Pelikan M605 Solid Blue -- Frankenpen?

[pajaro]

I have a Pelikan M605 that is solid blue and it has an 18K 750 fine two tone nib. I began to suspect that the nib was a substitute for the original. I bought this pen a few years ago used, so anything is possible, and I thought the nib might be M4xx. I removed the M400 two tone nib from my M400 white tortoise and then the nib from the M605 blue pen and lined them up for a size check. The nib out of the M605 is a tad longer than the nib out of the M400, but not by much. Does this seem right?

 

So, if the nib in the M605 blue pen is an M6xx nib, is it the right nib for the pen, 18K? Also, if you had this M605 blue pen, would you feel comfortable offering it for sale?

[macaddicted]

IIRC the nib from the 600 is just a bit bigger than the 400. I have a 600 demo I used for a long time but I wanted to try flex with it. The nibmeister made up a 400 flexy nib for me because 18K nibs don't do flex.

[dms525]

It does sound like your nib is from a M6XX pen, but it may have been swapped from another model that was fitted with an 18Kt nib, a M620 for example.

 

David

[pajaro]

IIRC the nib from the 600 is just a bit bigger than the 400. I have a 600 demo I used for a long time but I wanted to try flex with it. The nibmeister made up a 400 flexy nib for me because 18K nibs don't do flex.

Thanks.

[pajaro]

It does sound like your nib is from a M6XX pen, but it may have been swapped from another model that was fitted with an 18Kt nib, a M620 for example.

 

David

Thanks. It has been a long time since the blue pen I have came out, and I've forgotten what it was like. I guess the previous owner must have traded up with the nib.

[Bo Bo Olson]

W.Germany 18K 600 nib that is the same size as a 400. Perhaps you have one of those....same flex too. Regular flex. I would think a 620 nib would be the regular semi-nail of a normal 14 K 600....for standardization.

 

My 605 has a 14 K nib....and is a tad bigger, but a 400 nib will fit it fine.

 

The modern 18 K 1000 or my W.Germany 18 K nibs are regular flex. No flex but some spring of a nice regular flex....tine spread easier than the semi-nail modern 600.

 

The 18 K Bock nib made for the 1000 when Bock made Pelikan nibs (It was the last nib Pelikan took back in house***** ), that was made from '98-to in or about 2010 or so was semi-flex.

 

About a decade or a bit ago, I'd taken a semi-flex nib down to my German B&M and the nib on that 1000 was semi-flex. There had been arguments about that....well both were right, in the Bock was semi-flex and the Pelikan regular flex. I didn't realize there had been a change so fat dumb and happy I kept telling folks the 1000 was semi-flex....even if that was only the earlier ones.

 

Richard Binder said he'd seen 18K nibs that flexed like the devil.....it's the alloy, the geometry that can make an 18K nib flexible.

There are superflex 18K dip pen nibs that the lucky owners swarm about...........I find the steel dip pens often more flexi than I can handle. A Hunt 99-100-101 flex here in Germany when there's an earthquake in California.

 

 

 

***** The exact same complaints made about the Bock nibs, continued with the new In-House Pelikan nibs.

Pelikan wanted fat, blobby and stiffer nibs than they had made in the '82-97 regular flex era, so Bock made exactly what they wanted..... And got blamed for it.

Edited October 9, 2019 by Bo Bo Olson

[ian1964]

I have had this pen for many years. It is the same size as a 400 but has a 18k nib. The cap says W Germany. I was told it was an old style 600 but I have always suspected a Franken Pen.

[BillH]

If I remember correctly, the old 600's were the same size as the 400's but with the 18k nib... in my senility I do not think your pen is a frankenpen...

although if it bugs you I'd be more than happy to take the offending thing off your hands. That OBB would find a nice home in the Rattlesnake Junction Pelikan Nib Rescue Project

[sargetalon]

I have had this pen for many years. It is the same size as a 400 but has a 18k nib. The cap says W Germany. I was told it was an old style 600 but I have always suspected a Franken Pen.

