[HedgeMage]

After the recent break-up with my Lamy Al-Star, I found myself needing something to take its place...

Fountain pen fanatic seeks reliable partner for paperwork and note taking, who enjoys letter writing and the occassional journal entry. I promise inky adventures and the gentle embrace of a high-quality leather pen case.

Desired characteristics:

Price Range: Must be under $75, preferably under $50 (US).
Nib: EF or maybe a very fine F; the smoother the better.
Ink output: Medium; better too dry than too wet.
Color: I prefer neutral metals to yellow gold. I prefer solids to patterns. I don't do pink.
Build: On the heftier side, but not huge. Waterman Expert II is about perfect.
Styling: just about anything
Age: I prefer modern pens to vintage.
Weight: Heavier is better -- my beloved Expert II is just a little lighter than perfect.
Material: Metals (bare or coated) preferred. I'm not fun of light, plasticy-feeling resin or plastic pens. I'll try anything with a good weight and feel, regardless of material.
Brand: Lamy is not on my good side right now. Waterman is my favorite, with Pelikan starting to pique my interest. I'm all for new experiences, too.
Filling: Captive converters annoy me, but that aside, anything reliable (converter, piston fill, eyedropper fill, etc) is fine.

Can you recommend the best new pen for me? This isn't a poll, I'm just looking to brainstorm ideas.

--HedgeMage

[pakmanpony]

Holy cow! You don't even need to change brands!! You need a Lamy Studio xf in Brushed Stainless Steel. Just got one from Isellpens and I absolutely love it! If you want to spend a little more you can go for the Pallidium version.

[ethernautrix]

The Pelikan M215 has a nice heft to it. Mine has a fabulous EF steel nib, and it is GORGEOUS! I have the "rings" model. A friend at work has the "harlequin" model, which I wasn't crazy about, but I happened to glance over while she was writing with it, and it was stunning. Not in the "I want that!" way, but in an appreciative, "Oh. My 'rings' version must be as dazzling in a stately kindv way."

It's slightly higher than your range. I believe isellpens sells them for $84, but I haven't checked recently.

I've been distracted by my pen reorganization project, trying to keep only two or three pens inked and on-hand at all times, and I cannot put the Pelikan M215 away. I can't. I write with it to see if there's any reason, any reason at all! to flush it and put it away. And I can't do it. I love how it writes. I love how it looks.

What I'm doing now (actually, pretty much at this moment) is wondering what color I should put in it instead of OMB, since it's obvious it's on the roster for the time being. I'm thinking PR Midnight Blues.

Oh, with the OMB, it's definitely writes dry, not wet. (It might write wet with a gusher ink, but -- ew -- I don't like gusher inks.)

But, yeah, a bit higher than you're looking to spend.

The Pilot Prera with a M nib is a nice F, and it's heavier than it looks. But... it's a plasticky pen and on the small side. However, it's about $35, if I remember correctly.

This post has been edited by ethernautrix: 27 August 2008 - 04:45 AM

[lapis]

Ditto, get an M215. The first pen I looked at for years was a Phileas because everybody here was saying that it is a great pren for that money. I tried it out (wet), it looked realy good, all those finishes, wow, but I then discovered the M215 and bought that instead, immediately. Okay, it costed a bit more, still was affordable but it wrote better and felt better in my hand. I still don't have a Phileas, sorry, don't need one.

Mike

[ZeleniLav]

Rotring Initial, the metal version (although the plastic one feels very solid, too). It's large, it's fairly heavy, and it fits your budget. Two problems, though... The medium nib on the one I have is a fairly broad medium, so the fine one might turn out to be fairly broad. Also, it's been discontinued, and may be difficult to find (though I've seen them on eBay).

Another one that would fit your specs on everything but the price is the Pilot Vanishing Point. Maybe eBay can help with that, too...

Lamy Studio is another nice one, although it is a bit on the lighter side.

Concerning to the Pelikan M215... Although the barrel has a metal sleeve on it, it's considerably lighter and smaller than the Waterman Expert. It is a nice pen, but if you're looking for something big and heavy, it just isn't it.

This post has been edited by ZeleniLav: 27 August 2008 - 11:32 AM

[Zoe]

You might want to take a look at the Sensa review here. It's a hefty pen, modern and can be purchased for as little as $30.00. I can't vouch for its F nib, but the writing with an M nib is butter smooth and takes some abuse with various inks.

[Juan in Andalucia]

Lamy Studio; easy to change nibs, tough as nails, and great writer.

Juan

[goodguy]

Pelikan M200 from

http://www.isellpens.com/pelikan.htm

This post has been edited by goodguy: 27 August 2008 - 12:00 PM