Help for picking fountain pens

[binkmeisterRick]

I knew I rambled on about pens here for a reason. Welcome, kiltedjeeper!

 

[Barry]

Rick,

We'll have to meet at Pen Haven sometime soon. I think we've missed one another by a couple of hours each time.

I'll probably stop by again this weekend. Send me a PM if you'll be around.

Barry

 

[binkmeisterRick]

Like two ships passing in the night...lol PM sent.

 

[John in Covina]

found this site by way of doing research on fountain pens, which I've recently become fascinated with-- have bought 8 in the last two weeks!

great place you have here, and Daisy, I'll be ordring from your uncle shortly- a Junior Gentleman is most appealing, I just have to figure out which wood and finish I want.

****
Post a list! Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[kiltedjeeper]

Thanks for the welcome, folks-
this is the pen I'm after:

but everything I'm finding tells me the back of that particular pen-- where you'd post the cap- must surely be a custom affair, as all I am able to find on the Statesman seems to be a solid rear- ie: no threading.

I can live with that, still quite a lovely pen- but now I just have to educate myself about wood species, coloration, grains, and so on. Knowing me, this will result in the purchase of more than one pen.

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

Pink for women is classic. I talked the Laban guys into doing some pink pens, they made prototypes and went to production. So they will be available soon. I hope that they can put some pictures up on their web site soon.
It is a pink (Pink Lady is the color name) version of the Pinto series.

Aurora is a fine pen maker in Italy and they still make Italic nibs for very classy writing!

Last summer I wrote my High School buddies.

I have a big supply of Crane cards and write Thank You notes a lot more than I did before. I also have a bunch of old unused postcards with different subjects / pictures which I write and send every once in a while too.

I sent out some 1100 resumes and each envelope was hand addresed by fountain pen.

Now that it's Christmas i will be sending out cards and will be using some of the specialty nibs like the double broad oblique and using some red and green ink for the season. So I will be picking those shortly too.
It is much more fun with a good pen.

Yes, writing your friends a real letter on stationary like Cranes, with a fountain pen no less, is so much classier and personalized than, say, an e-mail!

The oblique or italic nibs manufactured by Aurora, Pelikan and Sailor (a distinguished Japanese firm that's been around since 1911 and which has a cult following amongst discerning pen afficionadoes) are really the way to go. Pelikan and Sailor are 2 companies that have the most extensive array of exotic nibs available. And if there isn't a nib that suits your particular style they'll custom make one for you. All the other major companies only carry the usual selection of fine, medium, bold and extra bold sizes.

Another point to consider is that almost all nibs available today on modern fountain pens are rated as rigid. The most flexible nib currently available on the market is made by Pelikan and its rating would place it squarely in the semi-rigid category.

Since the late 1940s people have become so used to engraving their handwriting into the paper with ballpoints that they've forgotten how to handle a truly flexible nib like those made 80 years ago without busting them. Hence, companies have ceased making them. Consequently, flexible nibs and the lost art of Spencerian penmanship, with its delicate, expressive line quality, both faded from the scene simultaneously.

 

[John in Covina]

Nibs

Montblanc has a long list of nibs, Parker is said to have a stub for the Duofold, and Bexley usually offers a stub too.

Sailor's Zoom nib is interesting and their music nib is supposed to be excellent.
Platinum still makes a 3 tine music nib and is a much beloved nib.

 

[kiltedjeeper]

Post a list! Inquiring minds want to know.

believe me, nothing particularly special:
I bought most of these via Ebay:
-Schaeffer fine-nibber demonstrator (unsure of which version). Apparently the vendor found a scratch on it, so she sent me two for the $9 I paid her for the one.

-Aldo Domani (Yafa) Sorrento in red- TINY little thing great for carrying with my moleskine should I ever get a leather cover for it with a pen loop. $20 with a ballpoint I'll never use, at Office Depot. Fine nib

-Aldo Domani two-tone- nice large pen, metallic red with a black cap. It's completely made of brass apparently-- has a nice weight and fits my oafish mit rather well. Came from Office Depot as well, on Black Friday for $8, with a matching PDA Stylus/ballpoint. Fine nib

-Waterman Phileas demonstrator, in yellow tinted plastic, in fine nib. LOVE the way it writes- just a touch of scratch on the paper, but I like this. $13 on Ebay

-another anonymous Schaeffer, this one has a screw-on cap, came from the same Ebay vendor as the clear deomonstrators. This one has blue plastic, squared-off styling, and a Medium nib. Even so, it has a nice light line, and I can deal with it even with the horrid writing I produce. I've recently taken to improving my handwriting while studying for my Cisco CCNA certification (as I couldn't read my notes!), and relearning cursive.

