introducing my pelikan m400 tortoiseshell white in extra fine

Last October, I turned 25 and I wanted to get something to celebrate this milestone and what better present than a luxury fountain pen? I was originally eyeing up the Pelikan M600 Pink but it was almost double the price of this beauty here so I couldn't justify plonking down the extra dollar just because it was pink.

Instead of buying it as soon as I turned twenty-five, I waited about two weeks for Fountain Pen Day and ordered it from Cult Pens. It arrived the day after and it was love at first sight. The cream colour is offset nicely by the tortoiseshell detail and the gold accenting gives it a nice luxurious air. It definitely feels like a pen for a girl who's all grown-up and that's exactly what I'm trying to portray now that I've hit this milestone ;)

The nib is also beautiful - please excuse the ink on it as I didn't clean it before taking this photo. I opted for an extra fine as I know that my handwriting is more on the small side and though it is thicker than I would've liked, the fact that it writes so well is enough for me to be happy enough with it. The ink flow is amazing and the pen is weighted ideally for long periods of note-taking - trust me on this, I've used this pen for a two hour note-taking session and my hand had no trace of cramp!

Now, before I bought this pen, I was definitely more of a cartridge kind of girl. Cartridges are great because you know where you stand with them - out of ink? Not a problem, stick a new one in. You can even refill them if you have syringes and needles - something we seem to have an abundance of (maybe its a medical household thing). However, I wanted to give a piston filler a whirl and I'm glad I did. It holds a lot more than a cartridge does and cleaning it every so often is so satisfying. It's also started an obsession with bottled ink but I've been quite good so far and have only stuck to blue and blue-blacks with only one or two bottles of other colours!

Overall, this pen has definitely rocketed up to being one of my favourites and go-to pens when at home doing a study burst. Because of it's value, it rarely accompanies me to university because I know how painful losing it would be. On placement, I've only ever lost two biros (which I think is pretty good going) but I still would rather not risk it.

The best things about this pen? It is lightweight, writes superbly and is absolutely beautiful. It's also nice to commemorate a milestone birthday with something that I can have for years to come and have it remind me of a special event in my life. My next big milestone will probably be graduation and that will likely be a stationery item of some kind too!