M200 Cafe Creme

[Inkedinker]

Just recently stumbled on some pics and reviews of these yet I can't seem to find any used.

 

Are they "that good" and nobody letting them go?

[jesse]

I think they are very desirable. I absolutely love mine.

[Inkedinker]

Well I might have to make the leap.

 

Did you get my texts with the nibs Jesse?

[jesse]

Yes, thanks for the reminder

[sargetalon]

Not likely to find many used at this point. They are very nice pens. New ones can still be had though. eBay has a few, $159 at the lowest pricing. Good luck tracking one down.

[dapprman]

I partly regret mine - gave a review here, if I'd waited a few months more my score would have been lower. Looks very nice, but was not impressed by the writing experience. Nothing badly wrong, just not a good pen in the sort of way that would stop me buying another M200/205/215.

Edited November 10, 2016 by dapprman

[jesse]

Stick an m400 nib in there and you will love it again

[Inkedinker]

I'm still forming my likes and dislikes about fountain pens. The one I originally wasn't terribly excited with has become my favorite. I am in the process of playing around with nibs to figure out what I really like. I am also waist deep in vintage pens needing an overhaul (guess I am gonna be busy this weekend!) and I also have put my penning addiction in a budget. If I could find one used, I could justify it and at $159 it's just over what I would like to spend at the moment.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Stick an m400 nib in there and you will love it again

 

Only if you want a modern fat, blobby double kugel...semi-nail....ball on both the bottom and top with a fat tip....it will be 'butter smooth'.....can't be much else being 1/2 a width or wider than a a 200 or a pre'98 M400....which is the same 'true' regular flex with a tad of spring as a 200, Celebry, or 38x/39x....gold or steel I find those nibs =.

 

One can always get a 200 in M...is wider with a smoother ride than the F or EF that many chase....that is as wide as a modern M400's F.

The narrower the nib the rougher the ride due to lack of foot....and a 200's F will be 1/2 a width narrower than a modern M400's F..

Edited November 10, 2016 by Bo Bo Olson

[Inkedinker]

Only if you want a modern fat, blobby double kugel...semi-nail....ball on both the bottom and top with a fat tip....it will be 'butter smooth'.....can't be much else being 1/2 a width or wider than a a 200 or a pre'98 M400....which is the same 'true' regular flex with a tad of spring as a 200, Celebry, or 38x/39x....gold or steel I find those nibs =.

 

One can always get a 200 in M...is wider with a smoother ride than the F or EF that many chase....that is as wide as a modern M400's F.

The narrower the nib the rougher the ride due to lack of foot....and a 200's F will be 1/2 a width narrower than a modern M400's F..

Does this mean you have one you wouldn't be heartbroken with letting go of??

[Bo Bo Olson]

Remember the skinny midget with The Ring?

 

Like him the answer is No!

 

When I start selling my preciouses...I'll advertise in my signature.

 

I've only sold three pens....one I almost regret, one was a finger print trap and the other was an oblique nail. But the day is coming.....next year.....the same thing I said, last year.

 

 

I favor the cost of the 200 nib over a semi-vintage '80-97 M400 nib...in they seem with the others of that era =.

I favor a '50-65 semi/maxi overall. I have a '54 semi-flex B on my 605....in it was a much better nib than the BB.....not perhaps as butter smooth....but the 605's nib was semi-nail and had no character to it.

Edited November 11, 2016 by Bo Bo Olson

[Inkedinker]

I found a high end pen store locally and was able to dip test one of these today love the feel and it was a medium tip. I could deal with that before I find a suitable Italic nib...

 

But the price locally was over $200 with tax. So I'm parting with a selection of my Vintage Collection...

[Bo Bo Olson]

On German Ebay....find a seller who takes Paypall in it costs $35 do do a bank transfer and we do that here....in the EU it is cheap.....We don't do checks.

The seller must ship to the US.

 

Geha 790 is the best buy....if you look hard you can find it still for 19E.....but mostly it's 30-50. Semi-flex, well balanced, solidly made. Geha was competing with Pelikan in both came from the same city. Torpedo shape was in then.....the 400nn, the MB 146/9, early '50's Swan pens.

http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o707/boboolson1/B6FmJVwB2kKGrHqEOKm4EyyFEhzKZBMwIPTRw_12_zpskew3nmrm.jpg

 

The medium-small but long posting (posts to the same length as the 400) 140 is 70E with great luck....90-100 now.

A '50's 400 or 400nn can be had for 90 with good luck, 100-120 if you hunt....the prices of those are also higher....if you are in a hurry. 140?????

Don't hurry.......don't hurry....hunt.

Tortoise goes for the same price as green stripped mostly. ...or 10-15 more at max.

most of the folks are just selling gramps old pen.....and look to see what they bring in past auctions.

 

But the Geha 790 one with the three jewel rings is the Best Buy for semi-flex. The nibs are a slight tad better than Pelikan.

