Still looking for the everyday writer

[saristeguieta]

Reading and learning from FPN I have come to regard these three pens as the universal favorites in terms of getting a well built pen for everyday tasks under $100.

 

Which one would you choose: Lamy 2000, Namiki Vanishing point or Pelikan 200? and Why?

 

I don’t have any of the above and being a writer rather than a collector I would like to have as much information as possible before purchasing either one.

 

Regards,

 

Simon

[Slush99]

I know all of those are good pens.

 

I guess I would choose the 2000 because it is piston fill and fiberglass. But then the Vanishing Point has a vanishing point. And the 200 is a great pen but it's not the right size.

[wordherder62]

Make that Pelikan a 250 with a 14K nib and you'll have one of the best all-around pens made. The VP is a love/hate pen. I love mine. It's a great daily user and I don't mind where the clip falls on the pen when you hold it. No problem for me but others absolutely detest it.

 

Lamy is another great pen. Piston filler makes it a good choice, as does the gold nib. You can get some good nib choices on this one as well.

 

There are many others I would have on my list at this price point, by the way.

 

Richard

[OldGriz]

I have both the Namiki and the Pelikan 200s... I love them both..

For ease of quick note taking the Namiki is great because of the push button mechanism and writes every time nib.

For pure joy of writing, I prefer the Pelikan over the VP. I like the way the fine nib writes. It also is an every time it touchs the paper pen. But I find the nib to be a better writer than the VP... If you get one from Richard Binder he will test the nib before you get it... making it an even better choice... and if you want a custom steel nib (I have a .8 stub that I love), you are still in the $100 range for a real fantastic pen.

To put it mildly, if you are looking for a pure writer, I would go for the Pelikan....

I do not have a Lamy and can't give a comparison.

 

Now with all that said... my everyday pens are my old Sheaffers...

[Betty]

Of the 3 you listed, I only own the Pelikan 200 and I would suggest the Pelikan 200 too

 

1) the Vanishing Point is a love/hate thing because of the clip placement. You really have to try it in person to see if it's the right feel for you.

 

2) the Pelikan 200 has a classic nib look to it, so if it's your first fountain pen, I suppose you would like something that distinguishes itself from the other pens you have. Both the Lamy 2000 and VP has nibs are don't look like the typical fountain pen nib. They look kinda boring to me.

 

3) Pelikan 200 is piston filled (and so is the Lamy 2000 I guess) and very easy to maintain.

 

4) And Pelikans are very smooth!

 

But just go with your first instinct. Besides, once you tried one fountain pen, you'll come back for more. You might be thinking now I just need 1 fountain pen (how silly was I to think the exact thing a few months ago), but that will quickly be erased.

Edited May 1, 2006 by Betty

[French]

Out of the 3 pens you listed, I only have the Lamy 2000, so I can't comment on the other two. I really enjoy my 2000, like OldGriz said about his VP and M200, it writes well, as soon as the nib touches the paper. The design is understated, and the size fits my hand well. I prefer a mid-size to large pen, and, after dipping a M200, I found it is a bit on the small side for my preference.

 

If you have the opportunity, you should try all 3 and see what the order you will buy them will be. Last year, I never thought I'd have a collection of fountain pens, but they grow on you.

 

good luck,

french

[Glenn-SC]

#3) Pelikan 200 - too small, too light, too much $ for a steel nib, not the smoothest nib available (and yes I own shall we say "several" 4xxs), large capacity, probably bullet-proof, ink-view windows (or transparent barrel), cheapest

 

#2) VP - it vanishes!, nice nib, nice overall design, heavier weight (a + for me), beautiful colors or patterns, lesser capacity with no way to check fill level, you have to do all that "click-in" and "click-out" stuff which means turning the pen over to open over to write over to close and over to put it back in the pocket, mine stops writing if left unused for a few days, moderate price (~$75-$80)

 

#1) 2000 - NICE nib!, Large capacity, ink-view window, piston filler, nice "snap-on" and "snap-off" cap, good width, good weight when filled, you can get any color you want as long as its basic black (Couldn't thay make it in Blue of something?), most expensive (~$80) (I got mine on eBay for $35)

[wimg]

Hi Simon,

 

I would go for the Pelikan M200 (or M250), probably with one or two extra (custom) nibs.

 

I like piston fillers a lot, and exchangeable nibs. I know the VP has easily exchangeable nibs too, but ink capacity is really quite low. To me the M200 is about right for ink capacity, and if I want less ink in it, I fill it only partly.

 

Nib wise: I would go for a cursive italic anytime, any format of 0.7 mm and over .

