My First "high-End" Pen!

[Kuhataparunks]

Hey all,

Today I got a Pilot Elite Mini in the mail. And I. Love. It!!

The reason I got it was because 1, it has an 18K Gold nib, AND 2. it was a posting nib:

I am very partial to very fine nibs, and this pen writes a very crisp line, not needle thin, but kind of just right; It's quite similar to a G2 .38mm line, maybe a hair-width thicker. It's not too fine though, and the 18K nib is so much nicer than a stainless steel nib (the Pilot Penmanship is best one to compare this pen to.)

 

The upgrade from a stainless steel, $20 pen to a near-$100 18K gold nib is quite a step-up, much better than I expected!

 

What was your first higher-end fountain pen? I know a Pilot Elite is more of a mid-end pen, but I'm quite fond of the 18K nib and look forward to writing more with it!

[gclyn]

Mine was a Pelikan m800 Fine nib, the blue striated colour...still use at and is part of my daily rotation. Probably my favorite pen in my collection.

[tarheel1]

I guess one needs to define what a high-pen is. My cheapest pen is my Pilot 912 and was 174.00. My most expensive is my Montblanc Jules Verne at 1000+. All my other 4 are somewhere between those.

[Baric]

My first "high end" Japanese pen was a Nakaya Neo Standard in Kuro-tamenuri with a firm medium nib with a custom left oblique cut. Come to think of it, it's my ONLY Japanese pen. Hmmm, I'm going to have to fix that...

[SujiCorp12345]

My first high end pen was my M800 Tortoise, which is still my favourite pen.

[Icywolfe]

My first high end was a 14k Pilot Justus with it's special Hard/Soft adjustable nib.

 

Oddly enough I went from 18k gold (Pilot VP) to 14k gold. (Pilot Justus)

[Algester]

that isnt high end... but i guess you admit it... a true Pilot high end would be a Namiki on Ebonite over urushi with maki-e

but if I were to say about it... uhh... non... I dont own yet true extravagant high-end pens (GvFC, Nakaya, Namiki, Danitrio, Omas, MB, Delta, Visconti, so on and so forth) >.<... but if I were to say gold nibbed pens

first one came in with Lamy 2K next would be the Pilot CH91 with SM but alas... I have to check what is suitable for a NEET like me STEEL nib PENS :X

Edited August 17, 2014 by Algester

[Icywolfe]

that isnt high end... but i guess you admit it... a true Pilot high end would be a Namiki on Ebonite over urushi with maki-e

That is like 14,000 USD though. (I think)

 

Correction it's 12,000 USD and it's still not cheap:

 

http://www.penchalet.com/fine_pens/fountain_pens/namiki_golden_rose_limited_fountain_pen.html

 

But that is my goal one day to own one of those. It's like the goal of many others to own ethier own a M1000 or a MB 149. My goal to own a pen that I need to sell my body for.

Edited August 17, 2014 by Icywolfe

[dspeers58]

Mine was a Custom 823 M won on auction for a very good price and it is my favorite pen as of right now.

[JLS1]

I'm into vintage German pens right now, but at one point I owned a Nakaya Neo Standard - really nice pen but sold it (with an MB 149 and 144) to fund a grail pen. The 'highest end' Japanese pen I have right now is a Platinum Yakusugi 3776, which is a really nice pen but probably not in the 'high-end' category.

[Azura]

Probably the Sheaffer PFM III.

[Keyless Works]

For me it was a my 16th birthday gift from my parents, an OMAS Ogive Guilloche. I had some gold nib pens before that like the original Visconti Van Gogh and a Waterman Charleston but the OMAS for me really felt special, a true high-end fountain pen. In truth it was a terrible pen. The trim corroded almost instantly (may have been the early 2000s OMAS Blue acid ink) and it's medium point nib was way too wet, yet always found a way to skip every other line. I have since sent the pen to Danny Fudge who fixed the flow and skipping issues..now it is a great writer though I mostly hold on to it for sentimental reasons.

[KBeezie]

I don't know if I'd call my Pilot Elite Mini a "High End", I got it for $36 shipped from Japan.

 

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/pilotelitemini/uncapped.jpg

 

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/pilotelitemini/compare_capped.jpg

 

It is certainly the one pen I tend to carry around a lot, very smooth, soft 18K nib that is easy to take out and post, and writes right away.

 

But as far as being "high end", probably one I'd consider more care in carrying, probably my Platinum Century 3776 with a Soft Fine... but I don't really feel like any of my pens right now are particularly considered "high end" because I haven't paid more than $100 for any of them.

 

High end to me, is going to be something like a Pilot Justus 95, Aurora 75 LE, Pelikan 800, etc for Modern, or something like a Sheaffer PFM or solid gold Doric for vintage.

[Biff]

My Cross chrome Townsend that I bought in 1997, if you consider that high-end, probably not, but was for me at that time. I got it at a discount with the closing of a small-town stationery store. Otherwise it was my blue-striated M600 Pelikan that I got last year, my favorite pen.

Edited August 20, 2014 by Nicolas_Rieussec

[ArnyDelan168]

Sailor Professional Gear Imperial Black.