Two posters I respect mentioned that....so I did a '50-60s test of 4 Gehas vs 6 Pelikans. Semi vs maxi. Those two posters were right!

but it's only slight......if you want to throw money after a Pelikan...OK....but the Geha 790 is the best buy.

I need to find the large vocabulary I made of all the names the Germans use for fountain pen.....I know I got it somewhere.....must have posted it 30 or more times over the years.

The first word after....fountain pen is Füllfederhalter....copy that because of the umlaut u.

 

This is right now the only list of mine I can find.....I do have a better one with more fountain pen names....but it's a start.

 

Various names for fountain pen, in German. Just copy the word. Pelikan + Word........in this case Geha 790 + word. You do not want a Geha Cartridge pen.....The billionaire who bought Pelikan then bought up Geha in 1990 shutting its completion down. Geha made a cartridge that fit Pelikan on one side Geha on the other....Geha the first cartridge pen in Germany.

It is very hard to find pre'1990 cartridges to fit.

The Piston pens are as well made as Pelikan.

Füller

Füllfederhalter

Füllhalter

Kolben Füller =piston filler
kolbenfüller =Piston filler....yep some folks spell it one way others another, and I just discovered that last month, having used Kolben Füller, for about two years. Three pens showed up, under the latter name that were not listed in the first name.

Schulfüller =school pen

SCHREIBGERÄTE =writing apparatus...also ink wells and other stuff.

Fountain pen (who’d thought it?)


Hat die Feder einen Riss an der Seite ? Is there a crack on the side of the nib.

Ja das ist sichtbar von oben sieht die Feder gut aus,
aber ist unten das Korn mit der Iridiumbeschichtung noch in
Ordnung ?
From above the nib looks good, but is there a Iridium tip under it...is it in good order.

Hat der Füllhalter kleine Risse oder tiefe Kratzer in der Aussenhuelle ?
Has the pen no cracks or deep scratches in the barrel.

From a good dealer, who had a scale of quality of his pens, is the below.

Der Artikel ist gebraucht und weist starke Gebrauchtsspuren auf. (eventuell defekt / für Bastler)
This item has been used and shows heavy signs of wear and tear. A fixer upper.

Der Artikel ist gebraucht und hat Gebrauchsspuren.
This item has minor defects but it works.

Der Artikel ist gebraucht aber in einem gutem Zustand.
This item has been used but is in very good condition.

Der Artikel ist neuwertig.
This item is second-hand but as good as new.

Der Artikel ist neu und unbenutzt.
This item is new and has not been used.

Edited November 11, 2016 by Bo Bo Olson

[Inkedinker]

Bo bo, thank you emensily for your input and the translations!!

[inkstainedruth]

I had one, which I lost last spring, after I'd had to have the B nib worked on so that it didn't skip with every ink I put into it. After I lost it, I tried to get a replacement and the only places they were still in stock were from dealers in Japan and Singapore, for more than I had paid originally, and with high shipping charges to the US.

I then lucked out on one with an IM nib on eBay. Won the auction, for less than I'd paid for the first one (!); then in June got that nib worked on (it was a firehose, even with iron gall inks), and also got a replacement B nib.

Lost that pen last week. Possibly somewhere in my house, but possibly not....

The nibs tend to need work on them, but otherwise I liked it a lot. Not sure how many Pelikan made, but I suspect that it's a case that people don't want to let them go (I was astounded that I was even able to find a second one -- and that was last spring...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

edited for typos

Edited November 12, 2016 by inkstainedruth

[Inkedinker]

Ruth I am terrible sorry for your losses. As I discovered when I finally tracked one down to try out, they are pretty well fit to my hand and writing style (Medium nib). I would like either a bit more flex or an Italic grind comparable to my Karas Kustom.

[Ronderick]

I found a high end pen store locally and was able to dip test one of these today love the feel and it was a medium tip. I could deal with that before I find a suitable Italic nib...

 

But the price locally was over $200 with tax. So I'm parting with a selection of my Vintage Collection...

 

I got the nib of my cafe creme replaced with the italic nib from the m200 Cognac. I don't think Pelikan release any more italic nibs for the m200 series after the Cognac.

 

[Inkedinker]

So the cognac comes with an Italic?? 🤔 Wonder if I could get both, swap nibs and sell the cognac...

[BillH]

I don't think the cognac is much easier to find than the creme, at least the last time I looked. You may come out better buying the nib you want and selling off the one you don't? just a guess. Good luck! Either way though I think you'll enjoy it, it's a sweet little pen.

Edited November 12, 2016 by BillH

[Bo Bo Olson]

Ruth....for personal pens....after they have been fixed up perfect....one must Engrave one's name on it.....to get it back when lost.

Remember back in the day of B&W TV....it was a mark of Class to have one's name on one's pen.....of course that was back in the day of One (Wo)Man, One pen days....when one could show off daily your pen was classy, it had your name on it.

 

The next thread that needs starting is....Who does the Best Engraving???? US, Europe, Japan.

 

As soon as I sell a western, I'm going to engrave 92% of my pens and sell them for 10-20% more....in I will be famous on my block.