So is my M400 an M805?

[Wrathen]

So I bought my VERY first Pelikan off eBay it was listed as a Pelikan M400 in Blue with Medium NIB. In the description it was listed as having an 18c 750 nib I thought that a bit strange for an M400 but figured someone might have swapped it or maybe it was special ordered with an 18c nib. The pictures were not that good and kind of blurry and I though the trim looked more like the Rhodium trim of a M405 more than an M400 but I actually like the Rhodium with the Blue more than I do the Gold anyway so I was happy ether way.

So the pen gets here today in the mail. First thing I notice is that it is indead a M405... the 2nd thing I notice is that the length and weight dont seem right. I have watched a ton of reviews and see it compared in peoples hands and also heard how light the M400 is and it didnt seem right. (I unpacked it at my mail box so I set it aside and drove home thinking all the way ... did I luck out and get something else). Before leaving my mail box I unscrew the piston a bit and see a bit of metal ... this fuels the ... "you might have an M800" thoughts all the way home.

So I get home and break out a ruler (I dont have a micrometer but going to steal my fathers later today) ... Capped it measures right at 14cm and the barrel at 10.5cm by my crappy ruler. I then break out the wife's baking scale and put it on and it registers 29grams. I start getting excited and google M800 states and its very close all things considering. Tie that in with the 18c 750 nib and I'm at this point pretty sure I have an M800. So I break out my TWSBI wrentch and open it up and here is what I found....



So the back assembly is definately some kind of metal but the piston rod is plastic looking. I then stuck it back in so as not to get grease anywhere. It felt and looked like this way the first time the piston had been taken out.

The cap logo is the new style like this but in Rhodium


SOOOO did I luck out and get an M805 in Blue? I am pretty sure I did but since its my first Pelikan I dont have anything to reference it too. The person I got it from when I asked her about the trim and if it might be a M405 not M400 said that when she got it off eBay she was told it was an M400 so thats what she relisted it as....

No matter then case once I got it all cleaned up (it was mailed with a little ink left in it and it got everywhere), assembled, and inked up it writes WONDERFUL and like a dream! It is a thicker line than I'm used to since I'm used to a Vanishing Point EF and a TWSBI Fine. So a Pelikan Medium is very different but I now know what people say when they say "buttery smooth" oh my its good. The weight and balance unposted is great I love the way the pen feels in my hand. Doesnt have much flex to it but it does have nice spring. I play on building myself a light box sometime soon when I do I'll take some non-cellphone pictures and post them up for everyone.

And because I know someone will ask I paid $100 Buy it Now with $5.95 shipping for it.... good deal even if it is a M400 IMO.

-Wrathen

[Laura N]

Yay!

The M400 is much shorter than 14 cm.

Go to this link for some information and size comparison charts.

It sounds like an M800 size, not an M1000 size. Wonderful news.

[Mags]

I am not sure. My M800 is 14 cm long. My 600 is 13 cm long. 12.5 cm long for a 200 and they are the same size as a 400 by all accounts. You may be super happy as an 800 owner after all.

[sargetalon]

Sounds like you made one heck of a lucky buy. All your descriptors would indicate an M805 made sometime 2010-present. The rhodium plated cap top gives you the '05. An M8xx should be 14.2cm and 28.2 grams by weight. The M805 also will have the 18C nib whereas everything below it will have the 14C nib. Also, you have the brass piston assembly so it's pretty much a slam dunk. All other models below the M8xx have a friction fitted assembly that can't be unscrewed. Congratulations!

[tandaina]

Yup, the brass is the dead giveaway. Has to be an 800 or 1000. Congratulations, an 805 at a 405 price is a huge deal!

[Rusty888]

Agree with most. Brass only 800 and up. Great buy

[Wrathen]

I forgot that I never actually posted a picture of the pen. I still havent made myself a light box but here is a picture for now

[Runnin_Ute]

Beautiful M805....

That's a great buy you got.