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Clarification Please! M400 Or M600?


senzen

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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.
fpn_1508639804__img_20171021_212125.jpg

fpn_1472856876__img_2272.jpg

 

 

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt."

 

B. Russell

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Beautiful nib... I think the pre 97 m400 and m600 are similar in length and size but 600 is just around 2 grams heavier. The round stamping with the logo on the nib is larger than the m400 stamping. To me it looks like an m600 nib.

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There is some difference in the length of the nib units of m600 and m400. You can see the details on Richard Binders website and compare with your nib unit to confirm.

Edited to add:

According to the information from www.pelikan-collectibles.com, pre 97 Pelikan 600 has a single gold band on piston Knob, 127 mm in length and from 1990-97 they came with bi colour 18 C nib. This perfectly matches your pen.

Edited by viju
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A '90's F should not be clunky by Pelikan....unless one is using Japanese pens as a base.

 

In fact in the '90's Pelikan was thinner than Parker and Sheaffer until '98. In '98 Pelikan nibs became blobby, and stiffer, because of ball point barbarians.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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That is a Black Pre-1997 M600. These were the same size as the M400 of the time but with a fancier trim package and an 18C nib. Looks to be all original.

PELIKAN - Too many birds in the flock to count. My pen chest has proven to be a most fertile breeding ground.

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THE PELIKAN'S PERCH - A growing reference site for all things Pelikan

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Nope, it is the trim that distinguishes the two, during its lifetime the M600 Old Style was delivered with 18K and 14K depending on the period

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There is some difference in the length of the nib units of m600 and m400. You can see the details on Richard Binders website and compare with your nib unit to confirm.

Edited to add:

According to the information from www.pelikan-collectibles.com, pre 97 Pelikan 600 has a single gold band on piston Knob, 127 mm in length and from 1990-97 they came with bi colour 18 C nib. This perfectly matches your pen.

 

Thank you!

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt."

 

B. Russell

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A '90's F should not be clunky by Pelikan....unless one is using Japanese pens as a base.

 

In fact in the '90's Pelikan was thinner than Parker and Sheaffer until '98. In '98 Pelikan nibs became blobby, and stiffer, because of ball point barbarians.

 

Thanks Bo Bo! Not having your vast experience I can only compare with my other pens, not other Pelikans; every other F nib I have from european brands like Waterman, Lamy, Parker, lays a distinctly thinner line than my Pelikan. Perhaps only my Laureat F lays as chunky a line too.

 

I'm not complaining about this by the way, it just throws me off whenever I look at another Pelikan, be it an m205, m405 or m605, I don't know if I should be looking at EF or F nibs, I have a clear preference for european sized F and M nibs, depending on the ink.

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt."

 

B. Russell

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So if one has the same pen with the same trim level but with 14c rather than 18c would it be a M400?

During the M600s first few years (1985-88), it was included with a monotone 18C-750 gold nib. In 1989, a two-toned 14C-585 nib was employed. Finally, in 1990, Pelikan settled on a two toned 18C-750 nib which was utilized until the trim change (1990-1997) at which point they returned to the 14C-585 two-toned nibs for all but their special editions.

PELIKAN - Too many birds in the flock to count. My pen chest has proven to be a most fertile breeding ground.

fpn_1508261203__fpn_logo_300x150.jpg

THE PELIKAN'S PERCH - A growing reference site for all things Pelikan

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Old model 400 came without any gold ring in piston knob and new model 400 comes with a double ring gold in the piston knob. Did pelican ever made an m400 with a single gold ring in the piston knob?

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I am surprised it's so fat......good thing I didn't bet a case of beer. My 5 regular flex 80's-97 pens are as narrow as my '50-65 semi-flex pens, a 1/2 or more width narrower than modern.

Edited by Bo Bo Olson

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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Old model 400 came without any gold ring in piston knob and new model 400 comes with a double ring gold in the piston knob. Did pelican ever made an m400 with a single gold ring in the piston knob?

 

They did because I have one with a green striped barrel that has a single gold band next to the piston knob.

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They did because I have one with a green striped barrel that has a single gold band next to the piston knob.

Nope. An old style green striped Souverän with a single trim ring at the piston knob sounds like an old style M600. These are quite often confused for M400s based on size.

 

M400 1982-1997: No trim ring at the piston knob

M600 1985-1997: Same size as M400 w/ single, thicker trim ring at piston knob

M400 1997-Present: Two trim rings at the piston knob

PELIKAN - Too many birds in the flock to count. My pen chest has proven to be a most fertile breeding ground.

fpn_1508261203__fpn_logo_300x150.jpg

THE PELIKAN'S PERCH - A growing reference site for all things Pelikan

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Thank you very much Sargetalon for the confirmation. This was a confusion for me because i have seen single banded pens listed and sold on ebay as M400.

And congratulations to Chrissy...Your M400 is just been upgraded to M600 :) .

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During the M600s first few years (1985-88), it was included with a monotone 18C-750 gold nib. In 1989, a two-toned 14C-585 nib was employed. Finally, in 1990, Pelikan settled on a two toned 18C-750 nib which was utilized until the trim change (1990-1997) at which point they returned to the 14C-585 two-toned nibs for all but their special editions.

Thanks for the detailed information - it's nice to have the dates for these slight differences!

"If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live."

– Lin Yu-T'ang

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Thank you very much Sargetalon for the confirmation. This was a confusion for me because i have seen single banded pens listed and sold on ebay as M400.

And congratulations to Chrissy...Your M400 is just been upgraded to M600 :) .

 

Who knew? :D It's exactly like my two M400 pens, so I had always assumed it was one.

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Nope. An old style green striped Souverän with a single trim ring at the piston knob sounds like an old style M600. These are quite often confused for M400s based on size.

 

M400 1982-1997: No trim ring at the piston knob

M600 1985-1997: Same size as M400 w/ single, thicker trim ring at piston knob

M400 1997-Present: Two trim rings at the piston knob

Thank you, that's worth knowing. :)

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During the M600s first few years (1985-88), it was included with a monotone 18C-750 gold nib. In 1989, a two-toned 14C-585 nib was employed. Finally, in 1990, Pelikan settled on a two toned 18C-750 nib which was utilized until the trim change (1990-1997) at which point they returned to the 14C-585 two-toned nibs for all but their special editions.

 

Thank you, sargetalon. You actually transformed one of my pens from M400 (I thought so) to M600. And one of Chrissy's also turned out to be a M600 which it seems she thought was a M400. :)

Edited by mitto

Khan M. Ilyas

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Thank you, sargetalon. You actually transformed one of my pens from M400 (I thought so) to M600. And one of Chrissy's also turned out to be a M600 which it seems she thought was a M400. :)

 

;)

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