Seeking help finding the perfect pen

[technikolor]

I'm looking for some help finding the perfect pen. I'm new to fountain pens but have tremendous respect for them. My wife is a poet and writer, more and more she's showing off her work but prefers ink over a word processor, so I was thinking that its about time she had a quality writing tool. So I'm seeking the perfect poets fountain pen but the world of pens is far more expansive than I guessed.

 

She's writing poetry mostly, so I think she'd like something calligraphic (assuming thats a real word) in appearance. I found some nib samples somewhere on the net and liked the more shaded look of the OB nib. But those aren't real easy to come by. I personally realy like the Cross pens, but there are no nib samples so I'm not sure just how fine fine is and how wide wide is. She does write fairly small, so I don't want to get marker grade wide but just enough to be stylish. Naturally the pen also needs to flow well and rest easy in her hand so she doesn't tire out and just grab a BIC.

 

But in addition to the practical matters, I want her to have a pen that has presence. Something thats she's proud to own and provoke the envy of other writers and poets when she's in a group setting. I think a ringtop would be ideal because she could wear it on a necklace/lanyard adding to the practical and femine sides alike.

 

The real trick is trying to find the right pen at the right price and looking on the net where I'll never get to try them out. All the pictures are beautiful but if its not practical she'll just stuff it in a drawer. I'm willing to spend up to $250 if I must, any more than that and I just can't justify it.

 

I've been reading reviews, forums, websites, and anything else I can get my eyes on for the last 3 days and I'm no closer to finding something. I see plenty that I love (I want a Cross Apogee Chrome for myself) but nothing has looked perfect just yet. My pen of last resort is currently the Cross ATX, I figure that would at least be a good starter pen to move into something nicer latter on. I love the Monteblac's but they are so expensive I'm afraid, and the Waterman's are nice and get great reviews but seem to lack a certain flare.

 

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

technikolor

[KendallJ]

Tech,

 

You have a very broad request, and I'm sure you will get a very broad answer, but that's ok. You're probably looking to see what we can come up with.

 

OK, let me get this straight. You are looking for a pen for your wife? She is a poet and writer. You want something that's beautiful in design, and with possibly a little bit of a shaded nib.

 

Here is my $0.02, and mind you there are lots of great choices out there, so this is just an option.

 

I have two pens in mind:

 

1. Pelikan Palace de la Concorde

http://www.stylophilesonline.com/images/09-05/09mod2.jpg

 

2. Pelikan Piazza Navona

http://www.theinkflow.com/images/Pelikan/Piazza/Pelikan_Piazza_Set.jpg

 

I like the color combination for a woman, and pelikan nibs are very nice, and they are interchangable so your wife could buy a couple and use different ones as she pleases. I should warn you though, I just used your budget. Best place to buy in terms of price and service is Pam Braun (www.oscarbraunpens.com)

 

For a nib size I would suggest a Broad nib (. Or you could have the nib customized into a stub by a nibmeister such as Richard Binder (www.richardspens.com). I think a fine or medium stub (0.4mm - 0.6mm) would give her writing a nice flare, and still allow her to write smaller.

Edited November 1, 2005 by KendallJ

[Roger]

A complete second to Kendall's suggestions above. That Place de la Concorde would really do it for the girls, I would think. In fact, the more I see of it, the more it's doing it for me!

[KendallJ]

oooh, and I just saw that Lynn Brant has a Piazza Navona she's been trying to sell over on the PT green board. Inked once. Good price at $175 (Pam has them new for $199). If you contacted Lynn directly, she might work a deal for you. If Lynn's nib is not one you like, you could replace the nib with one from Pam as well.

 

http://members3.boardhost.com/PenMarket/msg/75831.html

 

Pelikan nib chart showing how the broads give you line variation

 

http://www.nibs.com/PelikanWritingSamples.gif

 

Also, if you want to see what grinding can do, Richard Binder and John Mottishaw has some nice examples on their webpages of both original Pel, and reground pel nibs look like.

 

http://www.richardspens.com/newp_pel.htm#custom

http://www.nibs.com/calligraphicwriting.htm

http://www.nibs.com/writing_samples.htm

Edited November 1, 2005 by KendallJ

[TMann]

As far as nib selection, I think that a stub nib would be your best choice. A stub nib is a very smooth, rounded italic-type nib. It adds a little bit of variation to the width of the line, but it is very easy to use as an everyday pen.

