Pelikan Classic Series P205 Cartridge Fill Review

Image via Goldspot.com

The best way to get someone interested in fountain pens is to make it as easy for them as possible. And give them a nice pen. The Pelikan Classic Series P205 accomplishes both of those things.

It’s widely known how much I enjoy my piston filling Pelikan Traditional M205, and the new P205 is practically a carbon copy, minus the piston filler of course. As I alluded to earlier, this is a matter of convenience, and the P205 pulls it off without a hitch. Did you expect anything less from Pelikan?

Let’s start with the barrel design. It is Pelikan through and through. While their designs aren’t flashy, they are recognizable. The sleek, simple design is German engineering at its finest. The Pelikan beak clip is a standout, and the logo on the cap is a timeless tradition. Everything related to the build quality of this pen, and any Pelikan for that matter, is spot on.

From top to bottom: Pelikan M405, M205, P205

That translates to the nib as well. I went with a broad nib for something different and it is as clean and smooth as one would expect. I’m turning the corner on wider nibs too, as they allow for an ink expressiveness that you don’t get in extra fine nibs. The steel Pelikan broad nib is a prime example.

The cartridge filling system in the P205 (P is short for Patrone, the German word for cartridge) is the selling point of this pen. Many will ask why they should forego what is deemed as a superior filling system in the piston filler, and it all comes down to convenience. Fountain pen users, even experienced ones, sometimes want to pop in an ink cartridge and go. The P205 allows you to do just that, and in a beautiful barrel to boot.

But let’s be clear about one thing: Pelikan is no fool. They introduced this pen in conjunction with their new high-end Edelstein ink cartridge line. And I say good for them, because Edelstein inks are some of my favorites. The written review uses the Sapphire Blue cartridge, a bright blue that pops off the page, and I have enjoyed using Tanzanite and Topaz cartridges as well. All are top notch. They use the international sizing standard too, so other compatible cartridges and converters fit as well.

Pelikan is a premium brand. While there may be pens that offer more for less, there are few brands that can match the form, feel, consistency, and quality of a Pelikan. This is one of those pens that when it is in your hand you can feel the difference between it and other brands. The P205 and Edelstein ink cartridges are great additions to the product line and I look forward to years of use with this pen.

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

Kaweco 14k Gold Two-Tone Medium Nib Review

I like new fountain pen nibs almost as much as I like new fountain pens. Many companies offer replacement nibs for their pens, and for those that do, I find myself owning at least two different nibs. Why? Swapping an EF nib out for a 1.1 mm stub, or something similar, gives a completely different writing experience and makes for a more useful pen.

Kaweco, on the whole, makes this very easy to do. When I was just a novice fountain pen user it was eye-opening when I first found out how to change a Kaweco nib. This amazed me, because something that I thought was too advanced for me at the time was so simple. I had no idea at the time how it would open up an entirely new world to me.

I have several Kaweco pens on my desk, but I use a total of two nibs between all of them. A stock steel EF nib, and a modified B nib that Shawn Newton turned into a cursive italic, as seen in action here. This way, I always have my favorite nib handy for use in whichever compatible Kaweco I want to break out.

I've been anxious to try out one of the new Kaweco 14k nibs since I heard of their existence, so I appreciate Kaweco loaning me this one for review. It is a real stunner to look at, with the two-tone gold making a great visual impression. Performance wise, it is just as you might expect. It is smooth, soft, and consistent, with a feel similar to its German counterparts such as Pelikan or Lamy. The medium nib is not fine enough for my taste, so I would be looking to modify it, but those who like a wide Western line should enjoy it.

The price is as you would expect for a 14k gold nib these days, if not a touch high. Fontoplumo is the only place I see it available right now and it will run you €120, or approximately $140. I'd be more comfortable paying closer to $100, but with the versatility it brings in fitting a huge range of Kaweco models (Liliput, AL Sport, AC Sport, Luxe Sport, Special, Allrounder, Dia chrome, Dia gold, Elegance, Student) it may be worth a splurge.

Check out more reviews of the 14k solid colored BB nib at Gourmet Pens and The Well-Appointed Desk. My thanks to Kaweco for letting me test out this excellent nib.

Pilot FriXion Ball Knock Design Series Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

To be honest, I haven't used an erasable pen since 5th grade, and at that time they were horrible.

Apparently, a lot has changed. Erasable pens don't have to be incredibly difficult to use and marginally useless when it comes to writing and erasing. The Pilot FriXion is a gel ink pen that uses friction to remove the ink. I don't even pretend to understand how it all works, but I do know that the experience is much more pleasant than the previous generations of erasable pens. If I had these as a student when erasable pens were mandatory, I wouldn't have grown to hate the phrase "erasable pen" so much. Even now, I'm trying to use that phrase frequently in an attempt to rid it of the awful taste it leaves in my mouth.

The FriXion ink is surprisingly smooth when writing – very similar to other Pilot gel ink pens (but not quite) like the G2. The particular model I'm using is called the Ball Knock Design series, and it features a 0.5 mm point. When you first write with the pen, you can detect a slight drag from the point, but if you can remember to press very lightly then that issue almost disappears.

Writing with the pen is effortless. It doesn't take much pressure at all to put ink on the page, and I haven't seen any skipping or gunking that was extremely common with the old erasable pens. This part still blows my mind. I'm impressed by how well it writes for an erasable pen. It doesn't beat a Pilot Juice or an Acroball or any other permanent gel or hybrid ink, but this is an erasable ink and it's done pretty great so far.

So, it writes fairly well, but how does it erase? Well, I would sum it up as, "Meh." Erasing is easy – one or two strokes across the ink usually does the job, but it never completely disappears. You can always see the trace of what was written before, and that makes me a little perturbed. If it's supposed to be erasable, then I expect it to be erasable like a pencil. Sure, you sometimes can see the writing from an erased pencil mark, but it's much harder to detect than the FriXion ink. This is obviously a personal problem that I need to deal with; if you're in the market for an erasable ink pen, then the FriXion gets the job done with no hassle or frustration. It's a great erasable pen.

The top of the pen contains the rubber tip used for erasing, which is convenient and works well. I was stumped when I first used the pen as to how to operate the retract mechanism. Pressing on the rubber tip (where a knock normally is) doesn't do anything. After a few seconds of looking around the pen, I realized it's the clip that acts as the knock. Takes a bit of retraining to use the clip instead of the top of the pen, but it works well when I remember to use it properly the first time.

There is a tip on JetPens about the temperature-sensative nature of this ink. Apparently, erased ink will reappear if it gets cold enough (lower than 14 degress Fahrenheit), which could be fun to play with but unfortunate if you didn't want that to happen. Just something to keep in mind. I didn't test it out – I take their word for it.

Overall, this is a great pen and I'm really impressed by how far along erasable ink has come in a few years. If you're looking for an erasable pen, this is a great place to start.

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