Owning Several Pens But Using Only One. Which One?

[beboy]

I heard a lot about people owning several fountain pens having a limited number of pens in their "rotation".

 

I was wondering if some people were owning multiple fountain pen but were using only one, just one, at least more than 75% of the time. Either because they found their "Grail" pen, or because that particular pen is just pleasant to hold and write with, or for some other reason.

 

Just curious.

[shawndp]

Some pens seem better in theory than they write, or look better than they work, or you buy them because you are collecting on the lines of a theme - in my case all the colours of the Waterman Phileas...

[inkstainedruth]

I don't go down to just one pen at a time, because I like having different colors of ink (every pen currently in rotation has a different ink in it). In some cases, it's testing new inks out and in others (such as a Snorkel with an EF triumph nib) it's trying to find a pen/ink combo that works. Plus, I have some brush pens set up with highlighter inks.

Actually, if you don't count the two Snorkels (the aforementioned EF nibbed pen -- a Statesman -- and the Valiant I got repaired last month at the Ohio Pen Show), at the moment I don't really have *any* grail pens or top performers in rotation -- the other pens being a bunch of Parker Vectors (which are good test pens for new inks since they're relatively easy to flush); and a Noodler's Konrad which hadn't seen use for a while because it writes dry, but which now has a wet ink (De Atramentis Dante Alighieri/Ruby Red in it). As that set of inked pens gets used, I will probably flush them and swap in other pens and inks (the Pelikan M400, for instance, or maybe the Plum Parker 51 Aero, or the ebonite Konrad).

I have to be careful about having too many pens in rotation because it gets unwieldy and I worry about having issues with pens having ink dry out in them. But if I have too *few* pens in rotation, I get bored and want to play with more ink colors again....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Runnin_Ute]

Right now I have about 15-16 inked. A few to many honestly. It starts getting slightly unwieldy around 10 or so. One is empty/needs flushing currently. (black Phileas with a M nib)

 

I have at least two with red and two with green right now. (different shades). Depending how you classify Levenger Pomegranate, that could be as many as 3 different reds in 4 pens. (BlackStone Red Cashmere in two pens- a Konrad with a B, and a Parker 45 with a F)

 

Perhaps I will shuffle things so I don't have the same ink in more than one pen.

[NinthSphere]

I own something like 22-23 fps atm (I forget what the last tally was), 8 of which are inked. My go-to pens since I got them have been one of the 2 medium Parker 51 demi aeros from the 3 pen pouch of 51s I usually leave the house with.

 

What's interesting (to me, anyway) is that when I first learned of the 51, I shared the opinion of many. I thought they were rather bland, disliked the hooded nib, etc. Somewhere along the line, something shifted & I pulled a 180. Now, I can't imagine what I could have had against them. The demi's width & length are just right, the way the body flows from the jeweled cap end to the hooded nib is lovely, & the medium nibs themselves lay down a great line, with no starting issues or annoying drying out when I pause for a bit in the middle of writing. I still use other pens at home, but the 51s are (for the moment, anyway) my favorite. Just great, reliable pens.

[beboy]

I don't go down to just one pen at a time, because I like having different colors of ink (every pen currently in rotation has a different ink in it). In some cases, it's testing new inks out and in others (such as a Snorkel with an EF triumph nib) it's trying to find a pen/ink combo that works. Plus, I have some brush pens set up with highlighter inks.

Actually, if you don't count the two Snorkels (the aforementioned EF nibbed pen -- a Statesman -- and the Valiant I got repaired last month at the Ohio Pen Show), at the moment I don't really have *any* grail pens or top performers in rotation -- the other pens being a bunch of Parker Vectors (which are good test pens for new inks since they're relatively easy to flush); and a Noodler's Konrad which hadn't seen use for a while because it writes dry, but which now has a wet ink (De Atramentis Dante Alighieri/Ruby Red in it). As that set of inked pens gets used, I will probably flush them and swap in other pens and inks (the Pelikan M400, for instance, or maybe the Plum Parker 51 Aero, or the ebonite Konrad).

I have to be careful about having too many pens in rotation because it gets unwieldy and I worry about having issues with pens having ink dry out in them. But if I have too *few* pens in rotation, I get bored and want to play with more ink colors again....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Yes, I think I forgot about the ink factor. I guess that if one settles for one pen, he must also settle for one ink. I guess this his one of the reasons why fountain pens can cause addiction: you want to try new inks, then you need more pens, then you want to try a new ink with that specific pen, but also with that other one you heard about... this is the downfall spiral of fountain pens

[beboy]

Some pens seem better in theory than they write, or look better than they work, or you buy them because you are collecting on the lines of a theme - in my case all the colours of the Waterman Phileas...

But do you own only Phileas pens? Or these are the ones you use daily?

[beboy]

I own something like 22-23 fps atm (I forget what the last tally was), 8 of which are inked. My go-to pens since I got them have been one of the 2 medium Parker 51 demi aeros from the 3 pen pouch of 51s I usually leave the house with.

