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  1. From the album: Mercian’s Miscellany

    In response to a request for a picture of these inks in these pens.

    © Mercian


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  2. From the album: Mercian’s Miscellany

    In response to a request for a picture of these inks and pens. Apologies for the very low angle of the watery English sunlight! And for my hastily-rushed scrawl too!

    © Mercian


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  3. From the album: Mercian’s pens

    My Pelikan M400 in Brown Tortoiseshell, in its clamshell box. It has a 14k ‘M’ nib, and is in very nice condition. It has a screw-in nib, not one of the earliest friction-fit nib units, but its nib design shows that it is from the earlier part of the production run of these pens. This picture shows how very brown its cap and piston-turning knob are. The grip-section is also this colour. In less-bright light they can seem to be black, but they’re the colour of dark chocolate (nom nom nom!).

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  4. I posted it also in the Pelikan forum, but I thought the topic is also perhaps relevant here. I have recently received a Pelikan M400 replica from Mr Zhuang, who is a well-known pen customiser in China. The pen cost around 500 GPB body only, so if you are going to purchase a genuine Pelikan nib unit you will be looking at around 100 to 200 extra. Including shipping and tax, this puts the pen in the price range of a Toledo M700. However I have to say it is worth the money. The workmanship is fantastic, the decorative cap and blind cap rings are all separate pieces screwed onto the main body and they are also titanium oxidised to a golden colour. The barrel and section, caps and the entire piston mechanism are machined out of a solid titanium alloy stock, then hand polished. The piston uses two o-rings to function as the piston seal, there is an extra o-ring sealing the section and the barrel. The only other non-titanium parts on the pen are the Pelikan nib unit, and a plastic inner cap ensuring a tight seal when the pen is capped. Everything can be disassembled, and Mr Zhuang had kindly supplied me a wrench for the piston, which is fixed by left-handed screws like M800, but smaller. This tool is really useful for disassembling my M101Ns too, given the TWSBI wrenches are too wide for those. The pen is a faithful copy of the original in terms of dimensions, perhaps only a couple of mm longer. The clip is hand forged using titanium, then oxidised to gold colour. Because it is hand forged in his small workshop it was not possible to reproduce the Pelikan beak. However the overall shape was done nicely and does not look out of place. Given corrosion resistance of titanium alloy, this pen do not have a plastic inner barrel. Ink comes into direct contact with the metal barrel itself. Titanium alloy TC4 is virtually immune to any acid or alkaline attack, at least in the range of all fountain pen inks we can think of, including Parker 51 and Superchrome. The pen weighs 46g, which is quite heavy, but understandable given it is essentially milled out of a solid titanium bar with thick barrel walls. Writing with it I felt it to be more comfortable than a Lamy 2000 SS. I am usually a light pen person, and prefer full resin pens, but this pen for some strange reason do not feel heavy in hand. I attribute it to the shape of the Pelikan section and the overall balance. I wrote unposted. The pen can be posted but it will become back heavy. The only negative would be that it has no ink window. But it is not a big deal because 1) the pen has a ink capacity identical to M400, which is respectable. 2).the way Pelikan feed is designed, which has a big buffer exposed outside meaning that I can turn the piston slowly until I can see ink rising in the buffer, and then turn the piston back down. This allows me to accurately determine how much is left in the pen. Overall, highly recommend if you want to buy yourself something special. Mr Zhuang makes titanium replicas of other brands too, Montblancs, Parker 51, etc. He also makes titanium piston replacements for Pelikan and Montblancs. Other than titanium he also works on other metal like stainless steel and silver, I am considering a full sterling silver Parker 51 flighter as my next purchase... PS: In the writing example: Nib: Richard Binder XXF full flex M250 14k Ink: Pilot/Namiki Blue.
  5. Pen Pit Stop : Pelikan Souverän M400 Tortoiseshell Brown (2016) Welcome to the Pen Pit Stop. Here you will find reviews of pens that already have some mileage on them. More specifically, these reviews are of pens that are in my personal collection, and that have been in use for at least a year. I thought it would be fun to do it this way – no new & shiny pens here, but battered vehicles that have been put to work for at least a year. Let’s find out how they have withstood the ravages of time. The fountain pen that enters the pit stop today is the “Pelikan M400 Tortoiseshell Brown”, a limited edition pen released in 2016. Pelikan is one of the best-known European pen-makers, with a long history dating all the way back to 1832 when the company was founded in Hanover, Germany. The brand offers both semi-entry-level pens (like the M200 series) all the way up to their flagship M1000 model. All Pelikan pens adhere to the same classical style, and as such are immediately recognizable. I bought this pen in July 2017. The pen has a stylish business-elegance, with a beautiful orange & brown tortoiseshell pattern that makes it a real eye-catcher. It’s usually paired with a nice brown ink. Pen Look & Feel The M400 Tortoiseshell Brown is a beautiful pen. Pelikan really nailed it with the gorgeous orange & brown tortoiseshell pattern. Everything in the design is just right, and arranged to complement this lovely barrel. The cap, section and piston nob are from a really dark-brown resin, accentuating the brown stripes in the tortoiseshell body. The clip and trimmings are done in gold, that fits very well with the orange tones in the barrel. A 2-toned 14ct gold nib completes the design. All these choices add up to a stunning end-result… this is a pen to enjoy! The tortoiseshell barrel is semi-transparent, making it easy to keep an eye on the ink-level in the pen. I replaced the original F-nib on this pen with an F cursive-italic that I got from fpnibs.com. This nib is a dream to write with, adding some very nice line variation. It definitely enhances the writing pleasure I get from this pen. Like all Pelikans, the cap unscrews with about three quarters rotation, so it’s quickly ready for action. The M400/405 is a smaller pen, but posts easily and securely, giving it a substantial size that is very comfortable to write with, even if you have larger hands. I’ve got smaller hands myself, and typically use the pen unposted. For me, this M400 is just the right size and weight (i.e. featherweight). The pictures above illustrate the size of the M400 Tortoiseshell Brown in comparison with a standard Lamy Safari. The pen is definitely smaller than a Lamy, but still reasonable in size – not so small that’s uncomfortable (and if you find it too small uncapped, you can simply post it). Pen Characteristics Build Quality : build quality is excellent. The pen looks really polished and refined. The pen also withstands the passing of time without any problem. After four years of use, it looks good as new. The barrel is semi-transparent, making it easy to judge ink level. Weight & Dimensions : about 125 mm when capped – and as such a rather small pen. It’s also definitely a featherweight. If you prefer pens with some heft to them, the M400/405 model will not be your thing. Posted – the pen becomes about 150 mm long, and fits even larger hands. Filling System : this is a piston-filler, that holds quite some ink. The piston is made from plastic, but works really well. Pelikan are known for their excellent piston mechanism. Nib & Performance : the M400/405 Souverän pens have gold nibs. This one comes with a 2-toned 14ct gold nib, that really suits the aesthetics of the pen. The nib unit can be exchanged quite easily, and is compatible between the M120/M200/M400/M101N models. Being able to change nibs is a significant plus in my book! Price : 325 EUR at the time, including taxes. Not cheap, but also not too expensive for a gold-nibbed stunning-looking pen. In my opinion you get great value for money. Conclusion My Pelikan Souverän M400 Tortoiseshell Brown is a beautiful classic-looking pen, that is a real eye-catcher with its orange & brown tortoiseshell barrel. A pen to enjoy, and a writer’s dream with the nice cursive-italic nib that I added. It is one of the treasures in my pen collection, and I’m so glad I bought it!
  6. frr149

