New Everyday Fountain Pen

[jayhawk92]

New to the forum, first post. I know there's probably tons of posts out here on this, but I can't find anything that speaks to exactly what I'm looking for. I was fortunate enough to receive a Pelikan M400 F nib as a graduation present, my first ever fountain pen. Since it has such sentimental value, I'm too scared to take the dang thing out of the house! So now I'm on the hunt for FP #2, one that I can take to work, on trips, everywhere. The Pelikan F writes nice, wouldn't want any line much thicker. I seemed dead set on a Lamy 2000 but it seems like such a polarizing pen!! Then I came across the Sailor 1911m/Sapparo (really intersted in this one!) The VP (also polarizing) and the Namiki Falcon. I guess my big questions are, is the piston vs c/c thing really that big of a deal? Is there any reason to actually prefer a c/c (like for traveling?). Based on what I've said, is the Lamy 2K the way to go? Oh and I don't have much interest in a Pelikan M200, I'd like to own a variety. Thanks all for any input!!!

[torstar]

Lamy 2000 is a very good pen.

 

The Sailor 1911 is also a very good pen.

 

The styles differ, so you can make a choice depending on your tastes.

 

(I'd go with the Sailor for a 2nd pen, others will opt for the Lamy 2000 though)

[wallylynn]

Those are all well respected pens. I don't know where you are, but it sounds like the best idea is to go to a pen shop and try some out. Different nibs, size of pen, weight of pen, different inks...

 

Personally, I cringe at the idea of carrying an expensive pen around. I lost my Lamy Vista 2 weeks ago and I was quite sad, both sentimentally and monetarily. It was my EDC for 3-4 years. Used it for everything and it scuffs showed.

[lovementos]

I think the biggest thing is that piston fillers hold more ink than C/C. I personally prefer C/C as they are easier to clean (IMO, anyways) and I can prevent accidents with them. I once posted a piston filler and accidentally twisted the cap. Ink got all over my notes

[Uncle Red]

High, welcome to the forum. That was a really nice present. I wouldn't suggest a VP until you hold one, you either love the grip or hate it. You could look at something nice that's less expensive like the Lamy Studio.

[jayhawk92]

All, I appreciate the feedback so far, I guess I'll follow up on a few things. I won't be taking this thing all over the place, it will mainly be an at home writer. I just want something that I don't feel horrible about taking on an occasional trip, or to a coffee shop to write with now and again. I will try to make it into a local pen shop. About a cheaper pen, I'd be all for it but my wife is strange, doesn't really matter if it's a $60 or $150 pen, if I get one she feels like that should be my pen purchase for the year so I figure that I might as well go for a nicer one! I love the looks of the Sailor and the Lamy, edge for sure goes to the Lamy though.

[RudyR]

Polarizing or not it depends on what you would like of a pen. I have c/c and piston fillers and find each just as enjoyable as the next. The advantage of a c/c pen is that it is easier to flush and clean. The advantage of a piston filler is that it hold (usually) more ink that a c/c.

 

Seeing that you have a sailor in mind, I would say go for that since you already have a European pen and it would be great to try out an excellent Japanese pen.

 

The only reason that I don't like Lamys are that they just don't fit my hand. And I also just don't go for the minimalist Teutonic styling. But I don't see any reason to exclude them. TWSBIs are an incredibly good buy and make excellent EDC pens (Every Day Carry). both of these pens offer ease in swapping out the nibs (except for the 2000).

[vondauster]

If you like the more streamlined look of the Lamy, but might like something both vintage and streamlined, look at a Parker Super 21. These are the same size and shape as the legendary "51" (the quotes were part of the name), lighter weight with decent steel nibs. Peyton Street Pens in Santa Cruz has new old stock fine point ones in a variety of colors for less than $50. (No affiliation other than a satisfied customer) 21s are all aerometric fillers, i.e. a squeeze sack mechanism inside the barrel, reliable and simple.

 

Will

[Uncle Red]

All, I appreciate the feedback so far, I guess I'll follow up on a few things. I won't be taking this thing all over the place, it will mainly be an at home writer. I just want something that I don't feel horrible about taking on an occasional trip, or to a coffee shop to write with now and again. I will try to make it into a local pen shop. About a cheaper pen, I'd be all for it but my wife is strange, doesn't really matter if it's a $60 or $150 pen, if I get one she feels like that should be my pen purchase for the year so I figure that I might as well go for a nicer one! I love the looks of the Sailor and the Lamy, edge for sure goes to the Lamy though.

