What's Your Utilitarian Set ?

[Estycollector]

Tomorrow I am traveling. I just put out the Lamy Al-Star and a plastic version of a mid '60's Autopoint "Rocket" pencil. Both, AFAIC, are utilitarian instruments.

 

Do you have such as set?

[silverlifter]

I only travel with one pen, a Lamy 2000 with a medium cursive italic nib, inked with an iron gall. This combo is perfect in that it handles air travel, writes on all sorts of paper with no issues, holds a good amount of ink, and is understated and doesn't draw attention to itself.

[alexander_k]

Three sets: one with a couple of Lamy 2000 fountain pens and matching multipen and mechanical pencil, a second with a Kaweco V16 plus mechanical pencil and a third with a variable number of Sheaffer Targas (various colours and matching inks). This is a move from my previous Parker 51 ensemble, which now rests peacefully in a drawer. Of the three I am particularly impressed by the Kaweco, which is an excellent starter with great flow.

[sirgilbert357]

If, by "utilitarian" you mean a pen I can just use without worry of damage or loss, then a Wing Sung 3008 would be my choice. It holds plenty of ink, isn't expensive and can take a decent amount of abuse. If I need even more ink volume, a Wing Sung 601 would be my choice.

[carola]

Each and every one of my pens can be part of a "utilitarian" set.

My set consists of a zippered 3-pen-case containing 3 pens inked up with contrasting colours (for example one red, one green and one black).

 

The pens themselves are chosen with the "mmmh... what would be nice today..." method.

The set can end up with consisting of a vintage € 700,00 Pelikan, a cheap Lamy school pen from the late 1960s/early 1970s then used by my father which cost me nothing, and an almost brand new Diplomat Aero in the "reasonable" price range. Or any other combination you may get by combining about 40 very diverse pens in batches of three.

[Estycollector]

Keep them coming, but a "tip of the hat" to all who have replied.

Edited August 19, 2020 by Estycollector

[ParramattaPaul]

A yellow highlighter, a Faber-Castell 0.7 mechanical pencil and a Diplomat Magnum broad nib fountain pen which will cover almost any need. They are carried in idream 365 hard case which also has room for spare cartridges and spare pencil leads, It fits into a carry-on bag, a backpack or a jacket pocket,

 

Nothing is expensive which negates any worry about damage or loss.

 

ADDED NOTE: The Diplomat Magnum comes with a converter and costs approximately AUD 25 or USD 22 (from Goulet Pens). It is a much under-rated pen that writes well in my opinion. That said, it might not be a pen snob's first choice.

Edited August 19, 2020 by ParramattaPaul

[pajaro]

MB 144 with cartridges and a Croquil 6B mechanical pencil.

[Estycollector]

A yellow highlighter, a Faber-Castell 0.7 mechanical pencil and a Diplomat Magnum broad nib fountain pen which will cover almost any need. They are carried in idream 365 hard case which also has room for spare cartridges and spare pencil leads, It fits into a carry-on bag, a backpack or a jacket pocket,

 

Nothing is expensive which negates any worry about damage or loss.

 

ADDED NOTE: The Diplomat Magnum comes with a converter and costs approximately AUD 25 or USD 22 (from Goulet Pens). It is a much under-rated pen that writes well in my opinion. That said, it might not be a pen snob's first choice.

 

The Diplomat Magnum looks nice.

[praxim]

I look at whichever four pens are currently inked, and select two I think most reliable for travel. If I were travelling today I could take any of the four in use: Aurora 88K, Montblanc 149, Onoto K3, Soennecken 1310.

 

No pens are excluded by value. There are some, especially with old unfinned feeds, which after travel are less likely both to perform on demand and without adding undesired ink drops to the paper.

[Arkanabar]

It's usually two pens.

 

First is the dirt-cheap FPR Jaipur I got for waay too little money, even with a 1.0mm stub nib, that I think can survive all the Bad Black Moccasin I throw its way, which I use when I am sitting at a table or desk and writing. Every so often, I add to its ink supply, as it can burp like eyedroppers do. Sometimes, if it's been balky, what I add to its ink supply is distilled water. I suppose it could also survive any Emeraud de Chivor and/or Stormy Grey I might fill it with, but those are my wife's inks.

