The “old school” Twist and the “new Coke” Twist are quite different in aesthetics! The older Twist is brightly colored (it came in a variety of hues), whereas the new Twists tend to have slightly more muted colorways. But the really big difference is the pen body!

Whereas the older version is a round barrel and cap with a slightly tapered section, the new Twist is all angles. I have to say that on aesthetics, the new Twist wins for me. Despite its slightly less vibrant colors, those angles are so appealing! It also has a slightly reduced tapered section.

Both models are plastic barreled. In the case of the older Twist the pen comes in weighing a cool 10g; the newer pen weighs 21g coming in closer to a Lamy Safari or TWSBI Eco. Both pens feature snap caps that are postable. The older version has a clip; the newer version has an angled body to keep it from rolling away so they haven’t added a clip. They’re relatively close in length, with the newer TWSBI running about 1/4″ longer.

There is some difference in the nibs. Both are steel and marked with a single bird. The nib on the older version is slightly smaller than the newer one. The older nib is unmarked, whereas the newer nib is a medium (no options on it as far as I can tell).

Both take international cartridges. The older pen came with a long one, and the newer one came with two short ones.

So let’s get down to the details. Which one do I like better? Going into this, I was convinced that I was going to be a fan of the new Twist. As I said before the aesthetics made it much more appealing to me. It’s fun, it’s cool, it’s so different (reminds me a bit of the fun shapes of the BENU pens).

But the writing experience was definitely the deciding vote for me, and I just didn’t care for the newer Twist. In the older Twist I had assumed that the nib was a medium, but it was actually a crisp writer and wrote more like a western fine nib. Pelikan nibs are somewhat known for being wet writers, and this wasn’t at all. The smaller girth of the pen was super easy to hold in my hand with zero fatigue.

The newer Twist was simply harder for me. While I don’t hate the triangular grip as much as I hate the Lamy Safari’s angled grip, it just wasn’t comfortable in my hand. I think the pen might just be too big for me (do remember that I have super special tiny hands so it might be a me thing.) The thing I disliked the most was the nib. While it wrote softly with no friction, it was kind of all over the place. It felt much more like writing with a Pelikan medium firehose.

This was a superfun comparison, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to be using that old Twist a lot!

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided free of charge by Endless Pens. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Let’s do the twist! Pelikan Twist old and new. appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

10. Diamine

Diamine is a tried-and-true brand with a huge range of colors and multiple lines: the standard line, the 150th anniversary collection and the new Inkvent collections. The prices for each of the collections are so reasonable that I think the inks are often overlooked — and sometimes overwhelming. Diamine has often worked with fans like FPN and Reddit to create custom limited edition inks too. The most recent Celadon Cat was a Reddit fans collab.

The standard line of inks are available in 30ml (about $8 each) and epic 80ml bottles (about $17 each). The 150th anniversary line come in 40ml pie-wedge shaped bottles and sells for about $18 per bottle. Many colors can even be purchased in standard international cartridges (18 cartridges for approx.$9) .

If you’re just looking into Diamine inks and haven’t fallen down the rabbit hole of the Inkvent inks yet, one of the most popular colors is Red Dragon, a deep red with a bit of gold sheen. Ancient Copper is also a popular choice.

9. Pen BBS

Pen BBS is a Chinese online fountain pen community much like FPN in the West. They started creating their own inks and pens pre-2016 (thats the earliest date I have on a bottle of ink) and has continued to produce new colors ever since then. Originally, Pen BBS inks came in massive 60ml faceted bottles with engraved logo caps. As new series have been released the bottles have changed size and shape but the quality and wide range of color options have continued. When the shimmer inks trend first took off, Pen BBS lead the way with the finest shimmer particles and remains one of my favorite options for shimmer inks. June Pearl No. 226 is a delightful pale purple with silver shimmer. If you can find a bottle, I highly recommend it.

Lily of the Valley No. 507 is a great option as well, its a watery green with just a hint of blue. Its another one to keep a look out for. Vanness is clearing out the Pen BBS inks so what’s left is marked down considerably. Get a bottle while you can!

