Wondering If There Is A Market

[Lamyrada]

For Pelikans I have used little,bought from very professional sellers of Pelikans . Two 400NN and one 140

fully checked and tested a few months ago by sellers. i would offer at slightly less price I bought although I have not used them even for two full 8X10 pages. If there are willing buyers I will place a classified.

 

My journey started with cheap ($5-$20) pens, then moved to flex ($20 to $175) then to (vintage flex only, then non-flex (Pelikans)) then to modern pens of which I have tasted the Pilots and I am convinced, from Penmanships, through Preras to Heritage, that modern Pilots are my thing. I hate to think that Pelikans could fail or brake or get damage due to age... I know they have survived decades, but I don't want to use them daily. They are precious machines that should be in a collector's case, not a user. Just PM me. if there is interest, I will sell. Thanks, folks! It would be interesting to know.

 

[sargetalon]

A Pelikan in a collectors case is a sad bird. They were meant to write and they hold up quite well to that task. 400NNs and 140s come from hearty stock. I wouldn't think twice about either as a daily user. Certainly it depends on your personal comfort zone but there really is very little need to be shy around those birds. Use them and enjoy them if you like. Otherwise, I'm sure that there would be many eager fans to take them off your hands in the classifieds.

[Christopher Godfrey]

Lamyrada, Sargetalon is spot-on: these pens you mention are wonderful writing instruments and they deserve to be used -- daily! I have eight vintage Pelikans and they get used every single day (only one or two are not filled with ink at present) If you really <wish> to be a Pilot collector or user, please go ahead: two or three others will benefit from the purchase of yours, but if you liked or loved them -- do as he suggests and go ahead and use them! My earliest couple of Pelikans are from the 1930s and, as far as I am concerned, they are just as useable as any modern Souveran...

 

Whatever you decide to do, I hope you will be happy with your pens.

[DrCodfish]

Fear or concern for the fragility of a vintage Pelikans is no reason to store or resist using them. Part of the beauty of these pens is that they are very durable and can reasonably be expexted to provide faithful service 100 years given reasonable care. On top of that they are for tthe most part modular in thier design and construction so that in the event of a mishap (say you dropped one of your pens on the floor, nib first) it should be no problem to find a sutable replacement part (don't ask me how I know this).

 

On the other hand no one was born with a FP in hand, I think it fair to say that we have all followed the path you have described. Sone wind up at Pelkan Lane for a comfortable place to play with pens, Others gravitate to other brands. I woudl say that it seem you have a mild to moderate case of Pilot fever. You could do worse than to become a rabid Pilot fan. If that is or turns out to be the case there is no mharm or prejudicv what so ever. Go ahead and post your Pelikans inthe classifieds, and then go shopping for that next rung up in he world of Pilot pens.

[Bo Bo Olson]

A Pelikan 400nn is a working pen....not pretty enough to be locked up in a glass cage. No where old enough to be locked up....why they use a modern 1956 plastic gasket. How more modern can you get? That was much better than the war-'55 ones.

Could still be using the '56 gasket plastic...why change?

 

Same goes for the 140 though you could have an early one with ''antique'' plastic gasket; the odds are you have one with the modern plastic gasket.

Your 140 is semi-flex....your 400nn could be or it could be the next stage up the flex ladder, 'flexi''/maxi-semi-flex.

Those are not "Flex"/super-flex nibs. But nibs that add that old fashioned fountain pen flair with out having to do anything special.

 

As far as I know Pilot makes just regular flex nibs (Don't know if they make nails or semi-nails)....so the Vintage Pelikan ones could be a bit too much for you, in they have a bit more spring, open wider, are wetter with heavy hands and so on.

The two nibs are only designed to spread the tine; like in regular flex a max of 3 X a light down stroke.

What nib widths do you have on your birds. Perhaps that is your problem, wrong widths for you. You can buy EF's for them.

 

Pilot does make the skinniest of the Japanese nibs; and Japanese nibs are miss-marked one size small. Even though Vintage Pelikan pens are 1/2 a size narrower than Modern Pelikan pens, some folks need spiderweb and baby spiderweb nib width that can be found in the skinniest of the Japanese nibs. Pilot EF is the way to go....=...XXF in Western.

 

One should never keep pens one don't like.....release them into the wild. Sigh cubed.

 

Just don't complain later. That when you do later buy a Pilot with a custom ''Springy" or custom Falcon nib...it's not quite up to Vintage Pelikan.

 

Having those two Pelikans and not using them is like having a fancy Parker shotgun ....locked behind glass only.

Your main problem is treating them like they are pens from 1920's....not modern, robust úp to date, '50's pens.

