Celebrating 9 Months Of Fountain Pen Usage (Lots Of Pics)

[maverick777]

Over the weekend I took a series of pictures to celebrate my 9 months of fountain pen usage. I've acquired my grail pens and thoroughly enjoy them. I'm taking a break from purchases at least for a least a few months, so I thought now would be a good time to take some pictures of my current collection.

 

Thanks to everyone on this board and the amazing amount of information gathered here. It's been very helpful thus far lurking on the forums and feeding my growing passion and enjoyment of pens and inks (possibly an addiction... )

 

So without further ado, I hope you enjoy these pictures.

 

Inks!

http://i.imgur.com/IxAcIA8.jpg

 

Pens!

http://i.imgur.com/jHFHz8R.jpg

 

Pelikan Flying V

http://i.imgur.com/m1HOutn.jpg

 

Pilot CH92's

http://i.imgur.com/qAlxHW0.jpg

 

TWSBI Family

http://i.imgur.com/TR8lW1X.jpg

 

Pelikan Stub Nib Shot!

http://i.imgur.com/zOfDW9q.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/T4JDwCp.jpg

More images from this series can be found here:

http://imgur.com/a/jXl1T

 

[da vinci]

Great photos reflecting a well spent 9 months

 

What is your favourite pen?

[maverick777]

Great photos reflecting a well spent 9 months

 

What is your favourite pen?

 

My favorite overall are Pelikan M600's. They were/are my grail pens. I got them mainly because I love their design. There's no good fountain pen stores in my area so I bought all my pens without hands on experience. Fortunately the Pelikan's live up to their reputation. I have not been disappointed experiencing them person. They look every bit as good in person as I expected if not more so and the writing experience is very consistent and smooth. Currently the red M600 is my favorite simply because I think it looks amazing.

 

My favorite daily writers are the Pilot CH 92's. I actually like the nibs better than the M600's. It's tied with the M200 nib as my favorite. I use the Pilot pens as my daily writers because I'm not nervous about them leaving my house with me everyday and they hold just as much ink as the Pelikans. The writing experience is just as consistent and smooth as well. The only reason they're not up there with the M600 is that I prefer the look of the Pelikan pens more. In every other aspect the Pilot pens are equals. If price is a consideration, it's no contest. Pilot would win by a mile at retail prices.

 

So overall Pelikan wins in my book.

[marcelo]

WOW!!! I wonder what your collection is going to be at nine years of FP usage!

 

Congratulations!

Marcelo

[Crazyorange]

Great collection. The stub nib is stunning!

[OcalaFlGuy]

Very nicely done.

 

You don't mention if you turnover pens you aren't the fondest of.

 

I wonder how many of these pens you'll still have 9 months from now.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[maverick777]

WOW!!! I wonder what your collection is going to be at nine years of FP usage!

 

Congratulations!

Marcelo

Thanks! I'm not sure I'll have a lot more really. I wanted to have a complete lineup from Pelikan which I now have with 2 exceptions. A Vintage EF 400 which I plan to get sometime this year and an M1000 which I'm in no hurry to get since the M800 is at my limit for large and heavy pens.

 

Very nicely done.

 

You don't mention if you turnover pens you aren't the fondest of.

 

I wonder how many of these pens you'll still have 9 months from now.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

Hah. I tend to hoard things so I'll still have the same pens 9 months from now and maybe some more. If I did get rid of some, it'd be the TWSBI pens. The Lamy Safari's will be tester pens and ones I let people test write with. The TWSBI's have been outclassed by my Pilot and Pelikans. I'd probably still keep the 580 USA though. I like the way it looks. The rose gold editions are kind of fragile in that the plating comes off a little too easily. The Lamy 2000, Pilots, and Pelikans are keepers.

[cmeisenzahl]

Wow, great pics!!

[rochester21]

Finally, some decent size photos. Let`s hope the other members take notice, i`m sick of the 640x480 nonsense. Thanks

[stacybean]

Yes, I leave my Pelikans at home as well. My own pen purchasing is winding down it seems and the Lamys were my most recent and unexpected acquisition - Al-Stars and the 2000. While I am tempted to purchase some more Pilots, the 823 is so wonderful I can restrain myself.

Enjoy this splendid collection.

[SujiCorp12345]

Great collection! I absolutely love your photography skills.

[maverick777]

Finally, some decent size photos. Let`s hope the other members take notice, i`m sick of the 640x480 nonsense. Thanks

 

Haha. Thanks. I actually downsized these pictures to 5MP. The originals are actually 24MP.

 

Thanks everyone for the complements on the pictures. Photography is also a hobby of mine. I think I need to pick less expensive hobbies.

[OcalaFlGuy]

Well, your photography chops certainly complement your pen hobby well.

 

That IS the way it's 'sposed "to work".

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[Pelikan_FP]

Beautiful shots of your collection thus far. I agree with you that the Pilot 92 is a great daily writer; they're my favorite too.