8. Pelikan Edelstein

Pelikan 4001 is a classic ink but when Pelikan introduced the jewel-inspired Edelstein line, they really helped to launch a new era of fountain pen ink fans. As a result of being one of the earliest to create new inks in a wider range of colors, Pelikan Edelstein is often overlooked until they announce their “ink of the year”. The 2023 color is Rose Quartz. Each bottle is 50ml for about $28 per bottle. It’s not the most affordable ink in this list but its a good ink in a beautiful, desk-worthy bottle.

One of my favorite Edelstein colors is Jade, a bluish green. It’s a very pretty, unusual shade. But if you are purchasing your first Edelstein ink, Smoky Quartz is also a great option.

7. Callifolio

Callifolio is an ink made by a French art supplies company.  Each of their ink colors come in a 40ml pie-shaped bottle (just like the Diamine 150th Annivesary inks for about $13 per bottle) or a 50ml refill pouch for about $10.25USD. The palette of colors (or should  say “colouers”) is truly sophisticated and refined.  Inti and Heure Doree (Golden Hour) were early alternatives to the coveted but hard to get KWZ Honey for a short time but now I think that the Callifolio options are a better option for those golden-y yellows without the controversial fragrance of the KWZ inks. Don’t get me wrong, I still like the way KWZ Honey smells but I think I might be in the minority.

If you’re looking for a gateway color from Callifolio, I recommend Gris de Payne (Payne’s Grey), a smoky steely blue-grey color. The previously mentioned Inti and Heure Doree are also solid first-time Callifolio options.

6. Papier Plume

Papier Plume is a small New Orleans pen shop that makes their own inks. They have made many standard colors as well as New Orleans-themed colors and many, many special editions. Their standard 30ml bottles sell for $8 to $10 per bottle.

Get in touch with your inner Nawlins with one of the New Orleans collection colors like one of my favorites, Sazerac, a deep orange that makes me thirsty just looking at the swatch.

5. De Atramentis

DeAtramentis offers over 475 (actually 492 inks according to Vanness Pen Shop) different ink colors including the most insane array of scented inks. If you’ve ever participated in one of the Vanness open house events during the Arkansas Pen Show, you might have been forced to endure one of our “guess the ink stink” games and been forced to sniff Leather, Motorbike, Cannabis, or help us all, Horse. No joke.

They have lovely floral scents as well. And document inks, artists inks, shimmer inks, . But the array of colors is why I stick with DeAtramentis (40ml bottles for about $14) after all these years. My favorite ink from my earliest days of fountain pens in Pigeon Blue but the Deepwater Obsession Black Edition series is a great collection of dark colors. I especially like Black-Red.

4. Kaweco

While the Kaweco ink line is a little smaller than most with just 10 colors, it’s a classic assortment. Previously, the inks came in the 30ml bottles shown above but now the inks ship is square shaped jam jars. These 50ml bottles sell for $11 per bottle.

The Summer Purple, Smokey Grey and Paradise Blue are my favorite shades in the line so if you’re trying to decide where to start with Kaweco inks, I recommend one of these three.

3. Lamy

Lamy’s stock ink line (AKA T52, approx. $12.50 per bottle) comes in the most unique 50ml bottle. The exterior of the bottle includes a channel with an absorbent tape to wipe off your nibs after filling your pen. While there are not a ton of colors in the line, if you need a staple ink, having one of the colors available from Lamy is a great addition to your collection.

Lamy has their posher T53 “Crystal Ink” line but these come in smaller 30ml bottles for approx. $16 each. The colors are more sophisticated but the bottles don’t have the tissue tape.

Both the Crystal Inks and the standard line offered the Vibrant Pink color which is one of my favorites. It’s not super vibrant but provides a stunning pink color. The Vibrant Pink was a limited edition color for 2018 and can still be found if you look around for it. The Vibrant Pink contains some gold flecks which gives off a fabulous gold sheen. Rhodonite from the Crystal Ink line is the same color if you can’t find it in the T52 bottle.

