Pens For Small Hands?

[A Smug Dill]

I'll admit I was a bit hesitant on the Pelikan since it was only available (at that price point) with a medium nib. I have decided that if I hate the Pelikan's medium line, then I will look into making it my first custom ground nib.

 

 

Doesn't Pelikan have a nib exchange programme for new pens?

[GreenMountain]

Maybe two pens aren't enough, though? I am hooked on the Platinum short pens on eBay. Mostly EF and F. You can get them for $30 a little banged up (plastic cases), and sometimes find really nice ones with 18K gold nibs for around $50. Also come in New Old Stock for around $60.

Almost all the Platinum short pens have plastic bodies (which makes them light). I did find one with a metal case from the '60's that I have yet to try out.

What I like about them (and the Pilot 95S) is that they post really nicely with a soft sliding motion, making them a full sized pen when posted.

Very similar to the Pilot 95S, which also comes in Medium.

I use a converter with the Platinum short pens and just cut down the twist stem a bit with a razor blade to get the converter to fit into the short barrel.

Oh, and I did find a full size Platinum pen with a 14K nib brand marked "Courreges" that is very well balanced with a fairly slim diameter.

[sansenri]

Going smaller size, vintage, and not so easy to find any longer, but it must be said that Omas made the Lady size (555-F) piston filler which was wonderfully small but usable (especially posted).

 

In the picture above, it's next to a Milord, which was already a mid sized pen, being the Paragon the larger size.

The nice thing about the Lady is that it's a shrinked version of the Paragon, i.e. same proportions, not a shortened version. Very cute, too.

 

Here is another picture comparing the Paragon (uncapped), Milord and Lady (557-F, 556-F, 555-F), the last one is the even smaller Dama.

Edited November 15, 2019 by sansenri

[Runnin_Ute]

"My fiancée has small hands and has to shop in the kids section when looking for gloves that fit her". Tell me about it! My hands are just over 6 1/2 inches from heel to middle finger tip, and gloves always seem to be either flapping on the ends of my fingers or decorated with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Or hot pink. :-(

 

What did they do back in the day when kids learned to write with fountain pens in primary school? Were there smaller school pens, or did the kids just learn to handle full sized ones?

Pelikan sold the 120 (and later the 120 Merz & Krell) as school pens which are similar in size with some of the other pens that have been mentioned.

 

In looking at my collection I have the following pens all similar in size to an Esterbrook J.

 

Esterbrook J, SJ and LJ (SJ is shorter and narrower, LJ same diameter as SJ, and length as J)

Parker 51 Demi (mine is the Vacumatic)

Parker 51/51 Special (45 is a similar length)

Pelikan 120 Merz and Krell

Pelikan M150 (shorter and thinner than the M200)

Pelikan M200 (I have Cognac, Brown Marbled, Gold Marbled, Blue Marbled (old style)

Pelikan 140

Pelikan 400NN is a bit longer (mine just arrived on Friday)

Pelikan M400 White Tortoise

 

The most expensive of the above is the White Tortoise. I paid about $225 USD a year ago from The Writing Desk in the UK. (Best US price I saw was $399)

 

My hands for a man are not particularly large. (8 inches from crease at the wrist to the tip of my longest finger. My wrists are typically 6 1/2 - 6 3/4 inches around.

Edited November 17, 2019 by Runnin_Ute

[melissa59]

My beautiful new pens arrived today. I've not yet cleaned them or filled them with ink but I did do a quick dip test of both.

 

First impressions: The length, girth and weight of the Sailor Pro-Gear Slim (aka: Sapporo) is just about perfect. It's also purple and has a fine nib. It is very much my kind of pen.

Without the cap, the Sailor pen body is about 1/2 an inch shorter than my Esterbrook J body and about the same girth. For me, it is comfortable to write with posted or unposted, though compared to the Esterbrook the Sailor is the teeniest bit top heavy when posted. I love that it has a really fine nib. It definitely gives a narrower line than my Lamy Safari fine, but it's only slightly narrower than my Esterbrook 9556 nib. The Japanese Sailor fine is about the same thickness as the F1 steel fine nib on my Sheaffer Craftsman -- but, surprisingly, the Sailor has more feedback than the Sheaffer or the Esterbrook.

 

I look forward to doing more comparisons of these fine-nib pens filled with various inks and on several different papers to see if my first impressions stay the same or change with time and use.

 

As for the Pelikan M405 . . .
I picked up the black (anthrocite) model, which I think is a class looking pen. The M (medium) 14k nib on the Pelikan is incredibly smooth, smoother than any other fountain pen I own. Unfortunately, that smoothness comes at a cost. it lays down a much thicker line than I want in a daily writer. I plan to pick up some Apache Sunset or other shading ink to see if can get me to change my mind about this super smooooth M nib. If I'm still not thrilled in a couple of months, I'll probably start asking about nib grind options. I know Mike Masuyama's is the go-to for fine grinds but I haven't been able to get his MikeItWork.com site to open the last few days.

[Mangrove Jack]

Melissa, you can easily get a Pelikan F or EF nib and replace your M nib with it; and keep the M nib for another day when you may want to try it again. It's easy to change nibs on Pelikan fountain pens.

Edited November 17, 2019 by Mangrove Jack

[Mangrove Jack]

Sorry, double post, unable to delete the double post.

Edited November 17, 2019 by Mangrove Jack

[A Smug Dill]

The M (medium) 14k nib on the Pelikan_...‹snip›... lays down a much thicker line than I want in a daily writer. I plan to pick up some Apache Sunset or other shading ink to see if can get me to change my mind about this super smooooth M nib. If I'm still not thrilled in a couple of months, I'll probably start asking about nib grind options.

… keep the M nib for another day when you may want to try it again. It's easy to change nibs on Pelikan fountain pens.

I'm not assuming melissa59's requirements and/or tastes for everyday writing are going to change in the foreseeable future, or find some other application or purpose for her Pelikan pen. Also, it's not as if writing with thicker lines is a preference that implicitly warrant encouraging in others.

 

Personally, I've found even the M400 14K gold EF nibs to lay down thicker lines than I want for my regular uses of fountain pens, so I dread to think what the equivalent M nib would put down.

[Mangrove Jack]

I am not assuming anything. Just giving her the options. She will decide what she wants to do.

[pajaro]

I'm not assuming melissa59's requirements and/or tastes for everyday writing are going to change in the foreseeable future, or find some other application or purpose for her Pelikan pen. Also, it's not as if writing with thicker lines is a preference that implicitly warrant encouraging in others.

 

Personally, I've found even the M400 14K gold EF nibs to lay down thicker lines than I want for my regular uses of fountain pens, so I dread to think what the equivalent M nib would put down.

 

So, that's you. Other people can like these pens that they happen to have had laying around before it became known you didn't like them.

[A Smug Dill]

So, that's you. Other people can like these pens that they happen to have had laying around before it became known you didn't like them.

Or melissa59 could just go ahead and send the M nib off to be reshaped as she wants when she's ready, and if she ever wants to give a Pelikan M nib another try, she can as easily buy another one of those as buying an EF nib. If her current M nib doesn't make her as its owner happy, then it has no reason to continue to exist as it is.

 

Even "flog off the M nib if it fails to please, and buy a replacement EF nib to use for now," would be more sound as advice to the O.P. if the spectator thinks there is inherent value to other users in that M nib remaining unchanged.