Pelikan Back From Repair...and I'm Crushed.

November 20, 2015

Sir G. Try to put the loupe in front of the cellphone camera lens, it might just work for you.

I've tried this before with varying success, but Abi has agreed to exchange the pen, so I may not even bother taking a picture to show her. I've marked it with painters tape so she can find it easily and inspect with a loupe if she cares to do so.

So, I can either send this 205 back to Germany for another two months or accept an M200, which I really don't want. I don't want to wait another 2 months to get a working pen back from Germany either though, so I'm probably just going to accept the M200, sell it at a loss and not re-purchase the 205.

I've had my eye on the blue striped M405 for awhile now, so I'll just get that and go from there...

November 20, 2015

You've got the fever.

November 20, 2015

Did you read the link I provided back in message #14?

Do you disagree with something I wrote?

November 20, 2015

You've got the fever.

Yeah, I think at this point, its better to just cut my losses on the M205 and move on. It kind of sucks because that was my first nice fountain pen (I don't count the Parker Vector I bought in high school, lol), but if I'm going to get the M405 anyway, which pen am I more likely to pick up? I know myself and I'd probably choose the 405 way more...so screw it, I'll just sell the M200 and use that cash to get myself a "discount" on the M405. I'm in consolidation mode right now anyway...

And I guess its a good thing I didn't buy that M200 from you after all Pajaro, that would have added salt to my wounds, you know?!

November 20, 2015

sirgilbert:

I suspect your diagnosis of a crack in both sections may be correct. But just to make doubly sure ...

You mentioned early in the thread that you filled the pen as per Pelikan's instructions. I haven't seen their instructions, but with many piston-fill pens, it is really, really important to, after you have drawn the piston back, drive it out again just enough to release two or three drops of ink, and then draw the piston all the way back to its resting position. This has the effect of purging ink from the feed and the ink collector. That in turn is important because as you write with the pen, your hand warms the barrel, which warms the air inside the pen, which then expands and forces ink out into the collector and feed. If the collector is nearly dry, the ink will simply collect there. If the collector and feed are already saturated with ink, the result will be exactly what you observed: after a little while ink will begin to gather in the fins of the feed, and in bad cases will drip onto your paper.

I am sure you are already doing this, but I wanted to mention it on the off chance that you could be skipping that last step, and that this would cause you to again be disappointed by yet another pen somewhere down the road.

ron

November 20, 2015

sirgilbert:
I suspect your diagnosis of a crack in both sections may be correct. But just to make doubly sure ...
You mentioned early in the thread that you filled the pen as per Pelikan's instructions. I haven't seen their instructions, but with many piston-fill pens, it is really, really important to, after you have drawn the piston back, drive it out again just enough to release two or three drops of ink, and then draw the piston all the way back to its resting position. This has the effect of purging ink from the feed and the ink collector. That in turn is important because as you write with the pen, your hand warms the barrel, which warms the air inside the pen, which then expands and forces ink out into the collector and feed. If the collector is nearly dry, the ink will simply collect there. If the collector and feed are already saturated with ink, the result will be exactly what you observed: after a little while ink will begin to gather in the fins of the feed, and in bad cases will drip onto your paper.
I am sure you are already doing this, but I wanted to mention it on the off chance that you could be skipping that last step, and that this would cause you to again be disappointed by yet another pen somewhere down the road.
ron

You are thorough to mention it; and correct too. I put 6 drops back into the bottle and then pointed the pen nib up, screwed down the piston knob and wiped the nib and collector all clean. I actually never did this in the past with my original M205...but I made sure to follow the directions this time around.

November 20, 2015

If I understand well, is this a normal black M205? If yes, I am surprised why the Pelikan representative in the US is making so much fuss about it by not having a replacement section. It is considered a bread and butter pen in Europe and is widely available. Only difference with the M200 is the trim, otherwise it is the same pen. It is also cooler since the gold trim of the M200 makes it look more old fashioned.

