Pelikan M215 Rings Fountain Pen Review

So you broke down and bought a Pelikan M205 and you love it, right? It is an amazing pen that writes wonderfully, looks beautiful, and will last for decades. Your Pelikan fountain pen needs have been met! Or so you think.

Businesses love consumers like me and you. We obsess over the small details, latch on to the things we love, think we have found perfection, and slam our wallets shut.

Squirrel!

What is that bright and shiny thing over there? You made a product I already think is perfection even better? Just take my money now!

Thanks a lot Pelikan.

The M205 is a near-flawless pen in my mind. The only teeny tiny thing that could be improved on is the overall weight. The M215 Rings model takes care of that by using the same M205 design and adding five metal rings to the barrel. This gives the pen some added heft that many writers may prefer over the base model M205. It's not a huge amount - 20 grams for the M215, 14 for the M205 - but you absolutely notice it when writing. It feels great.

My buddy Thomas loaned me this pen over a year ago, and the written portion of this review was done around then as well. At that time, I didn't own a Pelikan of my own, but a few short weeks later I bought an M405 at the Atlanta Pen Show. That was followed later in the year by my M205. To say I've been bitten by the Pelikan beak is accurate.

Thomas has since sent me the now discontinued M215 Blue Stripe model, which is a beauty, and the 2014 Atlanta Pen Show is only a few weeks away. I don't really have a shopping list for the show this year but the odds are good that I add another bird to the flock.

For more, check out Brian's review from way back in 2009. I wonder if he still uses his?

Pelikan Edelstein Topaz Ink Review

Image via JetPens.

Did you know that "Edelstein" is German for gemstone? It is obvious now looking at the color names - Ruby, Sapphire, Jade, Onyx, etc. - but somehow I remained oblivious. Tell me I'm not alone!

Edelstein Topaz is a wonderful shade of blue. It has great depth with lighter shades showing through that make it pop off the page. It has none of the green tones found in many turquoise inks either, which is something I prefer not to see in my bright blues.

What is does have is an excellent sheen, something all Edelstein inks are known for. Topaz has a reddish-purple tone on top of the ink when it dries. It was hard to capture on my writing sample but look at the bottle rim in JetPens picture above and you can barely make it out. That's all it is on the page too. Subtle and beautiful.

While it didn't make my Top 5 fountain pen inks it makes the next five without question. It is silky smooth in all nibs, even fine ones like in my 03 Platinum Plaisir. I ink it up whenever I get the chance.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

Pelikan M205 Review

If your pen company has been around since 1838 - as Pelikan has - you must be doing something right. Experienced fountain pen users know all about the history, quality, and value of the brand, but for novice fountain pen users Pelikan poses a dilemma: Is the premium price worth it?

Just two years ago I was a fountain pen beginner. I knew what fountain pens were and what direction to hold the nib when writing, but that was about it. With the help of the amazing online pen community my knowledge has grown exponentially. I have learned what makes a good pen and how to apply that information when shopping for pens that suit my needs.

Discovering some favorite brands was easy. For example, Pilot pens work well for me, practically sight unseen at this stage. Their design, nibs, and price push all of my buttons. I found several other brands that work well for me: Sailor, TWSBI, Edison - the list goes on. I kept running across Pelikan pens in my shopping too, but looking at the price and comparing them to other brands I knew I already liked, I never could justify buying one. That is, until I finally put one in my hands.

I'll be the first to admit that I am lucky. Running this blog has given me access to people and products I never imagined I would have access to. I am forever grateful to my friend Thomas for allowing me to try a wide variety of pens from his collection, including my first Pelikan, the M405 with an 0.2 mm Japanese extra fine nib.

I learned a lot from that pen. Most importantly, I learned that Pelikan fountain pens suit me perfectly. I came home with a blue striated M405 of my own from the 2013 Atlanta Pen Show, and recently picked up a black M205 with a steel EF nib from JetPens to expand my Pelikan arsenal.

While the price of the 14k gold nib M405 gave me pause (I paid around $270), the steel nib M205 was more of a concern at almost half the price. Why? There are a huge amount of great steel nib pens to be found in the $40-$80 price range. How can I justify recommending the M205 when you can by my freshly minted #1 fountain pen for $60?

Because I feel different when it is in my hands.

It's not something I can quantify, and it may not help you make a purchasing decision, but that's the truth. Has some of the aura around the Pelikan brand rubbed off on me? I won't discount that, but it's more likely the precise German engineering that speaks to me. The design and functionality of this pen is flawless on all accounts. And the famous Pelikan ink window? Swoon.

Should you buy the M205 over the 14k gold nibbed Lamy 2000 or Pilot Vanishing Point? If your only consideration is the gold content of the nib, then no, you shouldn't. If you are looking for a great writing experience though, the Pelikan M205 can hang with any pen on the market.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)