Tuesday, September 29, 2015

The Pelikan Souverän M805 Review

To tell you the truth, I am heavily biased towards two of my pelicans - one is a M400 white tortoise, other is the blue striated M805. The M8XX usually considered to be the logical next step to M4XX/6XX, if some logic is still left. As with the model numbers, there is a general increase in nib size & specs, in addition to overall dimensions, when you move from M4XX to M1XXX. I also love the Souverän M 625 with dazzling sterling silver trims (Ag 92.5%). Although the blue-striated M805 in a way alludes to the 1929 classical green-striped design with a differentiated version of the striped translucency. 

DESIGN - THE STRIPED TRANSLUCENCY (5/6)


The M800 comes in three gold-trimmed standard designs, two striped translucencies - Green, Blue and the Classical Black with a Green Ink Window, across four standard different nib widths - EF, F, M and B, although a tipped italic nib is available with a special edition. Sometimes a M800 Red also chips in. The M805s now come in silver trimmed versions of Striped Blue and Black/Green Ink Window now with monotone rhodiated nibs. Personally, I prefer the earlier two-tone nibs on these. There are several special editions of M8XX starting with the m805 demo, m800 brown tortoise, the recent m800 burnt orange which is creating a lot of fire these days, after the m805 Stresemann.

The M805 hints the subtle craftsmanship associated with building this writing instrument. It’s superb balance somehow ensures all the necessary weight and balance for writing. The barrels made up of highly polished pelikan famed ‘cellulose acetate’ with its diamond cut contours, partially reveal the necessities like the piston end or ink level, while concealing the irrelevant ones. I feel that this blue stripes reveal quite conservatively compared to the green.

The blue stripes innately reflect both light and dark while preserving a formal appearance of the souverän as the silver palladium plated trims continue to stand out. The translucency is subtle but useful at the same time to note ink levels.

The sleeve has deeply shining blue stripes and reveals itself with ambient light. It’s sleek and smooth to touch.

The white dazzle is matched throughout the pen starting from the famed finial and the clip, through those concentric bands in the cap, before finally converging with the dual piston rings. While the white tortoise plays with light with phenomenal efficiency, the blue stripes have their conservative thoughts about exposure!

The cap feels substantial and unscrews with a single turn, revealing a dazzling two-tone nib. The grip reveals another knot of white glitter, towards the nib end.

Two concentric white bands with a palladium plated crown embossed with the pelikan logo, adorn the cap with a signature pelican beak-shaped clip. The thicker bottom band carries the brand imprint of PELIKAN SOUVERÄN GERMANY. A high degree of polish gives it a gleam which can coax the lustre of the bands. The logo on the finial is the one embraced by Pelikan post 2003, that of a mother pelican and its chick, gleaming in brushed palladium. You can observe the staged pillar caps of M400, 625 and 805 glittering with light.

FILLING SYSTEM (6/6)


A piston filler with a sturdy knob is embellished with two concentric loops. Like any other pelikan, it’s imbibed within the system and is hassle-free. The piston end unscrews with three to four rotations and ink is drawn into the pen with remarkable efficiency without any fuss, once the piston is screwed back on. And of course, you can observe some of it live through the striped windows. A brass spindle connector in the M8XX provides weight and balance. Everything is glistening white as you can see the connector nut in the picture. M8XX fills upto 1.4 - 1.6 mL of ink.

These brass piston mechanisms can be dismantled using a 7mm wrench (TWSBI would fit). I don’t really find a need to do that unless there is a fault which can be addressed at home. For any problems, it might be better to send the pen to Pelikan Germany/Country Authorized Service Center.

NIB - ALL THAT MATTERS (6/6)


The nib/feed section is screw-fit and comes in a standard 18k two-tone design across four stock widths - EF, F, M & B. It has the standard pelikan design with the usual convenience of a screw-fit section.