2. Waterman

Waterman inks are the inks I most recommend to people looking for inks that are “safe for vintage pens”. But Waterman inks aren’t just for vintage pens. The line of 10 classic colors have some hidden features at a price that won’t shock your wallet. Several of the 10 colors have some sheening properties including Serenity Blue Audacious Red and Tender Purple. Each 50ml bottle costs about $12. If you’re looking to have a couple tried-and-true inks that can be used in any pen, you can’t go wrong with Waterman.

…and finally…  1. Monteverde

Monteverde is by far one of my favorite inks. It’s well-behaved and some of my favorite ink colors are from Monteverde. Its not an ink that people talk about in rhapsodic tones but I do. It’s inexpensive, there are some amazing colors. The box sets of 10 colors in 30ml bottles ($100 pr set)  are great gateways for new ink collectors too.

Monteverde inks are available in 30ml (MSRP $10)  and 90ml bottles (MSRP$20) so ints relatively inexpensive to purchase a small bottle and, if you really love an ink, 90ml for $20 (or less) is a deal. A couple years ago, Monteverde had a brief issue with a couple colors of ink having mold or scumming issue but those have been resolved. Unfortunately, it has given a lot of folks pause before purchasing. I spoke with a representative from the company earlier this year and he assured me the problems have been resolved and any bottles with issues were replaced with no questions — even when people insisted they had issues with bottles that were not actually from the affected batches. That said, there’s no reason to hesitate in purchasing ink from Monteverde.

Monteverde inks are also available in standard international packs of 12 for approx. $6 each, not all colors are available in cartridges but this gives some great color options for on-the-go needs.

If you’ve not tried a Monteverde ink before, I recommend either California Teal, a great green-teal with sheen or, my favorite ink, Birthday Cake.

California Teal was a favorite sheening ink a couple years back but as more ink makers have created sheening inks, people have forgotten about California Teal. I still think its one of the best sheeners. Its a deep green that has a hint of blue and a red sheen. It looks good, even in fine nibbed pens.

Birthday Cake is a deep, muted purple ink is the perfect balance between a unique, unusual color and a good everyday writer, even subdued enough for the office. Birthday Cake has been my go-to ink all year and I may have to invest in one of the 90ml bottles.

There are lots of other ink brands I could have mentioned here. Which under-appreciated inks would you include in a list like this?

The post Top 10 Under-Appreciated Ink Brands appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

The M200-series feature stainless steel nibs. This makes the M200-series the least expensive of their “Souveran” pen line. The set, with ink, purchased for the EU is considerably cheaper than buying it domestically because of some weird pricing strategies for the US and North American market.

The Pelikan Moonstone is available in a range of nibs sizes and also as a ballpoint if your fountain pen collection has reached critical mass.

After my fuss about pen companies (that should not be named) that do not include converters with pens over $50, I am inclined to prefer piston pens which do not require converters. As such, the M205 is one of the best “next step” pens when you are looking to upgrade to a more upscale fountain pen.

The Star Ruby M205 was a huge success last year so Pelikan played it safe and made the Moonstone M205 in a similar translucent plastic embedded with glitter. To be honest, I like the look of the Moonstone, even more than the Star Ruby. The Moonstone 205 has a subtle bling to it where the Ruby is much flashier.

The Pelikan M205 Moonstone Pen and Ink Set (€123.14) ships in a paperboard box and includes the pen and a full bottle of the Pelikan Edelstein Moonstone ink.

Upon close inspection, the microfine sparkles embedded in the translucent grey material are opalescent creating a sort of stardust effect. This effect definitely reinforces the gemstone vibe that Pelikan set out with the naming and theme of the inks.

The nib is steel but the M200-series steel nibs from Pelikan are some of the softest steel nibs I’ve used. Early in my fountain pen days, they were too soft for me but over the years, my writing style has changed. I think I write with a lighter touch and are therefore more able to appreciate the Pelikan steel nib. Depending on your writing style, the softness of this nib may be difficult for some writers to use.

