Everyday Writing Pen Advice

[Scriptorium Pens]

I've been having fun using Lamy Safaris for a while and finally decided to go for some nicer pens. I got a Lamy 2000 EF and a couple of Levenger True Writers, one F, one M. I love everything about the 2000 except the grip. I thought the little metal "ears" would help me hold onto the pen, but I still get hand fatigue when using it. The True Writers are easy to hold onto, but don't have that warm feel of the 2k's textured makrolon barrel. Also, their nibs are much stiffer than the nice, soft Lamy nib and skip every now & then. So, I am looking for something that combines what I like in both these models. A softer, wet nib, probably a M, with a nice-sized grip area that my fingers can hang onto. I also like the large piston-fill ink chamber. I'd like to spend less than $130 on it, if such a thing can be found.

 

I am thinking that perhaps a Pelikan might be what I'm looking for. I do have an old M400 OM that I really enjoy, but it's a bit smaller than I like. The larger Pelikans look a bit too expensive for me right now. Can anyone suggest something? Could it even be that a Medium 2000's flow wouldn't require a tighter grip and I would be happy with that? I have several F & EF Safaris, using them mostly to grade papers and enter grades in a gradebook grid. I use my F & M for everyday writing, journaling, taking notes, etc. It's the everyday writing pen that I'm looking for here.

 

I've poured over the forum and there are so many pen suggestions that I am now more confused than ever. If I have to go up in price, I'll just have to save up for a while before purchasing

[Tsujigiri]

A Pelikan would fill those requirements quite nicely. There's also the Sailor 1911m or Sapporo, but they don't have piston-filling.

[lapis]

Get a hold of an M215. Same size and shape as an M400 but 50% heavier which I myself really do treasure. A good feeling in the hand. Don't know what that'd cost in your neck of the woods but I'd say less than $130. Ditto a Waterman Charleston which is just as fat but lighter and a c/c.

 

Mike

[FrankB]

To show you how very different people can be, I do not like the feel of the Lamy 2000's makrolon, but do like the feel of the True Writer's resin. Though I do not think the True Writer is a good quality pen. So my suggestions will be guided by my experience and my own personal preferences. I have found the Parker "51" to be an excellent general writer, especially for students. The hooded nib will definitely not be "soft," but with a wider nib like a M, it can be fluid and wet on paper and a very useful writer.

 

Wider pens with a warm feel might also include a couple Taccia models - the Continental, the Imperial Portuguese, and the Staccato. All these pens have nice fluid nibs, whether steel or gold, and a comfortable ergonomic feel. All of these pens are c/c fillers, however.

 

When you mention hand fatigue, I am compelled to remind you to practice a loose, comfortable grip on your pens. The BP has ruined all of us with our pen grips, and it takes some relearning to ease up on the pen hold. There are some good suggestions in another thread, "I just took a test ..."

 

Good luck.

[Scriptorium Pens]

Get a hold of an M215. Same size and shape as an M400 but 50% heavier which I myself really do treasure. A good feeling in the hand. Don't know what that'd cost in your neck of the woods but I'd say less than $130. Ditto a Waterman Charleston which is just as fat but lighter and a c/c.

 

Mike

 

I really like the looks of the M215, and the heavier weight sounds good, too. It's also within my price range. I do have a Charleston rollerball and love it.

[Scriptorium Pens]

A Pelikan would fill those requirements quite nicely. There's also the Sailor 1911m or Sapporo, but they don't have piston-filling.

 

The Sailors just don't appeal to me -- rather ordinary looking, I guess. Not that I like glitz, but I don't mind a little flair I see lots of folks raving over how smooth they are. I'm not dead-set on a piston-filler, but they do seem very convenient.

[Scriptorium Pens]

To show you how very different people can be, I do not like the feel of the Lamy 2000's makrolon, but do like the feel of the True Writer's resin. Though I do not think the True Writer is a good quality pen. So my suggestions will be guided by my experience and my own personal preferences. I have found the Parker "51" to be an excellent general writer, especially for students. The hooded nib will definitely not be "soft," but with a wider nib like a M, it can be fluid and wet on paper and a very useful writer.

 

Wider pens with a warm feel might also include a couple Taccia models - the Continental, the Imperial Portuguese, and the Staccato. All these pens have nice fluid nibs, whether steel or gold, and a comfortable ergonomic feel. All of these pens are c/c fillers, however.

