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Is This Normal On A New M1000?


SnowyZoe

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Hello, first post ever and unfortunately it's a problem with the new Pelikan M1000 I purchased.

 

I've had it for a day now and notice a lot of bad starts, general skipping on horizontal strokes, and no ink between the tines (or on the paper!) for periods of up to 30 seconds if I make a thick line.

 

Upon closer inspection, it looks like there's a gap between the nib and feed, but I'm not sure if this is normal and I just have to keep using the pen for a while for improvements.

 

Am I crazy? Or should I ask Pelikan for a replacement nib?

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Edited by SnowyZoe
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It is possible that the nib is sprung, which can happen if too much pressure is applied on a down stroke. On the other hand, as these pens have ebonite feeds, it should be possible to heat-set the feed to the nib even at this stage. As it is, the pen will not write any better with time. The gap needs to be dealt with.

Edited by Pendel

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... by taking it back to the supplier, which is to say, it is Pelikan's problem to fix or replace and should be the latter.

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I think only the vintage Pelikan feeds with the longitudinal fins were made of ebonite. Modern ones (like the one above) are made of plastic so I don't think heat setting is an option.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong.

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... by taking it back to the supplier, which is to say, it is Pelikan's problem to fix or replace and should be the latter.

 

I bought this pen from eBay and talked to the seller who suggested I contact Pelikan directly. Hopefully the warranty will hold for this.

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I think only the vintage Pelikan feeds with the longitudinal fins were made of ebonite. Modern ones (like the one above) are made of plastic so I don't think heat setting is an option.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong.

You are right. I double checked. My bad. The feed is plastic. :-(

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The gap is your problem. Although it is plastic, you can try to heat set it with boiling water, but it is much harder than with ebonite. I tried myself with little success. I ended up having to send mine out to an expert for improvement.

If you want less blah, blah, blah and more pictures, follow me on Instagram!

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Is it new? Is the seller in Australia?

 

Newness means warranty is no problem of course, and if the seller is in Australia then you have equal claims on both them and on Pelikan if that company is represented here. One can not fob you off to the other if that is inconvenient for you.

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if you buy this M1000 new, this is the solution

Plan A

go to the store that you purchase, if they cant help you go to Plan B

 

Plan B

contact pelikan international on facebook ( usually juana reply fast, and she will help you)

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Hello, first post ever and unfortunately it's a problem with the new Pelikan M1000 I purchased.

 

I've had it for a day now and notice a lot of bad starts, general skipping on horizontal strokes, and no ink between the tines (or on the paper!) for periods of up to 30 seconds if I make a thick line.

It is not normal in a Pelikan. I never had one that had hard starts and my M1000 starts to write even before it touches the paper :). You should get the nib exchanged.

 

I am a little worried about your statement that there is no ink... "if I make a thick line". Are you trying to get line variation with this nib? If that is the case, I wouldn't do that. The M1000 has a very soft nib, but it is not meant for line variation (trying to do so may damage the pen).

 

Good luck solving the problem, and welcome to FPN.

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Thanks for all the replies.

 

The gap is your problem. Although it is plastic, you can try to heat set it with boiling water, but it is much harder than with ebonite. I tried myself with little success. I ended up having to send mine out to an expert for improvement.

This will probably be a last resort because I'm inexperienced with any kind of nib tuning. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

 

Is it new? Is the seller in Australia?

 

Newness means warranty is no problem of course, and if the seller is in Australia then you have equal claims on both them and on Pelikan if that company is represented here. One can not fob you off to the other if that is inconvenient for you.

It's new and the seller is a stationery shop located in Italy. I'm trying to contact Pelikan first before I consider getting a refund from the eBay seller.

 

 

if you buy this M1000 new, this is the solution

Plan A

go to the store that you purchase, if they cant help you go to Plan B

 

Plan B

contact pelikan international on facebook ( usually juana reply fast, and she will help you)

I physically can't go to the store so I messaged Pelikan International on Facebook. Thanks for the suggestion, I didn't think of that since I'm still waiting on a response from Pelikan's official website.

 

 

It is not normal in a Pelikan. I never had one that had hard starts and my M1000 starts to write even before it touches the paper :). You should get the nib exchanged.

