Pelikan M-800 - What NIB to pick?

Hello Fellow Pengeeks,

The time has come for me to venture into Pelkan territory. My first pen was a 1979 Pelikan Pelikano with a fine NIB. Since then I mostly used Parker's (vectors were issued in school, Parker Duofold medium), Waterman (Forum with a Broad NIB, Concorde with Medium NIB), and Sheaffer (PFM with I suspect a fine flex and was my grandfather's pen, school pen with medium nib and a Prelude with a Broad NIB).

I'm contemplating getting an M-800 but I'm unsure as to what NIB option I should go for. I like a broad NIB, but from what I've seen in video's online, and M-800 with a fine NIB, already seems to be close to some of the Broad nibs I have. I was going to go for Broad, but on an M-800, broad seems to look like BB or even BBB in some cases. I have never tried such a broad NIB, I suspect I would like it but I won't know for sure unless I try it out. A shop to go and try them out is not an option currently (recovering from an operation).

Either way it seems that this pen is a bit too expensive to just pick something and go with it, I want it to be something I'm really happy with. So I'm leaning towards going for Medium but Fine is also an option I'm considering. The reason I'm leaning towards medium is, previous Fine's I've had were too scratchy. I like smooth and on the wet side. (not gushing to the point where you need to wait a full minute to dry).

Could some people that have this pen chime in perhaps?

Thank you very much for any opinions and tips given.

I have an M805 in F and a M800 in B. My fine is what I would call a Western fine, and is smooth - bigger than a Japanese fine, but you can still write small with it. I was actually expecting it to write larger based on what people say about them, so that was a pleasant surprise. My B seems a consistent size up when compared to a couple of Lamy mediums, for example (I haven't got an M800 M). So these seem consistently the size I would expect them to be. (Caveat: mine are second hand, so I can't speak to what previous owners might have done to them!)

The B feels great to write with - I think I might just write someone a very big letter with it, because I do mostly write much smaller so it isn't getting much use. (Mine does reverse write as a rather nice italic, but that's not really a reason to get that nib size!)

I think my B has Pelikan black in it, which is quite dry but doesn't feel scratchy and suits it really well, so with much wetter inks you might indeed get different results.

Your line between B and BB may vary!

I've had all of the nib options for M800 (some of which several) and I like B the most and F the least. From my experience, B typically writes around 0.8mm thick, and M around 0.6mm thick. I don't think that's too out of the standard range, certainly not BB/BBB.

If you're buying new, keep in mind you can always send the pen back and have the nib exchanged for free.

My M800s are generally on the wider side of their nib designations. I'm using a M right now that's writing more like a B or BB (though I'm using a new ink which could just be really wet). If you were already leaning towards a broader nib, a M may be a safe option (or you can go all in and just get a B or BB).

Another option you could consider is buying used so you can see a writing sample. Writing samples can vary person to person but you should still get a fair sense of what you're getting. Some retailers will also test a nib for you once you've purchased the pen.

This chart from nibs.com may be of use to you in determining relative line widths for quite a number of pens/nibs:

http://www.nibs.com/content/nib-tipping-sizes

Every one says Pelikan pens are wide, but I've not seen it. The gold M nibs on my m805, m605, and m101n are all western M in width not B. Maybe I'm just lucky or unlucky but that is what my pens are. You might get something different.

My 805 is paired with a BB, and it is outstanding. I do have to say, if you write small, forget anything beyond an M, in my opinion.


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Update :

First of all, thank you all for sharing your opinions, they helped making up my mind. Adhoc's comment pulled me over to the broad side. I put the order through for a Pelikan M-805 Stresemann with a broad nib. I really wanted a good pen with a broad nib, and did it ever deliver. Hands down, out of the box, the smoothest pen I ever used. No skips, royal ink flow, on Clairfontaine 5814 paper, buttery smooth. The pen also fits my hand like it's been cast to my hand. The pen also looks stunning with the grey stripes really making it stand out.

