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What Brand Of Pens, In Your Experience, Is Perfect Regarding Reliability?


Blue_Moon

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If we're talking about a brand where *every* pen and model they make is perfect in terms of reliability, then I can't think of a single one because I've even seen people complaining about their MontBlanc 149 (especially when they sent it in to be fixed by an authorized repair facility and comes back worse for example), and of course "perfect" means 100% not 98.9-99.9% (even lower if you take into account brands that sell even dirt cheap models).

 

I've had the best luck with Pilot for under $200 working right out of the box, but I wouldn't say its an absolute 100%.

Edited by KBeezie
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I don't think it'a a brand; in my experience, it's each pen individually that either makes it or doesn't. Three Kawecos until I found the perfect one.

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In my direct personal experience, I have never had a problem with any of these brands:

 

Pelikan

Delta

Nakaya

 

Sadly, Conway Stewart is NOT on this list. I still love their pens but their nibs sometimes need some TLC.

 

In spite of this list, I'm SURE none of these brands is perfect if you take in a larger sample.

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In my experience, Pelikan (in my teens) and Faber Castell (last year) wrote perfectly out of the box.

My Lamy and a modern Parker needed a few weeks to let me tame them, so not really out of the box, but I'm happy with both eventually.

 

I don't think it'a a brand; in my experience, it's each pen individually that either makes it or doesn't. Three Kawecos until I found the perfect one.

+1!

 

(…) because I've even seen people complaining about their MontBlanc 149 (…)

yikes!

http://vladsandrini.com/i/mysig.png

  vladsandrini.com

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Nakaya. Waterman circa mid-80s to mid-90s (my experience of them). Sheaffers, same timeframe as Waterman.

 

My answer pertains to brands of which I've owned more than a couple and bought new.

_________________

etherX in To Miasto

Fleekair <--French accent.

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I am not sure that any of these were perfect

but each wrote right out of the box and none

have ever caused me any grief. They might be

my most reliable pens. Maybe it's due to the

fact that all of them use JoWo nibs?

 

Edison (2)

Franklin-Christoph (2)

JEB's Pens (3)

Scriptorium Pens (1)

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To me the question does not make sense.

 

A fountain pen with a correctly made and adjusted nib will not skip or hard-start under normal conditions. If you leave it uncapped long enough, especially on a dry day, then of course it will dry out... sooner for some pens than others. None of this is specific to one brand or another.

 

Likewise, you can get a defective or mis-adjusted nib from any pen manufacturer, without exception.

 

So... Which brand is perfect? Almost all of them are if they're made right, and none of them are if you get a lemon.

 

Tony, The key words in your post is "IF THEY'RE MADE RIGHT." That's exactly what we're looking for in this post - brands that make pens that are of a high quality - "made right." The other side of that, which I indicated in my initial post, and follow up posts, is looking at the individual's personal experience.

 

Here's my thinking - out of many posts, a certain brand or two keeps being repeated, it stands to reason that maybe that company has a slightly higher quality than most. Now, as I've previously mentioned, no manufacturer/brand/pen is perfect. However, there may be some brands that are closer to perfection than others. Also, one person's experience may differ from another person's. But, if say 20 people say they've NEVER had any difficulty with a certain brand, and 5 say they have had difficulty at one time or another, I tend to think that brand, overall, is a higher quality than one in which 5 people say they've never had any difficulty with a brand, and 20 say they have.

 

Also, as mentioned above, this is NOT a scientific survey. But it's interesting, and it makes for good conversation. I notice that, thus far, Pilot and Lamy seem to be repeated frequently. I've had great experience with Pilot, but not perfect. Lamy has been hit and miss for me. However, based on the results, it seems that they do demonstrate a pretty high quality overall.

Franklin-Christoph, Italix, and Pilot pens are the best!
Iroshizuku, Diamine, and Waterman inks are my favorites!

Apica, Rhodia, and Clairefontaine make great paper!

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Pilot and Lamy. I haven't had a single skip or hard start with either, and I own two of the former and four (previously six) of the latter. Though I don't own many Pilots, I have tried several at the closest pen store, and I didn't have any hard starts or skipping with those, either (which was not the case with other pens I tried).

 

I hesitate to include Platinum. I've only ever used one pen (the Balance), but I use it regularly and it's completely reliable. Take what you will from that sample size of one.

