What is the proper way to hold a Pelikan?

[Ian]

Hi

I just got my first Pelikan today. It is a M1000. Do Pelikan's need to be held more vertically the other pens? I need to hold the pen at a 75 to 80 degree angle in order for it to write. It writes consistently at this angle. I only have three $200+ pens. My Montblanc Le Grand 90th can be held at an angle and write well. The Lamy 2000 has a definite sweet spot. Once I realized it, I was able to use it quite comfortably.

I have three ideas:
1. Pelikans are more picky and need to be held a certain way
2. I don't know how to hold a pen correctly. If I had good wrist posture, I wouldn't have noticed this pen is less forgiving.
3. The nib is messed up in some way and I should take it with me to the DC show to have it tuned.

Thank you for any help you can provide.
-Ian

[jar]

My 1xxx Pels work at a 45-60 degree slope.

[View from the Loft]

Is this a new pen bought from a retailer? If so, get it swapped and test in the shop. If not a new pen, then getting the nib tweaked by your choice of nib meister is the way to go.

[gclyn]

Yep, my M800 writes smoothly at 45-60 degrees as well. Come to think of it, the pen writes smoothly almost at any angle for me, even upside down.

[Jeph]

All of the modern Pelikans (since 97 at least) have gone back to the kugel (ball) type nib tipping because there are so many different ways to write that it was a way to avoid a person's unique writing style conflicting with the tipping and causing returns. Your M1000 should write at nearly any reasonable angle. The accepted norm is 45-60 degress elevation with zero rotation. The only way that I can think of that it will only write nearly vertical (with zero rotation) is if it has a massive case of baby's bottom. Since your other pens don't do the same thing I think it is not your writing posture. So:
1) No, it is not normal.
2) No, probably not since your other pens don't have the same problem.
3) That would be one option but if it is new I would get it corrected by Pelikan.

[Wolverine1]

Ian, I have 3 M-1000s, which I use regularly. I use the pens like Jar and Gclyn do, at a 45- 60 degrees angle. Have your pen looked at by John Mottishaw or Richard Binder when you are at the DC Pen Show.

[jar]

Do all of you realize how hard it was not to say "By the beak and feet."?

[snedwos]

My only Pelikan (M215) will only wrte consistently if I hold it vertically. The problem is it is scratchy in this position. This is the replacement nib I got from the shop. The original was the same but even worse!

Rather disappointed. Will probably get it tweaked/turned into something interesting. It is a broad, so plenty of tipping to play with. And incredibly flexy, too, for a steel nib.

[The Good Captain]

Do all of you realize how hard it was not to say "By the beak and feet."?

Oh yes!

[Hawk]

I finally got around to checking writing angles. My M1000 I purchased from missing-pen writes great from vertical to as flat as one can hold it with no problems. It is a fine nib but writes wider than the rest of my Pelikans with fine nibs. The rest of my contemporary Pelikans were purchased from John Mottishaw with fine nibs. They are M800, M600 and M101n Lizard. All of them write great from vertical to as flat as one can hold it with no problems. They do write smoother but the 'factory' as shipped nib (M1000) is not shabby by any means. For the price, the pen should be more forgiving of your writing style unless it was a custom nib and you write completely different than what it was designed to do. I concur that a nib expert needs to look at it.

[bluefeathers]

I agree that it should be comfortable at any angle, but couldn't it also be something else besides baby's bottom-- perhaps the tines are misaligned, or the size of the pen is unwieldy for you, causing you to adopt a vertical direction or write at a different angle to paper than you're used to.

I had difficulty writing with a modern Pelikan m400--I had the impression that I had to hold the pen at just one straight direction or angle (though the nib worked at other angles too, just didn't seem as smooth), but that had to do with the ergonomics of the pen for me and distance of nib to paper, not the nib itself, which was fine. Have you tried the m800?

[jacksterp]

Do all of you realize how hard it was not to say "By the beak and feet."?

Apparently - impossible.

[Ian]

Now that I have had more time to play with it, it seems to be a starting problem. Once the ink starts to flow, I can drop down to a normal angle and write eight to ten words before it needs to go vertical again.

[tandaina]

Sounds like you've got a nib with an issue. I'd get it swapped by the seller, or contact Pelikan directly if that doesn't work. It should start first time every time.

[Austin_Malone]

Another option is to have it worked on. I didn't believe it until I tried it but customized nibs truly are the best. It will cost you around $30 and you can even get flow adjustment and a custom grind, after all this pen is supposed to last a lifetime, isn't it worth the investment?

[Scrawler]

I am new to Pelikan pens and was unaware there might be any issues regarding holding it. My M400 was made in the 1950s and has a medium stub nib. I would have expected a stub to be more finicky that a ball nib. But it is not more so than any other pen. I took it into my hand and wrote as I normally do, at the same angle and just wrote. Since seeing this thread I have tried to take more notice of any specific requirements it has and note none. So it must be either that these pens are flexible, within limits of the writing angle, or that my hand has been trained by years of use to automatically fall into a specific writing angle.

[LagNut]

I've had three Pelikans, and all have started immediately, and don't skip. The first was by Richard Binder, so that doesn't count. But two since then that started and work great "out of the box". M800 from missing-pen and m200 from Fountain Pen Hospital. All extra fine nibs, though the 800 started out with a 30BB.

[GING GING]

This has always troubled me because there is nothing odd about the way I hold any writing instrument; and yet my hand and forearm gets very stiff. I'm sure I choke the life out of my FPs when I write. The notion of holding a pen lightly seems foreign to me. I guess I just need to purposely practice this.

[Ian]

Richard Binder adjusted my pen Friday morning. The first thing he said is "You can drive a MAC truck through these tines." He then told me there are three possible directions a nib can be out of whack. Mine was out in two directions. After he worked on it he had me test it. He informed me that I "white knuckle" the pen. He told me he should be able to easily snatch it from my hand while I'm writing. It is an expensive pen. I don't want to drop it or get it stolen by roving nibmeisters.

The pen writes fine now, but I'm not sure if I like it. A medium is so incredibly broad. I don't think I will be able to use it for much more than signing Christmas cards and possibly writing place cards, but I normally use a Parallel for place cards.

[dduran]

Sorry to hear it's writing a lot broader than expected. But M1000s are like that, because of its generous flow and springiness (more due to its size). Had one before, the EF writes more like a Medium!