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Which Brand Do You Enjoy The Most And Trust Blindly?


The-Thinker

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I vote for TWSBI. What other pen brand can you completely disassemble? What other brand has for all purposes a lifetime warranty as long as you own it? When I contact TWSBI about a malfunctioning or cracked part they don't give me the run around, they send me a replacement and all I pay is the postage. This is the best customer service of any pen company.

It seems TWSBI has the reputation of cracking alot and it is sad:( i always hesitate to get a TWSBI 580AL because of this reason :(

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Among vintage pens, Parker. My Parker 51s and Duofold Junior are pleasantly wet despite having fine nibs. My Victory is semi flexible, with a lovely soft bounce that makes it my favorite nib of all.

 

Among modern pens, Sailor. I have only two, both Pro Gear Slim, one fine and one broad. I find the nibs have a great deal of character.

 

I started my collection with Watermans and still like them, but not as much as my Parker and Sailor pens. My first Parker was a modern one, an Urban, and I had various problems with it, so I shied away from the brand for a long time, but then I saw the Parker 51 in plum, such an attractive shape and my favorite shade of my favorite color. It has turned out to be my favorite pen all around, although some of my other pens have more interesting nibs.

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Have you had a sailor nib? what pens do you own from both pelikans and pilots. Btw i have been seeing so many good reviews regarding the vintage parkers, i only own a cheap parker vector (modern) and i had many problems with it, so that is why i have always neglected the brand!

Hi Thinker,

 

Well, I have the 200 Series in every color they've offered, I think, and 3 600's. The Pilot list, I'll have to cite later, it'll take a few minutes to go through the flock and list them all.

 

 

Sean :)

https://www.catholicscomehome.org/

 

"Every one therefore that shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father Who is in Heaven." - MT. 10:32

"Any society that will give up liberty to gain security deserves neither and will lose both." - Ben Franklin

Thank you Our Lady of Prompt Succor & St. Jude.

 

 

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These to me are different concepts. Blind trust would be a toss-up between Pilot and Sailor. I can be assured sight-unseen that their pens will be perfect writers from the second they come out of the box and the inks will be beautiful, and well behaved.

 

But they are somewhat boring pens.

 

Most enjoyment would go to Pelikan, as many have said in this thread. The larger Souverans to be precise. Sadly, I don't fully trust them. There's always that gnawing feeling when a new one comes in : will the tines be aligned or scratch and catch on the inside? Will it skip due to excessive polishing and baby bottom issues?

 

But they do feel just about perfect in the hand and are beautiful to look at. My "desert island pen" would be a M80x ... assuming the nib was properly tuned.

 

-k

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Given their ease of restoration, maintainance, and nibs......Esterbrook.

"Respect science, respect nature, respect all people (s),"

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These are two different questions, and I am not one for blindly trusting anything much. Among modern (new) pens I have good experiences with (alphabetically) Aurora, Lamy (2000 and upwards), Onoto, Pelikan (M800 & up), S T Dupont, Santini Italia, even Visconti, and I can not fault the one Waterman for its writing. Among older pens, comprising most of my collection, the brand list of great pens is fairly extensive though experiences with vintage are invariably coloured by instances one happens to pick up. I will single out Soennecken, Onoto, Waterman and Pelikan without wishing to decry Montblanc or about five Italian brands. I do not bother with a Parker 51; the Aurora 88 implementation is much happier and Lamy 2000 (born 1966) arguably the apotheosis of the hooded-nib slim curved style.

 

edits: typo & clarification

Edited by praxim

X

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Interesting question. I have a bunch of Lamys and Pilots, many of which I bought without really trying them first. I think I lean towards Pilot--they're amazingly consistent, write well on all kinds of paper, and look nice too, regardless of whether you're buying a $20 Metropolitan or something much more expensive. A Metropolitan with an M point would be my desert-island pen.

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These to me are different concepts.

 

 

As they are to me as well.

 

The brand I trust most to deliver what I can live with — in a good way, and not as in, "I 'trust' Pelikan's M40x EF nibs to be all over the place, from one nib to the next, in the line widths and wetness they put down, but they will all be 14K gold and screw into M40x and M20x pen bodies perfectly" — in factory condition, consistently and reliably, is Sailor. I can look at its marketing images of any Sailor model above $30, and trust "blindly" that if I ordered a unit of it, the colour will not be significantly different, the finish will not hold unpleasant surprises, and the nib will not (i) be scratchy (such that it 'catches' fibres on the paper surface or rips through the paper coating), (ii) leave too wide a line for the stated nib width grade, (iii) have either misaligned or asymmetrical tines, or (iv) write either too dryly or too wetly for my tastes.

 

The pens I enjoy writing with most, out of what I already own, are Pilot fountain pens: the 'Hannya Shingyo', Capless Vanishing Point (specifically in matte metal or resin-impregnated birch finish, although I do love the look of the Capless raden VP pens I have), Elite 95S, and Justus 95. However, as a fountain pen brand, I like it least out of the Japanese 'Big Three'.