-ran out last night and bought a Waterman Phileas kit of the sort referred to previously in this thread, with 5 carts of ink, converter, ink, the works. I love the feel of the pen, but the medium nib is too much for me-- VERY heavy line. It would be good for signatures, but not for my daily script.

-also have a Kaweco Sport Ice Roller. $10 via pendemonium IIRC, and I like the line it produces.

I'm running strictly Noodler's inks. I have Hunter Green and Luxury Blue at present. It's not that I'm writing the Great American Novel or that I am pretentious enough to think that I need a moleskine and a fountain pen and eternal ink to safeguard my ideas for posterity- just that if I'm going to take the time to struggle through getting things on paper and making them soomewhat legible, I want them to stand the test of the errantly-spilled coffee-- which, knowing me and the schedule I keep, is GOING to happen sooner than later, and likely-- often. Example: I'm about to head to work in about 2 hours- 0000-0800 this week, and gods only know what, next. My schedule is nothing if not an exercise in endurance and flexibility.

Other pens I have my eye on- possibly a Waterman Charleston, possibly a vintage Esterbrook, and I'd love to get my hands on my mom's old pens and some of her father's pens. However, her being a published author, as was he, I am not holding my breath any time soon for this to occur.

I can't justify the expense of the higher-end pens, especially with my handwriting. Honestly, a Pilot G2 will do the job just fine. But I find that a fountain makes my handwriting easier to discern if I take my time with it- even moreso than it does with a G2 if I'm being conscientious about my writing- and makes writing such a joy.

I am an IT geek who's recently discovered the pleasures of pen and paper after not using them for anything more than signing a receipt for nearly a decade. Ironically enough, studying for my next certification in the digital realm has directly lead me back to analog.

 

[John in Covina]

Welcome KJ!

Sounds like a fun little collection, we are glad that you've joined us at the Lounge and this little pen enclave.

There are some go pen boards on the web, one I know of is Pentrace which you can search for. You might check out to see if there is a local pen club and a yearly pen show in you area. I am in the reply zone so i can't see where you are from.

For a different feel you might try a Pilot Knight.

Best wishes!

 

[kiltedjeeper]

I'm in Charleston, SC.... don't know if I want to get this deep into pens, as I have something of an obsessive personailty when I find something that suits my fancy, and I go in full-bore till I'm an expert on the subject. I need to be using that focus on my career at present, and am having trouble doing exactly that.

I also have a Lamy Safari, as well as another pen that's escaped me at the moment, both on the way from Ebay. I think it's time I ban myself from that site

Oh well, at least it can't get as expensive as my motorcycle or 4X4 habits, right? {famous last words}

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

Montblanc has a long list of nibs, Parker is said to have a stub for the Duofold, and Bexley usually offers a stub too.

Sailor's Zoom nib is interesting and their music nib is supposed to be excellent.
Platinum still makes a 3 tine music nib and is a much beloved nib.

Thank you for the information on the availability of different style nibs! It does surprise me that Mont Blanc offers more than a "vanilla" selection of nibs because all the catalogues from their authorized dealers like Colorado Pen and Fahrney's never mention them. Interesting . . . .

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

Oh well, at least it can't get as expensive as my motorcycle or 4X4 habits, right? {famous last words}

Guess again . . . . :eusa_doh: Just accept the fact that you're doomed! lol

 

[John in Covina]

Thank you for the information on the availability of different style nibs! It does surprise me that Mont Blanc offers more than a "vanilla" selection of nibs because all the catalogues from their authorized dealers like Colorado Pen and Fahrney's never mention them. Interesting . . . .

***
I think it is more of a investing in stocking all of those nibs and/or pens with nibs. Pelikan has some sort of NIB Exchange, within x amount of time you can send in your nib for another width/style. They screw out like the Esterbrooks but are not attached permanently to the feed.

Montblanc, you probably have to ask the dealer to order it.

 

[binkmeisterRick]

...And speaking of Esterbrook, didn't they have the largest nib selection of any pen maker at one point? Heck, does any modern pen maker even come close to the selection of the classic Esterbrooks?

 

[Mike in Seattle]

***
I think it is more of a investing in stocking all of those nibs and/or pens with nibs. Pelikan has some sort of NIB Exchange, within x amount of time you can send in your nib for another width/style. They screw out like the Esterbrooks but are not attached permanently to the feed.

Montblanc, you probably have to ask the dealer to order it.