 

All the best in your next 9 months of usage and collecting!

[attika89]

Beautiful collection! Congrats!!!
I love your photos!

[oregano]

Gorgeous photos, thanks for a glimpse of your collection! I especially admire the Pelikan flock, and share the same

opinion of the nibs and design. Here's to enjoying your pens

[pranav.bhatnagar]

Wooowww man awesome.... Great collection, Great pics.... I just got into a little maths and i see that you have a new masterpeice (an ink or a pen) every week.. Thats a rare luck... All the best.. Hope you keep on multiplying and keep up the passion for FP..

 

 

--

[AnnieB123]

Beautiful photos! And a lovely collection

[FayeV]

 

 

 

My favorite daily writers are the Pilot CH 92's. I actually like the nibs better than the M600's. It's tied with the M200 nib as my favorite. I use the Pilot pens as my daily writers because I'm not nervous about them leaving my house with me everyday and they hold just as much ink as the Pelikans. The writing experience is just as consistent and smooth as well. The only reason they're not up there with the M600 is that I prefer the look of the Pelikan pens more. In every other aspect the Pilot pens are equals. If price is a consideration, it's no contest. Pilot would win by a mile at retail prices.

 

So overall Pelikan wins in my book.

 

 

 

If I did get rid of some, it'd be the TWSBI pens. The Lamy Safari's will be tester pens and ones I let people test write with. The TWSBI's have been outclassed by my Pilot and Pelikans. I'd probably still keep the 580 USA though. I like the way it looks. The rose gold editions are kind of fragile in that the plating comes off a little too easily. The Lamy 2000, Pilots, and Pelikans are keepers.

 

 

 

You photos look fabulous!!!

 

I appreciate all of your comments about these pens, especially your experience with the Pilot CH92. I've been thinking about trying the TWSBI 580 and have been reading through older posts about that pen. One of my concerns in the inability to post.

The CH92 didn't even enter my radar. However after reading about your positive experiences, I will definitely add that to my list of pens to consider. I was also thinking about trying the Lamy 2000 someday. I have a Pilot Metropolitan which is a solid pen at its price point, so I'm thinking one can't go wrong with a higher end Pilot pen. The TWSBI would give me instant gratification since it is more affordable. I'd need more time to save up for a CH92 if I decide to go for that one.

[maverick777]

 

 

 

 

You photos look fabulous!!!

 

I appreciate all of your comments about these pens, especially your experience with the Pilot CH92. I've been thinking about trying the TWSBI 580 and have been reading through older posts about that pen. One of my concerns in the inability to post.

The CH92 didn't even enter my radar. However after reading about your positive experiences, I will definitely add that to my list of pens to consider. I was also thinking about trying the Lamy 2000 someday. I have a Pilot Metropolitan which is a solid pen at its price point, so I'm thinking one can't go wrong with a higher end Pilot pen. The TWSBI would give me instant gratification since it is more affordable. I'd need more time to save up for a CH92 if I decide to go for that one.

 

Thanks for the compliments!

 

My advice is to save up for the Pilot or Lamy 2000. I think they're worth the cost over a TWSBI. The nibs are betters, you get really good ink capacity although a TWSBI 580 or Vac 700 have huge ink capacities. The fact that the 580 doesn't post isn't a huge downside. The pen is plenty large to use unposted, but it's nice to have the option to post. The main reasons why I would steer people away from TWSBI is the quality of their pens. Much has been written about their customer service and their turn around time in sending replacement parts. I can vouch for that first hand. However, much has been said because issues tend to be more prevalent with TWSBI pens. I have 3 F nibs that write differently. An EF that writes like a F. Rose gold plating that wore off after only a few uses. Only 1 out of 4 nibs wrote as smooth as they should out of the box. After some nib smoothing they're better but not perfect. Contrast that with my Pilot and Lamy 2000. They had perfect nibs out of the box. I haven't made any adjustments to them since I took them out of the box. The Lamy 2000 is a tried and true design. The look is unique, the makrolon finish is very nice to hold, the ink capacity is great, and the nib writes very smooth if you win the Lamy nib lottery. That's the only downside to the Lamy 2000. Nib consistency on the Lamy 2000 isn't great by reputation, but mine was perfect. On the other hand, Pilot has an outstanding reputation for nib consistency and smoothness. The 4 nibs I have from Pilot write with a consistent line width that matches what they nib indicates it should be and they are very smooth. The quality of the plastic used is noticeably better and the construction of the piston mechanism is also noticeably better than TWSBI. You can see the metal bits Pilot uses in their piston versus the all plastic construction of the TWSBI. The difference is something you can feel when you twist the piston.

 

So in short, save for the TWSBI or Pilot. I'd also throw in the Pelikan M2xx. Pelikan's steel nibs are fantastic and the M200 would be the cheapest of the 3 options although it's also the smallest pen. So definitely take that into consideration as well.

 

Best of luck with your next purchase.