PelikanM800 Pelican Fountain Pen, F Fine Point, Souverene Red Stripe, Suction Type, Genuine Import

I've used Pelikan pens for years. I have several M400's and a few M600 models, this is the first M800 that I have. Came early in great condition. I love these pens, they feel great in the hand and write smoothly with no ink flow issues, and they look great as well.

I bought a Pelikan M800 from another retailer, and messed up the nib trying to adjust the scratchiness of that <EF> nib. I know a nib technician, so I'll send him the nib I messed up, and order an <F> nib online, as a spare. Easy, peasy. The Gods of the Internet had other ideas, because every vendor I clicked on was out of stock of two-tone nibs for M800 fountain pens. Aha, but...I COULD get a new M800 pen for $50 more than the not-in-stock nibs alone. So, one quick swipe of the credit card, and a new M800 was on the way to my house.When it arrived, I inspected the nib, and wrote a couple of lines after dipping the nib in enough ink to write a couple of lines. That nib was worse than the nib I messed up! So, I could've just sent it back for a refund, but...upon closer inspection, I noticed that the pen body has stripes made out of cotton acetate, alternating with stripes made from a semi-transparent plastic. That's the exact body type I wanted, since the current products have an opaque all plastic, uh, I meant "precious resin" body. If I send this pen back, I won't have the old-style body...hmm.So, instead of sending just one pen to be repaired, tuned, and smoothed, I sent off both of them. Postage was the same, but repair costs...well, you know.If this pen was new (not a returned item), shame on Pelikan. For what it's worth, this is my third Pelikan Souverän Pen, and all three of them performed worse than my worst performing pen in my current collection (a Gravitas Pocket Pen); every Pelikan pen I've bought has had issues with misaligned nibs and ink flow issues. But the rest of the pen seemed okay, no scratches, no dings, no burrs, no cracks, and the body style I want. So, investing in a nib technician to get that pen to write as it should will make it as expensive as buying it from a brick and mortar pen retailer...but it will (evidently) be better than new.The three-star rating is not meant to be a knock against amazon.com, amazon.jp, or the retailer that actually sent the pen. It's meant to alert fellow pen lovers that Pelikan has shipped products that are not usable "as is", and no amount of refunding or warranty will cover up a pen with misaligned nib tips visible with the naked eye. I would sort of expect that level of refinement if I bought a Pellycan pen from Ali Baba, but maybe Pelikan is in a race to the bottom of the barrel, to get a spot vacated by some of the Chinese manufacturers (e.g., Jinhao, Hong Dian, Asvine, Majohn) who have raised the bar on quality of their products as well as making that quality affordable. Find a pen that you like that also doesn't "looks just like a (insert "Western" pen name here)", write with it, and then you, too, will begin to wonder why pens made from precious resin (i.e., PLASTIC) are so expensive. Just sayin'.If you need a Pelikan to impress the Chairperson of your company or social club, go ahead. If you want a great writing pen designed to impress only YOU, your money would be better spent on a Pilot, Diplomat, Lamy, Platinum, Sailor, or even a Kaweco. And if you want to keep (most of) your money in 'Murica, visit Conklin, Esterbrook, Franklin-Christoph, Karas Kustoms, Monteverde, or Schon DSGN. All made in (mostly) 'Murica, most come with JoWo nibs (so you know they'll at a minimum write well), and there's bound to be something in your budget.