My beloved Pelikan M200 translucent blue is suffering from....a crack in the cap! Right by the "lip"? of the cap, to be precise, just above the gold trim!!!!!! A tiny, hairline crack And it's got scratches on it

My ever-dependable Levenger Prima survived 5 months in a car dasboard last year...but today, the nib's tines were ever-so-slightly- misaligned. I still don't know how. One minute, I'm making notes on a pipeline summary and the next, my pen just stops writing! The tines are either "split" just enough to kill the ink supply, or misaligned with similar results. I must have pressed down too hard or the nib hit the paper at just the wrong angle, just enough to screw up the tines.

Between this and some other weekend developments, I am just not in a good mood at all

Cheer up Sonnet, you could have had a precious Montegrappa that fell out of your pocket as you were getting into your car and then reversed over it. :doh:

Gary

Chartpak - oh wait. I have no idea where the other side of nowhere is. If you were in the US, I'd have said chartpak woud be most accommodating to replace your cap. What a shame - that's the first I've heard of a translucent developing a crack. scratches yes, cracks no. Though I've found scratches easily buff out on those pens.

re: the Prima - gosh those are such sturdy pens that surprises me. Is it possible someone played around with it without your knowledge and mucked it up?

Okay, the other side of nowhere, USA. So Chartpak it will be then. As for the Prima, I'm not sure. The yellow legal pad I was writing on did not seem to like my pen at all so I think the nib just hit it at the wrong angle and splayed ever so slightly.

Emailed Chartpak yesterday but haven't heard back from them yet. At least the Pelikan still writes. Still don't know what I'm going to do about the Prima-- send it off to Richard Binder or John Mottishaw, I suppose.

I'm really sorry ths happened. Hope you get your pen fixed soon.

Don't forget about FPN's own Dillo. Not to disparage Msrs Binder and Mottishaw, but Dillo has done some work for me on a Pelikan GO!, and after he was finished with it, the nib was better than new.

Good luck, and I hope you get your pens fixed quickly.

French

Oops, I didn't mean to leave him out! Although I'm wondering if it's worth getting the prima fixed. You figure-- I bought it in 2002/early 2003 for about $20-30 brand new. I don't know about Dillo's rates but John and Richard's minimum nib charges are about $20 and truth be told, this COULD be something I can do on my own. But I'm not comfortable enough with my pens to do anything beyond removing a Pelikan nib from a pen.

At least the crack in the Pelikan's cap doesn't affect how it writes [for now]. And my Clairefontaine notebooks seem to LOVE it

Whoo-hoo, progress! Chartpak emailed me instructions for sending a pen in for repair so I plan to hit up Fed Ex/Kinko's tonight for packaging [and maybe even ship from there]. I was going to stick my pen into a padded envelope before putting it in the FedEx box, along with additional packing materials. Any recommendations about what else I should do to keep my pen safe in transit would be greatly appreciated.

In the meantime, the Prima's tines appear to have "reunited" on their own. I'm keeping a close eye on the pen but for now, that worrisome gap between the tines is gone.

Now if only all the other stressful problems I have would solve themselves so easily.

For pens I use a short section of pvc pipe. The pen will be wrapped in sufficient paper towel to ensure no movement inside the tube. Even then, I prefer a box in which to place the pen in its pvc tube.

Overkill? Perhaps, but if you have seen what automated machinery can do to packages mailed/shipped you might prefer overkill.

My motto has always been, "too much is barely enough."

I just sent my Pelikan M200 off to Chartpak to have the cap fixed or replaced; I sent it via UPS, using a Sheaffer Prelude box (it's what I have the most of in the apartment!). When I send pens off to anyone, I usually use the Sheaffer boxes, or the priority mail small boxes loaded with bubble wrap.

I'm planning to seal the pen in a padded envelope, then place said envelope in a small shipping box and pack the whole thing full of bubble wrap.

I'm hesitant to use anything like PVC pipes because I don't want my pen showing up as a possible bomb on x-rays [see Richard Binder's site]. Yes, I know he's talking about international shipments into the US for that, but still.

Hi,

Since it is so cheap, I could do with $10 to $15, but then again, sorry for the advertising.

Anyway, I hope you get your M200 fixed. I am giving one to my friend.

Dillon