Two Quick Questions

[Thesaurus Rex]

1. What does "sumgai" mean?

 

2. In all my years of collecting, I have somehow neglected to ever get myself a Pelikan. I intend to remedy that with my next purchase. About how big are the M-200's, and would you Pelikan afficionados consider this a good place to start?

[John]

"sumgai (m) see also sumgal (f)" is a homophone for "some guy" as in some guy who just got a great deal. Usually used to describe someone who has just found a mint Waterman ripple in the dollar bin at the junk store or equivalent.

 

The M200 measures 12.5cm capped by 13mm thus almost exactly the same size as a Parker 51. They are great pens; reliable, hold lots of ink and, of course, have the handy swappable nib feed allowing you to keep Richard Binder gainfully employed making you fancy nibs.

[wimg]

Hi Rex,

 

1. Sumgai

Derived from "Some guy". You get to an antiques store or stall, ask for the usual, just to find out that "sumgai" last week took the last bunch of - fill in name of rare or expensive vintage or classic fountain pen - with him/her, for a song, of course...

 

So a sumgai find is a treasured fountain pen at an unbelievably good price..

 

2. M200

I think it is a good starting point. It is slightly taller than a Sailor 1911, and maybe slightly fatter to grip. It is a very good place to start if you like to write with medium to thin fountain pens, or with medium to fat fountain pens.

An advantage of this pen is that nibs are easily replaceable and quite cheap, which makes it a great and easy candidate for italicized and stubbed nibs .

 

Pam Braun, www.oscarbraunpens.com, probably has the best prices. If you want to start off with a modified nib straight away, you may be better off buying straight from Richard Binder, or maybe Pendemonium.

 

If you like big pens, however, you'll end up with an M800 (big), or even M1000 (huge), I would consider a good used one in that case.

 

HTH,

Kind regards, Wim

[Thesaurus Rex]

Thanks, guys!!

 

Actually, I have realized that I don't like the great big pens like the M-800 or M-1000. I have a Sheaffer/Levenger Seas pen, the original cobalt blue one and it's just too big. I am going to try to sell it and replace it with a cobalt blue M-200. And I want a green one, too. And maybe a gray, eventually.

 

Blue first, though. Anybody want to buy a Seas Pen? Or trade it for an M-200?

[wimg]

Hi Rex,

 

Have you thought of a transparant M200 yet? They really look cool with the ink sloshing around in them visibly . They come in brown, green, red, blue and grey (smoke). Especially the brown and grey are quite transparant...

 

Kind regards, Wim

[Thesaurus Rex]

That's exactly what I want, Wim. I want a blue one and a green one. And eventually, a gray one.

[Maja]

Thanks, guys!!

 

Actually, I have realized that I don't like the great big pens like the M-800 or M-1000.  I have a Sheaffer/Levenger Seas pen, the original cobalt blue one and it's just too big.  I am going to try to sell it and replace it with a cobalt blue M-200.  And I want a green one, too.  And maybe a gray, eventually.

 

Blue first, though.  Anybody want to buy a Seas Pen?  Or trade it for an M-200?

I already have the one Levenger Seas pen I really wanted to find--the Adriatic (purple) one, since I was born in Yugoslavia--but thanks for the offer, though.

 

THe M-200 is a great choice for a Pelikan, TRex! I don't like pens that are overly large...or too small, for that matter (ie. the "Goldilocks dilemma") and the M200, when posted, is just perfect for me!

 

Just be careful about certain types of inks that can stain clear barrels or ink-view windows like on many Pelikan pens; many people recommend avoiding violet/purple or red inks (can clog feeds too, I think) in these types of pens altogether...I think someone here mentioned (KCat??) something about avoiding Noodler's Legal Lapis in Pelikans with inkview windows, too...Someone please correct me if I am wrong!

 

 

Oh, here is a handy Pelikan size chart from Swisher pens: Pelikan size comparison

[Thesaurus Rex]

I'm strictly a blue ink user, Maja. Still trying to find that perfect blue, so I'm guessing my hypothetical M200's are safe. For now.

 

I don't know that I'm really ready to let that Seas Pen go anyway. I'll just buy the M200's out of pocket, perhaps at the Atlanta Pen Show.

[KCat]

Just to clarify - the problem I had with Noodler's waterproof ink (in this case, Legal Lapis) was with my White Tortoise. The ink stuck thoroughly to the white section and I had to use some significant elbow grease to get it cleaned off. This was immediately after filling. So I don't recommend using these inks in a white or very light-colored pen. I think Taki had problems with Kiowa Pecan sticking to her White Tortoise as well. This may have to do with the material Pelikan used for this particular pen as much as to do with the ink since this pen also had some cap problems.

