Pelikan 400 vintage fountain pen

 Recently my wife and I were watching some youtube videos that related to restoring vintage fountain pens. It was great to see how actually out of service fountain pens were suddenly restored to shine back in their former glory. I think this has to be very satisfying to be able to realize something like this.

To take my first steps in this, our plan was to browse around the old market in Ghent for a vintage fountain pen. With the somewhat experience I had of fountain pens, I went looking for it together with my wife. And it was fast bingo! I saw a pen with the characteristics of a Pelikan. They asked 60 Euro for it. My wife soon asked to take something off the price, so the trader only asked for 40 Euros more.

I doubted strongly. The nib was in perfect condition and no pieces were missing. I also couldn't determine any major damage except for some limited usage damage. And I also knew all too well that this pen has a golden nib. The only unknown was if there was invisible damage, by this I mean damage to the piston? But in life you have to dare to take a risk. So everything seemed to turn in my favor, which is why I bought the pen.

When we got home, the real research could begin. I posted a message on instagram also asking for some tips. And I got useful tips. Now, I don't want to rush things and mistreat the pen with hammer and chisel, so to speak. During my research work I came across a dilemma. The body (barrel and cap) seem to have the characteristics of a Pelikan 400. The cap seems to correspond more like a 400N. Now there is not that much difference between the two, but I actually want to know what it is exactly. Or does my Pelikan 400 have the cap of a 400N?

In the meantime, I have already put the pen in a slightly warm bath to remove excess ink. Also, the piston seems to work, which is quite a relief. With this fact, I'm pretty sure I don't have to fix anything on the inside of the pen. So the next stage is the shining up of the barrel and cap. These will be sanded with extra fine sandpaper after which they will be polished and waxed. Now some info about finding the latest :-) ... to be continued!