What is the most underrated pen brand?

[marklavar]

I'm interested in finding out members' views on which brand of pen is the most consistently undervalued by users, collectors and experts.

 

I have deliberately left out Montblanc, for obvious reasons.

[amh210]

As long as Snorkels, Touchdowns, and Imperials are less expensive than "51"s, I'd have to assert that Sheaffer's are the most undervalued pens.

 

To be fair, I think one would have to compare pens that were from the same time frame.

 

Andy

[RyanL27]

I'm with Andy on this one - Sheaffer is underrated with regard to both vintage and modern pens.

 

My Sheaffer Legacy has a smoother nib than any modern Pelikan, Parker or Sailor I've ever owned.

[marklavar]

Sheaffer pens have never done anything for me, but I can see why they appeal to some. I wish Sheaffer would release some new versions of the Valor - maybe a sterling or gold plated version, or different patterns and colours.

 

I actually feel Caran D'Ache and Faber-Castell are the two most underrated pen brands. You hear very little about them, but their nibs are butter smooth and give the writer a very pleasant experience. However, the very slim designs of most of these brands' pens probably counts against them, and in the case of Caran, so does the price. Rather an acquired taste.

 

Another undervalued brand is Delta. I have a Dolcevita and it's a sweet writer. It needed some cleaning initially, but after that it has performed flawlessly.

[penmanila]

one of my best-looking and best-writing pens is a faber-castell guilloche. my faber-castell e-motion is a great performer as well. neither too expensive nor too cheap, FC pens are made of the finest materials, and the product range is broad enough to appeal to everyone. this gets my vote.

[Lloyd]

I vintage is included, I'd probably vote for Esterbrook.

[HDoug]

Lamy. They make great fountain pens priced as writing instruments rather than jewelry. Although highly utilitarian, Lamys are designed by artists, and Lamy generally doesn't participate in the hawking of Limited Edition blingy diamond encrusted DNA embedded maki-e urushi semi-functional collectors items that almost every other manufacturer seems to see as their mission. Just MHO.

 

Doug

[Vintage Pens Fan]

For vintage brand I'd vote for Esterbrook, & the striped model of the Wearever Pacemaker.

 

For modern pens I'd say Hero & Duke.

 

There might be better models from other brands, but it is hard to beat if price is included as overall consideration.

 

David

[kissing]

I wanted to vote Hero

[mmoncur]

Another vote for Esterbrook (vintage) or Lamy (modern). Neither were on the list.

 

I would have voted Sheaffer, but the high price for vintage PFMs makes up for the low price of Snorkels.

[thewolfgang]

Based on the 601F and 801F models, it could be Haolilai.

 

I'd try more of them to be sure, but Im in a fine nib mode these days, and the wonderful Haolilai nibs, whether gold or gold-plated, are slightly fine mediums.

 

Laurence

[girlieg33k]

Vintage would be Esterbrook, definitely and I voted for Sheaffer for modern.

[*david*]

Some of the poll choices for undervalued pens are, to put it mildly, interesting. :ph34r:

[Stephen-I-am]

I know very little about Sheaffer. Is there a pen a Pelikan M600, Lamy 2000, or Conway Stewart 58 devotee would appreciate?

 

Stephen

 

[edit] Do they make their own nibs?

Edited November 9, 2006 by Stephen-I-am

[BillTheEditor]

Maybe I'm overthinking this. I looked at your list and didn't see any pen brands there that users, collectors, and experts undervalue. At least not in the sense of common dictionary definitions.

 

un·der·val·ue (ŭn'dər-văl'yū)

tr.v., -ued, -u·ing, -ues.

To assign too low a value to; underestimate.

To have too little regard or esteem for.

 

Investment

Directory > Business > Investment Undervalued

A stock or other security that is trading below its true value.

 

Investopedia Says: The difficulty is knowing what the "true" value actually is. Analysts will usually recommend an undervalued stock with a strong buy rating.

 

WordNet

Directory > Words > WordNet Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The verb undervalue has 3 meanings:

 

Meaning #1: assign too low a value to

  Synonym: underestimate

Meaning #2: esteem lightly

Meaning #3: lose in value

  Synonyms: depreciate, devaluate, devalue

 

All of those brands seem to me to be highly regarded, even by people who don't use or collect them. They all seem to hold their market value, or even to appreciate in value with time. We may think some of them are overpriced, but that isn't the same thing as undervaluing.

 

From conversations here, it seems to me that an undervalued vintage pen brand would be something like a Wearever (people don't think much of them, yet some were good and durable pens), and an undervalued modern pen brand would be Conklin or Wing Sung (although for different reasons -- Conklin because it is disdained for its reputed lack of quality assurance, Wing Sung because nobody thinks a pen that cheap could be any good). But none of these appear on the list.

 

What did you intend by "undervalued"? I seem to be missing something here.

Edited November 9, 2006 by BillTheEditor

[RyanL27]

Bill:

 

In my mind, I considered the Legacy undervalued because although it was Sheaffer's flagship model, it is seldom grouped with the m800/m1000, 146/149, Paragon, 1911 or Duofold around here (the same can now be said for the Valor). Further, the Legacy sells for about $160 brand new from Penhero.com, which is significantly less expensive then most of the above (with the exception of the 1911). If you put any stock in demand-side economics, this should signal undervaluation, no?

Edited November 9, 2006 by RyanL27

[Altdachs]

Lamy, Sailor, Conklin

[Dan Carmell]

I took Mark's meaning to be "too little regard or esteem for" and on that basis, I voted for Stipula. While the MSRP is hardly underpriced, I buy all my modern pens on the secondary market (meaning deeply discounted or lightly used second hand) and it seems to me that Stipula pens by that measure sell at resale for a smaller percentage of the original price than other makers.

 

Add to that good design,good materials (sterling trim in many cases, something modern Sheaffers simply never feature) well-finished nibs, and intregal filling systems, all adding up to quality pens.

 

best, Dan

[thewolfgang]

Dan,

 

What is the least expensive Stipula that gives an idea of the brand's characteristics?

 

Laurence

[KCat]

i can't vote on any of the listed brands. Like Bill, I didn't see any there that I would considered underrated.

 

I'm not even sure I could select Esterbrook if it was on the list. Esties may be inexpensive but very few people around here seem to have anything but a high esteem for these pens. The fact that we have a forum dedicated to the brand says to me that they are not underrated. Undervalued, perhaps. But their quality does not go unnoticed.

 

It's a tough question when what we hear about most here are the pens that large numbers of us enjoy. I think i might go with Kaweco or Senator. They make good pens but are not talked about much.