Recommendation, please

[meanwhile]

QUOTE (Lennart Wennberg @ Mar 5 2007, 08:49 AM)

Dear Christine, As a colleague, (Family Medicine), I want to make these comments: At work I use at least two different FP:s: The first is a Pelikan Go! M75 filled with just any ink. With this pen I make notes while taking the patients history, and while examining the patient. The second pen is a Parker Frontier with italic nib filled with Noodler´s Zhivago. With this pen I sign important documents like referrals and statements. These pens have at least two properties in common. They are both cheapos but more important: They have snap-on caps. As a busy doctor you simply do not have the time to screw and un-screw a cap all the time and it also wears down the threads faster. Why not a Phileas with italic nib? Or a Pilot/Namiki VP?

This makes a lot of sense. The Kultur nib can easily be tweaked into superbness, btw. See www.nibs.com/Article6SmoothingAdjusting.htm.

 

If you don't want to use a pen in the Kultur/Frontier price range then:

 

I think the Parker 75, Parker 51 (NOT "the Special Edition" but the real vintage 51)/Hero 100 Flighters, M600, and Sheaffer Targa could be good choices for youl. Of these the Targa and 100 are likely to be cheapest. The Targa has a nib that works well for signing carbons. You can buy all these of these pens easily on ebay.

 

Btw - you do know that ordinary fountain pen inks wash off paper in water? You might want to start using a Noodler's waterproof ink. Or you could use the traditional "registrar's ink", but this can be hard on pens - keep it to something like a Kultur.

 

 

[Christine]

Awww! Thanks everyone! You're the best!! It's gonna be tough...maybe I'll just HAVE to get more than one...

[BillTheEditor]

QUOTE (Christine @ Mar 5 2007, 04:28 PM)

Awww! Thanks everyone! You're the best!! It's gonna be tough...maybe I'll just HAVE to get more than one...

That's why there's an "N" in FPN -- for ENablers.

 

We've got a 12-Step Program, but it works kind of opposite to the kind you may be more familiar with ...

[Srehman]

Still in fellowship here, but I write a ton of notes a day, and have been rotating my near-dozen FPs through to see which can bear the grind the best.

 

It seems the real troopers so far have been the Phileas and Pilot 78G; the Pilot 78G is just amazing to write with and I can work with it not worrying too much-- unlike my Parker Sonnet which fell and cracked a nib. My Pelikan M200 just returned from Chartpak, and since I like its nib MUCH better than the Phileas, it has taken the Phileas' place.

 

I gave my Parker "51" a run-through-- firstly, I was afraid it would take a knock, and secondly, it is a fairly wet writer and all the inks I used in it tend to feather on inferior paper, such as those in hospital charts.

 

The Waterman Hemsiphere is cheap and fantastic writer, but it looks too pretty to take the sort of abuse I'm likely to subject it to. I'm also looking forward to the return of my Lamy ST with its new nib-- now that's a pen that can take some punishment!

 

I also have a Parker 45 Flighter-- that's the only pen to not have taken a tour through the hospital, mostly because I like the M200/78G combo so much.

[gcedillo]

Hi Christine Iam new to the forum. Iam a Medical Oncologist so I write a lot of prescriptions and lengthy chemo regimes.

Scheaffer legacy, Cross Townsend Tuxedo , Cross Verve, Pilot vanishing point carbonesque, all of them good writers , less than $200 and readily available.

I like Pelikans (200, 250, 400 or 600), theyre good writers the screwing of caps wont distract you , a lot of things in private practice will.

As for the less talking just wait and see. A private patient requires all of your attention, empathy, compassion and patience, he is paying for it and if you dont give them that then you´ll have a lot of time for penmanship and not many patients.