I have 5 of these pens, all black, all purchased within 2015. The background, I decided to sell off all my lower end pens and replace them with new M205s, I sold off many old M200s, old M250s and old M400s and purchased 6 such pens. I got one at a bargain in ebay and I was so impressed with it, that i took this step and bought 5 more new ones. I gave one as a present to a famiy member. A M205 is the pen i reach to, when I need something uncomplicated that just writes when needed and looks discrete and business like. Even if I enjoy the flashy M800s with stripes.

So I cannot imagine that all black sections have an issue, that has gone unnoticed in a pen that sells in many copies. Here in Germany students use it too, it is a widely used pen and such issues have never been heard to my knowledge.

I would unscrew the nib from the section and see if the problem is still there with another nib, and test the nib separetely in another pen. Then contact Pelikan Germany directly to see what they have to say about this.

Edit here are two of mine, one inked with 4001 Black and B nib, one with Lamy Blue and M nib next to my DUO Highlighter.

Edited November 20, 2015 by fplover01

November 20, 2015

Do you disagree with something I wrote?

Yes. I disagree with "Ink does not HAVE to pool and build up there for the pen to write." Ink WILL collect in the fins of pens when filled with ink. The fact that you have never noticed it is irrelevant. It's not just normal, as I have said, it is essential. If they did no do so your pen would absolutely, certainly leak.

November 20, 2015

If I understand well, is this a normal black M205? If yes, I am surprised why the Pelikan representative in the US is making so much fuss about it by not having a replacement section. It is considered a bread and butter pen in Europe and is widely available. Only difference with the M200 is the trim, otherwise it is the same pen. It is also cooler since the gold trim of the M200 makes it look more old fashioned.

I have 5 of these pens, all black, all purchased within 2015. The background, I decided to sell off all my lower end pens and replace them with new M205s, I sold off many old M200s, old M250s and old M400s and purchased 6 such pens. I got one at a bargain in ebay and I was so impressed with it, that i took this step and bought 5 more new ones. I gave one as a present to a famiy member. A M205 is the pen i reach to, when I need something uncomplicated that just writes when needed and looks discrete and business like. Even if I enjoy the flashy M800s with stripes.

So I cannot imagine that all black sections have an issue, that has gone unnoticed in a pen that sells in many copies. Here in Germany students use it too, it is a widely used pen and such issues have never been heard to my knowledge.

I would unscrew the nib from the section and see if the problem is still there with another nib, and test the nib separetely in another pen. Then contact Pelikan Germany directly to see what they have to say about this.

Edit here are two of mine, one inked with 4001 Black and B nib, one with Lamy Blue and M nib next to my DUO Highlighter.

Yes, its a regular black M205, about a year old. Abi from Chartpak claims it is a "special edition" and as such, she has no parts. I'm guessing its special edition for the USA, but I was under the impression there was nothing special about it at all.

Anyway, I have no other nibs to test with and I am sending the whole M205 back to her tomorrow. I told her to just send me an M200 as a replacement. I'll just sell it as a used M200 (although technically it would be all brand new-even the nib) and put that money towards a blue striped M405 and call it done...

November 20, 2015

Yes. I disagree with "Ink does not HAVE to pool and build up there for the pen to write." Ink WILL collect in the fins of pens when filled with ink. The fact that you have never noticed it is irrelevant. It's not just normal, as I have said, it is essential. If they did no do so your pen would absolutely, certainly leak.

Jar, I've had multiple pens that have never had ink build up and pool in the collector fins of an exposed nib and they wrote just fine. You are welcome to disagree, but I am just basing this on my experience. We might be talking about two different parts of the pen? The part I am talking about is the black fins above the collar on the nib on the left in the pic below. Those fins, that are outside of the body of the pen, have never filled or even shown so much as a single smudge of wet ink before on my original M205. That pen was my daily use pen and only fountain pen for awhile. I used it A LOT. And I have a couple of other pens that also don't get any ink pooling in those fins. So you may claim it is ESSENTIAL for those fins to fill up with ink for a pen to write, but that has not been my experience. All of my pens wrote fine without ink pooling there. K, I'm done going back and forth about this...

