Pelikan MK30

[vans4444]

Pelikan MK30

 

I bought this pen after becoming interested in them by following a FPN thread.

 

http://i700.photobucket.com/albums/ww3/vans4444/Pens/PelikanMK301.jpg

 

As background, Pfhorrest wrote in the above mentioned thread:

 

“The Mk. 10 is a student pen with a resin body and cap, and has a gold plated steel nib.

The Mk. 20 is the same model with a steel (I believe stainless) cap with a resin body, and has a 18c nib.

The Mk. 30 has a rolled-gold cap with a resin body, and has an 18c nib. Some Mk. 30s have a resin cap, or they could just be Mk. 10 caps (all three can take the same size caps).

There is also a Mk. 60 with all rolled gold furniture, body, and cap.”

 

I understand these pens were made in the 1970's

 

First Impression

 

Slightly thinner than I expected. Well made, good condition, solid, exactly what you would expect from a Pelikan. I like the look of the pen.

 

http://i700.photobucket.com/albums/ww3/vans4444/Pens/PelikanMK302.jpg

 

Appearance and finish

 

Black plastic (resin?) with gold fittings. Pelikan log on the top of the cap

 

Design/Size/Weight

 

I assume that Pelikan wanted a break from the more rounded designs of their earlier pens. This has more sharp edges and the barrel tapers. In a strange way is reminds me of other 1970’s design, like the sharp edged and tapering bodies of European cars of the time. This may actually make it look more dated than older Pelikan pens. It reminds me of some MB pens of about the same date.

 

Capped the MK30 is 132mm, posted 142mm, the barrel has a maximum diameter of 10mm. The end of the barrel twists to move the piston. This part of the pen is unusually large being 28mm long, compared to the Pelikan 400NN piston knob of about 20mm. It makes it easy to use but does seem to take up a needless amount of space that I presume would otherwise be used for ink.

 

The cap is push fit, held in place by friction rather than a clutch ring. The cap band is stamped "Pelikan MK30 Germany". The section is unusually long with a ink level window. The window is blue, I don't know if this is the original colour or stained blue by ink.

 

It weighs about the same as most other medium size pens.

 

 

Nib

 

The imbedded nib (is that the correct term?) has to be removed to see the impression giving the material and size. I have not done this but comparing it to a Lamy 2000 EF nib I would say it is very slightly wider so I would rate it as a gold F.

 

It writes very well. Not the smoothest nib I have but very acceptable. It is not quite a nail, but it is stiff.

 

http://i700.photobucket.com/albums/ww3/vans4444/Pens/PelikanMK303.jpg

 

Filling System

 

German piston filler. It works faultlessly and the large filler knob makes it very easy to use.

 

Cost/Value

 

It cost £33 plus postage which I think is reasonable.

 

 

Overall

 

I like this pen. It is easy to use, well balanced, a pen that can be used for an extended period. It feels like a pen that will give good service for many years. A workhouse rather than a showy pen. I would like it more if it was a few mm wider and a few mm longer but you can’t have everything.

 

So in summary, this a good rather than a great pen. The MK30 is another quality Pelikan piston filler.

 

Compared in size to a Pelikan 400NN

 

http://i700.photobucket.com/albums/ww3/vans4444/Pens/PelikanMK304.jpg

Edited February 20, 2010 by vans4444

[Yuki Onitsura]

I think it's quite a looker. Thanks for the review and wonderful photos!

 

Yuki

[Edgar Allan Bo]

I had few of them and other P & MK models, now I have only one (P30) with a rolled gold cap and 18k nib and I love it!

[Russ]

I may have to consider the MK30 ... but only after I acquire other Pelikans! :clap1:

[Ed Ronax]

Excellent review, thanks.

[1000km]

Great review, many thanks. I've had my eye on one of these for a while now.

[rockydoggy]

I was sorting through some pens I had stashed away yesterday & found this MK30. I was surprised that it wasn't with my other Pelikans & I didn't even remember how I'd gotten it. I must've tried it out at some point in the past, but it obviously hadn't made much of an impression on me. Anyway, I decided to give it another shot & was pleasantly surprised--it's a very nice writer. The nib seems to an F (edging toward EF) & has a relatively small sweet spot, which made it feel initially toothy to me; however, once I hit the right angle, it was ok. What was the real treat was discovering that nib is flexible enough to give some noticeable line variation. Overall, a great pen that I'll make sure not to misplace again.

[sopen]

I just got one of these from eBay, on a whim, removed and lubricated the piston (not difficult to take apart, but I had to spend some time to get the piston properly aligned to put it together again).

I’m writing here because I very much agreed with the initial review in this post. The only difference I found was that I found the nib on this pen to be amazing. I believe mine would be a medium nib and it’s wet, smooth, and a great writer. I was very happily surprised!

[cgreenberg19]

Nice pen.

[WLSpec]

Interesting pen, thanks for the review!