 

The brand I like (or want to like) most, out of the Japanese 'Big Three', is Platinum. It offers the Slip-and-Seal mechanism in even the cheapest Preppy model, and that's cheaper than any Sailor or Pilot fountain pen — but I don't trust its nibs to perform consistently in terms of line width, from one nib to the next. It offers the cheapest (brand new) solid gold-nibbed pen with the KDP-3000A. It does the most variations with its 'flagship' product line, the #3776 Century, and presents models in acrylic, celluloid, ebonite, different types of wood, kanazawa-haku (gold leaf) finish decorated with traditional drawings, etc. quite unlike what Sailor does in its dozens of "special" and/or "limited" edition models of its Profit (aka 1911) and Professional Gear product lines only in different acrylics. (Sailor's "Precious Wood of the World" series, based on the Sapporo model, is the one I actually dislike even though the nibs write perfectly OK and still perform to expectations.) Platinum's Izumo line, fitted with 18K President nibs, are good pens too even though I had to fix a tine misalignment issue on my Izumo aka-tamenuri myself. Personally, I think (or feel) Platinum tries the hardest. And its Balance line of pens disappointed in that the caps aren't that effective at preventing ink evaporation; whereas I never had the same issue (or to the same extent) with any Sailor pen that I can recall owning, including those cheaper than the Platinum Balance. Pilot pens >$70 have been pretty good too, in that regard, but the MR (Metropolitan and other ranges) and 78G pens are apt to dry out when capped and unused.

 

I have more than two dozen pens in each of those brands, and that's too many to bother listing individually.

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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Among vintage pens, Parker. My Parker 51s and Duofold Junior are pleasantly wet despite having fine nibs. My Victory is semi flexible, with a lovely soft bounce that makes it my favorite nib of all.

 

Among modern pens, Sailor. I have only two, both Pro Gear Slim, one fine and one broad. I find the nibs have a great deal of character.

 

I started my collection with Watermans and still like them, but not as much as my Parker and Sailor pens. My first Parker was a modern one, an Urban, and I had various problems with it, so I shied away from the brand for a long time, but then I saw the Parker 51 in plum, such an attractive shape and my favorite shade of my favorite color. It has turned out to be my favorite pen all around, although some of my other pens have more interesting nibs.

 

Sailors are my favorite too! regarding parkers, i had a bad experience with the modern ones, which made me get not want to use or try them. It seems old parkers are a different story tho...

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These to me are different concepts. Blind trust would be a toss-up between Pilot and Sailor. I can be assured sight-unseen that their pens will be perfect writers from the second they come out of the box and the inks will be beautiful, and well behaved.

 

But they are somewhat boring pens.

 

Most enjoyment would go to Pelikan, as many have said in this thread. The larger Souverans to be precise. Sadly, I don't fully trust them. There's always that gnawing feeling when a new one comes in : will the tines be aligned or scratch and catch on the inside? Will it skip due to excessive polishing and baby bottom issues?

 

But they do feel just about perfect in the hand and are beautiful to look at. My "desert island pen" would be a M80x ... assuming the nib was properly tuned.

 

-k

I agree, I have found japanese pens to be on the top when it comes to quality control and whatnot. It seems that pelikans have a a special place in this place, more like a love hate relationship :P

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These are two different questions, and I am not one for blindly trusting anything much. Among modern (new) pens I have good experiences with (alphabetically) Aurora, Lamy (2000 and upwards), Onoto, Pelikan (M800 & up), S T Dupont, Santini Italia, even Visconti, and I can not fault the one Waterman for its writing. Among older pens, comprising most of my collection, the brand list of great pens is fairly extensive though experiences with vintage are invariably coloured by instances one happens to pick up. I will single out Soennecken, Onoto, Waterman and Pelikan without wishing to decry Montblanc or about five Italian brands. I do not bother with a Parker 51; the Aurora 88 implementation is much happier and Lamy 2000 (born 1966) arguably the apotheosis of the hooded-nib slim curved style.

 

edits: typo & clarification

i like how you put it all together in the comment, i have never heard about Santini Italia until now (on this group). I have to look at the old lamy 2000 and see what has changed (if any) i did not know that it was that old, i know all about its iconic design, but didn't know that it was that old, thank you for noting that out!

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Interesting question. I have a bunch of Lamys and Pilots, many of which I bought without really trying them first. I think I lean towards Pilot--they're amazingly consistent, write well on all kinds of paper, and look nice too, regardless of whether you're buying a $20 Metropolitan or something much more expensive. A Metropolitan with an M point would be my desert-island pen.

Its nice to find a relatively "cheap" pen that can be desert pen, without going to the 3-4 figured numbers, i think pilots makes one of the best entry level fountain pens, and the quality is superb!

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As they are to me as well.