                 Like all cousins, the nib is both exquisite and efficient. With a big feed, and a spread out nib it looks like a real delight. The silver of two-tone finish does converge with the white trims in terms of both glitter and glimmer.

The tail end specifies the nib-width and composition (18 C, 75% Au) of the gold-alloy used. Three arabesques diverge along the shoulders of the nib with two of them converging near the circular breather hole. The third curve runs across the tines towards the shoulders ending with the tail end of the nib, outside of which a golden decor runs along the shoulders across the outer tines, before converging onto the iridium tip. There is of-course the dazzling golden mother-baby pelikan logo, resting above the tail. This one in the picture is a Fine nib and writes smooth and wet. No complaints on out of the box smoothness. Some ink always manages to creep on the surface of this nib.

A big black plastic feed with closely spaced fins ensures a good ink buffer and dearly promises wet and smooth starts. Even with a dipped nib section, it can write a page.

PHYSICS OF IT (6/6) – RELATIVELY SPEAKING


The pen has got some heft in it but it is very comfortable for me unposted. The overall capped length is around 14.1 cm. The total weight of M80X has more than a third contribution coming from the cap. The grip diameter is around 1.1 cm. The cap threads are higher up the section and are non-obtrusive even for a higher grip.
  • Uncapped Length ~ 13 cm
  • Posted Length ~ 16.4 cm
  • Nib Leverage ~ 2.3 cm
  • Overall Weight ~ 29 g (Cap ~ 11 g) 
Capped and uncapped comparisons with some pens like Visconti Homo Sapiens Maxi, Pilot Custom 823 & a MB146 go below for your reference along with another family pic.



ECONOMIC VALUE (5/6)


The M805 retails now at around GBP 290, though it might be available at lower street prices. I do not feel this pen was an impulse buy for me, since I had carefully decided before getting to a M800/1000 level. I would not undervalue this rating by much, because I feel it’s one of the phenomenally efficient pens in this segment. It could be your daily workhorse or your part-time poet, does not matter!

OVERALL (5.6/6)


These 18k nibs have a smooth and wet flow. The nibs have a decent spring with an inherent softness in them although without any noticeable flex. Being extremely wet writers out of the box, the Fine nib puts a relatively thick line, which takes around 20 seconds! to dry a (Hail!) Iro Tsuki-Yo line on MD Paper. The pen feels extremely well balanced for my hands. (However, for Pelikan 4001 blue ink, it takes 30 seconds). These nibs do run a size wider than Japanese. Compared to this the M1000 tines will be much easier to flex, however I find the M1000 a bit unwieldy for my hands. 

Thank you for going through the review. 
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Sunday, September 13, 2015

Pelikan M200 Cognac Review

I had bought the m200 cognac with its stock Italic nib to replace my old rotring ArtPen. I have to simultaneously admit that the only reason for going with an italic and somewhat flexible nib was to try it out and learn something new. The cognac was launched last year as a special edition and the dazzling golden hues allured me. These were quite vibrant compared to the earlier tones of a lighter Amber demo. 


DESIGN - LET’S DRINK TO THAT (5/6)


The m200 cognac shimmers in honey gold and its golden loops dazzle in absolute harmony. Lack of ambient light makes it adorn darker hues of brown. 

The cognac colours are remarkably darker and more vibrant than the amber hues of a Pilot Custom 823.

The radiance is matched throughout the pen starting with a golden gleam from the finial area and the pelican beak through the cap band before finally converging with the piston ring. When its an m400 the loops multiply into two.

The cap is light and unscrews with less than a complete turn which I like very much, revealing a slightly dullish golden nib. The gold plated steel nibs somewhat lack the lustrous enchantment of a 14k souverän nib, but again a 14k nib comes at a premium. The grip is simple and reveals interior threads of a screw fit nib. The section ends with a slight bump which is usually adorned by a loop in the souverän series. The transparency reveals the plastic piston mechanism.

