First $100+ Workhorse Fountain Pen

[senzen]

Sticking to Amazon and around a $150 budget, I'm seeing a Sailor 1911 (11-2024-420), a Pro Gear (112037420) in rhodium trim which I have and love (it's a tad shorter than the 1911), a Pelikan M205 aquamarine. As much as I enjoy my Pelikan M400 (F) the Sailor nib (M) is nicer. Of all my pens those are the ones I wouldn't think twice about taking with me, the Pelikan probably holds more ink than the Sailor.

 

In terms of looks alone the Faber Castell Ambition in pearwood is a stunner, even if you need to get used to the absence of a section, and the nibs are nice; it would also leave you enough money for a nice ink and some decent paper - Amazon now carries Tomoe River, Rhodia and Clairefontaine...

[Mech-for-i]

I see the question different than others, what I eyed is the points that read :

 

- workhorse

- daily usage

- for journal, note taking, etc ..

- long writing session

 

this really tell me that what's needed had to fulfill some criteria, like

 

- robustness ( its suppose to handle all the handling and daily abuse )

- ink capacity ( the larger the better here )

- real ( not Euro ) fine or EF nib option, you try to write decently with a typical 5 mm carry around ruled note pad and you will know why M just do not cut it

- light weight , after all no one want wrist stress

- good profile, you do not need to do death grip

- non slip surface, same as above

- a firm nib perhaps , when the time needed to fast write and for the time when you need to hand the pen to someone else to jog down something

 

To be fair, neither the Pilot nor the Lamy exactly fulfill all of them but they are ; well ; good enough .. if its me I would go for the Lamy 2000 simply because of the ink capacity and order it in EF ; the click mechanism is the one trump card the Pilot had , and if you really think this benefit, then its a go there too.