Montblanc has a nib exchange as well. If I remember correctly - within 30 days, they'll exchange for free. After that, it's $35-40 for an exchange or replacement. I had the nib exchanged on a classic MB I happened across on Ebay several months ago - one where someone didn't know what he had, hadn't used and couldn't spell to boot. ("I gotta MountBlank pen my grandpa gave me for graduation 30 years ago that's just been collecting dust...") You have to send it back to their service center (Midwest) and it took them about three weeks. You can log onto their website and get all the details on what to do.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

Montblanc has a nib exchange as well. If I remember correctly - within 30 days, they'll exchange for free. After that, it's $35-40 for an exchange or replacement. I had the nib exchanged on a classic MB I happened across on Ebay several months ago - one where someone didn't know what he had, hadn't used and couldn't spell to boot. ("I gotta MountBlank pen my grandpa gave me for graduation 30 years ago that's just been collecting dust...") You have to send it back to their service center (Midwest) and it took them about three weeks. You can log onto their website and get all the details on what to do.

Hey Mike, thanks for the information on Mont Blanc. I recently went to their local store to talk to them about a nib exchange, and the salesman didn't even know what I was talking about! He said he had only been working there a few weeks and they hadn't taught him about that program yet! He told me to come back in a few days, when someone else was working, and maybe they could help me out! For such an expensive item, you'd think they'd hire someone with a little knowledge.
Anyway, I love my Mont Blanc, but am really not happy with the medium nib on it. It's just too bold. In comparison to the other medium nibs I have, it's almost double the width. So, I was hoping to exchange it for a fine. I'll definitely take your advice and go to their website. Thanks again!

 

[Hemingway Jones]

.

It's maybe a few weeks or a couple of months on since I last posted here and I would like to share with you all some observations.

First, I am not a fan of the fine nib. I find it is scratchy and doesn't float as a medium nib does. My Waterman Charleston has gone down in my estimation because of this, though I must state that my handwriting looks amazing with it because of the control. And, I still like the nifty yellow color.

I find that a medium nib floats wonderfully and gives a nice interesting line as it goes from wide to thin.

Pelikans are amazing pens. I don't know if it is some sort of alchemy, but even the lower line models write with a light and expressive touch.

Pelikan Brown ink dries immediately. Of course we all know different inks dry at different paces with blue taking about the longest; the Pelikan Brown simply amazes.

My Cross Apogee is a solid workhorse and writes amazingly well, but, although it has a soft posting ability courtesy of a rubber-lined cap, it falls off with the slightest provocation. The red lacquer is very pretty for an affordable pen. Still, it's not perfect.

These are some thoughts I thought I would share.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Hey Mike, thanks for the information on Mont Blanc. I recently went to their local store to talk to them about a nib exchange, and the salesman didn't even know what I was talking about! He said he had only been working there a few weeks and they hadn't taught him about that program yet! He told me to come back in a few days, when someone else was working, and maybe they could help me out! For such an expensive item, you'd think they'd hire someone with a little knowledge.
Anyway, I love my Mont Blanc, but am really not happy with the medium nib on it. It's just too bold. In comparison to the other medium nibs I have, it's almost double the width. So, I was hoping to exchange it for a fine. I'll definitely take your advice and go to their website. Thanks again!

Mine had a medium nib and it was just too broad, as you mentioned, Daisy. I usually go with extra fine, which is somewhat scratchy for most, but looks great when I have to do a spreadsheet or write in a ledger. Doing bookkeeping, I still have a few clients who are firmly in the vintage age when it comes to their office equipment and accounting systems. Hand-crank "adding machines" (not calculators) and manual typewriters. But I like the fine when I'm writing notes or cards or letters.

 

[Fletch]

I'm with you. My mom, who used to get corporate freebies like mad in the '90s, once was given a Montblanc Diplomat. Good grief, what a behemoth. The nib must have been 1 1/4" long and it wrote so bold (and wet!) you could hardly sign your name, much less write at a decent size.

 

[binkmeisterRick]

Nib size and line preferences are about as varied as the people who write with them. It also makes a difference depending on how you write. I tend to write small, so a medium nib is generally too big for me. That said, I have one or two medium nibs I like. But I like fine and extra fine nibs best. Now being a lefty, the obvious question is this: doesn't the ninb dig in and cause you to splatter ink? Well, on some pens, yes. But those are the pens/nibs I don't buy or use. Some fine nibs, like Esterbrooks, work very well for me and give me no trouble. Parkers work great for me. I even tried out a vintage Shaeffer New Balance with a nib as fine as a mosquitto and expected it to dig right into the paper. On the contrary, it wrote beautifully and never dug in once. If I had the money at the time, I would've bought the pen.

And remember, a fine or medium nib by today's standards is not the same as a fine or medium by yesterday's standards. In fact, I'm not sure there ever WAS a standard, so a Parker medium may differ from a Pelikan medium may differ from a Waterman medium. It's just a matter of trying the pen beforehand if you can!