It’s not a flex nib but if you write with a heavy hand, it is possible to choke the ink flow.

The Ink:

Pelikan Edelstein Moonstone is a pleasant change in the “ink of the year” from this ink line. The color is a beautiful mid-range, cool-neutral grey. It’s dark enough to be legible even in a fine nib but not so dark that it starts to look like a faded black.

Performance-wise, the ink is smooth and largely odorless. (Some inks have a distinct smell and I don’t notice any with the Pelikan Edelstein inks).

When used with a large folded nib, the shading and range of shading is stunning. It reminds me of the range of color of the moon in photos from the Apollo program.

There is a little color shifting in the ink between a cool blue and a warm golden undertone.

In regular writing samples, even with the M205 EF, the ink is still legible. With slightly wider nibs, the ink color really starts to show its character.

This close-up image shows the slight flex of the nib as well as the non water-proofiness though the ink does stain the paper just a bit. The shading it visible quite well here.

On Tomoe River paper, the ink appears slightly darker and the swatch shows a bit more of the color-changing effects.

When compared to other grey ink options, there are a lot of similar shades. Lamy Agate has a greenish undertone that makes it notably different. Montblanc Heritage Spider Metamorphosis Web Grey is more blue-violet in its undertone. Montblanc Oyster Grey  is slightly darker. Kaweco Smokey Grey is probably the closest match.

Tools:

• Paper: Rhodia Uni-Blank No. 16 with 6mm guide sheet, Curnow Backpack Notebook, Col-o-ring Folio (available soon)
• Pens: Pelikan M205 Moonstone with EF nib (comes as a set with full 50ml bottle of ink for €123.14 or individually for €114.46), Toronto Pen Company PENtastic folded pens (C$60.00)
• Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10) & Col-o-dex Rotary Cards ($15)
• Ink:  Pelikan Edelstein Moonstone (€14.05 for 50ml bottle)

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided by Appelboom for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Fountain Pen Review: Pelikan Classic M205 Moonstone Fountain Pen Set appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

I do love my Pelikans, so when we saw that Pen Chalet had the Pelikan M205 Demonstrator (MSRP $200, on sale now for $120) on sale at a screaming good price, I decided I needed one.

The Pelikan M205 Demonstrator has a pen body made of clear resin. It has Pelikan’s standard piston-filling technology, so it’s only usable with bottled ink, but that’s not a problem in this house! The M205 has silver trim and your choice of standard steel nibs in XF, F and M sizes.

The Pelikan is on the smaller side coming in at 4.875″ long and a measly 0.4oz and 11g.

I find Pelikans to be lovely writers and this one, with a fine nib, is no exception. It fills easily and writes right away out of the box.

This Pelikan joins the other two in my collection; last year’s M205 Star Ruby and an M200 Blue Marbled from the 1980’s from my dad.

It also joins other demonstrators like my TWSBI ECO’s and my Moonman. I do love being able to see the ink and the inner workings of the pen!

• Paper: Ghost Paper Notebook ($25)
• Pen: Pelikan M205 Demonstrator (MSRP $200, on sale now for $120)
• Ink: Diamine Florida Blue (30mL, $7.50)

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Fountain Pen Review: Pelikan M205 Demonstrator appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

As I said a few weeks ago, when I laid eyes on the Pelikan M205 Star Ruby, I knew I wanted it right away. It wasn’t just the color, but the sparkle that got me! I’m happy to say I wasn’t disappointed.

The M205 Star Ruby is Pelikan’s Special Edition Demonstrator Pen for 2019, and is paired with a matching Edelstein ink of the same name. The M205 is at the less expensive of the Pelikan line, coming in at an MSRP of $210 and available many places for $168. I bought mine from Vanness Pen Shop (pen & ink set for $188)!

