Seventh generation

Pelikan 100 (ca.1940)

Green indicates the changes from Pelikan 100 (ca.1938).

Cap top; material: celluloid, shape: conical, flat cap top edge, logo: new two chicks logo on the top and “Pelikan GÜNTER WAGNER” on the lateral side.

Cap tube; material: celluloid, shape: 2 cap holes (one hole facing each other), two gold plated narrow bands⁽¹⁾, grooved at the level of vent holes around the inner wall.

Clip; shape: gold plated drop clip⁽¹⁾.

Nib; material: chromium/nickel (CN) - steel^{(2, 3)}, shape: round vent hole, logo: (“CN” is circled)

Pelikan

CN

Feed; material: ebonite, shape: slanted tail, three lamellae.

Nib socket; material: ebonite, shape: short (12 mm).

Grip section and barrel; material: one piece injection molded transparent acrylics, shape; flat top edge, tapered, no brass ring.

Sleeve; material: celluloid.

Filling system; material: injection molded acrylics with synthetic plastic seal (Fig.5 left; early version), smooth turning knob.

Dimensions;^(a)with sleeve, ^(b)without sleeve, ^(c)ink chamber volume

Total Cap Barrel Barrel Barrel Cap Ink Total

length length length width^(a) width^(b) width capacity^(c) weight

119 mm 62 mm 93 mm 11.5 mm 10.5 mm 13 mm 1.3 ml 14 g

As of November 11, 1939, Pelikan fountain pens were fitted with chromium/nickel (CN) - steel nib, as the government forbade the use of palladium nibs for the domestic market in October of the same year. Some export market pens still had gold nibs (1940 Gray Pelikan 100).

In attempt to make the changeover to new CN nibs, Günter Wagner advertised them in its newsletter (1940), claiming that the new material was not inferior to gold in flexibility, durability and so on, and that the supremacy of gold should be forgotten⁽⁴⁾. There is no nib size indication nor manufacturer's mark on the nib and anywhere else. The nibs have the half round slit for flexibility. The slit has several variations. Some nibs do not have slits (Pelikan”100” 戦時バージョン<CN>).

The company also stated in the same newsletter that “When the development is driven by determination, the product performance can be improved despite all difficulties.” In line with the grit, Günter Wagner introduced new technologies to bodies. In early 1940s (Green book), the company switched celluloid barrel to injection molded acrylic plastic barrel. The reinforcing ring was abolished⁽⁵⁾. The material of the filling system was also (gradually?) changed to the injection molded acrylics. As the delicate groove of the knurled turning knob was difficult to produce (Green Book), it was replaced with the smooth turning knob. The synthetic plastic seals were also introduced. There were two types of synthetic plastic seals (Fig.5) (Green Book). In the book, the early synthetic plastic seals is coupled with the knurled turning knob and the later version is coupled with the smooth turning knob. In October 1942, the synthetic plastic seal completely replaced the cork seal (Green Book).

My pen has one piece injection molded transparent acrylics body, early synthetic plastic seals, gold-plated CN nibs (I'm not sure if they are all original to this pen). The year when the new technology was exactly induced is not known. It may be dated sometime between 1940 and 1942. My pen has the early version of synthetic plastic seal.

Note; ⁽¹⁾Some pens of the time have nickel-plated clips, and others have non-plated cap rings (1941 Deep Green Pelikan 100).

⁽²⁾ According to Fountain Pen Design, CN nibs seem to be austenitic steel, one of the stainless steel families (Nib Materials). It is a little magnetic. Cold heading seems to have modified the surface of the nib to render it magnetic (PELIKAN"100"<CN>).

⁽³⁾ There seem to be two or three types in CN nibs in terms of plating.

• Gold-plated; There are CN nibs that were slightly gold-plated. There exists an IBIS CN nib that was gold-plated, too (Fig.6).

• Chromium-plated; “chromium/nickel-plated steel nibs” (Green Book).

• Non-plated (or gold plating is worn out).

It is likely that some (early?) CN nibs were lightly gold-plated similar to Pd nibs. As soon as Günter Wagner lost access to gold plating technologies (we can track that to clips and cap rings as above⁽¹⁾), they must have procured other technologies for plating nibs (@stoen). What makes dating CN nibs difficult is that some owners may have replaced their CN nibs for gold nibs after the war, while other owners (re)built correctly looking pens of that time by replacing their gold nibs for CN nibs. So, few original and thus fully datable pens from that period still exist (@stoen, @Rick Propas).

⁽⁴⁾ Aside from CN-steel, there seem to exist low quality pen points (PELIKAN"100"<CN>). My guess is that the restricted use of raw materials made the quality control of osmi-iridium difficult.

⁽⁵⁾ Brass was a strategic material at that time. Was it to save brass? Or were the acrylics durable enough without a brass ring?