fountainpenkid
March 17th, 2013, 03:42 PM
Introduction: In 1959, Pelikan, which had been making relatively traditional celluloid pens like the 400, 400n, and 400nn at a time when lucite was king, finally decided to make a pen that directly competed with the current Parker phenomenon, the "61". The "61" featured a simpler design than the "51", as well as a slimmer body. In some ways, the Pelikan P1 is similar to the "61". It has a hooded nib, Lucite (acrylic) construction, a metal cap, and a jewel on the barrel end. Past these things, the P1 is a very different pen with some odd styling, hence its short 6 year production. However its production short, it would be a mistake to cast it off as a deservedly obscure mishap...it actually has a lot going for it!
17176
First Impressions: This pen came to me in a bag with a couple other vintage (or near-vintage) Pelikans at the LI Pen Show. I'd seen some pictures online before, but I didn't have much interest in getting one. In person, it is quite cool looking. It is not nearly as large as the Parker it was trying to compete with, and the delicacy of it is quite intriguing at first. Uncapping the pen, the nib leaves you wanting something, but the uni body design is a nice touch.
8/10
17177
Overall Design: With the cap on, I think the pen is quite attractive and classic. The port-hole shaped ink view windows made for a distinctive look, but as much as I love their look, they are placed too far up the barrel to really be useful unless you are really low on ink and hold the pen nib-up. When you uncap the pen though, it becomes a bit odd. The hooded nib is just...ugly! There is too much going on at the nib end compared to the rest of the pen. The fact that the threads are placed so far forward does allow most of the barrel to be one sweep of shiny Lucite, which looks cool. If there wasn't an extra bevel at the nib end, and the threads were more simple, the pen would look a lot better. Also, it doesn't have a Pelikan logo on the cap jewel, which would make it look more like a top of the line pen IMO.
7/10
17178
Writing Experience: The body and the piston are all made out of acrylic, so this is a very light pen to use when it is not posted. Posting adds a bit of weight to it, but for me it is a bit top-heavy in this configuration. The pen is plenty long enough unposted, so if you don't mind a feather light pen, it should be quite comfortable. Te nib on my pen is a factory Oblique Medium, so it is hard to write really fast, but this pen certainly allows for complete control of your writing...if you had a needlepoint nib, you could make very precise lines because you can hold the pen so close to the tip. This open is great for long writing sessions or quick jots. People with very large hands may find it too thin to be used for extended periods, but if you have normal sized hands, it should be perfect.
8/10
17180
Clip: A slightly stylized classic Pelikan bill clip. It fits tightly and goes off and on different types of cloth very smoothly. I just don't like how the washer extends in width over the cap...it makes it look a bit cheap.
7/10
Cap: The cap screws on and off in less than a half turn. This makes it very practical for a daily user. Because of the placement of the threads, the barrel won't be scratched with the infamous thread marks from use.
9/10
Filling System: Pelikan used their tried and trusted piston filler for this model. It is a bit stiff, and because of the unibody design, it is a bit harder to grease the piston, if need be. The piston design is the same as the vintage 400s, so you need to use heat to remove them. Heat is tricky and it is easy to mess things up. Best leave it to the pros. The best thing about it is the ink capacity, which is a little over 2ml. That is more than enough for many days of writing for most people. Pelikan optimized the ink capacity on this one, and it shows!
8/10
Nib: The one thing that is rare to find on a Parker "51" or "61" is a broad or stub or oblique nib. P1s, like many German pens, are much easier to find with an interesting nib. Don't think flex, but my nib is an OM, and wrote smooth and somewhat wet from the get-go. No hard starts either (I literally left it uncapped for 4 hours and it started up immediately with no hesitation whatsoever.) The one thing about it is that it is ugly. They could have done a better job in the nib-end styling department. :)
8/10
Price: The P1 is not that easy to find, but they are often found in NOS or mint conditions for well under $200, and used you can get them for well under $100 used. A piston filler with a hooded 14k nib in many sizes...I think it is a great deal!
