Pelikan 400nn

[contaxrts2]

Great review, just perfect description, of what most people like in their vintage Pelikan.

I also use mainly Pelikan 400NN or M 400 with broad or doublebroad nibs and regularly use my other Pelikans from 120, 140, M 150, M200, M300, M400, M600 old to M800 or just some vintage Waterman or Parker.

 

The 400 NNs are just great.

[jniforat]

this is a pen that's on my list to get in the next year or two. so amazing. i, too, love vintage pel B nibs

 

how much do these usually run???

[specialk0449]

The 400NN pens are great pens as you clearly state in your review. I have them with the black, tortoise, green and grey bindes. The nibs are some of the best ever. My wife gave me the 500NN in tortoise for Christmas. It has the vermeil cap instead of the standard black or brown found on the 400NN series.

[chiuqq]

The 400NN pens are great pens as you clearly state in your review. I have them with the black, tortoise, green and grey bindes. The nibs are some of the best ever. My wife gave me the 500NN in tortoise for Christmas. It has the vermeil cap instead of the standard black or brown found on the 400NN series.

 

Your wife gave you a very nice pen. 400NN and 500NN are beautiful pens, and 500NN is a bit longer than 400NN.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I was commenting on the 120, and 140 I own. I came here and found out I'd made the comment....well in between the Pelikan 400NN OF maxi-semi-flex/'flexi' has now become my second best nib/pen.

Best is my MB 234 1/2 Deluxe semi-flex KOB.

 

In between posts, I got a pen with a Rupp nib. It was much more flexible than semi-flex but not as flexible as easy full flex/ super flex. Some times I'm a tad thick. It took me a while of thinking of the Rupp as a maxi-semi-flex, before I realized it was one of those 'flexi' nibs everyone was talking about.

 

Through pure luck, 8 of the pens I 'won' or had, were maxi-semi-flex/'flexi', that 400NN OF also.

 

I have a Pelikan 400NN, a Geha EF, a Rupp F, and four Osmia nibs that are 'maxi-semi-flex/'flexi'. I don't push the nibs as much as I could.

I did just get some new cheap 'good' paper from Aldi, so I'll be playing more.

 

Actually I'm glad I my nib won't twist out. Just last week, I decided I liked the 400NN's balance just that micro-millimeter more than my '90-96 M400.

Had the nib twisted out, I'd had it on the M400 tortoise, and never really discovered what a fine pen the 400NN is.

 

They did something right with that 400NN pen and wrong for ink volume on the M200/400...

It could be the balance would have been off on the 605 and 800 in they don't hold the ink a 400NN does.

Neither does the 1000.

 

Modern 200/400 : piston bore 8.2mm, piston stroke 24.5mm, potential ink volume:1.29 ml

Modern 600 : piston bore 8.2mm, piston stroke 26 mm, potential ink volume:. 1.37 ml

Modern 800 : piston bore 8.2mm, piston stroke 26 mm , potential ink volume: 1.37 ml

Modern1000: piston bore 8.2mm, piston stroke 28 mm , potential ink volume: 1.47 ml

Vintage 400NN : piston bore 9.0 mm, piston stroke 31 mm , potential ink volume: 1.97 ml

 

 

 

MB Kafka: 0.88

MB Hemingway: 1.26

MB Dumas: 1.26

MB Twain: 1.35

MB Lennon: 1.39

MB Shaw: 1.48

MB 149: 1.60

[carlos.q]

I remember the very beautiful pictures in this review. I am angry and disgusted they are now held hostage by Photobucket.

[Donald2]

Never knew that Photo bucket keeps all the pictures and doesn't allow one to show them.

[biancitwo]

Nearly eight years later, the prevailing opinion on the Pelikan 400NN remains. They are superb pens. I write with at least one every day. I still use other vintage Pelikans, and some modern, but the 400NN is best.

[jmnav]

Your wife gave you a very nice pen. 400NN and 500NN are beautiful pens, and 500NN is a bit longer than 400NN.

Are you sure about that? I was under the impression that a 500 was just a 400 with a gold rolled finish.

