I have a few Pelikan's that currently have a fine nib...I generally like fine to extra fine nibs..and the ones on my Peli's
are a bit closer to medium.

Question on extra fine Pelikan nibs..how scratchy are they? Is it better to go through Chartpak or to a nibmeister?

Thanks in advance.

Factory EF's are know to tend to be scratchy. I bought one and found this to be true. Richard Binder won't sell you a Factory EF without 'tuning' it first. I would go to him if I were you.

The other consideration is that Chartpak would do it free...

I've had so so luck with Pelikan XF. (All seem scratchy to me and they write wise). If you really want an xf (which I prefer to use myself) one really needs to send it to someone to get it ground and smoothed properly. The other possiblity is to go vintage Pelikan. My vintage XF's are the best I own. When thinking about purchasing a Pelikan I calculate into it the cost of having the nib worked on by a nibmeister. The best moden XF I have found is a Sailor F (since they run narrower than American/European widths). Sailor proves it is possible to make a smooth, reliable XF.

From the sounds of it much depends on your luck, I only have one EF in an M800 and it writes very smoothly, looked pretty new when I got it and seller said only used a couple of times but just too fine for him, so probably hadn't been smoothed down by use.

Andy

Pel EFs have a reputation for being very inconsistent, both in terms of smoothness and line width. Unfortunately, your best bet is to get one from a nibmeister. Richard is great, as are others. No affiliation, just a happy repeat customer.

Lets see if I remember this correctly as it was from reading different posts................

""Pelikan gold EF nibs have such a bad rep that Richard Binder sells Pelikan EFs that he grinds from Fs and Dillon attends to all that pass through his hands.""

If I have that wrong, someone will correct it.

I understand the safest bet is to talk to either of them or one of the other folks who both sells and grinds them on a regular basis.

I have an M605 EF and it truly sucks. It was the replacement for the first nib I got with the pen which also truly sucked. Eventually I will have to discuss doing something with it but I haven't been in the mood for the last year.

I have a Steel Pelikan EF in a M200 and it, although it is nothing special, is satisfactory.

Best of luck.................

I enjoy my EF Pelikan nibs and after more than a dozen of them I am fairly confident in them. I have not had to send any back to Pelikan nor have I had to purchase a F ground to an EF, all of them are factory ground EFs. I have purchased two custom nibs that are finer than the EF. But all in all I have had a great experience with the Pelikan EF nibs and will continue to purchase them.

I got one correct Pelikan EF out of seven I tried last year... of the pens I kept, I eventually had Richard grind the nibs to XXXF.

Two new Pelikan pens should arrive in my mailbox this week, both with factory EF nibs - it will be interesting to see if things are any different this time around.

please let us know how this turns out--I'm in the same boat--send the F's to be exchanged for free or just assume they will suck and have someone work on the F's. I'm thinking I need to stop buying Pelikan Pens...

I have a Pelikan M100 with EF nib (factory) and it is not scratchy at all, nor is it particularly EF. It writes pretty much the same as my M200 with Binderized F nib. In any case, Richard Binder, according to his web site, does not tune the factory EF nib, but rather regrinds another nib down to EF size, which I suppose would enhance the consistency of flow, etc, which apparently the factory EF does not have.
Donnie

Okay guys let us remember one thing Pelikan gets their nibs from Bock. The pen bodies are very good pens. Take the M605, you can pick that up for $119, what other pen with a piston filler and 18k nib of that size can you get for that price? So if you have to spend another $30-$40 getting the nib customized, so what. Yes I know you should not have to, but to have a pen that holds that much ink and is that reliable then modify the nib.

Otherwise, that just means more for me!

The M400 had a pretty good EF nib - as in, I can actually use it and not have my letters obscured by ink. The M450 EF is sort of hopeless. Richard will receive it in a couple of months and turn it into a 0.3 Cursive Italic anyway!

I don't have access to a facility like Chartpak... Pelikan AU charge $25 just to hear about your pen, so I would at least give Chartpak a try!

Hi PelikanPenman,

• How much finer are those custom nibs compared to a 'standard' Pelikan EF?
• Were they purchased from a nibmeister?

OK. One more question . . . I am still planning to buy a Majesty, but I'm between a rock and a hard place trying to decide which nib (F vs. EF) to get with the darned thing... I fully realize it always boils down to a personal choice, but even so, your suggestions would be most welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks a lot in advance.

Cheers!

Clive,

Do you have a fine in one of your current Pelikans? I have a few and they write more like everyone elses mediums. I have grown to like the ef size and ordered one to replace my BB in my 800. It was as everyone said inconsistant and scratchy. I tuned it up my self and was finally happy with it. If I was doing it over again I would go to Richard Binder and get an EF from him. He can make all the way down to an XXXXF so it can go as thin as you are brave enough to use!

Hi Perry,

Not one Fine in the bunch... But I hear you regarding the EF from Richard Binder... it makes a great deal of sense - thanks!

BTW - How did you tune your Fine?

Would you consider ordering a finer nib than a EF (from Richard) in the future?.. The reason I ask is that I received a VP Decimo a couple of weeks ago with a scratchy F nib, then, almost immediately, ordered a 'tuned' Fine nib from Richard Binder to remedy the situation... I really like the width of the new nib -- and was wondering, based on your experience, just how much finer, say, a Pelikan XXF (Binderized) would be compared to the Decimo Fine?

