Posts filed under Pelikan

Pelikan Edelstein Apatite Ink Review

Pelikan Edelstein 2022 Ink of the Year Apatite

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

Pelikan's gemstone ink of the year is a light turquoise color called Apatite. Compared to past blue-green shades, it's lighter than Aquamarine and bluer than Jade. It's a lovely shade that will no doubt delight fans of the blue-green ink family.

Chromatography on this ink shows a basic cyan base color with a splash of bright green mixed in, which gives it a cooler aqua undertone. Think 1990s swimming pool. It shows some shading in print writing, but almost none in cursive writing. It does not have any sheen. Overall, it's an unfussy color. It's dark enough to read on the page without too much trouble, but it's too pale and fun to pass as a businessy color.

The closest color match I found was Colorverse Eagle, part of the Apollo 11 series, which has the same cooler blue undertone. They're not quite twins, but so close that they'd be difficult to tell apart in writing. Other colors in my swab collection all skew much greener.

I would consider this a dry ink. It flows well in the pen, but writing with it has a dryer feel, and the ink on the page dries completely in 20 seconds. This would make a good ink for lefties, or for writing quick notes where you want to turn the page or close the book as soon as possible.

There's no water resistance to the ink. There's no trace of a line left even when a water drop is quickly and carefully removed with blotting. When water is wiped away, it erases the ink completely.

The gemstone line comes in a 50ml glass bottle that sells for around $28, which is a fair price for a bottle of this size. The bottles are steady and easy to fill from, with wide mouths and a solid base, so there's little risk of spilling and even big pens can be easily filled.

I'm a big fan of the gemstone inks from Pelikan, and while this shade isn't my favorite from this line, its swimming pool summer vibes will be much needed in the winter months to come.

(Vanness Pens provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on September 8, 2022 by Sarah Read and filed under Pelikan, Edelstein, Ink Reviews.

Pelikan Jazz Ballpoint Pen Review

I am thoroughly enjoying the Pelikan Jazz Ballpoint pen. That shouldn’t come as a surprise given that I enjoy ballpoint pens, and Pelikan makes great products. It should be good! But, what I realized with the Jazz is not only that it’s good, but it’s good enough to make me think I’ve been missing out.

Ballpoint pens are continually underrated. Why is that? The problem with ballpoints is that we have all used terrible ones. Scratchy, skippy, dry, messy, sticky. There are some bad adjectives to describe some of these pens we have used in the past.

But modern ballpoints, using superior refill technology, are fantastic. Even great.

The Pelikan Jazz is a new pen to me, and reasonably new to Pelikan’s lineup as a whole. It has classic Pelikan design elements, like the clip, but comes in fun, modern colors like this Orange model. There is even a full pastel lineup, which is what make me take a second look at these pens to begin with.

This is a twist-to-deploy pen, but it keeps tricking me into thinking it uses a knock-type mechanism. The barrel “cap” overlaps the lower barrel, and when I see a design like that, I want to push the cap down to engage and retract the refill. It’s not a problem whatsoever, but that hasn’t stopped me from continuously trying to click it.

The twist takes about half a turn to let loose the Pelikan 337 refill. It ships with a medium (1.0 mm) blue cartridge, in the Parker-style (or international G2) shape, so you can swap it to your hearts content. But I’m not sure you would want to.

This refill is excellent. I expect 1.0 mm ballpoint refills to be smooth, and this one delivered. The lines were solid, and the color was rich. There was little tip residue to be found, although as with many good ballpoint refills, it did pop up from time to time. I never had to wipe it off.

After all of this praise, this must be an expensive pen, right? Well, compared to a Bic Stic, yes. But at $12, compared to other pens in this category, it is priced perfectly. It’s an upgrade to the basic ballpoints in your desk drawer, with enough style and quality to justify the price point.

If you couldn’t tell, I’m kind of enamored with it. I like having it around to pick up and use on a whim for just about any task. It may be worth grabbing another simply because I’m having so much fun with this one.

(Goldspot provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on October 18, 2021 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Pelikan, Ballpoint, Pen Reviews.

Pelikan M205 Moonstone Fountain Pen Review

Be still my glitter goth heart. I held off on the Pelikan M205 Moonstone, because I already have the Star Ruby, and I told myself I didn't need this one, too. We all lie to ourselves, sometimes. It continued to haunt me. Thankfully, Brad (the best) sent one my way from JetPens, and I am so glad he did. This is a gorgeous pen, and totally in keeping with the quality I expect from Pelikan.

Like the Ruby, this one is really difficult to photograph. The pen looks plain grey in so many photos, but it's really a misty transparent acrylic that is completely saturated with very fine rainbow sparkles. When you hold it to the light, you can see how transparent it really is, in keeping with the gemstone theme.

It's not only beautiful, but it's a very well-made pen. As I've mentioned before, Pelikan is a brand that doesn't treat its lower-tier pens like lesser-than versions of the expensive models. This pen feels every bit as refined as its upper-echelon peers. It is all flush joins and precise edges with crisp details. Because it's part of the Classic line, and not the Souveran line, it sacrifices a few fancy features for a lower price tag, but it sacrifices absolutely nothing in quality. These Pelikan Classic limited edition pens come in at $192, half the cost of the Souveran specials. That is an increase from when the Ruby came out at under $170, but it's still reasonable for this pen, in my opinion.

It has a steel nib instead of gold, but Pelikan's steel nibs are every bit as smooth as most gold nibs. I have to double-check every time to even be sure it is steel and not gold. This one is an extra fine, but writes more broadly than a lot of extra fine nibs, as Pelikan’s do. It writes very well with a bit of feedback but no scratchiness. This nib is actually a little drier than I like, which is rare for Pelikan. Most of mine have been firehoses, so this may be an anomaly.

The pen body, cap, and grip section are made in ethereal, shimmering acrylic. It has chromium plated trim, with the characteristic Pelikan bill clip. The clip is just the right amount of firm and springy. The finial is black plastic with a silver stenciled pelican with one chick. Overall, it looks classy. It's not glittery in a kitschy way--it's fine, and subtle enough that it looks more like a shimmer, from a distance. Up close, in direct light, you can see the sparks of complex colors and depth to its finish. It's more playful than standard Pelikan fare, but stops well short of glitzy. The cap posts securely, and it is very comfortable to hold, posted or not, for my hands.

I should probably stop trying to resist these Pelikan gemstone limited editions. They're perfectly understated fun, really great quality, and fairly priced. I don't know if future editions will match this perfect blend of glitter and gloom that I love so much, but I have a feeling this isn't my last Pelikan gemstone pen.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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