Calling All Pelikan P1 Owners

[Pennenut]

How sturdy are Pelikan P1 fountain pens? What is to be expected in terms of writing chareristics from the nib? Any P1 owners with a fine nib?

[catbert]

How sturdy do you need? I have a user-grade F or EF (no visible nib size) that I sometimes use as a pocket pen. It feels sturdier than my 400NN. Very comfortable in hand. The nib is stiff, but precise and smooth.

[sargetalon]

I find the P1 to be as durable as any other Pelikan. The plastic can crack with excessive pressure or a drop but its not something that I would live in fear of. I will include below a piece that I wrote about the nib;

 

The hooded 14C-585 gold nib is not much to look at and reminds me of a Parker 51. Only the very tip of the nib protrudes from its plastic housing. The P1 nib tends to be very smooth and provide a generous flow of ink with just a hint of feedback. I find that the feed is particularly resistant to drying out, even if left unused for weeks. This is likely due to the feeds design which literally takes up about half of the pen. Like most hooded nibs, the P1 provides a very firm writing experience without any noticeable flex. One very nice thing about the P1 is that there were a lot of nib size options available. These came in standard sizes (EEF, EF, F, M, B, BB), left handed obliques (OF, OM, OB, OBB), right handed obliques (RF, RM, RB, RBB), and kugel ball point nibs (KEF, KF, KM). A durchschreib manifold nib (DEF, DF, DM, DOM) was also available for an added premium of 2.50 deutsche marks (DM). With that kind of variety, there is no shortage of character available from the P1 writing experience.

[DrCodfish]

"One very nice thing about the P1 is that there were a lot of nib size options available. These came in standard sizes (EEF, EF, F, M, B, BB), left handed obliques (OF, OM, OB, OBB), right handed obliques (RF, RM, RB, RBB), and kugel ball point nibs (KEF, KF, KM). A durchschreib manifold nib (DEF, DF, DM, DOM) was also available for an added premium of 2.50 deutsche marks (DM)."

 

Wouldn't it be wonderful if this range of options was available on the nibs of todays offerings.

[sargetalon]

"One very nice thing about the P1 is that there were a lot of nib size options available. These came in standard sizes (EEF, EF, F, M, B, BB), left handed obliques (OF, OM, OB, OBB), right handed obliques (RF, RM, RB, RBB), and kugel ball point nibs (KEF, KF, KM). A durchschreib manifold nib (DEF, DF, DM, DOM) was also available for an added premium of 2.50 deutsche marks (DM)."

 

Wouldn't it be wonderful if this range of options was available on the nibs of todays offerings.

 

 

I wish!

[zap210]

The only problems I have seen are cracked ends where someone tried to remove the piston mechanism improperly. This is a difficult repair to make last. I weld the crack then swage a thin metal ring on the end. It spoils the line of the pen at the back but it won't crack there again. The piston seals do not last forever and do need to be replaced on rare occasions. They seem to be as durable as parker 51's, possibly more so since they are one piece, no sealing joints or shellac to deal with. In terms of writing, leaking, blotting, dryout times, and plane travel, they seem to be comparable to the 51. Like most pens, if the nib is not working out for you, just adjust it ( a useful skill for all fountain pen users). The P1 is my EDC. Note that the Oblique nibs require an adjustment in writing angle. The ink view ports in the middle of the pen are positioned there for a reason; one can hold the pen right side up with the cap on and still see if its nearly out of ink. Most other pens have to have the cap removed and held sideways our upside down to do this. If you want a trouble free workhorse that is much more rare than the 51, 34, 88, or 2000, the P1 is a good choice. If you want the same but flashier, get the gold plated cap rather than the Silvexa (stainless steel).