Got My Pelikan M805 Ocean Swirl. Boy Am I Disappointed!

[sub_bluesy]

I had heard rumors of the cap and pen body coloring not lining up but figured I would be able to sort it out if it was an issue. At least be able to line the cap and body up to an acceptable arrangement. Ive had to re align many new Omas pens that the facets did not align so I was not afraid of the Pelikan if alignment was needed.

 

Well I was wrong. The cap threads on the Pelikan appear to be cut into the cap itself and the sealing cup is glued into the cap separately. If I remove the liner and move it down, it will just come loose after a brief amount of capping and uncapping. I spun the cap around freely in an effort to see if it was even possible to line up the Ocean Swirl sections with the black sections and found that its impossible. On my pen, the cap is about 1/2 Ocean swirl but separated by a very small black section that isnt really black. Just a little less Swirl than the rest of the cap. The rest of the black section is much wider than the other side. The body is about 2/3 Swirl with a somewhat black section 1/3 around. Theres no way to make the cap and body even remotely match! The black to Swirl ratio is completely off and cannot be reconciled. Its like they turned the body from a rod that was cast at an angle. Then turned the cap from a completely different rod at a different angle.

 

Im so frustrated with this! I have been looking forward to this pen since it was released and finally came up with the funds/justification to order one. As you all know, its not a cheap pen. I even had to wait an extra week to get a broad nib in stock. Its also extremely disappointing that theres no way to fix it. Im used to getting pens that need work over the years. Thats why Ive learned to correct my own nibs and disassemble brand new pens at all price points. Ive accepted that with this hobby, but theres nothing that can be done with this one to correct the alignment. I didnt even get to write with it either as its still uninked due the the alignment issue.

 

Im sure that the retailer I ordered the pen from will take it back without issue but I really love the material. It would be great to have one in my collection. The material is really special. Its really unfair that Im going to have to ask the person I ordered the pen from to sort their stock and find an acceptable pen with correct alignment for me. I shouldnt have to do that and they shouldnt have to go through several pens to find a good one. Its also bad business that they (or me) is going to have to eat the cost of return shipping and then new shipping back. Thats about $20 being very conservative. I was expecting much more from Pelikan especially at the cost of this pen. This is my first pen from them. At least the bare minimum I could expect from a $450+ Pen is that the material even remotely lines up. I spent about an hour tonight fiddling with the pen to get it to align. I even put an o ring in the cap as a last ditch effort. Theres just no way to match the ratios here. I really hope the retailer will find a pen for me that matches. If not, I just cant place another order for this pen and Ill just have to write it off as something that could have been great but was unacceptable due to bad QC/manufacturing practices. Thats extremely disappointing to me! The pics attached are, no BS, the best alignment overall I could get. I really want to like this pen!

Edited April 21, 2018 by sub_bluesy

[praxim]

It is a manufacturing and marketing decision, not quality control. The result is acceptable to some, not to others, which is a fair thing. You were aware of the problem, took the risk over whether you could fix it. Unfortunately that risk eventuated. I can understand having a bit if a rant about it, even so.

 

Still, the pen is as advertised, and the writing experience is good too.

[Tresconik]

Everyone told you...

[sub_bluesy]

It is a manufacturing and marketing decision, not quality control. The result is acceptable to some, not to others, which is a fair thing. You were aware of the problem, took the risk over whether you could fix it. Unfortunately that risk eventuated. I can understand having a bit if a rant about it, even so.

 

Still, the pen is as advertised, and the writing experience is good too.

The pen is not marketed in any way anywhere as being misaligned. Only on FPN did I find a risk of the pattern being off. As far as the writing experience, I have not had the pleasure since it will be going back to the retailer before being inked. Im just very dissappointed. I was seriously excited about this pen. I can only imagine the amount of buyers that would accept the condition to be very small due to the cost. Im really hoping the issue can be resolved with an acceptable pen. Im planning to keep it forever. Its that pretty!

[PaganArcher]

To an extent before, and definitely after, the release of this pen, the distribution of color in the material was documented in more than one place.

 

This is not a QC problem.

 

It is genuinely not aesthetically pleasing to some, but it falls on the buyer to reconcile expectation versus reality, regardless of price point.

 

At the end of the day, the pen is as advertised, carefully selected and somewhat misleading stock photos aside.

[sub_bluesy]

To an extent before, and definitely after, the release of this pen, the distribution of color in the material was documented in more than one place.

 

This is not a QC problem.

 

It is genuinely not aesthetically pleasing to some, but it falls on the buyer to reconcile expectation versus reality, regardless of price point.

 

At the end of the day, the pen is as advertised, carefully selected and somewhat misleading stock photos aside.

Well I guess the short story version of it is the pen is going back for the previously mentioned reason and that’s the end of that. I wish it had been different but that’s just the way it is. It could have been wonderful. I’m a good amount soured on Pelikan pens because of it though.