The M205 Star Ruby is a demonstrator pen with a piston filling mechanism. The body is inspired by the beautiful of the “star ruby” gemstone and features a special crystal effect that makes the pen sparkly and shiny without obvious glitter or other elements. It is subtle, but beautiful. The pen is finished off with chrome rings in silver and of course the signature Pelikan finial.

This time I decided to try a Pelikan EF nib (standard nibs are available in EF, F, M and B) and see how I liked it. I’ve come to find that in Japanese pens, EF tends to be a bit too fine and scratchy for me, but Pelikan is known for broader Western-style nibs, so in this case it gets me what I approximate as a Japanese fine to medium, and I love it.

The M205 is a really nice pen. I had no problem filling it with ink and it wrote right away and was super smooth! While I wasn’t 100% sold the last time I reviewed an M600, it may have been a nib issue because this time I love the feel.

Overall, I’m super pleased with both the quality and feel of this pen. If this is something that catches your eye, I’d say go for it! It is a limited edition so supplies won’t last forever.

• Paper: Ghost Paper Notebook ($25)
• Pen: Pelikan M205 Star Ruby (Pen & Ink set for $188)
• Inks: Pelikan Edelstein Star Ruby (50ml for $28.00)

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Fountain Pen Review: Pelikan M205 Star Ruby appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Vanness Pen Shop, where mine came from is temporarily sold out, but you can still order from Pen Chalet or Goldspot! Review forthcoming…

The post Eye Candy: Pelikan Classic M205 Fountain Pen in Star Ruby appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

As promised in last week’s review of the Pelikan Violet & White fountain pen, this week’s review is all about the nib I chose for this beautiful pen.

I have previously had experience with both steel (Amythyst M200) Pelikan nibs and gold (Honey and White M400) Pelikan nibs. I have enjoyed the quality of both the steel and gold nibs, however, my writing preference has always pulled towards very fine nibs. Even with the extra fine nib in the Pelikan line-up, I found they were still too broad for my taste.

With the Pelikan Violet & White fountain pen, I decided to look outside of the standard nib offerings from Pelikan into a custom ground nib.

For anyone who has not experienced a custom ground nib, I cannot recommend this option enough. No stock nib (extra fine, fine, medium, broad, etc.) can come close to the feel of a nib that has been ground by an experienced nibmeister.

Typical stock nibs (excluding stub nibs) are tipped with a small ball of iridium. The effect of this ball is to give a smoother writing experience (because of the rounded tip) and to give the nib a longer life (iridium is a very hard material, harder than steel or gold). However, the rounded surface of the nib also gives a wider line. Imagine using a used crayon with a rounded tip. It writes smoothly but puts down a wide line.

Enter a nib meister. Using various tools, a nib meister removes a portion of this tipping material to shape the amount of the nib that will come into contact with the paper while writing. by changing the shape of the nib tip, the width and shape of the written lines also change.

Common nib grinds include narrowing the tip (changing from a fine to an extra extra fine, for instance), a stub nib (shaping the tip of the nib into a rectangle rather than a ball), italic nib (a stub nib with sharp edges for a crisp line) and others. Here is a more detailed explaination.

* From Nibsmith.com

Now for the tough part. Because custom ground nibs are, well, custom, they are not an item that can be ordered from the manufacturer. Some manufacturers offer custom ground nibs for an additional fee with their pens, and nib meisters offer their grinding services on nibs that you already have purchased. Nib meisters, however, often have long waits for their services. Pen shows are the best place to find these services since the nib meister can also make minute changes to make sure the nib is right for your writing style.

Unfortunately, not everyone can attend a pen show. Even at a pen show, nib grinding services are in high demand and waitlists often fill as the show is starting. Dan Smith of Nibsmith offers an interesting way around this problem by offering a variety of custom nib grinds on any pen sold in his store. These are also offered at his table at pen shows where he grinds nibs to order.

The first time I tried a custom ground nib, my fountain pen experience reached a new level – a needlepoint nib that was finer than any I had ever tried previously. Stub nibs that created a thick line (but with clean edges) in one direction and a fine line in another direction! My writing looked completely different (much nicer in my opinion).

