Have I mentioned I’m half Irish, or rather, half Irish American? Yes, an Irish-Chicana. My mom was (mostly) Irish, her father a loyal member of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick (aka The Society of The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick for the Relief of Emigrants from Ireland) his whole adult life, and who annually marched in San Diego’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Through my grandfather and some small amount of Irish ancestry on *his* mother’s side, my dad was/is also a member and attended the society’s parades and dinners in San Diego and Los Angeles. Though our Mexican genes are strong and I don’t look at all Irish, my family has always celebrated St. Patrick’s Day as Irish Americans, with good food, good drink, a bit of prayer, and a whole lot of green.

With that in mind, this seems an appropriate week to write about my new Pelikan. It’s an M605 Green-White — the latest (2021) addition to the Pelikan M60X white line — with an extra-fine (EF) nib. The pen has a bright green striped barrel paired with a white resin cap and piston knob. Its best element, in my opinion, is the use of silver (or rather palladium) metal furniture, rather than the more usual gold.

When I read the first announcements of this pen last June over at The Pelikan’s Perch (Joshua has since posted a great review) my first thought was “Ooooh, minty!” My second one was along the lines of “crap” because I’d already bought too many pens in 2021, including my own Pelikan M600 Red Tortoise (link is to Adriana’s excellent post about hers). So when it was released later in the summer I held off.

Purchasing pens because of “FOMO” (fear of missing out) is dangerous, especially for someone like me who already has more fountain pens than fingers (and toes for that matter). So I waited off. Adriana was a huge help in delaying because we talked about enjoying the pens we already have. On the other hand, as I waited, I kept thinking about the pen. I even made a list of why I liked this particular pen

First, I liked the green. Pelikan is known for its classic green and black pens, but this pen is green and white, and the shade of green is entirely different. I also love the combination of green and silver, something that Pelikan hasn’t often done with the green and black ones, though they certainly should.

Second, while I’ve long thought the M40X size was perfect for me, over the past year I’ve used my M60X pens more than any others except my M400 white tortoise.

There were a lot of other reasons, but what it came down to is that I wanted the pen and decided I was going to get one. When became the only question. I had a writing deadline for an article draft at the end of February. The deadline was hard in two senses — hard in that the editors had no flexibility to extend it, and was difficult because my mom’s funeral and memorial services were being held the week before. I told myself that if I could get through the two events I could have the pen. I did get through both so have now completely rationalized the Pelikan’s purchase.

It’s beautiful. Like all Pelikans, I find it’s more attractive in person than in photographs. It arrived a couple of weeks earlier than I expected from Albora Pens. When the package arrived I left it unopened while going into a happy panic of searching for the perfect green. Not dark, but not too yellow, definitely not teal. Anyway, there was much swatching before someone on the Pen Addict Slack sent me a vial of KWZ 2021 Meet Me in St. Louis pen show ink. It’s a limited edition, not sold anymore, and hard to come by, so of course, it’s the perfect green. More on the quest for the perfect green in another post, but in brief, it’s a glorious color.

Finally inked, writing with the pen was good, but not perfect. The piston is smooth. The nib, an extra-fine, is a tiny bit drier than I expected, not typical of a Pelikan, even an extra fine.

It’s not skipping, but I sometimes wanted to push the nib a bit harder into the paper than I should, especially on Rhodia paper. I made the only adjustment I ever feel confident doing; I hooked my thumbnails on either side of the nib and gently pulled each side outward for a second, tested the pen, and did it one more time. This seems to have loosened up the flow, but I may get it adjusted professionally. I considered switching out the nib, but it’s rhodium-plated rather than being the more typical two-tone plus I’d just filled it, so it’s staying as it was sent.

I’ll post more as I get used to it. Meantime the flock is more colorful than it was. Last thought, what color should Pelikan do for its next M60X White? I’m voting for a pastel orange, a pen that looks like an orange sherbert cone. It could work with either gold or silver furniture, though I do prefer the coolness of the silver.

Finally, on St. Patrick’s Day 2022, I offer a toast from Buddy Mahony, my late grandfather:

“Fill the glass that’s empty, empty the glass that’s full. Never leave it empty. Never leave it full.

After all, couldn’t the same be said of our favorite pens? Happy St. Patrick’s Day, dear reader.