Help Buying new pen!

March 19, 2006

My dad is going to UK and Italy and I want to buy a good modern pen ( maximum 160-170 pounds).

I never spent more than 50 dollars in pens( all I got were bargains)...I dont want to get frustrated :bonk:

Pens I have: Parkers : "51" Aeromatic Mark1/b, "51" Aeromatic Mark2, "51" Vacumatic Demi, 21, Vacumatic Standard.

Pelikan: gray 400 with a flexible medium nib.

Esterbrook $1,50 pen

Osmiroid 75

Lamys: Vista and Safari

Koh-I-Noor Brush'o'Graph ( not really a fountain pen)

My favorite ones are the Pelikan 400 and the Parker "51" Aeromatic Mark1/b, I was thinking about:

An used Montblanc( I know many of you guys hate it...but I've loved the one I tried).

Pelikan 800/805

Pelikan 600/605

Pelikan 620 Piazza Navona

Pelikan300/320

Visconti Van Gogh midi or mini

Im open to suggetions,

Thanks in advance!

Edited March 19, 2006 by Dvenosa

March 19, 2006

While I love my Montblanc pens, I think you are better off with a Pelikan 600. It is a near perfect pen, smooth, ligh, ergonomic, smooth writing, etc.

March 19, 2006

PELIKAN 600/605!!!!!!!

March 19, 2006

Hi,

The 600 or 605 should be good for you.

The M300 or M320 pens might be too small. They are much smaller than the M200 or M400. (It is my favourite pen by the way, unposted)

Dillon

March 19, 2006

I currently use a Pelikan M600 as my daily writer. Its my first good quality pen purchase. I can't see going wrong with one of these. Good line of ink and smoooooth.

March 19, 2006

Pilot Vanishing Point, is the best workhorse pen I've ever used.

The all-brass case is heavy, but very durable for drops. You can rapidly withdraw the nib to protect it, rather than have a separate cap.

The nib assembly can easily be changed by the user, just buy another one for $25 from Pilot, they ship worldwide.

The only drawback is its piston converter holds less ink than most pens.

I recently brought several of my pens out of mothballs and used them in the grueling workday I do where I write about a minimum of 30 sheets of paper worth of writing.

MontBlanc 149

Parker 75, 70s vintage

Parker Fougere, 1993 vintage

Every now and then, they would all skip on a stroke, very very rarely. If you wrote very fast, the Parker's couldn't keep up, and would skip. I just had to rewrite missed segments. Sometimes the nibs of the others were more sensitive to the types of paper used [coatings]. By comparison, the Pilot has never skipped with me.

All pens work well as sign pens, but if I need a pen to reliably write all day, I will reach for the VP. I've used it for 3 years.

A bigger issue for users is really the style and feel of the case, the nib style, more than as a writing instrument.

Edited March 19, 2006 by saturation

March 19, 2006

Thanks everyone!

Now im thinking seriously about a Pelikan....

800

605

620 Piazza Navona

320

??????????

Someone can help me to find pen shops in London or Rome?

March 20, 2006

Forget the Pelikans - most overrated brand ever, and scratchy nibs.

I suggest a Delta Dolcevita - best nib I've ever tried. A good shop in Rome is Novelli: www.novelli.it . Your best bet in London are the department stores Selfridges and Harrods.

March 20, 2006

Mark is welcome to his opinion as are the rest of us. I think that the Pelikan is not close to the most overrated pen ever. In fact, I find all of people's comments about them to be accurate reflections of both their experiences and mine. How can a pen be overrated if it is simply rated honestly by people who own and use the pens? Perhaps Mark meant to say something along the lines of "My experiences with Pelikans have been different from those of others. I find them scratchy." I have no experience with the Delta so cannot comment, but I have had great success with all of my Pelikans. They (an M200 and M75) are my most consistent writers out of every pen I own.

March 20, 2006

Be careful, you may not get a better price in Italy or England, especially on a new pen. The internet may allow you to check prices before he goes.

March 20, 2006

Thought I would throw in my two cents. Deltas and Pelikans both make great pens and in either case you stand a great chance of getting a pen that out of the box will work fine.

Delta nibs, IME, are very firm and very smooth. Pelikan nibs are smooth but have a tad more tooth to them and a little bit of spring.

If you like a really rock hard nib that is glassy smooth, the nib on the Delta Dolce Vita might be right up your line.

If you want a piston filler and a nice nib with some spring, get a Pelikan 800.

j

March 20, 2006

Well...I love my Pelikan, so, this does not apply to me!

but thanks for your suggestions~! I loved Novelli's site.

March 20, 2006

IMO, you will not do better than a Pelikan.... I have 4 of them and just ordered a 605 from Altman Luggage...

I have never seen better customer service from a manufacturer either...

I had a broad nib I did not like after writing with it for over a week... I contacted Chartpac and they replaced the nib no charge with a fine nib that I absolutely love and had the pen back to me within a week of them receiving it.

Even more impressive than that I ruined the nib on a GO, an inexpensive student pen, that they replaced no charge even though I ruined the nib by dropping the pen on a tile floor

As for scratch nibs, I have not found that to be the case. All my pens write with a nice wet line and glide over the paper, even my fine nibbed pen.....

Right now about the best deal is Altman Luggage for the Pelikan 605.. .a beautiful solid blue pen with Rhodium fittings and for only $129.00 including shipping.

I also agree that you might find higher prices in Europe than you will get here or online. I have family in Germany and they priced some Pelikans for me.. Even with the discount he gets for being an Audi employee the prices were the same or a bit higher than I have paid here in the US.

Edited March 20, 2006 by OldGriz

March 20, 2006

Be careful, you may not get a better price in Italy or England, especially on a new pen. The internet may allow you to check prices before he goes.

I agree.... BUT I don't live in USA...prices in Brazil are UGLY, a pelikan 800 is almost 500 dollars here.

March 21, 2006

My vote is for a Pelikan as well.

I have a bunch.

One of my favorites is the Piazza Navona I write with it frequently

March 21, 2006

I vote for the Pelikan M800. You already have an M400, and all the other Pels you mentioned are relatively close in size and weight to the M400. The M800 is a much heavier, larger pen with a large, slightly springier nib. I think you'll like the new experience an M800 gives you.

March 21, 2006

And the winner isssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss:

:ph34r: :ph34r: :ph34r:

Pelikan Piazza Navona

Amin, I would really like to go with an 800 but its gonna get me absolutely broke , and I never tried a modern Pelikan. Do you think I will like the Piazza Navona? By the way, my dad is Italian and I feel like making a "tribute" to him...

April 5, 2006

Oops, I missed your post Dvenosa. Congratulations on the Piazza Navona. I am sure you will love it! I rec'd the M800 because it is so different than what you have, but the Navona is gorgeous, and I love the M600 form most of the modern styles. Let use know what you think of it when you get it!