A gleaming tassie decorated with a protruding plastic jewel painted with a golden pelikan logo adorns the cap with its signature pelican beak-shaped clip. The single cap band succinctly carries an imprint of PELIKAN GERMANY, which is common across the classic series. The logo on the finial is the one embraced by Pelikan post 2003, that of a mother pelican and its chick, in golden paint. You can also see the distinctive lines of the cap insert.

FILLING SYSTEM (6/6)


A piston filler with a smooth & sturdy knob is embellished with a golden loop. Apart from its looks, it's an utterly efficient mechanism. The piston end unscrews with three to four rotations and it draws ink quite quickly once the piston is screwed back on. The best part being you observe the thing in action probably through honey gold lenses. A plastic spindle connector in the M2XX limits its overall weight. A M2XX fills upto 1.3 mL of ink. However, given the wet & wide flow especially of the Italic nib, it may not last for a long time. I have found the 14k nibs of the same width running wetter & wider than the steel ones. 

           Keep in mind that these piston mechanisms for M2XX/M4XX/M6XX are not supposed to be dismantled as they are friction fit under heat. In case of problems other than lubricating the piston seal, it’s better to send the pen to Pelikan Germany/Country Authorized Service Center. Pelikan does have an excellent customer service.

NIB - ALL THAT MATTERS (5/6)


The steel nib comes in a classic m200 gold plated look across five stock widths - EF, F, M, B & I (1.1). Like all the pens in the classic series, the nib has standard pelikan logo with the usual convenience of a screw-fit section.

             With standard m2xx/4xx feed, the nib-section is easy to take out for swapping or cleaning. And this golden finish is meant to converge with the cognac glimmer of the pen as well as its gold-plated trims, although its shine is rather towards the dullish side of the golden spectrum. Below the circular breather hole it carries its brandname of Pelikan as well as an encircled logo of mother pelican with a chick. The nib started flexing its tines after some use and it was quite stiff at first. The nib is tipped.

A standard black plastic feed ensures a good ink buffer for the promised wetness and prevents hard starts. No skipping or hard starts in past few months, even if it is lying unused for weeks.

While cleaning the section area, I found some of silicone grease and water trapped between inner and outer walls. Initially I was scared at the thought of a crack, but thankfully the suspect crack-line seemed to move. There is a FPN thread on this.

PHYSICS OF IT (5/6) – RELATIVELY SPEAKING


It’s comfortable posted with a bit of heft and length, since the cap contributes more than a third of its weight. The capped length is around 12.5 cm. The pen does get some heft from ink inside the barrel. Incidentally, it weighs a gram less even when it shares all its dimensions closely with a m400.
  • Uncapped Length ~ 12 cm
  • Posted Length ~ 15 cm
  • Nib Leverage ~ 2 cm
  • Overall Weight ~ 14 g (without ink)

ECONOMIC VALUE (5/6)


The m200 Cognac retails at around USD 170 with the stock gold plated steel nibs. It is also available with 14k nibs from the m400 series. As with all pelikans, the pen is dependable and could be an everyday writer.

OVERALL (5.2/6)


The tipped & gold plated steel nib is smooth and it’s graced with a wet flow. The Italic nib was quite stiff in the beginning, but within a month of ‘light’ use, it started flexing its tines like wings of a bird, even under light pressure. Very springy of course, the horizontal lines run thinner for the Italic nib. There is a lot of ink laid by the italic nib, which take more than 1.5 minutes to dry a wet Diamine Majestic Blue ink on MD Paper. 
In case you are wondering about the quote, it's by Swami Vivekananda.

REFERENCES



Thank you for going through the review. 
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Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Pilot’s Pocket Pen: Elite 95S Review

The Elite 95S (or E95S in US) was released as Pilot’s 95th anniversary pen in 2013, sporting a Pilot 14k nib, which is larger than a standard Pilot#5 nib. The Elite S was originally a pocket pen designed by Pilot in 1968. The second run of these pens occurred in 1974. The 95S is more of a evolution of the Elite S fountain pen and as it was launched 95 years after the company’s inception (i.e. 1918) it does carry the first two digits of the model number as ‘95’ with the S and the third digit is by default ‘1’ usually refers price at launch of the pen (i.e 1 X JPY 10,000). It’s referred as the E95S in the US market due to copyright obligations.


