LeMan 100 vs 200

February 13, 2010

Understood.

$ 200 for a new G'man? Seems like this was a real high end pen for the 1970s-80s. I was not into fountain pens at the time, sorry to say, and would be curious to know how this price compared to a high end Pelikan, Parker 75 or - dare I mention it - MB of the time.

Hello satrap,

After the repair, this particular G'man was a good user pen at a sensible price. However, given the condition, well used, it was by no means a $200 pen.

Also, Gentleman pens, unlike the Man 100, seem to be out of favour and rarely sell for over US $120-150. If you do a search for completed items on eBay you will see that G'men rarely fetch US $150+.

Just last year an 'as new' silver G'man was listed on the FPN For Sale forum for $ 165 with two caps, one of the caps was the rare Saint-Gaudens version with the medallion in the clip. The pen was up for several days on the board before being sold. That pretty much set the ceiling for more common variants of the G'man, IMO.

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When I mentioned the 200.00 amount, I was talking about the retail price for a brand new G when they were in production.

February 13, 2010

Understood.

$ 200 for a new G'man? Seems like this was a real high end pen for the 1970s-80s. I was not into fountain pens at the time, sorry to say, and would be curious to know how this price compared to a high end Pelikan, Parker 75 or - dare I mention it - MB of the time.

======

When I got into FPs again (1986), I was living not too far from Fahrney's. G'man listed for just a little over 200.00 I believe, maybe 220.00 or so. It was the next step down from the Man line, being smaller than the Man 200. I always liked the G'man (had a few), but the LeMan was the Granddaddy of 'em all. I am guessing we don't hear a lot about the G'man because of Big Daddy (the 100) and his kid brother, the 200; those two knocked everybody's socks off.

The LeMan line is comparable to their in-laws, the Parker Duofolds -- LeMan 100 = Centennial; 200 = International.

Similar price points.

February 14, 2010

A quick-and-dirty SOOC shot of the two nibs, 200 on top of 100:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4037/4335702956_b37393e229_o.jpg

This is very nice. I heart the photography.

February 14, 2010

This is very nice. I heart the photography.

Pepin! You're back! We were just talking about you! "We" meaning a couple of FPNers at Kevin's fabulous soiree, and "talking about you" meaning we missed your presence on FPN. Glad you're back! Thanks. Compliment, I mean. Cheers!

February 17, 2010

The Waterman Le Man (either 100 or 200, the one in black, Opera was too impressive for me) was the first pen I falled in love with. That was in 1989 and I did not have the money to buy them. They were current models at the time. They were looking at me from the window of a store, and I spent time many days with my nose against the glass like a young boy in the toy store. Just I wasn't a boy anymore, I had completed my college undergraduate degree and was about to begin both my PhD and my life as a married man. So because of the money issue I bought a Master instead. Latter on, my wife gave me as a gift the ballpen to complete the set. It has been my favorite ballpen to this day. The Master fountain pen was slimmer and of course much cheaper than the LeMan but the look was kind of in the same line. And the nib was brass, no gold. Anyway, I didn't like the Master very much, so my use of fountain pens was kind of dormant for two decades. Then one day I thought that I would like to buy a pen and try to start again caring about my handwritting. I knew that a new pen would not improve it by itself, but I guessed that (re-)adapting to write with a FP would help. So I went to a store, asked about Watermans and after a while walked out... with a Pelikan 200 instead!. The reason was mainly the price, but I guess I was lucky; it wrote beautifully and I really love it. After that, I began searching the web trying to learn a bit more about fountain pens. So I found this forum, discovered about Richar Binder, John Mottishaw, customized nibs, etc. I've being a Pelikan guy for the last few months. I bought several models. I recently entered the world of vintage flex, and that's great -I'm a neophyte, but am enjoying it-, got myself a couple of pens with flex nibs that should keep me busy for a long time. But at some point I ran into... a gorgeous pic of a Man 200 at what seemed a reasonable price (thanks, Ross). And I couldn't help. I'm a user, not a collector, but sometimes one has to indulge a bit. I's being a long time since I got my PhD, and my daughter will enter college next year. It gets the less used of my pens, and looks a bit out of place surrounded of screw caps: birds, a Namiki Falcon and now the two oldies in one of my two mugs where most of my pens live. But it's got ink on it. Waterman ink.

Finally, you're mine.

February 17, 2010

A quick-and-dirty SOOC shot of the two nibs, 200 on top of 100:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4037/4335702956_b37393e229_o.jpg

Great pic, as usual.

Nope, here is my (very early, very used, before rusty ring replacement) Man 100.

The additional step at the base of the ring could help.

http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo288/enricofacchin/man-02-1.jpg

Found a more recent pic

http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo288/enricofacchin/DSC03384.jpg

Edited February 17, 2010 by enricof

February 23, 2010

For some reason the comparison with Modern Duofolds never occurred to me. You are quite right Satrap, the Duofold would have been the natural competitor for the Man 100/200 back then.

I have never owned or used a modern Duofold. Can you comment on the Duofold as a writer, and its construction quality in terms of fit and finish and how well does the Duofold compare to the Man 1000/200? FWIW, I have always liked the styling of the Duofold Ball Pen and Mechanical Pencil. It would seem that at this point in time the Duofolds would be easier to get repaired and may well be more practical pens for daily use.

When I got into FPs again (1986), I was living not too far from Fahrney's. G'man listed for just a little over 200.00 I believe, maybe 220.00 or so. It was the next step down from the Man line, being smaller than the Man 200. I always liked the G'man (had a few), but the LeMan was the Granddaddy of 'em all. I am guessing we don't hear a lot about the G'man because of Big Daddy (the 100) and his kid brother, the 200; those two knocked everybody's socks off.

The LeMan line is comparable to their in-laws, the Parker Duofolds -- LeMan 100 = Centennial; 200 = International.
Similar price points.

Edited February 23, 2010 by a aa