 

Warm regards, Wim

[RonB]

#1) 2000 - NICE nib!, Large capacity, ink-view window, piston filler, nice "snap-on" and "snap-off" cap, good width, good weight when filled, you can get any color you want as long as its basic black (Couldn't thay make it in Blue of something?), most expensive (~$80) (I got mine on eBay for $35)

Isn't the Lamy 2000 generally over $110 with a list of ~$140?

 

Nice buy at $35!

[HDoug]

Of the 3, I have the VP and Pelikan. I have a couple of Lamys (Safari and Al-Star), but not the 2000. As the responses indicate, there's no clear "winner" among the 3, which is also good because it means that you really can't go wrong with any of them.

 

If I had to have only 1 pen, it would be the VP. It's a great writer (I have the medium point), and since it has a retractable nib, it makes a great office-carry implement. The only prob is that the converter (I have the piston converter) capacity is small. The Pelikan is probably my smoothest writer (even with the steel nib) and the piston holds much ink. The Lamy 2000 is on my list because I think everyone should have at least one fiberglass reinforced Makrolon German piston-filler.

 

I guess this doesn't help you much. I'm sorry -- but whichever you choose, you won't be.

 

Doug

[rak]

I have a Lamy 2000 and a Tortoise colored Pelikan 250. Both are very good pens. Don't have a Vanishing Point, but one of my colleagues has one and loves it. I would recommend trying all 3 at a pen store and seeing which feels right for you. If you would like to go the vintage route, you could get a Parker "51" in your price range which would make a very good daily writer as well.

[Glenn-SC]

Nice buy at $35!

Thank you!

Actually, I got the 2000 and a mat black 1st Generation VP for $45.

The 2000 was missing the cap clutch ring (which Chartpak replaced for free) and the VP had been assembled with the spring behind the nib/converter assembly so it always stuck out.

I guess they thought both were broken.

[rosey]

between my husband and i we have all three of the pens you mentioned. i'm a new fountain pen user and my pen is the pelikan 200 which my husband gave me. it writes very nice and the fit for my hand is good. it is a small lightweight pen.

 

i have compared all three pens in one sitting to see which one i truly preferred. i can say that i like the lamy2000 very much also but the ink tends to bleed through the paper more than the pelikan and it's a bigger pen. i tried to get my husband to give me his lamy 2000 also, but he said "no way!". <_<

 

my husband on the other hand absolutely loves his vp. :)9 he is a college student and uses it everyday in class for note taking. he likes the click feature, so he doesn't have to worry about losing the cap. he also doesn't have to worry about putting the cap on and off so the ink won't dry while the professor is lecturing. the vp is a heavier pen to hold and the clip is in the way for many people. but my husband isn't bothered by either of these features of his lovely vp.

 

in fact he keeps hinting he wants another vp for his graduation, but instead he's getting two parker 51's i purchased off ebay! i don't know if he'll like the parker 51, but after hearing how he'd like to try one for a several weeks now, he's going to get his wish. we'll see in a few days what his new preference will be!

 

sorry this is so long but i just can't seem to write any other way!

[JRodriguez]

I've had all of these pens at one point or another and I have to say that I really don't think that you can go wrong with any of these as far as durability and writing quality (I'm a user, rather than collector, as well - though lately I think I've become the latter as well). If you can test these to see how they fit your hand, I think that would be best. If not, I would be inclined to suggest the Lamy or Pelikan over the Namiki because of the ink capacity. And between the Lamy and Pelikan, I personally find the Pelikan a better shape for using for long periods.

[Tara]

The nib on the VP is nice and springy, but the ink capacity thing is a big deal to me.

 

As much as I love my VP I would probably say Pelikan or Lamy just for the ink capacity.

 

And you really must try the nibs in person if you're not familiar with their individual feels.

 

Not being able to stand the nib will make or break your everyday writer.

 

And you must know how the weight will affect you. I can write all day with my Pelikans, but sometimes get hand cramps, if I'm writing all day, from the weight of the VP.

 

So, get you to a pen shop!

[saristeguieta]

Firstly, I want to thank everybody for their comments. Secondly, it is unlikely that I can try the pens in the island. Thirdly, even though I have some others pens none is satisfactory as a no-nonsense everyday pen. Finally, I have decided to get all of them and sell or trade whichever do not work for me.

 

It already happened with the Cross ATX, still in the market place for sale or trade by the way (https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=10356) , that didn’t work for me because I did not like how it felt in my hands.

 

Once I get them I’ll let know which one I like the most.

 

Regards,

 

 

Simon