                    The Elite 95S (for the Asian market, Model #FES-1MM-DR/B-EF/F/M) comes packaged in a standard pilot gift box (Z-CR-GN) which is usually more of a protection rather than presentation.

DESIGN - FOR YOUR POCKET (6/6)


The E95S comes in two standard designs of acrylic resin with a double anodised aluminium cap - Black, Deep Red (or burgundy) in gold plated trims. The acrylic resin material feels sturdy but light, I guess a defining feature for a light pocket pen sharing one dimension with your shirt pocket. You will definitely like the E95S if you like Kaweco Sport pens.

The tapered geometry starts with a flattened finial of a pearly cap (with a hint of red shade) with a gold plated clip syncing nicely with concentric cap bands and a differentiated ring from the section before it concludes with burgundy of the barrel. The glossy red resin shines moderately under light and creates a good contrast with the cap. This pen seems to preserve a vintage look both in terms of design and make. The cap is light and and can be pulled out quite smoothly, revealing a big dazzling gold nib.
The grip section is moulded from the same burgundy resin and a thick golden step announces its beginning as well as the end stop for posting the cap. But as usual, the nib dazzles out the rest. The posted pen gains considerable length and renders both beauty and a deep red contrast to the pearly finish of the cap. 

The snap cap with a slightly domed finial preserves a rather classical look. A few things etched across the lower band of the cap includes the model name of Elite on one side and PILOT & JAPAN on the other. Two concentric bands of golden paint render aesthetics to the entire pen, as the cap is quite significant for this pen. The spring loaded clip with an associate loop, has a rectangular top view with geometrical cuts. It’s engraved with PILOT vertically. The design of the clip is reminiscent of older Pilot pens. 


FILLING SYSTEM (5/6)


The barrel unscrews from the section which has a metallic insert carrying the necessary threads for syncing with the resin threads inside the barrel. One of those rare pens, in which the section is considerably longer than its barrel.

The pen takes only pilot CON-20 (0.5 mL) converter and pilot proprietary cartridges (0.9 mL) because of its size limitations.


NIB - ALL THAT MATTERS (5/6)


The nib is inset and comes in a 14k design across three stock widths - EF, F & M. The tail end of the nib specifies the month and year of manufacture. It has no other scrollwork apart from branding and nib specs. By the way, the productions are limited to 5000 pieces and that’s why you mostly see 413 (April-2013) as timestamp (or monthstamp) on these nibs.

     All branding and nib specs namely 14k-585 (58.5% Au Alloy), PILOT, along with the nib width & country of manufacture i.e JAPAN are imprinted below the breather hole. The tines are relatively short, given the longish nib. While this was not the best of nibs I had from Pilot, I have asked the seller for a replacement.

A partially enclosed or rather hooded bluish grey plastic feed with big feeder hole provides ink suction and a decent buffer.


PHYSICS OF IT (5/6) – RELATIVELY SPEAKING


This is a pocket pen and measures only around 12 cm closed. It is meant to be posted for writing and in addition to the length the cap does add some weight. Though the cap itself is quite light and weighs only 6 grams, the snap mechanism does make it a quick note scribbler. The grip is comfortably tapered ending with a longish nib.
  • Closed ~ 12 cm
  • Uncapped Length ~ 10.5 cm
  • Posted Length ~ 14.7 cm
  • Nib Leverage ~ 2.4 cm
  • Overall Weight ~ 17 g (without converter)
Capped, uncapped and posted comparisons with a Pelikan m200 cognac go below for your reference.