 

I haven't had any trouble with the M200 ink views staining. Though with the translucents it's not much of an issue anyway. I used WM Violet exclusively in my first M200 for at least 2 years with no staining that I could tell. Reds, violets, and some browns (which have red in them) are more likely to stain certain plastics than other colors.

[Daniel Shih]

Thesaurus Rex,

 

The Pelikan 200 is a sweet pen to get. Well-balanced, tough, lots of ink capacity, affordable, and with nice, smooth nibs (and great customizable nib options!!!!). There's not much else to say except, "Go for it, Connect Four!"

 

Disclaimer: I am not in any way affiliated with either Connect Four or Pelikan.

[Maja]

Thanks for the clarification, KCat; I found the thread in which you warned us about LL in the white tortoise Pelikan.

 

The whole ink-staining thing has me puzzled...Some people say to avoid purple/red inks with inkview windows/clear barrels...and others say they haven't had problems... Also, I could have sworn someone warned against using red ink of any kind in Pelikan w/piston-filler mechanisms (or was it piston-fillers in general?) due to clogging....I love the colour red, so I am just trying to figure this all out...

 

Perhaps the differences have to do with how long a particular ink has stayed in a particular pen? (ie. more time--> more chance of a permanent stain happening) Maybe the people that go through ink quickly have less problems because of this....while little ol' me kept her Omas Extra filled with PR Plum for a few weeks (i thought it was only 1 week, but now I recall it was closer to a month or two max.) and had a real problem afterwards...

[KCat]

i think a lot of the issue has to do with the material used in the ink view. Someone can correct me on this but maybe some vintage windows are more susceptible to staining? When I talk about the this I am speaking only of the modern Pels that I've had experience with. I have one vintage Pel that I haven't had long enough to determine if there are problems with such staining.

 

Some people feel that reds are problematic no matter what. And yes, I think the amount of use and how often one flushes their pens has a lot to do with it.

 

I did complain about Sheaffer Skrip NOS Red leaving an orange residue in one of my pels, but it was easily cleaned out with a mild ammonia/water solution. Water alone didn't do the trick.

 

My rule of thumb is to flush a pen with water about once a month regardless of the ink within. But I think it is especially important with reds. And I think this could apply to any pen, piston-filler or not, Pelikan or not. I don't think Pels are any more susceptible than other brands unless, perhaps, it has something to do with vintage.

 

that said - I have had Diamine in an Esterbrook cartridge pen for several weeks unused - and while she hiccoughed and needed a flush, she didn't clog or require extra effort to clean. I've also had no problems with Saguaro Wine. But did have clogging with Ottoman Rose. So - particular inks will probably demand particular treatment. Figuring out which ones, is largely (unfortunately) a matter of trial and error.

 

Did the Extra stain or clog? Or both? WM Violet did stain a converter - but the plastic on some converters is not the quality of an M200 ink view.

 

ack.. i gotta hit the sack. i don't know what I'm doing on-line this late when my rambling exceeds my brain power. (yeah, I know, how is that different from any other time of day...)

 

:meow:

[Maja]

Thanks for the reply and the tips, KCat :meow:

I am wracking my brain trying to remember what it was about red inks in Pelikan piston-fillers... and whether the caution was about vintage or modern ones....I thought Viv (einv) mentioned something about it on PT, but I can't find it by Googling. I will ask him about it and edit my post here later. Edit: Ok, Viv came through--thanks, Viv! He also recalled someone on PT (a chemist) who mentioned something about red dye molecules penetrating seals and plastics....so from this info, I personally would be cautious about using purple/red/etc. inks in piston-fillers and clear barrels (where the ink is in contact with the barrel, that is). Viv said he had a Matador piston-filler--a pen I also happen to own!--ruined by PR Tanzanite (the excess surfactant in the Tanzanite seemed to be the culprit)

 

As for my Omas Extra, it's a modern piston-filler pen with a (previously white) clear barrel. I put some PR Plum in it last summer and left it there for 1 to 2 months. When I flushed out the residual ink with water, then soapy water, I found that the pen's barrel was a light pink colour. I didn't try an ammonia-water mixture (but I will) but I did try some Simichrome on the inside of the barrel--applied with a Q-Tip and then removed with water and soap immediately afterwards. The barrel is now a very light pink, which isn't terribly bothersome but it's not the same colour as when I bought it. At least (and I've mentioned this before) the pen's cap and turning knob are a maroon colour that complements the light pink of the barrel

Edited March 15, 2005 by Maja

[Stylo]

The Pelikan 200 is a sweet pen to get. Well-balanced, tough, lots of ink capacity, affordable, and with nice, smooth nibs (and great customizable nib options!!!!). There's not much else to say except, "Go for it, Connect Four!"

It is indeed a great little pen. I do like mine a lot. But just a warning though: a few people find it slightly akward to hold (myself included).