Jump to content

Pelikan To Discontinue Bb, 3B And All Oblique Nibs


Sach

Recommended Posts

I've recently heard that Pelikan have discontinued all oblique as well as BB and 3B nibs. I'm sad, as BB is an exceptional nib, and one that also lends itself well to customisation, which also is the case with the 3B. Anyone else share this view?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 70
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Sach

    8

  • georges zaslavsky

    7

  • Ghost Plane

    6

  • Tombstone

    6

Well, that is definitely a bummer because my very most favourite pen (of any brand) is my M900 (green striations) which has a BB nib. I have often thought that my next Pelikan would now have to be a 3B or an oiblique). I think I'll try and find out how likely that is by phoning Pelikan on Monday. Letr's keep our fingers crossed! Congratulations on joining the club. Still bad news as a first posting. BUt stick around... you'll be happy here...

 

Mike

Life is too short to drink bad wine (Goethe)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I only carer for the finer nib sizes but I care for companies offering more than F,M and B. I always thought that their specialty broad nibs were in high demand but I might be wrong. Would be a shame to drop them.

The BB on the M205 DUO is a real pleasure although I don't know what to use it for :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I want a M1000 and it has to have an OBB or BB nib when I buy one so discontinued or not I hope there are nibs still in stores for this pen!

Rob Maguire (Plse call me "M or Mags" like my friends do...)I use a Tablet, Apple Pencil and a fountain pen. Targas, Sailor, MB, Visconti, Aurora, vintage Parkers, all wonderful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I only carer for the finer nib sizes but I care for companies offering more than F,M and B. I always thought that their specialty broad nibs were in high demand but I might be wrong. Would be a shame to drop them.

The BB on the M205 DUO is a real pleasure although I don't know what to use it for :)

Oops, I forgot that one too. I just use it for any ol' thing, not highlighting. Although I do like it, my forgetting to mention it here probably does shed a hint or two...

Life is too short to drink bad wine (Goethe)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've recently heard that Pelikan have discontinued all oblique as well as BB and 3B nibs. I'm sad, as BB is an exceptional nib, and one that also lends itself well to customisation, which also is the case with the 3B. Anyone else share this view?

I'm sorry, but "I've heard" isn't a useful source. Where did you hear this rumor? I'm an authorized Pelikan dealer, and I've not heard any such thing.

sig.jpg.2d63a57b2eed52a0310c0428310c3731.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I heard this piece of information a week or so ago. If memory serves me well, it was on an electronic newsletter from Niche Pens, UK (but I may be wrong). The reason I can't remember the source is that I had thought to myself that it would not really affect my enjoyment of Pelikan pens (I love their medium nibs).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mr Ink is correct. Ross Adams of Niche Pens, the UK's main Pelikan dealer sent an email to customers on July 17th. I'm sure he won't mind me quoting:

 

'We are also sorry to say that we have learnt from Pelikan that they will no longer produce nibs wider than B in the standard range. The BB nibs will be available to order, but 3B and all Oblique nibs (OM, OB, OBB & O3B) are no longer being produced. We have a limited stock of these larger nibs either fitted to pens or individually.'

 

Niche have been correct with other stuff (the introduction of theTortoise M800, for example was dismissed as rumour by some) so I'm inclined to believe this. If true, at least BB is better than nothing, but it is an insane decision.

 

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I suggest buying as many as you can afford...even more and as wide as possible in that some one else can take a 3B down to a BB or make an Oblique out of it.

 

Rats...now there will be a rush to buy vintage OB nibs.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And in spite of Ross's remarks, there are actually no 3B nibs left on the Niche site .

 

Same goes for The Writing Desk and Andy's Pens. As it happens, although I mostly use M, F & EF nibs, I had been thinking for a while that a 3B would be fun to have, given their outrageous reputation and that would actually be feasible as a signature pen, as Pelikans are so good at never drying out no matter how long they are left. Also an excuse to try a black & silver M800 to see if it was nice enough to justify the £100 premium if I wanted a M1005 SE (update: lovely, yes - but no, not really).

 

Ross's email spurred me into action, and last week I found a 3B M805 at Cult Pens (who still have the full range - and am I right that 3B & O3B are only for the M800 and M1000?) and am waving the gorgeously gushy monster around as I type. So if you've ever thought about one, I should be quick.