[Tseg]

Should have stuck with the <$40 Indian Ebonite pen from Fountain Pen Revolution where the swirls align. I'm sorry for your loss.

 

BTW, if misery likes company, I have knicknamed my Pelikan M1000 (M) Pig Pen because it is such a sloppy writer.

Edited April 21, 2018 by Tseg

[Bo Bo Olson]

Perhaps the retailer has a perfect pen in his selection, or can swap caps to do so.

 

I prefer semi-vintage or vintage to modern because of the nib.....out side of the 200, which still has semi-vintage width and spring.

The modern 800 is a nail.

Try a 600 and eventually get a semi-flex '50-65 nib for it. The two tone semi-nail nib may be prettier, but the monotone semi-flex nib is IMO better.

 

A Tortoise 400nn, is IMO the best 'common' Pelikan to be had (green stripe is just as good), holds the most ink of all the Pelikans, some 1.95ml.The piston is made differently. Has a semi-flex nib and I spent some two years dithering which was better balanced the medium large 400nn or the standard 400, before deciding the 400nn had a tad better balance..................posted of course.

The medium-short 140....same size as the 400 posted, the standard 400 and the medium-large 400nn or 600 are very well balanced when posted...............not at all with out posting.

 

1000- 1.47ml like a MB 146..........the 149 is 1.60ml...as much as a large Sheaffer cartridge.

800/600 .....1.37 ml

200/400.....1.27 ml.

[SoulSamurai]

That sucks, especially on such a pricey pen. Hopefully the retailer will be able to sort you out and grt you one that you can be happy with. If you feel that's above and beyond the call of duty for the retailer, you can always make sure you support them by buying more stuff from the in the future.

[praxim]

The pen is not marketed in any way anywhere as being misaligned. Only on FPN did I find a risk of the pattern being off.

It was not a risk, it was known. You effectively said so yourself. It was mentioned here by people after purchase well before you bought yours, as noted by theLorekeeper:

To an extent before, and definitely after, the release of this pen, the distribution of color in the material was documented in more than one place.

This is not a QC problem.

Do you expect advertising to claim as a feature, misalignment, when that as a problem is in the eye of the beholder? Pavement cracks do not bother me. Should Council put up a sign to warn other pedestrians that their normal gait may encounter one?

 

You said in your opening post that if there were a problem you expected you could fix it.

I had heard rumors of the cap and pen body coloring not lining up but figured I would be able to sort it out if it was an issue.

You could not. That is in the nature of the entropy of the biscuit.

[Parker51]

I disagree with the other posters. Slight but noticeable differences upon close examination are a different thing than what was visually presented. I have pattern differences on quite a few Vintage Sheaffer and Parker pens. I wouldn't call that darken barrel simply a noticeable pattern difference, I would call it a coloration material defect. The material used in the barrel does not appear to have the colorants mixed properly. It is not a matter of personal choice. If the entire pen was like that and matched up perfectly it still would be a defect. It smacks of a lack of willingness of someone in the factory to cause a problem for someone else by rejecting a material based upon it having a defective color mixture. Where is pride? Where is quality control? Please, other posters don't simply read the origonal posters words and only focus on the idea of a mismatch, Read the description of the barrel and look at the pictures. It is like hearing someone complaining that their fish wasn't cooked properly as others had warned about, missing them also saying it had not been deboned and focusing on only one of the cooks inadequacies.

Edited April 21, 2018 by Parker51

[bobje]

Entropy of the biscuit — now there is a fascinating phrase.

 

This looks like a situation where the object needs to be examined in close-up before purchase.

[dapprman]

Possibly one of the most miss-sold pens out there as Pelikan, along with the usual over-saturating the marketing photos, failed to say just how much 'dark' there would be on many pens. I've seen three, one with a decent amount of the blue and it does look good, the other two - I'd personally have sent them back. On the cap not matching, I'd not actually thought about it as the pattern generally hides any mismatch. I'd suggest your cap is made from a rod most people would have assumed the whole pen would be from, hence the noticeable difference. Too many people have found the dark area covers 2/3s+ of their pen.

[Uncial]

There does appear to be a huge batch variation. I got one very early on and I'm very pleased with it. Overall it is quite a light teal colour and has good depth and shimmer without the 'black' bands that others speak of. There is a slightly darker patch on both the barrel and the cap (which doesn't line up) but nothing like some pictures show here on FPN in terms of darkness and the fact mine doesn't align doesn't bother me. I suspect if the patches on mine had been black or almost black I might feel differently.

[sirgilbert357]

Sub_bluesy:

 

Sorry for your experience. I'm rather particular about the pattern on pens and I have avoided ordering the Ocean Swirl mainly because I didn't want to be disappointed. I suppose I could ask the seller to look for one that has an aligned cap and body AND has as little dark sections as possible, but that's a bit much. I've decided that if I see one in person that works for me AND I have the money, then I'll pick one up...

 

I would send it back and ask them to exchange it for one meeting your expectations. Can't hurt to ask.