 

Richard Binder probably makes the nicest stub nibs out there. He is a bit busy, so if you want a specific pen customized, it can be a couple of months turnaround time. However, if you are purchasing a Pelikan (my personal recommendation as well,) you can buy a pre-made stub nib from him. If you wife is just starting with fountain pens, a small (0.6 mm) stub nib would be a great place to start. The italic nibs can be found on his site at the following link: RichardsPens.com

 

Good luck with your search! Fountain pens are a bit of a different experience, but once you get hooked you'll wonder how you wrote for all those years with those lowly ballpoint pens.

 

TMann

[southpaw]

Second the vote for Pelikan special series pens. The two mentioned are excellent choices for your wife IMHO. I would suggest getting one of them with a fine or medium nib and ordering a separate stub nib from Richard Binder. I have a o.6mm stub nib on my M200. Here's a sample written from it attached. Richard's site also has writing samples from the various nibs.

[Roger]

oooh, and I just saw that Lynn Brant has a Piazza Navona she's been trying to sell over on the PT green board.

I made the same mistake when first talking about Lynn. Turns out that Lynn is all boy!

Edited November 1, 2005 by Roger

[KCat]

oooh, and I just saw that Lynn Brant has a Piazza Navona

 

http://members3.boardhost.com/PenMarket/msg/75831.html

i know i know.... dang i love that pen!

 

great price.

 

i would have suggested either of these pens or the slightly smaller M400 White Tortoise you can see in my avatar. ($130)

 

I hesitate to call myself a poet but I do write poetry and when it comes to a pen I feel most "displays" my love of writing and pens, it is, without a doubt, the White Tortoise. The Piazza Navona and Place de la Concorde are equally lovely in appearance and slightly larger. i just don't happen to own either though I wish I did.

 

All of these pens are lightweight and IMO can be used for long periods of time with no fatigue. i can't imagine preferring a ballpoint to a good fountain pen.

 

with time, she may want to try a nice, soft demi-oblique stub. this will give her writing character without putting a strain on her or slowing her down.

 

there are so many beautiful pens out there. Probably you should look at some of the Italian makers as well. Though I find them a bit over the top, they are certainly colorful and well-made pens. Pelikans tend to be understated.

 

Cross makes good pens and certainly those are not out of the question.

[technikolor]

I really appreciate all the feedback.

 

No one has mentioned Ringtops. I've not found many. Are ringtops a thing of the past?

 

So I went out to a shop today that sold Cross. They didn't have any ATX so I went straght for the Apogee Chrome. Frankly, I wasn't impressed, at least not for $140. The pen was solid but the nib provided effectively no shading at all (medium nib). It was a nice pen to be sure, but not a great pen, and perhaps thats why I don't find many Cross fans out there. They definately put some nice pictures on their website.

 

So I'm kicking Cross off my list and hopefully will find some place locally in the Bay Area that caries Pelikan. The Piazza Navona looks interesting.

 

All the advice offered has been extremely helpful. Thank You and feel free to offer any other suggestions.

 

technikolor

[wimg]

Hi techniclor,

 

I am mazed no one mentioned the Stipula word yet... Some of the greatest italic nibbed pens are made by this company. And Swisher has a few on sale too, as have a few other companies....

 

Warm regards, Wim

[Guest Denis Richard]

So I'm kicking Cross off my list and hopefully will find some place locally in the Bay Area that caries Pelikan. The Piazza Navona looks interesting.

Hi technikolor,

 

I don't know which store you visited, but I think University Art in Palo Alto carries Pelikan. They have a half decent selection of brands and models. Nothing huge, but interesting if you are in the area.

 

Denis.

[KCat]

Hi techniclor,

 

I am mazed no one mentioned the Stipula word yet... Some of the greatest italic nibbed pens are made by this company. And Swisher has a few on sale too, as have a few other companies....

 

Warm regards, Wim

only 'cuz we knew you would....

 

I did mention "Italian" pens in general.

[antoniosz]

Tons of beautiful pens from the past.

 

Lady Parker 45. The practicality of a 45 (cartridge/converter) - ease of maintainance. Beautiful design.

 

http://www.streamload.com/azavalia/FPN/ladprk.jpg

 

Parker 41 Debutante (aerometric) - As good as a 51 in operation and performance

 

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/azavalia/lady2.jpg

 

Or the Sheaffer Lady Skripserts (Sheaffer cartridges)

 

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/azavalia/collect.jpg

 

and is she is willing to put up with lever fillers check out the Wahls

 

http://www.penlovers.com/index.cfm?t=collections&s=wahl2

 

especially the GFs and the ripples hard rubbers.

