Help deciding, please!

[kenny]

Hmmm...we live in a world in which a "cheap" or "starter" pen is considered to be something under $100.

 

What would the Bic stick pen users think of that?

[4uky]

For a fine modern pen in the $200-$300 range I would go for a Pelikan M800 without blinking. It's right at the upper margin of your price range, utterly dependable, very nice-looking, and, as others have said, great nibs are readily available for it.

 

My 2 cents...

[John Cullen]

HI If you are still debating about the Visconti vs the Namiki, here are a few things to consider.

 

Visconti nibs are generally smooth with a very heavy flow. A Visconti medium will really put out some ink. Some of the Van Goghs come with the nonscrew on cap, and people have divided opinions about that. YOu might want to ask about that issue. Maybe Visconti changed recent Van Goghs to screw ons? Service is another issue. You might want to ask about service in the country in which you live.

 

 

Namiki Bamboo. The nibs are generally smooth but certainly with less flow than the Visconti. Also, Namiki nibs are generally going to produce a thinner line than a Visconti nib labelled as being the same size. The Namiki Fine point is really fine. The Namiki Bold nib is more of a thin medium and certainly way thinner than the Visconti Medium. I bet if you took fifty Namiki FPs from stories across New York State, a huge number of them would be perfect out of the box. I think you take a little more of a chance with Visconti.

 

If you had to send the pen in for service just having paid $180. would you flip out and write one of those outraged posts that so often appear on pen forums? Or would you be philosophical about it?

 

I live in the US and Namiki service has always been good and pretty quick for me. I had one Bamboo that had almost no flow on the upstroke. I had it back in ten days with a wonderfully adjusted nib. The other two Bamboos I have had were perfect out of the box.

 

The Namikis are also very light weight pens and the Bamboo is lighter and a little thinner at the section than the Van Goghs, if I remember correctly.

 

I kept my bamboos and sold my one Van Gogh.

 

Just my limited experience.

[bernardo]

Also - don't neglect the Parkers.

I really would neglect the Perker Vector. No way you could consider it a nice writer.

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

Duke pens are good too. I have a few up...

 

If you want, the Pilot 2A is also a starter pen, an good one.

 

I like the Lamy and Pelikan pens for starters.

 

Dillon

[bruno7]

Hello again,

 

I very much appreciate you help, guys. I know that some of you think I am crazy willing to spend so much $$$ on actually my only second FP. But there are many reasons as I already said. One of them is that I work in the States right now and I'll be leaving soon, going back home to Europe. And virtually everything is so much more expensive back there. See, weak dollar could be advantage as well. So I wanted a FP that would be the best possible for the given amount of money. That's the money I can spend right now but will not be able to spend while I'm home. And, we definetely do not have such a selection of stores, not talking about online shopping.

Anyway, I tried Visconti Van Gogh on tuesday and I really liked it. I also looked at some of those pens you guys recommended and also liked most of them. But after all I found the shape and design of Namiki Bamboo to be more appealing to me than anything alse. That pen is just unlike any other. I've seen so many pens (pictures) in the last three weeks that you wouldn't believe and right now the most beautiful one I've found is actually Nakaya Aka-tamenuri, so as you can see, I'm more attracted to simplicity and unusual design. Pity I cannot spare another $200...

Well, I'll try to get my hands on Bamboo and let you know later. And also, many of you here had some troubles with Van Goghs but none with Namiki which is very important fact to me.

Big thanks to all of you!

See you in couple of days.

 

David

 

P.S.: I just realized that I actually own one Lamy - Twin Pen which I inherited recently without even knowing it was Lamy. It had a company logo on it, didn't say Lamy anywhere but now I know. My father loved this pen very much and so will I.

[helius]

There's nothing crazy at all about wanting to spend money on fountain pen!

 

*waits for the echoes from the throng of evil enablers (a.k.a. the typical FPN members)*

 

 

:roflmho: :roflmho: :roflmho:

[kissing]

Oh no, it's not crazy at all

 

(convincing self)

[mholve]

There's nothing crazy at all about wanting to spend money on fountain pen!

Exactly. What was the question?

[SamCapote]

When in doubt, buy both.

[Gojira]

Hi Bruno,

 

If you're in the States, why not get something made in America? Then you don't have to worry about shipping costs when you're back in Europe and wishing you had bought an American pen then.

 

But for a good yet 'cheap' starter, a Sailor Sapporo is fantastic value or any of the bigger 1911s. I've yet to hear anything negative about them except that their finishes are rather plain (no fancy tortoise shell or swirled acrylics).

 

Any of the Pelikan Souverans will be a good choice too.

[lterry]

I have a Visconti Van Gogh and it has been a good pen; however, my co-worker bought one and had problems. The cap broke at the ring, the nib section was poorly made. The folks at Visconti replaced it quickly, so they do live up to their service. That being said, I have been very happy with my Stipula Novecento in marble blue with a .9 italic nib. It is priced at the same level as the Van Gogh, but IMHO a much better pen.

 

You can get a good deal on the Stipula Novecento from Weaver at www.penseller.com or Marco at www.novelli.com.

Edited August 29, 2007 by lterry