So, it's this year's purchase. then go higher ticket. Lamy is supposed to have excellent customer service. If there's a pen shop near you then go and take the wife, she may take something home too.

[jayhawk92]

All, I appreciate the feedback so far, I guess I'll follow up on a few things. I won't be taking this thing all over the place, it will mainly be an at home writer. I just want something that I don't feel horrible about taking on an occasional trip, or to a coffee shop to write with now and again. I will try to make it into a local pen shop. About a cheaper pen, I'd be all for it but my wife is strange, doesn't really matter if it's a $60 or $150 pen, if I get one she feels like that should be my pen purchase for the year so I figure that I might as well go for a nicer one! I love the looks of the Sailor and the Lamy, edge for sure goes to the Lamy though.

So, it's this year's purchase. then go higher ticket. Lamy is supposed to have excellent customer service. If there's a pen shop near you then go and take the wife, she may take something home too.

 

Now this is a good idea, get the wife hooked and then she'll see my dilemma and let me buy more! Not so good for our bank account but I like the sounds of it!

[jayhawk92]

Thanks so much to everyone for their comments thus far, at this point I'm strongly considering the Sailor 1911m, can anyone speak to the capacity of the converter. I'll get it in a FM or M nib size. I know it's impossible to put an exact # on it, but are we talking just a few pages in a 5" x 8" journal? Or if you know relative capacity to a Pelikan M400, would it be, say 2/3 of the capacity??

[jslallar]

To the OP

 

Allpens you mentioned are GOOD pens.

 

C/C vs Piston is more a personal choice than anything else. Some piston fillers hold LESS ink than their C/C counterparts (Sailor eg). It is generally beleived that the C/C hold significantly less ink than the piston fillers, but the fact is that the difference is not all that great. The biggest piston filler eg MB 149 holds about 2.1 ml ink, as compared to the Parker twist Converter (for Sonnet and Duofolds) that can hold upto 1.6 ml. For Sailor the figures are 0.9 ml and 1.1 ml respectively if I am not mistaken.

 

Cartridges are easy to use and leave your hands clean (usually), but are more expensive and less eco friendly. Coverters and pistons are more eco friendly, less expensive in the long run definitely, but may leave your hands ink stained often.

 

Personlally I am fan of piston fillers but I have more C/C than piston fillers simply because there are more of those out there.

 

BTW you may also consider Parker 51, aerometric filler, a different type of filling system which does hold a lot of ink, and the fine nibs are one of the best. I am eprsonally a fan of B / BB nibs, but membners here swear by the Japanese fine nibs too.

[Sailor Kenshin]

 

Personally, I cringe at the idea of carrying an expensive pen around. I lost my Lamy Vista 2 weeks ago and I was quite sad, both sentimentally and monetarily. It was my EDC for 3-4 years. Used it for everything and it scuffs showed.

 

I'm with you, but maybe that's just us.

 

For travel I'd go cheap, like Hero 616, Platinum Preppy, or for slightly more buckage, Lamy Safari (revert here!)and Kaweco Sport, but those are my personal preferences in pens.

[tonybelding]

I guess my big questions are, is the piston vs c/c thing really that big of a deal? Is there any reason to actually prefer a c/c (like for traveling?).

 

C/C versus other filling methods (there are many, not just piston-fill) is a big deal to some of us. It does depend on your needs, though. Cartridges are indeed easy to carry around when you are on the go, and they make for a simple system that not much can go wrong with. (For example, you're unlikely to ever get mold growing in carts!)

 

However, the disadvantage of carts are many. Your ink selection becomes very limited. It's a very expensive way to buy ink over the long run. It can be hard to get a dry pen started writing with a cartridge. You can't casually refill your pen at any time without wasting some ink (by throwing out a partially empty cart).

 

As far as converters go.... Their capacity is limited compared with most self-fillers. They often tend to be trouble prone, especially the cheaper ones. Some find it a bit gimmicky to have to open up the pen to fill it or check the ink level. However, C/C pens are easy to maintain and usually easy to fix if anything goes wrong with them. Replacing a converter is a snap.

 

I can work with any filling method, and I don't consider any of them a show-stopper if I wanted the pen for other reasons. I do almost entirely avoid using cartridges, though. (But then, I don't travel much!)

