Pelikan M215 "rings"

[cds]

Hello,

This is my first post here. Hello to all and what a great forum you have! I just purchased a M215, black w/ringed barrel.

If anyone else owns one of these, do you have a difficult time seeing the transparent barrel near the nib section. For the life of me, I cannot tell that it is transparent at all. On my pen it is pretty much black. Pen was supposedly new and never filled.

Thanks for any response.

Chris

[tanburi]

Mine is the blue black one, but it's a bit hard for me too to see inside without taking the light source behind the pen. Not a big problem. Well, not a problem at all

 

Edit: congratulations for the purchase...

Edited October 22, 2009 by tanburi

[pelikanmatt]

The m215's ink window is pretty much black, until you hold it up to the light you wouldnt know it had one. It's just how they are so dont worry yours isn't unusual.

[cds]

Thanks guys!

[lapis]

Maybe it's my eyes but I find it difficult to see through the window. My M215 is a black variety. Holding it up against a strong lamp, I can see the ink in the barrel, but not in the section.

 

Mike

[rollerboy]

I've the M215 Blue. The window is dark enough that to seek the ink level I need to hold it in front of my desk lamp but there's no question the window is there *if* the window area is not full of ink. If it's full of ink it's opaque. Between the window tint and the ink the back light doesn't shine through.

[encremental]

Well, you learn something new every day.

 

I have had all the M215 models for a long time and just assumed that they didn't have an ink view window! Fancy - even better pens than I thought, and I have always reckoned them to be one of Pelikan's very best designs and the one I always recommend as a gateway pen.

 

John

[Kublai Khan]

Strange that the ink window is nowhere mentioned on the product descriptions of the m215 (all 3 models) on Pelikan.com. They talk about the pen's metal core, piston filler, the nib, the cap, the decoration (rings, rhombus, rectangle etc.), the logo, but there is no mention of the ink window at all. And I have never been able to see any ink level, even using a mini LED flashlight or holding it up to a window. And I know that my pen isn't full with ink, so there should be some light coming through if it were there. But... Nope, not convinced.

[JulioPB]

Hi.

I have mine in my hands, and the window in the barrel is grey transparent as has been por the last 10 years,

Hope helps,

Julio MX

[duna]

Owned three of these and never seen any ink window. It's a little shocking to discover that (supposedly) there is one.

[Martinsroom]

Mine has an easy to see through ink window.

[Kublai Khan]

Ok folks, my final verdict. Yes, there is one. I emptied the pen, flushed it, then looked up at it in the strongest light we have at home. And yes, there is was. Very dark gray. So am I going to rejoice and use it to gauge the ink level in the future? No. Once you have ink in it, it coats the walls of the window, and even when you hold it nib up it gets too opaque to tell even when not full. Which is too bad. I actually love the pen and like the window idea, Anyway, I shall now get off this topic entirely. Thanks, to everyone who defended their stance on the existence of the window, I stand corrected.

[sargetalon]

It is certainly the darkest ink window on any Pelikan that I have ever used. By far the darkest on the Classic Series of pens. Not sure why they picked that shade but I suppose it was for aesthetics.

[Bo Bo Olson]

215 Ink Window!!!!

What good news.

[Denizzz]

I actually like that the barrel is not transparent as much as on the other pelikan models.... however it is very easy to see the level if you look on the window at light.

[cadfael_tex]

Owned three of these and never seen any ink window. It's a little shocking to discover that (supposedly) there is one.

Ditto

[Mister5]

I actually like that the barrel is not transparent as much as on the other pelikan models.... however it is very easy to see the level if you look on the window at light.

Same here. I have a M200 Cafe Creme and there's a "ring within a ring" where some ink has accumulated and I can't get rid of it. It's not that unsightly but I know it's there and miffs me whenever I look in the window. I bet I have the same problem with the M215 but it's so dark I can't just see it all the time.

 

The thing I like about the M215 is the slight heft... if I remember correctly you'd have to jump to an M800 to get to that weight. It doesn't feel that heavy but it's a good solid piece.

[stapletron]

My m215 rings is vying for favored status now that I swapped an EF nib into it. The window is very incognito, but useful.

[penrivers]

Funy, I always knew there was an ink window. dificult to see the ink level in it. Suddenly , years ago, this idea struck my mind "as a diamond in my brain" ( Kurtz in Apocalypse now"), you only have to memorize this: when you screw up the top you are pushing (if it have) the ink to nib, if you screw the top down to the barrel you are filling the pen with ink. Simple and stupid but true. You save anguish looking at that window.

[Sasha Royale]

The M215 is a great pen. I don't have the "ring" barrel, but I have the "lozange" and "rectangle" barrels. I thought the "ink window" was a printing error. I will have to look again. The M215 holds a lot of ink. When I use mine, I fill it every week. (Noodler's Eel inks)

 

Ink weeendo ? We don't need no stinkin' . . . . .

Edited January 13, 2017 by Sasha Royale