Next Pen Advice, Visconti Van Gogh Or Pelikan M800?

[PAKMAN]

Of the two pens you mention the Pelikan M800 is clear winner in my mind.

[Sham69]

Of the two pens you mention the Pelikan M800 is clear winner in my mind.

Yes I agree with pakman; an 800 vs a steel van gogh the 800 is a clear winner, provided you purchase it form someone like Richard that will check the poorly controlled nib quality. However the m800 vs a palladium van gogh, or a homo sapiens is a harder decision!

 

I think a more pertinent question is which pen are you going to purchase first? they are all magnificent pens, you need both hehehehehe.

[The Good Captain]

I have the M800. Enough said!

[Tas]

I think a more pertinent question is which pen are you going to purchase first? they are all magnificent pens, you need both hehehehehe.

 

So true . . .

[Moshe ben David]

While I know many people like the Visconti Homo Sapiens, it's just not for me. I truly detest the arched clip, i think it's one of the ugliest production clips around. And the notches for the cap retention... no.

 

Now the Pelikan M800, what a gorgeous and well made pen. But not in boring green stripe, this is more the thing:

My very favorite pen, with a fine left oblique 18k nib, it's a joy to use and look at.

 

Baric, is this pic of the Pel 600 size blue? I did not know the blue came in the m800 size?

[Moshe ben David]

I throw my vote for the Pelikan m800. Before I bought mine I focused on Parker Duofolds as my best writers. I still love them. But honestly, the m800 all around for me is a better pen. Holds a tremendous amount of ink; smooth as silk writer; just sits well in my hand. Bought mine from FPH from the 'Back Room' pages; so it may or may not have originally been 'Binderized', no way of knowing short of having Richard look at it.

[PAKMAN]

 

Baric, is this pic of the Pel 600 size blue? I did not know the blue came in the m800 size?

The Blue-o-Blue shown is a M800 size pen. The Green-o-Green was a M600 size.

[Baric]

Baric, is this pic of the Pel 600 size blue? I did not know the blue came in the m800 size?

No, that's a picture of the M800 Blue O' Blue from the Pelikan site, looks just like mine. As far as I know, the M600 is not available in the full Blue O' Blue finish. You can get the spectacular Ruby Red or Green O' Green in M600 but not M800.

 

Personally I think Pelikan is missing the boat by not offering all the special edition colors on all the upscale models (M600, M800, M1000). I'd snap up bigger Ruby Reds so fast it would make your head spin, as well as bigger and smaller Blue O' Blue's. While the Pelikan is simply a vastly superior pen, I'm not overly fond of the standard striped finish, I find it boring and not very attractive.

[dspeers58]

I think that you may find an M800 a great pen. For some time, Avalon Gallery, on Amazon, is offering a m800 Black with Broad Italic Nib for $303, including shipping. That is a great price. The nib, on any of the Pelikan's can be swapped within a month, if you do not like it. The prices for other nibs/colors etc are a bit higher, but, again, you can swap the nib and get a great pen for a great price. If you are overseas, I do not know if this deal with work for you, but at $303 or even $330/$360, the difference between the Visconti and the Pelikan is not that great. ($24-$81). You get a gold nib, not steel, if that matters to you, and a piston filler. Fahrney pens in NYC is also offering a all colors of M800 with an Italic Broad for $357. http://www.fahrneyspens.com/Item--i-363222S

 

dave

[Moshe ben David]

Baric: Thanks. I'm in total agreement with you about Pelikan not offering the SE colors in the larger models. I had considered a Ruby Red also but not in the smaller sizes. I'll have to look again at the Blue O' Blue offerings.

 

dspeers58: um. I am pretty sure Fahrney's is in DC, not NYC.

[Mags]

Given the two choices and original question, I would urge you to purchase the M800.

[fpconverted]

Good afternoon

 

Currently a Mont Blanc 146 and a Waterman Carene reside in my collection. I love both these pens, but their standard black and gold finishes sometimes have me pining for something a bit more colourful. I have been eyeing up the Pelikan m800 in green for a while, having read innumerous outstanding reviews of it, but recently I saw the Visconti Van Gogh 'self portrait' model which I thought was absolutely stunning. Obviously the Pelikan is seen as a brilliant pen, a modern 'classic' but the Van Gogh is about £100 cheaper and looks simply incredible. The Pelikan is closer in size and dimension to my current two pens and it would seem the more sensible buy but I cannot ignore the looks of the Visconti. Any advice?

You are crazy if you don't get BOTH of them. They are both distinctly different pens but write very well. Both pens im sure would love to have a place in your current pen collection.

[tomgartin]

Having tried neither of these pens, I'm scratching my head as I read this thread. The Maxi size Van Gogh has a 14k nib, at least according to what I'm seeing in reviews like this one, and a substantially large one at that, judging by this comparison between the VG and the M400.

Personally, I prefer a piston and I like the striations on a Pelikan, but some people really prefer C/C pens and enjoy the color variation of swirly materials such as those used on the Van Gogh. I suppose I see this as a much closer, 50/50 decision than most of the commenters here.

 

My advice to the OP is advice I read on FPN when I first joined:

Print out a picture of each pen and post it above your work area. Which pen do you find yourself looking at the most when you look up? That's probably the right pen for you. Worst case scenario, return it or sell it here in the Classifieds section and buy the other pen.

 

Both pens look phenomenal. I wish you the best with whatever pen you choose. Use it in good health!

[Buzz_130]

I have the Homo Sapiens and the M805. Both European pens are large, easy on the hand, and write well.

 

The Dreamtouch nib is nice, but it's very soft. The Power Filler is just ok, and I find that it can be an inconsistent filler. The material of the pen is amazing, and it really feels comfortable in your hand, even during a long writing session. No other pen has this "warmth" in your hand, and when you get used to the nib, it's a pleasure to write. Keep your ink handy, though.

 

The M80X is truly a classic. This is a reliable filler that holds an amazing amount of ink. It works every single time. I also purchased this pen from Richard Binder and have a great F nib on this pen. The flow is perfect, writes with every ink I throw at it, and the feel on the paper is excellent.

 

If I could only pick one of these two to use, I would pick the M80X every single time.

 

Buzz

[sadiemagic]

The Pelikan - you can switch nibs later on and have many pens in one, so to speak.

[Alex2014]

Definitely m800 is a high class FP. VG is nice, good writer, enjoyable, but m800 must be the choice.

[UK Mike]

 

 

Palladium is definitely not cheaper to produce then 18k..

 

Only just seen this on revisiting the thread and have to say you are incorrect or you have been misinformed..

 

As the metal markets stand today, Palladium is around half the price of 18k gold both as raw material and as a scrap price. (18k gold scrap $960/oz; Palladium scrap $539.55) Were you perhaps thinking of Platinum by mistake which is around 150% of the 18k gold price?

 

I don't think there can be much doubt that Visconti use Palladium for reasons of economy and market differentiation rather than luxury and writing performance. It is an inferior material to 18k gold for fountain pen nibs, both in cost and writing performance.

Edited February 16, 2014 by UK Mike

[Suareza]

I will go with the VISCONTI without hesitation. Whatever they did to the steel nib it is smooth as silk.

[georges zaslavsky]

m800 because quality wise, Pelikan is far superior to Visconti

[Bill]

m800 because quality wise, Pelikan is far superior to Visconti

I buy Italian pens for the same irrational reasons that some folks buy Italian cars. Reliability is not the #1 factor ;-)

 

Among my pens currently inked and in use are three M800s and two Van Goghs! And a couple of Omas Arcos, two M1000s...well, you get the idea. I'm a poor one to choose between German and Italian pens ;-)