Tag: Pelikan M605 White

Pelikan M605 White Transparent: It’s No Candy Cane

Laura11 Comments

Pelikan M605 White Transparent with Pelikan Edelstein Ruby

Here’s the thing about the Pelikan M605 White Transparent: it’s elegant and glamorous. It just is. It’s Lara in Doctor Zhivago; it’s Daenerys Targaryen in her coatdress north of the Wall. It’s Fred Astaire, and Cary Grant. Whatever the circumstances, this pen will remain stylish.

Not even red ink can tart up the White Transparent. Oh, I tried. Up there is the pen filled with Pelikan Edelstein Ruby. It’s no candy cane.

Okay, if you hold the pen up to the light, you can make out the red, but even then, it’s not prominent.

Pelikan M605 White Transparent with Pelikan Edelstein Ruby

That’s the barrel placed against a sunny window and blown up much larger than life. As one does in real life …. Right, never.

Well, I kept trying. Next came a green ink. This is Pelikan Dark Green in the White Transparent.

Pelikan M605 White Transparent with Pelikan 4001 Dark Green

The barrel doesn’t really look much different than with the red ink.

If you really want this pen to look wild and crazy, I’m thinking it will take orange, or maybe turquoise. And even then, maybe not.

I am not going there, in any case. This pen has its own style. Why fight it?

Nonetheless, for posterity, here’s a seasonal ink display. Jingle Bells and Ho Ho Ho and happy holidays to all. Otherwise, doesn’t this seem wrong?

Pelikan M605 White Transparent with Pelikan 4001 Dark Green & Pelikan Edelstein Ruby

I’m running back to the gray and blue inks now.

Pelikan M605 White Transparent: Easy Clean?

Laura6 Comments

Pelikan M605 White Transparent detail

Yes. It cleaned up just fine. That was a question we all had, looking at Pelikan M605 White Transparent. The pen is totally white, except where it’s actually transparent. Incredible looking, but a little concerning, too.

I filled the pen on November 13 with Papier Plume Bayou Nightfall, a lovely ink that’s a grayish blue with a green tint. Bayou Nightfall is not a bright pink or purple, but I did keep it inked for more than two weeks before cleaning it out.

Cleanup was easy and fast, and, as you can see above, there was no staining. The white piston still looks perfect, even up close.

Pelikan M605 White Transparent detail

I can’t say I was seriously worried. It’s a Pelikan, and I have confidence in the brand. I also have confidence in Papier Plume inks, and I know Bayou Nightfall is easy-to-clean. But this pen’s white piston was new to me, and it’s still good to see.

Now that the White Transparent passed its first test, I have a test of my own: figuring out what ink to use next. I’ve been thinking about Pelikan Edelstein Ruby — a favorite red ink and a nice holiday color. My hesitation? Will Edelstein Ruby make the pen look like a candy cane? And if it does, will that be a bad thing?

Decisions, decisions.

 

Pen of the Day: Pelikan M605 White Transparent with Papier Plume Bayou Nightfall

Laura10 Comments

Pelikan M605 White Transparent with Papier Plume Bayou Nightfall

Pelikan M605 White Transparent with medium nib. My new pen and my almost new ink. A winter white pen with a blueish gray ink.

This M605 has palladium trim and a rhodinized nib. The ink has beautiful shading and a quiet, lovely, almost zen-garden, feeling.

Pelikan M605 White Transparent with Papier Plume Bayou Nightfall

The pen barrel is made of transparent clear plastic with translucent white stripes. The stripes are both a fig leaf and a nod to Pelikan traditional design, but except for the stripes, the ink is fully visible in the transparent barrel.

People will have different feelings about that. I’m a demonstrator fan, and I would rush to buy an M605 clear demonstrator pen, should one ever be produced. But many people don’t like Pelikan demonstrators because ink will get trapped in places usually hidden under the section.

This M605 White Transparent is a nice compromise: you only see the ink in the barrel, which will come clean when you flush the pen.

But you do see the ink in the barrel.

And if you really, really love white, that may bother you. If so, a white converter pen is a better idea.

Pelikan M605 White Transparent with Papier Plume Bayou Nightfall

I don’t love white, so I’m good with it.

But you know what I really do love? Look at that photo, at the part of the barrel that’s filled with ink. You can see an oval that looks golden, in the upper part, near the section. That’s the sun, glinting through a tiny bubble where there’s no ink.

Pelikan M605 White Transparent: Winter is Here

Laura15 Comments

Pelikan M605 White Transparent

It took a while, but my new Pelikan M605 White Transparent finally arrived, and it’s gorgeous. If you’ve been hesitating, it’s safe to come out now. Maybe not safe for your wallet, however.

I had been very unsure about ordering this one. Why? Mostly because it was white. But then, even after I took a chance and pre-ordered it, I was nervous: I saw some Instagram posts of the pen that didn’t wow me, honestly.

But, in person, it’s a total “wow.” The transparent part with white stripes looks neat, and the rhodinized trim cools off the warmer white plastic used on the rest of the pen. The combination of warm and cool materials keeps the pen from looking either syrupy or stark. It’s really kind of dazzling.

The cap, section and piston knob are made of the same off-white as on the M605 Pink and the M600 and M400 White Tortoise models, but the effect is different with the different color trim. Here are all three of mine, the two M600-size pens and the M400 White Tortoise.

