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Not A Help Me Choose My Next Pen Thread


Ian the Jock

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How about a Pelikan M200 or M205? Should be available for your budget. Italic nibs are harder to find without going previously owned, but B should be easily found. Multiple color options too.

 

The criterion, "it should be a joy to use" lets out a lot of recommended pens, but the M200 and M205 are a joy to use. I think the steel nibs are more pleasant than the more expensive gold nibs. The B nib could be made into a medium italic, if you can't find the italic nib. Sometimes I do use an M600 broad nib in one of my M200s, and the broad nibs should be wet enough.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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Steal an Aurora Optima. Leave £100 as a sympathetic gesture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I have no association with the above comment. :)

Edited by praxim

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Ian,

 

Allow me to add another vote for the Italix pens... specifically, these pens:

 

Italix Churchman's Prescriptor (has a flat top, clicks to post)

and

Italix Captain's Commission (domed black finial, push to post)

 

 

 

Criteria checklist:

Comes in, on or under the £103: check.

Flat top pens, or pens with a nice cap finial: check. ICP is flat top, ICC has a nice black domed finial.

Broad, italic, or stub nib: check, all those options are available.

The pen should have its' own "character" and be gorgeous: check (in my opinion)

The pen should post: check

It should be a joy to use: check (again, in my opinion).

No Vintage: check

No Fine nibs: check

No green pens (unless of course it is gorgeous): check

And, no demonstrators: check

Edited by Big_Kahuna
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Wow, so many great suggestions.

 

woleizihan.

 

I’m not keen on the ebonite pattern at all. The swirly/marble effect is a visual texture that gives me the heebie jeebies.

:sick:

I know that it is smooth, but for some reason it gives me a shiver.

I’d need to go black ebonite, and for this occasion it would be a bit boring.

 

ManofKent

 

I had looked at the Pilot, but dismissed it as it’s a bit light, and the pen looked a bit plasticky, to be a “Birthday Pen”.

 

NinthSphere.

 

Now there’s a pen! :thumbup:

 

zaddick

 

Whooooah! Now you’ve really set the cat amongst the pigeons. :yikes:

I hadn’t considered this as I assumed that it would be way more expensive.

The black/red/raspberry is a stunner, and I’ll be honest, I’m genuinely considering this.

You’ve given me a right problem now zaddick…….thanks for that. :lol:

 

rwilsondn

 

Ron, I do like a handmade Indian pen, and have plans for a set of 3 from Asa in the future, as I love my Asa Rainbow, but that’s for a different occasion.

 

sandy101

 

Although a big fan of Italix pens, the E****sh Curate is not one I like.

I don’t like the shape, I don’t like the section, and I don’t like the name….I’m a Jock for goodness sake. :lol:

Wheareas

You hit the nail right on the head with the Waterman Perspective.

This is indeed my No:1 choice.

I had the pleasure of trying one out, in our one and only pen shop, on a couple of occasions and it was magical.

The black and gold is just stunning and I can get it with a nice juicy broad nib. :puddle:

Nothing else that I tried that day (almost) had the same effect as the Waterman did, and I was hooked.

 

Fuzzy_Bear, Runnin_Ute, pajaro and grainweevil

 

On the visit to the above pen shop, I also tried out a couple of Pelikans, and to be honest I was underwhelmed. :(

The M200 is about all that’s in the budget, and it felt a bit wee, and the bigger ones didn’t blow me away the way a pen that costs that amount of money should do.

I wanted to love them, but they just didn’t do it for me.

 

PAKMAN

 

I have thought about the Sheaffer a few times, and will no doubt own one at some point, but for now, there are a few pens in front of it.

 

MuddyWaters

 

I haven’t come across a Lamy yet that I’ve liked the look of, although they are very highly thought of.

 

praxim

 

Your suggestion made me laugh out loud ……Brilliant. :lticaptd:

I did have an Aurora on my list, but it narrowly missed out….for now.

