Would The Pelikan M200 Be Too Small?

[inkstainedruth]

I have smallish hands. An M200 or M400 are a perfect size for me (I have both). I also have a Metropolitan. I write with pretty much all pens posted (except for a few which don't easily for one reason or another -- and which I find pretty annoying).

While a lot of the pens I have are vintage or semi-vintage, the M200 Café Crème is a great pen.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[DrCodfish]

Hello!

 

I want to bite the bullet and get my first Pelikan! I really like the look of the Congac M200 Demonstrator, and was thinking of getting this, or maybe the new Amethyst! However, my only concern is that a lot of people say these are small pens.

 

Now when I purchased my Pilot Prera, I didn't expect it to be that small! I can write comfortably with it posted, but I wouldn't write with it unposted. I usually have a tendency to reach out for heftier and/or longer pens over it, such as my Platinum 3776 Century, Lamy Safari or even my Pilot Metropolitan.

 

In this picture, the M400 looks really close in size to the Prera, so I have doubts about buying this pen. Any advice/comparisons would be appreciated!

 

(sorry edit: forgot to post the link!)

 

http://www.ciar-roisin.net/photos/SmallPens-01.jpg

 

Btw, I am a woman, so I don't have very big hands, but I suppose I would like some feedback on how the community considers the "feel" of this pen.

 

Thanks!

 

 

You are confusing me just a a bit here: You suggst that you are comfortable writing with the Perera posted, and that you note that the M400 is close in size ... but then you go on to say you have 'doubts' about buying the 200. What is the problem? If they are similar in size and you are OK writing with one posted, where does the doubt come in?

Edited August 24, 2015 by DrCodfish

[zuhandensein]

You are confusing me just a a bit here: You suggst that you are comfortable writing with the Perera posted, and that you note that the M400 is close in size ... but then you go on to say you have 'doubts' about buying the 200. What is the problem? If they are similar in size and you are OK writing with one posted, where does the doubt come in?

 

 

Posting, for many users, is a solution of a problem rather than an ideal scenario. I understand that she probably does not want to buy a pen that she has to post in order to write comfortably with.

 

I am in that group of people also. I do not like posting my pens, and particularly those with caps that I have to screw/unscrew. I use my pens many times for writing brief notes, and having to go through all the process (unscrewing-posting-unposting-screwing) several times is sometimes a nuisance.

[merrycitrine]

Thanks for all your feedback on how the M200 feels for you guys It's interesting to hear different views on the same pen!

 

 

 

You are confusing me just a a bit here: You suggst that you are comfortable writing with the Perera posted, and that you note that the M400 is close in size ... but then you go on to say you have 'doubts' about buying the 200. What is the problem? If they are similar in size and you are OK writing with one posted, where does the doubt come in?

Ah, its just like zuhandensein says:

 

 

 

Posting, for many users, is a solution of a problem rather than an ideal scenario. I understand that she probably does not want to buy a pen that she has to post in order to write comfortably with.

 

I am in that group of people also. I do not like posting my pens, and particularly those with caps that I have to screw/unscrew. I use my pens many times for writing brief notes, and having to go through all the process (unscrewing-posting-unposting-screwing) several times is sometimes a nuisance.

 

I usually don't mind posting but when I am taking quick notes, I tend not to. This happens a lot to me as a math student. Even the screw cap can be annoying during these times ;P The Prera is comfortable for me when posted, but I don't like the size of the pen. I don't know if it makes sense, but it doesn't excite me to write with it. I like my pens to either have some weight to them or to be a bit longer than the Prera. The Prera feels like a pocket pen or a child's pen, especially when unposted. Even when posted, it reminds me of holding a regular wooden pencil that I have reduced to half its size. It doesn't feel like a pen I would use to write with for hours. I find myself naturally trying to hold it more vertically and close to the nib to make it feel longer in my hand, I realized.

 

Before buying an expensive pen, I want to make sure that I would like the size and feel of it and that I have the options to write with it both posted and unposted!

 

Is it strange to have size/shape preferences for pens that don't necessarily have to do with whether or not it is comfortable in your hand?

Edited August 25, 2015 by merrycitrine

[Ernst Bitterman]

I wouldn't say "strange", but is does limit you a little; there are some pretty nice pens the size of the M200 or smaller (the Parker 75 springs to mind), and there's often a connection of large and expensive that can be avoided. I'd suggest putting some effort into convincing your hand that not-big is big enough.

 

...and just to label myself a hypocrite, I went for an M600 when I was in able to indulge in a Souveran because I liked the size. But I also really like 1940s Sheaffers, which are really hard to post and rather short (11.5 cm with the cap off).