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If we're talking about a brand where *every* pen and model they make is perfect in terms of reliability, then I can't think of a single one because I've even seen people complaining about their MontBlanc 149 (especially when they sent it in to be fixed by an authorized repair facility and comes back worse for example), and of course "perfect" means 100% not 98.9-99.9% (even lower if you take into account brands that sell even dirt cheap models).

 

I've had the best luck with Pilot for under $200 working right out of the box, but I wouldn't say its an absolute 100%.

 

As I mentioned in my OP, some people won't have had this experience. However, some (in their personal experience) will have had pens that wrote 100% of the time perfectly - for them. For example, as I mentioned, Italix is a brand that has NEVER had hard starts or skips for me. It has been a super smooth writer and dependable 100% of the time - for me. I am certain that not everyone has had this experience with Italix pens. They are man-made, and thus, not perfect. However, MY experience with them has been perfect.

 

You mentioned Pilot. I have had a fantastic experience with Pilot pens. However, I had a Prera that was less than perfect out of the box, and I had to send it to Pilot to be adjusted. I still think Pilots are excellent pens. However, In my personal experience, I would rank Italix slightly ahead of Pilot.

 

Again, this is not a scientific survey at all. It's simply interesting to read the responses. Each person can take what they want from this thread.

 

Have a great day!

Franklin-Christoph, Italix, and Pilot pens are the best!
Iroshizuku, Diamine, and Waterman inks are my favorites!

Apica, Rhodia, and Clairefontaine make great paper!

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I don't think it'a a brand; in my experience, it's each pen individually that either makes it or doesn't. Three Kawecos until I found the perfect one.

 

That's the advantage of a free society. I'm interested in the brand, in which all the pens have been perfect for that individual user.

Franklin-Christoph, Italix, and Pilot pens are the best!
Iroshizuku, Diamine, and Waterman inks are my favorites!

Apica, Rhodia, and Clairefontaine make great paper!

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Pilot, Sailor, Pelikan, Montblanc, Lamy, Franklin Christoph, Edison and Waterman have all worked for me out of the box. Conway Stewart needed work. Omas is batting .500. Kaweco is at .750. Nakaya has a perfect record, but they've also come from John Mottishaw... so I have to attribute that to his shop and not the brand, but I suspect they would have worked regardless.

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Almost anything from Japan. They seem to have a tradition of quality control going back 40 years, about the time others gave it up.

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Lamy, Sailor, Pilot, Faber-Castell

Pelikan 140 EF | Pelikan 140 OBB | Pelikan M205 0.4mm stub | Pilot Custom Heritage 912 PO | Pilot Metropolitan M | TWSBI 580 EF | Waterman 52 1/2v

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I will list Platinum.. the modest Plaisir which has a tight fitting cap, and as advertised does write upon demand even after sitting unused for a long period of time. Nice nib too. Liked them so well I gave a few as gifts to people who needed a reliable pen.

 

Safari, two misses only in many pens, over many years, 1 scratchy Joy unit nib, and 1 cracked feed > immediately replaced by the excellent reseller.

 

There is no perfection. Any manufacturer will have an issue from time to time. How that is handled factors in my choices.

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Tony, The key words in your post is "IF THEY'RE MADE RIGHT." That's exactly what we're looking for in this post - brands that make pens that are of a high quality - "made right." The other side of that, which I indicated in my initial post, and follow up posts, is looking at the individual's personal experience.

 

Here's my thinking - out of many posts, a certain brand or two keeps being repeated, it stands to reason that maybe that company has a slightly higher quality than most.

 

At first you made it sounds like almost all fountain pens have skipping issues, and that some special brand out there produces nibs that never skip.

 

Most fountain pens that are not the absolute bottom tier (i.e. not something cheap from India or mainland China) will not skip or hard-start in normal usage. Most TWSBIs or Monteverdes or low-end Lamy or Sheaffer, etc., will work "perfectly" by your terms, unless you happen to get a bad one. And, as I noted before, you can get a bad one from any pen company in the world.

 

So, it's a game of chance. Some companies have more rigorous quality control than others, and your odds are better of getting a pen that does not require warranty service. I think the Japanese companies are probably at the top, followed by US companies, followed by Germany, followed by Italy... However, even if you buy a Pilot, there's a chance you'll get a pen with a defect, and I'm quite sure the chance is much, much, much higher than the 0.01% chance you seem to be demanding.

Edited by tonybelding
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