Hi, people...
I'm a noob to working on fountain pens and ask for your help...

I truly enjoy my Trad 215 fp pen but, over the past years, it has gotten 'scratchy'. I always wanted to replace it with a Pelikan gold-nib (fine-point), but:

1. Can it be done?
2. If so, where could I just purchase the right-size gold-nib?

Thanks to all.

Surflord

Hi Surflord:

Yes and it is very easy to change the nib, Look at the table at the botton of the Pleikan page in: http://www.richardspens.com/

You may buy a M250 nib, single tone 14k gold nib, or a M400 two tone 14k gold nib.

I have a M215, I bought it with a medium nib, too scratchy, poor flow, but I could better the flow. I changed the nib for a golden plated Broad nib, like butter. The M200 gold plated nibs are too much cheper.

Hope helps,

Julio

http://www.nibs.com/PelikanNibsAvailableForCusto.htm Is another site with Pelikan nibs and what fits what. Richard's site is too difficult for me to navigate.

May I ask, in all seriousness, why? What is difficult about it for you?

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Thanks for all your help. I went to Mr. Binder's site and selected the M400 fine nib. Can't wait!
Smooooooth writing...here I come!
Surflord

It is probably just me, but half the time i can't find what I want to find. Just now it I had to look in five different places before I found the link for the nibs. I actually gave up, did a google search and found the site I posted easier then I found the nibs on your site, but it wasn't until I came back again that I was able to locate the part on Pelikan nibs. I often am frustrated navigating around your site. I find things by accident more often than by design. Sorry, I do prefer your site. I find it very informative and valuable when i can find the stuff I want to see. As i said, maybe it is just me. I am not really internet versant but usually can get around other sites.

OK to give you specifics, I just went back to try to find Pelikan nibs and could not find it again. I looked under pens & nibs, accessories and tools, reference, quick search:Pelikan nibs, Pelikan, specialaty sites, advanced search pelikan nibs, pelikan 200, pelikan compare side by side.. I did not find the nib site again.

i once tried to order a pen from you and after 30 minutes of trying, I figured I'd have to call on the phone but it was after hours so I ordered from another site that let me do it on line.

while I found the search to readily lead me to a number of possibilities, and "sales lobby" was, to me, an obvious choice, I think the problem in this particular case is that there is no specific page for "just nibs" that jumps out at you. You have to click on "Pens & Specialty Nibs", then "Specialty nibs", then look through the text for this phrase, which also doesn't jump out at you, "We also stock standard (unmodified) round nibs for most Pelikan models"

OR

Click on New Pens (that part for finding Pelikans to order seems fairly clear), then "Pelikan", then either scroll down to where the models are listed and you will find "Standard nibs" or scroll further (about 3/4 down the page) to find the nib chart or click on "We stock Fine, Medium, Broad, and Extra Broad nibs" in the text of the third paragraph.

I periodically think about getting more specialty nibs and find myself going through this process. I think the problem with nibs in particular (I see no confusion on ordering a pen) is that there should be a more direct route. Separate "Nibs" from the model number link. Not just "specialty nibs" but all nibs. From a hierarchical view, looking for nibs only would be easier (for the way I think) as

Brand > Nibs > Standard or Specialty

OR

Nibs > Brand > Standard or Specialty

Either way, at this point, the listing for Standard nibs is not an obvious link and of course, all of the above, depends on how obvious you (Richard) really want it to be.

Again, ordering a new pen seems pretty clear *unless* one wants to order a new pen with a specialty nib. That's a couple of extra steps but not hard to find.

just my .02 based on how my fuzzy brain works.

Here's a few answers from Krautland (just 3 h off from Hannover):
(1) Yes, you can switch the 215 nibs easily. I tried it out mself but then remained with the siver (rhodium coated) original nib for two reasons: (i) The silver nib looked better since all of the rest of the finishings on a 215 are rhodium anyways, and (ii) a gold nib didn't write any better, at all.
(2) I did this all here in Berlin so I can't help you out with a nearby location, but since Pelikan has such a decent and friendly service, that should be possible anywhere!

Mike

Here we go....
Now don't get me wrong but I myself think that Richard's site is very easy to navigate. Okay, I myself sometimes need a few seconds to think about where I want to go (in his site) etc (blah blah...) but I {a} always find what I'm looking for there.... and.... {b} the time I spend there is still nothing in comparison with the hours I spend everywhere else in the internet (blah ditto).
(Sorry Richard)

Mike

Regarding Mr. Binder: As I recall (and I could be thinking of somebody else's site entirely), my only complaint about it is that if I try to force pages into new tabs, the pages don't open.

As to Pelikan nibs, yes, anything that's roughly the same size as an M200 nib is completely interchangeable, requiring no tool more specialized than your fingers. But you could end up with a nib that's too big for your cap to fit over without screwing it up.

Thanks for the info Mike. I feel more secure with the site of Mr. Binder b/c he will check the flow of the nib to ensure that it is smooth-writing.

My mainissue is function over looks and with the two-tone nib...it will be the only M215 stylin' & profilin'...

? Tines became misaligned?

I'm not sure, but I suspect that this is a browser problem on your end. Opening a page of my site in a new tab works for me in Firefox, Opera, and Safari. The page appears in a new tab, reloading itself into the frameset just as it should.