This old Pelikan just has a great nib. I’ve had others — many vintage Pelikans over the years, and even other vintage oblique nibs. This nib is pure joy.
And I like the pen, too. The vintage green striped pen body is particularly translucent. And mine is engraved on the cap with a previous owner’s name: Franz. So I can’t help thinking of this pen as “Franz.” It’s my friendliest pen.
Franz is my first chance to use another KWZ iron gall ink, Iron Gall Turquoise. This ink is gorgeous. It’s a bright turquoise or cyan when wet, then it quickly dries down to the darker color you see. Look at the shading, even from this very wet pen.
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Fountain Pen Follies 
In the last month, I’ve acquired not one but three 400s: green and tortoiseshell models from the 50s, and a tortoise M400 from the 80s. My experience with the 140 wasn’t good, it just felt small to me. I thought the only difference between the 400 and 140 was the cap and knob shape.
How wrong I was. I think the Pelikan 400 comes close to being the perfect pen design: shape, balance, and weight are sublime, at least in my hand. The pen is light, yet feels like a tank. And oh those old Pelikan nibs…volumes have been written, and rightly so.
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Have you tried googling the name, like you did with the person who signed that old postcard from Chicago from the democratic convention?
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Now all you need is another 400 named Hans. (old SNL reference)
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The ink is beautiful — my favorite color!
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