Advise for buying a vintage Pelikan 100

[woodwindmaster06]

Can someone give me advise for buying a good vintage Pelikan 100, what to watch out for, what kind of nibs ect. What kind of flex do these pens offer ect.

 

Thanks

 

Tim

Music Pen Guy

[JesseD]

Very nice pen! One of my favorites. My favorite person to buy from when it comes to Pelikans is Rick Propas at http://www.angelfire.com/mac/penguin0/

His pens are in amazing condition and he really knows his stuff when it comes to the Pelikans. He can help you to find a nib that will suit you well. From what I have heard about the Pelikan flex nibs is that they are fairly flexible but not as flexible as you will find from a company like Waterman. I have an oblique broad on my 100 and it is a very nice nib and provides very nice line variation. I am sure Rick can tell you exactly how flexible a nib he has.

 

Of course you can save some money by checking the market place here and at pentrace since they come up for sail fairly often. Then I guess some things to ask about would be how cloudy is the ink window? How crisp is the cap imprint? How flexy is the nib? How is the overall condition?

 

Hope this helps

-Jesse

[woodwindmaster06]

How will gold vs other materials due to the war affect the quality of the pen, did the pens quality drop when the war started ect....

 

Tim

Music Pen Guy

[philm]

Tim,

 

I have bought a couple of these in the past three years, both on ebay, from German dealers with very strong ratings. I consider myself lucky that both turned out to be in excellent condition and are used very often with no problems.

 

Two areas to be concerned with are the piston - many original piston systems are cork and these can dry out and be problematic. Expert repairers (Rick Propas was mentioned above) can fix them, but this takes time and money. Also, cracks in the caps and section are also a concern.

 

If you want to be certain of quality, I would buy from Rick as he discloses the condition of every pen, usually has a selection of nib type and stands behind his products.

 

I am not affiliated with him, but have purchased two pens (not 100s) and have been very satisfied.

[JesseD]

How will gold vs other materials due to the war affect the quality of the pen, did the pens quality drop when the war started ect....

 

Tim

Music Pen Guy

For some time in the 40s Pelikan used stainless steel nibs instead of gold but from what I have heard, these nibs are also very well made and very good writers. Many of the steel nibs are flexible as well. i don't believe there was any drop in quality during the war, although there might have been a drop in production numbers. Not a Pelikan expert so unsure about the details.

-Jesse