Has Anyone Been Dissatisfied With A Pelikan? Why?

[Sailor Kenshin]

. . . and by that I mean unhappy with a Pelikan that is NOT somehow defective. Did you take a brand new Pelikan out of the box, ink it, and then say "it's not for me"? Can you explain why?

 

I'll try...

 

I have a Pelikan 120 from a friend who has since passed on. It's a treasure to me. I only use one ink in it, and am very careful cleaning it. It is a fine nib and writes wonderfully.

 

Then ... a more modern TIPPED stub that, again, is a wonderful writer. A 2x-something? Smallish.

 

But now? The rest of the flock just isn't for me. I don't love piston pens, and don't see spending the money on any others.

 

I HAD bought one c/c that I saw, very pretty aluminum finish, can't recall the name, which left a blister on my thumb and never wrote correctly. Returned it. I have a number of older Pelikanos and Juniors and they're okay, rugged, reliable, but I don't love them, for whatever reason. Maybe it's the grip. Or that the nibs seem draggy.

[senzen]

Never dissatisfied, if anything it took me a while to learn to appreciate them, with a recent acquisition I am on my 6th. They are my most reliable pens, by far, even the m200 sized are comfortable for my L sized hands, and critically they produce consistent mid range colours (not too light or dark) which brings out the best in many inks, without any starting or drying out problems.

 

Pro tip: if a nib feels scratchy or clingy after inking for the first time just give it some time, some inks need to "populate" the feed well, which is true for all pens, there is usually no need to mess with the nibs, unfortunately I speak from experience.

 

Once you get that micro pillow of ink between nib and page all my Pelikans feel as great as my better pens in 18k or 21k, of course decent paper makes this easier to experience.

[Marcwithac]

I am a lifelong devotee of Pelikan and consider the design and piston filling mechanism to be timeless classics. Specifically, I like the fact that the basic design of the pen really hasn’t changed since 1929.

 

I have not had problems with any Pelikan nibs but find some more modern nibs to be a bit boring. However, this issue is easily solved either by having a nibmeister regrind and/or tune the nib or by ordering a customized nib. The easy interchangeability of the nibs is one of the things that makes Pelikan one of the few pens I recommend to others.

 

I have only had one pen, a blue-stripe Sovereign M800, where the cap tended to unscrew itself. I solved that problem by putting a small piece of tape over the threads inside the cap. This caused no harm to the pen and the cap stayed tightly closed.

[Olya]

I am a lifelong devotee of Pelikan and consider the design and piston filling mechanism to be timeless classics. Specifically, I like the fact that the basic design of the pen really hasn’t changed since 1929.

 

I have not had problems with any Pelikan nibs but find some more modern nibs to be a bit boring. However, this issue is easily solved either by having a nibmeister regrind and/or tune the nib or by ordering a customized nib. The easy interchangeability of the nibs is one of the things that makes Pelikan one of the few pens I recommend to others.

 

I have only had one pen, a blue-stripe Sovereign M800, where the cap tended to unscrew itself. I solved that problem by putting a small piece of tape over the threads inside the cap. This caused no harm to the pen and the cap stayed tightly closed.

Do you mean sellotape? One layer? With the sticky side towards the cap threads and the clean side to cling to the pen?

 

So far, as I wrote, the unscrewing caps haven't caused a problem, but it is good to know ways to fix it for future reference, I might even try something at some point.

 

I've had the unscrewing happen on a couple of Pelikans, not all.

My Pelikans are also all modern. Been eyeing the vintages, but haven't pulled the trigger just yet.

[BaronWulfraed]

I suppose I could report my M605. I'd bought it with an OB or OBB nib -- and over the last 16 year, every time I try that nib, I fail...

 

I rapidly bought an F nib to use with the pen. My instincts in holding a pen just don't let an oblique make proper contact with the paper.

[inkstainedruth]

Mostly I've loved mine. The B nib on the first M200 Café Crème must have had a really bad case of baby's bottom, because it skipped no matter what ink I used. $20 to a nibmeister fixed that. After I lost it, I eventually tracked down another Café Crème on eBay with what turned out to be an IM nib, and that was a FIREHOSE. Even with iron gall inks. That needed a bit of work, and I ended up getting another B nib unit for it (tuned on the spot, that time). Then I lost that pen as well (I keep hoping it will turn up). The B nib on my M405 Stresemann didn't have the baby's bottle problem, but it's also a little flat feeling and unexciting to write write (keep trying to decide whether I'll have the nib reground at some point. It's my most expensive pen, but I don't reach for it nearly as much as the other M405 (which has an EF nib).

I had to have some repair work on the piston seal on my first one (older M400). I'm going to have to have to have work done on the M100 because it made a nasty cracking sound the last time I went to fill it (but again, an older, used pen). And the Pelikano I got a couple of years ago at the Baltimore Washington Show disintegrated on me, just a few weeks ago. Not sure how much of the pen is salvageable, since it was the threading below the ink window. I was sad about that -- I really liked it even though the nib was a nail, and it was only five bucks.

