Your top 3 fountain pen brands and why

[max dog]

Montblanc:

The nibs are all remarkable.  There is so much character that give more writing pleasure than any other brand for me.  Nibs have a wonderful tactile feel on paper, and always puts down a wonderful generous line and brings out the beauty of the ink.  I'm drawn to the Montblanc nibs.  The 149 Calligraphy flex nib is the best nib money can buy on a modern pen, rivaling the best of the vintage flex nibs.

 

Lamy: 

They make such reliable and well designed pens.  Lamy Safari and 2000, wow!  Love the engineering and cutting edge designs.   The nib on the 2000 is one of the finest in fountainpendome.  They offer great value.  

 

Yard O Led:

Work of art!  Their pens are stunning, each hand crafted and unique, and the nibs write great!  

 

 

 

[A Smug Dill]

1. Sailor. The nibs (in pen models priced above ¥2,000+tax) are all remarkable, including the nibs on the Lecoule (and the even cheaper Profit Jr) model, with good performance and practically unmatched level of product consistency across units of identical nibs. There is so much character in how even the ‘regular’ nibs write that give more writing pleasure than any other brand for me. Nibs have a wonderful tactile feel on paper, and put down (almost ‘surgically’) precise ink marks as intended by a user who understands the character of Sailor nibs.
   
   Sailor's full range of specialty nibs are the best nibs money could buy on modern pens; and, even now with the available range of options reduced by more than half since 2018, the remaining eight options — in addition to the ‘standard’ seven (EF, F, MF, M, B, Music, and Zoom) that are available on even entry-level (steel-nibbed) Profit Casual and (gold-nibbed) Profit Light models — dwarf any other single brand's appeal to either calligraphy or versatility/range. In my experience, its 14K gold EF nibs easily rival Platinum's lauded, claim-to-fame Ultra Extra Fine nibs in terms of putting down fine lines of ink.
   
   The minority interest in ‘soft’ and ‘flex’ nibs in the market is what Sailor does not cater to; there's Pilot and Platinum for those. Whereas Aurora, HongDian, Lamy, Montblanc, Santini Italia, etc. all clamour to implement some form of the highly-regarded and sought after Naginata Togi nib design (whether they call their version Goccia, ‘blade‘, ‘hanzi’, ‘curved’, ‘Chinese calligraphy’, or by any other name). 
   
   Sailor also implemented the equivalent of Platinum's Slip & Seal mechanism, but without fanfare or making it an explicit selling point, in select (including Promenade, Realo, etc.) models; and, unlike the Platinum #3776 (as well as Vicoh, Balance, etc.) models that are not expressly fitted with spring-loaded inner caps, Sailor pens without such a feature still seal extremely well by default; any of my Profit and Professional Gear pens, and even the Lecoule and Profit Jr pens, would keep a fill of ink for over a year while laying unused and undisturbed, and write without hard-starting upon being uncapped after all that time. (The only real disappointment in that regard, among Sailor's reasonably pricey models, that I know of is the now-discontinued Precious Wood of the World series, and I suppose any other models in that same mould. I haven't tried all of Sailor's models, including the clipless ebonite ones, however.)
   
   Sailor has also taken the step of offering the Sailor Bespoke service, which is unique among any fountain pen brand with large production volumes (as opposed to artisan pen producers, or the likes to Edison Pen Company, to which the individual customer may send ‘private‘ requests for a customised pen) in the industry, and not just rare and uncharacteristic of Japanese companies.
    
2. Pilot. Even though I'm personally not such a big fan of the Custom line, there is no doubt the production quality and consistency is high; and it offers sixteen different nib options in that product line, not including the Elabo (aka Falcon) line's of Soft nibs in various width grades, to cater to different handwriting techniques and requirements — those who hold their pens upright, those who hold their pens at a shallower angle, those who write with a light hand, and those who are apt to press down hard. It offers gold nibs in a wide range of physical sizes, from number 3 to number 30. Oh, and in my experience, its size #5, 14K gold EF nibs also rivals the performance of Platinum UEF nibs.
   
