One Pen For Life

[lahlahlaw]

My dark copper Esterbrook J with a 9668 nib.

[FLZapped]

Parker 61.

[mmg122]

My Esterbrook green Icicle LJ with #2284 nib with Diamine Ancient Copper ink...I could be a very happy camper with just this one pen although I would certainly miss the rest.

[ac12]

A) A modern, production pen = ? None yet, as I don't have enough experience with modern currently in production pens. It would probably be one of the Japanese pens or a Pelikan M400.

 

B1 ) A vintage pen (after I was born) = Parker 180 with a B/F nib

 

B2 ) A vintage pen (before I was born) = Parker Vacumatic clip/desk pen in a color TBD with a F nib.

 

C) A hypothetical and/or custom pen that does not exist (at least yet) = A Pelikan M400, but in the smaller diameter of the M100 with a GOOD XF nib, that is convertible to a desk pen, and comes with a desk base.

 

 

oops, seems that I posted twice. Well at least I am consistent on B, with the Parker 180.

Edited April 9, 2015 by ac12

[AAAndrew]

it's the same as my "from my cold dead fingers" pen. A Parker 51 with a butter stub nib. None of my other pens come close. I may be in the mood for one or the other of them e very once in a while, but this is the one that will be with me to the end. Maybe when I'm 92 and I have to downsize everything and can only have one pen, this will be the one.

 

Not sure about the ink yet. I'll have to try them all out first before I decide. I'm working on it.

[Ratel]

Hard question and I wish I've never made that kind of choice. But if I had to for me it would be:

 

Modern: Hakase (my favorite pen, that I constantly use)

Vinatage: either Parker 51, or Pelikan 140 (none of them I have, but I will buy)

 

Ink: either Kon-peki or Ku-Jaku.

[thatotherguy1]

Just because I'm curious as to what the new users and others will say,

 

Resurrected!

 

Seriously though, there seem to be quite a few new members on here, so I'd like to see how they'd answer this question.

Edited June 5, 2015 by thatotherguy1

[vPro]

A) since I don't own that many pens yet, I dont have a modern pen that just does it all for me. My best writer is my Waterman Exclusive but due to its slender design it gets a bit uncomfortable with prolonged usage. However I think something like a OMAS would fit the bill for me, especially with the Bronze Arco finish.

 

Vintage Parker 51, Vacumatic or Waterman's 7. I don't own the latter but I own the other ones and they're both fantastic pens. Since the nib of my Parker 51 broke I have really missed it. It was super reliable, lightweight and comfortable.

 

C) a piston filling pen (not for any specific reason other than 'I like it') with a beautiful design, maybe 10-sided, a clear ink-window, big ink capacity, smooth threads that don't dig into the hand, comfortably large but not overly so, postable without becoming back heavy, 14K gold nib with a special breather hole shape and a smooth, smooth, juicy nib. Either flexible or smooth cursive italic. If. I had this, I would need nothing more. Ever. If you know a pen that comes close, please let me know. I'll save up for it.

[acolythe]

Pelikan M1000 fine or Delta Dolce Vita. Possibly my 1950's Aurora88P with semi flex nib

[langere]

Ah, yes - I was also going to say my Aurora 88, with Aurora Black ink.

 

But then I am thinking a lot of inking up my Sheaffer Legacy - so is that my one pen? It's usually the pen I do not have inked up...

 

Erick

[Bklyn]

This is a great question. To have to choose singularity in a world of multiples and endless possibilities is a wonderful exercise in determination, discipline and objective reasoning.

 

My choice would be either my Edison Collier or my new Bosi that was made for me just last week in all black with a simple thin gold band just under the clip. The ink I would use is Bay State Blue and the nib would be medium. (A Goulet nib of course.)

[FountainPages]

One pen? Maybe two...Aurora Optima Resin and Conid Bulkfiller Minimalistica. I could live my life out with just two pens

[Bklyn]

One pen? Maybe two...Aurora Optima Resin and Conid Bulkfiller Minimalistica. I could live my life out with just two pens

Just looked at that Conid Bulkfiller Minimalistica. Wow. Just beautiful. I am trying to figure out the pricing but they are not in dollars. That is an amazing looking pen.

