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What Are Your Favourite Metal Pens?


MuddyWaters

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I only have a few metal pens, and a few others with metal overlays. The main ones are a Parker Vector with the imprint and a medallion on the clip for some computer company, and the Lady Skripsert I found for cheap at an estate sale company's warehouse sale last spring (and got a converter for at the Ohio Pen Show a couple of months ago). Oh, forgot about the Lamy LX, the Jinhao 599 and the Cross Verve: the LX I like (but tend to reach for my Safari more); the Jinhao mostly taught me that I *could* get used to the triangular grip on a Safari-style pen (but I hate the color -- I think it's called "Champagne" with a passion); and the Verve? Well, it cost me a buck. I keep meaning to give it another try to see if I can teach myself to hold it high enough on the section so I don't end up with messy fingers (that two-piece nib assembly is a BAD idea).

A Parker 75 ciselé is on my wish list; a Yard-o-Led Viceroy Victorian Standard is on my "when I win the lottery" list.

I generally don't go out of my way to get (or not get) metal pens. For me, it's a matter of the weight and girth (I looked at a Mabie Todd Grammercy (?) a few years ago, and it was really too heavy for for me for the size) as well as the look and the price.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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I've had a Targa matte black and a stainless steel since the early 1980s, but my latest is a sterling silver Targa for our 25th wedding anniversary. Only this one has a gold nib.

 

I do have a Waterman 0552 that is rarely used, and a Criterion with a flex nib that is inked even less. Everything else is plastic, except the Retro 51 which is metal with an overlay.

Baptiste knew how to make a short job long

For love of it. And yet not waste time either.

Robert Frost

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My current favorite Metal pens:

 

For the nib, Waterman XX52 pens, if posted (452, 552, 0552), great writers. .. non-metal sections. A lot of those old #2 nibs have a nice flex and feel to them once they are tuned.

 

For the body, Eversharp Skyline "Gold Award", "Command Performance"... these just fit my hand well, and have non-metal sections. One of my best nibs ever, was found on one of these pens.

 

For the WOW factor, and very nice nibs, Eversharp Coronet pens, especially if they have the "slider adjusted" "self fitting point"... non-metal sections.

 

I like the looks of the Parker Ciselle, but it's body is a bit small in diameter for longer periods of writing for me.

 

The early 1900s Italian Overlay engraved Waterman 42 pens are nice as well. But most people find eyedropper pens "not to their taste".

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I've enjoyed using several metal bodied pens, but my favorite has to be the two Waterford (not Waterman) Glendalough models I keep close by. They're elegantly understated by design, yet visually spectacular. Their fine nibs are among the smoothest writing of the 50 or so pens in my rotation. I love their weight and balance. The section came loose on my red version shortly after I purchased it and repairs were quick and painless. My blue version came as part of a set that included a roller ball and ballpoint. I bought my bride a red one to match mine and she loves it.

I have four Parker Sonnets, including a beautiful Cisele. I kept buying them because of their reputation and certainly not for their performance. Hard to start and even harder to keep going, I pull them out everyone once in a while, clean them up, and rediscover their limitations. They're pretty and feel good in hand, but to me they've become eye candy more than anything.

I have had three or four Lamy Alstars and can't seem to hold on to the slippery buggers. Perform like Lamy's perform when I can hang on, but I think unsuitable for my body chemistry.

My metal Crosses write well but at least one of my Century pens fills its cap every time I put it on. Too messy.

I've had mixed success with Watermans and I think I finally have beaten their laziness. It still takes a lot of priming and whipping and scratching to get them flowing, but once they're warmed up they do work.

I love my Pilot Vanishing Point, but getting it to flow requires a good deal of effort and it holds so little ink that I spend as much time filling it as I do writing with it. Well, almost as much.

So the Waterfords have served me well and are my favorite metal bodied pens.

 

post-70366-0-70577400-1579054973.jpg

 

From Three Lakes, Wisconsin

Twotracker2

 

The First Law: "We work to become, not to acquire." --Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915)

The Second Law: "Simplicity is the exact medium between too much and too little." --Sir Joshua Reynolds (and many others)

The Third Law: "Don't believe everything you think." --Bumper sticker (author unknown)

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Italix Parson’s essential feels great in my hand, and writes beautifully with the medium and medium Cursive Italic nibs. Other metals I enjoy are Parker 75s. I especially enjoy the tactile sensation of the Flamme and Ecossais versions, matched up with factory stub nibs.

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lacquered metal? waterman carene deluxe is up there.

 

sterling silver? I don't have many, but my waterman 52 1/2 sterling silver overlay likely.

 

Raw metal? delike alpha probably #1, followed by (no particular order) karas kustoms apollo 11 starliner XL, tactile turn gist (copper) travelers brass pen and the ensso italia brass.

