Greetings.

I should start by saying i know nothing about pens. Seriously. But i have been given the daunting task of buying a pen for a pen lover. This is a fellow who has a deep passion for the subject, I know this because he has on more than one occasion, talked endlessly and passionately about them.

In any case, he is moving away, and a large group of us are chipping in to get him a very nice gift. Normally this would be an impossible task for me. Luckily thought, I once asked him what his dream pen was, and he told me it was, without a doubt, the Pelikan M 1000. At which point he went on to elaborate about how it fit his hand, how it laid down alot of ink for his writing style, etc.

So here is my dilemma;

Firstly, where would i go to purchase one? I tried Laywines in Toronto, and their price was $800. wow. Now we would be able to pay that, but i would rather get it mail-order, and get his wife something too. Ive read negative things about PenGallery, so id like to get something in the continental United States.

Secondly, selecting the nib. Is there some exchange policy in case i get the wrong size for him? (I was going to go with medium)

Thirdly, Black or Green. Which one is perfered? Which one would you personally want?

Lastly. I would want to get him a very fine ink. Blue. Sujestions?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Hi Big J,
This one is easy - I would order the M1000 from Richard Binder (Richardspens.com - no affiliation). He's an extremely respected member of the fountain pen community and will adjust the pen so that it writes PERFECTLY (and it looks like he's selling it for $490, which is quite a bit better than your other price). You might ask your friend what kind of nib he wants - fine, medium, bold, or something more exotic - Richard can do any of these, but it's better to ask ahead of time than to exchange it. He is based in the US, but I don't think this will be a huge problem.

You have a huge selection of inks, and very few of them cost more than about $20. You might get him an assortment of Pelikan inks, since they have a very good reputation and match the pen (NB that there's no particularly compelling reason to use the same brand of ink as the pen, but I thought it would make for a nicer gift package). Aurora Blue ink also has a good reputation and comes in an attractive bottle.

I would get the pen in black - I think it's a more subtle look, and will put the emphasis on the pen's beautiful nib and fittings.

The M1000 has a devoted following in pendom, and it will make a very nice, thoughtful gift for your friend. Welcome to FPN! Sure you wouldn't like to pick up a little something for yourself while you're at it? Maybe a little M200 (what you might call a "gateway pen")?

Excellent! The price looks very reasonable at this site. I wonder if it comes in a box.

While i cant ask him directly what nib he wants, i know one of his friends that could be of assistance, and feel him out. This is one topic in which he has no shortage of opinons.


Believe me when i say it is tempting to pursue interest in fountain pens. Especially after how they have been described to me. When i asked why he had such a love for them, he replied:

"When you get to my age, you start to become more anti-technology. You laptop will break, or stop working, or run out of power, just when you need it most. But fountain pens are always ready for you when you need them. And when you take a fine pen, and feel how it runs effortlessly across the page, writing stops being a task ... it becomes an experience!"

On that note, i will be sure to take the Pelikan out for a test run before i give it to him. Maybe ill have to stop wallowing in my ignorance of pens. Then again, maybe its better to not know what im missing. Ive heard on FPN how addictive these things are.

The Pelikan M1000 is an excellent pen. It's even better that he knows for sure that he wants it. My suggestions run this way: get him to say what nib width he prefers; for instance, ask him subtlely what sort of line variety fountain pens in general can achieve: he will probably talk for 15 minutes about different types of nibs, but will probably get around to what he likes best. If he likes a thin line, get him an F nib, etc. From what I read in your post, though, a wet ink flow seems to be what he likes, so that's a start.

As far as vendors go, I second the recommendation of Richard Binder. John Mottishaw of www.nibs.com is also a great technician who will adjust the pen to perfection - his prices are similar. I do recommend that you buy from one of these guys - it's the difference between him having to send the pen in for warranty immediately because of a faulty nib (which happens fairly often) and a magical writing experience that beats even the best unadjusted pens. This is the greatest factor in your purchase, especially since you're buying for someone who knows pens!

Pengallery is a reliable seller; there are many members of this forum, including me, who have bought multiple times from them without any trouble at all. They are a legit brick-and-mortar shop in Malaysia, so they don't sell fakes or scam you.

