Engineers?!?!

[humsin]

What I'm thinking is, what pen suits the "status" of an engineer? What's a pen that someone can see and go like, "this guy's an engineer!!"?

[Ytland]

What I'm thinking is, what pen suits the "status" of an engineer? What's a pen that someone can see and go like, "this guy's an engineer!!"?

 

Couldn't have said it better myself. As an engineering student I look for:

1) Immediate starting

2) Dry flow

3) Fine lines

4) High ink capacity.

 

That's a Pelikan with a tweaked and ground nib. In my case, a blue stripe m605. With Sailor Nano ink ('cause it's cool)

 

Engineers look for function, or at least they should. Not for stereotypes...

 

'Nuff said.

 

Jack.

[Pfhorrest]

I would say a pencil or fineliner such as those made by Staedtler and Rotring. I think many aspects of FPs would be distracting to the serious engineer.

[humsin]

What I'm thinking is, what pen suits the "status" of an engineer? What's a pen that someone can see and go like, "this guy's an engineer!!"?

 

Couldn't have said it better myself. As an engineering student I look for:

1) Immediate starting

2) Dry flow

3) Fine lines

4) High ink capacity.

 

That's a Pelikan with a tweaked and ground nib. In my case, a blue stripe m605. With Sailor Nano ink ('cause it's cool)

 

Engineers look for function, or at least they should. Not for stereotypes...

 

'Nuff said.

 

Jack.

 

So basically...Lamy 2000

[ken belanus]

Sheaffer Snorkel, yes it is complicated and we dearly love that. No wasting half of your ink wiping the feed/section after every fill. Clean, well planned, neat, organized, proper, reliable. Unlike any fill system, the Touchdown does not contaminate your ink with ink from the pen like simple piston fillers do.

 

Pelikan with the ink window. A Pelikan demonstrator is even better. Ultimate toy and so visual and impressive to show in meetings.

 

Visconti with the piston that allows ink bypass and then locks the ink behind itself for air travel. Very highly rated for play value during meetings with management.

 

Sheaffers and Pelikans made to last a lifetime, piston fillers, no cartridges or cheeky converters please. We demand the real thing.

 

Namiki retracting nib pens have some appeal due to moving parts and could be considered by some types of engineers.

 

Such a cool topic. I carry two Sheaffers every day. Snorkels or Imperials with Triumph nibs. LIfe is good!

[Ytland]

As an engineering student I look for:

1) Immediate starting

2) Dry flow

3) Fine lines

4) High ink capacity.

 

 

Jack.

 

So basically...Lamy 2000

 

Not quite. The Lamy 2000 fails dismally at numbers 2 and 3... (especially 3)

 

I've tried so many times to get along with the L2K... It's just not practical for serious work. But it sure is nice to look at

 

Jack

 

 

 

Edited August 22, 2012 by Ytland

[WayTooManyHobbies]

At least for myself, I habitually carry a Sheaffer Clipper (Snorkel), and have a Parker 51 in my pen case. The pen case also holds a rotation including a Safari, a Rotring Initial, and a Noodler's Konrad. There's also always something (like an Ahab or Manuscript calligraphy pen) loaded with an "emphasis" color.

 

But if it's just a single pen, and there are no concerns about damage, it's just the Clipper.

[minimax447]

My colleagues, engineers all, love the Lamy Vista. It is cheap, well engineered, durable, practical and you can see it working.

[richardandtracy]

The ideal pen for an engineer? On the basis of my engineering coleagues, a ball point.

 

However, I know as a mechanical engineer I prefer hooded nibs. The toughest & most machineshop tolerant pen I have come across is a P51. It is great in a design office too.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[humsin]

The ideal pen for an engineer? On the basis of my engineering coleagues, a ball point.

 

However, I know as a mechanical engineer I prefer hooded nibs. The toughest & most machineshop tolerant pen I have come across is a P51. It is great in a design office too.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

 

 

Something lingers in my head telling me that a P51 is too precious and fragile to use in my everyday life!

[minimax447]

That's a myth. There are millions about and they are great survivors. If it busts, mend it or buy another. $50 buys a tidy one so why worry?

[Oranges and Apples]

The Pilot Vanishing Point would have to be it (going to assume you mean a fountain pen).

