Pelikan Souverän M800

[Recursion]

This pen was a gift from my wife. This is the first Pelikan on my writing desk, and after some work this is one of the (spoiler alert) smoothest writers I own, so far. 

 

I was given the choice between the Montblanc Meisterstück 146 and the Pelikan Souverän M800, both with "fine" nibs. So why the Pelikan? Well, mostly because I already have a Montblanc with a "fine" nib, the Meisterstück 149, and this is one of my daily writers. Compared to the 149, the 146 felt very finicky and small and added nothing for me. 

 

So, the facts:

Manufacturer:        Pelikan

Model:                    Souverän M800

Edition:                   Green / black stripes

Material:                 Resin and cellulose-acetate.

Nib:                         18k gold (F)

Filling system:       Piston

Capped:                 142 mm

Uncapped:            127 mm

Posted:                  167 mm

Section:                 10.5 – 11.5 mm

 

Appearance & Design – Beautiful classic yet modern design 

The pen has a lovely balanced design between classic and modern, mainly due to the green stripes and the nice cap finial design, The green / black design in really complimented by the golden accents. The nib is a beaty, the slender design with the lovely engravings and the two tones, the length is comparable with a #6 nib, but it is quite a bit narrower. The clip is quirky with the design of a pelican and its beak. That’s a fun detail. 

 

The one annoying thing for me is the is the strange edge at the end of the barrel towards the piston nob. There is a very noticeable step-down.  

 

Construction & Quality – Well build

The threading on this pen is smooth.  The pen posts very securely and is not back weighted, I tend to write mostly posted with this pen as this somehow gives me a better feeling with the nib on paper. The cap comes off in just under 1 turn, which is great. The pen feels sturdy and well build. As for quality, see the nib and piston section. Some adjustments were needed IMHO

 

Weight & Dimensions – Lightweight and good ergonomics.

As I don’t own a scale, I can’t weight the pen (it is advertised as 29 grams) but it feels great in my hands. The length of the pen fits my hand very well. The ergonomics of the section is ok but could do with a bit more girt, the slight flare-out near the nib gives me a secure feeling. 

 

Nib & Performance – Needed tuning

In the store I already noticed a slight resistance (I could not call it scratchy) in the left to right strokes. With the 10x loupe in the store I could see a slight misalignment of the tines, the store owner could not see or feel it. When writing with a bit more pressure this feeling was gone, but as I tend to write with a very light hand for me it was noticeable. Nothing I couldn’t fix so no worries there. At home I carefully adjusted the nib and after that it writes super smooth (smoothest writer in my collection, so far). The nib is marked “F” but for me it writes more as a medium and on cheaper paper as broad. It’s quite a wet writer and on Rhodia DotPad and copy paper it boarders on to wet for my liking. But in a Rhodia Goalbook (heavily coated paper) it is good for my handwriting. And as this is the paper I mostly use, hurray!

 

 

 

 

Filling System & Maintenance – Classic piston filler, work needed

The piston filling system works well and has an out-of-the-box capacity of approximately 1,4 ml. Holding the barrel to the light it could be clearly seen that the piston plunger did not move all the way back. The great thing about the M800 is that you can disassemble the piston mechanism with a TWSBI vac 700 or 580 wrench!! So, tools to the new pen and readjust the piston mechanism, I know on a pen of this price so many adjustments, well yeah, call me OCD with these kinds of things if you like 😆. After the piston adjustment it has a capacity of close to 2ml, this means less cleaning for me, hurray again!

 

 

o = Original piston position

a = Adjusted piston postion

 

Cost & Value – Well, it’s another expensive pen

This pen retails for € 545,- (incl. 21% VAT) in the Netherlands.  That is quite a hefty price for a writing instrument, but for that you get a nice pen that has a lovely design, also it is user serviceable (which is a huge plus for me). So, there is that. Is this pen overpriced? Well, in my opinion, yes. But as I’ve got this as a gift, I really can’t complain.

 

Conclusion – Well-designed pen, good writer

Apart from the price, this is really a lovely designed and (after the tuning) well writing pen that suits my hands very comfortably for long, long writing sessions. The ergonomics of the pen (especially the girth of the section) could be a bit better. I can see that this design and dimensions would appeal to a broad audience.

[Blahblahbal]

Nice!

[mulrich]

An M800 was my first high-end pen and the model is still one of my favorites even after years of collecting lots of other pens. 

[TheDutchGuy]

I’m not really a Pelikan fan but that’s mostly a matter of personal preference. I can’t argue with the quality of the brand. My M800 was also a gift and is somewhat older, ca. 1990. The pen is like new and functions like new and its quality always impresses me. Congrats with yours! It will give you endless years of flawless performance.

[Recursion]

3 hours ago, TheDutchGuy said:

quality always impresses me

It’s a lovely writer that gives me much joy 

[cullercoats]

I am delighted that you are enjoying this wonderful pen. I have a M800 green stripe with a medium nib and it is a joy, and thankfully no adjustments were required at all. I do hope you have many years of highly satisfying use from your 'iconic' pen, as I have had from mine.

[Orval]

The M800 was my second 'serious' pen after the Récife Crystal. I tried very hard to love it but it never unthroned my beloved Récife. The section is way too short for a comfortable grip: only 14 mm between the nib and the threads. These are sharp, protruding and really annoying after even not so long writing sessions. That design flaw is a shame because this pen is otherwise a reliable and well made writer.

[chromantic]

Nice review, glad you're enjoying that beauty. The little step at the piston knob is normal across all models.

[Recursion]

On 6/9/2022 at 5:22 PM, cullercoats said:

I do hope you have many years of highly satisfying use from your 'iconic' pen, as I have had from mine.

I’m sure I will. 

[Recursion]

On 6/14/2022 at 10:27 PM, Orval said:

These are sharp, protruding and really annoying after even not so long writing sessions.

The threads on my pen are not sharp at all, guess I’m lucky 

[Recursion]

20 hours ago, chromantic said:

The little step at the piston knob is normal across all models.

Yeah, I saw that. IMHO it would add to the quality of the pen if the was slightly more rounded and worked back a little 

[amberleadavis]

Congrats. The M800 and M1000 have almost become my favorite pens.  *The Sheaffer Legacy Stub is still my favorite for the nib.

[Recursion]

2 minutes ago, amberleadavis said:

Congrats

The M800 quickly became one of my EDC pens and has been inked since it arrived in my home 

[amberleadavis]

8 minutes ago, Recursion said:

The M800 quickly became one of my EDC pens and has been inked since it arrived in my home 

 

I confess that like you, once the M800 entered my life it has been perpetually inked and used, even though I'm not a fan of medium nibs.

[MHBru]

as far as I'm concerned the M800 is the best production fountain pen around... I have three and a number of other premium pens...  Pelikan 800 series wins evertime.

[Karmachanic]

My only M8XX regret is that I did not purchase it earlier.

[Recursion]

4 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

My only M8XX regret is that I did not purchase it earlier.

I agree, this pen could have let me to a one pen collection 😂

[Glenn-SC]

On 6/25/2022 at 12:57 AM, Recursion said:

The threads on my pen are not sharp at all, guess I’m lucky 

I agree. I have several M800s (and other Mx00s) and have not found the threads to be an issue at all.