As for the pen color, I would personally go with the green stripes. It has been Pelikan's traditional color since the 1920's and it does not look gaudy. Not only is it beautiful, but it will set this pen apart from the multitude of black pens already on the market. Your friend probably owns a ton of black pens already!

As for ink, I would recommend Pelikan black, brown, or purple - the other Pelikan colors, including the blue, seem a bit more washed out. However, purple inks do tend to stain after constant use, so this may not be a good choice for a translucent pen like the M1000. In my opinion, however, there are more interesting inks out there like Visconti Blue, Noodler's Zhivago, the other Pendemonium Noodler's exclusives like Legal Lapis, Violet Vote (formerly Iraqi Indigo), and Bulletproof Brown. If your friend is a literary type, Noodler's Heart of Darkness might be good. If he loves black inks, Noodler's Old Manhattan Blackest Black (Fountain Pen Hospital exclusive) would be something special. I like Aurora inks, but their bottles tend to be a pain for pens with such large nibs like the M1000. After you get about halfway through, it's hard to fill the pen up. The Private Reserve line is also excellent; their DC Supershow blues are the place to look if your friend is partial to blue ink. (Avoid Noodler's Baystate BLue in this pen; it can stain the translucent portions.) If you know what colors he prefers, we can suggest the perfect ink.

I hope this helps and is not too overwhelming!

Best,
Summer Greer

Buy the pen from richardspens.com - his price is good and he will make sure the pen writes properly before he mails it. Does the recipient know you're getting him a pen? If he does, so there's no surprise to ruin, ask him what his nib size preference is (fine, medium, broad, etc.) and ask whether he also likes italics/stubs or obliques - for an extra fee Richard Binder will regrind the nib accordingly before sending it. If the gift is a surprise, don't worry - all this can be done after you give him the pen. (A safe default nib size is, perhaps unsurprisingly, medium.) As for appearance, I would get the green/black stripe - it's the classic, distinctive Pelikan "look" and has, with good reason, been around for almost 60 years (far longer than this particular model of pen); I don't think any colour combination on a pen looks better than this.

As for ink, while it's a nice idea to include a bottle or two, since the recipient is pen enthusiast he likely has more than enough already and may have whatever ink you decide to give him - so you could probably skip it. Otherwise, there are lots of blues out there to choose from and chances are you'll get dozens of conflicting recommendations. It's not my favorite, but Pelikan's own Royal Blue would at least be appropriate (and isn't controversial like some brands, notably Private Reserve and Noodlers - I'm very keen on Private Reserve's various blues, but not everyone likes how their inks behave; your colleague may be one of them). Again, if surprise isn't a concern, you could ask him what he likes/wants.

Simon

It will DEFINITELY come in a box... if bought from a reputable seller like Richard Binder...

Your other options if thats still too much money is to get them from www.pengallery.com or www.melspens.com

Both are Malasyan companies (where Chartpak is based out of) and they sell Pelikans for very reasonable prices. I think an M1000 from them is around $380 USD. Both are reliable sellers, highly rated in the Pelikan forum, plus I myself have bought from them and not been dissapointed, fast delivery and great customer service

If price is a big concern, you will be able to get a better deal from other reputable online retailers like Pam Braun at oscarbraunpens.com. But as has been suggested by others above, Richard Binder or John Mottishaw at nibs.com will be your best options here because they can adjust the nib and make sure it writes perfect right out of the box. A special occasion deserves a special gift. Your friend can always do a nib exchange through chartpak.com (the Pelikan warranty service provider in the U.S.). Not a big deal, but it will take a little bit of time.

I would like to also chime in for the black and green stripe model. It screams "Pelikan" and looks very nice. I have one with a fine nib and it's awesome.

Not much more I can to the above so all I can say is you came to the right place with your questions and tell your friend to join us here at FPN. If you hang around long enough you might want a pen of your own

I have had Chartpak send me spare parts before on a pen less than 24 hours after talking to them. They do overnight delivery if you are nice and explain the urgency.

However, I would say that 95% of Pelikans will work 100% straight out of the box, however, there is always that small chance you might get that 5% with a scratchy nib, but Chartpak can help you there with their lightning fast service.

