Looking for a Pelikan Flex nib

[Lawrence]

Hi all,

 

I am quite new to this forum. I always find helpful advices from fellow forumers here, thanks alot.

 

I am a Pelikan fans. I have been using my 1st fountain pen for a year. It is a modern M400 brown tortoise. I like using it alot.

 

After reading a thread about flex nib started by antoniosz earlier, I'd like to try a flex nib. Considering the following options:

 

(1) Get a vintage 400 nib to put on my modern one.

(2) Buy a gd condition vintage 400

(3) But a gd condition 100

(4) Find a customized flex modern 400 nib

 

Which one is the most suitable?

 

I tried to keep an eye on ebay but I am not sure whether the vintage nib should be reconditioned before use.

 

Could any of you give me some ideas on purchasing vintage pen/nib?

[John]

The three vintage Pelikans i have owned didn't have particularly flexible nibs. I think your best bet may be to find a modern or vintage 250 or 400 series 14K in the appropriate width and get a nib specialist to flex it.

[Elaine]

Pelikan nibs, vintage and modern have at best "spring", not flex. Rick Propas (the Penguin www.penguin.com?) would be a great person to ask. He has tons of Pels for sale and if you tell him what you're looking for he might be able to help. Even better would to be to see him at a pen show and try them.

 

Elaine

[KCat]

I have a 120 with semi-flex nib from Rick. I recommend contacting him and getting his feedback. Also, his prices are, IMO, very reasonable and he does good restoration work. I think that vintage Pel semi-flex obliques are especially liked. I hope to try one someday.

[antoniosz]

I think the easier way to do this is the flex nibs of Richard Binder.

I had a chance to play with one of them during hte Philadelphia Show and I really liked it. It was probably between semiflex and flex in the vintage classification, but at least the one that I tried it was very smooth and provided ample line variation with reasonable pressure.

 

I am not very familiar with vintage Pelikans. I did have couple of them over the years with semiflex nibs - but I am not sure how represenative they are.

 

AZ

[wimg]

Hi Lawrence,

 

If you want to try a flex nib, you're probably best off buying a vintage Waterman 12, 52, 3 or something, with a #2 flex nib. They are about as flexy as you can get, reliable pens, and reasonably cheap, especially if you would go for a Waterman 3V, or a 52 1/2, ringtop or V(est pocket).

 

You should be able to get a working, user grade 52 1/2, or 52V or 3 or 3V for about $30. If you want to try an ED, you could go for a 12, but they go for a little more, up to $60 or so. A black 52 will start about there. Of course a ripple or woodgrain really looks nice, but will probably start at around $70 user grade.

 

Anyway, the first options will set you back less than a Pelikan nib, especially a flexible one, and allow you to sell it on with no loss in case you don't like it after all.

 

Actually, Antonios is a flex specialist, so he may be able to help you obtain one, with a bit of luck, or at least give some guidance in the right direction.

 

HTH,

Kind regards,

Wim

[Lawrence]

Thanks for the recommended sources. BTW, I found that most of the vintage Pelikan on ebay are cheaper (e.g. a gd condition 400 less than USD50), are they trustworthy?

 

Thanks, Wim, I will take a look on your recommended pens.

[John]

I don't think I've ever seen a 400 close out as low as $50. $100+ is more like it. You might get a 140 for not much over $50 though. As for trustworthiness, it depends on the seller. If they are a reputable pen person then you will likely get what you expect. If the dealer is not a pen expert then you have to take your chances.

[wimg]

Hi Lawrence,

 

I have to agree with John. Even then, a Pelikan nib just isn't as flexy as a flexy Waterman's nib. The only ones I know of that come really close are Moores and Onotos. The latter may be slightly hard to come by in the US, and the Moore is relatively rare. Watermans are quite common.

 

The prices I mentioned were those quoted by reputable sellers. If you do want a flex nib, unless you know your way around (eBay), you better stick to the people in the know. Otherwise you'll never know what you get...

