50Th Birthday Present Help Please!

[Zawjah]

Hi,

 

I want to buy my husband a new pen for his 50th. I actually know nothing about pens. He has a reasonable collection.

I am looking at the

 

Visconti homosapien

 

Caran d'Ache Leman - Bicolour Black Silver Trim Fountain Pen

 

S.T. Dupont Elysee - Black Gold Trim Fountain Pen

 

Caran d'Ache Leman - Ebony Black Gold Trim Fountain Pen

 

Pelikan M 800 SouverÌ_n - Blue & Black Gold Trim Fountain Pen

 

 

Any feedback on either of these pens would be much appreciated. I am not sure what nib he uses but I was thinking of calling the store he bought his last pen from and asking what nib it had on it otherwise I was just going to get a medium.

 

Thanks

[Mr. Pink]

To be honest, if I were your husband I'd want you to ask me for input. My wife has bought me several pens, but never without her asking me exactly what I want.

[thiagojp]

Hello! I think it's great you want to give your husband such a nice pen as gift! I also think you should ask him on his prefferences, but if it must be a surprise I would recommend either a pelikan m1000 ( the quality leap from the m800 is huge) or a sailor 1911 large with a B nib. It has a great QC, and the B nib suits many writing tastes. I don't have any caran d'ache or dupont, but I have a homo sapiens and their QC is not the best. On this price point you can even get a sailor King of pen, wich seems to be an outstanding pen. Or, why not a custom Edison?

[Namo]

What pen does he have? What are his favorites? Penpeople tend to be picky about:

 

The filling mechanism (cartridges, self fulling as piston filler, vacuumfiller...)

 

The nib size (extra fin to triple large)

 

The lenght and weight of the pen - a metal pen will be heavier than a celluloid or ebonite pen, and the filling mechanism may add some weight.

 

The material: some material are more pleasant to hold than other. Some people hate metal grip sections, other love ebonite only pens, some just don't really care.

 

Example: the Homo Sapiens is a vacuum filler (the bronze model anyway), so it does not take cartridges. The nib is kind of soft and springy (some love that other demand stiff nibs), the pen is on the heavy side and made out a special material, a mix of lava and some plastic, the grip section is short and there is a ring at the top of the section which might be or might not be troublesome.

 

And so on.

 

One solution might be to buy from a stationary store. You could ask the seller if your husband can come and change the pen.

 

Happy 50th to the happily married man!! ;-)

Edited May 2, 2015 by Namo

[Frank C]

I think a surprise visit to the pen store might be helpful. That you and the pen store people can see what really interests him. And you can get him a pen—and nib—he really wants.

[Zawjah]

Frank we don't actually have a decent pen store. We buy from over seas when on holiday.

 

Thanks for the input guys.

 

I would love for it to be a surprise, I'll just have to be sneakier and check his pens. If I get it wrong he can always return it or change nibs.

Edited May 2, 2015 by Zawjah

[mirosc]

oh well, I don't think his range of fountain pens tells much about the pen he secretly covets.

I would buy a bottle of ink, put a nice voucher for a fountain pen of his choice in there and let him decide. Or you ask him beforehand.

 

My wife did that and I was so happy that she asked me. I enjoyed it much more - the pen she had originally in mind... well, I would have used it twice or three times a year, nice pen no doubt, but definitely not my first choice.

[Zawjah]

Thanks Namo for your helpful post!!!

[Zawjah]

Thiagojp is the pelikan m1000 much bigger than the m800?

I actually had a look at the M805 in a store which didn't have the m1000 which I was originally looking at. I really like the M805 in blue and silver. but it would have been nice to compare sizes.

[Parker51]

Could you take a few pictures of your husbands pens? Please focus on the nibs. Then post them, and crowd source their identification in regard to clues this would provide. Also, if he is going to carry the pen with him you may want to consider a case as well. All of the pens you identified are of the cost point so as to suggest that they should be protected if they are going to leave the home.

[beboy]

And what about a nice vintage pen from 1965?

[thiagojp]

Hello again, Zawjah!

The M1000 is not that much bigger than the m800, less than one Cm. It's a bit thicker and slightly heavier. But the nib is almost twice as big as the one in the m800, and is more springy, cushioned. The m800 nib is more of a nail. The writing experience is much better, if you like soft nibs. The downside is that they don't make it in blue, only in black, green and demonstrator.