I say its worth the $100 savings and get the M100 for $380 or so from Pam Braun or Pen Gallery

I would second the green stripes. As said before it is the traditional Pelikan colour. You see green stripes and you know it is a Pelikan. You see a black pen and it can be any pen.

As for ink I would add a bottle of Pelikan blue to give him the traditional Pelikan pen and ink combination.

Ink is a question of taste and mood and if your friend uses fountainpens frequently, he has his collection of favourite inks already. No need to worry about another ink.

I'll echo the recommendation to purchase a M1000 from Richard Binder. I would go with the green/black for reasons already stated and I would see if you can discern your friend's preferred nib prior to ordering. Since this fellow is already a pen person of some depth, he probably has an extensive selection of inks already. Another suggestion for an accessory gift would be a leather pen case to fit the M1000 - a one or two pen case. /Craig

regina martini sells them for 350

medium would be great - it is a bit flex nib

black is more elegant, green striated is more classic, I have bought green striated because of the memoires, in 1960 (as my first FP) I owned green striated pel 140.

I recommend mixture:
10 parts of pelikan 4001 blue ink
10 parts of pelikan 4001 green ink
1 part of pelikan 4001 black ink
you will get very elegant and polite dark blue-greenish colour, which suits perfectly to the green striated pelikan souveran series

Wow. What excellent support! I must say ive never seen such assistance from any forum ive ever commented on. You folks must either be the most courteous or the most passionate about you obsession to be so helpful. Maybe ill have to stick around a while...

richardspens.com seems the best place to order from. I need zero chance of error, and having it tuned (for lack of a better word) by them seems the only way.

The green striped Pelikan seems unanimously to be the wisest choice. All that remains is to find a suitable ink, for which i now have many suggestions. Ill drop by a Laywines and see if i can get them to let me try one of their fountain pens, by buying their ink. Ive personally never even used one. <GASP> And im not about to try out the M1000. Im way too nervous that Ill some how wreck it, or make it "broken in". I guess ill leave it virgin for him.

ask Richard what ink to buy when u order the pen--he will direct you properly

Talking about Richard and inks - it's pity he doesn't sell inks himself. I'll be ordering a pen from him and definitely would like to have something more special to put in it, however buying anything from the States is expensive.

You can read his "Inks: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" at this link.

Bill

I do not know Laywines, but if it is a decent brick and mortar pen vendor, they would probably be glad to let you try any pen you like. They might even help you with how to write with a fountain pen, how to care for it, load it with ink, etc. Depending on how you write and any sort of budget limit you might have, they should also recommend a pen to try as well as different nib sizes to suit your taste.

You should know that a Medium nib is different for each pen manufacturer. I won't go into it here, but once you have experimented a little, you can find on Richard Binder's website (I think) a discussion of the differences in nib sizes for different manufacturers.

Once you have chosen a pen, then all you have to do is choose an ink color! Poor analogy, but that's like choosing a tie to match your shirt - day of the week, mood, other elements will all play into what color you choose. If you think selecting a pen is hard, wait until you see all of the shades of every color of the rainbow (and some you did not even know existed)!

Good Luck and have a lot of fun!!

I read the article on ""Inks: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly". Its very informative, but somewhat overwhelming. I did notice some of the inks lower down on the scale are ones used by many here. (not white-out of course). I suppose there is no such thing as the perfect ink, but a trade off of color, viscosity, flow, performance and such. Very deep. I do like the idea of mixiing Pelikan 4001 black, green and Blues, for a nice compliment for the Pel, though. Darn, i can really see myself getting sucked in to this.

Yes, it's very interesting and I read it with great interest, but I meant something different. I'll be buying a pen from him, so I'll have to pay for shipping one way or another. So I'd like to buy some ink for the same shipping as well, but he doesn't sell them. That's my point.

Sorry to revive an old post, but i just wanted to thank everyone here for the support with picking out the appropriate M 1000. The recipient loved it! He let my give it a whirl, in comparison to one of his other steel nib fountain pens, and was able to see the amount of finesse in such a fine piece of work. Although in my personal taste, the medium nib, puts down too much ink. Good to know if i ever decide to invest in a M 200 myself. In any case, thanks all for the support!