Edited July 16, 2015 by Bo Bo Olson

[Mangrove Jack]

My two cents. If I were you I would keep them, let the Pilot fever take its enjoyable course, and once you start looking at other pens again go back to and enjoy the Pelikans.

This advise if from experience.

[Lamyrada]

The lure about Pilots is that they are greatbut I can toss them around (they are order away) and I don't do that with the 1950s. Not so with the Pelikans... And I use them, they are always on my desk, close to my computer, but I don't use them enough. I want them to last for a long time. I couldn't care less for Pilot (of any price ) if they brake. That's the issue. I like not having that over my mind; thinking they can fall, damage the nib, theyare not easily replaceable. Accidents happen. I will get rid of the 140 (semi flex as someone said and the duplicate of the 400NN) i will keep 3 others I have. OMG I have 5! I had not realized that. I want to maximize usage, so no one pen goes unused. Thanks for all the thoughts.Very appreciated.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Are you going to keep the modern Junk instead!!!!

The '80's-97 have fine springy regular flex nibs.....the modern junk only semi-nail 400/600....out side the 1000 (springy/or semi-flex) and the fine springy regular flex in the 200.

The modern post '97 800 is a nail.

 

Pen bags....pen cases.....or even a solid leather cigar case are good for 'tossing' your book bag three banks walls, ceiling and floor.

 

You have heard of shirt pockets?

Invented in 1895, right after they invented the slip on fountain pen clips. Invented for fountain pens.

 

You can of course have your tailor/mother/wife sew the shirt pocket so it has pen pockets, that way they will not fall out when you are break dancing.

[Runnin_Ute]

Its up to you what you want to do with your vintage Pelikan's, but from someone who recently lost not one, not two, not three, but FOUR of them (all post 1970) I wish I still had all four of them. (120 Merz & Krell, M150, 2 M205's)

 

I have been on the hunt for a 140 for a while including bidding on several on ebay recently. The 140 is a pen I have wanted for some time. And someday I will have one. And it will get used.

 

Your focus doesn't have to be a single manufacturer, but it sure could be two. Why not do a twin focus? Pilot's and Pelikan's. (mine is Parker and Pelikan, although more heavily Parker at the moment due to the loss I spoke of earlier). I have re-acquired a Pelikan, (M200 OB nib), I do wish it was just adding to the collection rather than replacing though.

[Lamyrada]

well, it's funny that some people think Pilots are junk,but hey, everyone have their bias. It makes me smile and feel it's not worth answering to that.

 

I do have to say that for a retired engineer that has little to write these days and uses them mostly to sketch and practice some hands, it is a waste of nice real state. I don't disagree that they are great.. that is part of the conundrum.

 

They don't get used because -- oher than the EF, they are not suited for drawing. If I want to do a watercolor painting I use watercolors, right? For sketching these pens don't work, except, as I said, two EF I have. Even the M200 that had an OM, which is great for wring, I changed for an Fine nib.

 

I have my pens seggregated by function: I have all the ones for sketching on a wrap - from "junk" through "less junk" to "definitely not junk" pens. Penmanship practice pens go in a 6 pen case and several others (including the Pelikans) go on several 3 pen cases. Other unclassified stuff is hanging on top of the desk indefinitely including the practical Pilpot VP "junk" . In all, I must have 20 pens all inked at the same time and is not practical. Knock yourself out and look at my 140 that I acquired from Mr. Propas. It's fine, is flex and is a Pelikan. LOL Kidding. It's very difficult to get rid of them. One side of my brain says YES the other says NO. It will depend on which side wins. I did enploy lots of hopurs looking for them and knowing the sellers, then talking with them. They fulfilled a dream of knowing the thrill of using a Pelikan of the 1950s.

 

Oh, gosh, I wished I had this conversation on paper so I could use them all! In different colors! Darn the computers and ipads.!

 

BTW; I have no focus, I just said that the Pilots have proved sturdy and reliable ink deliverers for my kind of use. For example, for the sketching I mention, I can use a Plumix or Prera or Namiki, or Heritage 912 or a Metropolitan. They have proved good for that. I buy for funtionality and the vintage Waterma's I use to practice writing flex, at which I am not too good yet. I don't mind using a Noodler's Creaper either, specially after enhancing done by an FPN member. No focus other than functuionality: good for sketching, good for fancy writing.

Edited July 20, 2015 by Lamyrada

[Bo Bo Olson]

I don't sketch.

The '50's-65 flat stubbish nibs with semi-flex or maxi-semi-flex gives me a nicer old fashioned fountain pen flare to my scribbling.

 

I just saw the Pelikan sketching nib, has the American Bump Under, giving I guess a rounder line.