 

When you mention hand fatigue, I am compelled to remind you to practice a loose, comfortable grip on your pens. The BP has ruined all of us with our pen grips, and it takes some relearning to ease up on the pen hold. There are some good suggestions in another thread, "I just took a test ..."

 

Good luck.

 

I'd really love to try one of these Parker 51s. I don't know if I'm experienced enough to know what I'm looking at with vintage pens, though. The Taccias look very interesting. Thanks for suggesting them.

 

I am going to have to work on my pen grip. You are right -- I do tend to grip really hard. I just tried a short experiment with holding the 2000 loosely, and I was surprised that I could actually still write without a death-grip. Relearning how to hold a pen will give me a good reason to write more in my journal.

[SF Susan]

The Sailors just don't appeal to me -- rather ordinary looking, I guess. Not that I like glitz, but I don't mind a little flair I see lots of folks raving over how smooth they are. I'm not dead-set on a piston-filler, but they do seem very convenient.

We're all different in the way we perceive things. To you they're ordinary; to me they're classic. The Sailor Sapporo now comes in more colors, including a rather un-ordinary violet; I saw them on the Pen Gallery website. Very tempting. And they are very smooth.

[Daosus]

Ironically, I found that the Lamy 2000 is quite subdued, while my Sailor Sapporo Mini is very flashy (and I have the black and white version). The Parker 51 is a great student pen, but it is a bit smaller than the Lamy 2000. I carry both and use whichever one strikes me at any particular moment. I found that the Sailor is less useful for notes because it dries out a bit faster, and you have to twist the cap to pull it off. My mini is also so small that I have to post it, and it's just inconvenient to do the "twist, post write, unpost, twist" routine every time I want to write something down.

[argonavis]

Parker Sonnet. Cross Townsend. Just don't go for the high end ones...

 

Also Waterman Phileas, or Expert II if you get a good price on it.

 

These all have wet nibs in the medium I use. Don't know about finer nibs though.

 

I also have a Sheaffer Prelude which never causes my hand to tire. It does have the triangle grip up front, which some enjoy and others disagree with.

 

These are metal with plastic grips, except the Phileas, which is "a great nib at the end of some very unimpressive plastic". So I don't know about the warm feeling either. But all excellent writers.

Edited September 20, 2009 by argonavis

[hari317]

So, I am looking for something that combines what I like in both these models. A softer, wet nib, probably a M, with a nice-sized grip area that my fingers can hang onto. I also like the large piston-fill ink chamber. I'd like to spend less than $130 on it, if such a thing can be found.

 

I am thinking that perhaps a Pelikan might be what I'm looking for. I do have an old M400 OM that I really enjoy, but it's a bit smaller than I like. The larger Pelikans look a bit too expensive for me right now. Can anyone suggest something?

 

Hi in my experience the modern pelikan 14C nibs are quite hard/firm and will typically not have the soft feel of the lamy 2K nib, so if you have a nearby pen shop it is better to try out the pens before purchasing. I have my cherished old style M800 with a E|N marked 18C nib which is a joy to use, but I found the nib only after trying out a couple of pelikans.

 

Have you considered the Lamy studio palladium? it has a large gripping area and a 14K nib and will fit into your budget.

 

If you do not mind a conveter filled pen, The other option might be an older generation Parker Sonnet which have nice soft 18K nibs, I have several and I like them very much, however the Sonnets have a bad reputation with reported QC problems and a big problem of difficult to identify fakes so you will have to be careful.

 

You also have the Namiki falcon which is a converter filled pen with a soft nib.

 

Best,

hari

[Scriptorium Pens]

So, I am looking for something that combines what I like in both these models. A softer, wet nib, probably a M, with a nice-sized grip area that my fingers can hang onto. I also like the large piston-fill ink chamber. I'd like to spend less than $130 on it, if such a thing can be found.

 

I am thinking that perhaps a Pelikan might be what I'm looking for. I do have an old M400 OM that I really enjoy, but it's a bit smaller than I like. The larger Pelikans look a bit too expensive for me right now. Can anyone suggest something?

 

Hi in my experience the modern pelikan 14C nibs are quite hard/firm and will typically not have the soft feel of the lamy 2K nib, so if you have a nearby pen shop it is better to try out the pens before purchasing. I have my cherished old style M800 with a E|N marked 18C nib which is a joy to use, but I found the nib only after trying out a couple of pelikans.

