Pelikan Nibmeister

[Sazerac]

Over the years, I have owned several Pelikan pens (modern 600s, 800s, and 1000s mostly), and some of them have flow issues out of the box: they write fine for a while but slowly go dry; to restart I turn the piston knob a bit. I currently have an 800 purchased several years ago that I recently broke out of the box and decided to use regularly, but unfortunately, it too has flow issues.

 

In the past, I have sent them to Michael Masuyama for tuning. But his current work load means that I would be without my pen for a couple of months, which is not ideal. Are there other nibmeisters -- especially ones familiar with Pelikan pens -- that others would recommend? Or is this something I can fix myself?

 

 

[Pelikan Vera]

this does not sound like normal behaviour....wash it out with a little dishwasher in water, flush with water and try again. maybe some residual oil in the pen? Try a wet ink like Montblanc in it too. good luck...Vera

[Bounce792]

I personally recommend Danny from http://www.thewritepen.net/aboutus.html

 

I've sent things to him before and his charges are very reasonable for the quality of work he does. I once had to send something back because it was not performing properly still and he got to it right away.

[sargetalon]

It seems nib meisters have steadily been growing their queues and waits are getting longer and longer. While I don't have any first hand experience, I have heard nothing but great things about Danny as mentioned above and that is probably who I would contact should I need nib services again, outside of a pen show environment. Good luck getting it tuned to your satisfaction.

[Mags]

I think the first thing to do is to triage the pen by assessing it with other inks to be certain there is a flow issue. Try the pen on other papers to ensure it is not just the quality of ink or paper in use.

 

Try a quick flush of the pen and refill.

 

Try a little nib floss...use a brass shim to ensure there are no paper fibres in the nib slit.

 

Now as to nibmeisters. I believe that Dan Smith is doing nib tuning and grinds and turning them around quite quickly. He is also an authorized Pelikan reseller in the US. dannzeman@gmail.com

[Bemo]

I recently had an M200 Pelikan nib ground by Linda Kennedy at Indy-Pen-Dance and was so impressed I had her do one for my Edison LE. Having been trained by Richard Binder eased my concerns. Turnaround was very fast. In the interest of full disclosure, I purchased the nibs from her so no trouble-shooting of the pen was involved.

[Calabria]

I'm a little miffed that I had to send my last two Pelikans in for tuning as the nibs were VERY wet and nowhere close EF. That said, Mike is fantastic and transformed the nibs to an Aurora EF and Sailor F respectively - though I did pay extra for expedited service (which is not always available). It was worth it in the end.

[Frank C]

I took all of my Pelikans, filled them with Pelikan ink and took them with me to the LA Pen Show. I got a ticket for a place in line and then had John Mottishaw check them all out. He only charged me for the ones he turned, and didn't charge me for the ones I'd purchased from him that only needed a little tune-up. I that he plans to go to the San Francisco Pen Show in August, too. SF is not too far from Washington State.

[Sazerac]

Thanks for the great replies. Due to work, it has taken me a while to get around to it, but I flushed the pen and flossed the nib to no avail. It will have to head to a nibmeister.

[Frank C]

Thanks for the great replies. Due to work, it has taken me a while to get around to it, but I flushed the pen and flossed the nib to no avail. It will have to head to a nibmeister.

 

I would add that the reason the good nib tuners have a long waiting list is that they are good. There are a few people who are still learning their craft who have much shorter waits. But I wouldn't send one of my M800s to them.

[shedberg]

I think the first thing to do is to triage the pen by assessing it with other inks to be certain there is a flow issue. Try the pen on other papers to ensure it is not just the quality of ink or paper in use.

 

Try a quick flush of the pen and refill.

 

Try a little nib floss...use a brass shim to ensure there are no paper fibres in the nib slit.

 

Now as to nibmeisters. I believe that Dan Smith is doing nib tuning and grinds and turning them around quite quickly. He is also an authorized Pelikan reseller in the US. dannzeman@gmail.com

 

Wow, I didn't realize Dan was an authorized Pelikan reseller. I sent a Sailor 1911L to him, he had it fixed and back in the mail to me like 2 days later. He did a great job on it as well.

[polydeucesL5@gmail.com]

+1 for Danny Fudge!

[TeamTQ]

Dear Sazerac,

I have always been big nib adjustments. I started with Richard binder soon after appeared on the "scene". I sent him Omas Paragon to be reground to an oblique and many others to be reground to a medium fine with a flow that suited style writing. I sent RB many others pens beside Pelikan to be improved upon. I called him up in the beginning spoke to him on the phone explain my issues to suite my hands. Later I met with him to show him how I write. What was very helpful was I often included a pen he ground that he could use as a guide that matched my needs. I have a medical condition that impacts my hands and fingers.

 

I spent hundreds of dollars on my pens it just seem sensible that I get them as close as I can get to get custom altered nibs suited for me. As of he last few yearsI seldom write but I sill acquire few pens a year. Last year I acquired a few DuPont Orpheos had had few pens on hand that I dropped or some other tale of woe was bestowed and did not know who to use. I choose Mike-It-Work

 

Mike's work was top notch. Of course the DuPont's were Medium nibs so I had him make one DuPont daily user stub. The Stub I able day in day out and better than I expected due to my hands.

I am sure he will make your troubled pelikan to a top notch writer it should be. Pelikans are just great writing pens easy to service and It is also nice change nibs on a whim.

I saw someone mentioned Rev Fudge who is another great guy to work with. I have bag full of Vacs and some others victims of particular ink and few others that I will probably send to Danny Fudge when I am feeling well enough pack them up, label and describe, and ship.

Mike will set your Pelikan right - Good Luck -TQ-

 

ps - http://www.mikeitwork.com/

Edited June 12, 2015 by TeamTQ

[Rick Propas]

I know Linda and Mike, and they are well trained and conscientious. I would not hesitate to entrust my nib to them.

 

I recently had an M200 Pelikan nib ground by Linda Kennedy at Indy-Pen-Dance and was so impressed I had her do one for my Edison LE. Having been trained by Richard Binder eased my concerns. Turnaround was very fast. In the interest of full disclosure, I purchased the nibs from her so no trouble-shooting of the pen was involved.