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Introduction My journey began on a fateful day a few months back when I finally hit my limit with using crappy pens. I was so fed up, in fact, that I began an obsessive quest to find the "perfect pen" to accompany me through the rest of graduate school, a job that requires progress notes, journaling and (hopefully when I have time to breathe) letter writing. This search inevitably landed me in your midst, where I was confronted with a well of pen knowledge I had hardly fathomed, and a den of insidious enablers who would spurn a new addiction. (I'm looking at YOU) And addiction it became. As I researched and learned and spiraled into the fountain pen abyss, my ebay account began blowing up and my bank account swiftly drained. I wanted to find the best starter/every day carry pen for me, so of course the logical thing to do was to buy all of them! And once the dust had settled and I sobered up enough to clear the kitchen table of pen paraphernalia and scrub the ink off my fingers, I had to make sense of it all. Yes, I thought, perhaps there are those who can learn from this experience. OK. Melodrama aside, I figured that perhaps I could contribute a little something to this community for those who also have OCD and are new to "the scene" and are looking for the "perfect" EDC pen. Of course, it all comes down to personal preference and fit, so in the end everyone must embark on their own journey down fountain pen lane. And then there's the unfortunate fact that "perfect" is an illusion and that every time you think you've bought your last pen there's another one right around the corner, waiting in the shadows, ready to sabotage your delusion of fiscal responsibility, and the cycle continues until you find yourself drawing spirals in the ground of a padded cell muttering to yourself.... but hey, at least the spirals have some nice flex to them! I digress. Bottom line: maybe I can help folks narrow down their choices. Bear in mind this is not meant to be all inclusive by any means, more so just a random smattering of pens that fell into my lap before I found a few I really liked, which I will briefly compare here. My Criteria 1. Under $100 · This wasn't really premeditated, it just ended up this way. Somehow I justified spending hundreds on pens as long as each individual pen didn't go over $100. Ok then! At least my strong sense of denial is satisfied! This includes used prices. 2. Suitable for Every Day Carry · This one was really difficult to stick to. I caught the "collecting" and "vintage" bugs very quickly and had to stage an intervention on myself to stop. I reminded myself that a: I'm a broke grad student who really just needs “on the go” utilitarian pens, and student loans are not, in fact, monopoly money, and b: I am going to be traveling and not settling down any time soon, so starting a collection of pens that will sit in a storage unit is silly at this point in my life, and the ones I keep need to be able to travel with me. 3. Larger and/or Heavier Pens · This also wasn't premeditated, but ended up being the result of me figuring out exactly what I like and don't like in pens. I have large hands with long fingers, so small and/or light pens don't settle well in my grip. There have been exceptions (especially in the "light" category) but overall these preferences might differentiate me from many readers. The Pens Modern Pens 1. Lamy Safari Appearance: 7 Nib & Performance: Variable – 7 for my EF, 9 for my F, 10 for my 1.1 Design: 10 Filling System & Maintenance: 7 (with converter) Construction & Quality: 8 Cost & Value: 10 Weight & Dimensions: 9 Conclusion: 9.5 What can be said about the Safari that hasn’t already been said? Between the easily swappable, butter-smooth nibs, the intuitive design that results in a light, comfortable writer that never skips and always flows even when left uncapped, and a durable and no-brainer maintenance pen, what’s there not to like? OK, some folks don’t like being put into a box when it comes to the grip section, and I personally prefer the more classic look when it comes to fountain pens so the Safari isn’t what I’d call a “beautiful” pen, but it gets the job done. Makes the EDC cut? YES I was originally planning on grabbing an Al Star, but really liked the texture of the matte black Safari – has that satisfying rough-but-smooth feel to it that lends aid to gripping it. While this pen is certainly light, it is rather large and long, and fits and balances nicely in my hand. The converter is a must to open up the world of bottled inks, and with that and a range of nibs – there’s really no reason to not have one of these lying around. Of note – the 1.1 nib in particular is amazing – utterly smooth and transformed my writing for the better with some nice line variation and expression. I take this pen with me every day and am never worried about whether it will write well or if I’m going to damage it by banging it around. My only gripe besides the QC on their nibs is the small capacity of the Safari converter, but it’s a minor gripe. Call me converted to the cult of Safari/Al Star. 