Pelikan M605 White Transparent, M605 Pink and M405 White Tortoise

I love them all, but I prefer silver-color trim, and so the M605 White Transparent is icily perfect for me. It’s also the only one of the three that looks sleek. Even, perhaps, a little contemporary.

All of the trim is palladium-coated, and the nib is rhodinized, like the M605 Marine Blue.

Pelikan M605 White Transparent

The internals are white, which means, as you can see from these photos, that the piston mechanism is nicely unobtrusive. But because the ink chamber/pen body is transparent, when you ink up the pen, you will see the ink inside. Here’s the obligatory “before” closeup.

Pelikan M605 White Transparent

I inked up the M605 White right afterwards. I’ll post some photos of the pen filled with ink tomorrow.

I’m All In on the Pelikan M605 White, Fashionable Accessory, and First of Its Name

Laura17 Comments

Pelikan M605 White

Okay, I pulled the trigger. I preordered this icicle yesterday.

It’s been a will-she-or-won’t-she saga, at least in my head. When I heard the rumors early in the year, I was on the fence. Leaning no. “White? Another pen?” Then after it was announced and photos released, I leaned yes. But I didn’t preorder right away. Because I do nothing right away.

Until my usual drug dealer (sorry, pen dealer)* reminded me yesterday that, uh, you need to order, duh.  So I did so immediately. Because I’m swift when it’s the last minute.

But then after I paid, I had second thoughts. Well, familiar thoughts. Like, “It’s, um, white.” And, “I have no money.” And, “Wait, why am I buying a pen?”

That’s the real issue. I don’t need another pen. I don’t even want another pen. And I don’t have the boredom or craving for excitement that sometimes makes us shop for fun. It’s really the opposite: my life has been so hectic in the important areas that I’m fine with no controversy or change in the pen lineup, thanks. Dead calm, that’s what I’m after.

But while I don’t actively want any pen, I do like this particular pen. I think it’s going to look great. And, true, I’ve never been sure about the white, but I’m starting to cotton to it. I’m starting to see it as nicely wintry. Sure, one could read it as “icy hellscape,” but even that appeals to me right now. We’ve had record heat here this fall, California is on fire, Puerto Rico is under water, and yesterday brought news of not one, but two, “supervolcanoes” getting ready to wipe out all life on the planet. In my own personal Apocalypse Watch slash drinking game, each of those events is worthy of “Drink!” So why not add a melting polar ice cap pen?

Not to mention that this pen totally reminds me of the winter coat that Daenerys put on to go north of the Wall in Game of Thrones.

dany-coat-1.w710.h473

And that was such a cool look, it was fire hot. Sure, the White Walkers and the Night King are sick and scary, and have our guys surrounded. But I’ve got dragons, and Jon Snow is hot, and if I have to fly on a dragon to the frozen north, I am sure going to wear my fashionable coatdress and look my best.

So, I’m on board with the white Pelikan, once more. It’s worthy of both Jon Snow, king in the North, and Daenerys of the House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, The Unburnt, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Queen of Meereen, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Protector of the Realm, Lady Regnant of the Seven Kingdoms, Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons. I am looking forward to it, again.

*I bought mine from the Nibsmith. Not for nothing, my Pusher Man the Nibsmith is offering a discount on all pens and ink of 10% using the code SAVE10 through October 20. That’s if anyone else is similarly gripped by insanity interested in buying Pelikan’s coatdress or any other pen. I point it out here because, when you’ve signed up to bungee jump into the gorge, you want as many friends possible going with you. Yes. This is me, enabling you.

Deep Thoughts, of Pelikans, Lamy and Kaweco

Laura15 Comments

Pelikan M605 White

1. To buy or not to buy, that is the question. For the first time in a long time, I am tempted by this new Pelikan, the M605 in white, that’s coming out in mid-October in the US.

I’ve been on the fence a bit. On the positive side, as an M605, it’s my favorite Pelikan size and my favorite rhodium trim. I like the silvery look of the stripes. The pen looks like a cross between a demonstrator and a pinstriped suit.

On the negative side, well, it is a fountain pen, and I have way too many of those already. I’d have to sell something to buy it. And it’s very white. Do I like white pens? I don’t. Though, strictly speaking, the cap and section of this “white” Pelikan are off-white, the same as on the M600 Pink and the M400 White Tortoise. It’s still going to lack any color, which those two pens have.

But I like it when I see the photo. It’s frosty.

Normally, I like to wait to see Pelikans in person before buying, because sometimes the pens look different in person. A number of excellent European stores are offering tempting prices, but without US warranty. And I’d have to buy without seeing it first.

On the other hand, I just found out from Dan Smith, the Nibsmith, that the MSRP in the US will be $475. Which means it will sell for $380 with the standard dealer discount.I think that’s still a bit more than the European price, but it comes with a US warranty. That’s incredibly tempting. Heck, that’s lower than the price of a standard green striped M600. Maybe we should all buy one quickly, before Pelikan changes its mind.

It’s a special edition, too, so not available forever.

Hmmm. Anyone else have any thoughts on this pen? Anyone else tempted?

2. Can you keep a secret? Someone I know is going to become a Kaweco and Lamy pen dealer. And I’m just super excited. Those are the two pen brands that I use all the time. The Lamy Safari is my favorite pen, and has been since it first came out. I love Lamy so much if I were seven years old some other kid would say, “you love Lamy so much why don’t you marry it?!” and everyone including me would laugh. But my laugh would be different; my laugh would be thoughtful. Because I would think it’s a pretty good idea.