I am a little worried about your statement that there is no ink... "if I make a thick line". Are you trying to get line variation with this nib? If that is the case, I wouldn't do that. The M1000 has a very soft nib, but it is not meant for line variation (trying to do so may damage the pen).

Good luck solving the problem, and welcome to FPN.

I'm not treating it as a flex and was just seeing how much line variation I could get out of Pelikan's famous springy nib by applying a small amount of pressure. Nothing that would split the tines too far apart.

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I am making an assumption, you are new to fountain pens.

 

The nib will give you semi-flex line variation in it is semi-flex...it is also 18K gold so will bend and stay bend.

 

The problem with folks looking for line variation is they want 100% max all the time....instead of some with a very occasional 100% max on a single decender loop or such.

If you read my signature...I talk about what semi-flex is. I have 25 and 16 maxi-semi-flex pens.

 

For 100% always, one needs a nail stub or a nail Cursive Italic.

 

Semi-flex is a bit of flare on demand....just think about pressing harder....you don't have to press harder. :yikes:

 

Even with out thinking about it, because it is semi-flex it will give you a fatter first letter and depending on what the last letter of a word is...fatter or thinner end of it....like an....e.

 

It will give you that old fashioned fountain pen script with out you doing anything.....and you were trying to do something.....more than likely.

 

You must have a light Hand...in it is 18K...18ct. It is not as robust as a 14 K nib, which springs back easier.

 

So either the guy who sold it to you has the normal Heavy Hand...of a 'noobie' or you do.

 

I too once had a Heavy Hand...even if I had had 6-10 pens already. That was noticeable when I got my first semi-flex a Pelikan 140. I had that nib spread too wide...but under the 3X max...from excess pressure. It took me some three months to naturally lighten my Hand. (I didn't know about the 'forefinger up' method of grasping a fountain pen...I was still using the classic tripod ... death grip and killer kung fu thumb pinch.

 

I'd not come up with the saying, hold it lightly like a featherless baby bird.

Don't make baby bird paste. :angry:

 

 

It should be able to be fixed with no great problem..............

 

My light Hand** is more than likely not yours.

 

** Mine could be lighter....in I have a superflex Waterman 52...and I have to sweat blood to get my Hand light enough to get to XXF. Mostly I'm writing an F....in I have to think to get to an EF.

 

The 1000 and the 149 are huge giant pens...way too big for me. If you ...you do hold the fountain pen behind your big index knuckle like a fountain pen and not before?

Many make that mistake.

 

Such a heavy pen should not be forced to stay at 45 degrees after the big index knuckle, when having it rest at 40 degrees at the start of the web of the thumb or even rest at 35 degrees in the pit of the web of the thumb...requires less fighting the pen...and pressing the pen way too hard to hold it up where it don't want to rest.

 

My computer died a while back and I was only able to save 50% of the pictures. That picture is missing..... :(

 

The dreaded Death Grip and the deadly Kung Fu thumb pinch...has your hand all crunched up in the 'classic tripod'. :angry: :unsure:

 

You need no pressure, the nib floats in a small puddle of ink if it rests behind the big index knuckle.

 

The 'forefinger up' method of grasping a pen is an automatically light way of holding a pen. That takes three minutes to learn. (I spent half the rest of the day alternating...by the end of the week I was only using 'forefinger up', except for my triangle sectioned P-75 & safari.)

 

Yes...it took up to maybe ten minutes to get use to using a larger script because of more hand and arm movement vs the more finger scribble of before. After about 10 minutes you are back to normal.

 

 

1....your thumb is only a flat dam....not a a deadly Kung Fu thumb pinch. The pen rests against it. The thumb is placed at 09:00 on the barrel....not at that have to press down 10:30 of the Classic tripod.

The pen barrel rests against the flat thumb pad.

 

The forefinger is not all bent up and pressing down for dear life like the 'classic tripod'.

It is held 'rather'...mostly....flat along the top of the pen barrel with the forefinger pad resting on the section at @ 12:30. The less bow the finger has the better...the less pressure you use. The forefinger just sort of flops around on top as light as a feather.

 

There is a gap between the thumb and the forefinger. ..in one is at 09:00 and the other Rests at 12:30.

