What is your ride or die pen?

[The_Beginner]

Now let me clarify/give situations of what i meanby this is:

 

If you were forced to give up the entire collection save this one pen what would it be 

or

If this one pen in the collection was damaged in any way ( save the nib cause we all know we love our nibs) you would spend alot of resources  trying to restore its glory.

or 

This is the pen if your entire day/week has been (bleep), brings a lil smile to your face like no other pen.

 

 

For me it's honestly the first pen that got into FP ( including this very forum), it was a gift in fact a montegrappa nerouno version one ( aka the hooded nibs). Now this pen is well loved and i mean it, cosmetically it has suffered under my then unguided fp journey till now, its plating has rubbed off a bit, the body is scratched at some point its cap cracked ( this was a doozy to find a replacement, didnt want to sent to the company as i felt they might mess with nib/loss in the mail so clever fellas have to try clever methods, it's all good now).

 

Thank you for reading and possibly responding,

 

The Beginner 

 

 

[mulrich]

Not sure it’s my favorite or most valued but I’d probably pick a Conid. Combination of build quality, writing experience, and uniqueness is hard to beat. But lots of other pens I could be talked into. 

[Driften]

I don't know. I have so many nice fountain pens and move between them. There is one pen that is always inked even if it's not always used. The pen I have inked more than any other is my MB 149. When I first got it, I didn't care that much for it, but over time it has grown on me to the position it sits in now. It's one of my most comfortable to use and never dries out. The large nib has a nice softness. Similar to my Sailor KOPs. Every time I use them I remember why I enjoy the pen. 

 

But my two Nakaya Urushi pens cost more than the 149 and impacted what I want in a pen, but are easier to set aside then the 149.  

 

In the end there are many pens I never want to sell, but the 149 seems to be the one that could be my only pen.

[kestrel]

I will cheat and name two.

Modern:  Pelikan M800, blue-striped, with a broad nib that Richard Binder ground to a 0.9 mm cursive italic.  The pen commemorates a major professional accomplishment.  The nib was in honor of some very good health news.  The pen feels perfect and has been inked every day for more than 20 years except for a trip to repair the nib after one of our cats mistook it for a toy and knocked it off my desk.

 

Vintage:  Conklin Crescent 50.  I love Conklin crescent fillers (my gateway drug for vintage pens) and this pen was a gift from my wife that needed a lot of work.  It is a perfect writer, a joy to use.  At well over a century old it shows its age but is a fantastic pen for my hand.

[MHBru]

Without a doubt it would be a Pelikan M800.  I own 3 (soon 4) and any one of them would do.   Hard stop.  

[thx1138]

Kestrel,  that was no mistake.

 

The cat was reminding you of the power balance in your relationship. As a hint, you are not at the top of the pyramid. 

[The_Beginner]

That is indeed one powerful kitty and guys I'm loving your loyalty to your pens!

[tde44x]

No question about spending $ to replace or repair - my Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze Age with a broad nib.

[thx1138]

Some evidence from tonight regarding cats power plays.

Taken while my son's cat toured my dusty Parker pen case.

 

 

[Penguincollector]

   Probably my Parker Duofold Centennial IM. My dad bought it for me for my Quinceañera in 1991; it’s been faded from the Florida sun, traveled all over the world, and put up with my weird grip for 33 years. It was my first luxury pen. The italic grind and tuning it got in April has endeared it even more to me. 

[inkstainedruth]

Ooh.  This is a toughie.  I have a LOT of pens I love writing with, and for a lot of different reasons.  But if I had to narrow it down to just one?  I'd have to say that the pen they'd have to pry out of my cold dead fingers would be the Plum Demi 51.  Unless of course someday I were to score a full size one that didn't cost and arm and a leg and another arm.... 