ECONOMIC VALUE (6/6)


The E95S retails at around USD 136 in the US, although it sell at USD 100 or even less, in Japanese shops like Engeika or Rakuten. I had bought the first pen from Engeika’s Indian Arm - Pensindia. It’s a definite VFM pen. 

OVERALL (5.4/6)


The fine nib has some feedback but is graced with a moderate flow. Although pilot does not associate any softness with these nibs, these nibs are quite springy and have a decent amount of flex, the leverage coming from their unique shape. The verticals can grow thicker with slight pressure. The nib has a moderate flow, taking less than 25 seconds to dry a wet Diamine Majestic Blue ink on MD Paper. The paper grids are 5 mm squares.
PS - I got the fine nib replaced with a medium one, since I felt that it was giving more than the usual levels of feedback. The medium nib has the same springiness/softness but runs quite on the broader side. I am happy with this nib, though people who prefer pilot fine and medium nibs might find this width a bit too broad for their taste.

Thank you for going through the review.
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Tuesday, September 8, 2015

A short review of the rotring Esprit

For those of you who like slim and light pens, I the Esprit is a very nice pen. And it happily fits your MTN Pen holder. The Esprit was released as the next avatar to the numbered models, rotring 400 in this case. It was a finite displacement for the haloed red-ring from the section of 400 to its cap end, apart from the flattened ends. The fountain pen comes with a standard steel nib. A corresponding rollerball, ballpoint and a mechanical pencil were also released. The smaller sized telescoping Esprit Mini series came later and became Parker Esprit, soon after acquisition. Lamy CP1 pen does bear some common characteristics with the Esprit.

DESIGN (5/6)


The Esprit comes in anodised aluminium make with steel or plastic fittings. Till now I have seen two finishes of this - Tourmaline Green and Black. The minis came with a lot more colour options.

The pen is a slender cylinder with a lovely red ring at the finial. Once you pull the cap, it does come off with an audible click, and you have a ribbed metallic section. The grip section has a tapered end, and there rests the rotring steel nib.

The cap is light with a snap-on mechanism. A tension fit clip starts with the trademarked red ring at the finial. The clip carries the rotring brand name.

FILLING SYSTEM (5/6)


It’s an international cartridge converter system. The construction is good with a steel insert inside the section and another runs the threads for the aluminium barrel.

A Schmidt/FCD or rotring converter will fit snugly into the section vis-a-vis other standard international converters like Waterman. 


NIB - ALL THAT MATTERS (5/6)


The nib is made of stainless steel and comes in a standard rotring design. I came across only F & M widths for this pen. All these nibs have been wet and generally smooth.

         A no-frills design of the nib sans any breather hole gives it a characteristic industrial look, besides the metallic make of the pen. 

The branding and nib specifications are imprinted on either sides of the nib.

A standard black plastic feed sans any fins and a big feeder hole define its minimalism. 


PHYSICS OF IT (4/6) – RELATIVELY SPEAKING


The pen is light and slim. You can post the pen as well and it does not feel any more heavier than 15g. The grip section tapers away from the barrel cross section as it becomes relatively thinner. I feel that I am used to thicker sections for quite some time now.
  • Uncapped Length ~ 12.7 cm
  • Posted Length ~ 17.3 cm
  • Nib Leverage ~ 1.6 cm
Uncapped and posted pictures of the Esprit beside a ruler run below for your reference. 


ECONOMIC VALUE(6/6)


I have no idea of its original retail price. I had bought the pen at a cost of USD 12 off ebay. Since it has been now discontinued, some stationery stores in Mumbai carry at least a few pieces of Esprit or a similar looking 400 model. 

OVERALL (5/6)


This steel nib has a hint of feedback with a nice wet flow. The medium nib is stiff and does not have any line variation among horizontal and vertical strokes. These wet lines take almost 35 secs to dry a wet Diamine majestic blue on MD paper. And I find some of the fine nibs running as wide as the mediums. 

Thank you for going through the review.
You can find some more pen and paraphernalia reviews here.

REFERENCES