Posts filed under Pelikan

Pelikan Hubs are Back!!!

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

Can you tell that I’m excited that Pelikan Hubs are back?!?!? After a two year hiatus due to the pandemic, Pelikan Hubs are back! But what are Pelikan Hubs, you ask? According to the Pelikan Hubs site, “Pelikan Hubs connect people who are writing enthusiasts. A worldwide platform that combines knowledge with passion.” I’ve been hearing/seeing a lot of questions about Pelikan Hubs so I thought a little FAQ might be helpful..

What is a Pelikan Hub?

Pelikan Hubs were created by Pelikan as a way for people around the world to meet up with others in the community to enjoy and learn about each other’s fountain pens. Pelikan Hubs are usually held in the fall - usually around September, but this year they will be held worldwide next Friday, November 18, 2022 at 6:30PM.

Do I have to own, want or even like a Pelikan to attend a Hub? Absolutely not! You might not even be a pen enthusiast (yet)! You can own and like whatever pens you want and still choose to go to a Pelikan Hub. There will certainly be folks with many Pelikans in their flock and some with zero and plenty in between.

Pelikan Flock — *Currently inked Pelikans, ready for duty!*

If I don’t have to own a Pelikan, why is it called the Pelikan Hub? Pelikan started the event in 2014 with 69 Hubs and 981 people gathering worldwide and has grown to 199 Hubs and 5,738 participants at the last Hub in 2019. They coordinate the signups (which was during a short period back in August), assignment of Hub Masters and participants and also send out goodies for Hub Masters to share with attendees.

What/who is a Hub Master?

The Hub Master is the person who is responsible for finding a location for their hub, communicating with their hub attendees and coordinating any activities they may wish to do. This could be an “easy” task if you have a small hub (minimum of 7 people), but it could easily be daunting (and expensive) as several hubs have more than 100 members. As a first time Hub Master, I will say that finding a space for 20+ people to meet, that isn’t at a sit-down restaurant, nor outdoors (it’s been chilly and rainy recently), that is conducive to people walking around and trying out each other’s pens, on a Friday Night, is not an easy feat! Don’t be surprised if Hub Masters request a small fee to help with the costs of securing a location or providing food - they should have already let folks know about this ahead of time.

Unfortunately, Pelikan Hub signups have been closed for a couple months now. This is to allow Pelikan enough time to ship their goodies to the Hub Masters. However, you can try to reach out to your local Pelikan Hub Master via the Pelikan Hubs Facebook Group to see if they have room available for you to attend. Just note that Pelikan only sent out enough goodies for the registered attendees, so there may not be any goodies left for unregistered folks.

What can I expect at a Pelikan Hub?

Every Hub can do whatever they like! Based on my past Hubs experience, there may be a speaker with Powerpoint presentation about Pelikans, there might be trivia and raffles, it might be a full sit-down meal (if the Hub Master and attendees have already agreed to it), some might have people selling their goods (always handy to have cash/PayPal/etc handy since you never know who might decide to sell a pen you’re eyeing), but it will definitely be a pen meetup with people bringing their favorite pens for show-and-tell (and try)!

There will also be a Pelikan Hub banner for folks to sign and some goodies from Pelikan too! Folks will be taking pictures and posting them to social media with the hashtag #pelikanhubs - it’s always fun to see the pictures coming in from the Hubs in earlier time zones like Asia and Europe.

Did you say goodies from Pelikan?

Yes, I did! In past years, Pelikan used to give each attendee a bottle of the ink of the year. Unfortunately, this year, due to timing, shipping and logistics, Pelikan isn’t doing that - so if you’ve been thinking about getting this year’s ink (Pelikan Edelstein Apatite), you should get that from your favorite retailer. I won’t spoil it by telling you what they are, but I will say it’s a nice gesture from Pelikan, even if it isn’t something that’ll knock your socks off.

*We discovered that one of our attendee’s shirt matched the ink of the year, Olivine!*

Do I need to bring anything to a Pelikan Hub?

Aside from yourself, you should bring any pens you might want to show off (they don’t have to be Pelikans), your favorite paper/notebook, and maybe even some things to share, giveaway or sell. While Pelikan Hubs are not meant to be a selling event, I find that pen meetups often have people finding something they like and someone else being willing to sell it. If you are having problems with any of your pens, you could also bring it to see if others might have some tips to help solve it. Some Hubs may have pen restorers or nib grinders who might be able to help with minor tweaks - they may not be “working” at the Hub, so if they are there, don’t expect a full-service experience.

Anything else?

Even if you don’t know anyone, I guarantee you that you’ll meet some new people and get to see and try pens. Pen people are pretty friendly, so don’t be afraid to ask to look at something or tell your Hub Master that you don’t know anyone and I’m sure they’ll do what they can to change that! For me, I will be passing around a notebook to have people sign their names, IG or TikTok handles, and what pen/ink they are writing with. It’s also great for finding new inks, discovering new people to follow on IG as well as help me remember who I might have talked to about XYZ, etc.

I hope you’re able to make it to the Pelikan Hub next week and that you’ll have a great time meeting pen people in your area. If not, you can still celebrate by meeting up with pen friends or spending some time with your pens. I’m looking forward to seeing all your #pelikanhubs posts on Instagram!

Posted on November 11, 2022 by Kimberly Lau and 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.)

Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

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.)

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!