My wife and I live in the northwestern suburbs of Chicago, about a mile or so north of O'Hare airport. I have only been a fountain pen user for a couple of years. My wife has also starting using fountain pens, though she has only been using them for a year. I started with a Montblanc Boheme FP/RB set purchased at the Chicago show a couple of years ago. Not long after that, I bought a Nimiki Vanishing Point. Then, I bought an italic nib for the VP and a Pelikan Chicago with an italic nib from John at nibs.com. At the 2005 Chicago show, we added a Bexley Sherazade, Pelikan Piazza Navona, and couple of Nettuno Tridents (his & hers). This past weekend at the Ohio show, our collection nearly doubled. So far, our collection includes the following pens in roughly the order of purchase:

Montblanc Boheme FP/RB set
Namiki Vanishing Point (Carbonesque black w/standard & italic nibs)
Pelikan Chicago (italic nib)
Bexley Sherazade (light skye blue)
Pelikan Piazza Navona
Nettuno Trident (2)
Taccia Doric (Atlantis Blue w/steel M & gold F nibs)
Taccia Mother of Pearl (Harmony)
Bexley Tuck-Away (teal)
Bexley Submariner Grande (Aspen)
Sailor Professional Gear

We are on our way to building a nice little collection of modern fountain pens. I do not yet have a favorite. Before this weekend, it was a toss up between the Chicago and the Sherazade. Now, I will have to start comparing again. As a standout in the group, the Taccia Doric with the steel nib ($68 including the case) has to be the best value by far.

There have only been a couple of regrets. I regret purchasing the Namiki VP with a quite scratchy nib. Though throughly cleaned and only one day after the purchase, Executive Essentials at Woodfield mall refused to replace it because I had tested it (inked it). I am not sure how else you can test it. Purchasing another nib from John fixed the problem, but I will not buy from Executive Essentials again. The second regret was the Nettuno Trident. It had a slight wave in the tines and three round trips to Yafa resulted in it still having the exact same nib, unchanged. I gave up and had John fix it at the Ohio show. But, that lack of service turned me off of anything distributed by Yafa. Thankfully, there are other companies that do place a higher value on service.

Hi Tim and Mrs. Butterfield,

It sounds as if you guys have seriously committed to the interest. That, plus finding this board will put you right into the mainstream of pendom.

Nice group of examples you are accumulating. I recently bought the Sailor Prof. Gear, also, and would have to rate it right at the top of my pens, writing wise. That 21K M nib, right out of the box, required nothing except ink to be as smooth or smoother than anything in my case. Good reliable, slightly wet feed, too.

This board will give you all sorts of ideas of what you *need* to pick up, but it's all in fun, so enjoy.

Edit: Forgot to mention that it is distressing to hear of your Yafa experience. More unfortunate is the fact that I've heard several other negative comments on them from others. That experience with a new pen can not be excused.

Tip: Before inking a new pen, try light pressure dry writing on your most used paper. I find that by doing that, I can predict, with unerring accuracy, how smooth that nib will be when inked. Try it!

Hi Tim, and welcome. You'll find a lot of reviews on modern pens in our FP rewiews forum to whet your appetite even further! Hope you enjoy FPN.

Best, Ann

Welcome aboard! Quite a nice collection the two of you have going there. Hope to see you doing some reviews and posting pics of those pens soon. Sorry to hear about your troubles. Many here can recommend some good pens and companies / distributors who do great work with great service. See you around the boards!

Hi Tim (and Mrs.B. if you both read the message boards here) and welcome to FPN!

Wow, it must be nice to have a spouse that understands the hobby....
Sounds like you have a very nice collection of pens there already.

Sorry to hear about the after-sales service at Yafa. I had a very good experience with them, but it was re: a rollerball replacement that was poorly described on the package (it didn't indicate which Retro 51 rollerballs it fitted; it said it fitted "all" of them, if I recall correctly). I sent Yafa the refill that wouldn't fit my pen and its receipt and they sent me about 5 or 6 new free refills in the mail. I have no experience with their fountain pen warranty service, though.

Thanks all for the welcome.

Roger,
Thanks for the tip on dry writing.

Ann,
The reviews and photography are some of the reasons I joined FPN. They provide much good information.

southpaw,
Pics are in the works. A review may be possible also.

Maja,
Mrs. B does not frequent the board. If she saw some of the pens here, she might ban me. Don't tell her, but I asked to put on the waiting list for a DaniTrio Densho Raw Ebonite. While not quite as enthusiastic as I, she does understand. Four of the pens on the list are hers, the Pelikan Piazza Navona, the Nettuno Trident, the Taccia Mother of Pearl, and the Bexley Tuck-Away. She also has a Montblanc Boheme RB, but without the matching FP. I predict both sides of the collection will continue to grow.

Thanks again.