Noob Pelikan Or Waterman Pen

[markymark01]

What's a good/decent Pelikan or Waterman fountain pen for a noob?

I'd like to spend less than $200, but it would be better if its around $100...

 

It seems like every time I find a decent one, I find another one that's 20-30$ better and so on...

 

thanks!!

[John_David_91]

Greetings fellow noob lol.

 

I only just started writing with fountain pens about a month ago. I had found a green Waterman Phileas stowed away and long forgotten that my father had purchased when I was like 10-11yo. Found it in the corner of a beat up filing drawer and thankfully without a mark of wear or tear. I don't ever remember seeing my dad write with it so I thought I'd clean it up and put new ink in it.

 

For me being a noob, the Phileas is a wonderful instrument to write with and I've been using it to write in my journal and poetry notebook. I'm sure it would be a lot smoother to write with had I put better ink in it (stay away from Montblanc ink, it is sissy when using a medium nib - and perhaps it would be better used in a fine point nib), but even with the wimpy ink it writes smoothly.

 

And you can find Waterman Phileas fountain pens on Amazon for between $85-125.

[fabrimedeiros]

In 2009, I remember that we could buy a Phileas for US$19 on eBay but, on average $30. So with $85-125 I prefer purchase a Pelikan M215 which is far better than a Phileas, in my opinion. Phileas has a smooth nib, but German engineering is the best. The Pelikan piston filler is the gold standard, as someone told here.

[rcarlisle]

I suggest a Pelikan in the M200, M205, M215 series from Richard Binder. He will make sure that the nib is tuned and writes well when you get it. I have a Phileas and I love it. But the Pelikan is just an extremely well made pen and if you can spend over $100 US then I would get the Pelikan instead of the Phileas. I have a Binder Pelikan M200 with a medium nib customized to a fine cursive italic. My Pelikan and my Phileas are the two pens I pretty much always have in my rotation. If you want anything specially done with your pen you can spend a bit more with Mr. Binder and get the nib customized. I have no money invested in his business. I am just a happy customer. I got my Pelikan a year and a half ago and it is a great pen. One other thing is it is simple to unscrew the nib/feed assembly from the Pelikan and clean it out when you change inks. And being a piston filler it holds lots of ink. His website is http://www.richardspens.com.

Edited September 8, 2011 by rcarlisle

[Ray-Vigo]

I agree with the suggestion above: Phileas in the under $50 range, M200 in the sub $100 range. If you want something modern, that is. If you want vintage, that's a different ballgame.

[FearNot]

I have a Waterman Hemisphere with a fine nib. Writes well and cost right at $100 USD.

[MrsWeetag]

I've got a Waterman Hemisphere with a medium nib and that writes very well. It would be larger than the Pelikan that you are considering. It also depends on how much you want to spend and where you want to shop. Stylo.ca has some decent choices and they've been good with shipping. They also have some nice promotional prices that you can check out and you might find yet another choice. The Hemisphere on their site was $100 Cdn. Hope that helps.

[PAKMAN]

Pelikan M215

[markymark01]

thanks for all of your inputs and suggestions..

I truly appreciate it... I went from knowing nothing to knowing a little more but also went from wanting to buy certain pens and ended up buying something totally different..

 

I ended up buying a Waterman Hemisphere earlier today and I will probably end up buying a Pelikan M215 from Richard Binder soon..

 

thanks again..

[OcalaFlGuy]

Pelikan M215

 

VERY HARD to beat for the $ they can be had for.

 

<subliminal taser shock/>

 

Ok, wait a minute, or maybe a nice clean Parker 51.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL-went to the bahamas, just for a few seconds

[mori45]

You won't be disappointed with the Pelikan. The Waterman Phileas (or Kultur if you're looking for a demonstrator) is a really nice pen, but the combination of interchangeable nibs and a piston fill gives the M200 an edge. You can get the pen and a couple of nibs from Richard Binder or John Mottishaw for around USD $150. Both are very reputable sellers and adjust nibs prior to sending them out to their new homes.