Owning Several Pens But Using Only One. Which One?

[beboy]

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).

Ok, now I want a Murex...

[beboy]

 

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.

Even more boring: I use my Sonnet exclusively with Parker Quink Blue-black.

[maverick777]

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

 

I don't have it, but I'm not super interested in it either. My next M60x will probably be a white tortoise or antracite. The M625 is still available on Martini Auction if you really want one.

[KBeezie]

Ok, now I want a Murex...

Why? Just because I said I like it?

 

It is pretty though.

 

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/murex/full.jpg

[martinbir]

I typically have about six pens inked but that is one to use and five to play with. My Lamy 2000 is filled every day or so whereas the others last weeks.

 

So, if I had to keep just one it would not be a difficult choice. Businesslike and comfortable to use the poor 2000 seldom gets a rest.

[inotrym]

Granted, it's not the definition of attractiveness, but the VP is the most practical fountain pen I've used.

 

Second best is the Stargazer.

 

I would really love to find a small sized (yet metal/heavy) piston filler to add to my standard rotation.

[cellmatrix]

I've got a bunch of pretty decent pens (montblanc, nakaya, aurora, sheaffer, parker etc.) but lately I've been really impressed with a hero 616 which has been my daily writer for some time now. Its so smooth for such a fine nibbed pen, its writes a bit on the wet side, and the form factor and ergonomics are excellent, just like my parker 51s.

[Barnaby Bumble]

I typically have about six pens inked but that is one to use and five to play with. My Lamy 2000 is filled every day or so whereas the others last weeks.

 

So, if I had to keep just one it would not be a difficult choice. Businesslike and comfortable to use the poor 2000 seldom gets a rest.

 

You must do a LOT of writing if you empty a Lamy 2000 every day. I've taken to calling mine my Hanukkah pen: every time I think it's about out of ink, it seems to refill itself.

[Sandy1]

 

You must do a LOT of writing if you empty a Lamy 2000 every day. I've taken to calling mine my Hanukkah pen: every time I think it's about out of ink, it seems to refill itself.

 

Hi,

 

For the most part I refill my daily writer at the end of work day, whether it needs ink or not. I prefer not to be fussing about running out of ink. And if its been a rambunctious day, I may need to clean ink from the cap internals.

 

Also, the routine flush-fill cycle keeps fresh ink in the pen and clears the ink path, and the wipe-down after filling minimises accumulation of dry/concentrated ink in the feed comb of open nibs. Such wee nuances of pen handling can enhance performance reliability and consistency, which are important to me when having one FP to hand.

 

Bye,

S1

[hessi]

Granted, it's not the definition of attractiveness, but the VP is the most practical fountain pen I've used.

 

Second best is the Stargazer.

 

I would really love to find a small sized (yet metal/heavy) piston filler to add to my standard rotation.

 

Completely agree on the VP, with >50 fountain pens in my collections it's probably used about 3 times as many as the next most often used pen (#3776 UEF).

 

But the Stargazer? Had to google it, to be honest, but it doesn't strike me to be anything special... what makes it so practical in your opinion?

[WilsonCQB1911]

I own 8 pens total, 5 of which are currently in my possession. Two are coming back from repair and one is brand new on the way.

 

I have exactly 1 pen inked now, my favorite, a 149 with fine nib. I have had as many as 5 inked at one time as of late, but that's too many. Only 1 inked and I do find myself wanting to ink another for variety though.

 

If I had more self control and were more practical I would only have 1 inked, and probably only own 1 pen. Realistically, 2-3 inked seems more my speed.

 

I've considered selling a few more of my pens and getting down to only 2 or 3 pens, but that seems quite unlikely.

[sirgilbert357]

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

LOL, you need a couple of dip pens!

[inotrym]

 

Completely agree on the VP, with >50 fountain pens in my collections it's probably used about 3 times as many as the next most often used pen (#3776 UEF).

 

But the Stargazer? Had to google it, to be honest, but it doesn't strike me to be anything special... what makes it so practical in your opinion?

 

It's a smalish pen (a liiiiiitle smaller than the Prera) so it's portable and pocketable.

Has a snap cap. (capping and uncapping my twsbi mini was getting soooo frustrating)

It's all brass and therefore heavy (for its size at least) which I always appreciate in pens.

The lacquer finish is durable and needs no babying/pampering. (I wouldn't mistreat it either way, but it's nice to know it can survive an accident )

It's a japanese fine (best nibs ever, imo)

It's beautiful. (from its sparkling finish to the beautifully engraved gold nib)

It's a Pilot. (big fan )

 

If only there was a piston filling version of it, I would probably just close my FPN account and never look back!