Of course I have a LOT of pens that would be runners up.....  Pens I'd hate to lose.  Pens I trust with high maintenance inks.  Pens that are super pretty.  Pens that just made me say, "Oh -- I SOOOOO NEED that!"  And that that runs the gamut from high end pens like my M405 Stresemann to "school pens" like the Parker Vector Shrek series "Puss in Boots" pen; from the Parker 41 I paid a whole whopping 50¢ US for at an estate sale in the bottom of a shoebox full of mostly ballpoints to the sterling Ciselé 75 I got on eBay after educating myself on those after passing on one at another estate sale because I didn't know if the price being asked was good or not (turned out it was -- sigh -- but I had to learn more about the model before actually feeling knowledgable enough/comfortable enough to buy one.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Keyless Works]

Aurora Optima.

If I could have a second it would be a Montblanc 149.

[Merrick]

It’s a dead heat between my King of Pen, late ‘80s M800, and Pelikan 400NN with flex nib. 

[thx1138]

As for my last pen for sheer utility I would have to nominate 3776 century with a broad nib. That thing never misbehavesor dries out.

[avlisyar]

I would probably take my grail pen, the Nakaya Piccolo.

The nib was done by John Mottishaw to a CI, .9mm

before he retired. It is always inked and never fails

to start-up.

[senzen]

I invested more time and effort than money into several pens, so it would be hard to choose; their ranking still depends on how they play with specific inks, not the pens by themselves.

 

Still makes Tsuyu Kusa shine: plain black and chrome Sailor Pro Gear M.

 

My original grail pen: solid blue M605 F, pairs nicely with Verdigris.

 

Accidental grail pens: Carène, 33, 44, Goldschwinge, 760, Midnight Sky Pro Gear B.

 

Way better than I thought: 3776 Century Oshino, wood Capless, Gemline Dress Classic.

[markofp]

Pilot 823 in the clear body.  I recently swapped a buddy my medium nib for the fine/medium from his 743. It was a great pen before, now it's perfect!

[The_Beginner]

22 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

Ooh.  This is a toughie.  I have a LOT of pens I love writing with, and for a lot of different reasons.  But if I had to narrow it down to just one?  I'd have to say that the pen they'd have to pry out of my cold dead fingers would be the Plum Demi 51.  Unless of course someday I were to score a full size one that didn't cost and arm and a leg and another arm.... 

Of course I have a LOT of pens that would be runners up.....  Pens I'd hate to lose.  Pens I trust with high maintenance inks.  Pens that are super pretty.  Pens that just made me say, "Oh -- I SOOOOO NEED that!"  And that that runs the gamut from high end pens like my M405 Stresemann to "school pens" like the Parker Vector Shrek series "Puss in Boots" pen; from the Parker 41 I paid a whole whopping 50¢ US for at an estate sale in the bottom of a shoebox full of mostly ballpoints to the sterling Ciselé 75 I got on eBay after educating myself on those after passing on one at another estate sale because I didn't know if the price being asked was good or not (turned out it was -- sigh -- but I had to learn more about the model before actually feeling knowledgable enough/comfortable enough to buy one.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

ruth i will disappoint you i found a full length plum when i was younger and i didn't understand the rarity AND ONE Thing led to another and the barrel broke 😅

[The_Beginner]

13 hours ago, avlisyar said:

I would probably take my grail pen, the Nakaya Piccolo.

The nib was done by John Mottishaw to a CI, .9mm

before he retired. It is always inked and never fails

to start-up.

lucky ducky and beautiful pen!

[inkstainedruth]

5 hours ago, The_Beginner said:

ruth i will disappoint you i found a full length plum when i was younger and i didn't understand the rarity AND ONE Thing led to another and the barrel broke 😅

Well, "rare" means that Parker apparently ONLY made that color for the 1948-49 model year.  But I read someplace that Parker made something like 12 *MILLION* 51s over a twenty year run of it being the flagship model for the brand -- and then stopped counting!  So "rare" might mean that there were only some four or five digit number of Plum 51s coming off the manufacturing line.... when probably 20 million or so 51s were actually produced overall (counting all the different colors -- and I'm assuming that number includes both the earlier 51 Vacs as well as the 51 Aerometric pens).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth