Greetings pen gurus,

A little advice, please? I’m quite new to FP’s, and need some help tracking down the sort of pen I’m looking for.

I am, at present, writing with a Sailor Professional Gear, medium nib. It’s a delightful pen, but I prefer a lighter instrument- as my hands are too large to write comfortably without the cap posted. I generally prefer an un-posted pen, provided the balance is not odd. The Lamy Safari is wonderfully light, and sufficiently long sans cap- but my example (a medium nib) does not feed reliably with many inks, and the triangular barrel is a touch narrow for my liking.

So what I’m looking for is a long, light pen- with a fairly smooth, relatively fine (Sailor Med or Med-Fine, Euro Fine) nib. Something to write (pages) with, rather than carry around as a status symbol. I suppose I’d be willing to pay up to $300 for such a pen, but it seems to me that most pricier pens are massive, heavy things, that I don’t care for. Is there such an instrument as I describe?

Thanks very much,
-Ryan

Nakaya pens are lightweight, but many of them are pricier that your upper bound. I bought a Tamenuri Black (clipless) and it is a gorgeous thing to look at. At first, it gave me some trouble but it is now writing great.

Dani Trio's all ebonite pens are fantastic and offer some of the best cost-benefit relationship, but I do not know if they fit your slenderness requirement. Mine is a Mikado size, and it is a fat lightweight.

Omas pens, I mean the models made of cotton resin, are very light. If you get used to a Magnum 360 and its triangular shape you will have a fantastic writing instrument which is large and light. I love mine.

You want a long, light pen that will feel good in a large hand? Think Bexley. The Americana posts to over 7", and it has nothing in it that is there to add weight.



Bexley nibs are good, and if you buy from the right retailer (whom others here will gladly identify ), your pen will be pretested and, if necessary, adjusted and smoothed.

Hi Ryan,

If you want a light pen, you'll end up very likely either with ebonite (hard rubber), an entirely resin pen, or a celluloid pen (of either variety of celluloid), or a combination for that matter.

If your requirement is slender purely for the place to grip it, I would recommend a Stipula Etruria, and use a normal converter (or cartridges) for light weight. An advantage of the big piston converter variants or the c/c variants is that the nib is exchangeable as well. Another possibility might be the smaller, medium sized Novecentos, or the I Castoni, although the medium Novecentos are narrower. These all come in a wide variety of stunning finishes and materials.

Alternatively, there is the good old Pelikan M200, M250, M400 or M600, which all come in a variety of colours and trim, and have exchangeable nibs as well. These pens are light too, because they are made of resin, or resin and celluloid, and are in my opinion slender pens.

Another possibility is to opt for a vintage pen made of celluloid or hard rubber, but generally I am not enamored of the filling systems or gravity type ink feeds that especially the older pens possess. That's my personal opinion, BTW, as many people find these great pens and enjoy them a lot. I just prefer modern pens.

Anyway, HTH, warm regards, Wim

Hi Ryan,

if you are looking for a slender pen, why not try vintage ? There are hundreds of models to choose from.

In slender modern pen, you could take a look at Waterman's Laureat and Harmonie, Sheaffer Agio, Montblanc Nobless Oblige or Cartier Must.

Long slender pen? Vintage? hmm.

Easy. Snorkel. Wonderful pens. Great nibs. Many restored available for reasonable pricing. Gold nib for < $50. Hard to do that with modern pens.

I have an Omas Ogiva that is long and very light--made from cotton resin. It comes in a clear, demonstrator version called Ogiva Vision, and another version, the Ogiva Guilloche, which comes in black with either gold or hi-tech trim. It writes beautifully, and is the most comfortable pen I have! The list price is around $325, but I've seen them for much less on eBay.

Karen

I think Kendall is right: for long and slender, the Sheaffer Snorkel is a must-see. Slender: 10.5 mm diameter. Long: ~12.2 mm unposted, ~16 mm posted, ~14.2 mm capped. The construction is such that the cap is only very slightly wider than the barrel, so there's no significant "bulge" when posting.

There are the conical Triumph nibs and the conventional open nibs.

And they feel very robust in the hand.

And it's the most convenient bottle-filler ever invented: one stroke, no nib dabbing.

Here's a page of David Nishimura's pen measurements:
Pen Measurements.

Richard Binder's site has lots of detailed information on Snorkels, in his "Reference" section.

I just want to say that I've come to appreciate this very inexpensive pen, which is long, very light, slender and writes very fine and quite smoothly;

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

(Scroll way down to Rose Gold Fountain Pen- #D1007FM)
more pics here:

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...?showtopic=6040


I didn't know if I liked it at first, but it's really grown on me for certain things. I had a friend try it and she said "ooooo" (she was trying all my pens out as she has not ever written with an FP). So, for a knock around pen or one for "in the meantime" this is really quite nice for a small price.

Thanks very much for all the help! I’ve got a half dozen more pens on my ‘to buy’ list now- and just ordered a Sheaffer Snorkel. I can’t wait.

Now if I can just find the right paper, and the perfect shade of green ink. It will never happen, thankfully.

-Ryan