Help For Next Level Fountain Pen In Gold Nib!

[PranitSingh]

Hey there, this is my first post on The Fountain Pen Network and I'm a 16 year old high school student from New Delhi, India. I'm a beginner in the Fountain Pen world and I only own a Dark Lilac Lamy Safari (Medium Nib) and a Pilot Metropolitan (Fine Nib). I use Sheaffer Skrip Blue for my Lamy and Pilot Black Ink for my Metropolitan to write on my school notebooks with bad quality paper. Now considering that we in India, have a low supply of foreign fountain pen brands and what's available to me either online on Amazon India or in a local pen shop williampenn.net costs a great deal than what folks in the US pay, for instance my question is, which gold nib fountain pen would be a good option for me under or in the ballpark of $200-$250 (about INR.5000 to INR. 15000). I definately want it to be a gold nib as i want to feel the experience of writing with one getting some feedback with it maybe. Also, I feel that my Lamy Medium nib is a tad bit too thick for me and my Fine Metropolitan nib is way too thin for my liking. I feel that a European Fine or a Japanese Medium would do (As I am considering to buy a Lamy 2000 or a Platinum 3776). One last thing is that we don't get a lot of inks here in India, but I have managed to find Edelstein, Waterman, Private Reserve and Diamine Inks either online or in William Penn and I want a good Bright blue (I am considering Diamine Oxford Blue for INR. 800/$13) so which color would be a good option for an everyday blue? P.S, if anyone could find me cheaper priced gold nib pens like the Lamy 2000 with cheap international shipping online, or somewhere in Delhi, I would be very thankful. Thank You for your time!

[jar]

Welcome home. Pull up a stmp and set a spell. Gold nibs do not feel any different than steel nibs.

[escribo]

Pilot offers 14k gold nibs in soft: ef, f, m, and b in their Metal Falcon (Elabo), and at least some of those in the regular (plastic) Falcon. I have a Falcon with a gold soft extra-fine (SEF) nib. It will go from a whisker-thin line to 1mm or maybe even more, I imagine, but I don't push it.

I believe Platinum also offers soft gold nibs.

These are well within your stated price range, at least they are in the USA.

[CharlieAndrews]

Welcome! ​ Lamy 2000 tends to be a fan favourite! I've asked what everyone's favourite is, and the overwhelming response was either a Parker 51 or a Lamy 2000.

[OCArt]

Welcome to our little corner of the universe from a pen user in San Diego.

[Bluey]

I definately want it to be a gold nib as i want to feel the experience of writing with one getting some feedback with it maybe.

 

It's difficult to know what you mean by this, or what you're expecting to be different about a gold nib. You can get that very experience with a steel nib. As Jar quite rightly says there isn't much performance difference between steel and gold.

 

I do think that you're perhaps hoping that the grass is greener on the other(gold) side, but often it can be a disappointment overgrown with weeds and thorny things unless you have realistic expectations.

 

If you're wanting it to be gold just because and that you've heard that gold is bouncy and springy, in most cases it's not. Most of my gold nibs are harder feeling than the steel nibs. If that's the case though there are some soft nibs but they're not the norm. For a soft nib I would recommend the Pilot Custom 74 with a soft medium-fine nib.

Edited August 18, 2017 by Bluey

[PAKMAN]

Hello and Welcome to FPN!! Glad to have you as a member!!

[Henricum_Tropen]

Hello and welcome to FPN, from Cape Town, South Africa.

[Chrissy]

Hello and welcome to FPN. ​ IMHO gold nibs do sound and feel different to steel nibs. The Lamy 2000 would be a good start, but I would recommend a F nib.

[Carrau]

Welcome aboard, from Charleston, SC. I have a number of blue inks, including Diamine Oxford Blue, and this is a very dark blue ink which I like, however, I don't think I'd call it bright. In the Diamine line, you might look at Blue Velvet, which I find much brighter, and one I really enjoy using. Try searching here for Blue Ink Comparison: I'm sure quite a few posts will show up in the search. Once you find a few blue inks that look interesting, check each one under ink reviews for more details about the color and behavior of the ink. Some inks we'd all like to use for their color, but sometimes they have other properties that make FP users avoid them. Some of the websites where ink is sold have tools which allow you to compare several inks of your choosing side by side (Goulet Pen Company, to name one site that does this-I'm not affiliated with this site). As always when looking at inks, the color we see on the monitor may look different than it does on paper in front of us, and the same applies to whether you are viewing an ink swab versus handwriting. Still, you can get a rough idea of how inks compare to each other-for subtle differences between inks, it is affected by other factors including the nib, nib pressure, paper, etc. Good luck, and enjoy hunting.

Mike

[Sasha Royale]

Welcome !

 

For the Safari, LAMY offers several changeable nibs, including a "fine" nib. Time required for Safari nib change is twenty seconds. You wouldn't have to buy an additional pen, if you like the LAMY Safari.

What benefit do you expect to derive from from using a gold nib ?

When I was in school, I foraged for paper, using the blank backs of any paper found. I become accustomed to writing on only one side of paper. This habit is especially useful, when dealing with modern, cheap papers.

[mitto]

Greetings and welcome to FPN. For a springy/semi flex or even a flexy nib you have to go the vintage route. Buy a good old 1950s' pelikan 400 or 400NN or even the smaller sibling - the Pelikan 140.

[PenChalet]

Welcome to the Fountain Pen Network! We're glad to have you with us!

As noted, the Lamy 2000 is a great pen with a gold nib, although your experience might not change much between a gold nib and stainless steel nib.

[Wahl]

[PranitSingh]

Thank you so much everyone for taking out time from your lives to read and answer my queries. I am really loving it here at FPN as I had posted the same thing in the Indian Forum and someone really helped me by telling me a person who sells all kinds of brands of fountain pens and inks for very cheap prices compared to those online and at William Penn in my very own city!!! I do see that a lot of you guys are recommending me to go for a Lamy 2000 in Fine. I would also be comparing between different variety of blue inks as mentioned by Herrjaeger before I visit the Fountain Pen shop on my upcoming birthday on 7 September, to give myself a little gift! Thank you all agian for the the warm welcome!

[PranitSingh]

P.S, the same shop in my city is selling Lamy 2000 for $185 (INR.12000), Pelikan M600 for $295 (INR.19000) and Platinum 3776 Century for $130 (INR.8500) after discount.

Edited August 18, 2017 by PranitSingh

[hachikomustang]

Hi

 

I like the Platinum 3776 of the possibility of using the universal cartuhos adapter,but Amazon does not send to where I live.

 

Lamy Battlefield 2000,

 

Pelikan M600/605 blades, good design

 

Pilot Custom 74

 

Pilot Custom Heritage 92

 

Pilot Custom Heritage 912

 

The Parker ink has a subtle brightness and light blue Visconti or Waterman. Greetings

Edited August 23, 2017 by hachikomustang

[Grampy55]

I would have to agree with the overwhelming majority of responses on this thread thus far. You can't go wrong with the Lamy 2000 and I too would recommend a Fine nib. The Pelikan M600/605 is a great great pen as well but a bit more pricey than the Lamy. Good luck and let us know what you decide!