First ink I tried was Pelikan 4001 Köningsblau, and I've never seen this ink look this good, the broad nib really shows it off. Next up was Pelikan Edelstein Aquamarine and Lamy Topaz. The aquamarine fits very well with the pen imho, really not much to say, looks beautiful. The Lamy Topaz same thing, however this ink made the pen even smoother somehow.

I'm very pleased with this pen, and given that it keeps working it's fast becoming my favorite. However from what I've read, I don't think that will be a problem as this is supposedly one of the most reliable pens that you can buy today. It certainly feels exactly like that. It's most likely going to end up as my daily writer, as that is what it was purchased for, to be used, a lot.

U made a good choice on the M800 stressman! glad u like the broad nib. I have a no. of m800s n I like the stressman ..not to flashy but still have character. :)Nibwise I find pelikans broader than most other brands.

Congrats on your acquisition, jobe! As a structural integrity / fracture engineer, I believe the Pelikan M800 is a lifetime pen. I have only two gripes with the construction of the M800, otherwise it's pretty much a perfect pen; 1.) the grip section is glued to the barrel and 2.) the cap thread will impose micro scratches on the barrel. The latter is purely cosmetic, so it's not really an issue, but the former can be an issue in terms of reliability. Especially since 2003, when Pelikan switched to a more eco friendly glue, which are typically not as strong of an adhesive, but have the advantage of not destroying the environment. That said, I have not read about any M800 actually falling apart at the glued section, and after 16 years, this leads me to believe that Pelikan did good and you should not worry about it at all! Obviously, do not test the glue with a bending and / or shear moment at the grip section regardless:boom:.

Stresemann is one of my favourite Pelikan finishes, what a great choice! If I may, I would heartily recommend a Montblanc ink. I love Pelikan pens and do not care about Montblanc pens (very poor construction, especially the modern ones...it seems like that with some of their pens, Montblanc even forgot how a thread is supposed to be made) whatsoever, but I will concede that from my personal point of view, Montblanc makes some of the best ink money can buy. Well, they actually outsource the ink from a company in Austria, but you know what I mean. At some point in the future, whenever you feel adventurous, no hurry, grab yourself a bottle of Montblanc ink from the standard line and pair it with your Pelikan. Pelikan inks are good, but Montblanc inks are on another level, if you ask me.

Pelikan pens have a tendency to multiply. Do make sure to let us know when you buy the next one. And maybe treat us to a picture or two :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by adhoc

but I will concede that from my personal point of view, Montblanc makes some of the best ink money can buy. Well, they actually outsource the ink from a company in Austria, but you know what I mean.

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Any guesses? :)

Agreed, Montblanc inks are really good, I own also some.

But there are a lot very good inks on the market reasonable priced, as recently Montblanc gone mad regarding their ink prices.

Such prices are just ridiculous (who should pay 60-70€ for 50ml ink :crazy:, even the 35 for the regular LE inks are way too much, and I still remember when their regular ones were 12€ and not 19€).

As said there are many good inks and brands out there which are much more reasonable priced and I currently seeing no sense recommending Montblanc inks (very good but way too expensive).

The path Montblanc folllows now also with their ink is the luxury brand image and I neither like that approach nor support it.
I hope they will reconsider their strategy if they only sell inks in homeopathic quantities anymore (there will always be fanboys and snobs who will pay the asked money).

Saying that also coming from Austria 🇦🇹 myself and in general wanted to see Austrian products sold.
But as said the Montblanc price policy is ridiculous.

I actually don’t know who in Austria makes their inks, but have been trying to find out. I heard some speculating same manufacturer makes inks for Monteverde; mostly because people think that a “small” country such as Austria could not have more than one ink manufacturer, which I don’t agree with.

I agree their LE inks are priced absurdly. I even bought a few bottles, but after a while realized the price premium is simply not worth it. The regular line can be had for around 15€ if you look around a bit, which I don’t think is too terrible, but like ptero said, there’s lots of choice out there. That’s why I wrote it’s no urgency in buying their ink, but I would nevertheless recommend a bottle of toffee brown / irish green / lavender purple at some point to try out.