Pelikan M1000 Review

[smileypen]

RATING:

How well does it write?

• 
  
• 8/10. This pen is well tuned and very VERY wet. Surprisingly Pelikan actually stuck with conventions and this actually writes like a European medium, which is a bit unfortunate for me as I ordered F hoping it would write like an M (like it did for somehow everyone else that has this pen).
  
• The nib is extremely springy which allows for some very beautiful line variation if you so desire. I hate pushing down on my pens but I do love when it happens naturally.
  
• However, there is just the tiniest amount of feedback as the pen sings across the page. And by tiny I mean this pen doesn't feel like water on a glass surface the way my Broad Visconti does. DEFINITELY not a dealbreaker or even anything I dock points off for.
  
• If you like Fine nibs this very-well might be a 10/10 writing experience for you, the only reason I gave this a 8/10 is because I prefer my nibs to be O3B instead of F.
  

How well is the pen built?

• 
  
• 9/10. The pen is beautiful, and everything I expected from purchasing the highest-end general production pen that a company makes.
  

How nice is the material the pen is made out of?

• 
  
• 7-8/10. There's nothing fancy here, and that's not what you're paying for. It's not lava, it's not some crazy resin or precious metal.
  

How nice is the filling system of the pen?

• 
  
• 9/10. This is easily the smoothest piston I have ever used and it's not even close.
  

Is this pen good value?

• 
  
• Grail pens rarely are, and I would never pay full retail for this pen (over $1k AUD). However, buying overseas from a reputable buyer made this purchase much more reasonable.
  

Conclusion

The one question you need to ask yourself is: "Do I really need a pen this big?"

GENERAL THOUGHTS ABOUT THE PEN

This is the Pelikan Souveran M1000, a grail pen for many. This model here has a Fine 18kt Gold nib and is in the green tortoise shell configuration.

The pen is made from black resin on the section and piston turning knob, sandwiching green lacqured material which is transluscent. Holding the pen up to light allows you to see the ink level within the pen. The material is lightweight which is good because this is an enormous pen. Honestly, this is just an enormous pen. I know, some people out there have Sailor King of Pens, Namiki Emporers and other gargantuan pens, but this really is a big pen. For those with big hands, this might sit very well and light and you will enjoy the size. But if you don't have big hands? Get a smaller size of this pen, the M800 or the M600 even.

The filling system used in this pen is a piston, with the back of the pen the knob to operate it. And boy is this a great piston. It operates so so smoothly without a single hitch in the piston. Compared to my Lamy 2000, this piston blows it out of the water and I really appreciate that. This is a high end pen and it's finished very nicely.

Now onto how the pen writes. This pen gushes ink onto the page. Now although it is only a Fine nib, when I use inks with high shading such as Montblanc Toffee Brown or Montblanc Irish Green, a lot of ink is pooled onto the bottom of my letters which makes my writing just look beautiful. It's very smooth, very well tuned and overall just a joy to use.

The pen writes as a European Fine, which is a good and a bad thing. Good, because what a surprise, Pelikan stuck to general conventions for once. I've seen a lot of photos on Instagram where people have EF Pelikan nibs that write almost like a Medium. Bad, because I ordered a Fine expecting something halfway to a Broad. And here lies the problem. If you can't try the nib yourself, you really don't know what you're going to get. If this is someone's one and only pen, that might be a bit of a problem in deciding what nib grade you want to order.

Flow is great, and even when I push the pen and write as fast as I can, I can't make it skip. The nib is very springy, almost soft which allows for some great line variation. I would not recommend pushing the nib too far, this is not a flex nib and you can easily spring the tines.

Now onto my biggest problem with this pen. Man this is a huge pen. My hands aren't small by any means, but they're not large either. I sit in the awkward middle ground where this pen is just the tiniest too big for me, and although I love it, I can't help but feel every now and then I got the wrong pen. At the end, ordering the biggest and the "best" and ignoring fit and preference isn't a great way to shop, and I've definitely learnt a lesson from this.

Now, would I recommend this pen? Unless you consider your hands as "large", don't get this pen. Save yourself some money and get an M800 or even an M600. They're beautiful pens with nibs that write so well, and you'll thank yourself down the road!

PHOTO GALLERY

[praxim]

Do you post your pens? I have the M800, a neat little pen, and an M1000 which is a nice size. I write unposted unless the pen is so tiny it is impractical to do so (e.g. Onoto 21 or Waterman 52 1/2v).

 

Before any other assumptions are raised, I am an ectomorph of a little over average height, a bit tall but nothing unusual, making no special claims about relative size of my hands.

 

My M1000 has an M nib. I will happily swap nibs if that suits you better? I would prefer an F while my M may suit you quite well.

[prashant.tikekar]

Pelikan offers nib exchange on new pens, so you can avail that service. Swapping nib outside may void warranty.

[minddance]

Does Pelikan honour pens that are gifted? E.g. a friend gave me a Pelikan but I didn't like the nib, I have no proof of purchase or invoice slip.

[prashant.tikekar]

Does Pelikan honour pens that are gifted? E.g. a friend gave me a Pelikan but I didn't like the nib, I have no proof of purchase or invoice slip.