 

HTH,

Kind regards,

Wim

[AlanSteytler]

I'll certainly agree with Wim: Waterman 52s are more flexible, and seem to be readily available, but they certainly take some getting used to.

 

My current favorite combination is a Pelikan Ibis grabbed from eBay- not greatly flexible, but plenty of character. Next is a 140 picked up from a fellow in the Netherlands. Finally I have a 400NN nib that I tend to shift around in various moderns.

 

Pelikan 100s and 100Ns are usually good nibs, but certainly are pricey. Rick Propas, who maintains about the largest selection of vintage, always describes them accurately, and they are fully restored. He can be relied upon to give you a reputable vintage pen. It won't be inexpensive, but will be of high quality. You'll want a pen you can be happy with, because the nib assemblies from 100s do not fit anything else. The 100N nib assemblies may not be interchangeable even with other 100Ns.

 

Nib assemblies from 120s and 140s generally fit each other. It's not until you get to the 400, 400N and 400NN that you see nib assemblies that fit series-wide. And these fit today's 400 and 600 pens. But the trend to find a vintage and stick it in a Cities pen seems to have dried up the surplus vintage nibs.

 

While I've not tried a nib "Binderized" for flex, I have used his italics and stubs. He does some high quality work. The line produced is not the same, but perhaps only a flex snob would know the difference?

 

The long and short of it?

Lots of good flex: Waterman

Guaranteed vintage: Propas

Reliable semi-flex: Binder

Fun looking: eBay

[Elaine]

While I've not tried a nib "Binderized" for flex

 

I've tried Richard's Binderized for flex nibs at pen shows. They're very nice! They're also a bit more pricey than his other nibs. If you can afford it, I think they're worth it.

 

Elaine

[John]

I would endorse RB's flex nibs too but I think you have to be sure that you want one to justify the cost. At least if you are cheap as i am!

[Keith with a capital K]

To try a flex nib I would look towards finding a vintage Waterman from someone who knows what flex nibs are all about.

 

The late 40's and early 50's Waterman pens can be very nice, generally cost much less than their ancestors, and can possess some amazing nibs.

 

I'd keep checking the trade board here as there are often some very nice pens offered for sale.

[Titivillus]

Pelikan nibs, vintage and modern have at best "spring", not flex. Rick Propas (the Penguin www.penguin.com?) would be a great person to ask. He has tons of Pels for sale and if you tell him what you're looking for he might be able to help. Even better would to be to see him at a pen show and try them.

 

Elaine

Can anyone show me the difference between, soft, spring and flex. These words get bandied about but never have I seen a direct comparion..

 

:bonk:

[Maja]

Pelikan nibs, vintage and modern have at best "spring", not flex. Rick Propas (the Penguin www.penguin.com?) would be a great person to ask. He has tons of Pels for sale and if you tell him what you're looking for he might be able to help. Even better would to be to see him at a pen show and try them.

 

Elaine

Can anyone show me the difference between, soft, spring and flex. These words get bandied about but never have I seen a direct comparion..

 

:bonk:

Keith and Antonios gave some good explanations here in the Stipula 22 thread--complete with picture!-- for anyone else who is interested (Kurt, I know you read the thread since you posted this question...)

 

As an aside, I just noticed that Kurt used the phrase "bandied about" in this thread... I also used the same term in the Stipula thread above...but I used it before reading Kurt's post here :blink: Weird coincidence...I don't hear that phrase very often and yet we both thought of it today....

[wimg]

Just an explanation of soft, spring and flex, the way I see it:

 

flex: tines spread sideways under very light pressure, allowing for nice line variation provided the feed can keep up the ink flow

 

spring: the nib moves up and down easily, like a shock absorber in a way, and that is what a springy nib does. It may cause a bit of flex because the tines tend to spread a little when pressing quite hard

 

soft: variation of spring, where the nib dampens pressure changes smoothly, tends to give less feedback from writing, more from pressure exerted

 

Just my opinion,

HTH,

regards,

Wim