Old And New Tortoiseshell 400

[dubhe]

[Chrissy]

Thank you for the side by side comparison. I may be in the minority, but I prefer the newer one.

Has that nib been retipped?

[dubhe]

Thank you for the side by side comparison. I may be in the minority, but I prefer the newer one.

Has that nib been retipped?

As new received yesterday from an AD. It's a great nib to play with, but would be hard work as a daily writer.

[Chrissy]

As new received yesterday from an AD. It's a great nib to play with, but would be hard work as a daily writer.

 

OK. It just looked kind of short at the tip if you see what I mean.

 

Does it say 4B on there or IB?

[dubhe]

IB, apparently it is a limited release in the 400 size

[Chrissy]

IB, apparently it is a limited release in the 400 size

 

Thank you. That's interesting. I've never seen one before.

[Lam1]

Gorgeous pens!

But, then again, I may be a wee bit biased , since I have one from the 1990s and the new one too.

My 2016 also has the IB nib - it is one of the wettest nibs that I have and I absolutely adore it.

 

Chrissy, my wife also prefers the newer one.

In fact, she bought the one from the 1990's and didn't like it much (no bling ). As soon as Pelikan announced the release of the 2016 edition she gave me her 1990s one. I am not complaining, since I favor that one .

[The Good Captain]

I have, and like, the new one. EF nib on mine.

[Chrissy]

Mine is fitted with a F nib.

[invisuu]

I also prefer the newer release of tortoiseshell brown.

Edited July 24, 2017 by invisuu

[Bo Bo Olson]

I have a '54 400 and a '51-54 500 tortoise and they are lighter than the '90's ones.

 

Oddly, if I put the rolled gold cap of my a bit lighter tortoise 500 on my '90's 400, that slightly darker one looks murky.

[sargetalon]

Both great pens. The newer barrels have more of an orangish tint while the older ones skewed towards greens.

[mitto]

I like the old one. But both look great.

[inkstainedruth]

I only have one Brown Tortoise, an M400 from the 1990s. It was my first Pelikan (but definitely not my last! ) and has a very juicy and somewhat springy F nib on it. Looking at the photos dubhe posted, I think I also prefer the look of the newer one -- I don't really care for the greenish tint on the binde of the older pen. OTOH, I've seen photos posted of the White Tortoise pens, and tend to prefer the color of older ones, because the *newer* ones look a bit too greenish for my taste (go figure...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[dubhe]

The older one has some lovely deep reds in it, which I like, but on the whole I prefer the new.

[DrCodfish]

The nice thing is they are not all the same. There is enough subtle variation over the years that one can find a pen which is the preferred tone. Variety is the .....?

 

I have the IB nib on my M800 tortoise, what a fun nib to write with, but I agree, not ideal for an EDC.

[Chrissy]

I think that what attracts me to the newer version is the pretty nib and the extra bling of the gold bands

[Oobly]

I managed to put this pen together from spares and am very happy with the result.

 

It's an '82 to '97 green striped M400 body and cap (so it has a black section, filler and cap) with a modern tortoise binde and vintage 140 OB nib unit.

 

The only thing I'd change on it is to have a '50 to '65 body instead of the '82 to '97, since it has a larger ink capacity and better piston mechanism. But it's still my favourite pen 😁

Edited July 26, 2017 by Oobly

[dubhe]

That's a lovely frankenpelikan

[biancitwo]

My 50's tortoise 400NN is more beautiful than any 80's+ tortoise I've seen, though they are gorgeous. And, the 50's nib is beyond compare. I'll get a modern tortoise one day, especially if there is an M600, but it will be my second favorite.