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Thread: Oddly uniform colored 400 Export model

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    Senior Member guyy's Avatar
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    Default Oddly uniform colored 400 Export model

    https://imgur.com/a/AdT776C

    I recentlypicked up an export model green stripe Pelikan 400 with script nib. When i first saw it i thought it was a franken pen with a 1980s M400 barrel because of the uniformity of the green. I expect a green stripe 400 to look more like the other green stripe pen in the photos. However, in all other respects, it looks like a 1950s pen. Has anyone seen a green stripe 400/400N/400NN with such a uniform green?

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    Senior Member jos's Avatar
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    Default Re: Oddly uniform colored 400 Export model

    If the barrel of the pen has an imprint, and your picture shows an imprint on both pens, you can be sure that it is a 1950s barrel or at least a 1950s binde. The M400 never had a barrel imprint.

    Not all of the 1950s Pelikan 400 pens had a barrel imprint. If there is no imprint on the barrel, you can differentiate a 400 from a M400 barrel by the section: the mold in which a M400 section is constructed results in two very very fine lateral lines, at 0 and 180 degrees, on the section (you may need a magnifying glass to see them). The section of a 1950s Pelikan 400 is smooth.

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    Senior Member guyy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Oddly uniform colored 400 Export model

    It has the Gunther Wagner imprint. (Very sharp, too). The threads are 400 rather than M400 style and the piston knob is marked with the nib width & is somewhat smaller in diameter than the barrel. The only thing not particularly 400-ish about the pen are the green stripes.

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    Senior Member AzJon's Avatar
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    Default Re: Oddly uniform colored 400 Export model

    Wow. That's....yeah, that's pretty wild.

    You can see a bit of the variability in it, but that's remarkably uniform.

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    Senior Member christof's Avatar
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    Default Re: Oddly uniform colored 400 Export model

    Uniformly striped Pelikan are not that uncommon but mostly, they date from the 60's as this Pelikan 140:



    Probably, your Pelikan got a replacement barrel from a 400NN at some point.

    C.

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    Senior Member guyy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Oddly uniform colored 400 Export model

    The barrel of this one measures the same as other my other 400s, ever so slightly shorter than a 400NN barrel, 102 vs 103mm.

    Here’s a picture with it next to a 400 a tortoise 400NN:

    https://imgur.com/a/8TT4GvJ

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    Senior Member christof's Avatar
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    Default Re: Oddly uniform colored 400 Export model

    Well, of course the piston mechanism with the blind cap can be changed as well. The striped barrel is usually the same lenght, whether if 400, 400N or 400NN
    c.
    Last edited by christof; July 21st, 2020 at 02:04 PM.

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    Senior Member guyy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Oddly uniform colored 400 Export model

    I measured from the end of the striped part to the end of the section. The 400NNs are ever so slightly longer, by 1mm.

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    Senior Member christof's Avatar
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    Default Re: Oddly uniform colored 400 Export model

    this is strange...
    when I take measure, the barrel only is around 82.5 mm, not 102/103.

    Quote Originally Posted by guyy View Post
    The barrel of this one measures the same as other my other 400s, ever so slightly shorter than a 400NN barrel, 102 vs 103mm.
    Quote Originally Posted by guyy View Post
    I measured from the end of the striped part to the end of the section. The 400NNs are ever so slightly longer, by 1mm.
    However.....I have many 400 but unfortunately only few 400NN with which I can compare. Although I never noticed this difference, dimensional tolerances in this range cannot be excluded
    As already mentioned, I consider your 400 to be perfectly original (even if the barrel would have been exchanged at some point...).

    C.
    Last edited by christof; July 22nd, 2020 at 09:34 AM.

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    Senior Member guyy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Oddly uniform colored 400 Export model

    No worries, Christof. I’m just curious about this one. I got it mostly for the nib.

    I have slightly more NNs than plain 400s. (No 400Ns here. To me, the difference has always seemed too small to justify the extra price.) In any case, they are all consistent with the barrel measurements given on http://www.ruettinger-web.de/e-pelikan-modell-400.html . That is, 102mm for the 400s & 103mm for the 400NNs.

    Here’s the 400 in question next to an early production W German M800:

    https://imgur.com/a/rUH97ip

    The stripes on the M800 are straighter and the green is deeper. Next to the more modern pen, the stripes on the 400 look a little rough.

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