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

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Diplomat Excellence A - Marrakesh

Parker Sonnet 2018 Special Edition

MB William Shakespeare

S T Dupont D-line Vitruvian Man

Edited by sandy101
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Pilot vanishing point,

Kaweco AL Sport,

Pelikan P36 Jazz

If you win over your own stupidity then are you winner or loser? In any case it means something good.

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Karas Kustoms Ink (copper).

 

 

That Karas Kustoms looks like a lovely pen. How do you like the weight?

I am contemplating one myself.

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That Karas Kustoms looks like a lovely pen. How do you like the weight?

I am contemplating one myself.

 

 

The Karas Kopper is gloriously insane. Far too massive for any sensible purpose, and that's the attraction.

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1. Waterman Carène, fine and medium. While Pelikan piston fillers are my perfect pens, the Carène is the most beautiful, and unexpectedly I ended up with 2 in 2019. Once I understood their peculiarities (return 4 drops after filling, return the piston to its full position, dont ask why) I've had zero problems. The medium nib is a true western medium, astoundingly smooth and slightly stubbish (vertical strokes thicker than horizontals). They do have a tendency to leave ink traces around the "horns", doesn't matter to me. The one with a fine nib is a perfect match with Asa Gao.

 

2. Waterman Man 100, fine nib, my one big pen; one of my first, bought at a very good price, it took me a long time to appreciate it. Fragile section collars make it a poor investment. Perfect match with Vert Empire.

 

3. Parker 75, Milleraies, fine nib. Classic looks, smooth nib, does not evaporate, comfortable even though it's tiny. I wouldn't mind a Ciselé but the silver plated Milleraies looks realy nice after cleaning it. Good match with Souten.

 

4. Lamy Studio, 3 EF 1 F: classic design, EF nibs make inks come out reliably lighter, the one with a fine nib is very smooth and wet; in the end I didn't get along with the shiny sections, successfully sanded one, made a mess of another one; no problems with the rubber and palladium finish sections. Fragile finishes for those with shiny sections, used ones can have chips in the paint. Good matches for Yama Guri, Ina Ho, Ajisai, Kon Peki.

 

5. Pilot Metropolitan, in black, exceptionally smooth M nib makes it a no brainer. For some reason Kon Peki comes out very dark with this pen. All other finishes look awful to me. There seem to always be ink traces at the section near the nib, don't mind. It does seem to evaporate faster than more expensive pens, which limits its appeal for someone who needs inks to come out in a certain way reliably. Makes me want to try Pilot's 14k nibs.

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt."

 

B. Russell

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That Karas Kustoms looks like a lovely pen. How do you like the weight?

I am contemplating one myself.

 

The tactile turn gist is a little more balanced. Also available in copper.

 

It's also easily heavy enough to beat someone to death with.

 

I also forgot the muji aluminum. love it.

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

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I don't like slippery sections and sometimes bare metal can feel strange on my skin; slightly irritating, and it can make my hands smell funny. The biggest offender I've had was a Muji pen. A recently acquired Aurora with a brushed metal body and brushed plastic grip feels strangely unpleasant to my touch, but I think that's more about the texture. I prefer lacquered metal or anodized aluminium; my Kaweco Lilliput feels fine (except for being too skinny and slippery) for example.

 

Generally I prefer plastic or ebonite grips. I have a Sheaffer 300 that has a lacquered metal body and plastic grip, it has a very pleasing weight and balance. The nib is just OK, and while the cap snaps on very pleasingly it isn't actually very resistant to drying out, so it doesn't get much use. My Sheaffer VFM is smaller and lighter but with a similar construction and a nicer nib; it's also very well balanced and comfortable, but the grip is a bit too skinny for extended use. I had a Diplomat Traveller (also lacquered metal with a plastic grip) that was great, but it was a bit skinnier than I liked and the balance was a bit too far to the rear for my tastes, in the end I stuck with the VFM.

 

Having said that I do however like sharply checkered metal grips (at least if the metal does not irritate my hands); I have several Jinhao 601s (they also have lacquered metal bodies) that are light with good balance and are comfortable in the hand, plus the nibs are pretty good, but they are very vulnerable to drying out and tend to crack standard international case mouths so unfortunately I gave up on them. I have a Levenger L-Tech that is nicely made and has a very nice grip, but it's very uncomfortable for me because it's VERY tail-heavy and the seven-sided body ends up with an edge resting against my hand when I use it. My Rotring 600 was better, but still a bit tail-heavy, and I got annoyed having to line up the cap properly when capping.

Edited by SoulSamurai
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I like the Rembrandt, which is a metal section with a colourful resin barrel.

 

The metal section puts the business end of the nib on the paper where it belongs.

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