Joint Review Of Two Jumbo Space Pens (Pelikan Caelum And Lambrou Jupiter)

[zaddick]

I grew up with movies focused on space. Star Wars, 2001, Star Trek, etc. were all entertaining to me to various degrees, enough so that I took a few cosmology classes at university. While I like space more than the average person, it seems to me quite by coincidence I ended up with two large pens with a space theme. Introducing them in order of acquisition, the 2005 Pelikan Caelum and the 2015 Lambrou LB8 Jupiter.

 

 

The Pelikan Caelum was a limited edition of 580 introduced in 2005. It is M1000 sized (roughly speaking) making it one of the larger LE pens and it certainly is one of the heaviest at about 80 grams. I can promise you it feels SOLID in the hand, like you could defend yourself with it. The pen is mightier than the sword, but the pen that can also act as a sword may be better yet! The pen came in fancy packaging (as do many Pelikan LEs) that had a large clear dome. That is now long gone but the pen remains. Although it is heavy the weight really rests in your hands. I would not use this pen for hours of interrupted writing, but for occasional use during a day the weight is not an issue. As any Pelikan fan knows, the nibs are super easy to swap. The pen came with an M from the factory, but I have decided to swap it for an O3B and make that its designated nib going forward. Since that nib uses a lot of ink, it seemed appropriate for a pen I will not write with all day long. In that way I can still run through a fill or two fairly quickly and keep the pen in rotation. Like other M1000 pens, it is a smooth piston filler and holds a good amount of ink, on par with a regular M1000.

 

 

One think I want to share with you about this pen is the amazing level of detail in the design. The pen has gold plated silver inlays, one for the list of planets in the order the orbit the sun (by distance) and the other inlays represent the golden rays of the sun. The clip is very elegant with a subtle curvature and width that makes it stand out, but still keeps it in the design family of the standard Pelikan nib. What you cannot really see in almost any picture on-line (including most of mine) is the very detailed surface if the pen under the lacquer coating. The closest I can come to describing it is a zen sand garden. You can see individual particles of material and then perfect ripples in the material around the planets and stars. I am sure it was done by a machine, but it reminds me of intricate maki-e decorations that would take countless hours by hand. The pen also pops in the sun with a vibrant blue, while it is a much more muted dark blue in indoor light. Perhaps it is easier to just say it is much prettier in person that it might look on-line.

 

 

One last point on this pen you will notice there are 9 planets listed. That is because the pen was created before Pluto got downgraded. As a kid who grew up with 9 planets, I appreciate the ability to privately rebel against the (admittedly correct) Astronomers of today.

 

 

The next pen I picked up not too long ago. I am a fan of Andy Lambrous pens and the associated materials and craftsmanship. This LR8 Jupiter pen is the first of his Art Series I have acquired. It is a very large, but fairly light pen. It is based on his oversize Mythos platform that has a flat top and bottom (the other pen shape is the Legend and is cigar shaped) and is 6 inches in length and has a large girth. I would say it is larger in the hand than a 149, but I have not measured. Let me say I like large pens, and this has a great feel for me.

 

 

The pen material is the exclusive Lambrou Pens diffusion bonded acrylic in Space Blue, ideal for a space pen design. The material is made in England and is very stable and durable, taking fear of use out of the equation for me. As you would expect on a pen named after a planet, the representation of Jupiter sure as heck better stand out. As you can see it does. The planet is an inlaid piece of Flame Red, another exclusive diffusion bonded acrylics. There are also multiple inlays for the four largest moons of Jupiter in various colors. All around the pen there are three constellations shown by in large gold stars: on the cap, on either side of the clip, is Ursa Major and Ursa Minor while Orion is on the barrel. The inside joke to me is these are the only constellations I am ever able to point out with any regularity!

 

 

The R in the LRB Jupiter name stands for Paul Rossi. He does all the work on these pens including all the inlay work of the other acrylics and the gold and silver stars. Paul hand crafts the clip (all the trim is sterling silver) to match the celestial theme. He signs each pen with his initials carved into the blind cap of the pen.

 

 

While people are familiar with Pelikan nibs, the large Lambrou pen nibs are no slouch. They are produced by Bock and are their largest 380 size (basically a #8, similar to an MB #9). Andy has the nibs tuned to offer some spring so even with an M you can get some line variation on demand. The nib on my pen was stubbed to increase the variation, but I can say the standard M is not a bad option (and I usually do not buy any M nibs). One potential downside of this pen for some folks is the fact you are feeding this big nib with a cartridge or converter. But I try to look at this as a positive because there is less to break and it makes it easier to run through a fill of ink. Running through a fill allows me to keep rotating pens, including my other Pelikans and Lambrou pens.

 

 

A note on price. These are not cheap pens so I apologize if I got you all excited. I know the Caelum is sold out, but I think the LR8 may still be available. Both sold for over $2100 new and had list prices about $2700. All I can recommend if you like these pens is to look for them used and to have patience. In the mean time I hope this review exposed you to some lovely pens that dont get a lot of discussion on pen enthusiast sites.

Edited May 16, 2016 by zaddick

[RobertJWarren]

thanks for a great review

 

i have never seen the Pelikan before!

 

Jud

[dms525]

Gorgeous pens! Thanks for sharing. I can see that those cosmetology courses prepared you to appreciate the beauty of such works of art. (Do we have another auto-correct dirty trick?)

 

David

[zaddick]

Ugh, yes. Cosmology not cosmetology. Although the latter would have likely been more useful in the long term.

 

Review edited. Thank you.

Edited May 16, 2016 by zaddick

[cellardoor04]

Oof, that Pelikan is to die for. And an O3B nib to boot! Truly "out of this world", indeed!

[J85909266]

Thank you for the pictures and information. Both are beautiful, but I am especially drawn to the design on the Caelum. I love the listing of the planets.

[bobje]

Stellar photos of pens I haven't seen before, and love the details. Also, happy that on your pen, Pluto lives on as a planet.

[FrankB]

An O3B nib! And on a Pel M-1000 nib at that. What DO you write with a nib that size?

 

Oh, uh, sorry. Thanks for the review. I am also a lover of large pens as they accommodate a disability in my writing hand. It is nice to see two that I am not familiar with. I have only one Classic Pens item, an LM1 Flame. Yes, I did have to wait to find one used. It still cost a fortune, but it is a great pen and I have no regrets.

 

Enjoy your treasures in good health.

[Misfit]

Those are two beauties. I clicked on your link from the AARP article on Neil Degrasse Tyson's pen collection.

[Mulrich]

The LB8 is a stunner. I wish I havent gone through my pen budget for the year already.