What I love about fountain pens is that...

[Grayfeather]

2 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

I have to say that I was quite amazed at how well a couple of Esties with 1555 nibs wrote -- even with just folded over nibs and no tipping.  

Of course my two most expensive pens (an M405 Stresemann and an M405 Blue-black) also write well.  Some of the third-tier vintage junkers?  Ehhh.  Not so much -- but those weren't horribly expensive, even with the repairs.

@Gaius Maximus Now I'm wondering what Pilot pen you were able to find in a Big Lots!  Mind you, that was probably LONG before I found my way into the hobby....  But I've also gotten great deals on really good pens at antiques shops and estate sales (I was floored a while back when the second pen in a box that also had a Midnight Blue Parker 45 in it which was the pen I went to look at at an estate sale the next county over from me) turned out to be a Cordovan Brown 51 Vac!  Plus there were two spare press-bar style converters for the 45 in addition to the one installed in the pen already.  $5 US for everything!  So you can either calculate the pens at $2 each or $1 for the 45 and $3 for the 51 Vac, plus 50¢ apiece for the spare converters (I just wish I could get anything remotely like the same kind of deals for old-style Sheaffer converters that will fit in thin pens like the Sheaffer school pens... ).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

 

@inkstainedruth

 

I'll dig out the Pilot, I have it still packed up from a recent move. Not sure on which Pilot model it is. It's stainless bodied, medium nib. Rather slim, almost but not quite rollerball slim. When I dig it out, I'll send photos. Maybe you or someone else might identify it. 

 

Might not have been actually a Big Lots, it was a discount type store. Roses maybe. I just happened to spot it in the glass showcase, and bought it on a whim.

 

A

[Nightjar]

2 hours ago, Mercian said:

I am lazy, am a sensualist, have a short attention-span, and enjoy variety. I also have a penchant for a Shiny Thing.

Fountain Pens serve all five of these character traits far better than any other writing utensils do.

 

@Mercian 🤣🤣🤣

 

@Gaius Maximus @inkstainedruth I soooo hate it when you guys who've been at it for decades talk about your $5 finds 😉, for me "cheap" is £20!

[Ron Z]

11 minutes ago, Nightjar said:

I soooo hate it when you guys who've been at it for decades talk about your $5 finds

 

There have been a few along the way.....

[Pen Ffynnon]

At work, I can use a pen that looks all business-like and professional with a sober ink to match. If I want to scribble a quick note to my beloved, I can use a pretty pen with a matching pretty ink. If I want to draw or doodle or be creative, well, what better than a wild-colored pen loaded with orange? If I want to sit and work on the Great American Novel, I can use a substantial pen loaded up with brown or green. And if I'm writing something of Weight or Import, well, then out comes the green-striped M800 with an ink of weight and import.

 

Let's see a gel pen do all that.

[Penguincollector]

3 hours ago, Mercian said:

I am lazy, am a sensualist, have a short attention-span, and enjoy variety. I also have a penchant for a Shiny Thing.

Fountain Pens serve all five of these character traits far better than any other writing utensils do.

 I could have written this. Are you also left footed? 

[Mercian]

26 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

 I could have written this. Are you also left footed? 

 

I'm a right-footer. And a male.

Hmm. Might I perhaps be your Evil Twin 'mirror self' over the ocean...?

[Nightjar]

56 minutes ago, Pen Ffynnon said:

If I want to draw or doodle or be creative, well, what better than a wild-colored pen loaded with orange?

 

@Pen Ffynnon I think you mean pens that (I scarcely dare say it)... aren't black?! And here's me thinking this was a respectable forum!

 

[Mercian]

38 minutes ago, Nightjar said:

I think you mean pens that (I scarcely dare say it)... aren't black?! And here's me thinking this was a respectable forum!

 

 

Ah, sir, it seems to me that, although you already have that 'DELI' pen, you need to acquire one of these ↓

 

 

Specifically, the one at the top in that picture; the 2018 Lamy Safari in 'All Black'.
How much more black could it be? None. None more black!

[Nightjar]

I'm not a particular fan of the Safari nib, and (in subsequent Drawer 2) I have a charcoal one, nearest I could get to black. But I agree, I probably "need" one of those 😉🤣👍🏼

[Mercian]

30 minutes ago, Nightjar said:

But I agree, I probably "need" one of those 😉🤣👍🏼

 

If I might be so bold, I have a word of advice for you: you should never look at a Lamy 2000, and I especially warn you to avoid any investigation of Pelikan Souverän pens!
Your wallet will thank me

[Nightjar]

Thank you for your kind concern @Mercian my friend, but I'm pretty much immune: I dislike the over-rounded over-smooth nibs* on (nearly all) modern pens.

 

And my wallet is already angry about the Pelikan 140 I ordered at the weekend. Angry, did I say? Furious, more like.

 

* All opinions expressed are my own, and do not necessarily reflect those of the organisation I represent.

[lamarax]

...is that collecting them, keeps me away from going down... more precarious rabbit holes 😃

[Grayfeather]

6 hours ago, Ron Z said:

 

There have been a few along the way.....

 

Yes there have.

 

 

[InesF]

On 3/11/2025 at 3:14 PM, torstar said:

Then you have 12 prescious-esses. 

... at least!   

[Mercian]

15 hours ago, Nightjar said:

And my wallet is already angry about the Pelikan 140 I ordered at the weekend. Angry, did I say? Furious, more like.

 

 

Yes, I foolishly bought a 1950s Pelikan 400 with a lovely, 'bouncy' cursive-italic 'F' nib on it last year.
My wallet now absolutely insists that I don't want to buy another one with a similar 'M' nib on it

[torstar]

6 hours ago, InesF said:

... at least!   

 

the best part is I do a cleanup of the pen holdings every few years and re-discover pens I had forgotten about

 

where'd this Parker Duofold and Delta Dolce Vita come from?

 

 

[torstar]

when i realize i have misplaced or lost a pen that was "right there" an hour ago, the cheaper the pen the less serious the coniption fit and heart attack and near soiling of myself 

 

never mind, i had hidden it while i got up to get coffee and forgot I had hidden it

 

[Pen Ffynnon]

On 3/12/2025 at 1:15 PM, Nightjar said:

 

@Pen Ffynnon I think you mean pens that (I scarcely dare say it)... aren't black?! And here's me thinking this was a respectable forum!

 

 

Indeed. I need to check. I *may* have one black pen. May.

[Penguincollector]

On 3/12/2025 at 1:33 PM, Mercian said:

None more black!

  This Parker gets my vote:

Parker IM Monochrome Black

[Penguincollector]

On 3/12/2025 at 1:11 PM, Mercian said:

 

I'm a right-footer. And a male.

Hmm. Might I perhaps be your Evil Twin 'mirror self' over the ocean...?

Strange enough to be plausible….