Jump to content

Pelikan Souverän M600


bwDraco

Recommended Posts

Introduction

 

This pen was meant as a replacement for the Pelikan M200 I had lost a few months ago. I wanted to step up to a true Souverän, and since the green-marbled M200 is rather difficult to find, I decided to go with the M600. When I first encountered the packaging at the dealer, I was surprised that it was so drastically revamped:

 

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6115/6328475653_3fe31e1220_z.jpg

Pelikan Souverän M600: Box Contents by DragonLord878, on Flickr

 

I liked the new box, and it would make a superb first impression as a gift. When I first picked up the pen to try it out, my hand was shaking like crazy :lol:. I found the pen to write a bit too wet for my taste (more on that later), but it was silky smooth. The pen was truly beautiful, inside and out.

 

Appearance and design: 10

 

The M600 I bought is black-green, a classic Pelikan color combination. The green-striped body is based on the Pelikan 400 of 1950 and is constructed of cellulose acetate. The green "Stresemann" stripes lend a timeless look to the pen. Add to this the elegant gold-plated trim, including a new metal logo in the gold tassie, and you have a truly beautiful pen. You can't get much more elegant than this.:happyberet:

 

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6045/6328471415_09c50d42af_z.jpg

Pelikan Souverän M600: Pen and Box by DragonLord878, on Flickr

 

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6050/6329246412_441632ca80_z.jpg

Pelikan Souverän M600: Logo On Cap by DragonLord878, on Flickr

 

Construction and quality: 8.5

 

As noted before, the pen is constructed of cellulose acetate. The piston assembly is made of plastic and not brass as in the M800 and M1000, but this is not a problem for me. There are no obvious flaws in the construction of the pen. The body is quite durable and will withstand impacts, but I wouldn't want to abuse it.

 

Weight and dimensions: 9

The pen is of a comfortable medium size and is very easy to handle whether or not the cap is posted. It is lightweight and well balanced. While posting the cap results in a large pen, it is by no means uncomfortable.

 

Nib and performance: 7.5

 

While this is a very smooth nib, it writes wider and wetter than expected. This can cause bleeding and feathering on various papers, and while less than ideal, this is not a bad characteristic per se. (It will feather on, but not bleed through, Moleskine paper.) The nib is made of 14K/585 gold with two-tone rhodium plating, inscribed with the Pelikan logo and decorated with scrollwork. I like this design, but as noted before, it is a bit too wet for my taste. The nib is firm, but will spread slightly with moderate pressure. The nib can be easily removed and replaced—a key advantage of Pelikan fountain pens.

 

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6047/6328466991_a450aebaa5_z.jpg

Pelikan Souverän M600: Nib Detail by DragonLord878, on Flickr

 

Filling system and maintenance: 9

 

The M600 uses the tried-and-true differential piston filling system. The system is reliable and offers a relatively high ink capacity. While three passes were needed to initially fill the pen, subsequent fills require only one to two passes. The piston knob rotates smoothly and easily. Based on Pelikan's superb reliability track record, this pen is extremely unlikely to leak or show other serious problems. The pen is very easy to clean because the nib assembly screws out easily; you can let the nib sit in water while rinsing the ink out of the barrel. However, the piston assembly does not screw out like that of the M800 and M1000.

 

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6240/6329241770_73468514b6_z.jpg

Pelikan Souverän M600: With Edelstein Ink by DragonLord878, on Flickr

Cost and value: 8.5

 

This M600 was purchased from Fountain Pen Hospital at US$299. While this is not the best price for the pen, it does carry the assurance that the pen comes from an authorized dealer with the three-year warranty, as well as the opportunity to try it out and get an idea of how it writes before buying. Compared to other pens, this is a good value and is competitively priced compared to other pens.

 

Conclusion - Final score: 8.75

 

The Pelikan M600 is a superb pen and should be strongly considered for your first-choice pen. There may be better options if you prefer a drier-writing pen, but you should still consider it. I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants a elegant, reliable pen with a wet, smooth nib.

 

--DragonLord

Edited by DragonLord

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

Montblanc Meisterstück 149 – Montblanc Meisterstück LeGrand (146) Pelikan Toledo M700 – Pelikan Souverän M800 – Pelikan Souverän M600 – Pelikan Classic M200 – Pilot Custom 823 Pilot Prera – Pilot MR Lamy AL-star – TWSBI Diamond 580AL

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 29
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • bwDraco

    6

  • biancitwo

    2

  • Lennart Wennberg

    1

  • prometheus13

    1

Beautiful pictures of a magnificent pen. Pelikans (specially M400, M600, M800, ...) generally write wet and drier inks would work much better. I found that Pelikan (not the modern Edelstein which I have not tried yet) and MB inks are very adequate. No wonder why these brands make inks that fit their pens. I tend to only use MB inks in my modern Pelikans.

In my current rotation:

Pelikan 400 Brown Tortoise/14K Fine/J. Herbin Cafe des Iles

Lamy 2000/14K Medium/Lamy Blue-Black

Sailor 1911 Large burgundy/21K Naginata Togi Medium/Diamine Oxblood

Montblanc 146/14K Fine/Montblanc Racing Green

Rosetta blue/Steel Pendelton cursive italic/Pelikan Royal Blue

Delta Passion/18K Broad/Diamine Syrah

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have the exact same M600 and I agree with your review completely. It's a gorgeous pen, and although it does write wetter than I expected, the Pelikan 4001 inks dry very fast so I haven't had too much difficulty. And you can always get the nib tuned to your liking if it's really too wet for you.