   In current production, Pilot has the Justus 95 model, again with a range of width grades as options, that offers a variable nib softness/hardness control. It still has the Elite 95S model, while both Sailor and Platinum have abandoned producing the well-loved pocket pen style of old. It has piston-filler and vacuum-filler models in the Custom line. Then, of course, it has the iconic Capless models (with ‘Vanishing Point‘, Décimo, LS, and Fermo variants). It has extremely well-regarded urushi and maki-e pens, including in the main brand and the artisan Namiki sub-brand. Yet even the performance of the humble (‘school pen’ level) Kaküno, Penmanship, and Plumix models it offers is nothing the sneeze at; Pilot's steel EF nibs and Italic nibs (called CM, for Calligraphy Medium, on the Prera and MR models, and just plainly by width grade on the Plumix and Pluminix models) are supremely consistent and well-loved.
   
   Gold-nibbed Pilot models seal very well, in my experience, in spite of the total absence of spring-loaded inner caps. (Not so much the MR and Prera models with steel nibs and snap-caps.)
   
   Nobody else covers such a broad range, in such high production volumes and yet maintain such a high level of consistency in product quality.
    
3. Majohn, formerly known as Moonman. It just keeps bringing out models of reasonably high (to very high) quality at such a furious pace; and, like Pilot, what its product range covers is vast. Piston-fillers, eyedropper-fillers (with or without a shut-off mechanism, pocket pens, capless pens. Its A1 model is almost as good as the basic Pilot Capless (‘Vanishing Point‘), with what I'd say >85% of what the Pilot Capless offers (except for the latter's excellent gold nib) but at about 15% of the latter's price. Its P136 model comes with so many nib options and adapters, including housings for JoWo and Bock nibs and feeds, and a tool to work on the pen, all as ready retail products for would-be tinkerers and nib-swappers to order. The demand for the A1 and P136 models are so high, not just in the brand's primary market but also from overseas, that the asking prices on AliExpress and eBay remained buoyant (far above Majohn's retail prices) for months after initial release. Even before the P136, it was happy to offer some models tapped for Bock or Schmidt nib units. It satisfies a wide range of material lusts with the pretty acrylics, aluminium, steel, titanium, brass, and wood bodies on offer.
   
   While it isn't the only Chinese brand of note to seriously disrupt the fountain pen hobby market outside of China, it distinguished itself by upsetting Kaweco so much, yet leaving Kaweco little room for legal manoeuvring while apparently biting hard into Kaweco's business. I'm sure if Kaweco has a valid claim of infringement of protected intellectual property rights, it'd have pursued it; but, as it were, all Kaweco could do was squat on Majohn's previous brand name as a trademark, due Majohn's misstep and failure to register it overseas. That Majohn just weathered it by ignoring Kaweco and the shenanigans, and simply changed its brand name and got on with business — and becoming even more successful in the market — makes me respect the company more; and that is why I have to put Majohn ahead of HongDian, Jinhao, and Wing Sung. It must be doing something right; and obviously keen hobbyists, who have Majohn to thank for making fountain pens of such nature as the A1 and P136 models more accessible and affordable, agree by casting their votes with their wallets.

 

[Tashi_Tsering]

Hm… Interesting question. 
 

1. Montblanc. Interesting pens, interesting history of company, high quality. 
 

2. Dunhill. Not exactly pen brand, but there was few wonderful pens, such as Sidecar and Sentryman, my favorite pens of all time. 
 

3. Graf von Faber-Castell. I love them design and quality. Especially  limited series “Pen of the year”. 

[Hanoi]

regarding Moonman, I wish the Chinese would take it up a notch and make some seriously blingy pens from palladium or moon dust.   

[ruby.monkey]

1) Parker. That was the brand of my first ever fountain pen (my old 25) and has given me plenty of excellent vintage pens to go with it.

2) Pelikan. Always stylish and well-made, with some wonderful nibs, and reasonably priced too.

3) Sheaffer. PFMs, touchdown fillers, snorkels, vacuum-fillers, Triumph nibs, the No Nonsense range - what's not to love?

 

Admittedly Parker and Sheaffer, for me, are only favourites for their vintage pens, but then again I already have all the modern pens I'll ever need.

[SpecTP]

1. Montblanc - there is such great consistency in quality and beauty that I keep buying them

2. Platinum - the artistry of the urushi is wonderful at an affordable price

3. Conid - the engineering and quality is excellent. Every time it comes off my EDC rotation, I still reach for it.

[jchch1950]

Montblanc a name that gives very fine fountain pens.

Twsbi they produce pens that can stand the every day of work .

Lamy is one of the best pen company. 

[tde44x]

Montblanc - The nibs.