 

Surely the USP of Pelikan , and proof of their seriousness as a pen manufacturer, is their range of easily interchangeable nibs. OK, I can see the need for boxed mediums in airports and department stores, but apart from that, doesn't it make sense for dealers to fit the customer's nib from their stock, or if a small dealer who cannot make the investment (and I imagine it is quite a big investment) then getting a nib on special order? The whole glory of our connected age is that the 'long tail' phenomenon should make something like speciality nibs a given. Cutting out obliques? Personally, I can't use them but .... are they mad??

 

In fact, rather than reducing the range of nibs, I would have thought they should be expanding it. A proper set of italics, Conway Stewart Style, available in all countries, not just Germany,for a start. And if the investment is too great, then why not make the speciality nibs only available in steel? In my experience, the in-house steels are more interesting than the newer gold anyway.

 

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll go along with that:

[A] If they consider 3B+ etc a luxury, then why not go ahead and do offer the chance to order it for a small increase in price?

Since I find my own M215 nib better than a lot of gold nibs (with or without rhodium), then why not go ahead and offer at least this type of nib for future 3B+ nibs ???

 

Hmmm??

Life is too short to drink bad wine (Goethe)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, that is definitely a bummer because my very most favourite pen (of any brand) is my M900 (green striations) which has a BB nib. I have often thought that my next Pelikan would now have to be a 3B or an oblique)... Mike.

 

I bought my black M1000 with a OBB nib from Niche pens earlier in the year, and love it; I normally keep a pen in use for one fill before rotating, but this combination stayed in use for two refills and remained tempting even then.

 

As suggested, it makes a great 'signature' pen, but it's not limited to that. I find it improves my handwriting, which tends to small and scribbly... the bigger nib and bigger hand improve legibility & style by several orders of magnitude.

 

(I'm slightly miffed they didn't send me the newsletter.)

 

Regards,

Glenn.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This info has been posted on the German pen board almost a year ago so yes, sadly it is true. Reasons might be low sales and a relatively high percentage of returns because people bought an oblique and expected an italic - at least that's what Pelikan stated on this matter.

 

I used to love Pelikans for their choice of nibs especially since it's so easy to exchange them yourself. Reducing this variety is a sad thing.

Read more about me, my pens, photography & so on my little blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This info has been posted on the German pen board almost a year ago so yes, sadly it is true.

If I remember correctly it was about all oblique nibs, when Pelikan announced to stop producing them and just to sell the remaining nibs.

What they didn't announce last year was to stop the production of anything that's wider than B (i.e BB 3B). That's new, but I might me mistaken - it's a year ago.

 

I'm not surprised if they limit their nib selection even more now, it's just a logical follow-up after discontinuing the obliques.

Edited by mirosc

Greetings,

Michael

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Typical marketing decision. They are in business to make money and if the really wide and oblique nibs are not selling, they are going to be discontinued. Too bad.


 It's for Yew!bastardchildlil.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As I use finer nibs I can't say this affects me much but it is certainly a pity that Pelikan is reducing its offerings. The special thing about Pelikan pens was that they had a wide selection of regular production nibs on top of being able to change nibs easily. Without that variety, I can't help but feel that their interchangeability just isn't as valuable. I was hoping to get a BB ground into a stub sometime in the future to see if I would like wider nibs. Now I'm hoping I don't so I don't regret missing out on the 3B nib should I ever want it. But I'm glad the BB will continue to be available.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I might suggest that any energy one has to lament this decision be plowed into communiticating your interest in the wider and weirder points directly to Pelikan. While they're basing decisions on sales, they will be sensitive to a direct outcry and if it's sufficiently numerous they my well review the decision. It's not certain, but it will have rather more effect than any amount of shrieking here-- as comforting as it is to know there's others feeling the same, it's not going into the ear of Pelikan.

 

You might, if you want to keep the shrieking in a forum format, sign onto Pelikan's own forum and repeat all of the above there-- I find there's only one thread about the topic and it's not got a lot of action. If there's a place Pelikan's marketers are apt to attend to, it will be that one.

Ravensmarch Pens & Books
It's mainly pens, just now....

Oh, good heavens. He's got a blog now, too.

 

fpn_1465330536__hwabutton.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You might, if you want to keep the shrieking in a forum format, sign onto Pelikan's own forum and repeat all of the above there-- I find there's only one thread about the topic and it's not got a lot of action. If there's a place Pelikan's marketers are apt to attend to, it will be that one.

Actually there are at least three different threads with quite a lot of responses since the last year, but it's in the German part of the forum. The English forum is a rather underdeveloped and neglected part of it. Actually I doubt that Pelikan's marketers will take that seriously into account when making decisions.

Greetings,

Michael

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...