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What Are Your Work Horses? And Why?


brittshideler

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Much of the time a pen calls to us because its beautiful or unique or has some novel nib or filling system. But what are your tried and true work horse pens that you always have on hand because they are no nonsense and work without fail, no pampering required?

Mine:

Oldwin Classic demonstrator that I eyedropper fill

A Conid CAISO Kingsize titanium

A Pilot Vanishing Point for quick notes

Thanks for your response and happy writing to all!

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I routinely carry and use my Sailor 1911 with M nib and filled with Diamond ne China blue ink whilst I also use my Sheaffer pfm 5 with oblique nib and with Waterman black ink. I do have other more expensive pens but I would not want to carr6 them daily lest I lose or get them damaged.

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My Pelikan 140 with OM nib always works right away, never fail. It writes with a lovely medium line with some nice line variation. My green Kaweco sport in medium is always in my pocket every day as well. My parker vac in azure blue in fine is very consistent as well and is built like a tank.

Alex

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Out in the rough and tumble I carry a handful of Pilot Varsities which I often give away. Johnny Fountain Pen Seed.

Love all, trust a few, do harm to none. Shakespeare

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Mine would have to be the metal Pilot Falcon(all of them). Durable, stays wet for all eternity, 100% reliable, perfect balance for me, quick and easy to refill, good ink capacity, and has a softer nib which I love writing with.

Edited by Bluey
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Pelikan M800 - Always in the rotation.

At least one of the following three is always inked at any given time.

1929 Sheaffer's Oversize Balance

1927 Parker Senior Duofold

Visconti Kaleido Voyager

Dave Campbell
Retired Science Teacher and Active Pen Addict
Every day is a chance to reduce my level of ignorance.

fpn_1425200643__fpn_1425160066__super_pi

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As a student, I write notes a lot. In school, I use the Platinum Preppy in extra-fine. When I am doing some long writing at home, my first choice is my Platinum 3776 Century chartres blue in medium. The second one is either my ASA Nauka Tangerine or the TWSBI Eco white, both in medium nibs.

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Parker Vectors, 51s, and 61s. Lamy Safari (and now the LX). Pelikan M200, and the M405s (especially the one with the EF nib). Some of my Noodler's Konrads. The 1980s Pelikano I got at the B/W Pen show looks to be shaping up as another one that's going to be a go-to pen, since it's a little bigger in girth than the Vectors.

Much as I'd LIKE to add the TWSBI 580-AL and the Pilot Decimo to the list, I just can't. The TWSBI is a a tiny bit on the heavy side -- and while it holds a tone of ink, it's a bit difficult to fully flush due to the gap between the section and the end of the piston when fully lowered. While the Decimo dries up faster than I would like, and I have to keep priming the nib a bit (once it's going it's great).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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My "Bexley Fountain Prometheus Design Mandarin Yellow Gold Plated Trim" with a fine steel two-tone nib, which I just call "Big Yeller." It always smoothly lays down a western-fine line, whether I used it this week, last week, or the week before. I always have brown ink in it. Used to be KWZi Mandarin before I became concerned about leaving IG ink in it all the time. All original (not a frankenpen).

 

My red & black ebonite Konrad that I put a Nemosine 0.8 stub in. With its ink capacity it seems never to run out of ink, and always starts right up.

 

A Delta Unica with a black Goulet EF nib that writes about like a Japanese F. Very smooth though. The original nib was junk, as was the free replacement nib. Love the feel of it in my hand with its matte finish.

 

Then, if I want to get serious about writing tiny, a Metropolitan with a Pilot EF nib. More feedback than the Goulet/Delta, but still smooth for such a tiny nib. With that fine a nib it sometimes needs a little help starting, but never skips afterward. Noodler's Black, always.

I may not have been much help, but I DID bump your thread up to the top.

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Number one pen always in rotation, a MB 149 because I like the size and it's a very wet writer. I have big hands and like a big pen. Number two is a big Bexley Poseidon for the same reason. Number 3 is a Parker Senior Duofold Delux from the 20s. It's old, but writes like a dream. Too bad my handwriting sucks.

Edited by Charles Rice
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Number one pen always in rotation, a MB 149 because I like the size and it's a very wet writer. I have big hands and like a big pen. Number two is a big Bexley Poseidon for the same reason. Number 3 is a Parker Senior Duofold Delux from the 20s. It's old, but writes like a dream. Too bad my handwriting sucks.

 

:lol: Sadly, I know the feeling. :(

I may not have been much help, but I DID bump your thread up to the top.

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My flex workhorse is a TWSBI vac700R with a custom wet noodle flex nib, my BEATER workhorse is the delike alpha brass pen with the bent nib (I'm a paramedic and this pen gets beaten to hell and doesn't even bat an eye) the lamy 2000 EF (again, very durable) as well as a penBBS 323 eyedropper filled for my lab notebook.

 

My platinum carbon desk pen with an M nib always has carbon black and gets used regularly.

 

And my vintage pens, a sheaffer craftsman, my mom's old waterman phileas, and my sheaffer statesman snorkel needlepoint are routinely used.

