Which Pelikan Should I Buy Next? And Is The Stresemann Worth It?

[Mary P]

I bought the 400 White tortoise at the Portland Pen Show in 2003 or 20004. It is one of my favorite pens. I also have a 250 in tortoise and a 200 tortoise with an oblique nib. I am very left eye dominant and I had Richard Binder tune the nibs on several on my vintage Sheaffers to accommodate my rotated hold. The 400 Stresemanne is on my want list. It may be a birthday gift from me to me next month.

 

I have some large, weighty pens but find I tend not to write with them often. They strain my aging, arthritic hands. The lighter birds and vintage Sheaffer Balance do not pain me to use.

[sargetalon]

Can anyone give me comparisons on the length (posted and unposted), diameter, weight, etc on the M400's, 600's, and 800's please? Nibs.com usd to have a great table that compared these things, but they have revised their website.

I love a Sailor 1911 standard, a Platinum 3776 Century, and my Newton Shinobi for office work, so If someone can just compare the M's to them, that would be Ben easier for my simple but eager mind.

Thx for this thread, and all the advice you have given.

John Meldorf

I'm mobile and can't upload a photo. Check out this link for a comparison; https://www.dropbox.com/s/lw67te3z8bss1kl/Pelikan%2520Souveran%2520Comparison%2520of%2520sizes.jpg?dl=0

[BillH]

John, hope this helps to compare:

 

 

Sheaffer No Nonsense, Pilot Metro, Lamy Safari, Platinum #3776, Pelikan M800, Pelikan M600, Pelikan M400

 

[BayesianPrior]

I'm continually surprised (as a non-poster) by how much of the differential between the models is attributable to the cap (and of course the circumference of the barrel).

[BillH]

Posting makes a huge difference for some pens. I almost never post my pens, so it doesn't spring to mind to take a picture of them that way. Sorry everyone. But I always get a chuckle when I read someone talking about the #3776 being the perfect pen but the M400 being too small... must be that big nib? Or the Safari being just right but the M800 way too big (heavier, yes).

 

The most fun thing I think this hobby has going for it is the incredible variety in every single aspect, from nibs to body size to color to material to ink to price to cache. Whew! There is something for absolutely everybody. And if you can't find yours, best go by a Bic and take up birdwatching. Oh. Wait. Only thing with more differences is the opinions of all the forum users

Edited April 9, 2017 by BillH

[proflady]

I just came back to this thread that I posted a while ago, and there is a whole other page that I missed!

 

I still haven't decided quite on my new pen, but I am loving this thread. Meanwhile, I just posted about an M200 that I found.

[php2316]

I just purchased an M120N and find to be an overall excellent pen. Writes incredibly well!

 

I agree in that I would get the M400 Tortoiseshell white first since they are out of production. The M805 is very nice and the price does not have to be significantly different than the other models if you shop around. If you are in the US, you can save several hundred dollars by purchasing overseas. Fritz-Schimpf out of Germany usually has very good prices and I get a lot of my pens from them. You should definitely shop around for the best prices. I also agree with the vote for the M12oN

[Bo Bo Olson]

I have an original 120 with all of it's gold plating....good regular flex nib, with the American Bump Under of the German school pens...it and Geha.

It is a good writer also. Same or very close to the 200 and the '82-97 era nibs.

[maclink]

I’ve noticed that the M605 and M805 Stresemann models are priced pretty much the same. Is there a reason for this? The only reason I can think of is that the M600 was the last to be released. 

[N1003U]

3 hours ago, maclink said:

I’ve noticed that the M605 and M805 Stresemann models are priced pretty much the same. Is there a reason for this? The only reason I can think of is that the M600 was the last to be released. 

The Stresemann M805, 605, and 405 are now all regular production, and at my normal suppliers in the EU, basically the same price as the other regular production Souveräns (with nominal variations and sometimes even a few € less expensive).

 

If you mean the M805 and M605 are offered for basically the same price relative to each other, then I would suggest one of them is overpriced or one is a good deal (or possibly a mix of both). Typically, the price difference between the M80x and M60x is roughly 100€.