 

With a smaller pen, a standard or medium-long, posted brings the pen a bit back in the web of the hand. So the edge of the thumbnail would be even with the crease of the index finger pad.

 

For pens that you want to ride higher, or are not posted; then the thumbnail is slid forward 1/3 into the finger pad past the crease.

 

Uri Geller, is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the only person to have ever made a fountain pen do a somersault. Well, he can bend spoons also. No one else has ever made a pen do a somersault....so you can hold it very, very lightly. Like a featherless baby bird.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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Please don't mess with that pen. What you have is a brand new top of the line Pelikan. Find the nearest pelikan service center and send it in for service.

If you mess with it the warranty goes out the window. Worst case you buy a replacement nib and move on.

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I never realized there was such an intricate method to using the bigger fountain pens and have to admit I think I have a case of the death grip... You're right as well when you say I'm new to the more upper pens. Thanks for that BoBo.

 

Please don't mess with that pen. What you have is a brand new top of the line Pelikan. Find the nearest pelikan service center and send it in for service.
If you mess with it the warranty goes out the window. Worst case you buy a replacement nib and move on.

I'm still waiting on a reply from various Pelikan contacts like their official site, Facebook, their fine writing instruments site, and two Australian stores part of the Pelikan Group. So far, no response.

 

They've seen my message on Facebook but haven't replied either.

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You're kind of between a rock and a hard place. You have a really nice pen, and a big investment. At this point you have to follow procedure or Pelikan will leave you out in the cold. They offer free nib replacement during the first few months of ownership. Stay on them, keep copies of your emails, document your contacts, or lack thereof. The last thing you want to do is muck up your warranty.

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It looks to me like your nib is sprung, possibly from pressing too hard to test line variation. Pelikan's nibs should arch slightly downward, but yours is pretty much dead straight. Unless you received the pen in that condition, my guess is that your attempts to produce line variation are the cause of the issue. It doesn't take a lot of pressure to accidentally damage a nib like that. Remember, a properly tuned fountain pen will write with no more pressure than the weight of the pen itself, and that's the whole benefit of fountain pens over ball points. You don't need to apply pressure resulting in less hand fatigue when writing.

 

I hope that Pelikan is able to help you out. If not, all is not lost. Replacement nib units can be purchased, and are easily installed by the user. An M1000 nib unit won't be cheap, but it will be cheaper than a new pen. Also, most nib meisters worth their salt can repair a nib like yours for a reasonable fee. You may just be without the pen for a while while it's being repaired.

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. Hamlet, 1.5.167-168

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"I'm not treating it as a flex and was just seeing how much line variation I could get out of Pelikan's famous springy nib by applying a small amount of pressure. Nothing that would split the tines too far apart."

 

 

It is unfortunate that you did that..these nibs were not designed

to do that....No siree bob.

Please let us know how you resolve your dilemma re Pelikan service center.

 

And..SnowyZoe Welcome Aboard! Enjoy your time here.

 

Fred

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I disagree. While the M100 nibs are not flex nibs, they can handle what the OP described. They can be usedan to generate line variation wit out damage.

If you want less blah, blah, blah and more pictures, follow me on Instagram!

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Looking at a proper M1000 nib and a schematic diagram (both below) makes me realize how much of a gap there really is...

http://newpentrace.net/RB_images/pel_flow_problem.gif

fpn_1316200343__pelikan_m1000_bb_stub_ni

 

The good news is Pelikan contacted me saying that they've forwarded the issue to customer service and will reply later.

 

However, a store part of the Pelikan Group in my country also replied to an e-mail I sent saying that they could replace the nib if I send it over to them.

 

Right now I'm just going to wait for a response from Pelikan before I consider sending the pen.

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It is unfortunate that you did that..these nibs were not designed

to do that....No siree bob.

Please let us know how you resolve your dilemma re Pelikan service center.

 

And..SnowyZoe Welcome Aboard! Enjoy your time here.

 

Fred

 

Thanks!

 

If I do manage to get a replacement, I'm sure not going to consciously try to get thicker lines anymore, even if the nib could handle it.

 

When I tried the same thing with my Sailor 1911L with its 21K nib, it didn't have this issue.

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