8.5/10
17179
Conclusion: Apart from the quirky nib section and somewhat stiff piston, this pen is really nice! It definitely beats the capillary "61" pens if you want a practical daily user. It is somewhat uncommon, but not rare. If you're OK with hooded nibs, and you want a great user pen I recommended this if you want something a bit different from the crowd.
65/80= ~B-
Thanks for reading!
17176
First Impressions: This pen came to me in a bag with a couple other vintage (or near-vintage) Pelikans at the LI Pen Show. I'd seen some pictures online before, but I didn't have much interest in getting one. In person, it is quite cool looking. It is not nearly as large as the Parker it was trying to compete with, and the delicacy of it is quite intriguing at first. Uncapping the pen, the nib leaves you wanting something, but the uni body design is a nice touch.
8/10
17177
Overall Design: With the cap on, I think the pen is quite attractive and classic. The port-hole shaped ink view windows made for a distinctive look, but as much as I love their look, they are placed too far up the barrel to really be useful unless you are really low on ink and hold the pen nib-up. When you uncap the pen though, it becomes a bit odd. The hooded nib is just...ugly! There is too much going on at the nib end compared to the rest of the pen. The fact that the threads are placed so far forward does allow most of the barrel to be one sweep of shiny Lucite, which looks cool. If there wasn't an extra bevel at the nib end, and the threads were more simple, the pen would look a lot better. Also, it doesn't have a Pelikan logo on the cap jewel, which would make it look more like a top of the line pen IMO.
7/10
17178
Writing Experience: The body and the piston are all made out of acrylic, so this is a very light pen to use when it is not posted. Posting adds a bit of weight to it, but for me it is a bit top-heavy in this configuration. The pen is plenty long enough unposted, so if you don't mind a feather light pen, it should be quite comfortable. Te nib on my pen is a factory Oblique Medium, so it is hard to write really fast, but this pen certainly allows for complete control of your writing...if you had a needlepoint nib, you could make very precise lines because you can hold the pen so close to the tip. This open is great for long writing sessions or quick jots. People with very large hands may find it too thin to be used for extended periods, but if you have normal sized hands, it should be perfect.
8/10
17180
Clip: A slightly stylized classic Pelikan bill clip. It fits tightly and goes off and on different types of cloth very smoothly. I just don't like how the washer extends in width over the cap...it makes it look a bit cheap.
7/10
Cap: The cap screws on and off in less than a half turn. This makes it very practical for a daily user. Because of the placement of the threads, the barrel won't be scratched with the infamous thread marks from use.
9/10
Filling System: Pelikan used their tried and trusted piston filler for this model. It is a bit stiff, and because of the unibody design, it is a bit harder to grease the piston, if need be. The piston design is the same as the vintage 400s, so you need to use heat to remove them. Heat is tricky and it is easy to mess things up. Best leave it to the pros. The best thing about it is the ink capacity, which is a little over 2ml. That is more than enough for many days of writing for most people. Pelikan optimized the ink capacity on this one, and it shows!
8/10
Nib: The one thing that is rare to find on a Parker "51" or "61" is a broad or stub or oblique nib. P1s, like many German pens, are much easier to find with an interesting nib. Don't think flex, but my nib is an OM, and wrote smooth and somewhat wet from the get-go. No hard starts either (I literally left it uncapped for 4 hours and it started up immediately with no hesitation whatsoever.) The one thing about it is that it is ugly. They could have done a better job in the nib-end styling department. :)
8/10
Price: The P1 is not that easy to find, but they are often found in NOS or mint conditions for well under $200, and used you can get them for well under $100 used. A piston filler with a hooded 14k nib in many sizes...I think it is a great deal!
8.5/10
17179
Conclusion: Apart from the quirky nib section and somewhat stiff piston, this pen is really nice! It definitely beats the capillary "61" pens if you want a practical daily user. It is somewhat uncommon, but not rare. If you're OK with hooded nibs, and you want a great user pen I recommended this if you want something a bit different from the crowd.
65/80= ~B-
Thanks for reading!