 

Congratulations on your acquisition!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used Edelstein Onyx in my M600. I have not had a chance to try 4001 Brilliant Black.

 

To be honest, I don't like changing inks often, since each ink change requires a thorough cleaning of the pen, and any residual ink can result in contamination of the ink bottle with other inks. I prefer to choose an ink and stick with it for as long as possible.

 

--DragonLord

Edited by DragonLord

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

Montblanc Meisterstück 149 – Montblanc Meisterstück LeGrand (146) Pelikan Toledo M700 – Pelikan Souverän M800 – Pelikan Souverän M600 – Pelikan Classic M200 – Pilot Custom 823 Pilot Prera – Pilot MR Lamy AL-star – TWSBI Diamond 580AL

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great review!

 

Just bought myself an M600 while away for a conference (no pen shops at home). Already have (and love) an M605, the all-blue one with silver trim, but decided to try a classic striped one.

 

I find that each nib is a bit different coming out of the box; my M605 was fairly wet, but the new M600 I bought was quite dry. I find that I pretty much expect to do a little adjusting on even my most expensive pens to ake it just right 'for me'. A touch of adjusting on the new M600, and it is another perfect writer!

 

Gotta love Pelikan!

 

Ken

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Congrats love those Pels!

PAKMAN

minibanner.gif                                    Vanness-world-final.png.c1b120b90855ce70a8fd70dd342ebc00.png

                         My Favorite Pen Restorer                                             My Favorite Pen Store

                                                                                                                                Vanness Pens - Selling Online!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

By the way, has anyone read this Pelikan press release?

 

Nikkei: Pelikan is first choice - Pelikan

 

The major functional reasons that Pelikan M600 and M400 are chosen are 1) smooth writing, 2) good balance, 3) easy to hold, 4) soft and Flexible nib, 5) various nib widths are available and 6) M400 is the perfect size for female writers. Of course, the design and the typical Pelikan strives are highly appreciated.

 

I'm kinda surprised that Nikkei would run such a study, but the result isn't surprising. More from Pelikan:

 

You can rely on Pelikan writing instruments - Pelikan

 

Another testament to the reliability and performance of Pelikan writing instruments. :happyberet:

 

--DragonLord

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

Montblanc Meisterstück 149 – Montblanc Meisterstück LeGrand (146) Pelikan Toledo M700 – Pelikan Souverän M800 – Pelikan Souverän M600 – Pelikan Classic M200 – Pilot Custom 823 Pilot Prera – Pilot MR Lamy AL-star – TWSBI Diamond 580AL

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

My dad bought me this pen in the early 90's, I really enjoy it. The only ink I've used in it is Pelikan ink from the mid 20th century and find it not so wet unless the paper is lesser quality. It seems to have held it's value. I love the logo on the nib and the cap.

Timbers Army RCTID

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great acquisition! But 9,0 for this Filling System?!?! I disagree!! That one is 10!

 

Pelikan piston fillers are awesome, the best out there! Truly the Gold Standard!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great acquisition! But 9,0 for this Filling System?!?! I disagree!! That one is 10!

 

Pelikan piston fillers are awesome, the best out there! Truly the Gold Standard!

 

The filling system score also includes maintenance. The reason it does not get a 10 is that the piston assembly is not user serviceable because it does not screw out like on the M800 and M1000. If this was the case, I would have given it a 10.

 

--DragonLord

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

Montblanc Meisterstück 149 – Montblanc Meisterstück LeGrand (146) Pelikan Toledo M700 – Pelikan Souverän M800 – Pelikan Souverän M600 – Pelikan Classic M200 – Pilot Custom 823 Pilot Prera – Pilot MR Lamy AL-star – TWSBI Diamond 580AL

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great acquisition! But 9,0 for this Filling System?!?! I disagree!! That one is 10!

 

Pelikan piston fillers are awesome, the best out there! Truly the Gold Standard!

 

The filling system score also includes maintenance. The reason it does not get a 10 is that the piston assembly is not user serviceable because it does not screw out like on the M800 and M1000. If this was the case, I would have given it a 10.

 

--DragonLord

But why would you even want to take the Pelikan piston system apart for maintenance? You are assuming they have to be serviced regularly or they will seize or something. I would think the piston systems in the vintage Pelikans go decades without ever needing servicing if at all.

Edited by max dog
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The most common reason to do so is lubrication and cleaning of the piston should it fail to move freely, which is very unlikely to occur if the pen is cleaned out on a regular basis. A properly maintained piston-filled pen should not require disassembling the piston unit, but it would make it easier to service the piston in case of a problem.

 

--DragonLord

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

Montblanc Meisterstück 149 – Montblanc Meisterstück LeGrand (146) Pelikan Toledo M700 – Pelikan Souverän M800 – Pelikan Souverän M600 – Pelikan Classic M200 – Pilot Custom 823 Pilot Prera – Pilot MR Lamy AL-star – TWSBI Diamond 580AL

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26627
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...