Is This Typical Of A Modern Pelikan?

[Alpheratz]

I recently bought an M600 with a fine nib and an M800 with a medium with only a month between purchases. The M600 went back to Pelikan service 2 days after purchase due to hard starts on down strokes (noticeable e.g. on words starting with a "p") and right to left side strokes (e.g. words starting with an "o"). The pen wrote well for most of the time, but if I stopped writing for a few seconds I was guaranteed to get a hard start.

 

Because I had earlier bought an M200 that writes wonderfully, I though I just had some bad luck, especially considering the generally good reviews the Pelikans get here around the forums. While waiting for the M600 to come back I bought an M800 with a medium nib. It practically didn't write at all, so I returned it. I bought another one from Amazon. It suffered from hard starts on side strokes especially and sometimes on down strokes. I requested a it to be replaced and the replacement had the same problem, only happening a bit more often. I requested another replacement and when the new pen arrived, it also had the exact same issue. So in total during the last 2 months I went through 5 Pelikans:

 

- M600 - hard starts on down strokes and side strokes

- first M800 - did not write

- second M800 - hard starts on side strokes and sometimes on down strokes

- third M800 - hard starts on side strokes and sometimes on down strokes

- fourth M800 - hard starts on side strokes and sometimes on down strokes

 

I was just unlucky with the first M800 (the one that did not write) so I'm not really talking about it in this post. However, was I am wondering about is the very consistent behavior of the other pens. I noticed that with all of the pens the hard starts happened on the same letters, especially after not writing with the pen for a few seconds. Like I wrote in the beginning, if I write continuously the ink flowed fine, but if I stopped to think for a few seconds I could expect a hard start most of the times. All of the pens were very similar in that regard.

 

From the videos of different Pelikans I watched on youtube I gather this is not an unheard of issue. The exact same problem can be seen on some review videos: https://youtu.be/G9bGTQTlG_w?t=6m52s (see how the first stroke does not lay down any ink), https://youtu.be/G9bGTQTlG_w?t=7m14s (does not start immediately) and https://youtu.be/_yXIatJZqk4?t=12m9s (does not start on a side stroke). I started to suspect that maybe this is just how the Pelikans are, since the nibs are very smooth to the point of being baby bottomed.

 

I attach a writing sample of my pen to illustrate the issue. There was a 5 second break before each letter/set of lines. As you can see, the "t" is missing the opening up stroke, some of the horizontal lines are missing large chunks, there's one down stroke that did not materialize at all, and don't even get me started on the "J"... I was using Rhodia 80g paper and I apply very little pressure when writing. The problem is less pronounced on cheap copier papers. For comparison I did part of the same test with the M200, and as you can see it performed flawlessly.

 

Do you experience the same problems with your Pelikans with little pressure and smooth paper? I could really use some outside perspective on the issue. I'm trying to decide whether to keep one of the M800s or return them all and continue shopping for one that does not suffer from hard starts. Any opinion would be greatly appreciated.

[invisuu]

Yes, the exact same issue. After 2 weeks of writing with them, they started writing perfectly. No idea why, because I don't think the tipping material should wear off or anything. Try writing with it for a week or two on rougher paper, such as Tomoe River or cheap copy paper. If it still doesn't write well, send it in. That has been my experience.

[TradeWind]

Have you tried grinding the nib a bit? Or you may had the worst luck in the history of mankind to get back to back baby bottomed nibs.

[BillH]

I have not had that many problems on any of the Pelikans I own (less than 100, more than 5) but I notice my wife sometimes has trouble with what looks like a skip but it only happens on certain letters. It stumped me at first but then I noticed she was writing with her hand and fingers rather than a more fluid arm motion... and as she got past a certain point she was rolling the pen enough to lose the ink flow. Wonder if you might have something like that happening? Just a thought

 

I know there is no factory on earth that gets 100% perfect production, certainly no pen companies, not even Pelikan or MB (cough)... but not even MY poor luck is such that I can imagine getting 5 bad Pelikans in a row.

