And now for something immensely classic:

The M400 has been around in various incarnations since 1982, superseding the old 400 variants. It is also the first pen to use the M designation, with Pelikan revamping its lines over the next few years to include a range of sizes, as well as rollerballs (R), ballpoints (K), and pencils (D). There were also cartridge/converter pens (P), with one of the more recent ones being the Stola III, otherwise known as the P16.

This pen hails from the earlier period of the M400, and has a timeless colour scheme in green-black-gold. Pelikan managed to keep a little bit of green in the completely black version by including a little transparent ink window just above the section, which, when capped, is completely hidden. In this pen the gaps between the stripes is actually translucent and so the whole pen barrel functions as many tiny ink windows running down the whole length of the pen.

The cap looks different from modern M400s as well. The single trim ring from the 80s has been upgraded into a double ring for the Souverän line in general; the single ring now belongs to the M200. This cap also has a black finial instead of the 24k gold-plated one seen more recently, and it even has a two-chick logo:

The piston also gains a trim ring in the modern versions. The nib design has been changed as well: the single-tone 14k nib has given way to a two-tone nib design now standardised across all lines. Pelikan no longer makes completely yellow nibs. And finally, a last clue in dating this pen to the 80s: the cap band says W.-GERMANY.

Now, as any Pelikan aficionado will testify, Pelikan nibs now tend to run broad. However this medium nib, from older times, writes like a true medium: definitely not too broad, and definitely not a fine — though it gives my modern M200/M205 EFs a run for their money!

To end off: my first 6 Pelikans in a beautiful nib circle…