Montblanc is not easy to get started because it is limited, while Pelikan has a style that is "unavailable in unlimited quantities". Among German fountain pens, Pelikan was the only brand to compete with Montblanc, and in 1929 it produced the first fountain pen with a patented piston inking, which gained a reputation for increasing the ink storage capacity of the fountain pen and simplifying the inking procedure, and the piston inking system is still standard in many high-end fountain pens today. Even so, Pelikan is one of the most down-to-earth high-end fountain pen brands, with product lines ranging from collectible fountain pens of 10,000 yuan to student fountain pens of more than 100 yuan.
 
As the originator of piston inking, Pelikan's piston inking system has the best feel and is the most durable. After several generations of improvements, the current Bailiqu piston turns the knob first and the piston does not move, the piston displacement is more gentle and accurate, and the ink control is accurate, which eliminates the situation that the pen becomes a "water gun".
 
Pelikan's nib playability is also worth mentioning. In the past, Pelikan has made more than 45 types of nibs, including saucer-shaped tips, duckbill tips, orchid tips, beard tips, etc., in a variety of styles, and their nibs can be easily twisted down without tools, and individual nibs can be used on different sizes of pens. Unfortunately, when fountain pens became a niche hobby, Pelikan reduced the nib models all the way to around 2013, leaving only four basic nibs, and only steel nibs were sold separately in China. Pelikan has a completely different writing experience for the same model of fountain pens, which often makes people doubt the quality control, but it is not actually a quality problem, which also allows some players to find the fun of changing the nib.
 
Compared with Montblanc's Meipan series, Bailikan's flagship Souverän Imperial series is more cost-effective, all with piston inking, the high-end M1000 can be purchased from overseas for as little as 4,000 yuan, the low-end M300 is about 1,800 yuan, and the smaller traditional series M200 is available within 1,000 yuan. But if you want to win or lose in the Imperial series, the most cost-effective must be the M400.
 
The M400 is the prototype of the classic model launched by Pelikan in 1950, the Imperial series, in which only the M400 is made with an accuracy of one thousandth, and the rest are only one hundredth. The classic is the exquisite striped pen body made of acetate laminate (imitation celluloid), which broke the monopoly of black pens at that time and made Pelikan become the face of the fountain pen industry. Among them, the most beautiful are the white turtle and the brown turtle, which are light in the hand, conducive to writing for a long time, and the size is suitable for not picking people, which is the most suitable for "one step" Bailikan.
 
In the field of collecting, Pelikan has always been very sincere. The gold and silver carving series are the only collectible fountain pens that are mass-produced by Bailikan, but the engraving requires a lot of manual work, and only 200 M900 large gold eagles can be produced at most a month. The highest-end Seven Wonders of the World series, each limited to 300-445 pieces worldwide, priced at 48,000 yuan, is still in demand. As for the "unlimited and can't buy" style, it is because Pelikan has never advertised itself as a limited edition, only a special edition, and it is out of stock when it is sold, and the second-hand price often rises, so it is recommended to look at the special edition of Pelikan as soon as possible, and the issue price is only 3000 yuan.
 
Novices need to note that Pelikan does not have stores in China, and the price difference between domestic and foreign e-commerce can reach more than half, even if it includes tax, it is more cost-effective to buy overseas, and the price of special edition fountain pens is deeper, so novices are recommended to buy from the current production.