Please help me decide (unbiased please) between Pelikan SOUVERAN M400 Plunger Fountain Pen or Lamy 2000?

Both are great pens and you will be happy with both. But the Pelikan, IMO, is much much prettier. Nibs on both are great too.

Erick

Check this out, great information:

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...=68913&st=0

I have no idea what you mean by "unbiased" but I would say that the 400 isn't that much different than the 200 to justify the price increase. Of course, if the money isn't that big of a deal, the 400s look much cooler than the 200s.

Lamy 2000 is a torpedo shape and larger than the Lamy 2000

The 400 especially the Blue Stripe Sovereign is an elegant pen with a great nib (both visually and in how it writes). It holds lots of ink and is a great writer.

The Lamy 2000 is a much plainer pen more utilitarian. The nibs write great and are hooded so you really don't see much nib and they don't dry out when you leave the cap off for a good while.

They are both piston fillers and hold lots of ink. I have and love both. The 400 is much shorter than the 2000 4 7/8" vs 5 3/8". The Pelikan has a screw on cap and gold appointments. The Lamy has a click on cap and brushed stainless appointments. Both are sturdy well made pens. The Lamy will take a lot rougher treatment with out injury.

I don't think you would be displeased with either pen.

Or do like I did and buy both!

My answer is a bit biased, as it is what I ended up doing: get a Lamy 2000 and a vintage 400/400N/400NN. You get the awesome writer that is the Lamy 2k; you also get a super smooth vintage Pelikan, with better looks (IMHO!) and better flex. Going used on the Lamy 2000, you could end up with both for $150-$170 as opposed to just the M400 for $155+.

$200 with a new Lamy 2000, if you must.

Aaron

I think it depends on what you want to use the pen for. With the Pelikan M400 looking prettier in my opinion it is something I would use to write a letter to someone, poetry or other creative things.

The more functional look of the Lamy 2000 would be something I would use to write essays or other technical documents.

Hope that helps!

I have a Pelikan 400NN btw and I love it. I don't have a Lamy 2000 but hope to own one someday.

Hi,

I would go for the Pelikan because the Lamy 2000 is more prone to splash small droplets if you happen to put it down a little too hard or if you accidentally shake or flick it. Also, in the cap, there is a brass bolt that corrodes with exposure to ink. When I had a Lamy 2000, I would place a bit of orthodontic wax in there and neatly tamp it down so that it would be perfectly flat and look good cosmetically to seal away the head of the brass bolt to keep it from corroding.

Otherwise both are fine pens.

Dillon

They are both good pens, but they feel very differently from each other in the hand. I find the 200/400 size a little small for me, and I find the Lamy 2000 very comfortable for me. It would be good if you could try both pens before buying, but both of them have very good re-sale value, if you find the 400 too small or that you don't like the shape (or ears) of the L2K.

good luck with your choice
Bill

Hello from a very hot Mad Pen in England
I own both pens so I think I can give you an unbiased opinion. As my fellow contributors rightly said both nibs are first-class but I have to admit that my "400" is really a Toledo M700 with an 18K nib. Having said that I agree that you might find it a bit on the small side (I do) while the Lamy is "handier".
As I said in my Lamy 2000 review elsewhere on the FPN network the ink control window IMHO is not of much use while on the Pelikan you can see clearly how much or how little is left.
I hope I have been of some help. Best wishes.

If you ask this question in a Pelikan forum you are not likely to get an unbiased reply!

I have several Pelkans including a 300, 205, 250, 605 and 805. I also have the Lamy 2000. I would choose the Lamy over all of the Pelikans except the 805. I write a lot of short notes and this suits the Lamy better than the Pelikans because the cap is a snap on one, compared to Pelikan's screw off/on. The only advantage with the Pelikan is the ease of buying and changing nibs compared to the Lamy. Although there is nothing complex about changing the Lamy nib/feed almost no-one seems to do it. You would want to carry the Pelikan in a case if you want to keep it pristine, whereas the Lamy shrugs off being treated badly!

Hm... an unbiased opinion. Is that an oxymoron?

Honestly, I would love to have a 2000 but the little metal bits that act as part of the cap clutch mechanism get in my way. Right where I grip. For most people I think they are so small that they don't mind them much. Eventually I'll buy one and hope that I can adjust to it. Pelikan lines are more "classic" but I like wouldn't call the 2000 "plain" as much as just not "classic". The 2000 has the benefit, IMO, of having a lot of range for different grips (except mine) because of the barrel shape.

Wow, quality control must be going down


I've never had my 2000 splash or drip as described. As for the cap, cleaning it can be a little difficult, but I've found that ammonia or plain water cleans it out pretty well.

With all the issues I've been having with my 2000, I saw go with the Pelikan. I have a 200 and love it.

