Sheaffer Prelude

[samba]

Hello,

I'm planning to buy a sheaffer prelude fountain pen [340/373].Is this pen worth for money? Or else I should buy a pelikan m200?Thanks all.

 

[marcelo]

Hi samba!

 

I just ordered a Prelude. From everything I read and the videos I watched, it is a great pen, especially for the price. The Pelikan M 200 is from an upper league, AFAIK, and the price rises along.

 

 

Marcelo

[lisadan]

I like the Prelude. In some ways it's Sheafer's equivalent of Parker's Sonnet. Same cigar shape and many many versions and colors, but not as expensive as the Sonnet, although certain versions could be pricy. It is slightly on the heavy side, but not much. I have couple and they haven't given me any problem.

[Ron Z]

When we visited Sheaffer, we were told that the guys who designed the Sonnet left Parker, and went to Sheaffer, and designed the Prelude. IMO they got it right the second time.

 

Both the Pelikan and Preludes have steel nibs, so hot a heck of a lot of difference there. The plating on the Pelikan M200 trim is not as good as Sheaffers, and in my experience wears rather quickly. Pelikan uses the same filling mechanism in the M200 through M600 models, nothing fancy there. (yes, the ID is the same).

 

I like the earlier US made Preludes. Better pens IMO. The current nibs are not quite as good as the originals. But overall I find it to be a good, solid pen, and own several of them.

[marcelo]

Arrived yesterday:

 

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii33/mmmcosta/Pens/Sheaffer_zpswkilfk15.jpg

 

What a great pen!

[pajaro]

Did Sheaffer make gold nibs for the Prelude? I have a USA made Prelude with a two tone steel nib. Because of posts above I am giving the Prelude one more chance.

[mitto]

Did Sheaffer make gold nibs for the Prelude? I have a USA made Prelude with a two tone steel nib. Because of posts above I am giving the Prelude one more chance.

 

 

No. The Prelude did not come with a gold nib. I have some high end versions of the pen but none has the gold nib. Just two tone plated steel nibs.

[marcelo]

No. The Prelude did not come with a gold nib. I have some high end versions of the pen but none has the gold nib. Just two tone plated steel nibs.

True.

[Ron Z]

There are a number of gold plated nibs out there that fit the Preludes. Generally nice writing nibs. I like the two tone ones though.

[pajaro]

OK, thanks. The nib is a scratchy medium. Some alignment and smoothing will take care of that. Pen is nice looking.

[pajaro]

Prelude is still moist and writing after several days. This is a win.

[pajaro]

Prelude still moist and writing today. Better than Sonnet.

[marcelo]

Prelude still moist and writing today. Better than Sonnet.

Better than Sonnet? Wow! I like that. ☺

[ian1964]

These two rainbow coloured Preludes are among my most beautiful pens I own. I bought them on a whim at Changi airport well over a decade ago at it kicked off my passion for pens. It turned out to be a VERY expensive purchase but a rewarding one.

Edited September 5, 2016 by ian1964

[marcelo]

These two rainbow coloured Preludes are among my most beautiful pens I own. I bought them on a whim at Changi airport well over a decade ago at it kicked off my passion for pens. It turned out to be a VERY expensive purchase but a rewarding one.

 

The rainbow coloured Prelude FP is gorgeous! Congratulations, Ian!

[ian1964]

Thanks Marcello

[marcelo]

samba,

 

If you have not made up your mind yet I can tell you, after one week of Prelude writing, that I could not be more impressed with the Prelude. Body, finish, balance, grip and, most especially, the feed/nib are nothing less than impressive, outstanding for a US$ 60 pen.

 

And this samba is for you:

 

 

[woleizihan]

I got my Prelude from a lot and it was totally unexpected because I originally went just for the phileas. It's amazing! It's one of my best writers, surprisingly similar to MB1246. The nib design makes it very special to write with. The nib makes me feel like I'm using a very fine nib, kind of like using one of those needle tip tech pens but it actually lays down a wet and smooth line. It's a very interesting writing experience. I think you can get it for under $20 and I don't think there's any competitor in this price range. As for Pelikan M200, it's also a very nice pen and very good performance consistent with any other Pelikan pens. For me, it's just a consistent Pelikan experience, which you could find on any other Pelikan pens, probably with more characteristics. I'm not saying M200 is not interesting but it's more expensive than Prelude and highly sought after so I don't see a price drop in the near future. If I were you, I would probably save the money on M200 and get a higher end Pelikan in the future.

[marcelo]

I got my Prelude from a lot and it was totally unexpected because I originally went just for the phileas. It's amazing! It's one of my best writers, surprisingly similar to MB1246. The nib design makes it very special to write with. The nib makes me feel like I'm using a very fine nib, kind of like using one of those needle tip tech pens but it actually lays down a wet and smooth line. It's a very interesting writing experience. I think you can get it for under $20 and I don't think there's any competitor in this price range. As for Pelikan M200, it's also a very nice pen and very good performance consistent with any other Pelikan pens. For me, it's just a consistent Pelikan experience, which you could find on any other Pelikan pens, probably with more characteristics. I'm not saying M200 is not interesting but it's more expensive than Prelude and highly sought after so I don't see a price drop in the near future. If I were you, I would probably save the money on M200 and get a higher end Pelikan in the future.

I agree on everything, except for getting a Prelude FP for less than $20.

Edited September 9, 2016 by marcelo

[woleizihan]

I agree on everything, except for getting a Prelude FP for less than $20.

It's true. You can get it now for $27+FS on EBay and last week you could get it for $19.xx + shipping from Judd because it was on sale. I was watching that for a while and all of them are NOS.