 

It is made out of a brass tube (durable?).

It is accepts cartridges (functional?).

It is operated with one-hand (convenient?).

It is very clean (practical/low maintenance?)(as in no cleaning needed for fills). And for all those "green" arguments, how much water and how many tissues are being wasted versus throwing out a cartridge?

 

Perhaps this pen is more fitting for a survivalist.

 

I guess the real question is, "what do engineers look for?".

[raging.dragon]

Engineers are a diverse and often picky lot. The ideal pen for an engineer will be whatever pen that particular engineer preferes.

[humsin]

The Pilot Vanishing Point would have to be it (going to assume you mean a fountain pen).

 

It is made out of a brass tube (durable?).

It is accepts cartridges (functional?).

It is operated with one-hand (convenient?).

It is very clean (practical/low maintenance?)(as in no cleaning needed for fills). And for all those "green" arguments, how much water and how many tissues are being wasted versus throwing out a cartridge?

 

Perhaps this pen is more fitting for a survivalist.

 

I guess the real question is, "what do engineers look for?".

 

Thinking about it, the VP makes a lot of sense actually

[Indigo]

I am primarily a statistician. My background is Physics, and I write a lot of code to support our use of the process control database. So, most of my writing is note making. I have iterated around this problem until I found:

1) have to use a Moleskine notebook (the only one which genuinely opens flat; lots of sizes)

2) need an ink/pen combo which will not bleed (a problem on molesines)

3) iron gall is the ticket (R & K Silax is my current #1).

 

The pen that brings this all together is the Parker 45.

1) it is wet enough to get a good blue/black line

2) the nib/feed can be thoroughly disassembled and cleaned - eliminates fear of clogging

3) when all else fails, you can replace the nib for ~$15.

[humsin]

I am primarily a statistician. My background is Physics, and I write a lot of code to support our use of the process control database. So, most of my writing is note making. I have iterated around this problem until I found:

1) have to use a Moleskine notebook (the only one which genuinely opens flat; lots of sizes)

2) need an ink/pen combo which will not bleed (a problem on molesines)

3) iron gall is the ticket (R & K Silax is my current #1).

 

The pen that brings this all together is the Parker 45.

1) it is wet enough to get a good blue/black line

2) the nib/feed can be thoroughly disassembled and cleaned - eliminates fear of clogging

3) when all else fails, you can replace the nib for ~$15.

 

I'm confused.

 

1. Why do you need Moleskine? Their paper's kinda rough...

 

3. Why do you need iron gall??

[wallylynn]

My colleagues, engineers all, love the Lamy Vista. It is cheap, well engineered, durable, practical and you can see it working.

I bought a Lamy vista and used it for 4 years for that reason.

 

But I think I'm switching over to my Ahab. I'm loving how I can dismantle it. I love the idea that I can carve up the feed (haven't needed to). Cheap replacement parts, in theory. Light touch XF-lines for tight annotations, F-lines for normal writing, B-lines to cross things out (no more double crossing or scribbles).

 

Sadly, the demonstrator Ahab just looks clunky.

 

 

I'd love a snorkle too. And a pelikan level. And a Twsbi vac. And a VP...

[JohnS-MI]

I'd say two pens minimum (more if you need colors or multiple nib widths)

 

One would be a Pilot VP. Engineering is mostly like note taking, a lot of thinking, only occasional and intermittant writing. The retractable nib would be most important feature. Only limitation is somewhat small ink supply.

 

The second pen would be more suited to bulk writing. I would choose a P51, the hooded nib wouldn't dry out if writing wasn't continuous enough, but it would support extensive writing better than the VP. Probably a lot of other choices for the second pen, pick what you like but ideally a fairly large ink supply, feels comfortable and is still performing after pages of writing.

 

 

Agree with comments that engineering is about performance, not bling. Both pens are very functional in their own ways and not bad looking.

[nik4537]

Engineers are a diverse and often picky lot. The ideal pen for an engineer will be whatever pen that particular engineer preferes.

 

+1

[J_MB]

Hi all engineers!!! What is the ideal pen for engineers?

 

Still trying to find a fountain pen that would last longer. My current pen has an expectancy of one cartridge every few days

 

Which fountain pen has the biggest tank?

Edited March 8, 2013 by J_MB