I just won a regular green plastic Pelikan Level which is on its way to me from juddpearl on eBay. My question is - can anyone else confirm that regular inks (say, for instance, Pelikan Brilliant Black) flow ok for a long time in a Level? I have an L5 with steel fine nib, and filled that one with the regular Level Blue ink. Well, it's not my favorite...kind of a weenie blue...I'm determined to get something a bit stronger in the regular Level's giant tank. But because of the difficulty of flushing this pen, I want to be sure that whatever I load it with will be ok for the long haul.

Thanks for any advice from the field!

I told Ryan R that when my Blue L5 runs out of ink in 2020, it's going to feel so good to get something else in there

The Level will be a nice "beater" pen to take on trips when I don't want to worry about carrying a bottle of ink - that's why I was determined to track one down.

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No opinions? Or no one has a Level?

I have a ceramic L5 with 14K nib and use it just as you intend to, but I've never used any other ink with it. Can't imagine that would bother it, though...

Yes, the Pelikan Royal Blue is rather uninspiring - I poured mine down the sink after ten minutes and then flushed the pen as best as I could by filling the bottle with clean water and filling and emptying the Level a few times. After that I filled the bottle up with PR Black Cherry and have been happily using it ever since (six months). As Pelikan ink is a little dry, and my Level a dry writer, the change has done it the world of good!

But do pick a colour you really like - you will be seeing it for a very long time!

John

No, no Level.

But my M215 and M800 both don't run well with any Pelikan ink. Funny. As I've heard here, both write rather dry. All of my Herbins, Skrips, Quinks, Watermans, MBs, CdAs flow better in both pens. Or, vice versa, both pens exibit a better flow with these other brands.

Now I gotta go and see what a Limit looks like. Why did you buy it ? No offense. I mean I know the Souveräins incl Toledos, the Majesties, LEs, SEs, but I've heard of a Level only once or twice (I think).

Mike

I'm using Noodler's Tahitian Pearl in my L5 with no problems, while Lamy Blue-Black iron gall ink wouldn't write at all. You need a well flowing ink for L5s, just dump the boring stuff in the bottle and fill in something you like. The plastic bottle cap needs some force to loosen the thread the first time, but after that refilling the bottle will be easy.

Hi,

I used Pelikan inks (not the blue or black) when I used to have one with no problems

Dillon

I've got Pelikan black in a Level 65 (the school pen version), leave it unused sometimes for months and have never had a problem. It starts right up.

This is all good to hear, thanks, gang. I will do some experimentation when I get the new one...get something in there that flows well and looks good too.

Mike, I have an old style M200 Pelikan which I love - I tend to go for pens under $100, so the upper ranges of Pelikan are not of prime interest to me. Hey, if a 600 or 800 fell into my lap, I would write with it; but apart from the gold nib, I think the 200 writes plenty well, has the look of the higher Pels and is comfortable in my hand. It even has silver trim like the 215 so it is even more anti-bling, which I love.

I think the Levels can only be found now on eBay and from online merchants - it is discontinued. They may still be selling the Level (1) over in Europe, I'm not sure. But the Level 5 never sold well and I feel was very overpriced. The materials are interesting but the ink capacity is the real attraction to this pen. I managed to break the Level 5 cap the first time I used the pen but it went back together ok, fortunately. That pen has been surprisingly clog-free though even though it never gets flushed.

The Level (1) in green looks like a nice knock-around pen like the Safari - and, the cap posts. The only thing I don't like in the design is the plastic clip of the cap. But we shall see. I am still waiting for the pen to arrive.

The Level filling mechanism is interesting. I don't hate it, I don't love it. It is pretty muss-free. It was good of them to make the fill bottle able to be unscrewed and reused, so you don't have to buy their (lousy looking) ink.

Hi,

Used both Pelikan Black and the Blue that came with it in mine, (I have a Level 1? and a Level 5) the Level 1 sits in my desk at work as one of my spares and doesn't get used too often. Currently filled with Pelikan Black and when I tried it on Friday after 2-3 months without being used it wrote first time.

The Level 5 is similarly easy to write with after period without use.

Not sure if I would tick a high saturation ink in the Level 5, but might risk it in the Level 1 (as it only cost about £10, maybe less).

Andy

I hope your L5 works well. Others in this thread seem satisfied with theirs. Mine wrote for a few weeks and then slowly went dry, then dried up. I used it every day...

I flushed using the filler base, then removed the filling mechanism and flushed with soap and water, rinsed, reassembled. Water flowed well. It just didn't like ink!

I hope your works perfectly. The capacity was wonderful.

Update/mini review - to celebrate going over 1000 posts -

Got the green Level "1" yesterday - I broke down and just filled it with the silly Level "Royal Blue" to start with. But I did not fill up the reserve tank all of the way, so I stand a chance of it actually getting used up and putting something more interesting in it.

It had some startup issues but then I got it flowing well. The instructions do say to turn the knob and hold the pen upside down for a whole minute. This is a necessary step for the writing part of the tank to get filled from the reserve tank. Alas, the nib is not as nice or anywhere near as smooth as the steel nib on my Level 5. It does seem to be breaking in and getting a little smoother, the more I used it today, but it is not as smooth or as pleasant to write with as a Lamy Al-Star or Safari.

I don't LOVE the styling. The section feels fairly slippery - I wish the grid pattern was a little bit more raised. The clip is plastic so can be broken if one is not careful. It does have a nice tight clip resistance for shirt pocket clipping. I like the plastic they used for the barrel the best.

Overall, I think the NOS Level 5 was a better buy at the price I got it - around $30-35 shipped late in 2006. The Level 1 was $21 shipped from Juddpearl in Canada.

I will use this off and on, but the Lamy Safari or Vista feels more balanced and of a higher quality than the Level.

The Level 5's biggest flaw to me is the inability to post the cap. The pen is medium heavy and a roller, so without the ability to post, you have to be really careful where you set the pen down. The Level 1 is, fortunately, postable.

Well, that's all. The Level was an odd model for Pelikan. The filling technology is quite interesting and efficient. The pens' aesthetic design is...really...kind of weird.

What, no love of the Pelikan Black? For me, it's very well behaved, looks great, dries quickly and feels smooth in all pens. Pelikan BB is another story, stingy and squeaky in almost all pens, even though I love the color. Just thought I'd pipe in to defend the Pelikan Black....

Rev, I also do love the regular Pelikan Brilliant Black. It flows well and is a nice dark black.

I agree, the Blue-Black is not anything special.

The Level Black and Level Royal Blue was what I was damning with faint praise. They are both pretty washed out. When I started this thread, I was wondering if Pelikan had formulated them especially not to clog the Levels, since they are so difficult to flush.

But I admit I've only used the Level Royal Blue. Maybe the Level Black is better.

I do love Brilliant Black, also Pelikan Violet. My favorite black of all, though, is Aurora Black, a popular favorite, but expensive.