Pelikan "italic" Nib In M800 Size?

[Intensity]

Since the Italic Broad (IB) nib got discontinued, I've been having a difficult time finding a unit from the official channels for the nib exchange program. However, I've just talked to one of the European Pelikan distributors/repair centers, and they said they have "just plain Italic" nibs for M800, not "Italic Broad". The person I spoke with does not know how that type is different from IB and suggests I ask the person who is away until next week, which I'll do.

 

In the meantime I thought I'd ask here, since I'm sure there are some knowledgeable Pelikan pen experts around. What do you think they meant by "regular Italic" M800 nib unit? I've read there used to be Italic Medium and Italic Broad--I'm not sure if "I" is a new designation, after italic medium and italic broad got discontinued, or whether regular italic means italic medium. This is the first I've heard of regular italic still being available--all my previous conversations indicated that all nibs but EF-B have been discontinued (so no more oblique or BB size, for example).

Edited April 18, 2019 by Intensity

[zaddick]

The recent iteration was marked IB for Italic Broad. That is really the only option it could be. Some of the smaller nibs in steel might be marked with just an I, but not in the M800 size.

 

BB also made a bit or a reappearance maybe a year ago, but may be sold out again.

 

i seem to recall Fritz Schimpf used to offer discontinued sizes for a premium on a new pen. They may be out of stock at this point.

Edited April 18, 2019 by zaddick

[zaddick]

Just looked and they do have the IB nib still listed for the M800.

 

https://www.fritz-schimpf.de/Marken/Pelikan/Pelikan-Souveraen-M800-Kolbenfuellhalter.html

[Intensity]

Thank you--I've found places that sell the nib units, but I'd really like to try the exchange road first, with fees and shipping costs covered. My pen came with a Fine nib unit and I have no need of it or plans for using it. Selling/buying is my last resort.

 

In regards to the IB designation for the latest nibs, yes it's fairly confusing what they mean. We'll see when I get a reply from the service center. I did a search earlier and found this thread from 2014:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/281303-pelikan-italic-nibs/

 

Post #3 shows writing samples from stainless steel Italic Medium and 18K gold Italic Broad, no other italics were mentioned. The service center did look up M800 size--I was on the phone with them as they looked through their system and I heard them repeat "M800" for their search.

 

Unless there's some new, yet-unannounced type of "italic" (doubtful), I'm going to cross my fingers they have Italic Broad.

[1nkulus]

When you do speak to the other person, ask him to verify the marking on the actual nib rather than simply looking on his system.

 

I too assume/hope it will be italic Broad (IB).

Edited April 19, 2019 by 1nkulus

[DrCodfish]

I would not be surprised to learn that first rep was confusing Italic with Oblique nibs. The nib on my M800 tortoise was marked IB, a ton of fun to write with.

[Intensity]

After all it was IB. I'm just so happy my long search for IB nib has come to a positive conclusion. Now I'm crossing my fingers that the nib unit I have sent in for exchange makes it safely to the repair center, and the new nib makes it safely to me (international shipping and customs always make me nervous for this kind of thing). I had checked in 4 different countries with Pelikan repair centers, and got lucky with the 4th. I'm still paying for service fee and return shipping (international), as well as for shipping to the center (international). But all said and done, I was glad to do it.

Edited April 30, 2019 by Intensity

[sargetalon]

The IB nibs are hard to come by these days. Glad you tracked on down. I know that Fritz Schimpf bought out a lot of nibs before they were discontinued and have some supply left though they come at a premium. It is a shame that to get any kind of interesting nib on a Pelikan these days requires going through some hoops.

[1nkulus]

The IB nibs are hard to come by these days. Glad you tracked on down. I know that Fritz Schimpf bought out a lot of nibs before they were discontinued and have some supply left though they come at a premium. It is a shame that to get any kind of interesting nib on a Pelikan these days requires going through some hoops.

 

Readily available with no premium.

 

https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/PK16994/pelikan-souveran-m800-fountain-pen-italic-nib

[sirgilbert357]

 

Readily available with no premium.

 

https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/PK16994/pelikan-souveran-m800-fountain-pen-italic-nib

Wow. That's a tempting price too...

[1nkulus]

Wow. That's a tempting price too...

 

Sure is, brand new M800 w/ IB nib delivered for $321.

[sirgilbert357]

 

Sure is, brand new M800 w/ IB nib delivered for $321.