Karas Kustoms - well-built pens made in the USA (except for the Bock nibs) that appeal to me as I like the industrial look.

Opus 88 - have not had a bad one yet, very well made, and love the ink capacity.

 

[Estycollector]

Esterbrook because they are inexpensive, east to restore, and write very well.

 

Parker 51 because they are iconic and can lay on a desk for weeks and still write. 

 

Wing Sung 601 because they are very affordable and perform like a Parker 51

[Mangrove Jack]

1. Vintage Parker - the 45's, 75's and 51's. Excellent design, ergonomic (for me), bulletproof reliability.

2. Vintage Sheaffers - same reasons as above. Gorgeous lookers.

3. Pelikan - all the above plus easily changeable nibs. I've had the same Pelikan M200 inked and in use since I bought it about 8 years ago. Never skipped a beat. 

[chromantic]

> 1  Pelikan M-series - classic design/perfect shape, interchangeable nibs

 

> 2 Aurora Optima - all the M-series features but with beautiful Aureloide

 

> 3 Sailor Pro Gear Slim - like slightly smaller Optimas with fixed nibs and c/c

 

Sensing a trend here.

 

runner-up - Parker, Arrow clip as iconic as the Pelikan bill

[OCArt]

1) German pens from the 1950's. Reliable piston fillers with fantastic softer, bouncy nibs. Not too hard to find in oblique too.

 

2) Modern Pelikans. Trouble-free pens with piston filling mechanism and decent nibs but not as good as the vintage ones.

 

3) Waterman, again good nib s and the styling of the Carene is very good

 

Also ran would be many of the good pens coming out of China right now like the aforementioined PenBBS and many Wing Sung models such as the great 699. 

[kestrel]

Vintage Conklin Crescents.  Great nibs, BHR feels warm in the hand, and the classic filling system.  My favorite pens since I first fell down the vintage rabbit hole.

 

Vintage Parker Duofolds.  Reliable, comfortable to hold, and beautiful to look at.  Most of the nibs are nails but the Newhaven nibs on English Duofolds are soft and smooth.

 

Vintage Sheaffer's, especially the Balance line.  Smooth, albeit usually stiff, nibs, good feel in the hand, beautiful shape and colors.

 

All three are fun to write with.  All three are consistent, reliable writers on many papers with many inks.

 

Honorable mention to Pelikan, especially the older models up to the end of the last century.

[lionelc]

namiki - maki e artistry and dependable nibs

omas - arco!  and of course the extra lucens nibs

montblanc - classic models like the l139 and 149 calligraphy flexible

[Maurizio]

18 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

1. Sailor. The nibs (in pen models priced above ¥2,000+tax) are all remarkable . . . with good performance and practically unmatched level of product consistency across units of identical nibs. There is so much character in how even the ‘regular’ nibs write that give more writing pleasure than any other brand for me. Nibs have a wonderful tactile feel on paper, and put down (almost ‘surgically’) precise ink marks as intended by a user who understands the character of Sailor nibs.
   
   Sailor's full range of specialty nibs are the best nibs money could buy on modern pens; and, even now with the available range of options reduced by more than half since 2018, the remaining eight options — in addition to the ‘standard’ seven (EF, F, MF, M, B, Music, and Zoom) that are available on even entry-level (steel-nibbed) Profit Casual and (gold-nibbed) Profit Light models — dwarf any other single brand's appeal to either calligraphy or versatility/range. In my experience, its 14K gold EF nibs easily rival Platinum's lauded, claim-to-fame Ultra Extra Fine nibs in terms of putting down fine lines of ink.
   
   Sailor also implemented the equivalent of Platinum's Slip & Seal mechanism, but without fanfare or making it an explicit selling point, in select (including Promenade, Realo, etc.) models; and, unlike the Platinum #3776 (as well as Vicoh, Balance, etc.) models that are not expressly fitted with spring-loaded inner caps, Sailor pens without such a feature still seal extremely well by default; any of my Profit and Professional Gear pens, and even the Lecoule and Profit Jr pens, would keep a fill of ink for over a year while laying unused and undisturbed, and write without hard-starting upon being uncapped after all that time. 
    
