I'm sure this is a problem with Pelikan's normal process using a cap material (the white plastic) they haven't used much with these double capbands. some seam to be fine at first but after a couple of weeks of normal use, they open up. I would guess that it's the final step, in which these are annealed, that is lacking. I examined it upon receipt under strong lighting and found that all four seams were again, 'open.' The fourth (and hopefully final) cap it appears for now that all four seams are properly annealed and they have not opened. The third cap, as I said, I didn't even bother to put on the pen. My first cap - one could see where each seam was but only three were 'open.' The second cap, all four were open and one cracked beyond the top cap ring by about 1/4'.

Presumably, after the cap rings are in place, these four seams are annealed.

I can tell that they would make it easier to put on cap rings by allowing some give in the plastic. It seems there are 4 seams in the cap that run longitudinally. What this appears to be, and I can send pics if you like, is part of the manufacturing processs gone bad. in fact, on one of the caps it never even made it onto the pen, I opened the package and could see the 'cracks' right away. Edited Decemby Takiĭo you screw the cap on particularly tight? This year they were thinking about Pelikan M320, too and I would have joined the group if they picked that. They also told him that they will guarantee their products, and they don't think engraving on the cap would cause any problem. He contacted Pelikan distributor in Japan (I guess a counterpart of Chartpak), and they told him that Pelikan Germany had not heard this problem. They were planning to have engraving done on the cap I backchannelled to the leader of the group, and explained my experience (and yours) and recommended avoiding engraving on the cap. Their pen this year is the White Tortoise. It is a small group and sounds like every year they buy a same pen for everyone (with each member's choice of nib width), and have them engraved with the name of their group and member number (each member pay for their pen, and participation is voluntary). I have been lurking at a Japanese FP board (a ML, to be exact). I noticed one of M400 White Tortoise in the book has the same crack went through the outside I was looking at a Japanese FP book that has a lot of nice picture of Pelikans yesterday. Well yesterday I said the pen is pretty girl but may be I should treat it like a frail lady with osteoporosis But sending pen back and fourth gets tiring, you know. The cracked new cap has only one chick, so I guess they have not resolved the problem. Hi KC, yup, we talked about it when I discovered my first cap with two chicks was cracked.

Mad caps with crack