I do not need any more Pelikans, I do not need any more Pelikans...

[1nkulus]

I do not need any more Pelikans, I do not need any more Pelikans...

 

If you say so, but do give it a thought nonetheless.

[sirgilbert357]

 

If you say so, but do give it a thought nonetheless.

Oh, I'm thinking about it all right. My birthday is in 3 months. I will either get an M800 with this IB nib or a Visconti Homo Sapiens in Bronze trim with their stub. If either pen fails to write as I hope, it will be off to Pendleton Brown for a BLS grind. I'm hoping these Pelikans are still available by that time...

[1nkulus]

Oh, I'm thinking about it all right. My birthday is in 3 months. I will either get an M800 with this IB nib or a Visconti Homo Sapiens in Bronze trim with their stub. If either pen fails to write as I hope, it will be off to Pendleton Brown for a BLS grind. I'm hoping these Pelikans are still available by that time...

 

Between the Pelikan and Visconti, I'd go with the Pelikan.

OTOH, if you fancy the upcoming Blue Dunes, you could get it in a 'B' and send it for a BLS grind.

[1nkulus]

Another store offering the IB nib at no premium.

 

https://www.penbox.co.uk/pelikan.nibs.htm

 

IMO, IB nibs having a shortage and commanding a premium is a misconception.

[sirgilbert357]

 

Between the Pelikan and Visconti, I'd go with the Pelikan.

OTOH, if you fancy the upcoming Blue Dunes, you could get it in a 'B' and send it for a BLS grind.

I want the BLS to end up at a 1.3 mm width. I'm not sure a Pelikan B would start with enough material to accomplish that. I could ask Pendleton though.

 

I already have two Pelikan M800's, in a small collection (12 pens, of which three are about to be sold), so I'm not sure how many more of the same pen I want to buy. I don't really like the Blue Dunes enough to want one over the Visconti.

 

The only thing really stopping me from getting the Visconti is their nib QC. But if I buy from an authorized retailer in the USA, I should be covered if it has any issues, so I'm trying to keep an eye out for a sale or something...

[1nkulus]

The only thing really stopping me from getting the Visconti is their nib QC. But if I buy from an authorized retailer in the USA, I should be covered if it has any issues, so I'm trying to keep an eye out for a sale or something...

 

I share similar thoughts but procuring one at a discount would be an ideal outcome.

OTOH, you could still send the Visconti for a BLS or a 1.1 stub grind.

[Intensity]

Now that I have the IB nib for a while, I can share some thoughts:

 

"out of the box" it's very fussy in terms of the effect of angle and orientation compared to ALL my other stubs and cursive italics. I'm not at all new to stubs and cursive italics, and some of my favorites are broad ones like 1.5mm Lamy stub. The left side of my M800 IB nib tipping doesn't quite make good contact with paper, which results in a jagged edge along the left, unless I hold the pen vertically enough and more tilted toward the left than I prefer. There's just a bit of hard starting because of that too, depending on how I hold the pen. There's also a bit of a "V" in how the tines are aligned--e.g. if I "dot" the paper with nib vertical to the paper, instead of a very straight line (due to this nib having an elongated stub grind), I get a slight curve, like a slight V, with the center pointed up. I'm pretty sure this nib/pen will end up going to a nibmeister sometime soon for a tune-up. I will ask for proper alignment and flat tipping such that the left side correctly touches the paper, perhaps with a very slight oblique angle. I'll also ask for it to be more toward cursive italic for a touch more crispness, since the pen is such a wet writer.

 

In all, I would say if one can get something like a BB or OBB--if those are somehow available and not the IB--and then send to a nibmeister for a regrind, it'll probably be a better result than stock IB nib without any tuning. A stock IB nib might well need some professional tuning too. I realize all of those have been discontinued, but just tossing it out as a recommendation.

 

Also, because the IB nib has been discontinued (and it took me a long time to get an IB nib unit) and the available stock is low, it's difficult-to-impossible to exchange a faulty one. So again, I would budget for possible nibmeister tuning work, along with some time of not being able to use the nib while it's being worked on.

Edited May 26, 2019 by Intensity

[sirgilbert357]

Intensity, thank you so much for your input. I sincerely hope your experience is the exception, not the norm! Yes, whichever way I go, I intend to reserve funds to have the nib worked on by a nibmeister in case it is needed.