What pen is your Holy Grail?

[I.M.]

Courtesy of Oxforddictionaries.com:

 

Definition of grail in English: noun

1 (the Grail or the Holy Grail)

 

2 A thing which is eagerly pursued or sought after: 'the enterprise society where profit at any cost has become the holy grail'

 

It's good to see that we all have different enterpretations of what we believe a grail pen to be. I personally interpret a grail pen to be one that I desire above all others, but which is beyond my reach, which would be a Nakaya Piccolo Kuro-tamenuri with a flexible fine nib. I even (perhaps foolishly) believe that if I had my grail pen I need never seek another pen again

Edited September 19, 2015 by I.M.

[Cryptos]

Technically the grail is such that in the course of seeking it, you learn to embody the principles that it epitomizes.

 

Personally I am close to understanding what my grail pen should be, and some of the available models that may satisfy the criteria. And yes, that would be the end of that search for me, but that is not to say I wouldn't like to try other pens just out of interest (i.e. without the desire to possess).

[Bookman]

…I personally interpret a grail pen to be one that I desire above all others, but which is beyond my reach, …. I even (perhaps foolishly) believe that if I had my grail pen I need never seek another pen again

 

That's my definition. It should be beyond reach but not wildly so, otherwise it isn't a holy grail quest but a snipe hunt, self-imposed. Anyway, by your definition, my holy grail pen is a Waterman Patrician Onyx.

[Zookie]

In the mid sixties I was given a cap actuated Parker ballpoint, maroon color.

It was a present from my mother for my 16th birthday.

I thought it was the most elegant thing I'd ever possessed. It was stolen a couple of months after I received it.

It awakened in me a love for fine writing instruments that I still have.

To find another just like it would make me VERY happy.

[I.M.]

In the mid sixties I was given a cap actuated Parker ballpoint, maroon color.

It was a present from my mother for my 16th birthday.

I thought it was the most elegant thing I'd ever possessed. It was stolen a couple of months after I received it.

It awakened in me a love for fine writing instruments that I still have.

To find another just like it would make me VERY happy.

 

I'm not sure if you'll find it here, but you never know... I could be proven wrong

[I.M.]

Technically the grail is such that in the course of seeking it, you learn to embody the principles that it epitomizes.

 

Personally I am close to understanding what my grail pen should be, and some of the available models that may satisfy the criteria. And yes, that would be the end of that search for me, but that is not to say I wouldn't like to try other pens just out of interest (i.e. without the desire to possess).

 

I have nothing at all against embodying the principles epitomized by my grail pen! And yes, there's no harm in trying other pens out of interest, in fact there's never any harm in trying out other pens (providing they're not NOS pens designated by the owner to stay NOS ).

[liapuyat]

My last post was way back in 2009. My tastes have changed, and my new grail pens are:

 

1) Pelikan M910 Toledo (black)

2) Nakaya Long Piccolo in heki-tamenuri with goldfish stopper

 

It'll be a long while until I can get my grails, but I'm free to dream.

[hari317]

My last post was way back in 2009. My tastes have changed, and my new grail pens are:

 

1) Pelikan M910 Toledo (black)

2) Nakaya Long Piccolo in heki-tamenuri with goldfish stopper

 

It'll be a long while until I can get my grails, but I'm free to dream.

nice to see you again on FPN!

[Preetham]

Mine is a Waterman Liaison. It still eludes me though..

[ENewton]

I recently bought what I believe is my Grail pen, a Waterman Man 100 Opera. I have suspected for some time that the Opera would be everything I wanted in a pen. It is a bit larger and heavier than the Waterman Gentleman I have used for 20 years, and it has an extra-fine nib, in contrast with the fine nib on the Gentleman. As to its appearance, it has surface patterning reminiscent of black chased hard rubber, which I love but which tends to make for a very lightweight pen.

 

In addition to being exactly to my taste, the Opera has had the Grail-like attribute of being exceedingly difficult to find. Pens currently manufactured are readily available, provided that one has the money to pay for them, and sellers of vintage pens tend to have nice selections of pens older than I am, but pens from the 1980s and 90s do not qualify as vintage and are therefore less likely to attract reputable restorers. With persistence one can find almost anything listed on eBay, but I am not a person for whom it would be practical to buy from eBay, knowing that a pen might not be as advertised and that compensating for its deficiencies could be difficult.

 

With these considerations, I knew ever since I set my sights on the Opera that I would have to be patient. Then a few weeks ago at the San Francisco Pen Show, my patience was rewarded: a seller of vintage pens happened to have an Opera that he had acquired as part of a collection of older, more valuable pens. So I bought it.

 

How does it write, you might ask? I don't know yet! I am waiting for an occasion special enough, maybe my birthday in November...

[IrishEyes]

Since joining this forum, I've seen many, MANY incredible pens that I covet. However, to this day, my "Grail pen" is the Yard-O-Led Viceroy Grand Victorian with the fine nib. The reason I joined this forum, in hopes of finding one for less than retail price. No luck, yet. Maybe someday, though, something amazing will happen, and I will have it. Here's hoping!

[Sandy Fry]

I don't lust after ANY pens. I buy what I like within my means.

 

David

[Hangglidernerd]

For true unobtanium grail pens......a Waterman's 52 used by H.P. Lovecraft would be tops.

For obtainable if I actually made a living.....I really don't know.So many possibilities.Perhaps it could be as simple as a Visconti homo sapiens bronze age with a custom cursive italic grind.Perhaps a Scriptorium pen.Someday I need to make a Waterman's C/F with a yellow body,white section and a combination of gold and stainless trim to match my yellow and white 55 Chevy but that's more of a...got to find a way to make that frankenpen happen... than a grail pen.

[claudewick]

Montblanc 146 vintage in striated green. But I need to win the lottery first...

[flipper_gv]

Montblanc new 1868 Tolstoy edition.

[rbeef]

I think The Churchman Prescriptor would fit into this... religious theme of Holly Grail

 

Though it's not very expensive, it's been on my list for quite some time now and I think it will be my next acquisition. I want it so badly, though it wouldn't be particularly useful, since I already have a Parson's Essential that's probably one of the best FPs money can buy for its price. I live in a part of the world where even Lamy Safari is viewed as an expensive item for most of us so yeah, I think a Churchman Prescriptor is my Holy Grail. And I should soon have it!

[Zookie]

A pen that writes beautifully, looks really nice, and doesn't cost a lot.

Still looking for the Parker bp.

[sandy101]

I have two.

 

The Visconti Rembrandt and my Italix Parson's Essential.

 

I enjoy writing with them a lot as the nibs are excellent, and I wonder if I actually need to buy any more pens.

 

In fact I probably need to thin the collection considerably.

[thygreyt]

For me a grail pen has to be above all a oen you can use. If you have aomething too nice or whatever and then you are afraid of using it, then whats the point??

 

My grail pen.. I have two of them and I own them.

My 70s mb 149.

Caran d'ache varius Ivanhoe.

 

Today I will say that I don't plan or I can't see buying anything that would topple them.

[Cordovian]

http://www.airlineintl.com/files/12/products1265.jpg