2. Pilot Metropolitan Appearance: 8 Nib & Performance: 9 Design: 8.5 Filling System & Maintenance: 7 (with converter) Construction & Quality: 8 Cost & Value: 10 Weight & Dimensions: 8 Conclusion: 9 The Pilot Metro is the pen I would give to someone as an all around representation of a quality entry-level fountain pen. It’s got a subtle, classic design, an incredibly smooth and wet nib, a lovely balance and weight, and it just feels high quality despite its dirt-cheap price. Pilot certainly could have charged a lot more for this pen and I would have been happy to pay. The downside is the pilot converter situation with its small capacity, and the fact that it only comes in one size (M) with little room to customize unless you swap nibs from other pens. Makes the EDC cut? YES I love the Metro. I recommend it to pretty much everyone. It’s just a great pen at an amazing price level. The nib is buttery smooth and produces a consistent, wet line, it’s got some heft to it so it sits well in my hand, and it’s just a pleasure to write with. I have found, however, that I’m not as drawn to write with it as I am the Safari and it often sits unused in my briefcase. It’s just not as interesting of a pen as the Safari, and I like the grip and length of the Safari and the finer nib sizes and stubs. I will be purchasing a Plumix to swap its stub nib onto the Metro, and see if I can work it back into my regular rotation. 3. TWSBI Mini Classic Appearance: 9 Nib & Performance: 7 Design: 9 Filling System & Maintenance: 9 Construction & Quality: 8 Cost & Value: 8 Weight & Dimensions: 6 (for me) Conclusion: 8 This pen is a little badass. TWSBI has become associated with a big bang for your buck, and for good reason. A solid piston filler with swappable nibs and easy customization that will fit in your pocket and is nicely posted that costs around $50? Awesome. I LOVE the look and design of this pen. It’s just so freaking cool and NIFTY. My main gripe besides the fit is that the fine nib I had did not impress me. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t anything to write home about either. I would definitely recommend some custom nib work or a nib change. The other gripe and the deal breaker for me, which I realize is a personal issue as a lot of folks love this pen, is the balance and weight did not work well for me. I have also heard about issues around the quality of materials and the plastic cracking, though I did not own mine long enough to experience those. Makes the EDC cut? NO I really really wanted this pen to work for me. So much so that no matter how sure I was it wouldn’t work for me I kept coming back to try it again. However, I have very large hands with long fingers, and the bottom line was it just didn’t fit well for me. It didn’t balance well in my hand, and because of that, the lightness of it made it slip around in my grip. I found that I had to grip tighter and tighter to hold on to it which led to sweaty fingers and even more slippage. Just wasn’t a pleasant writing experience. A little too small and too light for my tastes. I think for many, though, this can be the EDC pen. You’ll just have to try it for yourself. 4. Namiki / Pilot Vanishing Point (used) Appearance: 9 Nib & Performance: 9 (for my F) 10+ (custom ground) Design: 10 Filling System & Maintenance: 7 Construction & Quality: 10 Cost & Value: 9 Weight & Dimensions: 9.5 (for me) Conclusion: 9.5 Ah the illustrious VP. OK, so yes, this is cheating as the VP exceeds the $100 price mark (at least the versions with the 18K nib), but I picked up a VP on a whim used for $75. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much. The whole capless click fountain pen thing seemed like it could be a big gimmick. Oh how I was mistaken. More and more I am finding that Pilot = consistently high quality. This pen is really “all that” and more. An incredibly innovative design that works and works well without sacrificing any quality in materials, a very nice nib (as pilot’s tend to be), wonderful weight and dimensions (for me – I love the extra heft, and the clip location I like as a grip aid and guide for keeping the point straight)… if you like modern fountain pens at all, you just gotta try this pen at some point. The filling system is a little lacking, using either a pilot converter or refilling cartridges by syringe, but hey, you can’t have –everything- in one pen… (or can you?). I will say though that I wrote a long letter to a friend and started to feel the pen’s weight as a possible detractor for the first time, so if you tend towards light pens this may not be for you. Makes the EDC cut? YES The ability to click a pen and have a lovely fountain nib come out might seem trivial, until you carry it around with you and use it in action. You can’t really beat this as an “on the go” fountain pen, whether for signatures or for impromptu longer writing sessions. Add a custom ground nib by a reputable nibmeister and you’ll be hard pressed to be wanting for anything in your pen. This pen balances very well for me in my large hands, and again I really like the weight of it. I love the Fine nib that came with my VP – a true Japanese fine that's finer than western EF's – with the preciseness of the point and those thin lines it just feels… tantalizing. However, I wanted a more versatile nib in addition and I took my VP to the next level after installing a custom ground Medium stub-italic by Pendleton. I now have a full on love affair with this pen. So much so that I’ve bought another (this time matte black), and will be putting a Binder CI in it this time! Modern Flex 5. Noodler's Konrad Appearance: 7 Nib & Performance: 8 (when it works) Design: 6 Filling System & Maintenance: 7 Construction & Quality: 2 Cost & Value: 7 Weight & Dimensions: 7 Conclusion: 4 What I will say about the Konrad is – great idea, poor execution. A modern flex pen that –really- flexes that’s cheap and customizeable? Yes please! I recognize that this pen was “made to be tinkered with”, but there is a fine line between “needs tinkering” and “bash my head against a wall in frustration”. When I first took it out and attempted to pull the back cap off to access the twist nob for the filling system, the cap, nob, and stem that leads down to the plunger came with it. Looking closely at the internals, I could tell right away that this was a CHEAPLY made pen. Also, a pen should work. Mine dripped from the feed and I could not, or perhaps I simply did not have the patience to, remedy it. Makes the EDC cut? NO Bottom line: I love Noodler’s ink, and I love the idea behind this pen, but I found the reality of it to be an incredibly low quality, frustrating pen that smells like vomit (yes, vomit), and not worth my time. Even if it worked perfectly the smell alone made me want to toss it. Back to the drawing board with this one. Vintage Pens 6. Parker 45 Appearance: 9 Nib & Performance: Variable, overall 8 Design: 9 Filling System & Maintenance: 8 Construction & Quality: 8 Cost & Value: 9 Weight & Dimensions: 8 Conclusion: 8.5 I have a huge soft spot for the 45. It’s a classic, it’s my favorite thin pen, and one of my favorite vintage pens. It’s not fancy by any means, but I just love their look and design. I binged on collecting a number of these very quickly right off the bat. Each one has had its own personality, and the nibs have been variable in their writing, but overall if I had my druthers I’d own about 50 of these. They’re light, well balanced, durable, easy to clean and maintain, as well as swap nibs, and like most Parkers, they just work! The squeeze filler is.. well... let’s just say it’s “classic” as well. I didn’t have a heart to rate it low because it really does its job well for this small but mighty pen. Makes the EDC cut? NO (barely) The 45 is a perfect pocket carry vintage pen. I have, however, sold off all of my 45’s save for the first one I bought. The reason being? I just don’t see this pen being in rotation as my EDC when I have my other modern pens as options. This is partly because of the fit, it being a thinner pen than I like, but also because, to be honest, functionality-wise, as well as quality of materials-wise, my modern pens offer more, with better quality plastics and metals, easily gained nib sizes (especially stubs and CI’s, which I am obsessed with now), higher ink capacity, and an overall more comfortable writing experience. But, again, I love the 45. And having a vintage 45 in one’s shirt pocket is so much cooler than having a modern (save for maybe the VP). 7. Parker 21 Appearance: 7 Nib & Performance: 9 Design: 8 Filling System & Maintenance: 8 Construction & Quality: 7 Cost & Value: 9 Weight & Dimensions: 7.5 Conclusion: 7 I know the 21 is the red-headed stepchild of the Parker line, but this was a $4 pickup at the flea market and I’ll be damned if wasn’t one of the most buttery writers I have ever experienced. It seems to me this is the cheaper version of the legendary 51, and I gotta say, cheap or no this pen writes and works great! Quality may be a little lacking (I’ve heard about issues in cracking), and it was a bit too light for my tastes, but it’s still a fine writer, and that’s the most important part, eh? No need (or really ability) to dissemble, piece of cake to clean and maintain, simple squeeze filler. Parkers are really no-brainers that do their job well. Makes the EDC cut? NO “I’m just not that into you” would be phrase here. This pen could make a great EDC. It never skipped or had trouble starting (the hooded nib does wonders for functionality), wrote buttery smooth, no leaking issues, and was light as a feather. However it just didn’t jive with me, felt a bit too cheap, and to be honest (and I know I’m in the minority), I don’t like the look of the P21 and 51’s hooded nib style. 