If I had to truly pick something to "collect", it would be pens with raden. I love shiny things, and I love how it glitters under different light. As such, I am easily tempted by raden pens. Like this one.
The Pelikan Sunrise follows other delectable raden works from Pelikan, such as the Moonlight, Sunlight, and Starlight. My hopes of ever finding a Moonlight is pretty much zero and I'm not crazy about the Starlight, fortunately. I didn't need this pen but I couldn't really help myself. Ok. I didn't try all that hard either.
ABOUT
Body material: Resin, lacquer, abalone
Trim: Gold
Nib material: 18kt two-tone gold
Filling system: Piston-filler
Ink window: Yes
Cap: Screw on
Posts: Yes, friction
Length (capped): 146.6 mm/5.77"
Length (uncapped): 134.8 mm/5.31"
Length (posted): 174.0 mm/6.84"
Diameter (barrel): 14.3 mm/0.56"
Diameter (section): 11.7 - 12.4 mm/0.46" - 0.49"
Weight (all): 36 g
Weight (cap): 10 g
Weight (body): 26 g
Price & where to buy may vary as it is a limited edition. Start hunting!
PACKAGING
For such an expensive pen, I am surprised the presentation is not excessive, and I'm also glad it is not. There is a plain, solid, white cardboard box to start with. This protects the delicate, light Paulowria box on the inside. The cardboard box is stickered on the side flap with: Pelikan, M1000, Sunrise, No. 224/333.
A shiny white paper sleeve inside (also stickered) holds the gold foiled box. The box has a wavy, slightly raised texture, and it makes me think of glittering sun rays. The lid lifts off and there is detailed paperwork about the Sunrise along with a hand numbered certificate underneath. The certificate details the guarantee, care, and how to fill the pen. Care is important with a raden/lacquer pen! The softwood box is signed and stamped and holds the pen in place on a white satin bed.
The presentation is very elegant but simple, and fits well with the clean style of Japanese work. I like it.
APPEARANCE
Pelikan explains, "Raden is a traditional Japanese decorative craft." This pen sure is decorated! The Sunrise is built on the Souverän M1000 as the base model. The M1000 is a large, round fountain pen with slightly rounded off ends. The finial has a gold in brushed gold modern Pelikan logo. The finial is on a raised gold crown top. The clip is attached by a thick metal ring around the top of the cap. It is one of my favorite clips - shaped like a pelican's bill! It's so cute and not boring at all. The end of the cap has a wide center band, with a black ring on it. It's engraved with Pelikan Souverän Germany.
The piston-turning knob is black with two gold bands, separated by a black ring - a motif that matches the center band. The section is on the smaller side, and it is black resin that matches the piston-turning knob. The section tapers slightly towards the nib and ends in a flared ridged, with a gold band at the end. At the back of the section, there are some threads for the cap and these are followed by a clear but dark green ink window on the barrel. The ink window is not visible when the pen is capped and it's too dark to identify the color of the ink in the pen, but you can see if there is ink or not.
The pen has a deep red, solid colored base, and there are long strips of raden on the cap and barrel. Each strip is impeccably applied with even spacing between them. These strips are eye catching, glowing colors - depending on the angle and light, the strips can appear emerald, blue-green, purple, and pink. If you rotate the pen, it glitters and it's a gorgeous effect. Raden strips like this are not for everyone of course, but they sure are for me. The pen is numbered at the top side of the cap and is signed by the artist, both in gold, which feels slightly raised. The deep color and warmth of the red, along with the glowing raden, really does evoke the image of a sunrise, especially with the gold trim accents.
I love the M1000 as it is, but the Sunrise motif is breathtaking, especially when it looks like the raden is glowing. All edges on this pen are smooth, connections are tight and flush with each other (except the barrel to piston turning knob, which has a small step), and I am pleased with the finer details.
NIB & PERFORMANCE
What really tipped me over the edge to get this pen was the nib. If it was a medium, I probably could have resisted it. The kind but enabling Paul at P.W. Akkerman in the Hague pulled this pen out to show me... and he also had an older, double broad, double chick Pelikan nib hanging around. A deadly combination.
The nib here is therefore not the nib the Sunrise ships with - it would otherwise wear a medium. This is an 18KT gold, two-tone double broad nib. It has a single slit and a round breather hole, and it is engraved with a two chick Pelikan logo, 18K-750, BB, and the Pelikan flourish around the slit. I just couldn't pass this nib up. Since Pelikan no longer makes such specialty nibs, one has to snap up any stray nib in the wild.
The nib is smooth, slightly stubby, and offers just a little feedback. It's wet, wet, wet, and has a little bounce and spring in it. It's an enjoyable nib to write with. Drying times are longer because it's so wet, and if the paper is just not up to a gusher, then it can result in feathering and bleed through. On fountain pen friendly paper, the writing experience is very pleasant - no skips or hard starts, consistent ink flow, and a touch of bounce. It works well for normal writing, long writing sessions, and fast writing. This is a great nib for those who love juicy broads. I love the wet ink flow, the smoothness, the stubby shape, and the bounce. The only downside to this nib is if it dries out a bit, it takes a bit of priming to get it going again. That and it's probably not suitable for daily writing for all users.
The piston-filling mechanism works just fine - smooth and clean. Everything is in working order. Since the nib can be unscrewed, it's easy to maintain the piston at home.
IN HAND
The pelican clip is well designed and it is nice and springy. It has a smooth, angled underside so it slides on and off pages, pouches, and pockets with ease. I don't leave it attached to pages just in case it gets knocked off and rolls away.
The section is small for some hands, but it works well for me. It's slightly thick but since the pen is not too long, I manage with it. The resin does not feel slippery and the indented shape helps keep my grip in place. If you must grip higher up, the threads should not be much of a bother as they are fairly smooth.
Unposted, this is a large, wide pen. It does not stretch my grip (like the Delta Dolce Vita Oversize does) but the section and body do feel wide. It is a large pen that will not work for everyone. The cap can be posted by friction, but posting is not advised because of the finish. It also makes the pen quite long and top heavy. I prefer to use this pen unposted and I like the smooth wet nib because it writes just from the weight of the pen. As such, all I need to do is guide the pen and not grip it tightly. That's how I can make a large pen like this work for me.
Smaller hands should give this pen (or the M1000) a good test before committing, unless you plan to use it occasionally. Even those with larger hands may find it uncomfortable for long writing sessions. It's an oversize pen, so it's not necessarily
the most comfortable pen ever.
PROS & CONS
OVERALL
Well, this pen has several components I love. The Souverän design is one of my preferred pens - I have several sizes/models. If you like large pens, the M1000 is quite lovely, large, and gorgeous. The pen will serve you well! The nib is stubby, smooth, wet, soft, and the double broad size is right up my alley. Of course, this is an unusual nib and not easily found in shops anymore, but I've used other Pelikan nibs and they're usually quite decent. The Sunrise red plus raden strips knocks my socks off. One could do a lot worse than spending way too much money on a pen that costs way too much, but sometimes, the heart wants what it wants. Is this an absurd pen? Of course it is. But sometimes the fun things in life are absurd.
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