
It took me forever to decide which size to get. The only real way to get the exact right size was to try them out. Lucky for me, I had an extremely generous friend who loaned me an M400, M600, M800 and M1000 for test-driving.
The M1000 was to big, that was evident right away. The M400 was small, but when posted it was a near perfect weight and size. The M600 was my least favorite being to big for me to post but to small to be comfortable un-posted. It was between the M800 and M400. The M800 was almost perfect but just a bit to back heavy for me. At least that's what I thought. After finally debating forever I decided on an M400. I was in the middle of pursuing one when I decided I ought to give give the M800 one last try. This time, I decided to ink it up. After inking it I hit a perfect place. The weight of the ink counterbalanced the piston perfectly. It was just right for my hand. I had hoped this would happen because there are three things I love about the M800 over the M400.
- The M800 has a much bigger nib. I really just like big nibs. :)
- The M800 has a much thicker gripping section. I find this very comfortable for writing with.
- The M800 has the brass piston. For some reason, I just like the thought of a brass piston. It appealed to me in that it would be longer lasting than plastic, and it added a quality heft to the pen.
After deciding in the end upon an M800 it was a matter of choosing a color. I knew I didn't want green so that narrowed it down to blue, red, and black. Black wasn't my favorite thing, to boring for an ultimate grail-pen. Red was very nice. Blue wasn't working for me with that gold trim.
So I decided upon red. I thought the red was just perfect until I saw it. I had forgotten about the M805's. For those who don't know the difference between an M800 and M805 is simply gold and rhodium trim. The rhodium trim is silver in color.
Now I had a pen I really wanted! The "cold" blue color matched perfectly with the silver trim. Now all I needed to do was find a deal on one. I wanted to buy one used and that's what I ended up doing.
About a month after deciding I now have my "grail-pen" in hand. This is the pen I've always dreamed of having but haven't been able to afford until now. It was a big purchase but the satisfaction gained from owning the pen makes it totally worthwhile!
Of course I couldn't post this without taking a bunch of pictures. There will be more pictures later when I do my full review of this pen. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss out on that.
Wow that's a beautiful pen!
One of my favorite design aspects of the Pelikan M400 - M100 pens. The two-tone gold nibs! The pattern is lovely.
This just shows off Pelikans awesome attention to detail! Even the logo is silver on this version of the M805.
I really love my new grail-pen! It's going to get a lot of use from me. Even my nicest pens have to work for a living. :)
This has been my most expensive pen purchase ever and I consider it a very good one. I've never owned an "expensive" pen before so this Pelikan brings a whole new meaning to the word quality for me. This is my third pen in my collection. It's not really a collection though. Each pen has a specific purpose and use.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on my new pen! What do you think of it, do you like it? What might your grail pen be? Drop me a comment and let me know!