http://www.pelikanpens.co.uk/acatalog/M200nib.jpg

November 20, 2015

Jar, I've had multiple pens that have never had ink build up and pool in the collector fins of an exposed nib and they wrote just fine. You are welcome to disagree, but I am just basing this on my experience. We might be talking about two different parts of the pen? The part I am talking about is the black fins above the collar on the nib on the left in the pic below. Those fins, that are outside of the body of the pen, have never filled or even shown so much as a single smudge of wet ink before on my original M205. That pen was my daily use pen and only fountain pen for awhile. I used it A LOT. And I have a couple of other pens that also don't get any ink pooling in those fins. So you may claim it is ESSENTIAL for those fins to fill up with ink for a pen to write, but that has not been my experience. All of my pens wrote fine without ink pooling there. K, I'm done going back and forth about this...

http://www.pelikanpens.co.uk/acatalog/M200nib.jpg

What I have said is that it is essential for those fins to hold ink instead of the pen leaking.

Sorry but that happens to be the whole purpose of those fins and of internal collectors.

Sorry but thems the facts.

November 20, 2015

Yes, its a regular black M205, about a year old. Abi from Chartpak claims it is a "special edition" and as such, she has no parts. I'm guessing its special edition for the USA, but I was under the impression there was nothing special about it at all.

Anyway, I have no other nibs to test with and I am sending the whole M205 back to her tomorrow. I told her to just send me an M200 as a replacement. I'll just sell it as a used M200 (although technically it would be all brand new-even the nib) and put that money towards a blue striped M405 and call it done...

for us here this M205 (like the ones I put up) is a normal Pelikan pen and no special edition. I am surprised it is in the US treated with such mysticism when the Black M200 isnt.

I would contact Pelikan Germany if i were you and ask to get a detailed report of the repair they conducted and their findings.

I am just surprised how two random sections and apparently not from the same batch (as one came from Germany directly) exhibit the same behaviour which is not typical behaviour of the M205 pens. In fact the pen has outstanding ratings and it is widely available at amazon germany. Such problems are not known to occur and the pen is a workhorse. This is not typical of the Pelikan M series.

There should be some ink between the fins ( i can see this in the Highlighter where the ink glows), but not ink dripping from the pen, unless you swing the thing very violently in the air. Can it be that the nib was screwed too tight in the section and it broke?

Edited November 20, 2015 by fplover01

November 20, 2015

What I have said is that it is essential for those fins to hold ink instead of the pen leaking.

Sorry but that happens to be the whole purpose of those fins and of internal collectors.

Sorry but thems the facts.

Uh, no...that is not what you said. This is what you said:

"Ink WILL collect in the fins of pens when filled with ink. The fact that you have never noticed it is irrelevant."

I can agree that if the ink has nowhere else to go and its coming out too fast that it will end up in the fins. But not all pens flood their fins as soon as you uncap them and start writing. My original M205 NEVER flooded its fins, or even wet them slightly until the section cracked. Seriously, why am I responding to this? Nevermind...I'm done. What I'm saying is common sense, I can't believe you are taking me to task on this...

November 20, 2015

for us here this M205 (like the ones I put up) is a normal Pelikan pen and no special edition. I am surprised it is in the US treated with such mysticism when the Black M200 isnt.

I would contact Pelikan Germany if i were you and ask to get a detailed report of the repair they conducted and their findings.

I am just surprised how two random sections and apparently not from the same batch (as one came from Germany directly) exhibit the same behaviour which is not typical behaviour of the M205 pens. In fact the pen has outstanding ratings and it is widely available at amazon germany. Such problems are not known to occur and the pen is a workhorse. This is not typical of the Pelikan M series.

There should be some ink between the fins ( i can see this in the Highlighter where the ink glows), but not ink dripping from the pen, unless you swing the thing very violently in the air. Can it be that the nib was screwed too tight in the section and it broke?

I'm really surprised too honestly. But the section is most certainly cracked. Not sure if it goes all the way through to the inside of the pen or not, but its there. So it needs to go back for that reason alone...I'm sure I'll have a better experience with the M405. This really is just a weird one off situation I'm sure...