[Alpheratz]

Yes, the exact same issue. After 2 weeks of writing with them, they started writing perfectly. No idea why, because I don't think the tipping material should wear off or anything. Try writing with it for a week or two on rougher paper, such as Tomoe River or cheap copy paper. If it still doesn't write well, send it in. That has been my experience.

 

Thank you for sharing your experience. I've written with the M800 for a week now so I think I will give it another week and see if it improves. I really hope that it does, because the pen is a joy to use once it starts. The thickness and wetness of the line is beautiful.

 

Have you tried grinding the nib a bit? Or you may had the worst luck in the history of mankind to get back to back baby bottomed nibs.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm generally against doing any work on a brand new pen at this price point. I think it should write perfectly out of the box. But other than the starting issue I like then pen a lot, so I might reconsider later.

 

I also thought it unlikely that I'd had such bad luck which is why I thought that maybe Pelikans generally require more pressure to start. Or maybe they all came from the same production batch.

 

I have not had that many problems on any of the Pelikans I own (less than 100, more than 5) but I notice my wife sometimes has trouble with what looks like a skip but it only happens on certain letters. It stumped me at first but then I noticed she was writing with her hand and fingers rather than a more fluid arm motion... and as she got past a certain point she was rolling the pen enough to lose the ink flow. Wonder if you might have something like that happening? Just a thought

 

I know there is no factory on earth that gets 100% perfect production, certainly no pen companies, not even Pelikan or MB (cough)... but not even MY poor luck is such that I can imagine getting 5 bad Pelikans in a row.

 

Thank you for your answer. I don't think I'm writing with it wrong. I can write with the M200 for an hour without any problems. I've written with fountain pens on and off for the last 15 years and never had similar issues. I also tried looking for the sweet spot on the M800 thinking that maybe it's sensitive to being slightly angled, but the problem persist even if I write with nib perfectly centered or slightly turned to compensate for possible tine misalignment.

 

I wondered if it might have something to do with my writing pressure, but then the M200 starts reliably every time with even minimal pressure - I barely touch the paper and it lays down ink.

 

I agree that 5 in a row seems very unlikely. But since the problem in all of them was very, very similar, I started wondering whether maybe all Pelikans were like that.

[DrCodfish]

My experience is that almost all pens get better with time. I am not saying you should have to suffer through an interminable period of poor or sub par performance with a top tier pen such as Pelikan, you shouldn't. But I have this suggestion for you:

 

do you clean your pen before you write with it for the first time If not consider doing so. There is the possibility that the business end of these precision instruments pick up industrial chemicals such as cleaners, solvents, lubricants, (human finger prints and body oils!) and who knows what else in the process of fabrication, packaging, shipping etc. So, consider cleaning and flushing the pen first, before you ink it. You can use a commercial grade pen cleaner or you can cook up your own home brew and then do a thorough job of cleaning and flushing the nib and the pen. Do you have a loupe? If not I recommend getting one, useful in more ways than you can imagine and, well, cheap. These are basic, handy to have items for any FP addict and they will come in handy, sooner or later.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Send it in....you should have sent in all your trouble pens....with in days so the 5 weeks of nib change and I'm not sure how long the regular warentee is.

Show them what you showed us.

Edited February 5, 2017 by Bo Bo Olson

[sargetalon]

I have used many Pelikan pens and only a minority have demonstrated the behavior that you speak of. It is not typical and is very disappointing when it does occur. Sorry to hear that you have had repeated troubles. Sometimes baby's bottom can be the culprit and sometimes its simply misaligned tines. Do you have a loupe with which you can examine the nib's tines? Also, you should flush the nib prior to inking to remove any fouling or oils that may be left over from the manufacturing process that can affect performance. I would ask the vendor exchanging the nib to test it prior to shipping it out if feasible so that the issue doesn't continue to persist. Hope that you can find satisfaction with it.