 

<<<<good luck and many successes

 

 

 

edited for orthography

Edited March 6, 2007 by gcedillo

[Christine]

Ya know, I didn't think of it (I suppose being such a newbie), but my Phileas (M) has seemed a little inconsistent. Now I realize that it is the paper (duh). It really dislikes our clinic's paper! FYI, I'm an Internist... a long-winded one at that (huh, you don't say). With the "less talk more writing" thing, I was referring more to chatting with residents and patients and that my documentation will be more lengthy without the residents... Don't want to sound like a patient mill, although I will be working in a multi-specialty group, who I'm sure will encourage "efficiency". Yup, that'll be distracting (I love that word choice gcedillo!). Oh, and it doesn't have to be red or laquered...function is really my priority. THANKS again!!!! You all have really helped me consider pens I wouldn't have thought of...

[BillTheEditor]

QUOTE (Christine @ Mar 5 2007, 11:42 PM)

I'm an Internist

Does anyone still tell that joke about the difference between a surgeon, an internist, and a pathologist?

 

A surgeon can do everything but doesn't know anything.

 

An internist knows everything but can't do anything.

 

A pathologist knows everything and can do everything ... but it's too late.

 

(badaboom -- rimshot)

 

 

Sorry. I'll behave now.

 

(This joke was originally told to me by a forensic pathologist during an interview that I unfortunately had to do while the doctor was performing an autopsy, which may explain a lot.)

[Christine]

QUOTE (BillTheEditor @ Mar 5 2007, 10:33 PM)

That's why there's an "N" in FPN -- for ENablers. We've got a 12-Step Program, but it works kind of opposite to the kind you may be more familiar with ...

You're so funny! This kind of therapy could get expensive, seeing as my HMO doesn't cover it! (don't worry, I won't quit my day job)

[Christine]

QUOTE (BillTheEditor @ Mar 6 2007, 05:51 AM)

Does anyone still tell that joke about the difference between a surgeon, an internist, and a pathologist?

Ooh, very good, very good...I'll have to borrow that one...

[kenny]

QUOTE (BillTheEditor @ Mar 6 2007, 12:51 AM)

QUOTE (Christine @ Mar 5 2007, 11:42 PM) I'm an Internist Does anyone still tell that joke about the difference between a surgeon, an internist, and a pathologist?   A surgeon can do everything but doesn't know anything.   An internist knows everything but can't do anything.   A pathologist knows everything and can do everything ... but it's too late.   (badaboom -- rimshot)   I heard a somewhat different joke about medical specialties:   A surgeon, an internist and a family practitioner were out together on a duck hunt.   The first bird flies overhead. The surgeon shouts, "Duck!", leaps up, grabs his high powered rifle, and shoots the bird.   A bit later, another bird flies overhead. The internist shouts, "Duck! Rule-out goose! Rule-out swan!". He then grabs his shotgun and shoots the bird.   A bit later, a third bird flies overhead. The family practitioner grabs a machine gun, leaps up and fills the sky with lead. A moment later, the remnants of a battered, bullet-ridden bird carcass falls to the earth.   The family practitioner turns to the other two and says, "I don't know what the hell that was, but I got it!"

[FLZapped]

Christene,

 

You do have a mess on your hands, under the $150 mark there are a bunch of choices, new and vintage.

 

New, well, you should be able to get a Parker 100 for around $120 on the 'bay,

No red, but functional, fairly large, heavy since it is metal.

 

-Bruce

[gcedillo]

Christine I know its a sin but have you seen the Monteverde Inkroller?.

 

I think I´ll try it for carbon copies and such.

 

Whatever excuse you can get to buy new toys is good.

[jpolaski]

I've got to plug the "51" aero. Bulletproof, slip cap, and they stay wet for insane amounts of time with the cap off. If you pick one up from a reputable seller they can make the nib any way you need it. The one I have writes just wet enough to be smooth, but dry enough to where when my hand passes over it moments later (I'm a lefty) it's dry as a bone. I also use it on papers from cheap copy to multi-part carbonless invoices, without ANY feathering.

[southpaw]

Many, many good choices, some of which are: Pelikan M200/M400/M600, Pilot/Namiki Vanishing Point (IF you can handle the clip placement), Sailor 1911 & 1911M, Signum Orione, Sheaffer Modern Balance, Sheaffer Legacy, and this doesn't even begin to touch on the vintage options, which are nearly limitless!

