Pelikan M215 Fine Nib Fountain Pen Review

Shirt, Tie, and Pelikan M215 Fountain Pen

First things first on this review, I want to quickly mention that when I bought this pen, I did a lot of research, but still had a ton of questions on everything under the sun when it came to the line of current and future Pelikan pens.  Lucky for me Tom from Goldspot Luxury Gifts not only knows his stuff, but is incredibly patient and has good contacts at Pelikan who he also got to help answer a question or two for me.  Now sure, Goldspot did give me a minor bloggers discount on this pen and the Noodler’s Blue Black ink that I bought with it, but believe me when I tell you that my praise for their excellent customer service certainly was not bought with a few dollars discount on a $100+ pen.  Having worked in customer service myself, I know and understand the difference between average and great customer service, and Goldspot has definitely proven to be great in that aspect each time I have dealt with them…so thanks to Tom and Goldspot for helping out with this purchase!

My first impression of this pen was that it looked like a “serious” and professional writing instrument.  The shiny black lacquer finish, and the stark contrast of the inlaid platinum rings projected a confident yet modest personality for this pen.  Being that my first thoughts about this pen were more along the serious and professional lines, I thought it would be nice to dress this review up a bit and use one of my favorite shirts and ties in some of the pictures to reinforce that image.

The Pelikan M215 is a very serious and professional looking pen.

I’ve been using this pen for a few weeks now, and it quickly went from just being a situation where I was excited about my new fountain pen to a situation where I ONLY wanted to use my new fountain pen. This Pelikan M215 has a very nice feel to it when you are writing with it. The combination of the solid, but not too heavy metal body with lacquer coating and the smooth (yes, even in a fine sized nib) line that the nib lays down make it a pleasure to write with this pen.  I’ve enjoyed it so much that I have been using it for my every day note taking and updates to my daily planner, which has resulted in me being on my 3rd tank of ink already.  This is no reflection on the capacity of the ink tank, I just think that I have been writing a LOT with this pen.  Speaking of writing, how about we take a look at the obligatory writing sample:

Pelikam M215 writing sample with fine nib. Written with Noodler’s Blue Black ink on Junior sized Levenger Notebook paper.

I have read some other reviews of this pen, and just feedback in general from people who have never used one, and two questions or comments I have seen often involve the size and the weight of this pen.  Some express concern over the smaller size of the pen in comparison to some other pens, while others seem concerned that because of the metal body it might be too heavy for long periods of writing.  Both of these things obviously depend heavily on your own personal preferences and tolerance, but I can say that neither of these was an issue for me.  While the Pelikan is noticeably lighter than my Lamy Studio, it still has a very solid feel, and the weight does not cause any fatigue when writing.  As for the size, yes it is a smaller pen, but all I can say is that I consider myself to have average size hands for a guy and the pen fits comfortably in my writing grip so I have no issues there.

One other thing that is always a point of interest on any fountain pen is the issue of nib creep, or the act of some of the ink coming finding its way out onto the surface of the nib.  I was told by more than one person that I might experience a decent amount of this with the Noodler’s Blue Black ink in this pen, however I have to say that this was not an issue for me.  There was a slight bit of it going on when I first got the pen, but it seems to have worked itself out to what I would consider a bare minimum amount of creep that has no negative impact on my daily use of the pen.

Close up of the Pelikan M215 Fine Nib to show the very minor amount of nib creep experienced with Noodler’s Blue Black ink.

In the writing sample above I did mention the capped (4 15/16″) and posted (6″) size of the pen so the following pictures show the pen displayed in both states.  In these two pictures you can also see the nice design of the clip on the pen, which in reference to the Pelikan name, looks like a front view of a pelicans beak.  I always thought the design and name was a pretty clever, and after reading more about pelicans on The San Diego Zoo website it also makes me wonder if Pelikan is trying to play on the fact that a pelican can hold up to 3 gallons of water in its pouched bill as a way of saying their pens hold a lot of ink?  That may be a stretch, but hey I just thought it was an interesting fact.

With the pen capped

The Pelikan M215 Capped measures up at 4 15/16″.

With the cap posted

The Pelikan M215 with cap posted measures 6″.

As far as I’m concerned, you cant go wrong with one of the Pelikan 215 series pens, they come in multiple designs which can be seen on the official Pelikan site, and for the price you really cant go wrong.   If you are looking for a pen that is a slight step up from something like the Lamy studio, which is itself a great pen, I suggest one of the Pelikan M215 pens.  I think that the quality of the pen and the ease of writing is right up there with my Lamy Studio.  I mentioned in the beginning of this review, I just think it has a more professional and serious look as compared to the Studio’s modern and unique design.  Either way, both are great pens, I just think that different situations might call for different pens.  If you dont want to take my word for it though, just take a look at how classed up Woody looks with it:

The Pelikan M215 and Woody all dressed up and professional looking.

UPDATE: As you can see below in the comments, there was a question regarding the Pelikan Fine sized nib vs. the Lamy Studio Extra Fine sized nib that I wrote about in a previous review.  I’ve updated the writing sample that I did for this review to show a side by side comparison of the two pens.  The writing Lamy Studio used for the writing sample was filled with Private Reserve Velvet Black ink.  I think that the Pelikan nib ends up being slightly more narrow than the Studio nib, but Ill let you decide for yourself, click on the picture below for a closer view.

Pelikan M215 and Lamy Studio writing sample comparison. The Pelikan has a fine nib, and the Studio has an extra fine nib with Private Reserve Velvet Black ink.

UPDATED 4/5/2009:

I had some questions regarding a more detailed comparison of the Lamy Studio EF and the Pelikan 215 F nibs, so I am adding some more photos and writing samples below, hope this helps those who have asked.

First is the writing sample to compare the Pelikan F nib with the Lamy Studio EF nib. I thew in one sample of a Pelikan M205 Demonstrator as well because I have heard people say that they felt the Pelikan nibs were not consistent with each other.

Pelikan F vs Lamy Studio EF nib comparison. Note there is also a Pelikan M205 in the comparison as well just to show two Pelikan F nibs.

Pelikan M215 and Lamy Studio Comparison Photos.

Pelikan M215 and Lamy Studio Side by Side Comparison.

Pelikan M215 and Lamy Studio Side by Side Comparison Uncapped.

Pelikan M215 F nib (on left) and Lamy Studio EF nib (on right) for comparison.

Pelikan M215 and Lamy Studio Nib comparison.