    Pelikan M400 Broken Piston

    Hi, I have a vintage m400 whose piston is broken. The casing of the piston is in 2 pieces. How can I fix this? Can I buy a new piston casing? Thanks!
  7. Pen Pit Stop : Pelikan Souverän M400 White Tortoise Welcome to the Pen Pit Stop. Here you will find reviews of pens that already have some mileage on them. More specifically, these reviews are of pens that are in my personal collection, and that have been in use for at least a year. I thought it would be fun to do it this way - no new & shiny pens here, but battered vehicles that have been put to work for at least a year. Let's find out how they have withstood the ravages of time. The fountain pen that enters the pit stop today is the "Pelikan M400 White Tortoise". Pelikan is one of the best-known European pen-makers, with a long history dating all the way back to 1832 when the company was founded in Hanover, Germany. The brand offers a broad range of fountain pens, from the semi-entry-level M200 series all the way up to their flagship M1000 model. All Pelikan pens adhere to the same classical style, and as such are immediately recognizable. I bought this pen in January 2017, and it was my first "expensive" pen (after the Lamy Safari and AL-star). This pen simply enthralled me with its beauty, and I had been oogling it for some time. I finally caved, and decided to get it as a New Year's gift to myself ;-) Pen Look & FeelThe M400 White Tortoise is simply a beautiful pen, with gold accents that nicely complement the white body. But the true beauty of this pen comes from the "binde", which is just stunning with breathtaking yellow-gold-orange-honey stripes. The whole fountain pen radiates class and elegance, from the detailed engraving of a mother pelican & chick on the cap's finial, to the beautiful two-toned golden nib. True pen-candy ! I had some initial fears that the white resin of the pen would acquire ink-stains - after all, this is a piston-filler that you stick into the ink bottle. But that doesn't seem to be a problem. Of course, I respect my pens and make sure to wipe them clean after filling them from the bottle. After more than two years of use, my M400 looks good as new - and I intend to keep it that way. Like all Pelikans, the cap unscrews with about three quarters rotation, so it's quickly ready for action. The M400 is a smaller pen, but posts easily and securely, giving it a substantial size that is very comfortable to write with, even if you have larger hands. I've got smaller hands myself, and typically use the pen unposted. For me, the M400 is just the right size and weight (i.e. featherweight). If you like larger and heavier pens, this model will not be for you - in that case you should probably look at the M800 pens (which are larger and also heavier due to the metal used for their piston construction). The gold nib on my pen is an M-size, which writes really wet, and looks more like a broad. This is typical for Pelikan nibs, which tend to be a size larger than their designation. The modern nibs are often referred to as nails, but that doesn't really bother me. Having no hands-on experience with vintage flex & semi-flex nibs, I just don't know better ;-) The pictures above illustrate the size of the M400 White Tortoise in comparison with a standard Lamy AL-star. The pen is definitely smaller than a Lamy, but still reasonable in size - not so small that it gets uncomfortable (and if you find it too small uncapped, you can simply post it). Pen CharacteristicsBuild Quality : build quality is excellent. The pen looks really polished and refined. The pen also withstands the passing of time without any problem. After two years of use, it looks good as new. Of course - because of the white colour - you should take extra care, and wipe off excess ink after filling. Weight & Dimensions : about 125 mm when capped - and as such a rather small pen. It's also definitely a featherweight. If you prefer pens with some heft to them, the M400 model will not be your thing. Posted - the pen becomes about 150 mm long, and fits even larger hands.Filling System : this is a piston-filler, that holds quite some ink. The piston is made from plastic, but works really well. Pelikan are generally known for their excellent piston mechanism.Nib & Performance : the M400 Souverän pens have gold nibs. The one on my White Tortoise is a beautiful two-toned M-nib, that is a wet writer. You should be aware that Pelikan nibs are typically a size larger than their designation. My M-nib definitely writes like a broad. I quite like that you can buy the Pelikan nibs separately. If you accidentally damage your nib, you can simply buy a new one. I also like that the nib units are interchangeable between the M120/M200/M400/M101N models. Price : about 280 EUR, including taxes. Not cheap, but also not too expensive for a gold-nibbed pen. In my opinion you get value for money. ConclusionMy Pelikan Souverän M400 White Tortoise is a true beauty with tons of elegance. I can still stare for minutes at the reflection of light in the binde. Truly amazing. I truly loved the pen the day I unboxed it, and it's still one of my favourites today. So the answer to the question "would I buy this pen again?" is easy: of course I would! Without hesitation!