[Tricia]

No matter the pen, I'd make sure to include some waterproof ink. Creative words can rarely be exactly re-created should anything happen to the originals. (Tears of frustration come to mind. Oh, I have been there...)

 

I'm aware of Noodler's black, with some colors ("eternals"?) at swisher pens, and other colors ("contract"?) at pendemonium. There may be others but these are the ones I'm familiar with (and use).

[davyr]

unless this will be a surprise gift for your wife, i think bottom line your wife will need to pick out the pen. looks are so subjective, not to mention personal preference to size, balance, weight, etc. also. things look very different on the net/in pictures than in real life. some watches that i loved in pictures looked terrible when worn on my wrist.

 

but i have to agree, the pelikan place de concorde is a real looker. i thought of buying it for my wife, to get her into fountain pens, but she didn't like it at all...

 

good hunting.

[JimStrutton]

This is a quest that can have many strange twists and turns.

 

I have good friends and David is not a FP user at all whilst his wife Christine likes caligraphy and is also a good poet and writer of prose.

 

So the fall back present for David is to buy Christine a nice fountain pen and for this I get dragged in for advice. So over the years, Christine has been bought a number of good pens, if by good we mean expensive.

 

So one day I bought a bunch of pens on The Bay mainly for some parts I wanted to repair a 61 I had. In with the bundle was a plain but good Parker Lady with a fine nib. I did not want it, so I flushed it, gave it a polish, filled it with some blue ink that I know Christine likes and gave it too her.

 

That pen probably cost less that 10GBPs but has become almost her constant companion. What she likes is that she can quickly draft out some text and then edit and refine. Final finished work gets written out in her beautiful script using another pen.

 

Now this sort of fits with my own experience, fountain pens are writing tools and if you are writing then you need different tools for different jobs. You would not find that a carpenter had only one chisel, or an engineer one spanner and one screwdriver.

 

The final choice will be an objective one made by the writer and one writers choice will not fit all. My preference is to use a fine nibbed pen for taking notes and drafting, then use a medium or broad nibbed pen for writing what I will call here final work. So maybe you need to look at a range of pens, even buy a few cheap ones to let her try out nib styles, size, writing experience. May I even dare to say, buy one or two used pens from a place like this board, you can always resell the ones that don't fit the bill.

 

Just my .02 worth!

 

Jim

Edited November 2, 2005 by JimStrutton

[technikolor]

You guys are all right on the money. I refined my search more so to femine pens, esp because she has small-ish hands and some of the really nice Pelikan's seem like they might be too large.

 

Last night I couldn't take it anymore and let her in on what I was doing. This is supposed to be a birthday present but we've been married long enough that its no big deal to let it slip. She was getting worried about my driving all over town looking for "something".

 

So we sat and looked at pens together and of course looks are #1 to her (right now). I'm trying to balance looks with performance. She was wow'ed by the Montblac's but not so fond of the Pelikans. She didn't like Cross. She got excited though when we looked at the Waterman's. She saw a variety of Waterman pens that she was in love with. In a sense this is a very good thing because they are plentiful and relatively inexpensive.

 

I was thinking along the same lines as you Jim. I'm thinking that I might buy her 2 Waterman's instead of a single super-pen. One fine another medium. The two she's got most giddy about were:

 

- Waterman Expert Dune Red GT

- Waterman Ici Et Là Lilac

 

I think I'd probly go Fine for the Ici and Medium for the Expert. Those together in a nice leather pen case would be prefect I think. Perhaps I could even pick up an italic nib for the Expert down the road as an upgrade.

 

Does this seem like a wise choice or am I just wasting money?

 

You guys are the best! I love this forum.

 

technikolor

[Bryan]

Both look to be great pens. Keep in mind that the Waterman Ice Et La comes with it's own carrying case. You might what to inquire as to if this case can hold an additional pen, thereby saving you the costs of buying a 2 pen carrying case.

 

What a excellant gift!

 

Bryan

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

Sounds good. Waterman pens...just make sure she uses them a lot.

 

I will be getting my own Ici Et La in a few weeks...

 

Dillon

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

Make sure the Ici Et La can accept a convertor. The older ones don't, but the newer ones like mine does.

 

Dillon