A bit of fun... 'You have 30 seconds to decide. You can only ever have one fountain pen. Which is it to be?'

[countrydirt]

Lamy 2000 with a Fine nib.  Never failed and I use it virtually every day (to the neglect of some other pretty fantastic pens - Pelikan M800 and 200, Lamy Studios and a variety of fantastic old Esterbrook Js)

[51ISH]

30 minutes ago, countrydirt said:

Lamy 2000 with a Fine nib.  Never failed and I use it virtually every day (to the neglect of some other pretty fantastic pens - Pelikan M800 and 200, Lamy Studios and a variety of fantastic old Esterbrook Js)

 

Yey !!  You are the 100th person to reply to my thread!! 😍🤗  I never expected anyone to reply when I started this thread at 3am (UK time) on Tuesday.  Instead 100 people have replied and 1200 people have viewed the thread. 🙂 (I should say I don't really 'do'  social media apart from YT and never post videos)

 

I'm not surprised you picked the Lamy 2000 with a Fine nib,  I have exactly the same pen.  I purchased it on the recommendation of a (serious) MB collector on here.  I bought  a Medium kind of knowing it would be too broad for me, but it was available at a 'silly' price.  I sent the pen to Lamy in Germany and they exchanged the nib for a Fine.  Have to say I've always loved  the 'original' Tortoiseshell brown Souveran....

[Mercian]

26 minutes ago, 51ISH said:

Have to say I've always loved  the 'original' Tortoiseshell brown Souveran

If you mean the 2013 LE M800, I saw (& couldn’t afford) them first! 😝

[51ISH]

2 minutes ago, Mercian said:

If you mean the 2013 LE M800, I saw (& couldn’t afford) them first! 😝

 

That's the one....I think it was a 'homage' to a previous vintage model?  Can't say I liked the 'white cap' and 'white section' model very much.....🤔

[51ISH]

1 minute ago, 51ISH said:

 

That's the one....I think it was a 'homage' to a previous vintage model?  Can't say I liked the 'white cap' and 'white section' model very much.....🤔

 

This one  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234891234966?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-134428-41853-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=234891234966&targetid=1281261556024&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=1007192&poi=&campaignid=9445986154&mkgroupid=123206630552&rlsatarget=pla-1281261556024&abcId=578896&merchantid=115110726&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgaGgBhC8ARIsAAAyLfHc46O04atJ-Cp632t_-q4pY-YpvSw6qXBLQqtsaXH3tovP2dx1484aAhBNEALw_wcB

[51ISH]

2 minutes ago, 51ISH said:

 

This one  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234891234966?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-134428-41853-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=234891234966&targetid=1281261556024&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=1007192&poi=&campaignid=9445986154&mkgroupid=123206630552&rlsatarget=pla-1281261556024&abcId=578896&merchantid=115110726&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgaGgBhC8ARIsAAAyLfHc46O04atJ-Cp632t_-q4pY-YpvSw6qXBLQqtsaXH3tovP2dx1484aAhBNEALw_wcB

 

Yilkes.... Look at the price!!!😮😮

[txomsy]

For sentimental reasons, my father's '50s Montblanc (I think a 342G).

 

Otherwise it would be my black lacquered gold nib Montblanc Slimline.

 

[51ISH]

18 minutes ago, txomsy said:

For sentimental reasons, my father's '50s Montblanc (I think a 342G).

 

Otherwise it would be my black lacquered gold nib Montblanc Slimline.

 

 

I guess 'the apple doesn't fall far from the tree' eh? 👍

[amper]

I was just saying this in a different forum, but I find it bizarre that this type of question is so persistent across every single type of enthusiast forum I have ever joined in my life.

There is no plausible set of circumstances that would ever result in anyone being forced to choose only one pen, so I find the question more than slightly silly. There is no "best" pen. There is no "best" anything, really. There might be one that fits your particular needs in some particular circumstance better than all others, but other people in other situations will find that different pens serve their particular needs or desires differently.

[Mercian]

27 minutes ago, amper said:

There is no plausible set of circumstances that would ever result in anyone being forced to choose only one pen, so I find the question more than slightly silly.

You are right in all that you said.

To be fair though, it is only ‘a bit of fun’.

 

Actually, I also think that this question does have some utility - a ‘usefulness’ that is similar to that of the act of tossing a coin when one is having trouble deciding between two options.

The coin clearly cannot ‘decide’ anything, but if it comes up with the ‘wrong’ answer, then it has actually shown to you which option you would prefer to take.

 

Answering this silly question is, like the coin toss, a way of unveiling one’s own innermost thoughts, in that it makes one think about what features one really values in one’s pens, and also think about the foibles/demerits/weaknesses that any of one’s ‘favourites’ might have.