[Frank C]

Just looked at that Conid Bulkfiller Minimalistica. Wow. Just beautiful. I am trying to figure out the pricing but they are not in dollars. That is an amazing looking pen.

 

The price depends on the options. i built one, with a clip, a wrench, and a Titanium nib—the only way to go in my opinion—for €405, at today's exchange rate, about $450.

 

After getting my first Bulk filler, I have decided to order a new one after I get each pen. In six months or so, I will have one of each of the variations. My regular demonstrator with a fine titanium nibs goes everywhere with me nowadays. I have it filled with Bung Box 4B Blue-Black and it is just beautiful—and built like a tank. Werner and Francis are very easy to work with. I highly recommend their pens.

[Namo]

A) since I don't own that many pens yet, I dont have a modern pen that just does it all for me. My best writer is my Waterman Exclusive but due to its slender design it gets a bit uncomfortable with prolonged usage. However I think something like a OMAS would fit the bill for me, especially with the Bronze Arco finish.

Vintage Parker 51, Vacumatic or Waterman's 7. I don't own the latter but I own the other ones and they're both fantastic pens. Since the nib of my Parker 51 broke I have really missed it. It was super reliable, lightweight and comfortable.

C) a piston filling pen (not for any specific reason other than 'I like it') with a beautiful design, maybe 10-sided, a clear ink-window, big ink capacity, smooth threads that don't dig into the hand, comfortably large but not overly so, postable without becoming back heavy, 14K gold nib with a special breather hole shape and a smooth, smooth, juicy nib. Either flexible or smooth cursive italic. If. I had this, I would need nothing more. Ever. If you know a pen that comes close, please let me know. I'll save up for it.

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/uploads/post-106179-0-71446200-1380249602.jpg

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

A solid gold Onoto Magna Classic with a Broad Nib!

[FountainPages]

Just looked at that Conid Bulkfiller Minimalistica. Wow. Just beautiful. I am trying to figure out the pricing but they are not in dollars. That is an amazing looking pen.

I paid 384.00USD with clip and fine steel nib.

[fly_us]

1. My Pelikan M600

2. My Parker 51.

3. A ink-less pen that provides the fountain pen feeling.

 

For the ink, it is a hard one. I could take either Iroshizuku Ajisai or Diamine ancient cooper.

[thatotherguy1]

Just looked at that Conid Bulkfiller Minimalistica. Wow. Just beautiful. I am trying to figure out the pricing but they are not in dollars. That is an amazing looking pen.

If it makes a difference to you, that (very innovative, elegant and ingenious) filling system was designed by one of FPN's own... he goes by Fountainbel here. I don't have one, but I love the look and the filling system, which means that I'll probably have one somewhere down the line. They've gotten nothing but glowing reviews from what I can see. They are in the extreme price range though (for me at least).

 

Thank you very much for the kind words on my query in the OP btw

[catbert]

Through much of school and university my one pen was a sterling ciselé Parker 75, and the one ink was Quink blue-black. The pen has some dings and the threads are fixed with tape, but the XF nib is a joy, and it has stood the test of time. So I could go back to that …

Or, a Parker 51 would be appropriate for a 51st post. I have a Special with a 14K F nib that I like a lot.

Alternatively:

A. Modern/production pen: Probably Lamy 2000 EF. Mine is of recent manufacture but I tend to think of the model as vintage.

B. Vintage pen: If not the 75 or 51 - and since current ownership is not required - my father’s Parker 61 (F?), a gift from my mother, with his initials engraved. I lost it. Its NOS stand-in feels less sturdy somehow. Perhaps I’m projecting because of what I’ve learned about the plastics, or maybe I baby pens more now. For range of nib-feel in a single pen, Aurora 88, Omas 361 and Lus 53 are contenders.

C. Custom pen: If I can’t have all my pens, I want one that incorporates the best of them all. Naturally, this would be my first choice.

Ink: A black or blue-black suited to writing and line drawing on a variety of papers, and capable of some shading and ink-wash effects. Not sure what it is yet.

 

Is anyone here really trying to get down (or back) to one pen and one ink for ever?