This is the reason I decided to obtain my Pelikan pen from Dan. I requested a cursive italic nib grind on a medium nib (this means the tip of the nib is made into a rectangle with somewhat sharp edges) and I asked Dan to make the cursive italic a bit on the crisp side (to make the edges a bit sharper).

These small changes in the nib (only a small amount of material is removed from the nib but in a very specific way) make a world of difference. The vertical lines are thick, the horizontal lines are thin and the edges of all lines are well defined and not rounded. I am amazed at the difference in the appearance of my line and each time I write, I smile at the feel and look of my writing.

If you are able to attend a pen show, Dan offers each of his nib grinds on sample pens to help with selecting the nib grind best for your taste. If you can’t get to a show, you can still experience these next-level nibs on pens purchased from Dan just by ordering online!

The post Nib Review: Grind from NibSmith appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Earlier this year, Pelikan announced the newest special edition: the Pelikan Violet & White M600 ($440-$535). As soon as I saw the photos of this pen, I fell in love with it and I wasn’t alone. Purple seems to be an especially rare color in the pen world.

So far, I have only given into the less expensive, smaller Pelikan models in the 200 and 400 sizes; I didn’t feel the need for a larger pen since I typically reach for small pens. The Pelikan M600 is not much different than the M400 in length (M400 is 127mm long while the M600 is 134 mm long) nor in diameter (M400 is 11.7mm and the M600 is 12.4mm) but for my small hands, I always thought the jump was a big one. As a quick reference, a Lamy Safari is 139mm in length and 13.8mm in diameter.

The weight of the M600 is a bit over 17gms, placing it among the lighter pens in our common pen chart.

But. Purple. Not “purple” that is actually deep blue. The Pelikan Violet & White comes in a striking box that appears laced up the front that gives an air of elegance in the presentation. Rather than the laces closing the box, they are only for show; the box has covered magnets in the flaps and opens to reveal the pen held in place with another ribbon.

The Pelikan Violet & White edition brings to mind (at least to me) Victorian, striped silk in a parlor or perhaps fancy, striped candy. I have heard a few comments that the gold trim was a disappointment, but personally, I think the color combination is perfect. The two-tone, 14kt gold nib keeps the gold trim in check.

Like I said earlier, I usually reach for smaller pens. However, the M600 felt like a refreshing change; the fact that I refuse to post such a beautiful pen helps keep the length reasonable for me. The uncapped pen feels perfectly weighted to me and is light, great for long writing sessions.

One thing I appreciate about Pelikan pens – every Pelikan feels familiar as soon as I pick it up. Well-made pieces that endure through the years, only getting better with age. I love the classic black-and-green stripes that Pelikan has historically used and the Violet & White echos that tradition. The new violet color seems less an expression of popular colors than simply adding another classic color combination to an extensive lineup. I’m quite happy that Pelikan decided to add such a beautiful pen to their ever-growing flock.

Etched into the end cap is the brand’s namesake pelican and a single chick.

A closeup of the barrel of the Violet & White shows that the barrel is not translucent like many of the striped Pelikan pens. That does mean that there is no visual cues to the level of your ink; I enjoy both versions of ink appearance, but I do think it would have been handy in this case. However, that also means the distraction of ink level does not take aways from the overall look of the pen.

One decision I had to make was where I would purchase the Violet & White edition once it was released. Having purchased a gold nib Pelikan before, I knew I would want the nib altered. I love Pelikan’s fine and extra-fine nibs (Pelikan, being a German company, has nibs that run broader than Japanese nibs), but for my lovely purple Pelikan I wanted something different. Dan Smith (or Nibsmith) offers specialty nib grinds for pens purchased through him. Dan ground a lovely cursive italic for me from a Pelikan medium nib. It is lovely enough that I need a second review just for the nib – watch for part two next week!

