Whats Our Favourite German Brand?

[qsnc]

Pelikan.

 

Was taught how to write with a Pelikano, and AFAIK only Montblanc and Pelikan produce their own nibs, while Kaweco & Co (yeah, awesome pun, ain't it) use stuff from Bock, Jowo, or Schmidt. Consistent quality and just more of my thing compared to Montblanc.

[Otter1]

My turn:

 

Modern: Pelikan (solid construction, pretty, and nice selection of sizes and nibs).

Vintage: Soennecken, Matador, Montblanc---no particular order. Again, well-made, pretty, and usually wonderful semi-flex nibs.

 

And for a data point, this week I am carrying a modern Pelikan M605, a Matador Express 976, and a Parker 17.

[stephanos]

For me, it's hard to decide on favourite brands rather than on favourite models. Still, to stick to the topic.

 

Modern:

 

Pelikan > Lamy > (Graf von)Faber Castell > Montblanc > Diplomat > Cleo Skribent > Kaweco > Herlitz > Online

 

Having said that, all of these companies produce good pens. For example, I have very much enjoyed using an Online school-pen with a 0.8mm stub that was well-tuned straight out of the box.

 

 

Vintage:

 

Montblanc = Pelikan > Kaweco = (Osmia) Faber Castell = Böhler > Lamy = Senator > Singwitz = Diplomat = Geha = Garant = Brause

 

Again, all these companies have produced models that are a real pleasure to use.

I've heard excellent things about Soennecken, but I've never tried any of their models.

 

Of course, I can only provide a subjective list based on what I've tried and with my perception of factors like writing experience, quality, design, value, and aesthetics. Still, it's interesting how different my two lists are.

[RRE]

Hi. It would be Reform. The 1745 was one of my first pens. First German pen for sure. Great to learn on. Nice to disassemble. The fine nib is pretty decent on cheap work paper. The ink window is a plus. The Lamy Safari sibling the Lamy Lx would make Lamy my 2nd place German brand. Kind regards, Ron

[Gasquolet]

I don't have experience with a large number of manufacturer's but know what I like from that limited experience:

 

Modern: Pelikan, Diplomat, Kaweco, Lamy. In that order of preference, but not very true as mostly from a sample of one or two.

 

Vintage: Geha, Montblanc, Pelikan, Lamy, Kaweco, Diplomat.

 

I have far more vintage pens than modern and can confidently say from my experience and sample size that Geha are my favourites. I have 5 vintage Pelikans and 25+ Geha...!

 

I must try Soennecken and Osmia.

 

Edited to make sense. Must try harder.

Edited May 5, 2017 by Gasquolet

[peyton braud]

lamy, I love their blue ink and changing the nibs is so easy

[peyton braud]

lamy, I love their blue ink and changing the nibs is so easy

[AidenMark]

I want to speak up for ONLINE.

 

To the extent I noticed the brand at all I associated it with inexpensive school pens (and that is where the next generation of writers will come from so i'll hear nothing against them btw. Great that kids still carry fountain pens in Germany).

 

Then I saw that Julie Turrie was using an ONLINE pen in one of her relaxing calligraphy videos on YT. Since there was a returned-sale ONLINE vision.nature maroon on ebay for under €20, I bought it. After a bit of working-in I am immensely enjoying writing with it.

 

The nib has a peasant amount of feedback, writes well and is not in the least scratchy. Inversely to Lamy, ONLINE's nib sizes are overestimated (or maybe Asian sizes). The M nib is fine or EF by my standards. Screw in nib units in a range EF to 1.8mm are available for a mere €5.99 (yes the feed & nib is 5.99, I'm looking at you Pelikan).

 

The pen has a vaguely Faber Castell look: chrome/wood. The balance is good, posted and un-posted. It takes std cartridges and fitted my Pelikan converter. The cap seal is perfect. It doesn't dry-out. The clip is excellent. Comes in a nice box. What's not to like?

 

Sure, the materials are not the very, very finest and so I guess it won't last 50 years but then, neither will I.

 

Anyone who has a fixed view of the brand and refuses to look at it's upscale offerings as an alternative to EDC Faber, Pelikan and Lamy may be missing out on some fun Füller and pleasant writing experiences.

Edited March 17, 2018 by AidenMark

[gmathio]

My vote goes to Pelikan !

[Nikaa]

Modern: Pelikan

Vintage: Montblanc, Pelikan

[Christopher Godfrey]

Pelikan

Soennecken

Osmia...all vintage! (It's the nibs, you see!)

 

Add vintage Kaweco, although, for <convenience> I like my Safaris and modern Sports well enough -- they are so very reliable.

[AidenMark]

Without Lamy the fountain pen would be a nostalgic item for antique collectors and the status hungry. Manfred Lamy had the vision to use industrial design to make the FP contemporary and vital againl.

 

So Lamy.

Edited March 22, 2018 by AidenMark

[praxim]

Obvious caveat: I have no experience of German brands other than those I mention.

 

Modern: Lamy, Pelikan

 

Vintage: Montblanc, Pelikan

 

Over all: Pelikan

[fountainbel]

Vintage ,pre 1960, in order of importance : Montblanc, Soennecken, Uhu and Pelikan.

Although both MB and Plelkan still make beautiful pens with nice nibs, I'm not at all impressed by the their modern filling system design.

I already had to repair too many broken or defective modern piston fillers of both brands !

Francis

[ingolf]

Cleo Skribent

Pelikan & Montblanc & Lamy

Graf von Faber-Castell & Waldmann

Kaweco

 

Edited March 23, 2018 by ingolf

[drjokl]

1. Graf-von-Faber-Castell or Pelikan

2. Lamy

3. Montblanc

[888007888]

Changes every now and again. Montblanc as of late. Formerly was GvFC.

[PAKMAN]

Pelikan then Montblanc then Lamy

[artart]

Pelikan and Geha, then Kaweco and Lamy a notch below

[TheDutchGuy]

Depends. If sales volume is an indicator, Lamy and Pelikan will probably win. If prestige is an indicator, Mont Blanc might win. If a rock-solid price/performance/durability ratio is key, then Diplomat, Pelikan, Kaweco and Lamy might come out on top.

 

To become totally subjective, at the moment I own only two German brands: Diplomat and Kaweco. The Diplomat is objectively better. The Pen Habit claims that Diplomat has the best steel nibs on the market today, and while I personally think there are several contenders for that title, my Diplomat is an incredibly good pen. It just feels right. At only 19, my plastic Kaweco Classic Sport wins my personal 'best budget pocket pen' award and my aluminium Kaweco AL Sport Blue Stonewashed is my most cherished pen - it's not my best pen, but I love it more than any other pen I own. It writes beautifully.

 

So far I've stayed away from Pelikan because their designs don't really appeal to me, at least not cosmetically. But it's growing on me and someday I will get a Pelikan. Mont Blanc is too expensive for me.

Edited April 2, 2018 by TheDutchGuy