[DrCodfish]

Perhaps my one knock on the M200 pens is their light weight. If weight is an issue for you then I would say you may not be happy with this model. For me in Pelikans, the M600 is the sweet spot.

 

And I never thought about taking quick notes with a FP. I need to be sitting at a desk propped up on my elbows to enjoy writiing with a fountain pen, and I always post my pens. My student days are 50 years in the rear view mirror.

[risingsun]

If weight is a problem on the M20X, consider hunting down an M215 as well. (Not talking to you, Doc. Just speaking in general terms to the audience.)

Edited August 25, 2015 by risingsun

[DrCodfish]

If weight is a problem on the M20X, consider hunting down an M215 as well. (Not talking to you, Doc. Just speaking in general terms to the audience.)

 

That's good scoop Dan. I am sure for many the choices and variations are a little bewildering (include me in the legion of the bewildered!).

 

I take comfort in the notion that the form, generally of these pens has roots in the very early Pelikans. The 100's and the 101's on through the years to include (in my opinion) up to the modern M400. Though I really like the M600, those examples I have of the 100 and such feel great in my hand. I have a couple fo the LE 1935 Originals of Their Times (funny name for a reproduction pen) and they are as nice for writing as any pen I have, those and my M700 Toledo always bring a smile to my face when I set nib to paper.

[carlos.q]

I am currently using a M805 and a M205, both unposted. The M805 is not that much longer than the M205 but it's way fatter and heavier.

[Christopher Godfrey]

<I wouldn't say "strange", but is does limit you a little...>

 

Herr Bitterman's comment above amuses me a little -- I also think we are able to adapt to something we think we would not normally like. I always thought I liked very small pens; but nowadays that is hardly the truth of it. More important is the whole question of balance, heft, quality of laying down ink on the page...this sort of thing. Although my own taste is towards vintage Pelikans, I own a Danitrio Densho (with modified, flexible nib) and this is by anyone's consideration a <large> pen; but it has beautiful balance and feel in my hand! Ditto, a Japanese take on an Italian design (Canetti) from years ago, that is made from solid brass and is therefore <heavy>; but, my goodness, it has <heft> and although the nib is really stiff (so unlike my usual taste, this!), it is smooth. I always enjoy using this last.

 

So, we are permitted, I daresay, to be enigmatic...and I think this is what Ernst was hinting at?

Edited August 27, 2015 by Christopher Godfrey

[prf5]

I wouldn't say "strange", but is does limit you a little; there are some pretty nice pens the size of the M200 or smaller (the Parker 75 springs to mind), and there's often a connection of large and expensive that can be avoided. I'd suggest putting some effort into convincing your hand that not-big is big enough.

 

My Pelikan m400 and Parker 75 are my two favorite pens. Their lengths are similar, but they aren't comparable owing to differences in weight, girth, and feel. My advice to the OP is diametrically opposite to yours: Rather than trying to convince your hand to make do, assume that the pen you are looking for is out there and you need not settle.

[jar]

Of my Pelikans, the 200/400 size 600 is probably the one that gets the most pocket time.

[merrycitrine]

I wouldn't say "strange", but is does limit you a little; there are some pretty nice pens the size of the M200 or smaller (the Parker 75 springs to mind), and there's often a connection of large and expensive that can be avoided. I'd suggest putting some effort into convincing your hand that not-big is big enough.

 

...and just to label myself a hypocrite, I went for an M600 when I was in able to indulge in a Souveran because I liked the size. But I also really like 1940s Sheaffers, which are really hard to post and rather short (11.5 cm with the cap off).

Noted I will try!

 

 

Perhaps my one knock on the M200 pens is their light weight. If weight is an issue for you then I would say you may not be happy with this model. For me in Pelikans, the M600 is the sweet spot.

 

And I never thought about taking quick notes with a FP. I need to be sitting at a desk propped up on my elbows to enjoy writiing with a fountain pen, and I always post my pens. My student days are 50 years in the rear view mirror.

Wow! You sound like quite the pen and ink veteran!

 

Thanks for your comments guys! I enjoyed reading all the opinions on settling vs not settling on pen size xD

In my opinion, if I am investing money in a pen, I want it to make me feel like I am having a luxurious experience. This doesn't mean expensive necessarily. For example, even my cheap Pilot Metropolitan or Lamy Safaris feel this way. It just has to feel RIGHT for you I suppose. That doesn't mean I wouldn't be open to smaller pens ;P Just that I wouldn't buy small expensive ones without testing them physically in a store.

 

 

[Mastiff]

Most of us come from ballpoint pen background, and I am sure none of us ever felt that those BiC ballpoints were too small to use!

 

I personally started with m800s, then m1000s and have come back to m400s.