[Ken-]

Never knew that Photo bucket keeps all the pictures and doesn't allow one to show them.

You can access your pic's on your Photo Bucket account, then down load to your computer. I then use https://imgur.com to store them for posting.

 

Ken

[mitto]

You can access your pic's on your Photo Bucket account, then down load to your computer. I then use https://imgur.com to store them for posting.

 

Ken

After you pay $$?

[richardandtracy]

You can also use the 'Upload' feature in FPN. They can be referenced from off FPN in the way Photobucket photos used to be available. But we would ask that the photos stored on FPN remain pen related rather than using it as a general dumping ground.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

[rosmarinaus]

I now have a Pelikan M200, as well as vintage 120, 400, and 400NN. I love them all, but that 400NN is really wonderful. A nice line width and I love the flex in the nib (though I have a light touch regardless). Worth the money, all of them.

[Mannyonpil]

I recently acquired a tortoise shell 400NN with an EEF nib. I reset the nib and feed, lubed the piston, and have written about half a fill ink in the last two or three days. It's as if I don't have any other pens. I find myself looking forward to each use, wondering when I can get back to my desk to write something, anything.

[mana]

I recently acquired a tortoise shell 400NN with an EEF nib. I reset the nib and feed, lubed the piston, and have written about half a fill ink in the last two or three days. It's as if I don't have any other pens. I find myself looking forward to each use, wondering when I can get back to my desk to write something, anything.

Those vintage Pelikans really are wonderful, true writer's pens. I have a bunch (mostly 100N but also specimens of 120, 140, 400, 400N, 400NN etc.). Been recently thinking of swapping the 400 Tortoise in my EDC kit to a 400NN Tortoise just for kicks, maybe keep the nib though (a lovely cursive italic BB). Actually, might do that swap right now.

[sansenri]

A pity to lose the pictures, but I agree the review describes very accurately what you experience when you try one of these pens.

It also tells very faithfully the story of the vintage Pelikan B and BB nibs.

These (stubbish, as described by the reviewer) nibs are harder to find now and evidently it's difficult to describe in what way they are different from modern nibs, to the point that some people may never know.

I don't want to suggest they are better, different, certainly.

I picked up a few of these pens some years ago when it was still possible at reasonable prices...

 

 

[Harry44]

Would defiantly like to get some Pelikan pens eventually!

[jmnav]

I feel your pain! - The piston of my black striated 400NN isn't moving as freely as it should - filling it is quite scary as I'm afraid to damage it and so I do not use it as much as I would like to... So when you start repairing piston fillers... let me know. We're almost neighbors... Perhaps we should start buying damaged old Pelikan piston fillers to practise...

 

Well, maybe you already considered it but you can start with the easy part: just using a toothpick to put a minimal amount of silicone grease on the internal side of the barrel can do wonders and you just need to unscrew the nib for that.

[Honeybadgers]

 

Well, maybe you already considered it but you can start with the easy part: just using a toothpick to put a minimal amount of silicone grease on the internal side of the barrel can do wonders and you just need to unscrew the nib for that.

 

This. It's super easy. Also removing the piston is pretty trivial.

 

It's a super easy to maintain pen for a vintage piston filler.

 

My 400's BB is an amazing semiflex cursive italic, glassy smooth but never, ever hard starts, wet but not unusably so, just amazing. paid like $75 for it with a stuck piston, soaked it in an ultrasonic for 25 minutes and tapped out the piston, greased it, reassembled and it's perfect.

[mitto]

A pity to lose the pictures, but I agree the review describes very accurately what you experience when you try one of these pens.

It also tells very faithfully the story of the vintage Pelikan B and BB nibs.

These (stubbish, as described by the reviewer) nibs are harder to find now and evidently it's difficult to describe in what way they are different from modern nibs, to the point that some people may never know.

I don't want to suggest they are better, different, certainly.

I picked up a few of these pens some years ago when it was still possible at reasonable prices...

 

Third pen from left looks to be leaking from the blind cap side. Please do something about it.