I have always enjoyed writing with fountain pens. Back in the '80s when I had a bit of money I bought a Waterman Le Man 100 without knowing anything about pens. It had a medium nib so I rarely used it. A few months ago I pulled it out and searched the web and found the nib could be ground. I sent it to a nib master to be worked on and set about searching Ebay for interesting fountains to form a collection. In order of preference here the the final Collection. I rotate the pens at the office using a different one each day.
1. Waterman Le Man 100. Fine nib, black with gold trim - IMHO one of the finest pens ever made. A MAN's pen. Good weight due to the brass body, good looks, stylist. Great nib.
2. Waterman Le Man 200. Fine nib, black with gold trim - Bought on Ebay and after using it for a few weeks the end piece fell off. Turns out it had snapped off at one time and the user had tried to glue it back on. Sent it to Waterman for repair. Looked brand new when I got it back. Great looks, great nib.
3. Pilot Bamboo – Fine nib – Great pen. Although longer than the Danitrio it feels smaller. Nice writing nib. One real fault is that the body is so short. Nice size and feels comfortable in my hand but it so short it makes me want to post the cap but doing so makes it look less appealing. The cap could be a good half inch shorter and the body a good half inch longer. Not sure it would keep it’s good looks if the size was different. What I like about it is that unlike other Japanese brands Pilot did not try to base their design on other popular brands like Montblanc, they designed something daring and bold. I like this pen a lot.
4. Sailor 1911 Full Size. Medium fine nib. Black with gold trim. It is the nib that makes this pen. Sailor has made this pen a direct copy of the Montblanc 146 and it is too bad. They should have gone with a style all their own.
5. Sailor Professional Gear Medium Fine Nib - Great style but a bit too short. Still borrows too much from Montblanc in accents. Great nib.
6. Danitrio Roiro-Migaki Takumi - Purchased from an esteemed colleague here on Fountain Pen Network. Big as a cucumber. Although a fine nib it writes like a medium. Very nice look and feel. Great bargain, less than half price. Very nice feel.
7. Montblanc 146 – Bought on Ebay from a gentleman who had worked for the German consulate and this had been his day to day job. He kept the pen in great shape. Smooth writer. Nice size.
8. Montblanc 145 – Purchased from an esteemed colleague here on Fountain Pen Network. Extra Fine nib which I like as it fits the type of writing I do at the office. Notes on the side of reports. Nice looking in original box. However this pen, while it is nice it just does not match up with the Waterman Le Man 200 which I feel is a better all around pen.
If I get another pen it will be a Nakaya Urushi Kuro-Tamenuri Cigar in the Piccolo size with clip. I would sell the Danitrio first.
Besides these pens I purchased some others than I will end up selling as they did not make the final rotation.
1. Sailor 1911 M
2. Platinum 3776
3. Three Hero’s
4. A Duke
5. Two Jinhao
6. Cross Apogee Stiletto
7. Pelikan M600 ( Already Sold)
I’ll try to post pictures this weekend.