Pelikan Steno Fountain Pen review

[laia]

Hi all,

 

Ive been floating around reading things in this forum for a little while - fountain pens are my new obsession!

 

Thought I would complete the circle of life and offer some reviews of my own, starting with a nice cheap pen - the Pelikan Steno Fountain Pen

 

I just bought it because it was really cheap and I wanted another pen so I could have other colours ready on hand, and that sort of thing.

 

In summary - It looks great - I like the simple and professional feel. It's pretty light weight, the only real problem with it is that it is kind of leaky. Every time I recap and open the lid there seems to be some nib creep and some ink coming out of the join where the nib connects to the rest of the pen. Might be because the cap has such a firm snap to shut and open, but really its kind of messy.

 

Heres a writing sample and the rest of the review.

 

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TCentHzo_8k/SyP8D5Dj1SI/AAAAAAAADT4/ow20HSz53F8/s1600/IMG_6709.jpg

Edited December 12, 2009 by laia

[laia]

PS. it doesnt actually have an ugly brown nib - its just a reflection of some post it notes on my pinboard.

[Rogue Puppy]

I like your review. I also like your handwriting

Thanks for the review.

[adam11]

Thank you for your nice review and welcome to FPN (and the new addiction)

[limesally]

excellent review and I think the nib makes your already nice handwriting look even better!

 

I'm envious of your flexy nib - I have a steno and it doesn't flex like yours, unless I really lean on it.

 

I agree it makes an excellent, sturdy, throw-in-your bag kind of pen, but I worry about losing it, since it's not that easy to replace.

 

I'd look into the scratchiness - is it new? Even with the fine nib, it really should be reasonably smooth and not be making a lot of noise. I don't have problems writing with mine "long distance", as you say. Perhaps yours is still breaking in?

Edited December 13, 2009 by limesally

[Silvermink]

I have a Steno as well, but it's an older model - red body, steel cap. The nib is quite nice - decent line variation - but the body feels kind of cheap and last time I inked it up it wouldn't write.

 

Thanks for the review!

[Kelly G]

Nice review. A Pelikan Steno is responsible for my pen addiction - or at least that is where I lay the blame. It was my second fp of the modern era (my post Sheaffer school pen fp). I don't consider my first fp the cause of my downfall in that it was just one pen - the only pen. But when I purchased that Steno in 2001 from Chuck Swisher, searching for a finer nib - that was it. Pretty soon I had a couple of ebay purchases and then some more and then some more and on and on. It was the Steno's fault. I guess I could blame Chuck.

Anyway, the Steno is a decent pen. I rarely use it these days as I have a couple of hundred+ others to choose from. A word to the wise...

[laia]

Hmm, maybe its not that scratchy, just in comparison to my other pen (Faber Castell Ambition). I assumed it was just because of the extra fine point.

 

Any ideas about whether its normal to be leaking out of that horizontal edge of the nib? Its not gushing out, but I didnt know ink was ever meant to come out that side...

[laia]

excellent review and I think the nib makes your already nice handwriting look even better!

 

I'm envious of your flexy nib - I have a steno and it doesn't flex like yours, unless I really lean on it.

 

I agree it makes an excellent, sturdy, throw-in-your bag kind of pen, but I worry about losing it, since it's not that easy to replace.

 

I'd look into the scratchiness - is it new? Even with the fine nib, it really should be reasonably smooth and not be making a lot of noise. I don't have problems writing with mine "long distance", as you say. Perhaps yours is still breaking in?

 

 

I bought mine from cultpens.com - was I lucky to score one of these?

[BobME]

Hmm, maybe its not that scratchy, just in comparison to my other pen (Faber Castell Ambition). I assumed it was just because of the extra fine point.

 

Any ideas about whether its normal to be leaking out of that horizontal edge of the nib? Its not gushing out, but I didnt know ink was ever meant to come out that side...

 

What do you mean by the horizontal edge of the nib? If you mean the side of the slit that runs down the middle of the nib, this happens some and it depends on the ink and the smoothness of the interior edge of the slit. It is called nib creep. If you are talking between the plastic feed and metal nib, I would say I haven’t had that happen with any fountain pens I have owned (about 6). If you are talking about something else give us further explination.

[laia]

haha - guess horizontal is relative. um on the nib, on the top where the metal bit joins up to the barrel. is that normal? its not like its gushing o ut, but whenever i cap the pen or move it around abit, it leaks out from there.

[laia]

Hmm, i just checked it again - seems to have stopped. weird. maybe its all plugged up with dried ink? but it seems to have stopped for now..

[BobME]

haha - guess horizontal is relative. um on the nib, on the top where the metal bit joins up to the barrel. is that normal? its not like its gushing o ut, but whenever i cap the pen or move it around abit, it leaks out from there.

 

Well, I had a pen do that once, sadly it got ink on my leather bag when it did. The pen that did this was a cheap Indian pen I got for about $5. I think this is happening because the nib and feed are not tight enough in the pen, or it is just the way the pen is designed (not the best design) and like you said in time dried ink will seal it.

Edited December 14, 2009 by BobME