Most Beautiful Pen Is...

[Brian C]

O.k. I started this thread before I got my Nakaya portable writer in kuro-tamuri. I now have that pen in hand and...drum roll please....will be putting the Nakaya up for sale or trade. 51 still wins.

[ethernautrix]

O.k. I started this thread before I got my Nakaya portable writer in kuro-tamuri. I now have that pen in hand and...drum roll please....will be putting the Nakaya up for sale or trade. 51 still wins.

 

 

There's no accounting for taste.

[Brian C]

Hey! Be nice!

[ethernautrix]

Hey! Be nice!

 

 

You got an EEEF?! That's... do you even see a line?! Would love to see a writing sample.

 

I find the plain F sufficient for my handwriting comfort. (It's more of Western EF.) I could maybe go as fine as EF, but I'd have to try it first.

 

Also, the Portable isn't my favorite model. I like the Piccolo size and shape -- now that I've gotten used to the shortness of it. Also, I love the long and perfectly balanced Desk Pen.

 

Good luck on your trade. I hope you get what you want!

[Brian C]

I was actually surprised at how thin the line is. But I can write as big and fast as I want and no skipping. I just can't get into the urushi pens. To me they are created to be beautiful, and they are. But the vintage pens that weren't necessarily created with the intention of being "collectors items" just grabs me somehow. I love picking up a fifty year old pen and just knowing there is a history there. Call me sentimental. Part of this is Bo Bo Olson's doing. His "chase nibs" theory really got me thinking

[Brian C]

to continue...I love the way vintage nibs write. Not saying today's nibs aren't great, just prefer vintage. While I will never discount the amount of artistery that goes into the urushi pens, I just love to touch old things and feel the history.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Carl, that is a great complement to my pen.

 

The nib is in my top four, the other 3 top ones are Obliques, and from the '50s. It is from 1968-72.

 

A MB 234 1/2's KOB, a Pelikan 400NN F-1 OF, a Pelikan 140 OB, and the Geha 725...5th or 6th is my Geha 790 KM.

Some times I'm not precise on which of the top nibs are second and lower.

The MB KOB also is a tad more back weighted, a tad thicker and beat out the perfectly balanced Geha 725 by a photo finish. For pure sleek good looks, the Geha 725, is a stunner. It is my only rolled gold pen. The flat gold cap and barrel 'jewels', add to it's distinctive good classy looks.

It is a pen I never thought to be lucky enough to own.

Thank god for the World cup, punters and everyone else was asleep at the switch.

 

All my top pens are so close it's just wonderful having so many fine nibs and pens.

 

As soon as I re-cork, which has been put off due to a major problem with my MX-5's hydrological clutch; that broke down today.

There will be the Osmia pens entering the battle.

[ethernautrix]

to continue...I love the way vintage nibs write. Not saying today's nibs aren't great, just prefer vintage. While I will never discount the amount of artistery that goes into the urushi pens, I just love to touch old things and feel the history.

 

 

Vintage Sheaffer nibs are amongst my favorites.

 

I know I have many favorites, but the vintage Sheaffers? LOVE!

[professionaldilettante]

Thank you. No apology needed. Had a bad day. Meant it more as a bit of education. I appreciate your kindness. Fountain pen collectors are nice people.

 

Zen is a term which, in the west, is generally abused to mean either simply "Japanese" or "minimalistic, pure and uncluttered style". I gave up trying to educate folks on the correct use a decade ago, recognizing that it was a lost cause....

 

But, in the vein of what the original poster meant, I think that the Pilot M90 is a serious contender to the Pilot 51 in the "minimalistic, pure and uncluttered style"-category, even coming out ahead. They are also both excellent writers

 

But the most beautiful? No, I am not sure that "minimalistic, pure and uncluttered style" equates "most beautiful". There are many many pens as beautiful, albeit in different ways.

I whioleheartedly agree with the M90. There's even less parts to it, nib's integrated and the joint in the body serves as the cap retention mechanism. Nothing's extra or lacking. The 51, the only thing that gets me, is the lack of an apparent nib. Far away, it looks like a regular ballpoint, as there's not really nib protruding.

[kcunvong]

After reading through this thread, I see we define beauty as having a "timeless" or "classical" attribute. If that is the case, I would also push for the Parker 51 as being both, as the pen's design so simple and timeless. The Montblanc 146/149 is a close 2nd.

 

Also some beautiful pens are the Parker Vacumatic and the Pelikan Soverign series. But, these seem to be a different type of beauty.

[Blade Runner]

I'm a big fan of both the "51 " and the 149, but if I'm judging beauty, I would have to account for the nib as well as the body and would choose the 149 over the "51".

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/jelb/IMG_7014.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/jelb/PENS/IMG_7293.jpg

 

 

 

Edit to add a body comparison:

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/jelb/PENS/IMG_7296.jpg

Edited December 8, 2010 by Blade Runner

[UmmmLauren]

The most beautiful pen to me is the Namiki Pilot M90. It is so simple and beautiful, and people always comment when I use that pen. But I am not fond of a lot of those chunky pens. My taste is more toward stainless steel and modern clean lines.

 

Lauren

[tonybelding]

My vote goes to the Omas Brown Arco old Paragon or new Milord.

 

I just got my first Wahl-Eversharp Doric. Burgundy celluloid with the very fine feather-like striated pattern. Gold nib marked fine, flexible. (I rate it more semi-flex, it's quite practical for everyday use.) It's funny how you can actually get these for less than the modern Italian knock-offs.

 

I find it a very attractive, handsome pen. I have it inked with Black Swan in Australian Roses which is a pretty good color match, and a nice ink.

[fjf]

The Omas lucens!

[carlosjaviercontreras]

This is a beautiful pen

 

http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u330/alfa170a/Picture017-3.jpg

 

I would say that's a gaudy pen, never intended for serious writing. I'd take a Parker 51 over it any day.

[carlosjaviercontreras]

And those big fat Montblancs, is it possible that the function is a little overstated there?

 

A MB 149 is counterintuitively comfortable to use. It's big and fat, but light. It's girth help a relaxed grip.

[eric47]

The Omas lucens!

 

Vintage (with Greek keys, or 3 thin bands) or modern? Which celluloid?

[eric47]

Vintage Sheaffer nibs are amongst my favorites.

 

I know I have many favorites, but the vintage Sheaffers? LOVE!

 

There's no accounting for taste. Ha!

[fjf]

All lucens I've seen are beautiful, but I dislike the modern, with metallic section. Sadly, they are too expensive!

 

The Omas lucens!

 

Vintage (with Greek keys, or 3 thin bands) or modern? Which celluloid?

[rhosygell]

Aurora Optima Auroloide and a plain CBHR Waterman 15 PSF for completely different reasons - both are very functional, one is a little showy and the other at 93 old shows just how little progress we've made except in adding bling.....and I find the P51 boring and slug like.