Pelikan Vs Noodler's

[Foundational]

I have searched a lot to read and see more comparisons between pelikan fountain pens and Noodler's. Noodler's are to be flexibel, they call the Pelikan m200 springy. Please, Could you help me with Some reflections and pictures? About design and writing and such? Thank you very much in advance.

[LuckyKate]

The first Pelikan I got (a 250) is still writing like a charm 10 years later. Noodlers are fun to play with. I have several that I never did get to work that I ended giving away to someone who enjoys tinkering.

 

I like the size and shape of the Ahabs, as well as the nibs. But carrying them around, for one such as myself, is a potentially messy situation.

 

My Pelikans (I have many) are completely reliable.

[inkstainedruth]

I've had better luck with my Noodler's pens than some people have apparently had -- mine have all worked well out of the box. The nibs aren't exactly wet noodles (but neither are the nibs on my older model Pelikans -- I would call the nibs on both the 1990s era M200 and that of the [new] Café Crème to be semi-nails...).

I don't have an Ahab, but I have several Konrads, a few of the smaller FPCs, and (at this point) five of the freebie Charlie eyedropper pens. They are what they are: inexpensive pens that write pretty well, with some bit of flex to the steel nibs. Are they as good as the Pelikans in the long run? Dunno. They probably won't hold up as well. But they're decent (at least mine all are). They're easy to take apart for thorough cleaning (while you can remove the nib units on the Pelikans, I'm not sure I'd be comfortable taking the nib units *themselves* apart).

I can't even say that I necessarily get more burping into the cap with changes of air pressure with the Noodler's pens -- not after my experience with a vintage 400 on an airplane (the good news is that with a LOT of elbow grease and ammonia solution with a drop of Dawn dish detergent added I'm *starting* to see a bit of progress in removing the ring of dried Edelstein Tanzanite from the binde...).

I have both brands. I like both brands. I'm finding that I really like piston fillers. But the Pelikans (except for a 1980s era M100 I got on eBay) were WAY more expensive than even the ebonite Konrad was. Are they better pens? Probably, in the long run. But don't knock the Noodler's pens. I liked my first Konrad so much I ended buying a bunch more -- and paid less for ALL of them than my M400. And I didn't hyperventilate quite as much when I lost the first one (as opposed to the complete panic attack I had when I lost the M200 Café Crème last spring -- I was lucky in that I was able to get a replacement, and then again in being about to get a replacement B nib unit for it).

Oh, and for both the Café Crème pens, I had to pay to get the nib tuned -- the B nib on the first one in particular, because it skipped with pretty much every ink I tried in the pen.... The only issues I've had in that vein in the Noodler's pens were that some inks were too wet and drippy, and that Whaleman's Sepia wouldn't flow for love or money....

YMMV

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[rwilsonedn]

Apples and oranges. Pelikan makes pens that range from moderately to highly expensive, with an emphasis on first-quality materials, design, and finish. Historically their nibs have been somewhat flexible to match the tastes of their European customers. Lately they seem to have moved to less flexibility, changing with the times. But their quality remains high, and they charge you for it.

Noodlers is an enthusiast ink company that began importing pens from India a few years ago. They aim for people who enjoy messing with their pens, and so make no serious attempt at quality control: if you buy a Noodlers pen, expect either to get lucky or to spend time adjusting or even remanufacturing it. Noodlers offers a so-called flexible nib, apparently developed originally by Kanwrite, perhaps one of their Indian suppliers. It is not a flexible nib in the vintage sense, as it works on a different principle, requires considerable pressure to flex, and is (IMHO) not a particularly elegant writing tool. But it is undeniably fun to play with.

ron

[dogpoet]

Pelikans work. Noodlers don't.

Not really much of a comparison there: the m200 does not have a flex nib (if you're after a slightly springy nib in a production pen, the Waterman Hemsiphere has one), but unless you really lean on the nib hard (in a manner that's likely to get you into the habit of using so much force you'll spring or bend most fountain pen nibs, in fact), neither do any of the Noodlers.

[Foundational]

Thank you all very much for your responses. How about writing? I found this on the web:

https://bleistift.memm.de/2013/02/noodlers-pens-and-pelikans/

 

What are your experiences? Care to post any pics?

[woleizihan]

Thank you all very much for your responses. How about writing? I found this on the web:

https://bleistift.memm.de/2013/02/noodlers-pens-and-pelikans/

 

What are your experiences? Care to post any pics?

