Hi all,

Been lurking for a week or so; thought I might as well register and so forth.

I'm relatively new to fountain pens, and got back into them via work of all things. We keep a lot of handwritten logs, which can get fairly extensive and detailed. A co-worker insisted that writing with an FP is much more comfortable than with a ballpoint. He let me try a few lines with his Mont Blanc (medium nib) by way of demonstration, and that's all it took.

I wasn't about to run right out and spring for a MB, but a little bit of Google-fu let me see just how many fountain pens are still out there. Now I have several, and seem inclined to accumulate more.

At this point my favorite pen, by far, is a navy blue Sailor 1911 with music nib. I've actually written very little music with it thus far, but use it for most of my logkeeping and handwritten correspondence. I find it very comfortable and surprisingly versatile. The closest thing to a gripe with it is that it goes through a *lot* of ink. But that's not much of a complaint, or else I wouldn't be considering a second one--maybe in Burgundy or Forest, or maybe in Sterling--with a Zoom nib. My pensmanship doesn't really rate it so far, but tangible encouragement is a good excuse ...

So far I've used all black ink, because that's mandated at work. Mostly it's been Private Stock, some Waterman, and a little MB, although there's a bottle of Platinum Carbon on the way and I'm tempted to give Noodlers a try too. I also hope to check out some other colors for personal use soon.

My second most used pen is a Monteverde Invincia in carbon fiber, with medium nib. Like the nib, but am somewhat lukewarm about the general feel: It's a bit heavier than I'd really like, and I'm rather less than infatuated with the snap-on cap.

I've also got a Rotring 600 (fine nib) and a Waterman Hemisphere stainless (ditto). They're both OK, but don't really push my buttons. I use them very little and will probably wind up giving one or both to another co-worker, a curious kid, and/or someone else who'll use them as they were intended.

All of these pens are c/c fill. I've got a Pelikan Souveran M200 (medium) in Green Marble on the way, because it seemed to be a good value, the manufacturer has a solid reputation, and I want a plunger filler. Plus, I notice that Richard Binder seems to have a range of really cool nibs that'll fit it.

And that's probably quite long enough for an intro. I'll be hanging around.

Incidentally: What would some recommendations be for a pen with dimensions, "feel", and overall quality comparable to the Sailor 1911, but with a plunger fill? I'm assuming it would be somewhere in the 1911's price range, but would be willing to go up to twice that for the right pen. For that matter, I'm not averse to paying less.

Thanks for maintaining a great bulletin board here, folks. Looking forward to participating and, I hope, even contributing.

Welcome to FPN, JLandros. I call the Pelikans (M200 and up) a piston filler. They are the only piston filling brand that I have, so I'll let others make recommendations. As for ink, check out our reviews. We have the best! Also, if you want to try some out we have the Ink Sample Exchange.


See you around,
Sidney


added link to Ink Sample Exchange

Welcome to the FP network! Enjoy!

~Slushy

Thanks for the catch, Sidney. I meant piston filler; don't know why I typed "plunger".

I've taken a look at the review section, and expect to be reading through the threads there for quite a while.

Hi there

You have been going it at accumulating pens, even without joinining a support group.

Piston fillers to match your spec: Pelikan, in 400, 600 or 800, depending on how it feels in your hand (there is the 1000, but you could shoot elephant with that); Aurora, either the Optima or the 88; or, indeed, an MB 146. Or there is the Lamy 2000, which is strictly a pen you need to try before you buy, but is a fine piece if it's right for your hand.

Have fun

Michael

Hi Michael,

Yes, they do seem to follow me home as it were.

Thank you for the info. I've kinda been eyeballing the Pelikans, except for the 1000; I think you could *club* an elephant with that one! Not familiar with the Auroras, other than the name itself; will have to check them out. The Lamy 2K seems to get generally good reviews here.

Gotta admit that MB has also crossed my mind more than once. In fact I've just been digging through search results from six months' worth of threads on them. Man, talk about love 'em or hate 'em ...

Definitely having fun. The fountain pen in general is such a deceptively simple technology and so easy to geek out on. There's something very appealing about that.

Really cool avatar you've got there, BTW.

Cheers,
John

Hi John and welcome to FPN!

My first recent fountain pen was a Pelikan Souveran M200 in Green Marble, the same one that you've ordered. I don't think you'll be disappointed

Glad you dropped your lurking cloak (sorry for the bad Trek pun) and decided to join up! Starting off with a 1911 is certainly going about it in style. The previous recommendations sound good - haven't tried an Aurora piston filler, but would love to. Piston fillers are great, and Pels have no shortage of fans here.

Glad you joined up and looking forward to getting to know you better. BTW, you mentioned your work - any specifics? If not, that's too.

Hi Southpaw,

Actually the 1911 wasn't my first pen, just the one I've come to use most. My first was a Waterman Phileas, purchased at an Office Depot, which unfortunately fell apart in a couple of different places within a few weeks. Either I got a lemon, or I'm uncommonly hard on pens in daily use. I hope it's the former.

The Rotring 600 was next, and while I can't fault its quality I've never really warmed up to it. Perhaps that's because I prefer to post my pens--just to keep from misplacing the cap, if nothing else--and the 600, when posted, feels clunky enough to be a major distraction. YMMV, etc.

After that I decided to give Waterman another chance, and picked up the Hemisphere Stainless. As mentioned, I've used it very little so far, but hanging around this board inspired me to use it for a couple of Christmas notecards this weekend. It's starting to grow on me pretty well, and about to be added to the daily rotation.

Then came the 1911. I didn't know quite what to make of its music nib at first, but the more I use it the better it works. Funny how that happens, huh? Furthermore, I love the general feel of the 1911. It doesn't look fancy, but there's an air of solid quality to it that my other pens so far really haven't matched. As pretentious as it might sound, "understated elegance" is the phrase that comes to mind here.

I'm looking forward to getting hold of the Pelikan M200. If it's as nice as I hope, it stands a good chance of being joined by a 600 before too long.

Regarding my work, I'm essentially a contract sonar tech at a torpedo range. I won't inflict the details on you; that'd just make your (and everyone's) eyes glaze over with boredom. I assume our logs are handwritten in black ink for the usual reason, though: It makes them much more difficult to alter afterwards.

Hoping I haven't infuriated any Rotring or Waterman fans,
John

Not at all...well not me anyway Just kidding...
I think maybe you did get a clunker of a Phileas because they are generally well-made pens, in my opinion. As for the Rotring 600, I recently ordered for $25 from Pencity.com which had a closeout sale on them (rOtring is currently closing out US Distribution, they said.). I know it's a heavy pen, but I really like it's stylings and clean lines, and I won't be posting the cap.

Hello jlandros and welcome to the Fountain Pen Nuthouse

Welcome aboard and...

Happy Holidays!!

Hi,

Welcome!!

I have two M200s.

Dillon

welcome, jlandros! i second the recommendation for an aurora.