 

Have you considered the Lamy studio palladium? it has a large gripping area and a 14K nib and will fit into your budget.

 

If you do not mind a conveter filled pen, The other option might be an older generation Parker Sonnet which have nice soft 18K nibs, I have several and I like them very much, however the Sonnets have a bad reputation with reported QC problems and a big problem of difficult to identify fakes so you will have to be careful.

 

You also have the Namiki falcon which is a converter filled pen with a soft nib.

 

Best,

hari

 

My local store, Pen and Ink of Mississippi, is extremely low on inventory. I didn't even see any Pelikans when I visited last week. I do think they had a Lamy Studio, but don't remember if it was a Paladium. I didn't realize that model had gold nibs. I will definitely go check tomorrow. I would like to purchase from them just to help them stay open! The owner said her sales are down by 35% - 40% from this same time last year, and she is not buying any new inventory. As for a Parker, would I have to go to eBay or look at the marketplace here to get a Parker Sonnet? I don't mind converters

[FearNot]

 

My local store, Pen and Ink of Mississippi, is extremely low on inventory. I didn't even see any Pelikans when I visited last week. I do think they had a Lamy Studio, but don't remember if it was a Paladium. I didn't realize that model had gold nibs. I will definitely go check tomorrow. I would like to purchase from them just to help them stay open! The owner said her sales are down by 35% - 40% from this same time last year, and she is not buying any new inventory. As for a Parker, would I have to go to eBay or look at the marketplace here to get a Parker Sonnet? I don't mind converters

 

You can find te Sonnets at a lot of places online. Just Google Parker Sonnet. I can recommend a couple of online dealers I'v had good luck with: Art Brown International Pens at www.artbrown.com , Colorado pens at www.coloradopen.com , there are many others.

 

Good luck and enjoy the hunt for the perfect pen!

Edited September 20, 2009 by FearNot

[hari317]

My local store, Pen and Ink of Mississippi, is extremely low on inventory. I didn't even see any Pelikans when I visited last week. I do think they had a Lamy Studio, but don't remember if it was a Paladium. I didn't realize that model had gold nibs. I will definitely go check tomorrow. I would like to purchase from them just to help them stay open! The owner said her sales are down by 35% - 40% from this same time last year, and she is not buying any new inventory. As for a Parker, would I have to go to eBay or look at the marketplace here to get a Parker Sonnet? I don't mind converters

 

Hi, supporting the local dealer is a great idea and that is what I do, I buy from the local shops whenever possible. Regarding the Parker sonnet, ebay has the max. no of fakes, but lewertowski is an ebay seller who has authentic stuff,

 

http://stores.shop.ebay.com/PEN-SELLER-FROM-FRANCE__W0QQ_armrsZ1

 

NAYY

 

Also check out http://www.nibs.com/NamikiFalconPage.htm for the namiki falcon, a pen with a soft nib.

 

Best,

Hari

[Scriptorium Pens]

Thank you all so much for these very helpful responses! I can see that I'm in for a lifetime hobby here, with all the great pens & ink colors out there to choose from. I am hooked, for sure. This forum is an amazing resource and everyone is so nice.

[Mudge]

My everyday pens are mostly Pilot/Namiki VPs and a Waterman Expert II. They are both very robust, so they don't have the "preciousness" of the beautiful urushi Nakayas (for instance), so I don't have to guard them with my life.

 

Though having said that, the pens that most frequently get "borrowed" tend to be the VPs. The VP is just about as convenient as a ballpoint. The Waterman pen, although a bit stiff in the nib, is probably the better writer (given that I favour a fat point, requiring a generous feed).

 

Otherwise, if you want something with a bit more "class" but without paying for ripoff Mont Blanc merchandise, I would suggest going for one (or more!) of the timelessly simple and beautiful Sailor or Pelikan pens.

[bluenotegrl]

The Namiki Falcon is a great pen! I had forgotten all about it until reading this thread. The only thing you may not like about it Tortoise, is that it is not a heavy pen at all. In fact, it's rather an extension of the hand...here we go with the grip again. It's just a fluid movement kind of pen, if that makes any sense at all...

 

Good luck with your search.

[Scriptorium Pens]

Many thanks to all who have offered advice. I've decided to get a Pelikan M215, with the lozenge pattern. I'm going to look at getting some of the others, too. After seeing some other posts, I also want a stub nib for fun. I've just gone ga-ga over fountain pens!