2. Pilot. . .  there is no doubt the production quality and consistency is high; and it offers sixteen different nib options in that product line, not including the Elabo (aka Falcon) line's of Soft nibs in various width grades. . . . It offers gold nibs in a wide range of physical sizes, from number 3 to number 30. Oh, and in my experience, its size #5, 14K gold EF nibs also rivals the performance of Platinum UEF nibs. In current production, Pilot has the Justus 95 model, again with a range of width grades as options, that offers a variable nib softness/hardness control. It still has the Elite 95S model . . . . It has piston-filler and vacuum-filler models in the Custom line. Then, of course, it has the iconic Capless models . . . .  It has extremely well-regarded urushi and maki-e pens, including in the main brand and the artisan Namiki sub-brand. Yet even the performance of the humble (‘school pen’ level) Kaküno, Penmanship, and Plumix models it offers is nothing the sneeze at; Pilot's steel EF nibs and Italic nibs . . . are supremely consistent and well-loved. Gold-nibbed Pilot models seal very well, in my experience, in spite of the total absence of spring-loaded inner caps. (Not so much the MR and Prera models with steel nibs and snap-caps.). Nobody else covers such a broad range, in such high production volumes and yet maintain such a high level of consistency in product quality.

 

 

I can’t say much to improve upon or elaborate on Dill’s comprehensive comments. Except to say that for my purposes, Pilot’s Penmanship and Deskpens produce a marvelously fine line for a fountain pen, coming close - though not exactly as fine - as some dip nibs and a lot handier for pen and ink sketching. The “fingernail” shaped E95S nib is unique, slightly springy and also a great line maker. The Falcon is also another great pen. 

 

I would rank my 3 as:

 

Pilot     Sailor      -  equal in stature 

 

and Platinum   3rd 

[sandy101]

1/ Montblanc - their writers' editions are gorgeous and the nibs are good. 

 

2/ Nakaya - again - gorgeous pens, with tuned nibs for the person who's goign to hold the pen. 

 

3/ Cross - not the most exciting pens, apart from the Peerless. But the pens are reliable, durable workhorses and are not as expensive as other brands. I know I can pick up my Cross pen and get two or three hours writing done without interruption. Stops and starts don't happen often. I've also managed to get pens repaired/maintained with the lifetime guarantee, but I think their policy has changed now.  Cross is not the most exciting brand out there, but they get the job done in a clean and tidy fashion And quite often that's all you need. 

[Mech-for-i]

Pelikan - just great pens enjoyable all the time , classic piston 

 

Pilot - good pen , less the overloaded marketing the other Japanese trio come with

 

Hero - I start learning penmanship using one and they still made decent pens that just write

[tzinc]

1. Pilot: they make my favourite fountain pen (the capless) but all their offerings are quality... also they offer so many different varieties of fountain pens and styles (sure there is the capless but they have decimo, fermo, LS)... (customs with unique patterns, Radens, etc) they even have a great beginner pen in the Kokuno.

 

2. Montblanc: quality pens and inks, the Rolex of fountain pens, you can always find a vintage if you don't want to pay for a new one, I needed one just to say I have "the" fountain pen in my small collection.

 

3. Lamy just for the Safari you can get anyone into fountain pens with one of these pens it's sexier than the Kokuno.

[Penguincollector]

Parker is my favorite, there are so many stlyes and eras, everything from BCHR up to the newest blacked out matte pens with PVD coated nibs. I started off doing my cursive homework with my dad’s 45, had a Vector as my first school pen, and moved on to 51s and Duofolds. 
Sailor is a new favorite, I really like the sound they make, and the line width of their MF nibs.  Plus, the tiny Chalana is a joy to use. 
Sheaffer I like because it’s fun to collect the Fashion series in different colors , actually the inlaid nibs are also fun to collect in different colors. They’re also super dependable, wet writers.

 I also love Cross. I had an 18k nib rolled gold Century II in uni that I lost and miss it so much. I keep hoping that I find it in a box somewhere. I bought a Wanderlust recently and even though it’s gp steel, it still feels like my old pen. 
Pelikan and Montblanc are great, but I bought mine so long ago that I think they’re not the same as current ones.

Chren, or Chuan Ren from China are super fun budget pens with cartoon characters that are very well made, very thin F and EF Lamy like or hooded nibs. Despite their nib size, they do well with shimmer inks.

Edited December 25, 2022 by Penguincollector
Oops, I went way over 3.

[TheDutchGuy]

I’ll limit it to existing brands. In random order: Montblanc, Sailor, Pilot. The reasons are the same: quality, reliability, consistency, great nibs and enough models to satisfy almost anyone.