Yes, actually, I have had a lot of splashing with my Pelikan but none with the 2000.

Yeah, you're having some pretty awful luck.

I had the Lamy 2000 up until about two months ago. A client took a shine to it and ended up taking it with him. I picked up an M805 as a replacement. Honestly I don't miss the very sleek looking lamy, however I would be lost without the Pelikan.

Do what you feel is right(Write )......

kindest regards

Stubnut

Well, both are great everyday writers. I have my 400s as everyday writers and I prefer them for a reason that has nothing to do with the quality of the pen itself: the Pelikan is the lighter pen and thus I feel more comfortable writing with the Pelikan. I have a L2K in my daily pencase, too but I use it very rarely. If I do so I always think: I should use this pen more often, it is such a wonderful writer....

Bottom line: both are great pens. If possible, try them and get the pen you feel more comfortable with.

Lamy 2000. Pelikan-retro, show off; Lamy-modern, discrete.

Actually, not hard to choose, just match it with your personality....


cheers,
Nenad

I don't have *any* splashing w/ my 2000, even when it ends up upside down in my pocket while hiking through the woods. I did manage to get some ink out when I just tried a thermometer type wrist flick... And, as goofy as it sounds, I tied it onto my hand w/ twine, lest I launch it nib-first onto something hard... *shudder* Small dab. That said, never had problems with my Pelikan either, only the vintage Conklin Glider ever has issues, at least for me.

Aaron

I don't know how the Lamy could be any more rugged than the Pelikan, if the M400 is anywhere near as rugged as the built-like-a-tank M200.

Also, you should consider repairs. Nibs do wear out, and you can change out a Pelikan nib yourself, in under 2 minutes, with no tools beyond a paper towel to minimize the amount of ink on your fingers.

I've owned both, they are very different in size. I found the M400 too small for comfort whereas the Lamy 2000 is a better fit for me. I was looking for an everyday pen for taking quick notes at work and the pull cap Lamy is quicker to uncap and use. Quality-wise I have no issues with either, both are solid reliable pens. I sold the Pelikan M400 but I have a M800 so it is not a brand preference, simply choosing a pen to fit the need.
Have you chosen yet?
Nick

The Pelikans are great, don't get me wrong- but I don't think you can even compare the ruggedness of the Lamy 2000 with an M200. The M200 and its brethren are far from being fragile, especially for such visually appealing pens- but,

The 2000 is quite a bit more rugged. That doesn't mean the M200 isn't a stout little pen, but it's much closer to an armor plated Hummer than a tank. The 2000 is the tank. The nib, being fully exposed, is at risk of being wrecked by accident in various ways, down to even being snapped off- not going to happen in the semi-hooded 2000. The plastic the 2000 is made of is reinforced by fiberglass- the M200 is simply made of plastic. Scratches show less, but more importantly, the strength of the material is a lot higher. The 2000's plastic is thicker, which also makes it quite a bit more rugged.

Having a screw on cap is the one point in respect to ruggedness where the M200 wins. That said, the Lamy 2000's cap does on with a solid "snick," so it's easy to know if it's on or not. That said, it isn't a screw on.



Don't mean to echo the debate JJ and I had in a similar thread, but:

There is a lot of merit to Pelikan's ability to change nibs. That said, most folks don't ever buy more than one nib, let alone swap between them regularly- with this crowd, it seems to be a lot more common than to actually own two M400s than to carry around bunch of M400 nibs with them. I'm sure someone does, and I'd be curious how they secure the nib units for quick access.

A M400 nib unit costs about as much as a new Lamy 2000, depending on where you buy them. You can also buy nibs for the Lamy 2000 for $50, though the swapping procedure is going to dirty your hands.

Regards,
Aaron

Well, of course, changing out nibs depends on whether your Pelikan (or Osmiroid, for that matter) is a museum piece or a workhorse.

My Pelikans (a domed-cap-nut M200, a domed-cap-nut M150, 2 more current M200s, and a pen-bashed Pelikano) are all workhorses. As was the Osmiroid 65 that preceded my first Pelikan, and the Osmiroid 75s that preceded the 65. And the cartridge-only Sheaffer that preceded the Osmiroids.

Sorry for being off-topic, but every time this thread pops up I wonder what the original poster means by "unbiased." Does he not want people who work for Pelikan or Lamy to answer? It boggles my mind!!

Here's a new take....the Lamy is for the Left Brained, practical, Classic person

The Pelikan is more for the Right Brained, Romantic personality.

Now, if you have both, you are the "Integrated" personality....a rare breed able to use both sides of the brain in accessing info with the same ease.

(One of my jobs was working as an educational consultant, putting on workshops on brain research.)