(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)
Ok, I know what you’re thinking, Kimberly can’t write a short article to save her life and you’re probably right but I did want to do a “quick” post about Pelikans since today is Pelikan Hub for most folks around the world and I heard from a lot of folks that they don’t have a Pelikan or don’t know much about them, so here goes!
First of all, if you wanna know all there is to know about Pelikan, stop reading and go to The Pelikan’s Perch by Joshua Danely. He has one of the best blogs out there about Pelikans, including new, the various models, its history, company, manufacturing and more. Go check it out, you won’t regret it. Also, this is not a be-all-end-all article about Pelikans, just a few things to know about the more common models that might help you in your research and possible purchase of a Pelikan. They are known for their fountain pens but Pelikan also makes ballpoints, pencils and inks. I am going to focus on their modern (post ‘90s) piston-filling fountain pens in this article.
Naming, The Brand
Yes, that’s Pelikan, with a K, not a C, in the middle. It used to be C but now it’s K and if you want to know more - read Joshua’s post about the brand/ spelling. Autocorrect will eventually learn to spell it with a K, lol.
Naming, The Letter
You will often see Pelikans listed as M400, M805, M640, K600, P200 etc. What does it all mean? For modern Pelikans, If you see P or M, they are fountain pens; K is for ballpoint, and D is for pencil. The PXXX fountain pens are cartridge fountain pens. Most of the time when people are talking about Pelikans, they are referring to the M series, which is their piston-filler fountain pens.
Naming, The First Number
Pelikans have a 3 or 4 digit number following the letter, like M405, M620, M800, M1005. There are a bunch of models but here are some general guidelines: M2xx series has steel nibs, the M4xx and M6xx have 14kt gold nibs and the M8xx and M1xxx have 18kt gold nibs. Yes, there are other models as well, but this is a good starting point.
Pelikan M200 Caffe Creme, M400 Blue Souveran (or Blue Stripes), M600 Red Tortoiseshell, M800 Brown Tortoiseshell.
Naming, The Last Number
Yes, I am skipping to the end because this is more frequently different than the middle number. The last number tells you if it is gold trim or silver-colored trim (I use the term silver trim to describe the color not because it is sterling silver). If the model ends in 0, it is gold trim (clip, cap/pen rings, primary nib color); if it ends in 5, it is silver trim.
Some gold vs silver comparisons - (left to right) M200 Caffe Creme vs M205 Marbled Petrol and M400 Blue Stripes and M405 Stresemann.
Naming, The Middle Number
Most of the time, the middle number is 0, but occasionally you will come across a pen with a different second digit, like M215, M620, M640, M815, etc. The second digit tells you that there is usually something special about it. For example, the “1” in M215 or M815, tells you that there is metal “on the barrel”, which makes the pen a little heavier than its non-metal sibling. The M620 is for the M6xx sized City Series pens. The M640s are a bit bigger than the M6xx with metal barrels and therefore are heavier than the M620s, and have more intricate designs. You get the idea.
M215 Rings and Orthogons (things I learn from the Pelikan’s Perch!), M620 Place de la Concorde, M640 Sahara, M750 Jubilee, M815 Metal Striped.
Size/Weight
The M2xx and M4xx are similarly sized and weigh about the same. Their main difference is in the nib (steel vs gold). The M600 is a bit larger and therefore a slight bit heavier. The M800 is a bit larger but feels a lot heavier (compared to the jump from M2xx/4xx to M6xx) because of the brass piston vs plastic in the smaller models.
Comparison with M2xx/4xx: Kaweco Sport, TWSBI Mini, Pilot Prera, M200 Golden Beryl, Sailor Pro Gear Slim, Pilot Metropolitan, Lamy AL-Star, M400 Blue Stripes, TWSBI Eco, Kaweco Student, Faber-Castell Grip.
Comparison with M6xx: Pilot Metropolitan, Lamy AL-Star, Sailor Pro Gear, M600 Red Tortoiseshell, TWSBI Eco, Platinum 3776, M620 Place de la Concorde, Pilot Custom Heritage 92, TWSBI 580.
Comparison with M8xx: Sailor Pro Gear, Leonardo Momento Zero, TWSBI 580, Pelikan M800 Burnt Orange, Gioia Partenope, Platinum 3776, Esterbrook Estie, Pelikan M815 Metal Stripes, Platinum President, Pilot 823, Visconti Homo Sapiens, Montblanc 146, Leonardo Momento Zero Grande.
Swapability
For the most part, you can swap the nib units between several of the models. Just carefully unscrew the nib unit from the pen barrel. For example, you can swap nibs between the M2xx and M4xx series as they are the same size pen and nib length. You can also put an M4xx nib unit into an M6xx nib - you can technically fit the M6xx nib onto one of the smaller pens, BUT there might not be enough room in the cap for the longer M6xx nib. The 600 nibs don’t fit in the 800/1000 bodies (and vice versa). I don’t know if the M8xx and M1xxx nibs are swappable or not (I don’t have one of the latter). For me, to keep things simple, I keep my nibs in the same “series” - so 200 nibs go in 200 bodies, 400 nibs in 400 bodies, etc.
Since the nib unit is easily unscrewed from the barrel, I unscrew it to gently syringe the barrel for cleaning - it gets a majority of the cleaning done. I will use the piston a few times to expel the water from the barrel. Then I will blast the nib unit with a bulb syringe until it runs clear before putting it back into the pen and then using the piston a final few times. Just be careful, as always, when unscrewing nib units, so you don’t damage the feed or cause any misalignment of the tines.
Writing Experience
Pelikan’s writing experience for their steel nibs is a bit different than their gold nibs. I have found their steel nibs to be pretty firm but some have experienced bouncy, almost borderline flexy nibs in their M2xx pens. The steel nib sizes are pretty consistent and what you would expect width-wise from a European nib. The gold nib sizes, however, are all over the place. You might get an EF that writes like a Medium or a Medium that writes like a Broad, while another Medium writes like a Fine. I think my M8xx pens are wetter than the others - probably because there’s just more ink in the barrel. I don’t have any M100x pens because their nibs are too long for me to use comfortably due to my steep writing angle, but they feel a bit squishier to me.
Both the steel and gold nibs write well, with the gold nibs writing more like butter. It is almost too smooth if you get a nib with some baby’s bottom. Most Pelikans write fairly wet, so drier inks are sometimes recommended if you don’t want a super broad line. Pelikan 4001 series inks were designed to be drier so that they’d work well in Pelikan pens. The Edelstein line is overall less dry than 4001. Some of the lighter chromashading inks can be dry, but they behave beautifully in my Pelikans.
I don’t have all the nib sizes for all the models but these are the fairly common ones, except for the factory Italic Broad, which you don’t see very often.
Where to buy
There are lots of places to buy a Pelikan, both new and second hand. To my knowledge, you’re not likely to find fake or clone Pelikans but you may get some frankenpens (nib doesn’t match the body/era, wrong colored cap) if you buy second-hand, especially with some of the vintage models. I have bought most of my Pelikans either from European vendors, where Pelikans tend to be cheaper, or from eBay, so it helps to pay close attention to the listing and pictures.
Alright, that’s my somewhat short primer on Pelikans - hope you found it useful. Now to get me and my flock ready for the Pelikan Hub tonight!
(Disclaimer: all pens pictured are mine. I received no compensation for mentioning or including them in this post.)
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