[Nihontochicken]

QUOTE

I've got to plug the "51" aero. Bulletproof, slip cap, and they stay wet for insane amounts of time with the cap off. If you pick one up from a reputable seller they can make the nib any way you need it. The one I have writes just wet enough to be smooth, but dry enough to where when my hand passes over it moments later (I'm a lefty) it's dry as a bone. I also use it on papers from cheap copy to multi-part carbonless invoices, without ANY feathering.

 

What he said. I'm not a lefty, but my brother is, and if he were bright enough to use a fountain pen, I'm certain he'd choose a Parker 51 Aerometric.

[Srehman]

QUOTE (kenny @ Mar 6 2007, 01:31 AM)

I heard a somewhat different joke about medical specialties: A surgeon, an internist and a family practitioner were out together on a duck hunt. The first bird flies overhead. The surgeon shouts, "Duck!", leaps up, grabs his high powered rifle, and shoots the bird. A bit later, another bird flies overhead. The internist shouts, "Duck! Rule-out goose! Rule-out swan!". He then grabs his shotgun and shoots the bird. A bit later, a third bird flies overhead. The family practitioner grabs a machine gun, leaps up and fills the sky with lead. A moment later, the remnants of a battered, bullet-ridden bird carcass falls to the earth. The family practitioner turns to the other two and says, "I don't know what the hell that was, but I got it!"

Oh? My version was (cut-and-pasted from the first)...

 

A surgeon, an internist, a psychiatrist and a pathologist were out together on a duck hunt.

 

The first bird flies overhead. The internist shouts, "Duck! Rule-out goose! Rule-out swan!" and shoots the bird.

 

The second bird comes along and the psychiatrist shouts "Flying Fowl, NOS" and shoots it.

 

When the third bird flies overhead, the surgeons grabs his rifle and shoots it, then yells to the pathologist, "Hey, go see whether that was a duck I shot..."

[Latro21]

i havent read all the responses, but id recommend a pilot vanishing point. you wont have to mess around with a cap since its retractable, which would allow quick jotting and writing onehanded. you cant get more funtional than a retractable fountain pen.

 

it comes in red, and you can get it around $100, and just under that from oscar braun.

 

if you like a fine line, get the fine nib. if you like a western medium [like a Med phileas] get the medium nib, as it is a western size med, unlike most japanese made M nibbed pens, which run finer.

 

if you decide you would like to buy one, first grab a few pens and practice holding them in a writing grip on the cap so you can see if the clip on the VP would get in the way of your grip, since you said you cant try it out in person first.

[Christine]

QUOTE (gcedillo @ Mar 6 2007, 10:13 PM)

Christine I know its a sin but have you seen the Monteverde Inkroller?. I think I´ll try it for carbon copies and such. Whatever excuse you can get to buy new toys is good.

Ooh, very pretty. Have you tried it?? Is it smooth like butter?

[lefty928]

QUOTE

These pens have at least two properties in common. They are both cheapos but more important: They have snap-on caps.

Along those lines, the Pilot Knight is in the same range as the Phileas -- and it's metal, so it might be more the weight you prefer (a little heavy for me). I have the silver, but some places carry them in other colors. And it is smooth. Kissing has written an enthusiastic review of the Knight, and he has a burgundy one. People here have also praised the Hero 100 flighter that has been recommended in this thread. Again, it's metal, so might have the heft you like. (I have small-medium hands, find the Phileas and Knight good sizes for me.)

 

QUOTE

(This joke was originally told to me by a forensic pathologist during an interview that I unfortunately had to do while the doctor was performing an autopsy, which may explain a lot.)

!

 

edited to add this P.S. Winedoc has Tac Carry IIs listed in The Marketplace right now. They don't last long and people seem to love them. (Again, I prefer lightweight pens, so I have no personal experience with one.)

Edited March 8, 2007 by lefty928

[gcedillo]

Well, yes Christine it is smooth (not buttery tough), however I felt it strange not being a FP.

More on that later when I use more this thing.