  8. Coming from my home base in California, USA - A new discount from paperinkpen.com: Today through next Wednesday I'm offering 20% Off Regular Pricing on all Pelikan Souveran Fountain Pens in Stock Please use code: fpn20 to receive your discount. Discount is taken during checkout. As always California Residents: We Pay Your Sales Tax! Thanks for peeking in. I look forward to serving you. Dave macaddicted Paper, Ink, Pen is a California based authorized Pelikan reseller. Not responsible for typographic errors. Offer is subject to change without notice. Have a nice day!
  9. While Pelikan does a lot of special editions, there are relatively less number of special editions of M400 fountain pens except for sterling-silver variations, which are now all discontinued. You have only two widely available options if you want special M400 fountain pens; M400 White Tortoiseshell and M400 Brown Tortoiseshell. I just want to give comparison between them. 1. Tortoiseshell material Two materials are totally different from each other. The brown tortoiseshell is a striated mixture of brown, grey, and black while the white tortoiseshell is that of yellow, green, and orange. The brown one looks more classic, but less translucent. You can easily see the internal piston mechanism of the white tortoiseshell, but you can't do in the case of the brown one. I prefer the white tortoiseshell to the brown one. 2. Cap, grip section, and the piston knob material. Cap, grip section, and the piston knob of the brown one looks black, but not exactly. It is actually a very dark brown resin to match color of the brown tortoiseshell material. Otherwise, the white one is made of white resin. It's not ivory, but just white. Staining can be an issue when you use white fountain pen. You can see the residual ink after filling it with ink bottle, and it is not easy to remove them especially if the residue is on the cap thread and boundary between the nib unit and the grip section. I had ink residue when I firstly filled the pen with Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki. I left the residue for a few days, and tried to clean it after emptying the pen. I could remove them after several times of using wet tissue and clean water, and it remained no staining. But I can't be sure that the ink staining will not happen in long-term usage. 3. Trim color Both have gold trims, but color of them are different. One in the brown tortoiseshell pen is more saturated. It reminds me the gold trim of modern Parker Duofold. The deep gold trim makes the pen look more classic with the dark brown resin body and brown tortoiseshell material. Otherwise, gold trim of the white tortoiseshell pen looks more like white-gold-ish. It looks like the gold trim of MB Meisterstuecks. With white resin and light tortoiseshell material, it makes the pen look more fancy and bright. I think both trim colors are well chosen. 4. Others Both are modern Pelikan M400 with latest-style M400 two-tone 14C gold nib and one-tone logo at the cap finial. The MSRP of them are the same, but more retailers are selling white tortoiseshell version a bit less expensive than the brown version. Thank you for reading and please leave some comments on them.
  10. 1234124124124ASDA

    Moisture Inside Barrel (M400/m200)

    Hi, I recently discovered I have quite a lot if moisture inside barrel of my M400 (behind piston in the shaft area). I have this pen for about 2 months now and cleaned it ca 4-5 times - with nib unscrewed and pen body under water tap. Is the connection between filling knob and barrel supposed to be watertight or is this normal? Problem is on M400 the piston part cannot be easily removed, unlike simple unscrewing on M800 so I cannot simply wipe it with paper towel. Do you have any proven methods or suggestions how to get rid of it? Leave the pen with filling knob fully unscrewed for few days maybe?
  11. Xiachem

