Pens of Note - Pelikan
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Pens of Note are those pens of my collection that rank as something special.
Rick Conner on his very good Penoply web site has said it the best: "If you simply must own a big black German pen, get the M800 and use money you save to buy yourself a dinner..." How true. I use this pen much more often than my Montblanc models and I worry less about things going wrong. This is a great pen and based on comments from owners of many pen shops, the Pelikan M800 is used as a benchmark of a well-made pen.
As always, sometimes we find out information about a pen company when something goes wrong and a repair is needed. Nothing but good news on this issue. I have always received very prompt and good service on any pen that has had a problem and needed attention. Bravo Pelikan.
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M800
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The Double Broad is a very smooth writing nib. It lays plenty of ink and is best for those that write big. The Double Broad Oblique is the nib I have hot and cold feelings about. Some days I love it, others, I find it less smooth. The Medium is appreciated for detailed work -- how else would I make entries into my calendar, but not at least for my hand, best for fast continuous writing.
The M800 is the second largest pen of the Souveran Series. A basic black plastic body with a 18-karat gold nib with rhodium decoration and gold plated clip and fittings all makes this a good looking pen.
Some describe the M800 nib as being rigid, however, for the heavy pressure I put on a nib this seems to be made with my style in mind.
The pen is a favorite so a blue, red and black model all seemed in order so of course I just had to have them all. |
The illustration to the left shows the relative size of the different Peikan pens. 
The nib is what really makes the Pelikan and the M800 is available in a variety of sizes so it is easy to get just the pen you want. I have the Double Broad, Double Broad Oblique, Broad and Medium. These are hand-crafted nibs so no two nibs write the same. Test them out in the store.
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PIAZZA NAVONAThis is part of Pelikan's "Cities Series" and rather than hold the name of a single city, this pens is of a particular piazza in Rome. Because 2005 is the year of a group trip we are planning were 12 friends at meeting in the Piazza Navona, when this pen came along, even my wife said "it was a sign". The pen is only available in three sizes of nibs: fine, medium and broad. I had to special order my through the folks at Vancouver Pen to get the broad nib. It was worth the wait. It uses the nibs of the M600 series so most like a nib exchange can be done.
For some, the fact that the cap has a different tone than the body may cause concern, I think the variance adds more visual appeal to the pen.
Would I buy another in the Cities Series, no due to the size; would I part with my Navona - no way. |
I had read about the size, and being smaller than the M800 I was worried. But I tried one of the other Cities Series and was of the view it would be fine. Actually now I find it too small and so while there are some regrets, everytime I write it it and its killer nib, those regrets soften somewhat.
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PELIKAN 1000
Oh, its big alright. Actually, a little too big for everyday writing, but I do like the size of the pen for some specific work I do at my desk. I must admit, however, I tend to grab the M800 more often.
The pen is 5 3/4 inches capped (vs 5.5" for the M800, and then it sits in your hand at 6 3/4 inches long posted (vs 6.5" for the M800) but it is the size of the body that really gives you the feel of a large pen. The M100 is 5/8 inches in diameter.
The M1000 came out in 1998. Mine is in green, one of the first colours used by Pelikan for its line, and there is a translucence to the barrel so you can see some of the ink level. Similar to the M800, the M1000 in black has a clear window at the top of the barrel by the nib section. A celluloid sheet is inside the barrel in which the piston mechanism sits.
But don't worry about people seeing the ink level in this pen, the nib is what catches the eye. It is massive. A large hand crafted 18 carat, two-toned rhodium masked gold nib — probably the largest I have sen on any modern pen. One of the things I like about the M1000 and the M800 is the ability to screw-in nib units so you can easily have one pen with a variety of nibs. Take care as the M1000 nibs really deliver ink. My Double Broad nib is saved for "signature days" with a broad nib used for daily writing.
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What you got to have you got to have and this is one pen that just had to be in my collection.
