Pelikan Ef M400 Writes More Broadly Than F M200

[MatthewSoper]

I have a Pelikan Demonstrator which came with the M200 Fine nib. This nib is steel with gold plate. I decided to see what the M400 nib would be like and ordered an Extra Fine nib knowing that gold nibs write slightly broader. I have been extremely disappointed to say the least. The 14c M400 EF nib writes like a broad nib. The lines are wide and it is annoying since it is suppose to be an EF nib. I contacted Chartpak and did a nib exchange and the replacement seems to be as broad. (which makes me sceptical if it was actually replaced).

 

My question is, has anyone else had similar experiences and is the M400 EF 14c nib naturally a very broad EF?

Pelikan nib writing comparison 2014.11.20.pdf

[savingbirds]

There seems to be a lot of feathering, which indicates poor paper. From experience, my Pelikan gold nibs write wetter than their steel nibs, so you would experience a wider line when using cheap paper.

 

If the "problem" still persists on ink-resistant paper, consider a nib exchange from Pelikan.

[Joe in Seattle]

Yes. I bought an M415 with an EF nib and ended up selling the 14k nib and buying steel. Pelikans run both wet and broad in my experience.

[prf5]

Has anyone else had similar experiences and is the M400 EF 14c nib naturally a very broad EF?

 

 

Your experience pretty much mirrors mine. After two nib changes, I sent my m400 EF to a nibmeister. It's been sitting in his queue since the middle of September. One tip: Chartpak will expect you to use Pelikan ink and to fill the pen the "Pelikan way."

Edited February 9, 2015 by prf5

[Bo Bo Olson]

Yep, when one started out with inexpensive Japanese pens...all western pens are 'wide'...in the Japanese nibs are miss marked one size narrower. This BS of "wider than normal" when none say, which pens they are talking about. Lamy is also 'wider than normal'....unless of course you own mostly Pelikan and Lamy pens....then all the Japanese pens are of course narrower than 'normal'.

Of Western nibs Aurora is the narrowest....close to Japanese narrow.

Please read my signature.

 

I have seen old obsolete charts that showed Parker and Sheaffer as wider than Pelikan...and one of the two Waterman nib widths was the same as Pelikan; except EF which Pelikan was narrower than both Waterman nib widths.

 

How ever that was an old obsolete chart from before 1998.

Since then, Pelikan has made fat blobby gold nibs for Ball Point Barbarian cross over users who don't know and don't want to learn how to hold a fountain pen....also has made it's gold nibs stiffer; now semi-nail instead of regular flex with it's tad of spring.

 

Once Pelikan also made a K nib....Kugle/ball for pencil users...in ball points were not yet in. It had like all the Pelikan pens then a flat....stubbish bottom....not the big American Bump Under. So the nib was made a bit thicker at the tip and the ball was on the up side of the nib. I have 2 K nibs in semi-flex; a '60's Geha 790 and an Osmia 773; mid '50's.

 

Now Pelikan makes a double K nib...with a thick tip, a ball on each side of the nib....(American Bump Under = the Kugle top.) And is it is stiffer semi-nail instead of a true regular flex, so Ham Fisted Ball Point Barbarians don't bend the nib.

That goes for the 400/600 nibs....I don't have a 800 (modern=nail) or 1000 to check.

 

The 200's nibs impress me. They are still 'true' regular flex, with a bit of spring....(and not fat blobby tipped semi-nails); there for are traditionally sized in width. (I have a slew of 400's so 'didn't need' a 200, but finally got a 215...and it has a good 'narrower than modern gold' true regular flex nib.

 

I've trans-mailed some eight 200's nibs to England, in some German idiots won't ship out of country. 2 were as good as my '50's 120 nib.....the others were a slight tad better as good as my '90's M400 and two Celebry nibs; the gold and steel of which are =, and true regular flex with a bit of spring and not fat.

Fat blobby came in after '97.

 

What you should do is sell that gold nib, then order from Penboard de. a '50-65 semi-flex EF. Then after 3-4 months of getting your Hand lighter a '50-65 'flexi'/maxi-semi-flex EF. You don't want to jump directly from the nails/semi-nails you are use to into 'flexi'/maxi-semi-flex....you could spring the nib....one needs a slightly light hand for that.....semi-flex can handle a Ham Fisted hand. (With your 200....you could jump the semi-flex....but why....you do need a semi-flex nib. ( I 'only' have 30 & 15 of the 'flexi'/maxi-semi-flex.........neither are "Flex" nibs, in they only spread their tines like a true regular flex 3 X a light down stroke.

A well mashed regular flex is the base. Semi-flex needs half that pressure to spread 3X, 'flexi'/maxi-semi-flex half of that or 1/4th the pressure to mash a true regular flex like your 200.

 

On my Pelikan 605 I have a vintage semi-flex B nib from my 400n....in it's such a grand nib.

 

Your other choice (IMO a distant second choice to a semi-flex) is to send your lousy modern fat blobby nib off to be thinned in the tip and made more flexible...true regular flex or semi-flex)....could also have the top made XXF, there is enough 'spare' tipping to do that.

 

You can have the underside ground stubbish to how you hold the pen, 45 degrees right after the big index knuckle, 40 degrees at the start of the web of your thumb or 35 degrees in the pit of the web of your thumb. Send a picture of you holding your pen so the nibmeister can get it right for you.

That would get you a nib equivalent of a '50-65 vintage nib....with the plus point of having a XXF nib on top of it.

Edited February 9, 2015 by Bo Bo Olson

[TimGirdler]

I have a Pelikan Demonstrator which came with the M200 Fine nib. This nib is steel with gold plate. I decided to see what the M400 nib would be like and ordered an Extra Fine nib knowing that gold nibs write slightly broader. I have been extremely disappointed to say the least. The 14c M400 EF nib writes like a broad nib. The lines are wide and it is annoying since it is suppose to be an EF nib. I contacted Chartpak and did a nib exchange and the replacement seems to be as broad. (which makes me sceptical if it was actually replaced).

 

My question is, has anyone else had similar experiences and is the M400 EF 14c nib naturally a very broad EF?

 

The Pelikan nibs I've seen run big. This is to say that tipping material needs to be trimmed to hit the width you're looking for.

 

I've seen Pelikan "Fine" nibs put down 0.7mm-0.9mm lines--that's a fine nib writing in broad-land.

 

Wider tipping makes it less likely the nib will be scratchy. Unfortunately, it doesn't help those of us who really like finer lines from our nibs.

 

Blessings,

 

Tim