What Pen In Your Collection Have You Used The Longest?

[PAKMAN]

My oldest pen is my Pelikan 140 given to me by a dear friend many years ago, which started me out on this crazy fountain pen journey!

[joshua.andrews59]

My Pilot Custom Original (Black) with EF nib.....it's my daily writer for my journal/log....my fav for ED use from my collection of 49 FP's....

Kinda like a Glock pistol....not much in the LOOKS dept. -- but.....IT JUST WORKS --- WELL!!

 

Always try to get the dibs....on fountain pens with EF nibs!!

 

EF nibs are really great for taking notes on less-than-ideal paper. My experience with EF nibs haven't been too great, they seem really scratchy!

 

Did you experience this as well?

[joshua.andrews59]

The Parker 51 that Parker gave me in 1985 when I was writing a magazine article about what turns out to be my favorite pen. But that comes to only 31 years.

 

That pen replaced one I was given for my birthday in 1949; I used it for 36 years before I lost it. I undertook to write the article as an act of magic-making, and to my happy surprise the magic worked. My plan was to buy another 51 with part of the money I'd be paid for the article.

 

During an earlier and more congenial period of American business life, I shouldn't have been surprised that Parker sent me not only half a ream of photocopies, for my research, but an example of The Pen itself.

 

Jerome,

 

That is a great story, and very nice of Parker to send you a pen! Thirty plus years is a great amount of time, that is the longest tenure of owning a Fountain Pen I ever heard.

 

Might I ask what do you use currently?

[joshua.andrews59]

I went back to check the pen to make sure I was not talking through my hat. It has micro-scratches of course, and they dull the appearance but it still looks like a black lacquered pen. There are no actual chips nor scratches other than micro.

 

Basically, the pen has had only three places of existence.

1. In a coat or shirt pocket in which nothing else hard is ever permitted.

2. On a desk lined up on its own or with the ballpoint or pencil, neatly back from the work area (not to the side).

3. In the original case.

 

Editing to add: and my fingers are not scratchy

 

Praxim,

 

I will follow those same guidelines that you mentioned to keep them in great condition. My paranoia of using my higher end pens anywhere other than home refrains me from using them daily.

[joshua.andrews59]

Tombow Object Fountain pen - had it for nearly ten years now. The nib is smoother as the tip has worn to suit my hand now. The paint/colouration has started to fade due to it scratching against stuff in pockets and backpacks.

 

Looked up the Tombow Object, very handsome pen. Is the nib section plastic and body metal?

[rwilsonedn]

I guess the pen that I've had the longest that is still in the rotation would be an MB 146 from about 1984. It still gets used occasionally. It had cracking problems when carried on airplanes, so I quickly replaced it with a Parker Duofold, which flies without problems and is also still in the rotation. Both beautiful pens, and the Parker actually works without periodic trips to the factory.

ron

[senzen]

Pelikan m400, and it has been the most reliable; plus I managed not to destroy its nib, unlike two Sonnets and several Vectors I also had.

[Sasha Royale]

I inherited my Dad's Parker 51. At age 9, it was the first fountain pen that I used. I use to sneak it from his desk drawer. I was forbidden to use Dad's Parker 51. I got caught half the time.

Edited June 29, 2016 by Sasha Royale

[hbdk]

My late mother gave me a Safari Umbra, engraved, when they first hit the market (early 80'ies I guess), it has seen daily use and it still writes like a charm.

[sandy101]

 

Looked up the Tombow Object, very handsome pen. Is the nib section plastic and body metal?

 

Yes, hard plastic. There are a few nib choices too - fine, medium and broad. I have the medium, which is nice. I have only every used it with cartridges, but it takes Waterman's long. Easy to clean and look after.

[chromantic]

That's easy - Parker 45 Classic GT, dark blue, medium steel nib, now permanent home to Diamine Twilight.

 

I've had this pen forever, seems like, and it was finding it stuck away in a drawer back in January that got me back into fountain pens.

[amberleadavis]

My Sheaffer school pen.

[Joe in Seattle]

Parker Duofold international, custom grind nib - about 25 years. Each time I get it out again, and ink it up, I am surprised at how very well it writes.

[inkstainedruth]

I've only been doing this a little over 4 years. The oldest pen in current (and regular) use is a 1937 Parker Vac Shadow Wave, but I've only owned it about a year; it turned out to have already been restored when I got it -- and it's been in rotation since Sunday of last year's DCSS. I can't even say that about any of my Parker 51s, because those tend to have different colors of ink tried out in them. I have a couple of pens that are older, but the 1926 Parker Lucky Curve probably needs a lot of TLC, and the Morrison gold filled overlay ringtop (which is probably from the 1930s) is a lovely writer but doesn't see a lot of use because I'm afraid of taking it out of the house any more -- I almost lost it 3 times in the space of a day and a half because it unscrewed itself from the cap while I had it on the lanyard I made for it).

The first good pen that I still own is a Parker Vector; I've probably had it for about a decade (the date code puts it at around 2003, IIRC, but I don't think I bought it that early). The barrel cracked recently and I discovered when I tried to get a replacement barrel that apparently cobalt blue is an uncommon color.... The nib and feed are in great shape, however, so if I can get a replacement for the barrel itself it will be back up and running.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Erik Dalton]

This thread made me realize just how much i use my Gate City Belmonts. I have P-51's, MB, Sailor, and a lot of pretty expensive pens, but the one pen that is always in rotation, inked and ready for use is one of my Gate City Belmonts. I just love the way they look, feel, and write. Always smooth and wet. The shape of the body just seems to snuggle into my grip.

A new Kilauea just arrived today. Filled it with DeAtramentis Steel Blue. Writes like a dream. Now i'll have to clean and retire the Galapagos that has been loaded with Eclat De Saphir.

[flipper_gv]

I've been using fountain pens for only three years now. Most I've used is the CH92 which is a damn good every day writer.

 

The m1000 is catching up quite fast in number of pages written though.

[Water Ouzel]

My longest-used pen is a black Sheaffer Targa, gold trim and nib, bought new in 1983.

 

I've got older pens now (only back to @1928), it's not my favorite pen (but in the top 10 or so), but it always works.

Edited June 29, 2016 by Water Ouzel

[sd10521]

I have three Esterbrooks that I commandeered from my mother for use in High School which ended in 1974. I have an old scratchy Pelikan 120 and some of the older style Kohinoor Radiographs that I bought around that time.

They mostly stayed forgotten until about four years ago and now they are back in rotation with too many other pens for my own good.

It's amazing how well the Esties write compared to pens many times their price.

[drjmb]

I have a simple Sheaffer "school pen" that cost a buck in 1963 with two cartridges! Still works perfectly and cartridges are still readily available in some hip colors. The cartridges back then had "Load either end into Barrel" and I had my little brother believing that the "cartridge" was the propellant for a bullet. I don't really use it much anymore as it is a little small for me now.

I have a vintage Crest (NOT the Wearever) piston filler that I've been using since the 1980s. Replaced the nib with a Pelikan M and then lost the original. Still a great writer for a steel nib and a my best everyday user (yes, even against the Montblanc Meisterstuck). Would that I had gotten a gold nib with a little spring. It's a lot older than even I am and I began using fountain pens in 1963 with my Sheaffer.

Edited June 29, 2016 by drjmb

[MarcS]

waterman gentleman, burgundy, fine nib, approximately 20 years. as noted by many above, not my oldest pen, but it is a pleasure to hold, performs well with every ink i've tried so far, and is resilient enough for work.