What Pen do you pick ?

[deuter]

What would be your single fountain pen pick?

 

Conditions:

It needs to be the companies flagship.

It needs to have some unique meriting qualities. Eg: smoothest writer, bouncy, etc.

It is not a crazy limited edition.

It’s not a pen where you’re paying for a person spending a year creating its Urushi finish or expensive due to some lava material that adds absolutely nothing to how it writes.

It’s a gold nib.

Its not vintage and can be bought today.

 

Let me know what your choice is, remember it has to be one pen and doesn’t matter whether you own it or not.

A picture would be cool!

[Claes]

>It needs to be the companies flagship.

 

Why? I do not understand why that would be an important criterion.

Also: why does it have to have a gold nib? 🙂

 

Have fun!
Claes in Lund, Sweden

 

[ruby.monkey]

Based on those criteria, I wouldn't pick anything.

2 hours ago, deuter said:

It needs to be the companies flagship.

It’s a gold nib.

These especially would put me off.

[Cjtamu]

You already have a Pelikan M1000. Why not try a Montblanc 149 for comparison? Iconic pen.

[carlos.q]

Lamy 2000 meets all your criteria.

[deuter]

21 minutes ago, carlos.q said:

Lamy 2000 meets all your criteria.

Excellent, one well engineered one.

[Penguincollector]

  I have delicate lady hands, so big pens aren’t necessarily my thing, but I do really love my Parker Duofold Centennial, especially now that it’s a medium italic. When I bought my M800, it was the flagship pen. 
 

   If I was to buy another big pen it would probably be a Waldmann Précieux

[Tashi_Tsering]

I am big fan of MB149, I have 3 of them (M, OB and OBBB nibs). 

[Surlyprof]

On 5/11/2024 at 5:12 AM, carlos.q said:

Lamy 2000 meets all your criteria.

I second the Lamy 2000.  I have three (f, m & b) and all three are inked all of the time.  It’s the pen I always come back to for most writing tasks.  
 

I know you asked for one but I also love my Pilot Custom Enjyu.  I really like the 18k #15 medium nib and CON-70 converter.  It is my smoothest writer (with the Lamy 2000 medium a close second).  I believe their Custom 912 is similar.   Pilot has several potential options for consistently smooth writing and large ink capacity.  I’ve also tried and liked their Justus 95 and Custom 823.  They had 14k nibs.

 

My favorites together.

[deuter]

3 hours ago, Tashi_Tsering said:

I am big fan of MB149, I have 3 of them (M, OB and OBBB nibs). 

Why fan, what is it that you like about them ?

All vintage ?

[Tashi_Tsering]

25 minutes ago, deuter said:

Why fan, what is it that you like about them ?

All vintage ?

I feel comfortable holding them in my hand, they write well, and they look good. It's hard to answer exactly, but I have over 200 different pens and the MB149 is my favorite.

Not all vintage: 1985, 1999 and 2016.

[inkstainedruth]

I'll admit i have some issues with the OP's criteria.  Because otherwise the pen I would say is MY single pen pick would be a vintage Parker 51.

Modern pens?  That would be a WAY harder choice, because I don't tend to go for "flagship" pens, (often those would be pens that are too large and heavy for my hand).  Hmmm.  A lot of my higher-end pens ARE SE/LE colors.  But okay, maybe my Pelikan M405 Blue Black (I chose it over the slightly less expensive regular M400 because there was just something about the rhodium plating on the nib and such, that just looked a little nicer than the regular 14K gold.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

[XYZZY]

If I can correctly group this question into "I have real money to spend, what do you suggest?", then it has been asked many times, most recently at 

 

 

Nobody will agree 100% with your criteria, just has nobody has agreed 100% with previous times the game has been played.  That's the internet for you 🙂  I would have simplified your criteria to "production model flagship", which I think covers your separate rules about limited editions, waiting lines for custom finishes, vintage, etc (i.e. it covers all your rules except gold-only).

 

Note that some companies have many good pens without having an obvious "flagship" model.  I have many Leonardo's of different models and try to keep up with those, but see no "flagship".  If you wanted to merely find their most costly production model and label it flagship...that seems disingenuous.  On the other side of the pond Edison Pens fits that boat, too.

 

My answer by your rules:  Namiki Emperor, aka Namiki No. 50.  The cheap $2000-ish plain models, not the phenomenal pieces of maki-e artwork.

 

Why:  I find them very comfortable for long term writing, but many (most?) consider it way too large to write with so be careful there. It's not my favorite nib, but I consider it more practical for just using it.  Being an eyedropper there is little mechanism to maintain or clean, much less to fail.  In the rare event that you need to disassemble you'll find that the nib & feed are press-fit, so just pull, like most of the Japanese pens.  I think the shutoff valve is a needless complication: many people will point to these as being more airplane-friendly without bothering to consider that all their pens without the feature can fly just fine, too.  They are also quite understated, which I appreciate, the only thing about them that makes any statement is their size.  The size is a limiting factor when looking for a sleeve or case, but there are solutions.