(ok, that last one was a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point. )

Edited December 18, 2014 by inotrym

[sirgilbert357]

 

It's a smalish pen (a liiiiiitle smaller than the Prera) so it's portable and pocketable.

Has a snap cap. (capping and uncapping my twsbi mini was getting soooo frustrating)

It's all brass and therefore heavy (for its size at least) which I always appreciate in pens.

The lacquer finish is durable and needs no babying/pampering. (I wouldn't mistreat it either way, but it's nice to know it can survive an accident )

It's a japanese fine (best nibs ever, imo)

It's beautiful. (from its sparkling finish to the beautifully engraved gold nib)

It's a Pilot. (big fan )

 

If only there was a piston filling version of it, I would probably just close my FPN account and never look back!

(ok, that last one was a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point. )

Interesting. The Stargazer was a front runner in my last "Which pen will I buy?" research, but in the end, I ruled it out because of the lacquer finish...my Waterman Hemisphere was already picking up some "character" at only a month old and light use, so I ruled out lacquer finishes almost for good. I guess I need to see one in person at some point.

 

Edit: Oh and I post my cap, so I'd be interested to hear if you have any marks on the barrel from posting (if you post).

Edited December 18, 2014 by sirgilbert357

[inkstainedruth]

LOL, you need a couple of dip pens!

Nope. I'm not convinced that I get the same writing experience even when dip-testing FPs -- the results tend to be wetter than what I might get running the ink through the filler system and feed. The only time I dip-test pens is at the ink-testing tables at DCSS, and the first time I ever went to Fountain Pen Hospital -- I was trying to match some vintage-ish ink that came out of an Estie SJ I'd bought a couple of months before, and I wanted to see if I could find a modern blue-black ink that replicated the color and shading. I probably ended up trying 10 or 12 different inks, and not finding what I wanted. So I bought some other stuff there because I didn't want them to think I was just wasting their time (although it was fairly frustrating). And ended up getting a couple of inks in Art Brown's (because this was before that store closed up shop) -- Diamine Denim for color, and Noodler's Manhattan Blue for shading. FPH didn't carry Diamine inks, and at the time NMB was exclusive to Art Brown's -- since their demise, though, FPH has (fortunately for me!) picked it up and added it to their stable of Noodler's exclusives.

I have considered taking another stab at trying to get the J Herbin glass pen (which someone gave me when she was getting rid of it) to write, and seeing if that works better.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[pajaro]

Scores of pens, dozens of inks. The addict's mantra goes on. All chanting the same dogma. There's lots of stuff out there and you might as well go overboard on it. Been there, done that, have ink stained clothes.

 

I have settled on a certain Parker 51 and I will keep several ballpoints in play.

[ac12]

IF I had to, I could probably cut it back to

• Parker 180 (black ink or PR DCSS blue) and
• Esterbrook LJ (green ink, ah but which green ink?)

But that would be no fun. My pen pal letters would be boring in just one color.

 

Maybe the answer is:

• Parker 180 (black ink or PR DCSS blue) and
• Oblique dip pen holder with a Nikkon G nib (for any color I want to use at the time)

Edited December 19, 2014 by ac12

[beboy]

Why? Just because I said I like it?

 

It is pretty though.

 

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/murex/full.jpg

I've been looking for this pen for quite a while now. Possibly in medium. I got a 701 in fine, but it is a deception for me.

[martinbir]

 

You must do a LOT of writing if you empty a Lamy 2000 every day. I've taken to calling mine my Hanukkah pen: every time I think it's about out of ink, it seems to refill itself.

 

 

Usually every couple of days I suppose, but I don't fill to capacity and don't let it run completely dry - playing is half the fun after all! But I suppose I do write quite a lot and the (M) nib is quite quite generous, can't seem to find the ink saving mode.

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

I do not believe that there is a so-called Grail pen.

 

I have multiple pens ready to use, different nib sizes, different Colors, different pen sizes.

 

I usually keep my MB Boheme in my front Jean pocket, it's small and compact.

I keep at least three other Sailor pens with XF nibs with various colors for my daily planner.

I use my Onoto pens each day for taking notes.

I have my Lamys at work for various uses.

Always keep a MB mechanical pens with me in my bag with my puzzle book, I do this instead of playing games on my iPhone.

 

Just a quick and dirty rundown.