What’s your grail pen?

[Nurmister]

7 hours ago, willl said:

My grail pen is a "true" grail pen -- I have yet to actually figure out which pen it is, though I have a vague idea what I'm looking for -- an Urushi Maki-e with a Fuji-san motif and an italic or cursive italic nib (heck, I'd settle for a stub!). Fuji motifs aren't hard to find at all, but I've not found "the one" (motif wise) so far. I've been tempted to settle for a Namiki "Fuji and Dragon" which the closest to "the one" that I've found at this point but unfortunately it isn't available with italic nibs and it still doesn't quite hit the spot (motif-wise) even if it did have the nib option.

 

I agree with this. While Mt Fuji features often in the Japanese brands' art pens, I've never found one that completely blows me away. It's always too "flat". The best implementations I've seen are:

 

 

 

This 100th anniversary pen, but more because of its color scheme (blue bodies on Namiki Maki-e are my favorite -- see the Polar Bear) and nautical theme. Mt Fuji isn't the focus here, but tastefully in the background.

 

 

For its use of raised Maki-e on the Mt Fuji. Although the rest of the pen is too busy for me. I've never seen a non-Japanese urushi pen I like, something about them always feels off. But I should reserve judgement until I see one in person.

[Bo Bo Olson]

On 5/12/2021 at 11:31 PM, MoriartyR said:

Celluloid

Saved the elephants when  Hyatt invented the billiard ball out of celluloid @ 1869.

Non-smokers had an advantage, in they didn't cause the billiard balls to explode.

There use to be threads about taking special care of your celluloid pens here on the com.

 

The then brand new at the start of the War, plastic sheeting was a wonder in WW2, keeping things dry in containers in the jungles of SE Asia. One opened the plastic covered box; then the radio started corroding, not getting a box with a pre-corroded radio ready for salvage or repair at point of use.

 

Plastic became cheap, there for precious resin, so one wasn't using common cheap plastic........like give away for free cheaper than dirt fall apart plastic ball point, gave plastic a bad name.

 

It had a bad name even before cheap plastic bags were invented to replace paper bags, which costs pennies for each one....a Big Savings.....and worse inconvenience.

[Temenos]

Having only one grail pen is like marrying a perfect husband (or wife or whatever).

 

You'd find flaws and get tired of it eventually.

 

To maintain sanity and perspective, you'd need something else in rotation.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Once one has it, like said.

5 minutes ago, Modus Ponens said:

You'd find flaws and get tired of it eventually.

Though it's not that one becomes tired of it, one has other good to better pens, and if not used, might as well be (blasphemy) sold.

 

One has different great nibs, in well balanced pens; some like for me are semi-flex and a bit wetter, so not quite as good with two toned shading inks as the dryer regular flex.

Wider or narrower nibs play differently with your paper and inks.

 

What do you want the ink to do, has something to do with degrading one's grail pen to vowing to ink them after reading threads like this.

One has too many pens when one don't get around to using the great ones, at least every year.....Well buying new non-grail pens is part of the problem.

 

I'm striving to stay with 7 pens inked, so I can use up some of my inks. There were times.....years, when I'd go to Inky Thoughts and ink a pen, normally having 17 pens inked....4-5 of them one time grail pens. Or read a Grail Pen thread.

 

[txomsy]

Well, I can't agree.

 

Limiting myself to pens, the MB Slimline has been my main pen for ~30 years, and the only flaw I see in it is the nail nib. I've always liked nibs that had flexibility. That's what set me out to explore the world of flex nibs in FPs. And after all this time, I've concluded that for a modern flex I can hardly go better than the MB bespoke nib.

 

Now, I know the 146/9 are not as sturdy as a Noblesse/Slimline, but I wouldn't be able to fill in self-copy forms with a flex nib either. And if I'm to reserve the pen for formal/normal writing, then I may as well take care of it. And keep a metal pen for those rare occasions (which BTW have become rarer now one cannot travel).

 

Once you know what you really want, there is no need to spend more time, effort and money trying other things. It is much better to enjoy what you have and be content with it. Not everybody can, though, I know. But then, I fear there is only a long path of flower picking and continual dissatisfaction. How was it? He who seeks peril will perish in it?

 

Me, I know I won't get the MB bespoke, nor do I think at this time in my life I would really make that much out of it. I can feel more than content with all that I already have and even, likely, could do with most of it.