[jchch1950]

Lamy 2000 has replace Montblanc 149 as my favorite pen.

[Doggy Daddy]

If I had to pick any fountain pen I own, it would be the Montblanc 149 Calligraphy Flex Nib. However, those are no longer in production. So, for a currently available pen I'd have to go with my Waterman Carene with the factory stub nib. This pen is simply amazing. It is a very expressive nib that somehow manages to be both dry enough to use on inexpensive papers and greeting cards while still laying down enough ink for a rich, full bodied script.

[Lam1]

I honestly do not understand why so much criticism to the OP criteria. Its a hobby, people collect the way they want, and collecting the flagship of companies is a common and (I suppose) fun criteria for collecting (I've seen it countless times over the years). Besides, one doesn't have to play if it doesn't appeal to oneself!

 

Anyway, since I've heard above that you already have the Pelikan M1000 (which would be my first choice, because of the soft nib). 

Then, I would second the MB 149: it is a very reliable writer, fits well in my hand and has a wide range of nib options - also, if you are in the US, buying it directly from Europe can save a bunch (don't know if it is relevant for you, but for me that IS important).

 

A second suggestion (I know, should be only one, but I can't follow rules 🤪) which I'm not sure it follows all criteria (not flagship) is the Namiki Yukari Royale: it is a perfect pen for me and mine has a F nib that is superb - it's been inked all the time for the last 3 years (the only pen I have that is almost always inked).

[inkstainedruth]

Honestly, it's because of the way the OP worded the criteria.  

It's not a case of "What pen would you recommend?"  It's a case of "Here is my (rather narrow) set of criteria" with no wiggle room.  Because honestly?  Most of my pens ARE vintage, and very few of them are "flagship models" -- and the ones that *are* "flagship models are the Parker 51s which ARE vintage.  And the Plum Demi 51 Aero?  They'll have to pry THAT pen from my cold dead fingers....  Unless of course I somehow ever manage to luck into a full size Plummer that doesn't cost me an arm and a leg and the other arm....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Bo Bo Olson]

 

Geha 790 is the low level, very nice semi-flex nib...better than Pelikan. Standard sized like the 400 or the later 780 Geha.

Once the medium-small 760 had been the geha flagship, thenthe gold piston ring vanished then the 725 became the flag ship...of course my 760 is not the flagship.

 

780 a rare pen...may have been a flagship, back when the 760 was flag ship. It too had the piston cap ring. standard sized.

 

Actually better balanced than the 400nn is the Geha 725, a thin medium-long pen.

I love the way a couple curved lines make the clip a classic. All the trimmings are rolled gold. This pen cost DM 380 (in 4 to 1 days) or $90 when a silver P-75 cost $22 in silver backed money....go to the bank and get a silver dollar for a blue stamped paper dollar. Now a silver dollar is worth $15....back then it was worth $1.00.

$330= 22 silver dollars.

.

It came in second in my noobie 20 pen balance test....and even with 20 pens that took for ever so will not re-test. Semi-flex nib of course.

 

A different clip than mine but still classic. Trim is rolled gold.

With permission of Penboard.de

 

 

Basic barley corn 14 k overlay no name pen...jeweler made...is flagship enough for me.

Semi-flex nib.

 

Looking at my pens, I ended up with more flagships or semi-flagships....vintage use to be cheap....old used pens.

 

Like the pure signature pen, the Pelikan 500 is only gold plated, not full silver or gold as the absolute top of the Pelikan line is. I'd not take it, in its too back heavy with the gold plated cap and piston cap....I do post.

And I'd have to swap out the signature  nib, 30 degree grind and OBBB.

[deuter]

15 hours ago, jchch1950 said:

Lamy 2000 has replace Montblanc 149 as my favorite pen.

Interesting @jchch1950, keen to share why?

[deuter]

8 hours ago, Lam1 said:

I honestly do not understand why so much criticism to the OP criteria. Its a hobby, people collect the way they want, and collecting the flagship of companies is a common and (I suppose) fun criteria for collecting (I've seen it countless times over the years). Besides, one doesn't have to play if it doesn't appeal to oneself!

 

Anyway, since I've heard above that you already have the Pelikan M1000 (which would be my first choice, because of the soft nib). 

Then, I would second the MB 149: it is a very reliable writer, fits well in my hand and has a wide range of nib options - also, if you are in the US, buying it directly from Europe can save a bunch (don't know if it is relevant for you, but for me that IS important).

 

A second suggestion (I know, should be only one, but I can't follow rules 🤪) which I'm not sure it follows all criteria (not flagship) is the Namiki Yukari Royale: it is a perfect pen for me and mine has a F nib that is superb - it's been inked all the time for the last 3 years (the only pen I have that is almost always inked).

What stores from Europe would you suggest for the Montblanc, Iam in Australia and keen to see if they ship to here.