 

What's interesting (to me, anyway) is that when I first learned of the 51, I shared the opinion of many. I thought they were rather bland, disliked the hooded nib, etc. Somewhere along the line, something shifted & I pulled a 180. Now, I can't imagine what I could have had against them. The demi's width & length are just right, the way the body flows from the jeweled cap end to the hooded nib is lovely, & the medium nibs themselves lay down a great line, with no starting issues or annoying drying out when I pause for a bit in the middle of writing. I still use other pens at home, but the 51s are (for the moment, anyway) my favorite. Just great, reliable pens.

I still have that opinion you are referring to for the 51... like I was finding the Sonnet boring few months ago; this is now my favorite pen. Just so well balanced and reliable writter (after some adjustments) I will have to try a 65 before going with the 51.

[NinthSphere]

Yes, I think I forgot about the ink factor. I guess that if one settles for one pen, he must also settle for one ink. I guess this his one of the reasons why fountain pens can cause addiction: you want to try new inks, then you need more pens, then you want to try a new ink with that specific pen, but also with that other one you heard about... this is the downfall spiral of fountain pens

 

Yeah, inks are a whole other problem. When this started, I was going to have just one pen. Then I started seeing all kinds of things I liked about other pens & got roped into that mess. So, I figured I wasn't going to let things get out of hand on the ink side, but the more pens I acquired, the more I wanted to have options for color diversity with the ink.

 

I still think Sonnets are boring.

[shawndp]

But do you own only Phileas pens? Or these are the ones you use daily?

 

To the contrary they are a pen that I collect more than I own in that I almost never have them in my daily rotation. I have around 30-something pens in writing condition and around 6 to 8 in use at any given time.

[jar]

A pen of mine usually stays in rotation for one, maybe two cartridge sized fills but then may languish for decades before being used again.

[KBeezie]

It would be very difficult for me to only use one. I would need at the very least two. Which would either be a Black & Blue, or a Fine & Medium+, or a Dry & Wet combination.

 

If I had to narrow my five currently inked pens down to just two, it would probably be :

 

1) Pilot Long Murex, Steel Integrated Fine Nib (writes like a Japanese EF), Noodler's Blue Steel

2) Montblanc 225, 14K Platinum-Coated XXF (western, close to the same as the Murex), Noodler's Black Eel

 

As I'm comfortable with both of those, and both the blue and black are waterproof. If I had to just narrow it down to just one, it would probably b the Murex as it's easier to carry. (though the Montblanc is smoother, and nicer to use for longer sessions).

 

If I had to choose two between fine and medium:

 

1) Pilot Murex 2) Pelikan M250 14K M

 

Or between Dry and Wet

 

1) Pilot Murex 2) 1935 Edel with Steel Flex and Diamine Syrah

 

or between practical and pretty

 

1) Pilot Murex 2) Parker Vacumatic Gold-Pearled, 14K EF~F (western), Iroshizuku Syo-ro

 

The Vacumatic is rather smooth, flow being slightly on the dryer side in terms of how quickly it dries after written, just not something I'd shove into my coat pocket on first grab, like I would with the Murex.

 

Plus the Long Murex falls into the category of one of my grail pens I sought to get one day when I first started getting into fountain pens (my initial attraction was to the M90 or the original Myu 701, but the long murex is said to be more comfortable).

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

I have one daily writer that I use at the office, a Parker Sonnet + M 18K nib. Yes it is boring, so 'disappears' when I'm using it, which allows me to work without distraction.

 

At times another pen might be pressed into service when different nib+ink combo is mandated, often a Red Estie J.

 

When on duty in the field I use a rotring 600 + F and bring along a Pelikan P99 + F as back-up and a Sailor DE + Fude nib so I can write/draw with a wide range of line widths.

 

For personal writing I choose my pen+ink+paper combo on a per document basis, so the pen is cleaned and put away when that document is done, if not in one day then three at most. At times that pen+ink will be used as a casual carry for random off-duty jottings, ephemera, etc. either until it runs dry or I move on to the next one.

 

When I need just a wee bit of a certain ink I've taken to using dip pens more often than FPs.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited December 17, 2014 by Sandy1

[tinta]

Since I installed an 18K JoWo custom stub into my F-C Mod. 03 (about three months ago), I have had that pen continually inked with R&K Scabiosa, to the exclusion of my other very well writing pens/nibs. There are nine possible pens, but I have trouble keeping even two pens in rotation.

 

The big 18K nib has a slight spring in it that I really like. The width of this nib is appropriate for my large cursive hand. Scabiosa is a little more daring than my other usual (IG) blue-blacks.

I have no desire (yet) to experiment with today's dizzying palate of inks.

At this time this single pen seems to serve me very well indeed. It is a tool.

[ac12]

I used to be that way, when I only used black then later blue ink.

 

But then as was mentioned above, I like to rotate between different inks. So I now have multiple pens each with different inks.

- black: Cross/Pelikan, Waterman and Sheaffer

- blue: Cross/Pelikan and Waterman

- green: Waterman, Diamine Sherwood Green, Diamine Ultra Green

- red: Sheaffer

- turquoise: Sheaffer

 

beyond this I use my dip pens to write with other inks that have not yet been loaded into a fountain pen.

