Hello. I want to buy a nice fountain pen for my husband for our anniversary. He is just getting into fountain pens. I know pretty much nothing about them. I do know that he prefers a heavier weighted pen, and a finer tip. He currently has 2 other fountain pens. One belonged to my Grandfather. It is silver with a gold nib. I believe it is an arrow pen, if that is a brand. He really likes that one. He just bought another one, and his complaints about it are that it is a bit light (it is plastic), and it writes thicker than he would like. So, I want to get him a nice one, but I don't want to spend an obscene amount on it. I would be willing to go up to $100-$150 ish, possibly more if it would make a substantial difference in quality. I want it to look really nice and professional (he is an architect). So, that is what I'm looking for. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Hmm, sounds like he has a parker maybe. A pelikan M200 is a great starter pen but a bit small and light in the hand i'm afraid. In that price range, nothing quickly comes to mind. Lamy 2000 maybe??

MrR

Thanks. Again, I know pretty much nothing about these pens, so no clue on the price ranges of the good ones. I am absolutely willing to spend more than the $150, but $500 may be a bit out of my range. How much would I need to spend to actually get a nice pen?

I second the Lamy 2000 in a fine or extra fine--do they come EF? Any way as an architect he will love the design it isn't the heaviest pen out there but it is very nice weight. Fills only from a bottle--get him a bottle of Aurora black. He will love it! Fits right into your budget at 100-120$.

I recently bought a Pilot Vanishing Point which I really like. It's got a fairly substantial metal body that's a little weighty but well balanced. It also has a fine nib that writes more like an extra fine. I think that the styling of it looks nice, but not too gaudy. Some people don't like the placement of the clip, but it doesn't bother me.

Pelikans are great pens, and they are the quintessential fountain pen in design. The one caveat is that they fill with ink only from a bottle, so you would have to buy a bottle of ink if he does not already own one. If you are willing to go up in price, then the Pelikan m800, at about $325, would be an excellent buy. The m600, a slightly smaller pen at about $240, would also be a good purchase. Both pens have nice size, write excellently and come in elegant boxes appropriate for a gift.

The Lamy 2000 is one of my favorite pens, but its beauty is only really appreciated by the writer, so I would err away from giving it as a gift because it lacks flair. It too also only fills from a bottle.

Because I'm assuming you don't shop for pens very often, I would suggest the site isellpens.com (I'm not associated with them). They have great prices on pens. Another common pen site is Oscar Braun, http://onebeagle.net/oscarbraun/ (again, I'm not associated with them). If you want to go the extra mile and get a pen that has been tuned by a professional "nibmeister," then buying a pen from Richard Binder, richardspens.com, might we worth the few extra dollars (again, no association). Richard custom-tunes every pen he sells, meaning that he smoothes the nib to near-perfection, makes sure that the pen writes well, and weeds out the occasional (albeit rare) dud that a pen company ships.

If you opt for a pen that fills from a bottle, I would suggest a Waterman ink if you want a basic color (e.g. Black, Blue-black or Florida Blue). Because not every store carries Waterman, a couple other suggestions of basic colors based on brand are: Private Reserve "Lake Placid Blue", Noodler's "Blue-Black" or Omas "Black".

If you want to get a more unique ink color, like a green or a purple, we have plenty of suggestions too.

Good luck- a pen is a great gift!


Here is a size comparison chart of the Pelikan pens from Richard Binder's site: http://www.richardspens.com/sales/newp_pel.htm
m200
m400
m600
m800
(If you go to his site, he has nice stats about pen length and weight to help you make your decision).

$100-150 can get you some pretty nice pens. I second the vote for a Pilot Capless/Vanishing Point. I have a Pilot decimo which is a smaller, slightly more expensive version of the regular Capless. The Japanese fines are a little thinner than Western fines, and the Capless body is metal and so sound perfect for him. And you can get them online for less than $100.

Might I suggest a Waterman? Perhaps a Gentleman, a Le Man, or a Carene? All three are excellent pens!

Todd

Being fairly new to fountain pen's myself, I am very limited in my recommendations. I would suggest either a Sailor 1911 full size, I got mine from Art Brown for my 25th anniversary or a Pelikan 800. You can have them made into a cursive italic or other nib. My Sailor 1911 was done by Michael Masuyama, who was with Sailor at one time and my Pelikan 805 was done by Richard Binder, both do a great job. These are both a little more than 150 but well worth it to see the smile on his face!