Thanks a lot for taking your valuable time to help me, Perry.

-Clive

well, I have all F's on my Pelikans and have finally decided to have the two newest swapped to XF's by Chartpak to see for myself how Pelikan XF's do--I'll post my experience when I get them back. Their regular F's tend to be too broad for my tastes, though there is some pretty significant variance between different nibs of the theoretic same width I notice with Pels.

Look here to see just how fine Mr Binder's nibs can go: http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=32136

...and with the above message, I hit 1500 posts! Go me!

Congrats on 1500 Phthalo!!!
With the nibs you like, you should change the note under your avatar to Super Fine!!

Clive - I have a polishing stick (think big emery board for pens) I picked up from a restorer, it has three fine grades of polishing surface (two on one side one on the other). Start on the roughest making figure 8's and making writing motions with an inked pen, then to the finer grade and then to the finest. Try the pen and if not smooth enough repeat process. I've fixed up about 1/2 dozen fine to EF nibs this way. The only thing to be carefull about is if you get carried away you end up with a broader writing nib in addition to it being smoother. Made that mistake once, so I am more careful.

Scubie,

Please do post your experience once get your XF nibs back from Chartpak. It would be very much appreciated!

Best Regards,

-Clive

Laura,

That was truly an exquisite post -- filled with very useful, detailed information... Thank you.

What a glamorous collection (below)... And to think -- all have been custum-tuned by the Nibmeister himself... WOW!!!




Thanks again, Laura, for providing the forum with your informative and thoughtful post.

Best Regards,

-Clive

Perry,

Thank you so very much for describing your FP tuning procedure!

Question: Does the polishing stick you described use replaceable polishing surfaces, or do you have to throw the whole thing out and by a new one each time it wears out?

Just guessing here . . . but I wonder if one could use a flat piece of material (metal comes to mind) and to it, mechanically attach varying grades of wet/dry sandpaper or emery cloth, in lieu of using a dedicated polishing stick?

I enjoy figuring out how things work . . . and once I have, I further enjoy improving upon them... Fountain pens have so captivated my interests that I'd now like to see what 'makes them tick.'

Best Regards,

-Clive

I just went through three rounds of trying to get a suitable XF nib for my m800 with Chartpak. This last time, Abi sent me an XF and a Fine. The XF was fairly smooth and sufficiently wet, but, it had the same stroke width as the Fine nib! So, I kept the Fine and will return the XF. The Fine was close to a true fine, which is what I was looking for.

Out of four extra fine nibs that I tried, they were all scratchy and/or had terrible feeds and skipped. How is it that Pelikan can produce such excellent fine nibs and such terrible extra fine nibs? They all come from the same place.

I'm happy with the nib I have now and should get a lot of use out of it. One day, I'll get it tuned or purchase another nib for the body.

Jonro,

What a pain!..I really and truly want to buy a Pelikan Majesty with an XF, but I'm leery about doing so, especially after hearing what you've suffered through . . . not to mention so many others, as well...OTOH, PelikanPenman has had very good luck with his EFs...See what I mean?!??..It's a crap shoot, at best.

Maybe the (OK, one of the) safest methods of securing a stellar-writing EF (XF) nib is to purchase the pen from a nibmeister directly - and have him make absolutely certain that its EF (XF) nib writes as you wish before it's shipped to you, or it's no deal.

Best Regards,

-Clive

I bought a Pelikan 150 brand new with an non-custom EF nib. It was a bit scratchy at first, but at the time I couldn't distinguish that from the feel I get from using a regular rolling-ball or gel pen. After a few months of use, it smoothed out. It feels great now.

My experience with Pelikan EF nibs out of the box has been at 50%....the EF 14K two-tone for the M400 was nice and smooth. The EF two-tone 14K for the M600, not so much.

I've not had any Pelikan XFs, owning only one modern M405 with a fine nib. The XF problems thing almost put me of of buying a Pelikan, as I can't stand much thicker than XF, but the fine has proved alright. Looking at the prices, I wish I had gone vintage instead. (in fact, maybe I'll find an opportunity to sell the M405 and go vintage... hmm... good idea...)

How are the Pelikan vintage XFs? Specifically on the 140.

Vintage vs. Modern? They might as well be from different companies....or planets. I have a few vintage 100's and a 100N. One of the 100's has a fairly firm xf (maybe xxf) nib. Smooth and reliable. Can't speak for the 140's. As usual... try before you buy if you can.

Generally I prefer wet F- or M-nibs, but I have two vintage EF (=XF) nibs and they are good writers, smooth and without scratchiness.
I would try a vintage pen if you can find one ....

I've replaced my M150 with an M250 to tide me over while the M150 is being fixed (ran it thought the wash). This new nib is very scratchy. Around here, people occasionally leave behind plastic emery boards with extremely fine grits. These, I'm told, are intended for polishing the surface of the nail rather than shaping the edge. I'm thinking that this would be the ideal tool for polishing the tip of a scratchy nib. I'll have to see if I can find one of these boards on the way home.

I must have gotten lucky on the first shot with my M150's buttery smooth XF nib. I miss that feeling.

It didn't work. Sending it back to Chartpak...