    My New Fountain Pen---Pelikan M400

    I bought a new fountain pen last week.It's Pelikan M400(medium nib).It is different from "normal" M400 in that it has a different nib.It's 18ct gold and it has a different pattern(four-lines pattern,it just like a mustache).And I don't know how to call it in English.And it has a "PF" stamp.I hear that It has different writing characteristics with ''EN'' stamp and no stamp nibs. I have 3 Pelikan fountain pen.there are M400 M800 and 400nn.M400 is more soft than M800 and more hard than 400nn.I really like this felling. Here is some photo. And the nib's photo. My three Pelikans.The lift one is M400.Right one is 400nn.Medium one is M800.All of there are medium nib. And merry Christmas .
  12. So I've always assumed one of my oldest pens was a Pelikan m400, which was fine with me, except I looked from time to time for a slightly bigger m600, which have always been beyond my budget, or more precisely how much I'm willing to spend on any pen. Except after re-reading some specialized web sites while I was looking for something else I gather it might have been an m600 all along, the "old style" which I guess was the same size as the m400...?? I love this pen either way, but I'd like to know. Length with cap: 127mm There is a single band on the barrel towards the turning knob.Two bands on the cap. Since new it's had a bicolour 18C nib, a chunky F.
  13. I hav a pelikan MM400 torquoise fountain pen "Old style" (1980's-1990's i guess) that needs to be repaired. I tried to twist off d piston cap since the stopper inside d barrel got stuck. In short, i broke d piston mechanism inside bummer. Some of the destroyed parts even got stuck inside the barrel. If not for the piston, the pen is in pristine condition, but I guess the most practical way to fix it is to replace the barrel. Where could I purchase old style tortoise barrels? Here are some photos of the destroyed beauty. Any advice or suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance.
  14. Hello there, I got a little problem with a Pelikan M400 (1980s model). The piston seal has detached from the piston rod and is not sticking in the barrel. Thus, I have to disassemble the M400. Question now: How can I disassemble the piston unit from the barrel? Is that friction fit with the M400 just as it is with the vintage 400? Greetings and Thanx
  15. mcorrea

    Removing The Section Of An M400

    Hello, If this has been covered before, please point me to the topic, i couldn't find it myself: Is it possible to remove the section of an M400 without breaking the pen? I recently bought an M400 that was seriously neglected, when removing the nib, the feed broke and there is a piece that is completely stuck near the bottom of the section. I want to remove it so I can use a modern M200 or M400 feed in it. I think the best way would be to remove the section from the barrel and use a nockout block to remove the piece of feed. Is it possible to do this? do you need to aply heat? BTW, it's an M400 with green stripes, in case this makes any difference. Thanks in advance, Matias
  16. Can anyone recommend an online authorized retailer of Pelikan pens? I'm looking to get my hands on an M400. Cheers!
  17. Uncial

    My Little Flock

    I've been meaning to do this for ages and I'm only getting around to it now. This is my little flock of Pelikans but one little Frakenbird is missing from the picture - a blue wave m200 with a 400 nib. I would very much appreciate help in identifying the older Pelikan in the picture. It has a monotone gold nib and is in green stripe with a rounded end and round domed end to the cap. The cap also appears to be lined in brass. It's a medium nib, but has a bit of flex and seems to me to write slightly stubby. It was sold to me as a 400N from the 70's; would this be correct? Below is a shot of the older pen.
  18. Seville

    Pelikan M400 Piston

    I picked up this Gunter Wagner Pelikan 400 and have unscrewed the nib (and cleaned) and greased the piston without removing it. Now while the piston is moving freely it only travels about 2 turns on the piston nob while my other 400 does about 4+ turns. I have been advised and read about how to knock the piston out but my concern is that if it is not fully retracted then tapping on it could blow the piston up. It is a very nice writing vintage Pelikan that I had bought for re-sale but it writes well enough to keep. Any thoughts? Philip DSCN0988_result by Seville36, on Flickr DSCN0990_result by Seville36, on Flickr RSCN0991 by Seville36, on Flickr
  19. OrangeSport

    New Addition; M400 White Tortoiseshell

    So I've had my latest addition about a week now. It's a white tortoiseshell M400 with a board nib. I usually use fine nibs, so was intrigued to see how this was to use. It's ever so smooth, and flows really reliably. I was using Montblanc blue ink originally, but have just filled it with an orange ink by Cult Oens. It's a stunning looking pen; very eye catching. So far so good. I'm really impressed.
  20. ThatPhotoGuy