8. Sheaffer's Sovereign Snorkel Appearance: 8 Nib & Performance: 8 Design: 10 Filling System & Maintenance: 10 / 3 (awesome but complex) Construction & Quality: 8.5 Cost & Value: 8 Weight & Dimensions: 8 Conclusion: 8.5 Snorkels are pretty standard buys when it comes to quality vintage pens. It can be a standoff between these and P51’s (I think "both" is the correct answer here) and for me it came down to the fact that I preferred the look of the Snorkels better, plus who doesn’t want to try out that rad filling system!? I rated the system and maintenance 10/3 because its complexity comes at a price – it is not the type of vintage pen that you can feel comfortable with just picking up used and filling – restoration is almost a requirement before use to make sure you don’t gum up its works. This, to me, is a significant detractor for those who are not well schooled in restoration work or don't want to have to ship their pen off to be restored. However, restored and in working condition, these pens are fantastic – smooth, high quality gold nibs, an nice weight and balance, and overall some serious style points. Makes the EDC cut? NO I opted not to keep this puppy because I found it too thin for my tastes, as well as a little on the light side. Also the complexity of its filling system can border on being a boon if the pump malfunctions or the seals give out, and this system did seem a little fragile to me. Again, this comes back to my personal preferences and criteria as listed at the beginning of this post. I recognize that Snorkels are spectacular pens, and would be well suited for many as EDC pens. Just not for me. 9 & 10 Waterman Laureat & Pro Graduate Appearance: 9 Nib & Performance: TBD Design: 8 Filling System & Maintenance: 7.5 (converter) Construction & Quality: 8 Cost & Value: 7 Weight & Dimensions: 7 Conclusion: TBD Some of you Waterman folks may have a fit, but I am going to lump these two pens together for convenience, as they are similar (to me) both in design and in quality, with the Lareat edging the Pro Graduate. Overall, I find these thin waterman pens (laureate, pro graduate, executive, etc.) to be very pleasing to the eye, and they are pretty high quality too, with a nice weight to them and gold or gold plated nibs and 23K gold accents. I can’t yet speak to performance (which I realize is the most important factor), as one arrived new and I wished to keep it that way once I decided I wasn’t going to keep it, and the other arrived with a bent nib. I will update this with performance once I receive the new nib for the pro graduate in the mail. However, while I love their looks and their weight and balance, and I like their grip sections, they are simply far too thin for me to use comfortably. Makes the EDC cut? NO (see above) Vintage Semi-Flex 11. Eversharp Slim Ventura Appearance: 7.5 Nib & Performance: 7 (needed adjustment) Design: 8.5 Filling System & Maintenance: 8 Construction & Quality: 8.5 Cost & Value: 8 Weight & Dimensions: 8 Conclusion: 8 This was a chance pickup at the flea market that turned out to be a little piece of gold. A sterling silver and gold cap, a nice 14K semi-flex nib, and a quality design made for a cool vintage semi-flex pen. The filling system was a squeeze filler with a large bladder. Overall this pen didn’t make the cut because of its thinness (hence slim), and because this pen’s nib was very toothy. Looking back it clearly needed some work to write smoothly, and if performed, I think it would make an excellent keeper. Makes the EDC cut? NO (see above) 12. Garant Alkor Appearance: 9 Nib & Performance: 9.5 (nib) 7 (feed prior to work) Design: 8.5 Filling System & Maintenance: 9 Construction & Quality: 8 Cost & Value: 8 for what I paid (rare) Weight & Dimensions: 9 Conclusion: 8.5 This was another chance pickup, this time on ebay. And wow what a catch! A rare pen from East Germany, this is a sharp looking piston-filler with an ink window, a huge ink capacity, and a sweet buttery smooth and semi-flexible 14K gold nib. It’s a solid design with a wonderful weight and balance and a surprisingly high quality. I am convinced this buy was a steal. The one issue I’m having is the feed is not keeping up with the nib when flexing. I have not had the time to do a thorough soaking and/or adjustment of the feed yet, and if it came down to it, this pen is so rad that I would definitely send it to a ‘meister to have the feed adjusted professionally. Makes the EDC cut? YES This was a surprise joy. I really like this pen – its looks and style, its incredibly smooth and silky nib, its flexibility, its piston filler and large ink capacity, its weight and balance, and I gotta say, I like knowing that I’m one of the only folks on the block with this pen. A keeper for me, though I will most likely be sending it in for some work, before filling it with some Diamine ancient copper and having some fun! Conclusion So of course I couldn’t choose just one. I wholeheartedly believe that that is simply impossible when it comes to fountain pens, and to force oneself to do so is a form of masochism. I had a fun little journey exploring pens on my quest to have a solid lineup worthy of EDC, and it was very hard to narrow it down and “get real” about which pens would really be used and travel with me, and which pens I wanted to keep from a collector’s standpoint. I still haven’t completely gotten “real” in this regard and may unload more pens before I travel, but hey, it’s a start. Needless to say the journey is not over. I am still purchasing custom nibs for my keeper pens (I am in love with stubs and CI’s), and admittedly still considering adding