Whats Our Favourite German Brand?

[ChelleW]

Modern: Lamy, Pelikan.

 

Vinatage: Pelikan

 

I like vintage Pelikans but they are largely out of my price range. I have been able to get some lovely writers by staying at the school pen level (old Pelikanos, Twists, and Go). I hope to get a vintage Mont Blanc or Soennecken but I will have to save up and not be distracted by my other fp interests.

[LanceSaintPaul]

Audi.

 

Oh, pens? Then vintage Pelikan, vintage Montblanc, (if I ever get any from Soennecken I would expect them to rank in my top 3), Lamy, Diplomat, all in order. If I were ever limited to just one brand of any fountain pens it would probably be Pelikan, vintage.

[senzen]

I think we're limited by our experience, I've only tried Lamy Vistas (x7), Studio, FC Ambition, Pelikan m600.

 

Design: the Ambition in pearwood is stunning, the Studio in blue is gorgeous, my m600 is... Dour? I would rather have a Pelikan in rhodium trim, but it was one of my first pens, back when I though all decent pens where black and gold.

 

Ergonomics: the m600 is a natural fit but borderline too small, the ambition you need to think about it but ultimately it's not a problem, the Studio has a slippery section I don't mind, but many do; I do wipe my hands and the section before using it. Flashy, non practical Germans, who knew? I find the Vista sections comfortable.

 

Reliability: m600, by far, the Studio seems to do well; the Ambition and Vistas evaporate quickly, need to keep them in pouches or boxes. The Ambition suddenly developed a case of not wanting to start .

 

Nib: m600, but it took me a while to appreciate it. The Studio is unbelievably smooth, particularly when compared to the Vistas. And it's the same nib . Hint for Lamy: sell the Safaris with Studio nibs for more, say $40. And a Safari model that doesn't evaporate quite so quickly.

 

I really like piston fillers, so other German brands would be nice to try, as long as prices are reasonable ($100); Pelikan prices are a little ridiculous, the special editions look really ugly to me, save for a few exceptions, I do have an m205 on the way.

[Ana_]

Soennecken and the secondary Tower line done by Soennecken

[ScottieDarin]

Vintage: Soennecken, Osmia

Modern: Montblanc 149.

[jchch1950]

Recently Lamy.

[JD-Be]

My Montblanc 144, I love this one.
Second: Pelikan 250 from 1988.
Then ... some Parkers!

[ScottieDarin]

I love this thread,

Vintage: Soennecken and Osmia

Modern: Kaweco & Lamy, I have a Pelikan, but i'm not sure what I make of it. Once I test drove Soennecken it was over for everything else.

I hear you. I tried a Soennecken 444 three years ago and now I have over 30 Soennecken pens.........

[DanceOfLight]

In this order of preference

 

GvFC, Pelikan, Otto Hutt, MB, Lamy

 

Trying to get into vintage with Geha, let's see how that goes

[aderoy]

In no order:

• Cleo Skribent
• GvFC / FaberCastel
• Lamy
• Pelikan
• Staedtler

What more can I say?

[mana]

When it comes to vintage pens one maker reigns supreme for me: Pelikan. Nothing beats their classic line-up of few of the best writing pens there were and still are (and they look great to boot!): Pelikan 100, 100N & 400/N/NN. Honorable mentions go to 124/140 and the rest too.

Plenty of other great pens were made during those days by the likes of Lamy, Kaweco, Montblanc, Osmia, Soennecken etc. but yeah, Pelikan it is (at least for me)

Modern ones... depends on the criteria. Best one overall and my favorite? Pelikan here too.

[1nkulus]

All and none. It simply depends upon the creation, pricing and QC.

 

I am not partial to any brand and have pens from all of them.

[Tseg]

I just got my 1959 3 ring Geha 790 Medium Oblique today. Homerun! Slightly shorter than my Pelikan M120 Iconic Blue but with an absolutely splendid soft 14K nib. The resin feels very hard and high quality although I did give it the light bulb test and it is not red translucent like a MB, Pelikan or Sailor. Those 3 rings and pocket clip give it an elegance comparable with any Pelikan or MB. The nib is a dream. Beautiful juicy ebonite feed and roughly the same price as my Pelikan Iconic Blue. This is a special pen, also my smallest pen. Early on I bought a bunch of monster pens like the Pelikan M1000 and Sailor KoP. But this small pen just becomes an extension of my hand, like I'm writing with my finger. Go Geee-Haaa or go home!

 

Edited July 9, 2018 by Tseg

[Inkyways]

I am a huge Fan of "Leica " oh we are talking about pens ??

 

Of course, I love Mont Blanc and although the only Pelikan pen I have is m200, That pen is already one of my outstanding pens. There are few more modern pens on my wishlist. And also some vintage pens too, I am interested in Pelikan flock that is worth trying.

[Aurora60]

Pelikan gets my vote . The simple classic design is timeless .

The section on mine (600) is perfect . It wrote flawlessly out of the box.

 

My Lamy 2000 is a great workhorse of a pen

 

Graf Von Faber Castell Castell classic is great looking and No 1

for appearance . The section is metal (slippery) and a bit too small

In diameter

 

My Kaweco always writes...no hard starts...a smooth nib...

[praxim]

I can update my comment on the previous page with a couple more vintage brands, Geha and Soennecken (some of each). They are great pens. My over all winner remains Pelikan though, because they have been consistently good in all respects, more so for me than the Montblancs which while of excellent quality have, in the sample I happen to own, been less consistently good writers. Among the vintage pens I would rather pick up a Soennecken than a Montblanc. Among recent pens it could be any of Lamy, Pelikan or Montblanc, possibly preferring Montblanc.

 

For your assurance, there is no shortage of subjectivity and selective sampling in the above comments.

Edited October 8, 2018 by praxim

[senzen]

If favorite means "number of pens", it's Pelikan 3 Lamy 11; if it's money Pelikan probably still wins.

Edited October 9, 2018 by pseudo88

[EdwardSouthgate]

Pelikan , Old Montblanc , Osmia , Senator Regent .

[R-Camlin]

rOtring and Lamy.

Pelikan for ink, specifically for the Edelstein Tanzanite.

[Time-Traveller]

1. Cleo Skribent (the Classic is lightweight, highly elegant, sleek and long, and writes like a dream)
2. Diplomat (the Excellence is hefty, solid, stable, feels very durable; the Esteem is a very fine, modernly elegant EDC moderately priced pen; it's a shame the Magnum didn't beat the Lamy Safari as the popular school pen, since it feels and looks better and has a wonderful nib for the price)

are my clear winners as brands. Then, after a small gap separating this top group from the others:

1. Pelikan (classically styled, good writers; it's just that their otherwise very good nibs tend to be 0.1 mm broader than with most brands – see https://www.nibs.com/content/nib-tipping-sizes)
2. Lamy (the 2000 is a modern classic; the Studio is a nice economy pen; the Logo is a light knockabout pen for a great price)
3. Montblanc (very good pens indeed, but nowadays very overpriced)