Pelikan Vs Pelikano

[OmegaMountain]

I recently bought a Pelikan M405 at PW Akkerman in Amsterdam and it's a lovely pen. It's a medium which is more like a stub and writes a little toward the dry side. While on that vacation I also spotted a white and black Pelikano in medium on the bay and I have been fruitlessly stalking them there for months - I would always get bid up more than I was willing to pay. This time, $13.50 was the winner and a good price for NOS. I ordered up a converter and got the pen out of the mail yesterday. These are my first two Pelikans. Here's my surprise - the Pelikano feels to write better. The 405, as I said, is a little drier and stubbish which makes it skip on occasion when signing my signature which has some very fast flourishes. I still love the pen, but I'm surprised by this revelation between the two pens. The 405 is springier, of course, and is still a good writing experience. Has anybody else run into the same thing? Honestly, I'm impressed by the quality of the Pelikano for what it is. The plastic is a better quality than most cheap workhorse pens like my Safari.

[chromantic]

I have many Pelikanos in various styles and I don't recall any that weren't smooth writers. The 14C gold nibs or my M300s do seem to have a slightly 'squared' tip, as opposed to the rounder tips of the steel nibs on my M150/200s (and the steel-nibbed Pelikanos) and the gold is also softer, this may acoount for some of the difference you feel. Still, the M series pens are generally considered wet writers so it's possible the nib on your 405 might need a slight adjustment. Do the problems you describe happen with all inks or just certain ones? If your nib is writing dry, using a dry ink would compound the problem.

[Pentode]

I used c.early/mid '90s Pelikanos as my daily writers for years and still have two or three and, yes, they are really good pens.

 

I don't think they write as well as my M600 (also early '90s) but they certainly write well.

 

I agree with chromatic's assessment that M series Pelikans tend to write wet and that you may want to have your nib looked at.

[OmegaMountain]

I have many Pelikanos in various styles and I don't recall any that weren't smooth writers. The 14C gold nibs or my M300s do seem to have a slightly 'squared' tip, as opposed to the rounder tips of the steel nibs on my M150/200s (and the steel-nibbed Pelikanos) and the gold is also softer, this may acoount for some of the difference you feel. Still, the M series pens are generally considered wet writers so it's possible the nib on your 405 might need a slight adjustment. Do the problems you describe happen with all inks or just certain ones? If your nib is writing dry, using a dry ink would compound the problem.

I bought Edelstein Topaz for it and that's the only ink that's been in it. I have no other experience with the wetness of Pelikan's inks...

[Pentode]

I have no other experience with the wetness of Pelikan's inks...

 

They're generally considered to be on the dry side, so they pair well with Pelikan pens, which tend to be on the wet side.

[Calabria]

 

They're generally considered to be on the dry side, so they pair well with Pelikan pens, which tend to be on the wet side.

So, if your Pelikan is a bit dry, try a wetter ink, Waterman or Aurora. I just put Aurora BBk in a new M605 EF, and it nicely lubricates the nib until it gets a little more adapted to my hand. Pens are like shoes - the soft gold does break in.

[OCArt]

I have a fair collection of different sizes of Pelikans and a Pelikano Junior that I use solely for our family's vacation diary. That Pelikano never fails to start right up and is a great pleasure to write with! I believe the Pelikano's use a kugle-style nib that is very tolerant of any writing angle.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Edelstein is not a dry ink (more a medium)....no where near as dry as Pelikan 4001. 4001 is the driest ink made by a major ink maker as far as I know.

MB is meduim.

Waterman use to be considered a wet ink....back when I was noobie back in the dark ages, the one to go to with a dry pen, or if you seemed to be having nib problems.

 

But now Noodler's users now consider Waterman a dry ink. Just goes to show you how wet Noodlers is.

 

Pelikan made a wet nib and feed for a dry ink.

Waterman made a dry nib and feed for a wet ink................both met in the middle.

 

Many Noodler users complain bitterly of how wide Pelikan nibs are.............when a super wet ink will flow more and be wider...with any pen....then add one designed for a dry ink.

(Some folks that start with Japanese will always see Western as fat....just like those who start with Western see Japanese as narrower than marked.)