[maverick777]

I found my grail pens, but I have several of them. Not several grail pens. Several of the same grail pen. Pelikan M60x.

 

I have the same pens with different inks. That keeps them all in the rotation. Why rotate inks in your pens when you can rotate pens with different inks?

 

I use all these pens on a very regular basis:

 

Pelikan M600 blue/black - Diamine Regency Blue. A perfectly nice blue for formal occasions and journaling

Pelikan M600 red/black - Diamine Red Dragon. An excellent red for marking things up and just for fun.

Pelikan M605 marine blue - Iroshizuku Asa Gao. My favorite blue-violet ink. Good for all occasions.

Pelikan M605 black/rhodium - Sailor Shigure. A please shade of purple.

 

Pilot CH 92 black - Iroshizuku Take-Sumi. My favorite black and with a fine nib it works great for all occasions on all paper.

Pilot CH 92 blue - Iroshizuku Kon-Peki. My favorite blue in currently with great shading even with a FM nib.

Pilot CH 92 orange - Diamine Oxblood. A great red/brown ink that I use for journaling.

 

If they made another color Pilot CH 92 I would probably buy another one. I'm not super interested in the clear one though.

 

I will continue to purchase Pelikans. If they make an M600 in antracite next year, I'll probably pick one up.

 

My TWSBI pens have been collecting dust since acquiring these pens. I may still purchase the mythical TWSBI vac mini if they ever release it.

[beboy]

I found my grail pens, but I have several of them. Not several grail pens. Several of the same grail pen. Pelikan M60x.

 

I have the same pens with different inks. That keeps them all in the rotation. Why rotate inks in your pens when you can rotate pens with different inks?

 

I use all these pens on a very regular basis:

 

Pelikan M600 blue/black - Diamine Regency Blue. A perfectly nice blue for formal occasions and journaling

Pelikan M600 red/black - Diamine Red Dragon. An excellent red for marking things up and just for fun.

Pelikan M605 marine blue - Iroshizuku Asa Gao. My favorite blue-violet ink. Good for all occasions.

Pelikan M605 black/rhodium - Sailor Shigure. A please shade of purple.

 

Pilot CH 92 black - Iroshizuku Take-Sumi. My favorite black and with a fine nib it works great for all occasions on all paper.

Pilot CH 92 blue - Iroshizuku Kon-Peki. My favorite blue in currently with great shading even with a FM nib.

Pilot CH 92 orange - Diamine Oxblood. A great red/brown ink that I use for journaling.

 

If they made another color Pilot CH 92 I would probably buy another one. I'm not super interested in the clear one though.

 

I will continue to purchase Pelikans. If they make an M600 in antracite next year, I'll probably pick one up.

 

My TWSBI pens have been collecting dust since acquiring these pens. I may still purchase the mythical TWSBI vac mini if they ever release it.

Do you have te 625? This is the only Pelikan I wanted to have badly, but it is now discontinued.

[beboy]

I used to be that way, when I only used black then later blue ink.

 

But then as was mentioned above, I like to rotate between different inks. So I now have multiple pens each with different inks.

- black: Cross/Pelikan, Waterman and Sheaffer

- blue: Cross/Pelikan and Waterman

- green: Waterman, Diamine Sherwood Green, Diamine Ultra Green

- red: Sheaffer

- turquoise: Sheaffer

 

beyond this I use my dip pens to write with other inks that have not yet been loaded into a fountain pen.

Ink is the evil

[beboy]

Since I installed an 18K JoWo custom stub into my F-C Mod. 03 (about three months ago), I have had that pen continually inked with R&K Scabiosa, to the exclusion of my other very well writing pens/nibs. There are nine possible pens, but I have trouble keeping even two pens in rotation.

 

The big 18K nib has a slight spring in it that I really like. The width of this nib is appropriate for my large cursive hand. Scabiosa is a little more daring than my other usual (IG) blue-blacks.

I have no desire (yet) to experiment with today's dizzying palate of inks.

At this time this single pen seems to serve me very well indeed. It is a tool.

It seems it is the secret: to use only use one pen, you must use only one ink...

[beboy]

Hi,

 

I have one daily writer that I use at the office, a Parker Sonnet + M 18K nib. Yes it is boring, so 'disappears' when I'm using it, which allows me to work without distraction.

 

At times another pen might be pressed into service when different nib+ink combo is mandated, often a Red Estie J.

 

When on duty in the field I use a rotring 600 + F and bring along a Pelikan P99 + F as back-up and a Sailor DE + Fude nib so I can write/draw with a wide range of line widths.

 

For personal writing I choose my pen+ink+paper combo on a per document basis, so the pen is cleaned and put away when that document is done, if not in one day then three at most. At times that pen+ink will be used as a casual carry for random off-duty jottings, ephemera, etc. either until it runs dry or I move on to the next one.

 

When I need just a wee bit of a certain ink I've taken to using dip pens more often than FPs.

 

Bye,

S1

My black matte sonnet with a 18k nib is also my sole daily writter at work.