 

Come to think of it, I've got no need for a grail pen now, but certainly, the MB bespoke nib would have been my grail pen if I were 30-40 years younger now. Or maybe not. I value flex because I grew with responsive, flexible FPs and so that's what I miss. If I were so much younger now, I wouldn't have had  that experience and would likely seek something else. Bling perhaps.

[Karmachanic]

14 minutes ago, txomsy said:

I can feel more than content with all that I already have

 

The secret to a happier life, and a fatter bank balance.

[txomsy]

Thanks @Karmachanic, I fully agree.

 

As for Urushi...

 

For a long time (as long as I remember) I've wanted to have an Aka Tamenuri, real urushi pen. That's what I wanted when I was ~25-50 years old (long, long ago), and did not expect pens to come by default with nail nibs but with flexible nibs. Then nail nibs came, and finding a "properly" nibbed pen, became my top priority, ideally with a metal or wood body, piston filler, and if it were Aka Tamenuri, that would have been my grail pen, but I know, that's not all possible together. If doesn't exist, and if it ever does, or even if it already does, it would now be too late.

 

OTOH, I recently received a Kuretake brush fountain pen, of the 1 million year series, in what is described as "carey" finish. Man, did I ever think something so delicate and subtle could exist! Still haven't found the words to describe it, which is why I haven't sent a review yet. For the price I suppose it is "industrial" or "mass-low-quality" Chinese-type lacquering, but whoa! Now I no longer yearn for Aka Tamenuri. This humble little pen has blown my mind. Metal body and cap and a subtle effects lacquering, and a brush pen, which means flexibility taken beyond the other side and more. For what it may last, I intend to enjoy it as much as I can.

 

BTW, they (Kuretake) also have a mount Fuji "make-e urushi" (again I suppose industrial) brush fountain pen. No idea how it looks in real life (and no intention to get any more pens) but if it looks half as nice, it would be worth its (affordable on amazon.jp) price. I do not know if the section threading is compatible with that of another FP so one could use the body and cap for a "normal" FP section.

 

I can now forget my searches for grail pens; as I said, after trying a number of pens to get an understanding of what is available out there, I already have everything I sought... no need to seek more.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I find the '50-60's medium-large MB 146 to have great balance; posted of course; and I lucked out and got a maxi-semi-flex nib on it. Better balance than the large '70-now 146.

Some of the semi-flex era German pens do have maxi-semi-flex nibs. I'd WOG 1 in 5.

What surprised me was the superb balance. (It needs to be re-corked, but that problem will be solved soon enough.)

 

I have a 234 1/2 semi-flex KOB, a rolled gold 742 with a nib (and my only one) that is between semi&maxi. I had put it in my mind to get a MB maxi, and lucked out in a live auction lot.

I have 35 semi-flex and 15 maxi-semi-flex pens.

I really don't need any more. Got a hand full of nails, that drifted in, a 20-25 regular flex give or take, in my @ 80 pens.

Many of them have very good to superb balance.

The only problem I have is @ 1/2 it seems are black and gold. Half a decade ago, I said no more black and gold, and half the pens won in between are black and gold.

Coming up from bottom feeding, economics of paying 20-30% more for a colored German pen, left me with basic black and gold models. Well balanced, good nibbed pens of top flight German companies.

 

So, so many of them would be in my "If you could only have 5 Pens" thread answers. Make that 10 pens...

 

I'm glad you like your Slimline nail. I have a third Generation 18 K nail Noblesse; that I'll not ink; as pretty as it is.....and it shinned up nicely from the picture. It's a nail, same goes for the C d'A under it. It was part of the plastic bag lot in the picture.

 

Three more Black and Gold pens; a W.Germany 800 OM Waterman Mann200 F (narrower than my 200's EF) and a 149 (F or M); both the latter now inked. All but the two nails are regular flex.

That '94 LE Pelikan Hunter was a grail pen for a whole week, before I won the lot. It is not yet inked....desert.

 

[willl]

7 hours ago, Nurmister said:

 

 

For its use of raised Maki-e on the Mt Fuji. Although the rest of the pen is too busy for me. I've never seen a non-Japanese urushi pen I like, something about them always feels off. But I should reserve judgement until I see one in person.