Pelikan selected a two-tone gold nib for this edition and the 14k gold gives a touch of softness to the writing feel. It is a pleasure to write with any of their gold nibs, but there’s nothing quite as nice in my mind as a crisp italic nib and the medium nib was perfect base to create the italic nib. It give my writing a bit of line variation without feeling cramped. Again, please watch for the nib review next week.

As I said earlier in the review, purple is a rare color in the pen world. The Pelikan Violet & White is a perfect addition to those occasional purple special editions and I’m very pleased with how Pelikan has chosen to create this pen. Even though the price on the M600 is steep, my experience with Pelikan pens tells me that each pen ages beautifully and keeps its value over time.

I have never regretted a Pelikan purchase and this is one that I am absolutely going to add to my collection and keep in everyday rotation. Modern gold nibs pens start around $150 but typically cost $250 to $300. Is the Pelikan Violet & White worth twice as much as other gold nib pens on the market? Because of the luxurious look and feel of the purple, white and gold combination, along with knowing the performance and durability of Pelikan pens, I think it is well worth the money. This is a pen that I hope to pass down to my children and grandchildren one day. Especially if one has an eye for purple.

The post Fountain Pen Review: Pelikan M600 Violet & White appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

When Pelikan released the photos of the Souverän M600 Turquoise-White I was pretty smitten.  Even though it was more than any pen I had owned previously, I was dying to get my hands on one.  So when Pelikan offered to loan a ballpoint and fountain set to the Desk for review, Ana made me promise three times to return it when I was done.

The Souverän M600 Turquoise-White is the newest special edition Pelikan (it joins previous White and Pink editions).  The set feature barrels with Pelikan’s signature stripes white and turquoise acetate, white end caps, and 24 carat gold accents (rings and clip).  The fountain pen features a 14 carat two toned nib with rhodium trim.  When given a choice of nib, I asked to test an EF.

The first thing I noticed when I received these pens was the color difference between the promotional photos and the pens themselves. While the promotional photos showed a much greener-leaning color, the pens I received were bright blue. They do remind me of turquoise tropical waters, but not so much of the turquoise gemstone.

The pens themselves were beautiful. I spent most of my time with the fountain pen, which I filled with J. Herbin Orange Indien for a nice contrast. The pen wrote smoothly from the get go. The nib itself was wider than I was used to (Pelikans have Western sized nibs, so an EF writes more like a Japanese Fine or Medium), but writing with it was like butter. It just glided over the page, unlike any other pen I have used.

The pen itself is moderately sized, just on the upper end of what is comfortable for my small hand. As you can see below, I have an M200 that is a bit shorter and thinner, and the M600 is close to the width of the Sailor 1911 and the Platinum 3776, if a bit shorter. The fountain pen comes in at 18 g unfilled, and 13.3 cm unposted (the cap does post, yielding a length of 15.4 cm. The ballpoint weights 24.9 g and is 12.8cm long.

I should say, that I did test the ballpoint and was quite impressed with how it wrote. I admit that most of my ballpoint experience is either at the low end of the market (Pentel R.S.V.P. Fine at work) or in the Retro 51 category (I love my Retro 51s). The Pelikan ballpoint was quite a different experience; it required very little pressure and the application was fairly even compared to those Pentels!

Overall, I really enjoyed the opportunity to test the Pelikan Souverän set. They are beautiful pens and I aspire to own one some day!

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were loaned free of charge by Pelikan for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Fountain Pen Review: Pelikan Souverän M600 Turquoise White appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Over time, I learned that as the numbers got bigger (for the most part) the Pelikan pens get larger and the nibs and craftsmanship get more elaborate. The 200-series features the slightly-soft, steel nibs, the 400-series introduces the gold nibs and the pens get a bit larger and then the Souveran and 600-, 800- and 1000-series get a bit larger and more elaborate with inlay and upgraded nibs, clips and so forth.

My first experiences with the soft steel nibs of the M200 series did not go as planned, As much as the Pelikan aesthetic appealed to me, the soft steel nibs did not work well out of the box with a left-handed writer. They are a nib that requires testing firsthand or working with a nibmeister to get the most out of them. This seems counter-intuitive for the lower end of the price spectrum for Pelikan pens but for lefties who tend to push their pens rather than pull, this is an unfortunate reality. So, I have been reticent to try another Pelikan for several years.

