tandaina
May 18th, 2013, 01:55 PM
So my last batch of pens for the year included a grab off ebay of a cheap Pelikan tortoise with an interesting IB nib. I really grabbed it for the nib, but since it was also a tortoise, score!
Figured it was a dupe of my 400 tortoise from Rick so I'd just put a nib I didn't like in it (like my 50s EF nib, too fine) and resell it. But here's the thing, I think it is SLIGHTLY different. Wondering if anyone can pin down the variation it might be?
HARD to get pics of the details so bear with me, I may need to break out the light box and real camera but that's a lot of time and trouble. :\
1st pic: The bindes. I know these can vary but this is HUGE. The closest pen is the 50's 400 I got from Rick. Honey colored, lots of red, classic for pens of that era that I've seen online. The new pen is behind it. The bind frankly looks much closer to the new 800 binde. Much darker brown, less red, a some grey highlights just a very different animal.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3700/8751632814_7e979a38d2_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/84377112@N05/8751632814/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/84377112@N05/8751632814/) by JoAndRoses (http://www.flickr.com/people/84377112@N05/), on Flickr
Caps:
Hard to see. On the new pen the birds are outlined in yellow. Rick's 400 they are NOT. The engraving lines on Rick's are much finer. And there are TWO chick beaks on Rick's 400. Only 1 on the new 400.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3776/8750510141_bb3a693615_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/84377112@N05/8750510141/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/84377112@N05/8750510141/) by JoAndRoses (http://www.flickr.com/people/84377112@N05/), on Flickr
This is really obscure and maybe just a trick of my eyes? But the new Pelikan's clip seems more pointed at the end than Rick's 400's clip.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7379/8751635724_34cd2d0213_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/84377112@N05/8751635724/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/84377112@N05/8751635724/) by JoAndRoses (http://www.flickr.com/people/84377112@N05/), on Flickr
Finally the nibs. I realize Pelikan nibs travel and so the nib may mean nothing but this is an odd nib and hard as heck to see in any pic I've managed to take. Rick's 50's nib is the classic with two triangular arrow lines, round Pelikan logo, like this one:
2798
And the NEW pen has a nib like this one:
2799
(though and IB)
If it had a gold band on the filler knob I'd say it was an M400. Is this just a very late 400? Or just random variations?
Figured it was a dupe of my 400 tortoise from Rick so I'd just put a nib I didn't like in it (like my 50s EF nib, too fine) and resell it. But here's the thing, I think it is SLIGHTLY different. Wondering if anyone can pin down the variation it might be?
HARD to get pics of the details so bear with me, I may need to break out the light box and real camera but that's a lot of time and trouble. :\
1st pic: The bindes. I know these can vary but this is HUGE. The closest pen is the 50's 400 I got from Rick. Honey colored, lots of red, classic for pens of that era that I've seen online. The new pen is behind it. The bind frankly looks much closer to the new 800 binde. Much darker brown, less red, a some grey highlights just a very different animal.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3700/8751632814_7e979a38d2_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/84377112@N05/8751632814/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/84377112@N05/8751632814/) by JoAndRoses (http://www.flickr.com/people/84377112@N05/), on Flickr
Caps:
Hard to see. On the new pen the birds are outlined in yellow. Rick's 400 they are NOT. The engraving lines on Rick's are much finer. And there are TWO chick beaks on Rick's 400. Only 1 on the new 400.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3776/8750510141_bb3a693615_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/84377112@N05/8750510141/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/84377112@N05/8750510141/) by JoAndRoses (http://www.flickr.com/people/84377112@N05/), on Flickr
This is really obscure and maybe just a trick of my eyes? But the new Pelikan's clip seems more pointed at the end than Rick's 400's clip.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7379/8751635724_34cd2d0213_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/84377112@N05/8751635724/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/84377112@N05/8751635724/) by JoAndRoses (http://www.flickr.com/people/84377112@N05/), on Flickr
Finally the nibs. I realize Pelikan nibs travel and so the nib may mean nothing but this is an odd nib and hard as heck to see in any pic I've managed to take. Rick's 50's nib is the classic with two triangular arrow lines, round Pelikan logo, like this one:
2798
And the NEW pen has a nib like this one:
2799
(though and IB)
If it had a gold band on the filler knob I'd say it was an M400. Is this just a very late 400? Or just random variations?