In our opinion, the Pelikan fountain pen range is the best brand out there when it comes to the writing experience that their pens deliver relative to their price point in the market. Although we would not exactly call the Pelikan range budget friendly, they have managed to hit the nail on the head when it comes to performance and we feel that their pens have a fair price tag for what you get for your money.
Over the last three to five years, the Pelikan range has exploded in popularity in all price brackets from their cheaper pen models all the way up to their luxury fountain pens. We doubt that this growth is going to slow down anytime soon as it seems that once someone tries a Pelikan, they usually stick with them and rarely go back to using any other pen brand.
Due to the popularity of Pelikan pens continuously growing with each passing month, we have noticed more and more people asking questions to try ensure that they choose the perfect model from the Pelikan range for them. Due to this, we have decided to publish todays article going over some of the more commonly asked questions about Pelikan pens.
Our hope is that we can help any of our readers who are thinking of adding a Pelikan fountain pen to their collection as they really are an excellent pen to own. Due to covering a range of topics for todays article, we have added our table of contents below so you can quickly navigate to the specific questions that you are interested in getting answers for.
- Which Is The Most Expensive Pelikan Pen?
- Which Is The Cheapest Pelikan Pen?
- Which Pelikan Pen Is Best For Writing?
- Is Pelikan Ink Good?
- Why Are Pelikan Pens So Expensive?
- Are Pelikan Pens Worth It?
- What Are Pelikan Pens Made Of?
- How To Identify Real Pelikan Pens?
- Is Pelikan Ink Toxic?
- Is Pelikan Ink Waterproof?
- Conclusion
Which Is The Most Expensive Pelikan Pen?

The Pelikan m1000 is the most expensive Pelikan fountain pen from their regular range coming in with a price tag of between $800 and $1000 depending on the specific variant of the pen you opt for. Although there are a number of limited edition runs of the m1000 with unique designs that can be considerably more expensive than this, the majority of people will be sticking to the standard range of pens.
Please keep in mind that price is not everything when it comes to fountain pens though, especially for the general users. Although penthusiasts and fountain pen collectors do enjoy the features of the higher price point pens, the Pelikan m600 is another excellent choice that is much cheaper than the m1000. We would imagine that going with the m600 over the m1000 will offer a very similar writing experience for most of our readers without you having to break the bank.
Which Is The Cheapest Pelikan Pen?
The Pelikan m200 is the cheapest pen from the Pelikan range that we would recommend that our readers consider adding to their collection. Although there are a few options that are slightly cheaper, the small price increase to the m200 relative to the huge benefit in writing experience makes it a much better option.
In addition to this, the Pelikan m200 is dominating is price bracket in the market and usually ranges from around $100 to $200 depending on retailer and the specific variant of the pen. The only real competition that the Pelikan m200 has in its price range is the Lamy 2000 that is the best intermediate price point fountain pen on the market in our opinion. That said, some people don’t like the nib design of the Lamy 2000 making the Pelikan m200 a better option for people who prefer a traditional nib on their pens.
Which Pelikan Pen Is Best For Writing?
Anything from the Pelikan M series of pens is arguably the best pen for writing relative to their price points throughout the price brackets. Pelikan really have stepped things up a notch with their M series of pens and they offer an excellent writing experience for the money with few competing brands being able to challange them.
One of the main advantages of the Pelikan range is that they offer high-quality pens throughout all price brackets on the market. This means that you are able to start with an entry-level fountain pen such as the Pelikan m200, upgrade to an intermediate price point pen when needed like the Pelikan m600, and then finally settle on the premium price point Pelikan m1000.
This is a very popular path for people who enjoy writing with fountain pens and Pelikan use a similar strategy to Apple where the iPhone gets them a large number of initial customers and then people progress up the price chain with iPads and Macbooks. With Pelikan offering such a high-quality pen with an excellent writing experience, many people try a Pelikan pen and choose to stick with the brand for life.
Is Pelikan Ink Good?
The Pelikan Edelstein ink is one of the best options on the market with many people choosing to use it with their fountain pens due to it offering a smooth writing experience as well as offering excellent coloration. The Pelikan Edelstein ink is so popular amongst the penthusiast community than a large number of people who use pens from other brands use it with their fountain pens due to its quality.
