Desperately Need Help On Gift

[organmonster]

Hi folks, I am very new to this forum, in fact this is my first post.

 

Our house burnt down a few years ago in a Colorado forest fire and my wife lost all of her fountain pens. I want to get her something special for her anniversary present soon, very soon. The problem is that her taste in pens is way above our budget at the moment. She had many pens in the Visconti family and Namiki Maki-e stables. Well those are not doable this time around. My budget is around $330 and I have been researching pens in this range and I am getting so confused with what is best. Here is some of the pens I have read about:

 

Pilot Custom 823

Sailor 1911S

Sailor Barcarolle

Platinum Century 3776

Visconti Van Gogh

 

The only problem I see is that I am a nubie when it comes to pens and my wife is an expert and I do not what to get laughed at if I get something real bad. Out of the pens above the one that is "shinny" is the Visconti Van Gogh but it looks to be only shinny and not a lot of substance. I need some advise in choosing a pen that would show some kind of thought. She likes very smooth nibs in the fine to extra fine style and her hands are pretty small. Her favorite was the Visconti Divena but all of those are out of reach at the moment until we get our feet on the ground again.

 

Can anyone make some suggestions to this dilemma. I am hoping I do not catch this pen disease as I already have a very expensive hobby of hauptwerk digital organs.

 

Estes Park, Colorado

 

 

[tgoto]

I have tried 823, 1911 and 3776. I love all of them but personally Pilot 823 is just amazing...

[hari317]

For fine and extra find nibs, I would suggest sailor. However in general it might be a bad idea to surprise gift a pen to a pen expert. Wont it be better to involve her in the selection process?

[odd_soul]

I've got a Sailor 1911S, Visconti Van Gogh, and a Platinum 3776 Century and I love them all, but out of those 3, I'd be most likely to recommend the Sailor, especially with the nice colors they've come out with for the US market.

 

However, I also agree with what hari317 said about involving her in the decision. Perhaps she keeps a wishlist of pens she wants and you can choose something within your budget from among them. Or, if you have a local pen store, you can get her a gift certificate for it so you can shop there together (that way it's more of an "experience"). Or you can get her a gift certificate for an online pen store. That way she can get something she really wants.

 

As a gift-giver, I always feel a little bad about giving a gift certificate, but as the recipient, I LOVE gift certificates!

[senzen]

 

Pilot Custom 823

Sailor 1911S

Sailor Barcarolle

Platinum Century 3776

 

 

All those are well within your budget. Really sorry to hear about the fire, it would be a lot more practical to give her a gift certificate since she knows her stuff. An intermediate solution would be to have her create a quick collection or wish list using something like Pinterest or Amazon, maybe even ranked by preference.

[SpecTP]

of that list, I second the recommendation for the 823

[sharonspens]

I seriously doubt your wife would laugh you out of the house if you chose a "bad" gift. More than likely, given the circumstances, she would cherish that particular pen because you thought so much of her to buy it. That would be true even if she din't USE it a great deal. [if she WERE the kind of person to do that sort of thing, I suspect you wouldn't be so interested in doing this kindness for her]

 

That said, if your desire is to really go with the surprise gift in hand, either the Platinum or the Sailor might make the most sense for someone with smaller hands and a preference for a fine nib. If you can manage the delay of gratification in providing a gift certificate and a catalog to browse through, I would also go with the gift certificate. My husband is much more selective in his tastes than I am, so I took him to the store to choose a cologne for Valentine's Day (while he will surprise me with a marvelous perfume for my birthday).

 

Sharon in Indiana

[inkstainedruth]

Here's another suggestion (assuming they're not sold out already):

Sailor Pro Gear Slim in the LE color Purple Cosmos. I got a post yesterday from Anderson Pens and they got a late extra shipment in after Sailor discovered that a few unsold ones. Too pricy for me but well within your price point. Someone in my local pen club was showing off one a couple of months ago and it was GORGEOUS!

Usual disclaimer: No affiliation with Anderson except as a happy customer. Well, not totally happy -- I tried (but failed) to talk them into starting a layaway program....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[tgoto]

Here's another suggestion (assuming they're not sold out already):

Sailor Pro Gear Slim in the LE color Purple Cosmos. I got a post yesterday from Anderson Pens and they got a late extra shipment in after Sailor discovered that a few unsold ones. Too pricy for me but well within your price point. Someone in my local pen club was showing off one a couple of months ago and it was GORGEOUS!