 

Ooh! That's another nice option, but I agree -- it doesn't quite hit the spot (at least in virtual; maybe in person?). In my head the pen I envision has Fuji featured prominently on the body with some other (undefined) "natural elements" in the "foreground", and the cap has clouds and a (red) rising sun. Maybe one day I'll find such a pen. I'm not inclined to commission a custom one; in my mind the quest is the point of a "grail pen" -- without the quest it's essentially just another pen to me. Unless I commission it from a pen maker who only makes pens 1 day a year, only takes orders and allows pick-ups in person, and is 10+ miles back on a treacherous foot path on the top of a mountain with no roads or other access (or some equally ridiculous sort of ordeal). Or maybe I'm just weird. 

[Bo Bo Olson]

When one can think monetarily about such a limited edition, one is allowed to think himself a bit weird.

 

Of course to the whole rest of the world....."What! You paid $50! For that obsolete messy fountain pen! " is weird enough for them.

[Mr. Pink]

Waterman Patrician from about 1930

[Nurmister]

1 hour ago, willl said:

 

Ooh! That's another nice option, but I agree -- it doesn't quite hit the spot (at least in virtual; maybe in person?). In my head the pen I envision has Fuji featured prominently on the body with some other (undefined) "natural elements" in the "foreground", and the cap has clouds and a (red) rising sun. Maybe one day I'll find such a pen. I'm not inclined to commission a custom one; in my mind the quest is the point of a "grail pen" -- without the quest it's essentially just another pen to me. Unless I commission it from a pen maker who only makes pens 1 day a year, only takes orders and allows pick-ups in person, and is 10+ miles back on a treacherous foot path on the top of a mountain with no roads or other access (or some equally ridiculous sort of ordeal). Or maybe I'm just weird. 

 

I get what you mean by the description -- the closest I've seen to what you're saying is maybe this other crane-and-Mt Fuji pen. I've seen in a few pens that depict the sun where they color the mountain itself reddish rather than bring explicit focus to the sun.

 

As for your second point which speaks of the acquisition experience being part of the pen's "grailness", I think a grail doesn't have to be exactly that from the onset. Specifically, I think a decent pen that you use to good end over a long period of time and share many experiences with -- that can become an invaluable "grail" over time. I have an old Parker ballpoint that I feel that way about. In either case, I think we both want our ideal pen to be imbued with value past its function. That's part of the charm of this hobby!

[willl]

Yea, I 

39 minutes ago, Nurmister said:

 

I get what you mean by the description -- the closest I've seen to what you're saying is maybe this other crane-and-Mt Fuji pen. I've seen in a few pens that depict the sun where they color the mountain itself reddish rather than bring explicit focus to the sun.

 

As for your second point which speaks of the acquisition experience being part of the pen's "grailness", I think a grail doesn't have to be exactly that from the onset. Specifically, I think a decent pen that you use to good end over a long period of time and share many experiences with -- that can become an invaluable "grail" over time. I have an old Parker ballpoint that I feel that way about. In either case, I think we both want our ideal pen to be imbued with value past its function. That's part of the charm of this hobby!

Haven't seen that one before -- that is quite pretty!

 

As to "grailness", you do have a point -- perhaps I've watched Monty Python and Indiana Jones a few too many times!  🤣

[ethernautrix]

i have the parts of my so-called grail pen: the Nakaya Piccolo Cigar kuro-tamenuri and the Pilot PO nib.

Although...another Nakaya has caught my eye (again) (I keep ignoring it, and then...), one of the chinkin designs. Which makes me think, maybe I "should" want a custom motif on a Piccolo (with a Pilot PO).

 

Make it an eyedropper.

 

With an ink window.

 

Yeah. Not sure how that would work with the gorgeous urushi finish, but we're talking grail, right?

But the idea of it is just a fancy. I'm content with the pens I have and am not searching for more. Maybe I will, after I sell a bunch. 

[Sk33t3r]

At my current beginner level of pen-fatuation, my grail pen is a Pilot Custom 74 with a medium nib.