[DrCodfish]

One more thing which I should have mentioned earlier: Consider also purchasing some thin brass sheets for 'flossing' your nib. This a very simple but slightly risky maintenance procedure. These thin sheets of brass are slipped between the tines of your nib and are slipped back and forth as you would use floss between your teeth. The risk is that the edge of this sheet of brass can easily put an ugly scratch on the surface of your nib if you are not careful with it.

 

This material is available form the Goulet Pen Co. I'm not a shill for Goulet, just like their service and the fact that they carry items I can't get here in my little village out in the woods of Western Washington State. This by the way is pretty good maintenance practice (infrequent) with all my pens

[Pelikanyo]

Basics here too...beware of coated and/or recycled papers

[Witsius]

This is one of the reasons I've decide, when possible, to buy my pens from a shop that will tune the pen prior to shipment. This ensures that my pen will write properly when I get it. Pens can sometimes have baby's bottom due to over polishing the nib to make it as smooth as possible. And that can cause skipping. John Mottishaw has a few videos up on his You Tube Channel showing him regrinding the nibs on a couple of different Pelikans because they skipped due to the inner margin of the nib being over rounded. I've got a Pelikan that came from his shop, and it writes wonderfully.

[DrCodfish]

"This is one of the reasons I've decide, when possible, to buy my pens from a shop that will tune the pen prior to shipment."

 

Good that you mentioned this. Cost is almost always the primary concern when purchasing one of these gems. But of course, one of the first things to go with reduced cost is .... customer service, not a problem if you are buying a product which does not require much fine tuning, or finesse, you know buying a dish washer or some such.

 

As mentioned, a pen purchased from someone with the skills to set your pen up you are likely not going to have the kind of problems which the OP has mentioned.

 

I have purchased pens from Mr. Motishaw as well as Richard Binder when he was in the retail pen business and had no problems with those pens, but by the same token, I have purchased pens from on line retailers with no problems.

[Erik Dalton]

I would suggest changing inks, paper, and examining your writing technique. You've had 5 pens and the only constant are those controlled by you.

Paper, ink, and your personal writing style.

You've changed pens, but I don't see any evidence of you addressing these other factors. I think sometimes we are too quick to blame the pen.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Well thought...Old Salt.

 

But it does look like baby bottom to me...at least the sample shown.

 

Which should have been returned as soon as it showed.

Edited February 9, 2017 by Bo Bo Olson

[TradeWind]

I just realised, for a guy (or gal) who is neck deep into the hobby, why are we treating them like a newbie?

[Erik Dalton]

Well thought...Old Salt.

 

But it does look like baby bottom to me...at least the sample shown.

 

Which should have been returned as soon as it showed.

True Bo Bo, it could be baby's bottom, but it could also be that he is twirling the nib in his grip, or any other grip issue. My point is that we normally analyze this stuff taking things step by step. No one has asked about Ink, grip, left hand, right hand, or paper. And, he/she has been through 5 pens.

I've worked on a lot of Pelikan nibs this year. Most just take a bit of polishing. I find that you are more likely to get a nib with a right to left scratch to it rather than the occasional baby's bottom. I am skeptical that you can get 5 in a row.

Helping the PO means asking the hard questions, so we can logic the thing out. It's what we always do.

I'm surprised at the number of people. Who have advised sending it back without probing into the other factors.

[Erik Dalton]

It may be that a good brown paper bag could do the job.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Well that don't eat at the nibs much when the nib is constantly rotated. But I use that to remove drag on back of the drawer for a generation or two pens.

That's all it's good for....and learning how to rotate a nib.

 

You were right about the many steps.

Tradewind was also right.

 

Well, when throwing BS at the fan....some times one don't really think first.

[Erik Dalton]

Well that don't eat at the nibs much when the nib is constantly rotated. But I use that to remove drag on back of the drawer for a generation or two pens.

That's all it's good for....and learning how to rotate a nib.

 

You were right about the many steps.

Tradewind was also right.

 

Well, when throwing BS at the fan....some times one don't really think first.

Good point, wise thoughts.