 

 

Based on what I've said, is the Lamy 2K the way to go?

 

The Lamy 2000 is a high-quality, very respectable pen. It's a classic and IMHO one of the most pleasing to hold and handle. It has its eccentricities, though. The ink windows are tiny and hard to see through -- I do prefer pens with an ink supply that's easier to monitor. I find the nib is semi-flexible, but I actually prefer a firm nib. The clip is sort of awkward for me... and getting the tiny nib oriented to the page can be a bit awkward if your eyesight isn't great... It's a great pen, but no pen is right for everybody. That's why there are so many different kinds.

 

My Lamy 2000 usually sits in a desk drawer while I write with my Bexleys, Edisons and TWSBIs. But that's just me.

[ken belanus]

While you are shopping online at Peyton Street Pens, let me suggest a NOS Sheaffer. The triumph style nib writes like a dream and this is the cheapest way to get one. The touch down filler lets you have convenience by not requiring you to open the pen to fill it and you still get real fountain pen performance, real ink, large capacity, and one quick pump of the plunger in the morning lasts all day. i think the Imperial Deluxe 2 or Imperial 3 would be great choices. i carry one of each for teaching so i have a backup. At $35 to $50, even a teacher can have a proper pen. The 1962 Imperial Deluxe 2 is a white dot quality item and I can leave the vintage Snorkel at the house. Sheaffer used a special friction closure and spring loaded clip. Threaded pens will all ruin a shirt per year in my working conditions, but i have had no problems with this on the Imperials. the density of the plastic in the older Imperial 2 feels better to me and i like the metal cap with plastic pen combination.

 

I envy your Pelikan and this interesting opportunity to purchase a new toy. Piston filler for my dream pen is a must feature.

 

Good Luck!

[OcalaFlGuy]

Your first pen is a nice one.

 

There's no need to hurry. (You Are somewhat creating a reason that really isn't there.)

 

I think your next purchase should be one of the upper shelf 3-4 pen carry cases. (The nicer ones are just made better and have non-reactive vegetable tanned leather.) The ones from Franklin-Cristof and Ashton are very nice. When you get it put a label with your name and phone on The Outside of it.

 

Start by making the 400 your everyday carry pen, it's nice enough to be that.

 

Then start researching what to fill the other slots up with.

 

And,

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[asaha]

The Lamy 2000 is quite a good pen for everyday use. Good quality and relatively no so high price make it pretty sweet.

 

Both piston and c/c have their advantages. For a pen you use a lot, maybe the nib quality, writing experience is more important than how can how much it carries ink.

 

Using a fountain pen in work may bring an extra thing you need to care and sometimes this is also out of your control. You can decide your won notebook's paper, but when you have to write a lot in other paper, feathering may be a pain to reduce the joy greatly. This actually suddenly came up in my mind today when I was writing the address on a good looking envelop and unfortunately feathering made the writing with my Lamy 2000 quite unhappy. :roflmho:

 

Good luck to your everyday pen hunting.

[coleam]

Thanks so much to everyone for their comments thus far, at this point I'm strongly considering the Sailor 1911m, can anyone speak to the capacity of the converter. I'll get it in a FM or M nib size. I know it's impossible to put an exact # on it, but are we talking just a few pages in a 5" x 8" journal? Or if you know relative capacity to a Pelikan M400, would it be, say 2/3 of the capacity??

I have a 1911m with the MF nib, and a converter of ink lasts me significantly longer than a few 5x8 pages. I haven't actually kept track of the amount of writing I get out of it, but it's easily 10+ 8.5x11 pages.

 

Edit: For actual volumes, the M400 holds ~1.3mL, and a Sailor converter holds ~0.9mL. So yes, the Sailor is has about 2/3 the capacity of the M400.

Edited May 26, 2012 by coleam

[jayhawk92]

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for your suggestions and I now have a few more pens that I will want to get in the future I found a deal on the marketplace that pretty much made my decision for me. I was willing to the pay the full $150 for the 1911m from nibs.com, and I found one for about half that on the marketplace. So I'm now the proud owner of a Sailor 1911m M nib. And let me tell you, I love my Pel M400, but when I found the sweet spot on the Sailor, WOW!

Edited June 1, 2012 by jayhawk92

[Uncle Red]

That's great, enjoy.