 

If you don't write with your vintage Pelikans .... sell them.

 

Your round tip Pilots seem for you better sketching pens. I can now understand your keeping the Pelikan modern junk in they have the American Bump Under nibs, better for your sketching.

[fly_us]

well, it's funny that some people think Pilots are junk,but hey, everyone have their bias. It makes me smile and feel it's not worth answering to that.

 

I do have to say that for a retired engineer that has little to write these days and uses them mostly to sketch and practice some hands, it is a waste of nice real state. I don't disagree that they are great.. that is part of the conundrum.

 

They don't get used because -- oher than the EF, they are not suited for drawing. If I want to do a watercolor painting I use watercolors, right? For sketching these pens don't work, except, as I said, two EF I have. Even the M200 that had an OM, which is great for wring, I changed for an Fine nib.

 

I have my pens seggregated by function: I have all the ones for sketching on a wrap - from "junk" through "less junk" to "definitely not junk" pens. Penmanship practice pens go in a 6 pen case and several others (including the Pelikans) go on several 3 pen cases. Other unclassified stuff is hanging on top of the desk indefinitely including the practical Pilpot VP "junk" . In all, I must have 20 pens all inked at the same time and is not practical. Knock yourself out and look at my 140 that I acquired from Mr. Propas. It's fine, is flex and is a Pelikan. LOL Kidding. It's very difficult to get rid of them. One side of my brain says YES the other says NO. It will depend on which side wins. I did enploy lots of hopurs looking for them and knowing the sellers, then talking with them. They fulfilled a dream of knowing the thrill of using a Pelikan of the 1950s.

 

Oh, gosh, I wished I had this conversation on paper so I could use them all! In different colors! Darn the computers and ipads.!

 

BTW; I have no focus, I just said that the Pilots have proved sturdy and reliable ink deliverers for my kind of use. For example, for the sketching I mention, I can use a Plumix or Prera or Namiki, or Heritage 912 or a Metropolitan. They have proved good for that. I buy for funtionality and the vintage Waterma's I use to practice writing flex, at which I am not too good yet. I don't mind using a Noodler's Creaper either, specially after enhancing done by an FPN member. No focus other than functuionality: good for sketching, good for fancy writing.

 

Its all about tastes. I still remember that we have some discusses over Pelikan pens in another thread, quite long ago. And from what i see, you love your Pelikans, and you don't want to lock the birds in the cage because you want some pens that are more suitable for drawing and sketching.

The question is will you miss them if let them go? I'm sure the answer is yes, but to what extent? I never sold any Pelikans, though i sold some other pens, including MB, Pilot, Sailor. Why? I don't know, i just don't want to be in the situation when i feel that i want a pen which i known but i couldn't found it, especially when i'm staying in Vietnam for a long time, which is very difficult for me to sourcing a good Pelikan, while there are a lot of sellers that selling MB, Pilot or Sailors.

 

I love my 140, and i'm in the quest to hunt another 140 with ST nib. It is a hard task, i couldn't find anything in last 2 weeks. But a 140 with semi flex nib? very temping to me .

[Alex2014]

A pelikan 100 (1933) is one of my daily used FP. It's phantastique writer. Another Pelikan 100N (cca 1948) is also inked and waits to be used now and then. Probably, both are the most used FP from my collection. I have some restraints to use my Pelikan 101N Tortoise Shell, it being a more expensive FP than the other pens of mine.

[Lamyrada]

 

Its all about tastes. I still remember that we have some discusses over Pelikan pens in another thread, quite long ago. And from what i see, you love your Pelikans, and you don't want to lock the birds in the cage because you want some pens that are more suitable for drawing and sketching.

The question is will you miss them if let them go? I'm sure the answer is yes, but to what extent? I never sold any Pelikans, though i sold some other pens, including MB, Pilot, Sailor. Why? I don't know, i just don't want to be in the situation when i feel that i want a pen which i known but i couldn't found it, especially when i'm staying in Vietnam for a long time, which is very difficult for me to sourcing a good Pelikan, while there are a lot of sellers that selling MB, Pilot or Sailors.

 

I love my 140, and i'm in the quest to hunt another 140 with ST nib. It is a hard task, i couldn't find anything in last 2 weeks. But a 140 with semi flex nib? very temping to me .

 

 

I am like a pendulum. I am almost sold on not selling. To alleviate the anxiety I will only ink One of them and store the others. while I have something to write. As I see it, there will not be many people writing with pens in the future and no one to leave them to. They only TEXT these days.

[Sasha Royale]

Take some good photographs of the pens. then, sell the pens. You will have the images to look at forever, and you will have the money.