 

For a big broad nib, I use a sailor 1911S with a 21k zoom nib. have a B and C 3776 coming too.

 

And my noodler's boston safety has somewhat been supplanted by a french negus safety pen, with a 14k semiflex nib.

 

My #1 pen that gets the most ink run through it is easily the delike alpha brass pen. I have dropped it onto asphalt repeatedly (it never lands nib down due to its back heavy design) it's been in my breast pocket and gotten kicked, punched, and it's just developing a nice patina and writes, posts, and works like it was brand spanking new.

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

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My Pilot VP Decimo with an EF nib is my go-to both because I take a lot of notes so the clicking mechanism is super convenient and because, due to its fineness, it can write on anything without too much bleedthrough.

 

My engraved Cross Century (my first fountain pen) is also always on hand in case all else fails.

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The pen that is always "on me" whether business or pleasure is a Conid Bulkfiller with a titanium "F" nib. I love how the nib writes with a bit of spring, and the quality of the workmanship. Plus it holds a ton of ink. It replaced a Pilot 823 as my always "on me" pen, which also hold a ton of ink and has a great nib.

...So much ink, so little penmanship....

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1. Pelikan m205 with a fine nib never fails, but it took me a while to find an ink that looked great with it, until I tried Asa Gao.

 

2. Sailor Professional Gear with a medium nib is a much more recent acquisition, but it's also very nice and reliable; you do notice it can hold a lot less ink than the Pelikan, so for longer periods of time without access to an ink bottle it might not be so practical. This pen was made for Tsuyu Kusa, although I did have to press gently on the tines to improve wetness.

 

3. Waterman Le Man 100, this is one of my oldest pens, I'm just now starting to really enjoy using it, with Vert Empire. Doesn't dry quickly but doesn't last as long as the previous two either, which have screw on caps.

 

The way things are going, my recently bought Metro is going to join the pack, ahead of a Lamy Studio which seems to have a fragile finish: my cheapest pen up there with my three most expensive pens, says a lot about Pilot.

 

 

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt."

 

B. Russell

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Always good to hear what other folks are usin'.

 

-My (international cartridge only) workhorses are a couple of Kaweco Dia2 pens with Pendleton's BLS stubs (0.8 mm & 0.6 mm). About a year ago I decided to use carts on a regular basis & to try out as many inks as possible that are offered in this format. I have been amazed at the wide selection of ink colours for international carts, particularly the ones made by Diamine. Almost every major European pen company offers some of their inks in cartridges. At this time I am working through Diamine's cart sample packs.

 

-Any one of my Sailor 1911 Standards could be considered a workhorse pen. The one I use the most often is a burgundy/gold model with a 0.6 mm. round-nose CI (by Mr Masuyama), an absolutely super nib.

 

-Though not used for long writing sessions, my EDC pen, a stainless Kaweco Lilliput (14c 0.5 mm stub) is always with me. It's loaded with Pelikan's 4001 blue/black, a reasonably water resistant ink that's found in cartridge form.

*Sailor 1911S, Black/gold, 14k. 0.8 mm. stub(JM) *1911S blue "Colours", 14k. H-B "M" BLS (PB)

*2 Sailor 1911S Burgundy/gold: 14k. 0.6 mm. "round-nosed" CI (MM) & 14k. 1.1 mm. CI (JM)

*Sailor Pro-Gear Slim Spec. Ed. "Fire",14k. (factory) "H-B"

*Kaweco SPECIAL FP: 14k. "B",-0.6 mm BLS & 14k."M" 0.4 mm. BLS (PB)

*Kaweco Stainless Steel Lilliput, 14k. "M" -0.7 mm.BLS, (PB)

 

 

 

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Platinum Preppys/Plaisirs

Platinum 3776 etcetcetc Bourgogne, M (we don't speak of My Other 3776 with the firehose B nib)

Hero 616s

Lamy Safaris/AlStars/Nexxes

 

 

The above, because the price is right, they fit my hand, and are lightweight, with no metal section. I'm always grabbing one or another.

My latest ebook.   And not just for Halloween!
 

My other pen is a Montblanc.

 

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Pilot Custom 823

Montblanc 344

Montblanc 146

Rationalizing pen and ink purchases since 1967.

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My work environment is fairly gentle to pens. I usually carry two of the following in my pocket in a leather pouch:

'80's MB 146 with an 18k medium nib

'80's MB 144 with a 14k fine nib and a converter

'90's Pelikan M400 14k Fine nib

unknown vintage Pelikan 400NN with a 14k Fine nib

 

On my desk is always an early 70's 149 with a 14C medium nib for when I don't want to fish the pen pouch out of my pocket while sitting.

 

The above almost always have either Diamine Oxblood, or Green/Black ink in them. I just enjoy using these pens, and I find that switching them out every day makes me pay attention to my writing quality a bit more because they all feel different. (I take several pages of hand written notes a week, and struggle with maintaining good legible writing)

 

On the weekends, or when I am out on a factory floor, I keep a Pilot Metropolitan with a fine nib in my back pocket. Cheap, and rugged way to always have a nice pen around.

Edited by rhitee93

-Brian

West-Central Indiana, USA

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