$10 vs $150 Pelikan: You Get What You Don't Pay For

I know I'm not breaking new ground here, but I have to add more fuel
to the fire about cheap pens being made to write well and more
expensive pens made to look pretty...

I just received a Pelikan 75 (Pelikan GO!) pen today. Cost me $10.
Writes beautifully.

By contrast, my Pelikan 600, which cost around $150 is unreliable,
even after doing all of the Da Book tricks.

I've been playing around with FP's for seven years now. So far, I
have found four pens that appear entirely dependable, and all are
lower-end: Pelikan 200 ($50), Bexley Continental ($40), Platinum
Workhorse ($40), and now, my new Pelikan GO! ($10). I might add that
the disposable Pilot Varsity ($3) is a great little writer too.

There's nothing like writing with a good FP. It's unbelievable to
realize however, that in this hobby, you get what you don't pay for.

I'm in the UK and about 15-16 years ago I bought a 'students' plastic
fountain pen from WH Smiths (a high-street stationery chain). It cost about
£1.50 = $2. It wrote like a dream, never dried up and never, ever leaked.
I stopped using it because the cap broke after a few years and I bought a
stainless steel Sheaffer No-nonsense, which has also given good service for
about ten years, although that has been more leak-prone.
Looking at my MB Meisterstuck and thinking about how I have kittens about
dropping it every time I take it out, I feel that you definitely get better
value in the bottom of the FP range.

Regards

Kit Lewis

"David Meale" wrote in message
om...
I know I'm not breaking new ground here, but I have to add more fuel
to the fire about cheap pens being made to write well and more
expensive pens made to look pretty...

I just received a Pelikan 75 (Pelikan GO!) pen today. Cost me $10.
Writes beautifully.

By contrast, my Pelikan 600, which cost around $150 is unreliable,
even after doing all of the Da Book tricks.

I've been playing around with FP's for seven years now. So far, I
have found four pens that appear entirely dependable, and all are
lower-end: Pelikan 200 ($50), Bexley Continental ($40), Platinum
Workhorse ($40), and now, my new Pelikan GO! ($10). I might add that
the disposable Pilot Varsity ($3) is a great little writer too.

There's nothing like writing with a good FP. It's unbelievable to
realize however, that in this hobby, you get what you don't pay for.


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I've only bought pens in the upper range - let's say, over $40 - about 4
times. One was a Mont Blanc, my first really 'good' pen, and I thought it
was great, till I bought a little thin Pelikan Triari (I think that's the
name of it) a year later for about a fifth of the price. Among the best
writers I have are some Yafa Gellisimos, which write wonderfully (I use one
for grading papers - gives a nice fine line, and the rubberized body is
great when I'm writing a lot) and cost less than $20; a Pelikan 200
demonstrator that I found on E-bay for $35; a Lamy Safari, and a no-name pen
I found at a pen store for about $15. Add to that the Parker 51s that I've
found on E-bay, and the ultra-cheap but VERY reliable Hero 329s, and I'm
quite, quite happy.

I also have made it a practice never even to think of buying a more costly
pen if the cheap ones by the same company don't work well. I have one
Aurora Idea that's a great writer, but 2 others never wrote well at all -
I'm not going to take a chance on the same thing happening with an Aurora
that costs more.

Sally

"David Meale" wrote in message
om...
I know I'm not breaking new ground here, but I have to add more fuel
to the fire about cheap pens being made to write well and more
expensive pens made to look pretty...

I just received a Pelikan 75 (Pelikan GO!) pen today. Cost me $10.
Writes beautifully.

By contrast, my Pelikan 600, which cost around $150 is unreliable,
even after doing all of the Da Book tricks.

I've been playing around with FP's for seven years now. So far, I
have found four pens that appear entirely dependable, and all are
lower-end: Pelikan 200 ($50), Bexley Continental ($40), Platinum
Workhorse ($40), and now, my new Pelikan GO! ($10). I might add that
the disposable Pilot Varsity ($3) is a great little writer too.