 

The information may prove useful when considering - or seeking to put oneself off from - any future purchases.

Edited March 10, 2023 by Mercian
Edited to actually remove additional “actually”. D’oh!

[51ISH]

5 minutes ago, amper said:

I was just saying this in a different forum, but I find it bizarre that this type of question is so persistent across every single type of enthusiast forum I have ever joined in my life.

There is no plausible set of circumstances that would ever result in anyone being forced to choose only one pen, so I find the question more than slightly silly. There is no "best" pen. There is no "best" anything, really. There might be one that fits your particular needs in some particular circumstance better than all others, but other people in other situations will find that different pens serve their particular needs or desires differently.

 

I apologise if I offended you in any way that was not my intention.  As it clearly states in the title it was meant as 'A bit of fun' and I think I was pretty clear in my title. If you don't want to join in then that's fine.  It was a pretty 'quiet night' on the site, so I just wondered if anyone wanted to 'Play'.... As it turns out I had a problem keeping up with everyones responses! 👍  I have been a member since 2009 and back then lots of members were posting all sorts of similar posts..... I miss them...

[51ISH]

4 minutes ago, Mercian said:

You are right in all that you said.

To be fair though, it is only ‘a bit of fun’.

 

Actually, I also think that this question does actually have some utility - a ‘usefulness’ that is similar to that of the act of tossing a coin when one is having trouble deciding between two options.

The coin clearly cannot ‘decide’ anything, but if it comes up with the ‘wrong’ answer, then it has actually shown to you which option you would prefer to take.

 

Answering this silly question is, like the coin toss, a way of unveiling one’s own innermost thoughts, in that it makes one think about what features one really values in one’s pens, and to also think about the foibles/demerits/weaknesses that any of one’s ‘favourites’ might have.

The information may prove useful when considering - or seeking to put oneself off from - any future purchases.

 

Thank you Mercian for your kind words.  It was never my intention to upset or offend anyone.  I have tried to respond to as many people as I could who posted a reply. Some replies really touched me, in particular one gentleman that said he would choose his granddads MB, not because it was his 'best pen or the best writer' but because using it reminded him of his granddad. The post got over 1.6K views and over a 100 replies, and was highlighted as a 'Hot topic' for quite a while .

[yubaprof]

I don't see how anyone could be offended by the question or topic. It's not a life or death question. Just a chance for many of us to tell others which pen we value most. Some of the folks here have lots and lots of pens, and when a pen is declared the one and only they would have to the exclusion of all of the others, well then that is quite a statement about that pen. But it's still just a pen. I have a few high end pens - MB Hemingway, Pelikan Toledo, Aurora Optima etc. - but I like my nearly forty year old MB 146 best. It's not a big deal, just a preference. As for me, nothing to argue about; I understand that others have other views. I enjoy learning about them.

[ParramattaPaul]

The question was offered in the spirit of light-heartedness and as a means of sharing one's thoughts.  Participation is optional.

[Mangrove Jack]

We are human and we do a lot of things that don't make sense, and spend time thinking about stuff that would under "no plausible set of circumstances" ever happen. Yet we still look at cars and think what would THE ideal car be. Same with watches, pens, houses, women / men, guns, cameras, etc depending on ones interests.

I find it an interesting topic to mull over and an interesting thread. 

 

[51ISH]

Thank you Yubaprof, Parramatta Paul and Mangrove Jack for your kind words.

They are muchly appreciated.

 

[JohnUphill]

A thread like this reminds me how fortunate I am to own so many nice pens. That said, I could simply pick up the black Pelikan M1000 I just set down and spend the remaining 29 seconds second-guessing myself.

[InkyColors]

8 hours ago, ParramattaPaul said:

The question was offered in the spirit of light-heartedness and as a means of sharing one's thoughts.  Participation is optional.

Well said.  I've enjoyed reading all the posts and look how many people have responded!  Obviously they are enjoying it too.  As any school teacher can tell you "every class has that one!"

[51ISH]

20 minutes ago, JohnUphill said:

A thread like this reminds me how fortunate I am to own so many nice pens. That said, I could simply pick up the black Pelikan M1000 I just set down and spend the remaining 29 seconds second-guessing myself.

😊  It's been interesting to see that people didn't always go for their most expensive pen(s) (Although there was lots of MB replies) I was a little surprised at the large number of P51's, although I know I probably shouldn't really be..😄

[51ISH]

34 minutes ago, InkyColors said:

Well said.  I've enjoyed reading all the posts and look how many people have responded!  Obviously they are enjoying it too.  As any school teacher can tell you "every class has that one!"

 

Glad you enjoyed reading it InkyColors and thank you for your support. 👍