    The Good Old - M400 Vs M600

    Hello all I have a M400 and a M200 + a spare Golden nib. Im considering a extra M400 but i cant decide if the extra money for the M600 would be a good choice. Everyone is praising the size of the M600 and saying its a better size than the m400. i find the Comfort okay with the m400 (not the biggest hands) but if the m600 was even more comfortable that would be great :-) The size of the M200/M400 might be making me cramp my fingers a little hard around the pen at times. i have found a okay deal on a nibless M400(for the extra nib i have) so the difference between that deal and the M600 is higher than usual, but i would get the M600 with a nib in return. Any experiences and/or thoughts? Thanks!
  21. I just acquired an m400 that becomes really drippy after being used or stored nib-down for ten minutes or so. It is bad enough that I can very gently shake it and get it to drip fat drops of ink. My other pens (including m205) do not do this. The piston is fine, the nib writes a little dry but is otherwise ok. I have taken apart the nib unit completely and reassembled without any change in the pen behavior. All the pieces of the nib unit look ok and fit together well, but I don't have any experience in this regard. Can someone recommend something obvious to check? Otherwise could you recommend a good Pelikan specialist? I'm ok spending to send it out (and they could smooth and adjust the nib while they're at it!) thanks Michael
  22. One of my initial reviews@fpn was of the FCD Ambition. I took this pen out today to give it a deeper look, after gaining relatively more experience with Faber Castell line of pens. Here is a link to my review on blogger: The Faber-Castell Design Ambition Review So here goes a detailed review. Long ago during school days, I had used some of the not so expensive Faber-Castell ballpoints, pencils, highlighters, rulers, mechanical pencils and geometry sets. They used to be a bit scarce in India then, as they came with a ‘Made in Germany’ tag. Though there was little or no price difference with other Indian brands like Camlin or Omega, these were not widely available as such. Years later one fine day, while randomly searching for pens made by Faber-Castell, I bumped across the Ambition/Ondoro/e-motion fountain pens which were placed in a premium segment with Graf-Von Faber Castell Anello/Intuition in luxury segment. In India, a few models were available in Shoppers Stop Online and some of the other known e-com sites, back then. I finally ordered an Ambition (then an Ondoro) from Pensavenue, as they were running a discount sale on all Faber-Castell products. I added a converter since it was clearly mentioned that a Faber-Castell Design (FCD) converter was not included with the gift package. A BIT OF FABER-CASTELL HISTORY Around 1660s Kaspar Faber was one of the pencil makers in Stein, Bavaria, Germany. Later Kaspar’s son Anton Wilhelm Faber took over the business and the initials A.W were added from his name in 1839. Later on in 1898, when Ottile Von Faber (sixth generation of Faber family) married Count Alexander zu Castell-Rüdenhausen, A.W Faber-Castell was born. Count Alexander modernised the company and introduced the jousting knights logo. Faber-Castell started manufacturing fountain pens in 1951, after acquiring the Osmia Company and produced fountain pens till 1975. They had carried the Osmia logo [diamond-within-a-circle] till the 1960s, given Osmia’s high brand recognition in the fountain pen industry. Later under Anton Wolfgang von Faber-Castell, Faber-Castell started expanding their factories & offices across the globe and also started manufacturing fountain pens under two banners of Design and Graf von Faber-Castell (introduced in 1993) from the 90s. These Ambition range comes with a fountain pen (with 4 different nib widths), a roller ball, a propelling pencil (0.7mm) and a ballpoint pen with various barrel designs constituting of resin, wood or brushed steel. PRESENTATION Within 3 days, the pen and a converter were delivered in a moss-green cardboard box. The colour reminds me of lush green cricket outfields and the Australian Baggy Green Caps. The box has a slider and the pen is secured with an elastic band on a felted bed, along with a warranty card. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-msdcMLZM5x8/VcX15lwx8aI/AAAAAAAAFCI/azlre_iK5vU/s1600/DSC_4963.jpg DESIGN - THE CYLINDRICAL MOTLEY OF RESIN & METAL (4/6) Held in hand, the pen will feel somewhat heavier towards the cap end, with a relatively lighter brushed barrel made of up black coloured resin (Like MB, Faber-Castell also calls it ‘precious resin’, I feel it has comparatively lower density). http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hih-SaIwMKU/VcX2CwS4I1I/AAAAAAAAFCQ/DXWLWXZ25Hw/s1600/DSC_4973.jpg http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SxktYdYHRiQ/VcX2Xh2uVkI/AAAAAAAAFCo/sz_dpqB7bMw/s1600/DSC_5010.jpg A convergence in its minimalistic design of the chrome plated accents is achieved with another piece of metallic finial at the end of the barrel, which also serves as the click-lock for posting the cap. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n4O_LTCsd-8/VcX2HuQbODI/AAAAAAAAFCg/iPvdisa5D18/s1600/DSC_5000.jpg And yes, the chrome accents are prone to fingerprints. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P96DZiiL9xI/VcX2EdtvRaI/AAAAAAAAFCY/8T7Awrn-FRk/s1600/DSC_4983.jpg The cap is substantially heavy with a snap-on locking mechanism. Once you pull it, it comes off with an audible click, and you can see a chromed metallic section attached to the non-differentiated grip, at the end of which rests the shiny nib. Absence of any taper in the singular cylindrical section, introduces a steep step for holding the pen. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4UFE2LGgsjE/VcX2mbCswxI/AAAAAAAAFDA/LKc5NSRPrUQ/s1600/DSC_5019.jpg A mirror finish on the chromed cap etched with the Faber-Castell logo of two jousting knights will immediately gleam with the slightest amount of light and it is also embossed with the traditional statement preserving antiquity of A.W Faber-Castell - Since 1761. The clip is spring loaded and is shaped like an arc with a concave end. To generate friction with fabric, there are multiple grooves on the insides of the clip’s concavity, where it touches the cap. There is also a plastic insert inside the cap which gives the snap-on friction. However, it seems to lose grip with time. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UQI4QeeQLeA/VcbJiYDaMgI/AAAAAAAAFD0/gT_mkgHU35c/s1600/Cap.jpg FILLING SYSTEM (5/6) The small metallic section at the end of the barrel unscrews from the resin barrel with less than three turns and it disengages the section containing the nib and CC filling system. The nib has a screw fit, and inserts into a metallic sleeve like most of the Faber-Castell fountain pens which I have seen. The nib sleeve has threads which synchronize with threads on the insides of the resin barrel. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RK7DWlaZ-AU/VcX2asJWGLI/AAAAAAAAFCw/E6G25MRITCo/s1600/DSC_5048.jpg The converter says SCHMIDT on its piston along with a brand imprint of FABER-CASTELL Germany on the metallic sleeve. It has a reasonably high capacity of 0.8 – 0.9 mL, and the ink does last for quite a while! I am usually biased towards piston fillers, but I like the capacity offered by Faber-Castell or Schmidt converters. In case of GvFC Converters there is no mention of Schmidt on the converters themselves. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dha1qS8xnX0/VcX20pkwu2I/AAAAAAAAFDQ/kMbn4yPpB0Q/s1600/DSC_5072.jpg NIB - ALL THAT MATTERS (6/6) The nib is made of stainless steel alloy with an iridium tip. The initially available nib sizes featured F, M and B nibs, though an EF was made available later. I went with an M sized nib. Right out of the box, this was a butter-smooth nib. The nib has a perforated imprint of dots which cover a third of its surface area. Had these been real perforations there would have been an opulence of breather holes. And in fact there is not even a single breather hole. The nib-size is embossed above the traditional Faber-Castell Design logo of two jousting knights near the tail. Nib section is screw-fit and thus easily removable from the steel sleeve for cleaning or replacement. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-56jH49qkE40/VcX2mZWV-lI/AAAAAAAAFC8/AkLF0kvG-Ec/s1600/DSC_5083.jpg The feed is standard grey plastic, with a big filler hole for ink suction, which is incidentally also used across the GvFC Intuition Series. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wJHOQThFG3Q/VcX200DcZCI/AAAAAAAAFDY/yqDYXJWC2QI/s1600/DSC_5103.jpg Faber-Castell Design (steel) nibs are sourced from JoWo whereas the GvFC nibs are known to be sourced from Bock. PHYSICS OF IT (3/6) – RELATIVELY SPEAKING Without the cap, the pen measures around 12 cm, which might not be comfortable for people with medium or large hands. Posting the cap is easy and it seems to be secured with a click-lock at the finial section. Although the posted pen exceeds a 15 cm scale, the steel cap makes it pretty top-heavy. In addition to weight, the cap freely rotates once it’s click-posted. While writing posted, the beautifully arched clip later becomes the pen’s arch-nemesis for top weight imbalance, with free rotation around the metal section. A girth less than 1 cm might be inadequate for the shorter uncapped length. Uncapped Length ~ 12.2 cm Capped Length ~ 14 cm Posted Length ~ 15.8 cm Nib Leverage ~ 1.9 cm Overall Weight ~ 28 g (Cap Weight ~ 15 g) Capped and uncapped and posted with a GvFC Intuition, Pelikan m400/2XX and a bigger MB146 run below for your reference. The Intuition has a wider grip than the Ambition. (Reusing some older pics here) http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-raOQ2a8hfmg/VaneoU3hiRI/AAAAAAAAE04/MbwYl1DQCNw/s1600/GvFC%2B017.jpghttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3IfUp77HFXU/VaneucQwuSI/AAAAAAAAE1Q/ywtzuSmqxKQ/s1600/GvFC%2B018.jpghttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lEIIXA9iDXQ/VaneqEEmoVI/AAAAAAAAE1A/_cJ3dzaaoo0/s1600/GvFC%2B019.jpg ECONOMIC VALUE (5/6) It retails at around USD 70 and I got a converter included at the same price because of the aforementioned discount. I believe it’s a good value for money pen given you too end up with such a nib, which defeats many of the gold ones. OVERALL (4.6/6) This nib is wet, runs wide and smooth like butter, without giving even a hint of feedback. I purposely used a less wet ink, but the pen did quite well against a drier pelikan 4001 ink. There is a bit of line variation with relatively thicker verticals. The nib has some spring and a touch of softness. In fact it lays a wetter and wider line with a little pressure. If you hold it from the metal section, the pen might feel slippery after some time and it might even rotate a little between your fingers. I instinctively hold the pen just above the metal section. Being a wet writer out of the box, the Medium nib puts a line which takes more than 20 seconds to dry on MD Paper with a relatively dry Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black ink. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w-SffYYQWEk/VcX3A22t3SI/AAAAAAAAFDg/aai7dhvEl5Y/s1600/DSC_5185.jpg REFERENCES Faber Castell History Bock Clientele Thank you for going through the review. You can find some more pen and paraphernalia reviews here.
  23. Dear members of the forum, today I went into a bookstore (!) to order a book and at the checkout, behind the counter hidden away in a dark corner, I saw this little box. I think I have been to this store a hundred times but had never seen it before: http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg565/Serlo78/Mobile%20Uploads/E432945C-B1A4-4225-ABE0-BF05700891C4_zpsquftkf6q.jpg Of course, I had to have a look at this because I know that some of you are Pelikan aficionados and I have only read good things about Pelikan so far; I think my first school fountain pen actually was a Pelikan, alas, I lost it. So the lady hand the box over to me and I had a look at the back of the box and knew immediately that this, indeed, is a very old pen. The price is still in DM and the postal code has only got four digits (I think that this was changed in the 90s, although I am not sure when exactly). The price for this pen was 188 DM (about 125 if