 

Second is a Hero 616, filled with MB Mystery Black, clipped to the outside of my scrub breast pocket for when I'm walking and jotting. I can uncap and cap it one-handed, leaving the cap on my pocket. I have beaten four of these pens to death, and I have never had one just fall out of its cap.

 

Third is an alternate color if I think I might need one, or a ballpoint and a Sharpie if I'm working -- sometimes there are triplicate forms to fill out, or dressings to date and initial.

[taimdala]

I have three always-with-me pens in my EDC:

1. Platinum Procyon, Fine nib, Turquoise. Usually blue or blue black ink
2. Coleto Hi-Tec-C 0.3mm 5 color pen. It's for color coding/marking written material. Plus, it writes really tiny
3. Pilot G-2 .38mm in black

The fourth and/or fifth vary depending on my mood. At the moment I have just a fourth pen: A Zebra V-301 FP. It has a hooded nib and I can't tell if it's a Fine or not but it writes thin enough. It's got a brushed metal body with black plastic accents and uses cartridges. It was a Walgreens purchase for a couple of pennies under 5 bucks. It was an impulse purchase that turned out well.

If I were to add a 5th pen, I would add either a TWSBI Eco or a TWSBI Diamond 580, but my leather pocket protector doesn't have enough give to fit another pen.

[sandy101]

Parker Sonnet Stratum FP & BP go with me everywhere. The FP posts & remains balanced and I can fit a spare cartridge in my wallet.

 

I have a leather wallet for 90x140mm notebooks. I tend to have a blank one and flip it 90 degrees so I write along the longer edge.

[mana]

Have managed to reduce it two these three (well, mostly just the FPs):

- Pelikan 450 MP, a beater but it feels really good in hand,
- a post war Pelikan 100N with a fantastic CI BB nib and finally,
- a Pelikan 400 with an EF (might actually be an F) nib.

Ink is Pelikan 4001 Blue Black.

 

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCcy4mQjkjT/

[Estycollector]

You all have some very nice "utilitarian" pens.

[Mech-for-i]

well well , my travel pencase usually had a couple of ICO Retro 70's ball point, a couple of multi- pen ( prefer Pilot or Mitsubishi Uni ) , usually a trio or quad of standard hexagonal pencil ( 2H, 2B, 4B & 6B ) with a custom made ( very nice quality turned acrylic ) extender to fit them, a dux pencil sharpener, one of those pen style eraser ( just grab whatever happen to be on the desk ) , a utility knife , some small bits and pieces , a couple of fountain pens sit inside a soft 2 pen sleeve and reside in there also ; depending on the time of inquiry it could be anything I just happen to inked up but more likely than not one would be my Caliarts Ego-2 ( solid colour version ) and aJinhao 51a fitted with a petite fude nib today .. the most recent one I had in there is a Parker 45 and a Hero 616 plus

 

if I need to go one business meeting I would take my more well precious pen in a separate 3 pen soft pouch

Edited August 20, 2020 by Mech-for-i

[Muncle]

I have a Cross ballpoint that a student gave me as a gift. I am so honoured with it that I always include it.

I have a couple of Al-Stars that show their age.

And a Sheaffer Agio that works very hard is always a starter. I keep my most difficult inks in that one.

[BaronWulfraed]

When I had a job that entailed multi-week trips a few times a year, I probably favored cartridge/converter pens. And especially now with the difficulties of flying with a bottle of ink. I'd start with a converter, but carry a few compatible cartridges should I run the converter dry.

[EliH]

For me, the perfect travel kit is my Conid AVDA Phi with an F or M Sailor nib, paired with the Visconti travelling inkwell. Good amount of ink, and both items are rugged enough to handle travel.

[ISW_Kaputnik]

I still have some Pilot Varsities left, although I'm no longer attempting to refill these "disposables". On trips where I am really making an effort to pack light, I will take one or two of those, a Fisher Space pen, and a mechanical pencil.

 

If I have more room, I'll probably take one of the Varsities, and one of my better Pilots that will take cartridges, my Elite or Capless Decimo, say.

 

I don't take any of my vintage pens on trips, usually, but I do take some of them to work, my Eversharp Skyline, for example.

 

Of course, coronavirus has limited my travel this year, and it seems that I won't be leaving the state until next year, rendering much of the above moot for now.