I don't have any Pelikan. I have heard about this from fellow fp lovers. But it has some time period limitation after the purchase, so they will ask for proof of purchase or invoice. But you can ask local Pelikan Service center for nib swapping providing them the facts and see what they can do. Else you can request nib exchange on FPN forum.

[praxim]

Pelikan offers nib exchange on new pens, so you can avail that service. Swapping nib outside may void warranty.

 

My M1000 is second hand (2015). Whether or not smileypen's is new is not entirely clear; it may well be so. In any event, I am most interested in the response to my query about posting. It has a big effect on the notional size of a pen.

[smileypen]

I purchased my pen 2nd Jan this year. How long is the window for nib exchange?

 

Thank you for the offers of exchange but I think I will only do so with a nib I see in person.

[praxim]

and, do you post your pen?

[smileypen]

and, do you post your pen?

 

Hi Praxim, sorry, I didn't see your question earlier.

No, I do not post my pen unless I am writing with something like a Pilot e95s where posting is essential. Even with smaller pens, such as the Sailor 1911 Standard, I do not post.

[minddance]

Better buy a m1000 nib new, we don't know what the previous owner did to the pen: some might mistake m1000 soft nib for flex and might do a 2x or 3x flex on it.

[praxim]

@minddance, I assume you refer to the owner before me, else your comment is daft or at best ill-considered. I have found that said owner does not appear to have handled it carelessly in any way. Sheesh! The problems from a throwaway line.

[PAKMAN]

My M1000 was way too wet so wrote much wider than hoped for. I had Mike Masuyama thin down the nib and decrease the flow. Love it now!

[minddance]

Hi Praxim, my statement wasn't directed at anyone, just a casual remark about m1000 in general

[ShneaSIG]

I just joined the m1000 club. I had to tweak the nib a bit - it had a case of baby's bottom and was too wet. I decreased the flow a little bit and touched up the nib with some micromesh. Now, it writes a gorgeous, juicy line. I ordered a medium, anticipating it would be more like a broad than a medium, and, I got what I was expecting - it's more of a broad sized line than a medium.

 

I should add that this is the second nib for my m1000, I had to exchange the first nib because it was not properly aligned or seated to the feed and the ink flow was terrible. A nibmeister probably could have fixed it, but I wasn't going to take on such a project for a new pen. Shame on Pelikan for letting that nib get out the door.

 

Now that my m1000 is up and running, I love the soft feel of the nib and the size of the pen. It's very comfortable for me to write for pages and pages. I don't post since the m1000 is so large, but it's extremely comfortable to use un-posted.

 

I've been using it to hose down page after page after page with Edelstein Smokey Quartz. I still love my m800s and even my little m200, but this m1000 is truly special.

[praxim]

Hi Praxim, my statement wasn't directed at anyone, just a casual remark about m1000 in general

 

OK, although the logical consequence of your thought is that you have never bought nor would buy a used M1000, nor any other pen which might be subject to excessive flexure in the hands of the careless. There go most of my pens.

[Tseg]

Nice personal impressions of this pen. I have discovered I prefer writing with wider section pens. While I don't have arthritis (yet?) I find my hand cramping with narrow sections, so I like this section width. I have a love/hate relationship with the M1000. My nib was a mess out of the box (burrs, signing loudly on paper, super wet). I'm not sure if I'm trying to tame this pen or it is trying to tame me. It is if I apply too much pressure this pen screams at me in a not-so-nice way to back off and be more gentle. There are moments I love writing with this pen and moments I want to throw it our the window. It is sensitive to papers and writing surfaces. However, the Medium nib that at times acts like a BB has taught and forced me to write big and soft. For that, I'm grateful. I've been waiting for weeks for a really dry Pelikan Blue-Black ink to be shipped to me internationally... I'm looking forward to its arrival as i understand this pen will behave very differently with very dry ink, which the Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black is supposed to be. This pen writes big and soft well, but gets angry when abused.

[LanceSaintPaul]

Pelikan Blue-Black in the US @ < https://vanness1938.com/collections/pelikan-ink/products/pelikan-blue-black >

 

Satisfied Customer

[senzen]

Good review! The M1005 would be my grail pen: clear, rhodium; but I would not even consider paying such prices. On the other hand I would pay that and more for a camera lens, so to each his own. In a way it sucks that fountain pen brands discriminate against those of use with bigger hands, not just the length but as Tseg says, the section diameter. My old style m600 is comfortable but looks tiny in my hands, as I don't post, and going to a modern m600 or m800 would be two to three times my max budget. In the meantime a Sailor pro Gear gives me a wider section and a spectacular nib, and Pilot also has some interesting pens: 91, 92, 912.

[Tseg]

Pelikan Blue-Black in the US @ < https://vanness1938.com/collections/pelikan-ink/products/pelikan-blue-black >

 

Satisfied Customer

 

Thanks!... my 'international ink' is a week away at this point, but next time!

[dinupravin]

I am in process of buying a Pelikan M1000 with M nib. Hope to get on the M1000 club soon.