COUNTRY THAT IS THE BEST PEN MAKER

[jd50ae]

The Italian makers do not just make pens that are to be used; they also make them to look at, they can be real works of art.

The Japanese makers are pretty close but a great deal more subdued.

I do love my Pelikans, but only with a Mr. Binder or Mr. Mottishaw nib.

I hate to keep bringing up the Tornado, but, almost all of my unboxed Italian pens survived. Very few of my Japanese pens survived, even fewer Pelikans. On this point, I give the Italians the vote.

[Ruaidhri]

What a question

 

No doubt in my mind that US led the race for a long long time but now, thankfully, there are superb pens being manufactured in many countries.

 

That doesn't add much to the collective wisdom here !

 

Ruaidhrí

[Stylo]

No doubt the U.S. used to be the biggest and very likely the best player in the past, as in the distant past. There is almost nothing left in the U.S. My parker 75 was made in France, my Parker twenty-somethings were made in England, my Duofold is I think made in England too. How about my Cross Townsend? Mostly made in China. And my Bexley? Well, the nib is from Germany. The Shaeffer factory is about to close or it has already closed. It's over.

 

Germany has obviously Pelikan and Montblanc.

 

France has Waterman and Dupont, and a few higher-end boutique brands. I think they still have the Parker factories too.

 

England has Conway Stewart, Yard-O-Led, and a good chunk of Parker operations. Not bad for the Perfide Albion

 

Italy: I know all the names, such Aurora, Stipula, etc., but I don't know their pens well. The only one I have ever considered buying was the Optima Auroloid.

 

Japan: sure, I keep hearing of Sailor, Platinum, etc., but know zilch about them.

 

So why should we chose one country as the best?

[Green Maned Lion]

I think it depends on what you like.

 

Rare is it that one sees a modern japanese product that is of poor quality. I have no experiance with their fountain pens, but with most products, they seem to be designed by competant, gifted engineers who studies diligently the benchmarks of what he is trying to do. He studies carefully what his product should do, and how it can be used better. The product made is of the utmost quality, but is made with little or no passion.

Dollar for dollar, the Toyota Camry is probably the best midsize sedan you can get by the numbers. It is so bland, however, it makes me gag. It does everything well, better then average, even good. It does nothing amazingly and nothing wrong. I love my old MB diesel with its loud raucus engine and constant shake, clatter, and roll routine. I, with absolutely no experiance to back me up, suspect their pens fall into the same category.

 

German pens... seem to be very solid and very competantly made. Many of them are a little bland, their styling being conservative and often form over function. Just like most German products. Rotring 600 as an example: its not designed too look good, its designed to be easy to grip and designed not to roll around on a desk. It is as solid as an anvil, and always works well. The majority of Pelikan designs are about as conservative as you get. But boy, do they work well.

 

And Italian products, like almost all Italian things I have ever used, are high strung, strongly styled, very extroverted, and made with more passion then you can fit into a foot ball stadium of japanese engineers. I recall fondly my Alfa Romeo 164 and my dads not-so-fond brief stewardship of a Ferrari 308GTS. I think of my Alfa i think of its beautiful lines, and the note its engine made when you were wringing it out through the gears. I constantly overlook the 12 Advil grade electrical headache that it was. I swear, every other day some electrical subsystem would fail on it. But oh... that engine noise.

 

Same thing with the Ferrari on a different scale. We got this excellent condition car and ended up rebuilding the clutch twice, the transmission once, replacing the starter, the V-belt, the brake pads, the spark plugs. (At Ferrari prices, this went into 5 digits really fast). But wow... that engine. and driving it. and shifting it. And OMGWASITGORGOUS. I don't know how reliable Italian pens are, but I can easily see function taking a back seat to form.

 

Its obviously stereo-typical and not true of all examples. But the fact remains: it depends what exactly you like. I prefer german pens. I drive that most german of cars, an older Mercedes-Benz diesel, from which I will part when they pry my cold dead fingers from its steering wheel. Most people I know seem to think what my mom told me she thought of it: "Noisy, smelly, and has about as much refinement as a street bum." But I like it.

[johnr55]

I try to keep the pens out of my eyes. In modern pens, Germany. In vintage pens, USA.

[jay23]

It baffles me as to how anyone could select the USA when hardly any pens are being made there any more!

The poll is who made/make the best pens, so that is why many people selected U.S.A/Canada.

[marklavar]

What follows is, of course, no detriment to other brands.  I think Pelikans (ergo Germany) come in a close second.  Sheaffer made and continues to make some of the best pens out there.  And who can forget the 51s?

 

But, it was Italy for me.  I think the Italian pens represent to me all the ideals of a well-crafted FP.

 

Take the Stipulas, for example.  Amazing nib that flows well on paper.  My Etruria takes no effort to write, even though it is a relatively large and hefty pen.

 

Innovative designs? How about the Delta line (see https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...howtopic=17121)? Or the OMAS Emotica?

 

As for a traditional, classic design, Auroras definitely come to mind.  Their 88s, Optimas and Talentums are the paradigm for all others to follow.

 

I don't really know much about vintage pens, but when it comes down to modern pens, I truly believe that Italy leads the pack.