There's nothing like writing with a good FP. It's unbelievable to
realize however, that in this hobby, you get what you don't pay for.

On 4 Aug 2003 04:53:15 -0700, (David Meale) wrote:

I know I'm not breaking new ground here, but I have to add more fuel
to the fire about cheap pens being made to write well and more
expensive pens made to look pretty...

I just received a Pelikan 75 (Pelikan GO!) pen today. Cost me $10.
Writes beautifully.

By contrast, my Pelikan 600, which cost around $150 is unreliable,
even after doing all of the Da Book tricks.

I have only one "pricey" FP - it doesn't write any better than my M200
pels (or the 400 I got for an incredibly good price.) I recently
posted a rave review on a pen that Giovanni Abrate is looking at (but
not importing as yet.) it's a c/c filler which I try to avoid usually
but lawdy that nib is smooth! And yep, it is a low-end pen -
probably about the same price as the 75. I haven't tried the 75 -
I've been disappointed with most cheap pelikans - but not because of
the nib. simply because they don't entice me to use them like my 200s
do.

Workhorse ($40), and now, my new Pelikan GO! ($10). I might add that
the disposable Pilot Varsity ($3) is a great little writer too.

I found the varsity and it's ilk to just be too fine and scratchy. my
..02 only of course. All depends on what you like.

There's nothing like writing with a good FP. It's unbelievable to
realize however, that in this hobby, you get what you don't pay for.

with the exception perhaps of someday buying a couple of Pelikan
vintage pens I daydream about, I can't imagine spending the kind of $$
on a pen that many collectors/enthusiasts spend. I suppose for pure
artistry such as maki-e pens it *might* be worth it. but...

On 4 Aug 2003 04:53:15 -0700, (David Meale) wrote:

By contrast, my Pelikan 600, which cost around $150 is unreliable,
even after doing all of the Da Book tricks.


Send it in for repair. The 600 should write flawlessly.

As for your observation about the relationship between cost & quality,
I agree. I am becoming increasingly low brow in my pen collecting
habits. I want them to write with and there are a large number of pens
available which are wonderful writing tools, but not overly pricey.

Am I wrong thinking golden nibs writer smoother than steel ones?

Ko


"David Meale" schreef in bericht
om...

There's nothing like writing with a good FP. It's unbelievable to
realize however, that in this hobby, you get what you don't pay for.

Sometimes you are right, sometimes you are wrong. It depends on what gold
and steel nibs we are talking about.
Richard
"Ko van den Boom" wrote in message
...
Am I wrong thinking golden nibs writer smoother than steel ones?

Ko


"David Meale" schreef in bericht
om...

There's nothing like writing with a good FP. It's unbelievable to
realize however, that in this hobby, you get what you don't pay for.

Ko van den Boom wrote:

Am I wrong thinking golden nibs writer smoother than steel ones?

Totally wrong. No basis for such an idea on earth. But some NIBS do
write smoother than others. What they are made of hasn't a thing to do
with it. Frank

wrote in message ...
Totally wrong. No basis for such an idea on earth. But some NIBS do
write smoother than others. What they are made of hasn't a thing to do
with it. Frank

I always understood why smoothness has nothing to do with it, but does a
gold nib have inherently more flex or no?
Thanks,
Richard

On Mon, 4 Aug 2003 23:11:39 +0200, "Ko van den Boom"
wrote:

Am I wrong thinking golden nibs writer smoother than steel ones?

Ko

hasn't been my experience either. My smoothest nibs are stainless
steel nibs. I've only tried 5 or 6 gold nibs. They failed to impress
me. Some felt "mushy" (as opposed to flexible) and others were just
boring without much to offer other than flashy looks. I do have a 14K
gold nib that was "stubbed" by a nibmeister and it is lovely but that
is a function of the nib shape and the care taken to make it smooth
and fun to use - not a function of the gold. prior to getting it
custom shaped it was not getting used at all.