One Brand (Fp + Ink) For Life

[BVT]

One of the most beautiful things about fountain pens en inks is that you can mix and match between brands. Do you want to use Pilot Iroshizuku in your Montblanc? Please do. Parker Quink in your Waterman? Its a free world.

 

But what if you could only use one single brand for both fountain pens and inks for the rest of your life? Sadly this means instant disqualification for the likes of Diamine and J. Herbin. Parker for example makes some great pens but their inks are extremely boring to me. The same goes in my opinion for Pelikan.

 

Ive been thinking about it a lot and am curious what you would choose. I think for me it would have to be Montblanc, which separately are neither my favourite pens or inks. Ive yet to try any of their products but Sailor also seems like a strong contender. Thoughts?

[LyaT]

I use Montblanc inks in my Pelikans, works great. If I can choose one brand for pens and another brand for inks, thats easy.

 

Your question is a tough one. I do not like Pelikan inks for lacking of exciting colors.

[Darth_Roo]

What a devastating question. So many options. Notable mentions to Graf and Lamy.

Ultimately, for me it's an argument between Pelikan and Pilot.

Pilot inks are better, Pelikan pens are better.

On balance, I think you'd agree picking Pilot is the right option.

[carlos.q]

I would choose Pelikan. Maybe I'm just boring but I like Pelikan Edelstein inks, particularly Topaz, Tanzanite, Smoky Quartz and Olivine. For my vintage Pelikans I prefer 4001 inks like Brilliant Black and Blue-Black.

[ethernautrix]

Pilot.

[txomsy]

For me it would be a black Montblanc slimline with a gold nib and Montblanc inks, most likely the 1912 LE Grey, Permanent Blue and Burgundy. They also have many other interesting ink colors in case I felt bored.

[white_lotus]

I have a number of pens made by small companies that don't make or sell inks at all. Since no one has to make this choice in the real world I consider the question moot. Sorry.

[ENewton]

Sailor, although four of my six favorite pens are vintage Parkers.

[displacermoose]

Probably Sailor, although Pilot is a very close second.

[The Good Captain]

I'm another one for Pelikan. And if I had to choose one pen and one ink, the pair would be M405F in black and 4001 Blue-Black.

[mana]

"There can be only one!"

Pelikan for me, thanks.

[tonybelding]

Pilot would seem like an obvious choice to me. I highly regard both their pens and their inks.

 

Pelikan is also perfectly viable.

 

Moving a bit down-market, Monteverde have quite a selection of ink and pens, especially if you include Conklin. (Monteverde USA and Conklin both being brands of Yafa, Inc.)

 

Franklin-Christoph have their own branded ink now, by the way. I know nothing about it, but assume it should be good, and they have a nice color selection.

 

I've got to say, I do find this entire exercise a bit depressing, though. It arbitrarily rules out so many worthy brands on both the pen and ink sides of the equation.

[lapis]

I'm not a fan of Pelikan enough to say that I'd be content to use only Pelikan pens and Pelikan inks, but if I could only have one (1) pen and one (1) ink, both from one and the same company, it'd be my M900 + 4001 blue-black.

 

Whew

[MissCellany]

Another hat in the ring for Pilot. Custom 823 and Pilot Blue Black could carry anyone through a lifetime of writing.

[Frozenoak]

I'd have to second Franklin-Christoph, I currently use the Model 03 Emerald & White with the #6 "Christoph" (1.9mm Music) Nib and their Emerald 357 ink for all my correspondences. When I run out of green I have a bottle of Blue 72 to follow it.

[alfredop]

Black striated Pelikan 400, with an EF nib and Diamine Majestic Blue ink. But fortunately I can choose between more than 100 pens and 10-20 bottles of ink

 

Alfredo

[Enkida]

Count another one for Pilot-Pelikan. I like Pilot pens better, but being in Germany, it'd be silly to not be a Pelikan user.

 

Edit: OH WAIT! Lamy made the Crystal Ink line! LAMY all the way!

Edited July 10, 2019 by Enkida

[inkstainedruth]

Wow. Tough question. I'd have to say it would be a toss up between Pelikan and Pilot -- with Noodler's running a close third (I have, between samples and bottles, more Noodler's inks than any other brand, with Diamine running neck and neck for individual inks). Probably Pelikan by a nose because I only have a couple of Pilot pens, and only like certain Iroshizuku colors (although one of those *is* Yama-budo... ).

Parker would be fourth -- I have more Parker pens (especially vintage ones) than all other brands: probably close to a third of the stash. And I have a number of bottles of vintage Quink ink, though fewer than for modern brands; I would never, for instance, want to be without at least SOME vintage Microfilm Black.

While I like some Lamy inks, I don't actually have as much as, say, Enkida. And at the moment only the two pens (Dark Lilac Safari and Ruthenium LX -- and the only reason I have the LX is because when the old US distributor had their close-out sale, the price of an LX was too good -- less than I'd paid for the Safari! -- to pass up, and I liked the color a little better than the Charcoal al-Star).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[JakobS]

I mostly use vintage pens, so if specifically limited to modern I would focus more on quality and selection of the ink, and since J. Herbin does make (or at least put their brand on) a few fountain pens, albeit ones that are nothing special for the price, I would choose them so I could enjoy their ink line.

 

For vintage, since their vintage ink is still widely available, I would go with Sheaffer. Vintage Skrip is just an easy flowing, no problem ink., and the Triumph nibs on my Imperial II Deluxe, and the gold No. 33 nib on my Craftsman, can handle any ink I throw at them without protest.

Edited July 11, 2019 by JakobS

[Enkida]

Well, Lamy pens aren't my favourite, but in terms of broadness - those interchangable z50s, yo - they can't be beat for versatility, which is what would ultimately win over a "favourite pen". I need variety, and while Lamy doesn't win top marks in any nib width, they score consistently in the top for all nib widths, and their feeds and barrels are dependable, so that's good enough for me. As for the inks - honestly I'd go with Diamine if I could, but barring that - I really like Lamy Black and Turquoise, I can live with Lamy Violet, and I enjoy Lamy Azurite, Obsidian, Topaz, and Beryl. I could see myself liking Peridot, Agate, Ruby and Amazonite as well, so... it's more like, Lamy wins in no categories, but scores highly enough in all categories that my variety itch would be sufficiently scratched. ;-)

 

You know, thinking that out made me really glad that none of us have to live with the communist choice when it comes to inks and fountain pens.

Edited July 10, 2019 by Enkida