I couldn't agree with you more. The USA used to produce excellent pens in the 1930-50s, but this is history. Italian brands have kept true to the old fountain pen spirit by producing celluloid pens with traditional piston fillers etc. Yes, the designs can sometimes be too flashy, but in most cases are very stylish and classy. German and Japanese pens are well engineered, reliable, but rather dull. The two traditional British brands, Conway Stewart and Yard-o-Led, are very interesting and produce some stunningly beautiful instruments, but the price is the stumbling block.

 

If you look at modern fountain pens, most are international brands which are either part of multinational business organisations or have administrative HQs in one country and factories in others. Parker is now really a UK brand and Waterman a French one - all the US links were severed years ago. Cross is still an American brand despite the Chinese factory, and Sheaffer's future hangs in the balance.

Edited November 10, 2006 by marklavar

[thewolfgang]

Marklavar,

 

What Italian pens would you suggest as getting your feet wet models in the under $100 range?

[marklavar]

Marklavar,

 

What Italian pens would you suggest as getting your feet wet models in the under $100 range?

I suggest you stop asking daft questions. That's what I suggest.

 

if you want a 'getting your feet wet' pen, buy yourself a Pilot V4 for a couple of dollars.

Edited November 11, 2006 by marklavar

[JimCouch]

Marklavar,

 

What Italian pens would you suggest as getting your feet wet models in the under $100 range?

I suggest you stop asking daft questions. That's what I suggest.

 

My aren't we nasty tonight Marklavar? I don't see how that reply was called for in the least!

 

 

thewolfgang,

 

Bang for the buck - you should definalty look at the Tryphon clef. I know that (Richard Binder) who posts here often sells them. The pen is an Italian Celluloid - and well under $100.00 I believe that there is a review of it on FPN.

 

Also look into the Filcao pens that Richard sells. There are a number of pens from them for under a hundred bucks.

 

Jim Couch

[thewolfgang]

Jim,

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I tried a Clef which didn't excite me. I've just received a Filcao Silvia with a gold nib, so we'll see how that goes.

 

I asked a similar question recently about toothy Aurora nibs. Do they only begin being characterstically so at a certain price point (and, if so, what price point, what model), or are they so throughout their price range?

 

The question of entry level pens for each brand intrigues me:

 

1. Whether it's possible, or, as the man says, it's just a plain daft idea

2. If so, which brands have models which serve as an indicator of what you're likely to experience as you progress up the price scale

3. Which models have reverse quality to price ratios

 

This is all about modern pens I guess. My 2 cents.

[marklavar]

What surprises me the most about this poll is how few votes France gets. Dupont and Waterman make some of the best pens on the planet, as does Cartier; surely France should get more than five votes! :blink:

[JesseD]

What surprises me the most about this poll is how few votes France gets. Dupont and Waterman make some of the best pens on the planet, as does Cartier; surely France should get more than five votes! :blink:

Everyone can have a different idea of what is best, and given the results of the poll, your view is in the minority. Personally there are very few if any pens currently produced in France that I would want to buy at 50% off.

 

Even if France's pens are some of the best on the planet, some of the pens made in USA from 1920-1970 are out of this world.

-Jesse

[marklavar]

What surprises me the most about this poll is how few votes France gets.  Dupont and Waterman make some of the best pens on the planet, as does Cartier; surely France should get more than five votes!    :blink:

Everyone can have a different idea of what is best, and given the results of the poll, your view is in the minority. Personally there are very few if any pens currently produced in France that I would want to buy at 50% off.

 

Even if France's pens are some of the best on the planet, some of the pens made in USA from 1920-1970 are out of this world.

-Jesse

This poll does nothing except reflect that most people on this board are American, hence the chauvinism reflected in the results.

[Apollo]

This poll does nothing except reflect that most people on this board are American, hence the chauvinism reflected in the results.

You really need to get rid of that chip on your shoulder, mate.

[bernardo]

As writing instruments, not as fashion accounts, the best vintage pens come from the US (Sheaffer, Parker, Conklin, ...), and the best pens made today come undoubtedly from Germany (Pelikan, Rotring, Faber-Castell, Lamy, ...).

[Turboff]

Unfortunately as the US moved towards "more technologically advanced" ballpoints, the manufacturing of quality pens has shifted to Europe, with Sheaffer, Parker and Waterman all owned by European corporations.

If you look at modern fountain pens, most are international brands which are either part of multinational business organisations or have administrative HQs in one country and factories in others.  Parker is now really a UK brand and Waterman a French one - all the US links were severed years ago.  Cross is still an American brand despite the Chinese factory, and Sheaffer's future hangs in the balance.

 

According to Wikipedia.org, both Parker and Waterman are owned by Newell Rubbermaid, an American company based near Atlanta. They also own Rotring, and at one point they owned the US division of Faber, but I think the German division has since acquired it, but I haven't been able to find confirmation for this.

[eightstrings]

I have had outstanding luck with German pens, past and present.

 

I have had very poor luck with Italian pens, Montegrappa as a notable exception.

 

I have had mixed luck with pens manufactured in the USA.

 

Pretty good luck with pens [/b]manufactured in France.

 

I would love to try a few Japanese pens.