Pelikan Souveran M400 Tortoiseshell Brown Fountain Pen Review

Certain pen companies around the world are well-known for specific things. Nakaya and their Urushi work. Sailor and their exquisite nibs. And, maybe more memorable than anyone else, Pelikan and their striated barrels.

This barrel style and design has been a hallmark of the brand since the early 1900's. Several colors populate the standard lineup - blue and green for example - but the limited colors really set themselves apart. None more so than Tortoiseshell.

Tortoiseshell has appeared all throughout Pelikan's history and across many different models. In recent years, the style and color have been limited to special releases, not stock products. The M400 Tortoiseshell is the most recent, hitting shelves in late 2016 with great fanfare.

Well-deserved fanfare in my book, despite the ultra-premium price. Let's discuss that now - this pen is $380 dollars. You can get the non-limited 400 series fountain pen for around $100 less. The most interesting thing? I rarely hear anyone complaining about the price. Pelikan has over 175 years of experience behind them, which remains apparent today in the quality of products they produce.

The M400 Tortoiseshell may be small and light, but it is built like a workhorse. Is it made for the biggest hands out there? No. My hands are a medium at best, giving me no issues holding it. It’s one of those pens that escapes into my hand and does what it does best: Write.

Pelikan nibs are considered some of the best in the world, and you will get no argument from me. Yes, they run a bit wider and wetter than their counterparts, which is due to their unparalleled softness. Even with this Extra Fine - which is as wide as I’m willing to go with a Pelikan gold nib - you will see tine movement and separation as you write. The line stays consistent though, and I can write my small characters without issue.

My favorite part of this pen is the piston filling mechanism. It works flawlessly and is unobtrusive. What more can’t you ask for? Easy cleaning I guess. It has that too. This piston is so smooth and integrates so nicely you don’t even notice it is there. And when it is time to clean, a few flushes of water is all it takes. Pelikan makes your life easier.

I can’t recommend this pen enough, or really any Pelikan outside of the M1000. It all boils down to how it will fit your style and your budget. The quality, consistency, and durability will always be there with Pelikan. That’s what an extremely long production history gets you. The M400 Tortoiseshell is no exception.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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TWSBI ECO Lime Green Fountain Pen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

The release of the TWSBI ECO can fairly be described as a pen world sensation. We needed an affordable, piston-fill demonstrator, and the wizards at TWSBI made it happen. And they did it without sacrificing many of the features we've come to love on their more expensive models.

In fact, the only difference I can find between the ECO and the Diamond 580--that relates directly to the function of the pen and not to personal taste or aesthetics--is that the ECO nibs can't be as easily swapped. They still can be, but they lack the screw-in nib and feed unit of the 580. It's a feature that clearly takes more time and effort to manufacture, so it's understandable that it would need to be dropped from the ECO model.

There are a few other things that I don't like about the ECO, but they're more matters of personal taste. I find the smooth plastic section to be too slippery, and the odd triangular barbs at the end of the section that seem to be there to stop your fingers from sliding forward just end up jabbing me, instead. If there was a flared shape all the way around the section, it might work better for me. Those barbs, though, are a real pain in the callus. I grip my pen close to the nib, and this pen wants to punish me for it. It's not as much of a problem for making quick notes, but I do start to notice it during longer writing sessions--and everything else about this pen seems designed for longer writing sessions. But if there's one thing that takes a pen off the "great for long writing sessions" list, it's a bad section.

Another issue that can be a deal-breaker for some is that it doesn't post well. It's wobbly, unwieldly, and I sense a distinct risk of accidentally turning the piston knob. But at least the faceted cap won't roll around on the desk.

There's a lot that I love about this pen, too. I like the look of it. It's made almost entirely of clear plastic, so you can see all its guts, plus your lovely HUGE pool of ink sloshing around inside. The piston knob and cap are made of the prettiest, limeiest, greeniest plastic that stole my heart the minute TWSBI revealed it. I wasn't going to get an ECO, originally--I figured since I had a 580, there wasn't much point. The Lime Green changed my plans.

The #5 steel nib is a little dreamboat. I have pens that cost four times this much that don't write as well. The extra-fine is not as fine as a Japanese EF, but it's finer than the European EFs that I've tried. The medium is also a shade finer than my western mediums. Both have a little feedback, but aren't scratchy. They're nicely wet, especially the medium, and even the EF shows some shading in the ink I'm using (Robert Oster Signature Summer Storm--it's a good thing I love this ink, since I have two TWSBI tanks full of it, now!). All the inks I've tried have flowed well.

The clear section gives a neat view of the ink running through the feed. It made me a little nervous at first to see ink pooling right under the plastic, but I've had no trouble with leaking at all. The nib and feed seem well-fitted enough to keep the ink from escaping.

If you do need to do any maintenance on your pen, the nifty box also contains a wrench and some silicone grease, which you can use to seal threads or lubricate the piston. If you do decide to take your pen apart, I recommend watching some YouTube videos to learn how. The paper instructions are helpful, but aren't much of a substitute for a demonstration.

Overall I would say this is an excellent everyday pen, and it plants itself firmly at the top of my list of pens I'd recommend for beginners. This is the pen I wanted when I was in college, fumbling with cartridges in the lecture hall. I hope they keep making fun new colors, and I'm looking forward to seeing what TWSBI's next game-changer pen will be.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Cleo Skribent Classic Palladium Fountain Pen Review

One of the best parts about this job is there is no shortage of products to review. Whether it is a new release of a favorite Japanese gel pen or a new-to-me German pen brand, I love exploring, learning, and sharing what they are all about.

Cleo Skribent falls into the latter category. I had heard the name in passing, but had never tried one until my friend Renso at Papier Plume sent me one to check out.

Founded in 1945, this brand is everything you would expect from a respected German manufacturer. The designs are classic, the build is quality, and the performance is excellent.

The model I have on loan is the Cleo Skribent Classic Palladium, one of their entry level steel nib models. While it looks simple on the outside, it has a few added touches that make it a very enjoyable writer.

First of all, it is a piston filler. Hidden under a blind cap at the end of the barrel, the piston works smoothly and effectively. I had no issues drawing a full barrel of ink into the pen on my first go. And I have a soft spot for any pen with a full, clear ink window like this pen does.

Secondly, the nib is fantastic. I shouldn't be surprised given its German heritage, but wow, this steel nib sings. The model I'm testing is a Fine nib, and from the moment it hit the page it was smooth, clean, and had excellent flow.

Finally, the price. At $110 it is cheaper than the pen it compares most favorably to: The Pelikan M200 series. I think the piston mechanism in the Pelikan is better, likely because it might be the best in the world, but other than that, these pens are very comparable.

The Cleo Skribent Classic is longer than Pelikan's entry level model, and has a straight-taper section as opposed to Pelikan's lip at the end of the section. And, gun to my head and recency bias and all that, I think I prefer the Cleo steel nib.

Even though the comparison is made most easily to Pelikan, there is one thought I couldn't get out of my head the entire time I held this pen: This is a bigger, awesomer Pilot Prera. The Prera XL if you will.

If you have ever used a Prera, you will understand what I am about to say. It is an airy pen to write with. Lightweight, but somehow rock solid. That's why it is so well loved. The Cleo Skribent Classic feels the same way to me, except in a larger size and with a better filling system. If this pen were stamped Pilot at this price point we would all be having puppies over it.

Consider me a fan of Cleo Skribent. I'd like to try a few of their other models, especially in the brighter barrel colors they offer. The Classic has been an excellent introduction.

My thanks to Papier Plume for loaning me this pen for purposes of this review.

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