According to my experience, seeking line variations on either Pelikan M200 or Lamy 2000 will put yourself at the risk of destroying the nib. If I see someone else trying to flex mines, I'm not going to be happy. If you are seeking line variations, Noodlers may be a better choice but I'm not sure how better it will be. One thing the review got it right is that Noodler's flex nib is nowhere close to a dip pen nib. Build quality, no comparison between Pelikan and Noodler. Not the same price range, not the same quality. Design, it's your personal preference. If you can be more precise/explicit what kind of pictures you are looking for, I think maybe someone can post some.

[Foundational]

If you can be more precise/explicit what kind of pictures you are looking for, I think maybe someone can post some.

 

Thanks for your input!

 

If anyone could post a standard writing sample of both pens next to each other?

[Foundational]

Apples and oranges. Pelikan makes pens that range from moderately to highly expensive, with an emphasis on first-quality materials, design, and finish. Historically their nibs have been somewhat flexible to match the tastes of their European customers. Lately they seem to have moved to less flexibility, changing with the times. But their quality remains high, and they charge you for it.

Noodlers is an enthusiast ink company that began importing pens from India a few years ago. They aim for people who enjoy messing with their pens, and so make no serious attempt at quality control: if you buy a Noodlers pen, expect either to get lucky or to spend time adjusting or even remanufacturing it. Noodlers offers a so-called flexible nib, apparently developed originally by Kanwrite, perhaps one of their Indian suppliers. It is not a flexible nib in the vintage sense, as it works on a different principle, requires considerable pressure to flex, and is (IMHO) not a particularly elegant writing tool. But it is undeniably fun to play with.

ron

Thx for your opinion!

But how do they compare in writing?

[Foundational]

I've had better luck with my Noodler's pens than some people have apparently had -- mine have all worked well out of the box. The nibs aren't exactly wet noodles (but neither are the nibs on my older model Pelikans -- I would call the nibs on both the 1990s era M200 and that of the [new] Café Crème to be semi-nails...).

I don't have an Ahab, but I have several Konrads, a few of the smaller FPCs, and (at this point) five of the freebie Charlie eyedropper pens. They are what they are: inexpensive pens that write pretty well, with some bit of flex to the steel nibs. Are they as good as the Pelikans in the long run? Dunno. They probably won't hold up as well. But they're decent (at least mine all are). They're easy to take apart for thorough cleaning (while you can remove the nib units on the Pelikans, I'm not sure I'd be comfortable taking the nib units *themselves* apart).

I can't even say that I necessarily get more burping into the cap with changes of air pressure with the Noodler's pens -- not after my experience with a vintage 400 on an airplane (the good news is that with a LOT of elbow grease and ammonia solution with a drop of Dawn dish detergent added I'm *starting* to see a bit of progress in removing the ring of dried Edelstein Tanzanite from the binde...).

I have both brands. I like both brands. I'm finding that I really like piston fillers. But the Pelikans (except for a 1980s era M100 I got on eBay) were WAY more expensive than even the ebonite Konrad was. Are they better pens? Probably, in the long run. But don't knock the Noodler's pens. I liked my first Konrad so much I ended buying a bunch more -- and paid less for ALL of them than my M400. And I didn't hyperventilate quite as much when I lost the first one (as opposed to the complete panic attack I had when I lost the M200 Café Crème last spring -- I was lucky in that I was able to get a replacement, and then again in being about to get a replacement B nib unit for it).

Oh, and for both the Café Crème pens, I had to pay to get the nib tuned -- the B nib on the first one in particular, because it skipped with pretty much every ink I tried in the pen.... The only issues I've had in that vein in the Noodler's pens were that some inks were too wet and drippy, and that Whaleman's Sepia wouldn't flow for love or money....

YMMV

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Why did you like the konrad so much? What was so special about it for you?

[mirosc]

Pelikans work. Noodlers don't.

 

Amen to that.

I've got rid of all Noodlers pens. If I want flex, I'd rather buy something that really flexes. I found several superflex Waterman 3V for about 20-30€. Noodlers flex is ok for getting a taste, but nothing more - unless you want a lot of inky fingers.

You don't get flex from new Pelikans. Older Pelikans (pre 1990) have a bit of a springy nib, which is nice, but no flex.

[dogpoet]

I'm astonished that Ruth has bought that many of the things and had no problems with any of them: as I got mine through the Goulets, it can't be down to Noodlers sending seconds out of the country and saving the stock that works properly for sale in America, so it has to be either issues with quality control (as rwilson suggests) or them not travelling well.

[mirosc]

I got mine from Goulets as well...

[mike.jane]

It's really apples and oranges. Noodler's is mainly an ink manufacturer and mainly Nathan Tardif. He seems to be (IMHO) a really cool guy who cares about many things. You can follow him on youtube ( /inkneedlastforever ) (Yet, some people don't care for his views and how he uses his products to perpetuate his political viewpoints.)