The Pelikan 4001 ink is one of the most popular fountain pen inks on the market at the time of writing as it has a more budget-friendly price tag than their Edelstein ink. The 4001 ink has an absolutely huge customer base while also enjoying an excellent reputation with people also opting to use it with fountain pens from other brands too.
Although Pelikan ink is excellent and offers a great writing experience, we often recommend that our readers consider the Noodler ink range as it can be cheaper than the official Pelikan range and offer a very similar writing experience. Although Noodler ink does not have the flashy branding and marketing that Pelikan ink does, it is available in a huge range of colors and writes extremely smoothly. This coupled with its low price tag has made it one of the most popular ink options on the market that just keeps on growing its marketshare with each month that passes by.
Why Are Pelikan Pens So Expensive?
Pelikan pens are expensive as they have been designed to offer users the best possible writing experience possible relative to the pens specific price point in the market. In addition to this, the materials that Pelikan use when manufacturing their pens is second to none helping to ensure that you get a robust, yet lightweight pen.
For example, the majority of the Pelikan fountain pen range use gold nibs offering a smoother writing experience with additional flex than a stainless steel nib. The barrel and cap of the Pelikan pen range is also made from the highest quality resin available to keep it as tough as possible so it can take any bumps and knocks without breaking while also being very lightweight.
Are Pelikan Pens Worth It?
In our opinion, Pelikan pens are definitely worth their price tag, they offer excellent designs to ensure you get an excellent writing experience while also using the best possible materials in their pens. Something like the Pelikan m800 can offer a very similar writing experience to a pens like the Montblanc 149 without having such a high premium due to the Montblanc branding.
When you put the performance, functionality, design, and build quality of the Pelikan fountain pen range up against competing pens from the Montblanc range you see that Pelikan tends to have the lower price tag. As we touched on earlier in the article though, the majority of our readers will get everything they need out of the Pelikan m200 or the Pelikan m600 without having to spend a ton on their new fountain pen.
What Are Pelikan Pens Made Of?
The barrel and cap of a Pelikan pen is made from the highest quality resin to keep the pen tough and lightweight. The nib of the majority of Pelikan pens is made from either 14 carat or 18 carat gold with an iridium tip but some of the entry-level Pelikan pens do have a stainless steel nib to keep costs low.
The materials used in the construction of the Pelikan pen range is pretty standard when compared to other luxury fountain pen brands with resin barrels and caps and gold nibs being very popular. This is due to resin and gold being a winning combination and offering you the best performance out of your pen so the better fountain pen brands tend to stick with it.
How To Identify Real Pelikan Pens?
Although there are a number of different anti-counterfeit measures on Pelikan pens, there have been very few reports of actual counterfeited Pelikan pen models from their modern range of pens. The main thing that we see people asking about is the logo of Pelikan due to the brand having three official logos now.
People see that the logo on one of their pens is different to the logo on other pens or on the Pelikan website or social media and instantly think that the pen is fake. More often than not, the pen will be real but just be from an older production run where they used one of their older company logos for the finial on the cap.
Is Pelikan Ink Toxic?
Although all forms of ink, both dye based and pigment based do have a small toxicity level to them, the chances of having any effect on you is minimal. That said, we constantly see people asking about using pen ink for stick and poke tattoos and we would not recommend that you use Pelikan ink for this due to potential health issues as well as actual stick and poke ink usually being cheaper than Pelikan ink.
Is Pelikan Ink Waterproof?
Pelikan 4001 ink is water resistant but is not fully waterproof and Pelikan Edelstein ink does not have any water resistant or waterproof properties. Although we touched on them earlier in the article, if you do need waterproof ink for your fountain pen then the Noodlers waterproof range is an excellent option that performs very well.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over some of the frequently asked questions about the Pelikan pen range that we see over and over again. We hope that we have been able to answer your question and help you make a decision on adding a Pelikan pen to your collection. Our regular readers will be aware that we feel the Pelikan M series is one of the best ranges of quality fountain pens on the market and they make an excellent addition into anyones collection.