Mk10 White Gold Nib

[Kawecokid]

I have just bought a piston-fill Pelikan MK 10. I presume the pen is from the 70s.

 

It has a white metal nib marked 585 14c. Am I right in thinking this nib is white gold?

 

The nib seems to be rather 'stiff' although it lays down a very smooth, fairly fine line.

 

Are such stiff nibs "general issue" or were they produced to serve a particular purpose?

 

I would be grateful for any information about this pen or the nib.

 

Kawecokid

 

 

[TimeoDanaos]

Those nibs are rather stiff - that's just how they are. In my opinion the nibs of the 60's and 70's are superb writing tools. Obviously not produced with the same goals as the older ones, but still as good. The so-called thermic regulator feed is excellent, holds a ton of ink and is not as prone to leakage or spills as the older models.

[OMASsimo]

Nibs usually are/were not made of white gold. They are usually plated, e.g. rhodinated when a white/silver appearance is intended. But I wasn't aware that the M10/MK10 came with a gold nib.

 

The nibs were made stiffer on purpose by Pelikan (stated in their own catalogue) in order to adapt to the changed writing habits and requests of the customers. Furthermore, since this is a semi-hooded nib, it must not move too much or it might damage the section leading to fine cracks and leaking ink. MB had issues with this kind of cracks.

 

These pens and nibs are amazingly good performers and probably underrated. They have a special feed design called the 'Pelikan thermic-regulator' and patented by Theodor Kovacs, which was invented to improve the ink flow while avoid burping. This new feed was key for the good performance of the new nib design in a hooded section. I'm not a big fan of hooded nibs and stiff nibs but my black rolled gold M30 is such a great writer that I don't mind having it in the rotation.

 

It seems that the MK10 was produced between 1967 and 1973.

 

Edit: The original catalogue from 1973 states that the M21 had a platinum plated 14 k (585) gold nib. Could be that you have a M21 with a MK10 cap or a replacement nib meant for the M21/P21?

Edited April 24, 2019 by OMASsimo

[Bo Bo Olson]

I never chased the '66-81 era pens because no one could tell me if they were regular flex or nails.

Or I didn't look in the right place.

Thanks Omassimo, for clearing that up for me.

 

I have an old chart from pre-Japanese days (mid 90's or before), Parker was thicker than Sheaffer, Sheaffer thicker than Pelikan. Pelikan had two widths then, a 400 and a special narrower width for the 800. Waterman was the narrowest of the nibs....outside in EF where Pelikan was narrowest.

Not so any more.....out side the 200/100 which is still semi-vintage/vintage wide.

[Kawecokid]

Interesting replies... for which thank you all very much.

 

One thing which strikes me is that the nib is stamped 585 14C

 

as opposed to 14 K which is what one might expect in a German nib.

 

Kawecokid

[Matlock]

Interesting replies... for which thank you all very much.

 

One thing which strikes me is that the nib is stamped 585 14C

 

as opposed to 14 K which is what one might expect in a German nib.

 

Kawecokid

 

You will find that all modern Pelikan pens use 14C 585 (or 18C 750).

[OMASsimo]

Interesting replies... for which thank you all very much.

 

One thing which strikes me is that the nib is stamped 585 14C

 

as opposed to 14 K which is what one might expect in a German nib.

 

Kawecokid

 

Why would you expect 14 K on a German nib? It wasn't standardized but of the major German makers of the period Pelikan, Kaweco, and Montblanc used 14C/585 and only Osmia/Faber-Castell used 14k or 14k/585. "C" or "K" tells very little about the origin of a nib. If you see 14 CT, it most likely is British, if the imprint reads 18 CTS (with an additional embossment) it almost certainly is French. But German, US, and Italian nibs cannot be distinguished easily by C or K.

[Bo Bo Olson]

"But German, US, and Italian nibs cannot be distinguished easily by C or K."""" Check

Went looking my self a few weeks ago and came back with the same conclusion. Not so pithy put.