 

The brand I trust most to deliver what I can live with — in a good way, and not as in, "I 'trust' Pelikan's M40x EF nibs to be all over the place, from one nib to the next, in the line widths and wetness they put down, but they will all be 14K gold and screw into M40x and M20x pen bodies perfectly" — in factory condition, consistently and reliably, is Sailor. I can look at its marketing images of any Sailor model above $30, and trust "blindly" that if I ordered a unit of it, the colour will not be significantly different, the finish will not hold unpleasant surprises, and the nib will not (i) be scratchy (such that it 'catches' fibres on the paper surface or rips through the paper coating), (ii) leave too wide a line for the stated nib width grade, (iii) have either misaligned or asymmetrical tines, or (iv) write either too dryly or too wetly for my tastes.

 

The pens I enjoy writing with most, out of what I already own, are Pilot fountain pens: the 'Hannya Shingyo', Capless Vanishing Point (specifically in matte metal or resin-impregnated birch finish, although I do love the look of the Capless raden VP pens I have), Elite 95S, and Justus 95. However, as a fountain pen brand, I like it least out of the Japanese 'Big Three'.

 

The brand I like (or want to like) most, out of the Japanese 'Big Three', is Platinum. It offers the Slip-and-Seal mechanism in even the cheapest Preppy model, and that's cheaper than any Sailor or Pilot fountain pen — but I don't trust its nibs to perform consistently in terms of line width, from one nib to the next. It offers the cheapest (brand new) solid gold-nibbed pen with the KDP-3000A. It does the most variations with its 'flagship' product line, the #3776 Century, and presents models in acrylic, celluloid, ebonite, different types of wood, kanazawa-haku (gold leaf) finish decorated with traditional drawings, etc. quite unlike what Sailor does in its dozens of "special" and/or "limited" edition models of its Profit (aka 1911) and Professional Gear product lines only in different acrylics. (Sailor's "Precious Wood of the World" series, based on the Sapporo model, is the one I actually dislike even though the nibs write perfectly OK and still perform to expectations.) Platinum's Izumo line, fitted with 18K President nibs, are good pens too even though I had to fix a tine misalignment issue on my Izumo aka-tamenuri myself. Personally, I think (or feel) Platinum tries the hardest. And its Balance line of pens disappointed in that the caps aren't that effective at preventing ink evaporation; whereas I never had the same issue (or to the same extent) with any Sailor pen that I can recall owning, including those cheaper than the Platinum Balance. Pilot pens >$70 have been pretty good too, in that regard, but the MR (Metropolitan and other ranges) and 78G pens are apt to dry out when capped and unused.

 

I have more than two dozen pens in each of those brands, and that's too many to bother listing individually.

i like the detailed explanation of each part, thank you for the reply!

 

Regarding the sailors, it seems that most people here have a good experience with them in terms of quality control and reliability, which i have to agree as well.

 

I have had a love hate relationship with pilot, since the firs gold nib i owned was a custom 74 and it did not quite come "well tuned" out of the box, which disappointed me, but non the less, i am still eyeing the justus 95.

 

Regarding platinums, i have not had much experience, other than a preppy and a 3776 (Standard with 14k). I did not honestly feel they provide something "special", other than the lock mechanism that you mentioned. I have to try one of their Nakaya pens and decide, any thoughts regarding their Nakaya? if they can even be called platinum?

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Not sure I would trust any brand blindly, but with the right dealer to help make things right you are going to be safe. Good customer service is important.

 

That said I have only a couple of pens out of 91 that have ever had an issue and the vender took care of me.

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I don't think I have enough of any one brand to blindly say "this is the best for me".

 

I dearly love my Montblancs. They are consistent and reliable and I believe they will long outlive me. There is something very special about the way a Montblanc writes that suits my style very much.

 

I have several Pilots and I would not consider them reliable.

 

Truthfully, if I had to pick one brand, it would probably be Lamy. I have several Safaris, Al-Stars, Studios, Scalas, and a Lamy 2000. They all perform very well. I have only had one nib on a Safari that was not in good shape when I purchased it. But, the nib was easily exchanged.

"Today will be gone in less than 24 hours. When it is gone, it is gone. Be wise, but enjoy! - anonymous today

 

 

 

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Hi Thinker,

 

Well, if I was going to be a lemming for a brand; for modern pens, it would be a tie between Pilot and Pelikan as they're both well made and have given me the least grief.

 

For vintage pens, Parker, without a doubt.

 

 

Sean :)

 

 

I vote for TWSBI. What other pen brand can you completely disassemble? What other brand has for all purposes a lifetime warranty as long as you own it? When I contact TWSBI about a malfunctioning or cracked part they don't give me the run around, they send me a replacement and all I pay is the postage. This is the best customer service of any pen company.

 

 

Of all the brands I currently have and have had I would certainly agree with the above. So much so that my final pen purchase of 2019 was a Pilot and my first of 2020 was a TWSBI and I am currently considering another M800.

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Pilot. I guess I have 20ish of them, mostly the cheapies. All perform and write perfectly out of the box. You can't argue with that.

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