[Zawjah]

Thanks Thiagojp,

You have been super helpful. I had a look at his GF faber-castell and the nib had a M on it so I'm assuming it's just a standard medium nib. I am going to another place to look at the m1000 like you have suggested. There is also a m800 there so I can compare them and also compare against the Montblanc 149 that he has. Thanks again. I Know it's a bit risky buying one without asking but all your advice has been really positive.

[inkstainedruth]

I'll admit that while I like the idea of you trying to surprise your husband, it's really hard for us to guess what he might be interested in. My husband has flat out told me he will never buy me a pen because he doesn't know what to get that I'd like (of course I could give him hints... ).

I'm afraid that I have no experience with any of the pens you mentioned. They're all way too pricy for me, and I know from experience that the Pelikan M800 is too big a pen for me (I have smallish hands). Otherwise, I'd tell you that one in a heartbeat (I love my Pelikans, and really want to get a blue striated M400 at some point, when I can maybe afford it).

Do you have any fountain pens yourself? One way to maybe (secretly) get a feel for what he'd like is to ask him to maybe help you look for one for yourself: ask him what sort of nibs he likes to to write with, get his opinion on what brands he would recommend, and then slowly work around to gauging his thoughts on the pens on your short list (or similar, smaller pens that might be good for you from the same companies).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Gilberto Castaneda]

Hi from Mexico.

 

Being an expensive gift, you have to allow for no back firing.

 

How about of "borrowing" one of his pens boxes. Write a "No pen here, but make a wish and you will get it" note. on a PS in that note, congratulate him for his wonderful and thoughtful wife.

 

Then, from that moment until you get him his gift, the pleasure will be anticipated, then he will have a pen for your grandchildren, at least.

 

I would personally go for Pelikan, either M-80X or M-100X, including demonstrators, I have two of each.

 

Cheers,

 

G

[them700project]

The new Pelikan 805 Stresemann is amazing. I have a few Pelikans only one 800, though I have my eyes on this one though. You can not go wrong with Pelikan in my opinion

[mmg122]

Have to agree with them700project...the new Pelikan M805 Stresemann is a gorgeous pen...very manly IMO. Does he have large hands? He seems to like large pens ie Montblanc 149. If so, a Pelikan M1000 might be more to his liking. I have to agree with Ruth and Gilberto, that you can't go wrong with a Pelikan.

[Ron Z]

I've worked on some of the other pens, and haven't been impressed. I like the 800 though, and like Pelikan's customer service. The 1000 is good too, but it's really big. The 800 is closer to the vintage oversize pens like a Duofold Sr (almost exactly the same diameter) or a Sheaffer Flat top Sr. The MB 149 is a fatter pen, and if he really likes that in his hand maybe the 1000 would be the one to get.

 

In addition to nib width of his favorite pen(s) look at the diameter of the pen and the distance from the tip of the nib to the section. A larger/longer nib sets your fingers farther away from the page. I find that I feel cramped with a pen that has a short nib and end up gripping the pen farther back on the barrel, which feels weird.

[Lam1]

Like many have said, we fountain pen people are really, really picky about our pens, and little things make a huge difference in how much we enjoy the pen. Some people love extra-fine nibs, some love broad and, in general, those who like one don't like the other. So perhaps it is not a bad idea to ask, even if it ruins the surprise you will be assured that he will love it to bits. And if he is anything like most of us, he will still be anxious and excited about it like a child.

 

That said, of the pens mentioned above I only have the Pelikans (the Homo Sapiens is in the mail on its way to me). Both the M1000 and the M800 are really nice pens, and in my opinion there is no difference whatsoever in quality between them. The difference is only in size and writing experience. I have both and love both, but the M1000 is really large and some people don't like to use them. The M800 seems to be the perfect size for a larger number of people. In terms of the nib, the M1000 is larger and thus has more spring, but that in itself is not necessarily an advantage, since it depends on taste and the intended use of the pen: even though I love the M1000, I think it has too much spring for fast writing and I only use it for leisurely writing, for most other things I reach for my M800s. In any case, you can't go wrong with either of them.

 

Good luck in your decision and happy birthday to your husband.

Edited May 8, 2015 by Lam1

[delano]

And what about a nice vintage pen from 1965?

 

 

A love letter hand written from you to him, with a nice colored ink and parchment paper, shadowboxed with the pen you wrote it with.