Pelikan Fountain Pens Explained

Pelikan History

If you haven’t heard of Pelikan, they began in Hanover, Germany in 1838 and were actually known for their inks at first. In 1929 they made their first fountain pen which was famously one of the first piston-fill pens, and have since been developing their line to what it is today. They're also known for their Pelikan Hub, which are global gatherings for the stationery community and Pelikan fans who are especially into pens, paper, and writing. 

Today, Pelikan carries everything from pens to pencils, to glue and even art supplies.  Because of their deep history and impact in the German stationery industry, all of their fountain pens are pretty popular within the stationery community and appreciated for different reasons. Some of those include their extensive history with piston-fill pens–which they’ve been working on and upgrading for almost 100 years now, and the variety of body and physical nib sizes allows you to find your perfect pen! 

Pelikan's Code System

Every pen starts with a letter: P means cartridge/converter fill and M means piston fill. The first digit indicates the size of the pen, and the final two digits indicate the trim or other features of the pen.

All pens starting with 2 have stainless steel nibs, pens that begin with a 4 or 6 have 14k gold nibs, and pens that begin with 8 or 10 have 18k gold nibs. 

All pens come in sizes EF, F, M, and B, and we want to point out that these write pretty thick compared to Japanese fountain pens and even other German brands like LAMY and Kaweco. 

Lineup

Pelikan Elegance: Classic Collection

P200/205: Cartridge/converter fill, stainless steel nib, small size. 

M200/205/215: Piston fill, stainless steel nib, small size. 

Pelikan Souverän Collection

M400/405: Piston fill, 14k nib, small size. 

The 200's and 400's pens are the same body and nib size. The 200's feature a stainless steel nib whereas the 400's have a 14k nib. The finials also differ with the 200's having a mostly black finial where the 400's have one that matches the trim. The 400's also have a double band around the piston mechanism and on the cap, indicating that they are part of the premium Souverän line. 

M600/605: Piston fill, 14k nib, medium size. 

The 600's jump a bit in size compared to the 200's and 400's and offer a slightly larger nib, also made of 14k gold. 

M800/805/809/815: Metal piston fill system, 18k nib, large size. 

The 800's have a large leap in body and nib size from the 600's, and also introduce the 18k gold nib. 

M1000: Metal piston fill system, 18k nib, extra large size. 

The largest pen by far, the 1000's have a large body and 18k nib, comparable to Sailor's King of Pen. 

These are not all the fountain pen lines that Pelikan makes! They have lots of other models in lower price ranges that have stainless steel nibs, as well as other models like the Pura and Toledo which bring us back into the premium end of their fountain pen line.

We focused on the models covered in this blog post because they are the most well-known models, and probably what most people think of when they hear Pelikan. To see a more in depth discussion of the differences between the pens in this line, please check out our YouTube video below!