Overall, I like the brand, and I find I really like piston fillers. The nib issue with the first Café Crème was annoying, but not a deal breaker. My other M200 was a gift and the M nib is sort of boring (OTOH, it WAS free), so I swapped it out for the IM nib on the second Café Crème, and it did alright when I had 4001 Brilliant Black in the pen the last time I used it. No issues with the M600 Violet and White, none with the M120, none with the M405 striated blue ("Blue/Black). And if I ever find the second Café Crème, I expect the only issue will be that it's been sitting with ink congealing in it for several years now.... And no issues with the 1950s era 400 other than I haven't gotten 100% used to writing with an OB nib....

Oh, I have also had issues with the caps unscrewing at times -- but I have that problem with other pens (mostly vintage ones). So, yeah, it's annoying, but I've gotten used to it....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Karmachanic]

The F nib on myM1005 put down a BB line. Anabelle fixed that, while grinding it to a CI.

Edited August 30, 2020 by Karmachanic

[YonathanZ]

I found the M200 to be too short, and the M800 to be uncomfortable.

[johnsi02]

I've had two M150, at too different times. Both with baby's bottom nibs. It took noticable pressure to write with them. They both went down the road.

Now I'd probably try grinding the nib to a stub, but that option wasn't in my skill set at the time and it wasn't worth sending to a nib meister.

[MuddyWaters]

Search for posts by Bobo Olson. He is a German pelikan expert.

[corniche]

Do you mean sellotape? One layer? With the sticky side towards the cap threads and the clean side to cling to the pen?

Hi Olya,

 

I wouldn't use Scotch tape; it's too firm and unyielding. I would recommend Teflon plumbers tape.

 

 

- Sean

[Olya]

Hi Olya,

 

I wouldn't use Scotch tape; it's too firm and unyielding. I would recommend Teflon plumbers tape.

 

 

- Sean

Thank you for the tip!

[Keyless Works]

I've only had six or seven Pelikans. I think it is one of the more boring brands visually but every Pelikan I have had has had an excellent writing nib. I think my pre-97 M600s were not best build quality but the single tone 18C nibs on these pens are some of my favorite ever on a modern pen.

[DrDebG]

I had a Souveran m400, but found it too light and small for my hand. I have a relatively small hand, but the pen just didn't feel right. The nib wasn't anything special.

 

I have considered purchasing a Pelikan many times. Some suggest an m600, others an m800. I've decided to wait until I can try them whenever I get a B&M pen store. Actually there are several other pens that I am considering as well, but again I want to try them out at a pen store before I drop a wad of cash.

[praxim]

No.

 

Only two of my nine Pelikans were new from the box, and neither of those is bog standard; one an M805 Ocean Swirl and the other an M900 Toledo, both with F nibs. I have no dissatisfaction with either. All of my old or vintage (1930s-2000s, mode 1950s) are good, too. Some of those are among my best writers, each with different characteristics.

[Freddy]

No Problemo .... Usin' the Brooklyn Alphabet ... Foxtrot November or November Foxtrot Whiskey.

 

Fred

 

All happy families resemble one another, but each unhappy family

is unhappy in its own way.

 

Anna Karenina ch.1 Leo Tolstoy

[aimi]

My first one was soooooo smooth, like writing on glass. At first, I thought that was what I wanted since I've seen a lot of praise for "smooth nibs" (not here, but other groups), but it turns out I really do not like that at all. I had a vintage Pelikan nib fitted on it instead, and now I'm much happier.

Edited August 31, 2020 by aimi

[Marcwithac]

Do you mean sellotape? One layer? With the sticky side towards the cap threads and the clean side to cling to the pen?

 

So far, as I wrote, the unscrewing caps haven't caused a problem, but it is good to know ways to fix it for future reference, I might even try something at some point.

 

I've had the unscrewing happen on a couple of Pelikans, not all.

My Pelikans are also all modern. Been eyeing the vintages, but haven't pulled the trigger just yet.

Fair question. I did not want sticky tape gumming up the threads, so I actually cut a small piece of the sticky end of a post-it note. This has very little adhesive power, but it stays in place long enough to screw the cap on. Once the paper is pressed into the threads, it tends to stay in place. I had that pen around 4 years and I only had to repeat this operation once or twice.

[Marcwithac]

Hi Olya,

 

I wouldn't use Scotch tape; it's too firm and unyielding. I would recommend Teflon plumbers tape.

 

 

- Sean

I just responded to Olya but I think this method would work well too.

[peroride]

Dissatisfaction?

 

bleep posting as in the QC for cap to barrel friction varies across the line and the less secure cap screwing

 

it does detract from an otherwise classic pen