converted into today's currency so it was far from being a cheap pen even back then) and it says that the box is modeled after the original presentation box from 1897. It also says that it contains a M400 schildpatt brown - I had never seen this combination before - with an M nib and a bottle of ink "1897". http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg565/Serlo78/Mobile%20Uploads/B89CAB33-765C-400F-88AD-88D5D88A0C7A_zpsbww1trvi.jpg I was very close to buying an M805 Stresemann a couple of weeks ago, but didn't pull the trigger and decided to go for the Montblanc WE Balzac instead. Well, I am still waiting for this pen to arrive. Of course, I had to ask how much it was. "Oh, this is a very old pen, indeed. We used to sell pens, but we stopped selling them about 20 years ago. Nowadays you can get cheaper pens from big chains like Müller, and this is the only one left. I ordered it for a doctor, but he went for a green pen and I kept this brown one. Actually I thought about keeping it myself as no one buys pens and stationary here anymore." "Can I have a look at it?" "Of course you can!" So I opened the box and this is what I saw: What a beautiful pen it is and I like the brown translucent body; I don't have to explain that it was love at first sight! http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg565/Serlo78/Mobile%20Uploads/9599351A-649E-4220-B589-4EC388448C75_zpsgu6knyhr.jpg http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg565/Serlo78/Mobile%20Uploads/6C76A61D-EF0D-41DF-9BC4-5AB362A8DE75_zpsjohuqlau.jpg http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg565/Serlo78/Mobile%20Uploads/8014D86E-4D5A-45EE-8926-57FFBEFD0A3E_zpscqfadx4s.jpg I also had a look at the nib. This 14C gold nib is not like the bicolour nibs that Pelikan uses today, but it looks very nice, indeed. http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg565/Serlo78/Mobile%20Uploads/810AD9E4-E4F4-4CA2-9AF1-F079FEB18FB1_zpsspilaa6m.jpg http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg565/Serlo78/Mobile%20Uploads/3FA898C4-0080-4449-9718-050FE3ACF2EC_zpssevzfwvl.jpg And now, what did I pay? She gave it to me for less than the price I would have had to pay when it was produced (and much less than I would have to pay for a new pen), so I guess that this is a bargain that none of you could have resisted. And apparently the pen has never been inked before. I don't want to try it today as I am still at work (without a bottle of ink and I don't want to open the bottle that came with the pen; do you think that this ink still can be used? Probably not...). I can't wait for tomorrow when the pen is going to write for the very first time after at least 25 years. Can someone tell me more about the pen I bought? I wonder when it was manufactured and how old it really is. Is it enough to flush the pen before inking it? Or would you leave the pen untouched as it is (I don't think that I can do that as I am not a collector but a user). I hope that I can take more pictures tomorrow (with writing samples). The nib feels as if it was rather flexible - I had to "write" with it, even if it wasn't inked - and it also feels quite smooth. Thank you for bearing with me and I hope that you enjoy the pictures.
  24. Is anyone picking up one of these? If I didn't already have the M600, I would definitely grab one
  25. After a long & strong fight with the penavarice-devil , I finally gave in and bought a GvFC Intuition. I went with the 'terra' - the red-orang-ish barrel. I have also replicated the content with some additional pictures in my blog as the images are reduced to a small thumbnail after a short-while. Below is a link to the same: Graf von Faber-Castell Intuition Review Here goes a review of the same: The Intuition With a covetous eye on this pen, since the time I had got my FCD Ambition and then an orange coloured Ondoro fountain pen, it indeed required lady luck's blessings, to get this one at a steeply discounted price. I must say, that there was already a strange sense of loss of colours, after I had given both of my orange coloured fountain pens away - Ondoro (mint & boxed) and later the Pelikan m205. And this was an appropriate treatment for my colour blindnesshttp://lh5.ggpht.com/-a-Tba4pAIVk/VPfDFXW0uAI/AAAAAAAAEBE/0lhEVc5hixI/wlEmoticon-rainbow2.png?imgmax=800. Coming to the Faber-Castell Design(FCD) and the rather luxurious Graf von Faber-Castell(GvFC) line of pens, I must say that they have been able to splendidly highlight the art of convergence of design and utility. The Intuition pen comes in six lines of resin-based designs and two(earlier three) lines of wood-based designs. The wooden designs are called Intuition Platino Wood which is an enhanced intuition design altogether, be it the fluted wooden barrel or the platinum plated cap or an extra-large and more exquisitely designed bi-colour nib. And, it naturally places them in a more premium segment http://lh3.ggpht.com/-xbUGfrYQ50k/VPfDGkDN4aI/AAAAAAAAEBM/SJueZw-VO6s/wlEmoticon-surprisedsmile2.png?imgmax=800. All these design lines come with a fountain pen (with 6 to 7 different nib widths), a roller ball, a propelling pencil (0.7mm) and a ballpoint pen. Presentation (6/6) It’s a chamois-coloured gift box with top and bottom wooden linings, which secures itself by a magnetic catch within the two folds. There is the pen resting in a cardboard box within a chamois-coloured linen bag, which carries the Graf Von Faber-Castell name and their coat-of-arms logo. I someway like the linen, bag because of its differentiated appeal, though not from an utilitarian perspective. There is also a warranty leaflet-cum-manual, which states a lifetime guarantee against manufacturing defects and assures services, in case any need for repair arises. Then, it also illustrates refilling the entire range of GvFC pens and other stationery. http://s25.postimg.org/pcc1oi7n3/Gv_FC_001.jpg Design (6/6) The Intuition range comes in six variants (terra - orange, ivory – off-white/fluted, black - black/fluted/metal cap) with six different nib sizes – EF, F, M, B, OM and OB. Only one of these variants comes with a platinum plated metal cap with a shiny black barrel. Coming back to the pen, once you take it