Hi, everyone. I'd like to ask your advice about what size nib to get for a Pelikan 1000. I know Pelikan nibs can be broader than, say, Japanese - and that the 1000 is supposed to be a little wetter because of the large nib. I had been infatuated with EF nibs, but I'm over that now - I've been getting used to fine and even medium nibs. If I wanted a line tha was somewhere between a fine and a medium, what do you think I should ask for with a 1000?

This forum is invaluable for relative newbies such as myself, and the advice here is always helpful. Many thanks!
Tom

i have an M1000 and it is very wet (my nib is an OB), so i'd suggest you stick with an F rather than go with an M.

I have the M1000 with a medium nib. It is very wet. I would suggest that you get a fine nib. That would probably write closer to a medium nib in other styles of pens.

I'd get a Medium, and if it's too wide have it customized to a MF or something. Adding would be more costly than reducing I'd think.

I have pel1000 with M nib. Yes, it is wet, but not to broad. It is (IMO) classical M nib. It is certainly not like other broad nibs (e.g.: VP broad nib, lamy vista broad nib ...). The nib has a bit of flex and I like it very much.
(PS: my preferences goes toward broader nibs)

Hi. I have a M1000 with a EF nib and it writes like a fine.

Regards,

Ronin

either fine or medium.

Thanks, all! This forum comes through again! I think I'll be angling for a fine, based on what you all said.

If you're looking for further confirmation, my own M200 M nib -- kind of altogether a few miles away from what you are considering -- is without a doubt butter-smooth, but for the same reasons as folks are expressing elsewhere in this thread, I am going to switch to a Binder F nib.

Enjoy your new pen!!

I can only confirm the above but hey, I'm not one of the first replies here....
... Even more than the Ms up to, say 800 and 900 the M 1000 's nib writes even broader than expected. So think about a fine or medium. I prefer broad but I'd pick medium here.
Long story short: for that state or level of FP quality, buy a pen in a shop where you can try everything on for size before buying. Not on ebay etc!!!

Whew!

Depending on your personal psychology and such, if you want to make sure you get the perfect nib that flows exactly as you want it to flow, buy the pen from Richard Binder and discuss with him what you want. OUt of the box, a Pelikan 1000 nib will likely run wet and wide. If you let him know what you want, that is what you will get. I have two Pelikan 1000 Medium nibs that I bought from him and they write what I think most people would call a standard medium line that is superbly tolerant of the angle at which it is held. Out of the box, the mediums are wet and full, and they can be a hint dry on the upstroke if you hold your pen at a very high angle.

If you like the idea of a full flow and somewhat wet nib, then an out of the box nib will be great. Writing with one of these nibs that is on the wet side is fun and a somewhat unique experience compared to the usual Parker or Waterman nib.

But when the flow is so wet and heavy it reduces the pen's use, IMO, in the sense that you can't use it on crummy paper or write small with it. Again, maybe this is not an issue for you. I guess it depends somewhat on what you want and the circumstances under which you are generally writing.

Just something to think about. enjoy, j

I have Pelikan 1000 fine and it writes close to a broad which drives me crazy. I suggest the x-fine or something motified

I'll second the recommendation that you contact Richard Binder. I recently purchased an M1000 from him with an XF nib. He doesn't carry stock Pelikan XF nibs because they don't meet his quality control standards. Should you want a Pelikan with an XF nib, he will customize/adjust a F nib to write like an XF. As a leftie who sometimes struggles with off the shelf nibs, I've found his nib work (and customer service) to be reliably great. I may change my forum name to "M1000Fan."

Tom, I find a Pelikan Fine is just about the same as a Medium in most other brands.
So, when I purchased my M1000, I chose an Extra-Fine. I found it smooth and flexible, and it put down a line like the Pelikan Fine nib on my M800's.
If you can dip one...do so, as Pelikan nibs all have their own character.

Be well,
Pelikanyo Paul

I found that a M 1000 with EF nib flowed well but wan't as fine as I expected it to be.

