesn't leak, but it worries me that one day it will. Does anyone else have this problem? In my searches I thought I had read that it could take large cartridges, but if not, oh well, I'll just have to buy some more ink

Just take any converter that is meant to replace international cartridge. Those are made by many companies, for example Pelikan and Rotring.

The rotring I had wobbled around and everytime I flipped the pen over, it popped out