[minddance]

I won't be surprised that the Pelikano writes better OOTB: my m800 did flow well and the other had baby's bottom OOTB.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I'm an American living in Germany, I've never bought a Pelikano....not even an old one.

 

I was a bit surprised the first time I heard that some folks collect them and many like them. But once Pelikan made the 120 as school pen and it's a good pen, so it's replacement had to be also. They had to compete with the Geha School pens....and Geha was the first German pen company to make cartridge pens, so they had a battle field in the schools. Geha had a serial number on theirs and the ink reservoir; so Pelikano had to be good in Geha was just as good.

 

One of the reasons I never even thought of Pelikano was as far as I know cartridge pens....and at the time I had very, very few cartridge pens.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

Years ago I'd tried Pelikanos, and I liked them. The only problem I'd had with them is that they can't be taken apart easily, maybe at all . The feed in the Pelikano is locked in there, and this makes for a restricted ability to really clean the pen out between ink experiments. The Pelikano Jr. has a nib and feed that can be completely, and easily, removed from the section. If the Pelikano's nib and feed would just come out the Pelikano might be an every day carry for me.

[BillH]

I've had great luck with this arrangement

 

[OMASsimo]

I learned writing with a Pelikano and it had to be an extremely reliable pen - just like any other pen those days. The difference between a M400 and a Pelikano was that you could play darts with the latter one and it still wrote afterwards. This was essential for us kids.

 

Some quality pens need to be broken in for a few weeks to get the nib and feed work properly. But it's hard to tell if it's that or just poor QC. This wasn't a question in the 60s and 70s.

[Nyanzilla]

The nib and feed of a Pelikano can be pulled out. But the feed usually sits very firm in it. So the first time it's very hard to get it out.

Be aware that you must not turn it. Just pull it stright out, as there is a notch which fits into a groove. I use a rubber glove for a better grip.

[Mulrich]

I'm an American living in Germany, I've never bought a Pelikano....not even an old one.

 

Don't take this the wrong way, but I always assumed you were German, not American.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

I've had great luck with this arrangement

 

 

I use a cut down cartridge and a one ounce ear syringe to force the water through. Some years ago, however, I had occasion to do that and then later take a cartridge fountain pen apart. Despite a long soak and ounces of water having been forcefully driven through the pen I found upon taking it apart that there was still a bit of ink adhering to the minuscule space between the top of the feed and the bottom of the nib . I have also found that a feed can keep ink between itself and the section sometimes. So I really feel better about putting a new ink in a pen if I have been able to get the nib and feed out so that I can make certain that they are clean.

 

If I can't get the nib and feed out I worry about an adverse ink reaction in the fountain pen with the result that the pen just develops a permanent clog, in effect "bricking" the pen.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

The nib and feed of a Pelikano can be pulled out. But the feed usually sits very firm in it. So the first time it's very hard to get it out.

Be aware that you must not turn it. Just pull it stright out, as there is a notch which fits into a groove. I use a rubber glove for a better grip.

 

What vintage Pelikano did this work on? Maybe the newer ones have feeds that can be pulled out. I have in the past used what I consider to be quite a bit of force on the feed in trying to get it out. I use a re-purposed pair of spark plug piers to pull nibs and feeds, usually. The Pelikano Jr., OTOH, does indeed just yield to getting a grip on the feed and nib and pulling, which makes the Pelikano Jr. the big ink testing fountain pens that I have.

 

From my experiences trying to get the feeds out of Pelikanos in the past I figured that there was indeed some little protrusion on the feed that clicks into a slot on the section to make it difficult to impossible to remove the feed without breaking it. I've asked about this here on FPN and not gotten encouraging news.

[Nyanzilla]

All Pelikanos. At least back to the late 70s. The nib & feed of the past 2000 Pelikanos is identic with many other newer Pelikan pens, like Pura, Level, Factor, Future, Fun, Twist, Go! etc.

Pulling the nib is easier than pulling the feed.

[jmnav]

Here's my surprise - the Pelikano feels to write better. The 405, as I said, is a little drier and stubbish which makes it skip on occasion when signing my signature which has some very fast flourishes.

 

I'd say that's not a model problem, but a unit problem which any any professional should be able to fix.