Using Herbin ink it feathered so I changed to PRLake Placid Blue and this firmer ink gave the sort of line I wanted but it was still mor like a fine nib than an EF.

So in January 2008 I sent it to John Mottishaw because I knew that he had had great success withe his remarkable 'double eye' pen conversions. John reground the nib to an extra fine point. He drilled a second vent hole and took the cut higher to connect it.

This gave me a delicate and finer line, it increased flexibility and provided a little extra ink flow (since I prefer 'gusher' pens).

I filled it with PR Lake Placid Blue and it worked perfectly.

Maybe this sounds like a lot of bother but I now have a virtually unique pen that delights me whenever I use it. Thank you, John.

Solitaire.

Solitaire-- Could you say a little more about this double eye conversion. I have not heard of that. Now you have the perfect pen for you, and there is certainly nothing odd about spending a little extra time and money to achieve perfection. Congrats, j

I read about John Mottishaw's unique modification in one of the pen magazines.

He drills a second hole a liitle above the regular one. On this M 1000 he has chosen a place where it fits neatly into the pattern on the nib. This effectively increases the length of the tines by about 1.0-mm (if my measuring glass serves me correctly). Now we must take into account the fact that the M1000 nib is very big. So the tines of it (when measured from tip to second hole) are a remarkable 14-mm

I believe John also thins the nib a little to add to the increased flex.
I like the result very much but I believe John would prefer to do his double-eye modification on 14-k nibs.

In the intrests of accuracy I should add that the collector on the M1000, like that on most modern pens, is large, and it extends well towards the nib tip. So the amount of flex is maybe a little limited by this collector.

To compare another notably flexible nib the Nakaya 'elastic nib' has large bites taken from bother sides of the nib. This works well but the tines of my Nakaya are only 11-mm.

I hear someone shouting 'What about the Namiki Falcon'?' and I have to say that pen uses other nib ideas. Narrow tines below the heart hole and then a crimp to add strength to the nib which it needs because of the thinness of the metal.

My Falcon was also given added flex by JM who thinned the tines and shaped the shoulders. This is a lovely soft nib that is high on my list of favourites (along with the two pens mentioned above) but John warned me that it will not bear heavy pressure without the danger of the tines bending back and remaining distorted. (This can happen in such a slight way that it is not apparent without a magnifier - but the pen will write rough.)

Sorry to be so long-winded but I couldn't answer more briefly
Solitaire

Not long winded at all. Just complete. Thank you! Sounds like you made excellent choices and ended up with some really superb pens!!! J

Again, thanks to everyone for their careful, helpful feedback. All of this gives me a lot to chew on before I buy an M1000 - that idea of having John M. modify the nib sounds very good. He modified an M400 for me, making it a razor-sharp EF - great for taking notes or using on porous papers!

Since writing about the double-eye pen, I went and measured the tines of my MB 149. To my surprise they measure 14.3-mm.

My 149 is very old. I bought it in the 1970s and I remember that new, in a fancy pen shop in London, it cost fifteen UK pounds (ie $30.)

The nib appears to be fine but is not marked with a size. I believe the 149 nibs have not changed much (although the 149 collectors have changed frequently over the years and they provide a way of dating the 149s)

I am indebted to you for getting me into measuring the tines - I'd never thought of doing this before. It's been most interesting for me and helped me understand some of the writing characteristics of my pens
Incidentaly sometone working for MB told me last month that when he went to the factory (I don't know where or when) the MB 149 nibs were made apart from all other nibs. I wonder if this means that they are made by MB while the rest are made by Bock.
Sounds like the 149 nibs are very special.
Anyone know?
Sollitaire.

This is Solitaire again.
I know this is a thread about the M 1000 and I want to say that I am a Pelikan fan.

I thnk the 149 and the Pelikan M 1000 are about equal in quality.

I have reservations about most MB pens (despite the way in which I prefer piston fillers).
However the MB 149 is different to all other MB pens (even the acrylic and the thickness of it is different) that it deserves a separate postion in the world of pen classics.

Solitaire.