Thank you all. I am leaning toward the Lamy 2000, as this seems to meet most of the needs/likes that I'm looking for. There were a few of you that suggested ink brands/types, what are the pro's and con's of them? I am definitely looking for black.
Thanks again! You have all been so helpful.

I considered the Pelikan M600, but reading on richardspens.com, the extra fine nibs seems to have problems, so I would definitely spend the extra for a custom nib on that one. The problem with that is I'm not sure if I'm willing to spend quite that much on a pen that he is not sure he wants. Do you think it would be worth it, is it that much better than the Lamy?

I looked at this, and I really think the clip would be an issue for him. Other than that, it really looks nice. Is there a similar pen with better clip placement?

If your husband likes slightly heavier pens, then don't get a Pelikan. Also don't consider a Pilot Vanishing Point, because it's a pen that has to be experienced to know if someone is going to be bothered by that clip.

I think the Lamy & Waterman pen suggestions were good. I'd also add Cross Townsend - they're extremely reliable and you can get a Fine point.

I write only in black and have tried most of whats available. Can't go wrong with Aurora black or Montblanc Black IMO. MB has the cooler bottle.

MrR

The Cross townsend is not a bad choice and you can get a fine or xfine nib.

I would say stay away from the VP just b/c of the position of the clip since it does bother so many people.

I use my pelikan m1000 and m800 all the time. Amazing pens.

May I suggest the Rotring 600

possibly much appreciated by an architect (well at least he will know the name)

Haven't seen or used one myself but it may fit the bill Search on this forum for some photos & put an ad in the wanteds

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...&hl=rotring

Although I'm not as enthralled with Lamy as most folks, the Lamy 2000 sounds like what your husband would like. Stay away from nib creeping inks would be my only advice.

For a little heavier and still fairly streamlined with a fine point, I enjoy my Namiki/Pilot vanising point pens very much. I have 7 of them. The clip placement is the make-or-break for many, but I've had no problem with it. They come in many different colors with gold or silver accents. The nib units are very easily exchangeable and you can get an EF nib unit easily enough. Buy from Richard Binder and he'll even make sure it's flowing properly before he sends it out the door to you.

If he likes a heavier pen, I guess I'm not going to recommend a Pelikan M200/M400. Instead, I'm going to go inexpensive here, and recommend the Kaweco Dia. Kaweco is another German company, though one mostly associates them with the Kaweco Sport pens. The Dia is a very nice, classic styled pen, and can be had with a fine nib. It is only a tad heavier than the Pelikan M600, and it is nicely balanced. It writes smoothly. ISellPens has the Dia for $65. I didn't think I'd like it, but I find excuses to write with mine. It is more a standard-shaped pen, though not too thick in the barrel. A nice fit.

There are a lot of pens reviewed here at the pen review forum, including all these mentioned. It might be worth a look for you, and you might find something else that grabs your interest, too.

For a heavier pen (in my opinion) may I add the Pelikan M215. It's the same size as an M200, but noticeably heavier. They come in black with silver lines in different patterns (rings and diamond-shape)

I can also second the Namiki Vanishing Point (my European one is called Pilot Capless, but what's in a name?): nice weight and ballance, great nib out of the box (mine's a medium, but I have a Binder ItaliFine coming). The placing of the clip is no issue for me, but many others seem to find it annoying).

Just my 0,02 USD...

Greatings

Miguel

My wife got me a Vanishing Point from Oscar Braun Pens, it is solid (metal underneath) and the fine point has a nice smooth fine tip. A bit under $100 (enough left over to get some ink!). To look at the different colors and patterns...check this site and search google.

I have been disappointed with Lamy's EF as they write rather thick. Of course this was on a Lamy Studio but I have heard that Lamy's EF and F nibs are thicker than normal.

If he wants more weight, a Pilot Fermo with the F nib would be good. Fermo is heavier than a Vanishing Point (aka Capless). You twist the end of the barrel to make the nib disappear and appear.

I would recommend a Waterman Expert. Its heavy and uses easy to find international cartridges.

For Vanishing Point, its heavy but its pocket clip gets into the way. Mine is a shelf queen.
For Lamy 2000, it quirky. Absolutely fabulous if it works right out of the gift box. I can also be an albatross. Piston filling makes it harder to fix or clean out old inks. You need a salad spinner for that. Its nibs can squeak and skip. You don't want your gift to be sent back and waiting for an exchange.