1. First impressions
Some time ago, when I started collecting pens, I got a Pelikan brochure from a penshop. I really liked the classic styling of the Pelikan pens, so I decided I would buy one of those Pelikans sooner or later. A couple of years later I bought an old style M200. This was the pen I wrote with most for the past years. Was, because I lost it a couple of months ago at school. I still have hope that it will one day turn up, but that chance is getting smaller every day.
Two years ago (or three, I don't know exactly), I read a review in Stylophiles about the new colored M200's. I had to get one of these, or, even better, two. Some time later I bought two of these pens from marktplaats (kind of eBay-like site) for 35 euro per pen.
The transparant colors are very nice, this adds a mordern touch t oan otherwise classic pen. The screw-on style cap, well...screws really smooth, better than any other pen in my possession (apart from my M400).
The pens came with a nice presentation box, a bit more substantial than the old Pelikan boxes, as I might add.
2. Appearance & Finish
The pens are made from a shiny kind of plastic. The pen is very well made, the screw-on cap works very smooth, piston filler idem dito.
The not-so-nice thing about these pens is that the goldplating from the nib quickly wears of. Two of the three M200's I had/have in my possession have thi problem. On my first M200 it was so bad, I could scrape it of with my fingernail,
(But the pen wrote deliciously).
See? This looks a bit cheap...
3. Design/Size/Weight
The pens have a classic design, originating from the Pelikans from the 50's. Its size is in the league of Parker Sonnet, Sheaffer Prelude, to name a view. Its weight however, is not. Because the pen is made from plastic, it is very light (13 grams without ink).
4. Nib design & Performance
The nib (wich can easily been screwed out from the section) of the M200 is gold plated stainless steel. The gold quickly wears of (see 2. Appearance & Finish). It has a bit of flex in it, and writes smooth nor scratchy, almost a bit ballpoint-like (both pens do). The pens lay down a wet line.
The pens are very comfortable to hold, you don't get tired when you use one of these.
5. Filling system
A very smooth piston filler, nice! Holds quite a lot of ink.
6. Cost/Value
I got two pens for 70 euro at marktplaats.nl (Dutch website). I believe the retail price of these pens is about 50 or 60 euro, and I think that is too much for an all-plastic pen (although a classic designed pen).
7. Overall Opinion/Conclusion
These pens look nice, the moving parts all move SMOOTH (cap, piston filler). The nibs were a bit of a disappointment, compared to my old M200. A pity that they are made from plastic, I would LOVE to see those pens in stainless steel, that would make it just the ideal pen for me. I doubt that's going to happen in the foreseeable future.
Some additional pictures
This is the brochure I was talking about in "First impressions"
Another page...
Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it!
Wilfred