 

Big_Kahuna

 

You are 100% correct. :thumbup:

Both the Captains and the Churchmans tick every box and then some, and it’s for this reason I already have 2 Captains, and a Churchmans.

The different nibs, of which, are all sublime.

If the Captains came in another colour (even green) and the Churchmans came in red/burgundy I wouldn’t have even started this thread.

However

You may have missed one..The Imperium State.

What a big chunka pen this is for the money (65g) It also meets the criteria, and with the huge array of nibs on offer it was worthy of serious consideration, and only narrowly lost out to the Waterman.

 

 

When I got my list down to three, they were.

 

Waterman Perspective Black GT

Aurora Tu Black and Rose Gold

And the Italix Imperium State

 

The Aurora was first to fall (reluctantly) mainly due to its smaller size, but it ticks all the boxes and is certainly a gorgeous pen.

The Imperium State, may not be gorgeous to many, but it is definitely eye catching, and with my previous dealings with Mister Fords’ pens and nibs taken into account, I would have had no hesitation in ordering the pen, confident in it being superb when it arrived.

There’s also the added bonus that I’d get a free engraved plate in or on the box rather than actually engraving the pen, which I’m actually not sure about, and only considering as it’s a special birthday.

The Waterman has been in my head since the day I tried it out (twice in fact) and it is a pen that did blow me away, along with the not so conservatively priced Montegrappa Nero Uno (dream on lad), and an ST Dupont Elysee (again, keep dreaming).

I love the more modern (post 60s) Waterman pens, and find the Perspective hard to resist, it is a beautiful piece of work, and with a juicy broad nib it will be absolutely magical.

 

I now need to get onto BobJ and find out about the Bexley (I missed his review for some reason) and It could well be that I have a bit of a dilemma on my hands, as I am sure Bob will be singing its praises very highly, but for the time being, the Pespective is in front by a nose.

 

Keep them coming though, as It is good to hear everyones’ views on what pen meets the criteria and is worth singing about.

 

Ian

Edited by Ian the Jock
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Hey Ian

I'm going to recommend:

 

-Sailor zoom(may be a bit broad for you though. I will provide writing samples if necessary) or broad. If ever you buy something of around that price, a Sailor is always a good bet. Excellent QC and it writes different to most other pens. You will luv it for sure.

 

-Lamy 2000 in medium- I rather like mine, and their tipping means that it gives you a little something extra to your writing, and this is what distinguishes it from the others of it's ilk. It's also robust and has an iconic design. The piston filler may be a downside for some people. If you look out for them they're available on WHSmith for around £82, but it's currently going for a 100.

 

-Pilot Falcon metal body in SB. Very smooth. A distinctive nib with it's unique shape and softness gives it a nice comfortable ride. They're wet witers so if you love your Jinhaos you'll love these.

The finish on it has a metallic sparkly sheen so it makes it stands out. The sapphire blue is gorgeous.

 

-Pilot Capless in B or 1.1mm stub(not sure if they can be bought from Japan though). It's ugly but useful and unique looking, and the clip placement doesn't suit everyone.

 

-Waterman Carene. Has a unique nib and writes wetter and broader than stated. There's usually a black one going for around £72 on Amazon.

 

Be aware that many of the more-expensive-than-they-should-be pens are just pretty bodies with a more or less generic German nib stuck in them - Edison, Bexley, Xezo et al. You mentioned that you were underwhelmed with the Pelikan that you tried. Well, that's how most of them write with the emphasis on being ultra smooth but very little in the way of character and je ne sais quoi. If value for money and writing quality/character are a priority, avoid.

Edited by Bluey
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Ian - on a good day, iF the wind is blowing just right and a bird flies overhead, you can find a Bexley Prometheus in celluloid in your budget.

 

I think Howard still has some of the old Tibaldi Rosso Verde stock and might even make a pen just for your birthday. Costs nothing but a little time to ask. I have not seen any of the celluloid pens on thr bay since the one I bought.

If you want less blah, blah, blah and more pictures, follow me on Instagram!

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