Now, his pens follow a certain philosophy: He wants them to be super economical, user serviceable, and also inviting to tinkering, modifying, etc. (Edit: He has outlined this time and again in his videos) If you are one who thinks those things are all good ideas, then you might enjoy one of Noodler's pens (an Ahab maybe)

 

On the other hand, Pelikan is an old, traditional, semi-prestigious, German brand. They know they have history and a solid reputation, they know that they put out quality, they know that if they put a 200 dollar price tag on a pen, people will think it's worth it (and it probably/possibly is). Now of course not all their pens are expensive (they also make inexpensive school pens for example).

Then, their pens (are likely to/) will work just fine out the gate, no tinkering, probably no real opportunities to modify, not in the same way user serviceable, no squeezing and this and that to get it just right.

 

 

It's really so different,

personally I really cherish my Ahab and could not care less for most of Pelikan's designs, but that's just me.

 

Edit: It's also, clearly Nathan really cares for the fountain pen community, but so does Pelikan. Only their approaches and the things they do are vastly different.

 

Edit: Just so many edits....maybe too tired...oh.

Edited November 5, 2016 by mike.jane

[memm]

Thank you all very much for your responses. How about writing? I found this on the web:

https://bleistift.memm.de/2013/02/noodlers-pens-and-pelikans/

 

What are your experiences? Care to post any pics?

 

 

Thank for the link to my blog (Bleistift). It's always nice to get a few readers.

 

You might find this blog post interesting: https://bleistift.memm.de/2016/08/the-uni-ball-air-and-the-missing-flex/

 

and this video:

 

They show much flex Pelikan's F nibs have. I have more than five F nibs and they are all like that, so this is not a one off, but all are from the same time (+-5 years), so F nibs from another time might behave differently.

[pajaro]

Another apples and oranges query. Well, if you don't ask you won't know.

 

I have a lot of pens, and I have had a number of Pelikans from M200 to M1000. I knew better than to buy a Noodler's pen in the first place. After you have experienced a range of pens from school pens in school to moderately expensive pens during a career, one or two lapses into buying a cheap pen will disabuse you of thinking you will get something for nothing, or of thinking cheap pens are comparable to moderately expensive ones. It's rare that something like the Cross Solo comes along.

[Witsius]

Comparing Pelikan pens to Noodler's pens is like comparing a Yugo to a Mercedes. If you want a pen that likely will not write when you get it, will have a rough nib, will probably stop writing sometime after you actually manage to get it writing, and will leak ink into the cap for no apparent reason, get a Noodler's. If you want a pen that will last you probably the rest of your life, has a nice nib, and writes every time you uncap it, get a Pelikan.

[ac12]

I would help if you tell us specifically what you are looking for?

Are you looking for a flexible nib pen?

 

IMHO, with Noodler's you are taking a gamble.

I bought 2 Noodler's; nib creeper and Konrad. Both would drip ink from the nib. I tried fixing the nib/feed for hours, and finally gave up. The local Noodler's distributor swapped me a functional Konrad for my non-working one. But I have no idea how much hand adjustment he had to do to make it work. And that is my point about the Noodler's pens. If they work fine, but if they don't they may NOT work and that is a complete waste of money. So far my hit rate has been 0 working / 2 total failures.

 

As was mentioned, the Noodler's will flex, but you have to use what to me is a rather large amount of pressure to make it flex. I say this as my reference for flex is dip pens. Even my stiffer dip pen nibs is easier to flex than the Noodler's nib. To flex write with the Noodler's, I have to use an upright hand, not my usual slanted hand. I personally find the upright hand a bit difficult to do, but with a lot of practice it would get better.

 

As for Pelikan, I don't know ANY of the current M200 nib which are flexible in the least. To me they are all nails, and trying to flex a nail will lead to damage of the nib. For flex, you will have to get an older Pelikan nib, which I do not have. Also the Pelikan M200 EF and F nibs can be scratchy, and need adjustment to write smoothly. At least mine needed adjustments.

 

Sorry but my M200s and Noodler's Konrad are currently not inked.

[dogpoet]

Comparing Pelikan pens to Noodler's pens is like comparing a Yugo to a Mercedes. If you want a pen that likely will not write when you get it, will have a rough nib, will probably stop writing sometime after you actually manage to get it writing, and will leak ink into the cap for no apparent reason, get a Noodler's. If you want a pen that will last you probably the rest of your life, has a nice nib, and writes every time you uncap it, get a Pelikan.

 

You missed: doesn't have an airtight seal on the cap so the nib will dry out inside there to a point where it needs dipping to get it writing again in less than an hour; and will probably leak more ink from an improperly sealed window than comes out of the nib.

Of course, everybody has their own list.

[pajaro]

Is there a point?