[sansenri]

Amazon, in EU, makes some pretty good offers sometimes that totally upset normal price difference between M400-M600-M800. You need to check each offer and each nib offered, I've noticed 100€ differences sometimes on the same pen with a different nib! Amazon prices are computerized so they change continuously based on stock availability.

Do note, if you do buy from them, that when discounted, you will receive the pen in the flimsy cardboard pen box.

Not an issue if you don't care for the gift box, although the cardboard packaging they arrive in does look poorly protective.

 

[N1003U]

9 hours ago, sansenri said:

Amazon, in EU, makes some pretty good offers sometimes that totally upset normal price difference between M400-M600-M800. You need to check each offer and each nib offered, I've noticed 100€ differences sometimes on the same pen with a different nib! Amazon prices are computerized so they change continuously based on stock availability.

Do note, if you do buy from them, that when discounted, you will receive the pen in the flimsy cardboard pen box.

Not an issue if you don't care for the gift box, although the cardboard packaging they arrive in does look poorly protective.

 

Thanks for this info. Good to know, and makes perfect sense. This is an instance in which I prefer to support my local dealers, but for the bargain hunters I suppose it is a good thing.

[maclink]

A search on Amazon.co.uk comes up with no M605 Stresemann.

 

I’ve also checked many resellers and  the M605 Stresemann is significantly more expensive than the other M60x’s. This is unlike the M805 Stresemann which is the same price as the other M80x’s. This combination pushes the M605 Stresemann price to be very close to that of the M805 Stresemann. I’m reading the responses about what should be and it makes sense but this isn’t what I’m seeing, even at CultPens where Pelikan pricing is quite competitive. 

 

[N1003U]

5 hours ago, maclink said:

A search on Amazon.co.uk comes up with no M605 Stresemann.

 

I’ve also checked many resellers and  the M605 Stresemann is significantly more expensive than the other M60x’s. This is unlike the M805 Stresemann which is the same price as the other M80x’s. This combination pushes the M605 Stresemann price to be very close to that of the M805 Stresemann. I’m reading the responses about what should be and it makes sense but this isn’t what I’m seeing, even at CultPens where Pelikan pricing is quite competitive. 

 

 

The numbers below represent pricing in Euros, including VAT (21% in the Netherlands, 19% in Germany) from three of my preferred suppliers as of 16:00 Central European Summer Time on Wednesday 02JUN21:

 

 

I don't know how dynamic the pricing is at Cult Pens, but I do find that Appelboom has a talent for fairly rapidly reacting to increased demand or short supply. Appelboom seems to be offering the M605 Stresemann at an elevated price (though not all the way to the M800 level), while the other Stresemann models are the same price as the standard Souverän models. I wonder if there is a supply issue somewhere with the M605 Stresemann.

 

The German vendors I typically use are selling all three Stresemann models at the same price as other standard production Souverän models (with one exception, and in that case, the Stresemann M405 is actually 12EUR cheaper, but still what I would call "in-line" with standard pricing).

 

So, in short, it is for me hard to discern a non-vendor-specific issue. Perhaps there are spot shortages of the M605? Who knows. At least speaking for myself, I seem to have paid a standard price for my M605 Stresemann compared to comparable M600 models purchased from the same vendor at the same time.

 

Edit: another thing one might take away from this data is that at least these three vendors with webshop presence in the EU tend to keep their pricing firmly competitive relative to one another. The differentiation between these three vendor for me is usually availability of a specific model, special discounts or promotional items, or special offers on shipping.

[nibtip]

https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B07ZGVVF8Y?psc=1

amongst others

[stoen]

Hello,

 

Please pardon my asking a question. I know what kind of binde (sleeve) design pattern was originally nicknamed Stresemann, and whose pants it was named after, since its inception, in 1949 (transitional Pelikan 100N/101N, 400, 300, 140, Merz&Krell and all the historical Pelikan pens thereafter, as well as standard design vintage and newer Souverän series).

 

What variation of the striped binde design is being nicknamed “Stresemann” in nowadays’ pens? Is it perhaps associated with a specific color combination?

 

Thanks.

[sanphoemo]

Well, nowadays "Stresemann" refers to a grey-black striped version of Pelikans. It reminds of the suit pattern (striped grey-dark grey black ) of a a former minister of Germany called Gustav Stresemann.

Beautiful design, love it.