[RebelWriter119]

 

For me the Visconti Homo Sapiens has always been a grail pen for me. At first I really liked the way that it looked and the promise of a really good writer, but after I managed to hold one in person at a pen show I fell in love with the material that it is made of. I really love how this pen looks as amazing as it does while also being resistant to scratches. Ever since I got one I have only gotten one other pen and I really haven't been collecting that many more. The only other pen I got since the Visconti was a Lamy 2000 because I wanted something that could be a bit more practical outside the house. Then the pandemic hit and I haven't really left my house in a year so I am able to use the Visconti as much as I want. I am not going to pretend that the Visconti Homosapiens is a perfect pen, but I really love this thing. I do think having a way to check the ink level would be nice, but after using the pen for a while I can usually tell when the pen is running low on ink. Over all even though I spent over $600 on this pen, then had to ship it back to Italy for repairs when it started leaking, this is my favorite pen. Everything about the way it looks, feels, and writes makes me happy. That is until I realize the paper I have for a lot of my work can't handle the amount of ink this thing puts down.

[RebelWriter119]

16 minutes ago, Sk33t3r said:

At my current beginner level of pen-fatuation, my grail pen is a Pilot Custom 74 with a medium nib.

That is a really good choice. That thing will be super reliable and if anything ever does go wrong pilot is pretty good about standing behind there pens.

[goodpens]

I truly didn’t think I had a grail pen, but I fell in major lust with the about-to-be-released Visconti Opera Demo. All the colors are beautiful, but the soft blush pink is at the top of my list, even though it is a color I never gravitate toward (for pens, clothes, household items, etc.)

 

The shape, the silver fittings, that it posts, is semi-transparent with an ink window, the gold nib (F or EF), the filling mechanism that would do well with my high altitude life...
 

But the price is far beyond what I, personally, am comfortable paying for a pen. I like finding and fixing vintage pens and using them as daily writers, without giving them all too much TLC. They are in my pen cup, in my bag, etc. I thoroughly enjoy many pens I have that are in the $1-$75 range, and don’t have a desire for a pen at that $600 price point (though I would prefer this pen at that price than many others available at that price or higher). Snow tires, a plane ticket, expenses for other hobbies, donations, and many other things take higher priority for disposable fund$ and the pen is outside of my comfort zone. 
 

But I am tempted. If anyone has bought and been disappointed by a high end Visconti, please let me know!

[maclink]

3 hours ago, Sk33t3r said:

At my current beginner level of pen-fatuation, my grail pen is a Pilot Custom 74 with a medium nib.

Acclimatization and the quest for new experience makes pens like your grail pen a bit 'under-appreciated' as such.  Your choice is a good one and I hope that you do obtain one.

 

I inked up my Lamy 2000 and it's my current EDC for work.  It has a F nib.  I now realise why this pen has remained popular for so long.  It's so comfortable, both posted and unposted since it posts deeply and securely, making it very balanced when posted.  The nib is very well tuned and I didn't realise how well until after using so many other pens since having it in storage.  It's a piston filler with an ink window.  It's dead easy to clean since the nib/feed disassembly is easy without fear of a nib/feed misalignment when unscrewing/screwing.   Although it's a snap cap, it seals surprisingly well and I'm currently using Montblanc Permanent Black ink with it, without problems.

 

It has all the makings of a grail pen for me and at only £130.  I so much prefer it to a Parker 51... 

 

My grail pen of last, a Conid Bulkfiller Minimalistica, I've had for about a year now.  I never got on with the nib and recently switched to using a Sailor 1911L nib.  It makes for a special pen for me at the moment, but admittedly, no better a writing experience than my Lamy 2000.  

 

I find myself rapidly losing interest in exploring the more expensive offerings, although I still feel a MontBlanc 146 is another fantastic pen whose reputed quality, as a fountain pen, seems to be significantly lost in the controversy of the status symbolism of the Montblanc brand as well as their pricing.  I'll make an exception there.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Do get a '50-60 medium-large 146 (have 1); which has better balance than the Large '70-now 146 (have 2). It is a very finely balanced pen.

The factory stubbed nib of the '50-60 146 will be at least semi-flex, mine is a maxi-semi-flex.

Semi-flex or maxi-semi-flex is a flair nib, not a calligraphy nib. You can write at normal speed, the line variation is natural to how you form your letters. The first eltter of a word will be a bit wider, the loops of a b, d or l will be a tad wider. One can cross a T with a bit of flair.

 

Semi-flex was normal in that era for Pelikan, MB, Geha, Soennecken, Osmia/OFC, Kaweco and Reform to name the major pen companies that had stubbed semi-flex nibs.

Lamy was a nail.