If You Only Had One....

[plistumi]

That would be rough were it to happen. Alas! Hmm... Let's see... I would have to go with a Pelikan Toledo M700 with a Richard Binder full flex XXF nib. Yep. Versatile enough.... and pretty.

 

 

However, if I had to choose from only vintage pens, then I would go with this Waterman 12 eyedropper pen wet noodle that I got from Rob Morrison. This is my best vintage flex pen. I have some close seconds but this is my McCoy. It may be ugly, but the nib is one serioudly well-behaved fine (as in cool) nib.

 

 

[Sasha Royale]

The hypothetical details of these kinds of questions are always amusing so I'll contribute my own inner workings of answering this...

 

I have gone to Europe to enjoy my sabbatical but while I am walking through a small village in the south of France, I am kidnapped by a criminal mastermind who calls himself "Mister Bic." I am tied to a chair that has poor lumbar support and am forced to watch as he crushes my beloved fountain pens in a cheap IKEA blender, but it gets jammed so he puts the junk blender and the pens in a bigger German-made blender. Ink is flowing everywhere like blood. Then he shines a bright light in my face and fills my pockets with cheap disposable ballpoints, threatening that I will be monitored by his henchmen. I am allowed to buy only one pen but if I lose it I cannot replace it and will be forced to use those nasty little ballpoint buggers forever. I'm deposited on the side of a road somewhere in Germany. Walking to the nearest village I use my severely limited German--"Bitte, Das auto, Hamburg, danke?"--to get a ride to Hamburg. Once there I walk to Montblanc and slap down all my money for a one-off reproduction model 139 (long ink-view), the most beautiful pen to ever be discontinued.

 

FPN Striker Team deployed to bring Mr Bic to justice. Drone mission authorized.

[Sasha Royale]

The hypothetical details of these kinds of questions are always amusing so I'll contribute my own inner workings of answering this...

 

I have gone to Europe to enjoy my sabbatical but while I am walking through a small village in the south of France, I am kidnapped by a criminal mastermind who calls himself "Mister Bic." I am tied to a chair that has poor lumbar support and am forced to watch as he crushes my beloved fountain pens in a cheap IKEA blender, but it gets jammed so he puts the junk blender and the pens in a bigger German-made blender. Ink is flowing everywhere like blood. Then he shines a bright light in my face and fills my pockets with cheap disposable ballpoints, threatening that I will be monitored by his henchmen. I am allowed to buy only one pen but if I lose it I cannot replace it and will be forced to use those nasty little ballpoint buggers forever. I'm deposited on the side of a road somewhere in Germany. Walking to the nearest village I use my severely limited German--"Bitte, Das auto, Hamburg, danke?"--to get a ride to Hamburg. Once there I walk to Montblanc and slap down all my money for a one-off reproduction model 139 (long ink-view), the most beautiful pen to ever be discontinued.

 

FPN Striker Team deployed to bring Mr. Bic to justice. Preditor drone stride authorized.

[Nokin]

I would have to say my Sailor King of Pen, with the King Eagle nib. It's not necessarily my favourite pen, but it is the most versatile because it's like having four different nibs at the same time. (If I include fine when the nib is reversed). So if I'm limited to just one pen then this is the most useful in a variety of situations.

 

http://i963.photobucket.com/albums/ae114/NokinPhoto/kop_king_eagle.jpg

 

http://i963.photobucket.com/albums/ae114/NokinPhoto/kingofpens_crosspoint.jpg

[JeanManuel]

But in reality, it would likely be a Lamy Al-Star, extra fine.

 

+1, indeed. It's hard to do more functional and reliable than the Al-Star. It's discrete and the parts are easy to find and replace.

[isaacrn]

For me it would have to be one of my MB 149's. It has a piston filler, holds tons of ink, and has one of the nicest and smoothest nibs.

[wastelanded]

My white OB Safari. It works, every time, with any ink.

[2GreyCats]

My white OB Safari. It works, every time, with any ink.

The marble green Sheaffer Vintage No Nonsense that my fiance gave me for our first Christmas as sweethearts (We were engaged less than a month later...

 

What's an OB Safari? That one doesn't ring any bells...

[todayilearned]

It would be a toss up between my TWSBI 540 and my MB 146.

 

The 540 is a workhorse but the 146 writes smooth as butter.

 

I guess since my writing is maturing and over time I would learn to appreciate finer pens the 146 would win my decision.

[keswickmouse]

I have only one FP and I am in love with it. MB 144.

It is buttery smooth and good looking.

[inkstainedruth]

The problem of course with this entire thread is that it presumes that we are *also* only dealing with one ink....

Right now the Konrad is soaking, and after that the Platinum Plaisir (which had a different ink in it) needs to be flushed. I used the Vector to write bills because it's currently loaded with Salix, but I used my Guanleming 2001 (aka "the Bay State Blue" pen) after the Konrad and the Plasir both ran out of ink when I did my morning journal today.

If I only had one pen, I'd have to be constantly flushing it and waiting for it to dry before I could write anything.... And even with only one ink, I'd need to be doing fairly regular pen maintainance and hygiene, because I'd need to have an all purpose ink (which means Kung Te Cheng or an iron gall ink so I'd feel safe using it for checks). Which of course still means that I couldn't be using the pen.... :blink:

It's good that Mr. Bic doesn't really exist, because I am not NEARLY as kickass as Scarlett Johanssen was in _The Avengers_ (although if you make me subsist on only ONE FP I will get mighty cranky...)

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[ethernautrix]

Maybe it's a limitation of my imagination, but I can't even entertain the idea that there would be a circumstance in which I would be forced to choose only one fountain pen to use for the rest of my life.

 

If I lose the pen, does it magically find its way back to me? If it breaks, does it heal overnight?

 

I need more information.

[FranklinChristoph]

Our Model 02 in Maroon. We made less than 10 of these in this color (all gone) and I had to have one for myself. Have an Extra-Fine nib on it at the moment, but I change that regularly.

 

 

http://www.franklin-christoph.com/uploads/1/0/4/5/10453260/1096326.jpg?467

 

Seth T.

Franklin-Christoph

[JimB]

Only one, eh? Hmmm... I think the Waterman 52 I picked up is the smoothest writer I have, and since it also flexes, it might keep me happy forever. But it does tend to be less and less generous in supplying ink to the nib after 2 or so pages of writing. Not running out of ink, just sort of drying up. I then have to prime the feed with a lever pull. Still, I would pick that one. So far.

[Lloyd]

If I only had one FP, I'd just go and buy a few more.

[i.like.whiskey]

Another vote for the TWSBI Micarta. Or Lamy 2000. Or Pelikan m800. Or MB 149. Or... Damn! I've gone and done it again!

[MOVIESTAR]

I thought it would be difficult for you guys to make your minds up.

 

To make it easier then you can have more than one ink and anything else you would like. Just one pen!

[Mountolive]

Cross Townsend.

 

Fantastic writer. Also, if I can have only one pen for the rest of my life, what could be better than a pen with a lifetime warranty?

Edited July 10, 2012 by Mountolive

[Scrawler]

I thought it would be difficult for you guys to make your minds up.

 

To make it easier then you can have more than one ink and anything else you would like. Just one pen!

That would still not work for me, unless it was magic ink that changed colour and nib shape as I was using it.

[Blade Runner]

The MB 149 for both its functionality and timeless aesthetics.