Usual disclaimer: No affiliation with Anderson except as a happy customer. Well, not totally happy -- I tried (but failed) to talk them into starting a layaway program....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Yes, I saw one at the pen show last weekend. Really gorgeous.

I ended up getting the slim in metallic blue with a music nib

[Runnin_Ute]

I am not normally one for Japanese pens, but that being said my Platinum 3776 Century Bourgogne ( B ) nib is rarely uninked and has become one of my favorite pens. There are other pens in the 3776 Century line that are still in your budget, but more expensive than the Bourgogne that might appeal to her.

Platinum Kanazawa Leaf Fountain Pen - Swirling Petals of Cherry Blossoms, Fine

https://www.gouletpens.com/platinum-kanazawa-leaf-maki-e-fountain-pen-swirling-petals-of-cherry-blossoms-fine/p/Plat-PTL-15000H-52-F

[sansenri]

you do not say whether you recall that she had other pens that went lost, or that she had any colour preferences.

Did she have any Pelikans?

With your budget you might fit a Pelikan M600 in, if she liked the Visconti Divina it's lilely that she will like slightly larger pens than the Sailor.

The red striped is a classic, and is just slightly less manly than the green striped (not sure whether the white pink would be her type of pen, but would probably cost you something more).

Having said that, I have the Pilot Custom 823, Platinum Century 3776, and Visconti Van Gogh, and would certainly vote the 823 as the most intersting for a FP enthusiast due to the filling system, the Platinum Bourgogne and the Van Gogh are nice looking pens, they play more on the looks and if she likes that they would still be fine. Note the Van Gogh has a steel nib.

[ENewton]

I love my Sailor, Platinum, and Pilot pens, but if she really liked her Namiki pens, a Pilot pen would come closest.

[alanshutko]

I seriously doubt your wife would laugh you out of the house if you chose a "bad" gift. More than likely, given the circumstances, she would cherish that particular pen because you thought so much of her to buy it.

 

 

I have a Waterman Hemisphere that my brother-in-law gave to me for being part of the wedding party. It is not a pen I would have chosen myself, but it is in the regular rotation because he thought to make a fountain pen a gift for me. I think I'd feel the same even if it was a barely functional piece of junk (which it is not).

 

Organmonster, I think that with your understanding of your wife and help from the thread evaluating pens so that you don't get a complete stinker, you are going to find a great gift. You may not find the one true perfect gift (such a thing may not even exist) but I'm confident you will be able to find a pen your wife will be able to use and treasure for years to come.

[ParkerDuofold]

Hi Organmonster,

 

I would also second the 823 and ADD the Platinum President... no one would laugh at either of those... and if she does,... confuse the hell out of her... and laugh right back.

 

 

- Anthony

 

 

EDITED in the interest of marital harmony.

Edited February 22, 2018 by ParkerDuofold

[Lloyd]

Wont it be better to involve her in the selection process?

+1. Maybe she'd like a custom from Edison or Newton or ... Maybe she'd like a nib that you wouldn't expect (flexible, stiff, italic-y, wet,..). Maybe a birth year pen would carry more significance to her.

[minddance]

If I were in your situation, I might consider a Pelikan Probably a m400 or m600 for a lady.

[Torrilin]

Definitely talk to her, because if she likes Namiki she may have particular Pilot/Namiki pen bodies that she knows she likes. Possibly specific nib grinds too.

 

The one that popped into my head was the Vanishing Point Raden series, which is not cheap exactly but may fit in your budget. They’re very pretty, and the Vanishing Point is a pen that seems to suit many people as a daily writer.

[Uncial]

Another vote for the 823. Smooth nib and a near perfect pen in terms of dimensions and balance.

[organmonster]

For fine and extra find nibs, I would suggest sailor. However in general it might be a bad idea to surprise gift a pen to a pen expert. Wont it be better to involve her in the selection process?

The problem with this method is that she will not buy anything and will save the money. After the forest fire she will not indulge in anything for herself. This is why I must do it on my own even though I know nothing about it. Sad but true.

[tgoto]

The problem with this method is that she will not buy anything and will save the money. After the forest fire she will not indulge in anything for herself. This is why I must do it on my own even though I know nothing about it. Sad but true.

Is there a certain color she likes? Sailor Pro Gear Slim has various colors you can choose from. This is a photo of my metallic blue. Great writer as well. As much as I love Pilot 823, it only comes in translucent brown (and translucent grey in Japanese market).

Edited February 23, 2018 by tgoto