out, it surely looks like a compact enchanting piece of art. A high gloss sheen of the of the barrel and the cap reflects back quite a bit of light. Complementing this sheen, are the dazzling platinum plated trims of the pen. http://s25.postimg.org/u4qwx28mn/Gv_FC_009.jpg On pulling the cap off, you would initially notice the singularity of the barrel, a section sans joints. It’s made out of a single piece of resin, in this case reflecting the colour of earth or ‘terra’, gleaming with an orange smile. At the top end of the barrel, is a twist-metallic crown, which disengages the bi-tone nib section and converter system, from the rest of the body. I just love this element of design! The knob is embossed with the coat-of-arms logo, on the finial. Usually the coat-of-arms logo is used in GvFC pens and FCD pens(Ambition, Ondoro, e-motion) carry the jostling knights logo. Traditionally coat-of-arms is said to represent full-achievement in a heraldic tradition. GvFC has quite a bit of design superiority over the other FCD pens. Towards the nib end, the singular barrel narrows down to a slightly concave section to form a comfortable grip. Despite the glossy and smooth finish, the pen has a subtle but non-slippy grip section. The cap is engraved with GRAF VON FABER – CASTELL, encircling the metallic finial insert which again bears another coat-of-arms logo with its platinum sheen. The cap band says GRAF VON FABER – CASTELL on one side and on the other end it's HANDMADE IN GERMANY. ‘Handmade’ because there are over a hundred steps in the entire manufacturing process of this pen, a majority of which are carried out by hand. The clip on the cap carries the gleam of platinum with a highly efficient and visible spring loaded system. http://s25.postimg.org/xcqcczokv/1_Gv_FC.jpg Filling System (6/6) Once the crown of the barrel is rotated anti-clockwise to disengage the nib & filling system, you would notice a rather classical CC filler system. The nib has a screw fit, and inserts into a metallic sleeve like most of the Faber-Castell fountain pens which I have seen. The nib sleeve has threads which synchronize with threads on the inner barrel, both ending up with an octagonal cross section. The converter has a metallic premium band which friction-fits into the nib section though it does not fit a FCD Ambition section. However, the Ambition converter fits in the Intuition nib section. The converter has a reasonably high capacity of 0.8 – 0.9 mL, and the ink does last for quite a while! I usually have a bias towards piston fillers, but I do appreciate the Faber-Castell converter capacity. http://s25.postimg.org/xgk5t8u27/2_Gv_FC.jpg The nib section carries a six-digit number which denotes the date of manufacture, which I did confirm with the Faber-Castell team. Mine says 011210, which would mean it was manufactured way back on 01-December-2010.http://lh3.ggpht.com/-4LhAicXcVUM/VPfDJ9JciiI/AAAAAAAAEBk/kRvZ6XhRsSM/wlEmoticon-peace%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800 Nib (5/6) – All that matters The 18k bi-tone nib comes in four main widths – EF, F, M & B and two special widths – OM (left) & OB (left). The tail end specifies the nib size and composition (75% Au , 18 ct) of the alloy used. A white rhodium decor occupies the outer tines converging with the iridium tip, while the inner part circumscribing the breather hole gleams golden with engraved stripes. There is a dazzling white coat-of-arms logo resting just above the tail-end. This one is a fine nib and writes quite smoothly with a 'minutely minute' hint of feedback when I use relatively drier inks. It lays down a wet albeit fine line, which will be covered in the last section of this review. With a rather curved shoulder, the nib does portray an apparently smaller size even if it’s quite similar to the size of the relatively flat Ambition nib. [minus 1] http://s25.postimg.org/yhkeidb1r/Gv_FC_008_wb.jpg Below is a comparison to the FCD Ambition (non-premium) sections. You can check the differences between the two converters, the Intuition has got some metallic embellishment. They do use a similar feed. http://s25.postimg.org/fnylldctr/3_Gv_FC2.jpg Physics of it (4/6) – relatively speaking With a cylindrical body of 1.2 cm diameter, it does give a comfortable feel without adding too much weight. The capped length of 12.5 cm is quite similar to a Pelikan m400. In short, it is quite a compact pen when compared to an MB146 or even a thinner Ambition, for that matter. And a compact pen, can have its advantages along with some disadvantages. The weight of this pen has a significant contribution from the resin cap. http://s25.postimg.org/93vtf0ysv/Gv_FC_017.jpg Uncapped Length ~ 12 cm Posted Length ~ 15 cm Nib Leverage ~ 2 cm Overall Weight ~ 29.4 g Uncapped, it’s quite similar to the m400 but slightly shorter than the Ambition. The loss of weight and length is somehwat balanced by the wider grip section, if not completely. http://s25.postimg.org/g9nkhh7vz/Gv_FC_018.jpg Alternatively, you can post it and it’s similar to a posted m400 with a slightly top-heavy configuration. However, I feel comfortable to use it both posted and unposted, although I never have shared the same feeling with Ambition. http://s25.postimg.org/hant6lovj/Gv_FC_019.jpg Economic Value(5/6) Although pen retails around USD 600, it is available at a street price of around USD 430. With end of season clearance sale, I was able to get the pen at a good discounted price (around 50%). Overall (5.3/6)I feel loved by the design and exquisite appeal of this pen on an overall scale, whenever I write with it. No skipping or hard starts right from the beginning, it was quite smooth out of the box. With a stiff nib, it delivers a wet (not broad) line, with the fine nib. The line width closely resembles a Japanese FM nib. For a pelikan 4001 brilliant green ink, it takes around 12-13 seconds to dry up. You may not notice any line variation with horizontal and vertical strokes for this one. http://s25.postimg.org/bp1e2jo6n/Gv_FC_020.jpg It was fun reviewing the intuition. Hope you enjoyed reading it. Thank you for your time. Awaiting your feedback on the intuition... Best, Sonik





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