[Driften]

The threads on Pelikan caps have more then one entry point. It's hard to tell on the ones that are not demonstrators. For example my Pelikan M200 demo when you put the cap on the nib can end up pointing in one of four directions. In only one is the nib lined up with the clip. The m805 would have been the same way and for lucky people it might line up good enough in two of the four positions. Maybe in the one you had the width of the dark areas made it only look right in one of the four and with careful capping you could get it to line up just like my m200 lining up with the clip.

 

You had every right for sending it back, but it's just the nature of pens that don't take 3-4 full rotations to cap that things will only align on one of the 3-4 thread entry points. It's just on most pens you can't tell the difference.

 

I used to make pens using wood and acrylic that had strong patterns and the caps used three entry point threads. There was one and only one entry point that would make the grain or pattern line up between the cap and body. It's not a defect, but it also does not mean one of those pens were right for you.

[Mew]

The threads on Pelikan caps have more then one entry point. It's hard to tell on the ones that are not demonstrators. For example my Pelikan M200 demo when you put the cap on the nib can end up pointing in one of four directions. In only one is the nib lined up with the clip. The m805 would have been the same way and for lucky people it might line up good enough in two of the four positions. Maybe in the one you had the width of the dark areas made it only look right in one of the four and with careful capping you could get it to line up just like my m200 lining up with the clip.

 

 

Hey,

 

Had the pen, booked it in November, shipped in December, received in February due to it being sitting somewhere in the customs office. Sold in March.

I never inked it. Not even dip tested it. Though I capped it and uncapped it at least 50-60 times to get the patterns to align. There are 4 threads on the Pelikan, and none of them could get the pattern to align completely. But this isn't the reason it was booted out. Didn't like the design.

[BeckonRay]

In my review here on FPN a while ago, I looked at 9 copies of this pen, and shared my thoughts:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/332213-pelikan-m805-ocean-swirl-some-thoughts/

 

I suggested exacting folks are best served by viewing the pen in person or getting very clear pictures before. Not because this is a poor design, some love it; but because it is not for everyone given the idiosyncrasies of the design.

 

The dull teal lacquer color you show in your picture is the same I see in my copy. But, only at certain lighting angles; at others, the very same area becomes fiery bright turquoise, the way it is shown in some photographs. I called this characteristic "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." To some, that duality is the beauty of this material. YMMV.

 

At this stage, with dwindling “picked-over” stocks/copies in the market, you are unlikely to find perfectly aligned pen. Even if aligned, some do not like the existence of the darker regions which give this pen its subtly professional look. Also, unfortunately this pen does not capture accurately in photographs given it changes color-intensity depending on the angle of the light. Vast majority of the copies I saw in person were very similar, so the chances of you being totally satisfied with a second mail-ordered exchange copy is very small. If you are able to, simply return and get a feel for it in person when you attend pen shows etc.

 

The general consensus among owners in my circle, in spite of Pelikan’s dubious marketing pictures, is this pen is a clear winner given the unique material and M800 lineage.

 

[Runnin_Ute]

I haven't seen this pen in person, but from what I have seen I like. Despite the potential for dark and light areas of the pattern not "lining up". Glad I'm not that OCD. I think, for me anyway the "not lining up" is part of the appeal/uniqueness of the pen.

 

I haven't bought one for one primary reason - cost. My most expensive pen is about $150. I just don't have the money to spend $450 on any pen. So I don't. Plus the M80x size is bigger and heavier than I care for, regardless of how much I like the pattern.....

[Lam1]

I disagree with the other posters. Slight but noticeable differences upon close examination are a different thing than what was visually presented. I have pattern differences on quite a few Vintage Sheaffer and Parker pens. I wouldn't call that darken barrel simply a noticeable pattern difference, I would call it a coloration material defect. The material used in the barrel does not appear to have the colorants mixed properly. It is not a matter of personal choice. If the entire pen was like that and matched up perfectly it still would be a defect...

I’m truly trying to understand why you think that the darken parts of the barrel are a defect.

From everything released by Pelikan, it was an intended effect. Their webpage says

 

“Just like in the deep sea, bright spots alternate with dark spots mimicking the light that radiates and is found in the ocean. Each writing Instrument is truly unique.”

 

While this may not be interpreted as bands, the company released a video (if I’m not mistaken previously to the pen’s release) which unmistakably showed bands of dark and bright - as one would see in the sea, from deep waters to shallow waters.

 

The alignment (or lack of it) issue, from all we know, is also intended by the company (and, in the past the company has shown that, if they want, they can make things align). Now, if the lack of alignment is something desirable or not, it is every individual’s prerrogative.

 

I’m not making an apology of Pelikan here, I do know first hand that there are serious QC issues going on. But I don’t see how the intended characteristics of a pen can be construed as QC. To me, it seems a bit like saying that the lack of homogeneity in Jackson Pollock’s drip paintings showed his inability to paint.