Looks legit to me for a black M600 circa 1985-90/91. I see nothing frankenpen about it on first glance. What are your specific concerns?

[ian1964]

Thanks a lot. Please don't get me wrong, I am not unhappy and it lives very happily with my small but gorgeous Pelikan collection in my display box. I picked it up cheap ( well cheap ish) many years ago and bought it for the nib. I only posted because it seemed pertinent to this thread.

 

Thank you

[Bo Bo Olson]

Looks just like my small W.Germany 600.. Same nib too. OBB.

 

Our nib is a very nice, W.Germany springy regular flex nib. I have two W.Germany nibs, one an OM on a 200 and this one the OBB on my 600. It is true the W.Germany nib is a slight tad more springy than the '90-/91 to 97 just Germany marked regular flex nibs. I've 5-6 of them, and the modern 200's nib is the same.

 

Our decade passed Piembi , once our Pelikan expert on the com told me back when I was a noobie, when I asked her, should I chase a W.Germany nib, not too, .....in I was spoiled with the semi-flex '50-65 era nibs.

But if you have no budget restraints, I'd say get one.....it is a very, very nice ride.

 

Piembi, sent me a small Oxford Optic 90 g school booklet with some 25 different inks,...back when I thought 12 would be enough. Optic is a very good economical paper, good for showing shading. I've been a fan of that paper ever since.

 

 

You see it was Pelikan's deluxe pen....pre...tsunami of large pens. It was for then,the only one fancied up with the gold piston band....that is after '98 on all Pelikans. It has the 18K-750 gold nib, not the 14K nib.

 

The large W.Germany 800 came in @ 1988....the large version of the MB146 @ 1970. (IMO the medium-large '50s-70 146 is better balanced and had a semi- or in my case a maxi-semi-flex gold nib.

[daenghafez]

I have had this pen for many years. It is the same size as a 400 but has a 18k nib. The cap says W Germany. I was told it was an old style 600 but I have always suspected a Franken Pen.

With due respect, it is a franken pen. The cap is an M200/M250 old style. The M600 old style pen came with a crown top cap. Other than the cap, the pen barrel & nib are correct & came from the M600 old style pen.

[BillH]

With due respect, it is a franken pen. The cap is an M200/M250 old style. The M600 old style pen came with a crown top cap. Other than the cap, the pen barrel & nib are correct & came from the M600 old style pen.

 

 

Good catch!

[sargetalon]

With due respect, it is a franken pen. The cap is an M200/M250 old style. The M600 old style pen came with a crown top cap. Other than the cap, the pen barrel & nib are correct & came from the M600 old style pen.

I just noticed that myself revisiting this thread this morning. Good eye as always Daeng. The angle of the photo was odd and the hour was late is my only excuse. The M2xx cap fits because these were the same size as the M2xx and M4xx. You might be able to source a correct cap but it would likely take some patience. Still, takes nothing away from the pen.

[daenghafez]

With due respect, it is a franken pen. The cap is an M200/M250 old style. The M600 old style pen came with a crown top cap. Other than the cap, the pen barrel & nib are correct & came from the M600 old style pen.

Although the 18k nib is correct, for purist, the nib should be in the form of an old style too.

[alfredop]

The nib seems to be correct to me, early M600 had a two tone nib slightly different from the modern one.

 

Alfredo

[ian1964]

Thanks to you all who commented. That's what make this site so valuable. I am not concerned if its been put together or not because I only sell pens I don't like, which of course means I have far to many

 

Ian

Edited October 27, 2019 by ian1964

[sargetalon]

The nib seems to be correct to me, early M600 had a two tone nib slightly different from the modern one.

 

Alfredo

The nib depicted though is a nib with scroll work that came about after the 1997 trim change. The original nib could be two toned but would not have the scroll work so Daeng is again correct.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Blind as a deaf bat!

Didn't catch cap nor difference of 18 k nib.