November 21, 2015

Trust your gut. Your analysis of the problem seems sound. It's good that you have found a way to get a replacement. Sometimes we get hung up on solving the impossible at the expense of a quick exchange, especially with pens we love.

You can debate all night with jar about how much ink the fins should have in them. Ur both right, but there should not be the amount of ink you describe, it's not normal.

Sometimes a change of scenery is the best medicine. I know you will love your M400 and probably the replacement M200 as well. Then you will have a tough time parting with it. It's Pelikan fever..hehehe..

November 21, 2015

Trust your gut. Your analysis of the problem seems sound. It's good that you have found a way to get a replacement. Sometimes we get hung up on solving the impossible at the expense of a quick exchange, especially with pens we love.
You can debate all night with jar about how much ink the fins should have in them. Ur both right, but there should not be the amount of ink you describe, it's not normal.
Sometimes a change of scenery is the best medicine. I know you will love your M400 and probably the replacement M200 as well. Then you will have a tough time parting with it. It's Pelikan fever..hehehe..

Thanks for the encouragement Old Salt. I'm hoping I *don't* love the M200, though, lol. The plan is to not even ink it! I want to sell it before I can get attached. I'm hoping someone has a good sale for Black Friday or Cyber Monday so I can pick up an M405 on the cheap and I want to already have the funds from the M200 when that happens...

November 21, 2015

If you think ink pools in the outer feed with an M20x, wait until you try an M1000. I have to be careful to not move my arm quickly across the desk while grabbing a book, pen in hand -- ink will spatter on the desktop. The feed does fill up and stays juicy.

Again, I have an M400 whose feed fills and then depletes, fills and then depletes. Very orderly. It does not spatter if I move quickly.

I lean toward jar's experience in my own: it's normal for ink to pool on the feed, but not right for it to drip as when an air leak occurs in, say a failing piston or a cracked section.

I hope you get a pen that works well for you! Pelikans are wunderbar! I just received my fifth yesterday, a new M101. Mmmmm!

November 21, 2015

If you think ink pools in the outer feed with an M20x, wait until you try an M1000. I have to be careful to not move my arm quickly across the desk while grabbing a book, pen in hand -- ink will spatter on the desktop. The feed does fill up and stays juicy.

Again, I have an M400 whose feed fills and then depletes, fills and then depletes. Very orderly. It does not spatter if I move quickly.

I lean toward jar's experience in my own: it's normal for ink to pool on the feed, but not right for it to drip as when an air leak occurs in, say a failing piston or a cracked section.

I hope you get a pen that works well for you! Pelikans are wunderbar! I just received my fifth yesterday, a new M101. Mmmmm!

Thanks for chiming in. I *am* interested in gathering experiences for a consensus. I may have to adjust my expectations. I can honestly say I would be quite disappointed with the way your M1000 behaves. None of my pens have ever had ink pool into the fins, and they've all wrote very well, so I can only hope I get an M405 that doesn't do that. If it does though, I'll consider what I've learned here and set my expectations accordingly.

November 21, 2015

Well, there was some good lighting this morning and I was able to take some pics of the section to show the crack. Its small, and I had to use the 10x instead of the 20x, but its visible. Lest anyone think I'm a complete moron, I've shown a pic of the very prominent mold seam to show that I am not mistaking one for the other (pay attention to the orientation of the nib). The crack also runs at a slight angle and isn't perfectly straight...and it disappears part way up the section, so yeah...anyway. It may not be leaking air, but its still worth it to me to send it back, so there we are.

http://i327.photobucket.com/albums/k446/sirgilbert357/IMG_2812.jpg

This pic shows where the crack ends in the middle of the section...

http://i327.photobucket.com/albums/k446/sirgilbert357/IMG_2813.jpg

http://i327.photobucket.com/albums/k446/sirgilbert357/IMG_2814.jpg

http://i327.photobucket.com/albums/k446/sirgilbert357/IMG_2815.jpg

And finally, the much more obvious mold seam...

http://i327.photobucket.com/albums/k446/sirgilbert357/IMG_2816.jpg