This year, though, I visited with a Pelikan collector  at a couple pen shows who was an enthusiast and showed me several beautiful, rare Pelikans and talked through some of the finer points of the pens. In educating me about the pens and nibs and letting me test out the gold nibs firsthand, I was able to realize that it was the steel nibs that had been my frustration and not Pelikan in general. Sad truth? I needed to up my game.

Then Pelikan introduced the Souverän 605 White Transparent this fall and I knew I had found my first Pelikan. I immediately pre-ordered it from Vanness Pens with an extra fine nib, having been warned that the Pelikan nibs run a bit wide and wet.

I anxiously awaited its arrival. The pen immediately became dubbed “The Ghost” online due to its translucent appearance and its white-on-white with silver tone palladium hardware. I prefer “The Ghost” to the less descriptive White Transparent name that Pelikan gave it.

The box that the pen shipped in is the same trashy, ribbon-laced box that the previous M600 Pink Special Edition came in. At least this time it didn’t have a giant bow.

Inside, the box is a simple paperboard inlay with a satin ribbon and rubber band to hold the pen in place. I can almost ignore the ridiculous corset lacing box at this point.

Once I threw the box in the closet and looked closely at the pen, all is better. The pen is stunning. The creamy white cap and end cap and the translucent barrel with iridescent stripes and palladium hardware is all perfectly angelic.

It did take me an inordinate amount of time to choose an ink though. Since the ink color can be seen through the iridescent white stripes of the transparent barrel, I wanted to pick just the right color. I’m sure any color would look good but I wanted something seasonally appropriate too. It’s cold and blustery here in the Midwest so I chose an icy blue, Montblanc Miles Davis Jazz Blue.

When the ink hits the embossed ridges of the nib? Pure magic! That’s one thing that’s hard to argue — Pelikan still makes some of the most beautiful nibs in the business. That scrollwork is gorgeous.

To give a sense of scale, I’ve photographed the Pelikan M605 alongside some other pens. From left to right: Pilot Decimo, Lamy AL-Star, Sailor Pro Gear Slim, TWSBI 580 ECO (Thanks for catching my mix-up, Subgirl!), Pilot Metropolitan, the Pelikan M605 and Kaweco Sport.

The Pelikan is between the Sailor and the Metropolitan in size overall.

Here are the same pens, posted. The grip section is very similar to the Sailor with a very subtle step between the threads and the barrel making it pretty comfortable to hold no matter your hand size or grip.

All of these pens have small nibs too, interesting side note.

Weight wise, the Pelikan M605 weighs 19gms posted/capped and 12gms unposted and filled with ink. It’s probably one of the only pens I find perfectly balanced when posted. The cap posts deeply and solidly so that the pen does not feel top heavy or precarious. If you like to post your pens, the M605 is definitely a pen that will accommodate the urge.

In writing, I was tickled to discover how much I loved writing with the pen from the moment it touched the paper. The gold nib was smooth and had just a little feedback on some papers, enough to know my pen was on the paper and not skating above it.

The M605 did make me want to write “all fancy” and not my normal chicken scratch. I suppose that’s not a bad thing. Maybe this will be the start of a year of penmanship improvement? Maybe I shouldn’t get my hopes up quite yet?

The Ghost has definitely set me on the path to other Pelikan pens. The M805 Ocean Swirl which was released just a month or so after the M605 White Transparent was equally lust-worthy and made me seriously wonder if I was on a slippery slope of Pelikan pen obsession. Luckily, my wallet intervened.

TOOLS

• Paper: Rhodia Uni-Blank No. 16 with 6mm guide sheet
• Pen: Pelikan M605 Souverän White Transparent EF
• Ink: Montblanc Miles Davis Jazz Blue

The post Fountain Pen Review: Pelikan M605 Transparent White EF “The Ghost” appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.