a few more to my collection, because it ain’t a proper addiction without a relapse! But nonetheless, here is my current lineup that survived the trials: And the winners are..... #1 #2 #3 #4 A note about EDC Ink: By far the best and most obvious EDC ink I've sampled would be Noodler's Black for its bulletproof, fast dry, and well behaved qualities in every pen I've put it in. It is the ink best suited for every every use and all conditions you might find yourself using a FP. However, leaving it at that is boring, so I'm going to add Iroshizuku Shin-Kai as my second EDC ink for a wonderful and well behaved blue black. I am still on the lookout for other "bulletproof" blue's and blue blacks, and have not ventured very far into the ink world as of yet. Untested Honorable Mentions / Wish List 1. Parker 51 Yes yes YES! I hear you! I realize the P51 is perhaps the biggest gap in my sample, and even though I’m not a fan of the look of the hooded nib, I still would like to give one a try. I looked around for a 51 for a long while, but fate simply didn’t deliver one for me. Having liked the 21, if the 51 is as big a step up from the 21 as I understand it to be, I can see why folks love this pen. Some day, perhaps. 2. Chinese Pens There a ton of quality Chinese pens out there that can offer a great EDC writing experience. However, as a personal preference I steered clear of them. 3. TWSBI 580 I would have liked, and still would like, to try a 580. I am thinking that perhaps with it being a larger pen, I would have a different experience in regards to the fit problems I was having with the mini. However it is not on the top of my priority list at this point, the main reason being I’m afraid I’ll have the same issues around weight and grip (it’s actually lighter than the mini unposted), and I really prefer to post my pens. 4. Parker Vacumatic I absolutely love the look of this pen. It has been on my wish list for a while, but I am hesitant to pull the trigger on one, simply because I am going more for utility and subtle looks now considering I would like to be able to bring my pens to foreign countries without worry of them being stolen. I think if I purchased a restored Vacumatic, I would inevitably have nib work done on it to make it the perfect pen, then I would never take it out because I would be too protective of it. First-world problems, eh? 5. Lamy Al Star It’s a Safari, except aluminum and a bit heavier. Like I said in the Safari review, I was originally planning on an Al Star but really liked the texture of the matte Safari. An Al Star, either Blue or Purple, is currently at the top of my wish list, and will most likely be swiftly purchased considering its affordability. 6. Lamy 2000 I tried a 2000 at a pen shop, and was put off by its lightness, but am now leaning back toward giving it another chance, especially after I found the VP to be a bit heavy in longer writing sessions. With its low key looks, its excellent design, and perhaps most notably its huge ink compacity, the 2000 is a prime candidate for EDC. I can’t say I’ve really done my homework without at least giving it a shot. My plan is to purchase one, give it a trial run for a couple weeks, and if I end up liking it enough, having the nib reground by Pendleton. The end (for now..)

Hello everyone, my first review here. Recently, I was looking through some local listings for fountain pens. I found one listing with ~40 fountain pens available from one owner/seller. As I understood later, this was an old collection of a passed relative. As I got to see the collection of pens, to my dissapointment, I found out that most are in a very bad condition. Underneath the pile of neglected pens and a lot of sticky dried ink, I found this hidden gem. http://imgur.com/a/xp74o#0 I was not aware of the brand, but it immediately cought my eye. As I took it home, I researched it and found out that it is a Garant Nilor fountain pen made in DDR (East Germany), most probably in the 1970s. I found a few listings on Ebay, but not exactly like this one. It is a piston filler, but the kind where you have to open the back end and use a smaller handle inside of it. After I cleaned it thoroughly, I filled it with ink and hoped for the best. The first word, ahhh, amazing. Smooth, wet, with character. You can feel the paper, but it still provides an amazing writing experience. I am now using it as my daily working pen, as I am waiting for a new cap for my Pelikan M200. Appearance & Design (1-10) 7 - A bit damaged at the end, but you can see this had been a very attractive pen before being used. Construction & Quality (1-10) 7 - Very sturdy, and the metal rings on the cap still look very good. Weight & Dimensions (1-10) 8 - Fits great in my hand, I like thicker pens the most. Nib & Performance (1-10) 8 - Writes amazingly well for a roughly used and old pen. Filling System & Maintenance (1-10) 8 - The piston filler worked great immediately after cleaning, even after 5+ years of non-usage. Cost & Value (1-10) 10 - I got it for 150 MKD (2.5 EUR) through a local listing. Conclusion (Final score, xx/60) 48/60 Thank you for reading and stay well.