(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!.)
This article is coming out on the day when folks around the world are/will be gathering as part of the 2025 Pelikan Hub! This is my fourth time as the Hubmaster for the Palo Alto Pelikan Hub and even though it’s not a requirement to own a Pelikan in order to attend a hub, what kind of Hubmaster would I be if I didn’t ink up some birds for folks to try, right?
I try to pick out at least one from each of the main models in a variety of colors and nib sizes, when possible. I don’t own any vintage Pelikans, so the ones I have are modern (1980s onward). I also don’t have any M100x because I can’t write with the nibs because they are too long (not big hands + steep writing angle = can’t use long-nibbed pens). And here’s a not-so-short primer on Pelikan fountain pens if you’re not familiar with the models and numbering.
This year’s flock in a Franklin-Chrisoph 12-pen Covered Pen Tray (left to right):
- M100 White with Black, aka Stormtrooper
- M200 2025 Pen of the Year, Apricot Achat
- M215 Lozenge
- M400 Blue Souveran
- M400 White Tortoiseshell
- M600 Red Tortoiseshell
- M600 Glauco Cambon
- M620 Grand Place
- M640 Sahara
- M805 Blue Dunes
- M800 Green Demonstrator
- M815 Metal Striped Blue
Let’s go through the picks:
M100 Stormtrooper - I hadn’t inked this up ever since I bought it second hand a couple years ago and honestly, it kinda disappeared amongst all the other birds. Time to remedy that! I’m glad it had an EF nib, even though that’s not my usual jam, because it’s nice to have some diversity for myself and for folks wanting to try the different nibs sizes. And a Stormtrooper pen demands red ink (pew pew!) and Jacques Herbin Moulin Rouge fits the bill perfectly!
M200 Apricot Achat - Assuming the pen of the year shows up in time for the hub (it doesn’t always), the current year’s pen will always be in rotation for the hub. I picked a broad nib to show off the Apricot Achat ink, which is on the lighter side.
M215 Lozenge - The “1”in the model number signifies that there’s metal on the barrel - and this one is in the form of diamonds. This also has an Extra Fine nib, and I picked a fun pink ink (Pelikan 4001 Pink) to counteract the “seriousness” of this classy black pen.
M400 Blue Souveran - Not the flashiest of Pelikans but I will always have a soft spot for this pen because it was my very first Pelikan which I bought from Peyton Street Pens at the SF Pen Show in 2017 (my first show!). I stuck with a classic for this pairing - Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue.
M400 White Tortoiseshell - There’s something about the olive greens and browns in the barrel of this pen that just gets me, so I ink up this one quite often. I decided not to use a shimmer this time (though Pelikans have handled shimmer pretty well in my experience), and went for a slightly dry ink like Colorverse Taepyeong Seongdae. The pen/ink combo works well because the drier ink tames the Pelikan’s wetter nib.
M600 Red Tortoiseshell - As someone who is generally not into red, I notice when a red pen catches my eye. I love the shades of orange, red, and black in the barrel. Picking an ink for this pen is easy and hard for the same reason - lots of colors to try and match. I picked a fairly true red, Laban Ares Red, instead of one that leans a bit more orange. The Masuyama Medium Cursive Italic makes any ink look good.
M600 Glauco Cambon - After seeing the M600 Art Collection Rudi Rother in person at the Dallas Pen Show last month, I knew I had to ink up the Glauco Cambon, which was the first release of the Art Collection series. Despite the M600 name, it is actually heavier than the usual M600 because of the brass barrel which is engraved/guilloched and lacquered. The varying shades of yellow, orange, and green really pop in good lighting. Photos just don’t do it justice. I opted to match the orange parts of the barrel, and chose Diamine Amber.
M620 Grand Place - One of my more recent acquisitions, this is a pen that I have drooled over for many years. I finally managed to get this one (pen friends are the best), so inking it up for the Hub was a no-brainer. So many shades of brown (and blue) in this pen to choose from, but I ended up picking Taccia Tsuchi which pairs quite nicely.
M640 Sahara - I picked the 640 because it is a different shape from the other pens in that it has a slightly bulbous/curvy shape to the barrel which tapes down to the grip. I got this one second hand with a CI grind on it so I’m not sure who did the grind. I used up the last of my Diamine Golden Brown sample to ink it up, so guess it’s time to get a bottle, right?
M805 Blue Dunes - I have the hardest time refusing blue pens, especially when it has something interesting going on, like these blue and black swirls. This is my only M8xx pen that has an Extra Fine nib on it, too. Thought I’d pair it with a blue that I get to see at a lot of pen shows - Franklin-Christoph Blue 72.
M800 Green Demonstrator - This is the re-release of the Green Demonstrator, and I swapped in a factory Italic Broad (nib says “IB”) to show off the bright green ink that I picked - Papier Plume Marina Green (from the 2019 SF Pen Show).
M815 Metal Striped Blue - This was probably my most anticipated pen for me. I already have this in Black, but in Blue, it was a must-have. I don’t know why I picked Fine, because I seem to only have Fine or Broads (and the lone EF in the Dunes) in this size. I picked a rich, darker blue for this pen - Stilo e Stile’s Praetorian Blu.
After inking up these Pelikans, I found a few lesser known Pelikans in the “to-be-inked” pile and thought, what the heck, let’s ink them up too!
Lesser known Pelikans:
- P40 Pura , Bordeaux
- Style, Neon Green
- Ineo, Ocean Blue
- Piña Colada, Rosé
P40 Pura, Bordeaux - I usually pick Medium nibs when I get a pen/model that I’m not familiar with, but I decided to get a Broad for a change. It is a smooth writer that lays down a nice amount of ink. I picked Diamine Red Dragon because it matches and also because I hadn’t used this classic ink in a long time. Such a great reminder that we often have great stuff in our possession already (not that it’ll stop me from getting more inks, lol).
Style - Neon Green - I liked to call this my TRON pen, even though I’ve never watched the movies. The black portions of the pen have a slightly rubbery feeling to them (I wonder if it will eventually end up feeling sticky/tacky), and the green is a slick plastic, similar to Lamy Safaris or LEGO. I unironically picked Visconti Wheatfield Under Thunderclouds because (1) it’s the closest match I have and (2) now they both have the same distributor (Coles of London).
Ineo, Ocean Blue - I was shocked at the price when I saw it earlier this year. $30-35 for a metal fountain pen is pretty good, especially when it has the Pelikan name on it! This slim, snap cap pen also fits in my PLOTTER pen sleeve (though I don’t store it in there since there is no clip - I’m a little paranoid). The slightly teardrop shape of the cap reminds me of the Lamy Ideos. Robert Oster Sydney flows well in the Ineo’s Medium nib.
Piña Colada, Rosé - This metallic pen reminds me a bit of the Lamy Al-Star (both have “interesting” clips, both have metal barrels, both have triangular grips), but this one is available for ~$15 which is quite the bargain. The Piña Colada’s grip is rubbery as opposed to plastic like the Lamy, so again, I wonder about whether that will become tacky/gummy over time. Hopefully it’ll be a long time before that happens (if ever). I picked Oblation Papers’ Rose City Rose for this Rosé’s Medium nib. ==nib size== Writing samples with similar nib sizes across different models.
I’ve got 16 Pelikans inked up - 12 piston fillers and 4 cartridge/converter pens - so I can’t wait to get to the Hub so folks can try out the pens, and so I can start writing them dry! Gonna take me a while, so wish me luck!
Happy Hub! And happy writing!
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