Who makes the best fountain pens today?

[Blue_Moon]

Just as I thought that no one had mentioned Franklin Christoph, the very last post did so. I'll add another vote for Franklin Christoph.

[Scribblesoften]

Let me see, price point, user repairable, easy to tune, encouraged by the manufacturer to change nibs, Noodler's wins in my book.

[picautomaton]

I would say Pilot is way ahead of everyone else.

[Fabienne]

I have gotten a pen from a company and it's a dream, then I get another and it just does not work. Some need fiddling with before they are good, some have to go to an nibmeister (!) before they work. I have had MB's which I returned and one which was damaged but wrote like a dream. I have fiddled with TWSBI's for hours and they have become my best writers.

 

Out of the box, fuss free: Pelikan.

 

My favorite love pen: my 146 OB (I have had other MB's which I have sent back...they just don't do it for me....go figure)

 

My go to: TWSBI 540 (I have a 580 but the 540 is ta spoots)

 

Kaweco...these babies just work and feel good.

 

My Pilot 823 which actually skipped when I first got it (mad was I, friends) now it's so smooth it's almost boring.

[Moynihan]

Best pens overall: design,nib,quality,price...

 

Pelikan of course

[sargetalon]

 

Pelikan of course

+1

[de_pen_dent]

I have to say I am surprised by some of the choices I'm reading here.

 

Sure, everyone is free to make their own decision, but I think a lot of people seem to be substituting their "favorite" manufacturer for the "best".

 

For BEST, ie, taking into account performance, design, features, etc, I'd probably pick Visconti. That nib is a pleasure to write with, they have a variety of innovative filling mechanisms and they have an amazing array of designs and materials. Homo Sapiens, Desert Springs, Wall Street, Crystal - vac filler, power filler, piston filler, CC.

 

Another option for me might be Sailor - great performance, a wide array of finishes and price points (from simple resin to high-end maki-e).

 

Certainly, brands like Noodler & Franklin Christoph wouldnt really make my list as "BEST" pen manufacturers - that'd be setting a pretty low bar, IMO.

 

Side note: with regard to Franklin Christoph, I dont really see what the fuss is all about (I've even asked this on FPN a while back). They make nice pens which look different - yeah. So do Faber Castell, Monteverde, Bexley, Edison and Conklin, all at around the same price point. Good pens - yes. Head-and-shoulders above others, enough to be called the best? Dont get it.

 

Again, no offense to those who do feel differently - just IMO.

Edited July 25, 2013 by de_pen_dent

[theadityajain]

IMO no brand today is even near to be called best. Every brand have some or the other thing missing.

[watch_art]

Aurora is awesome. I also REALLY am liking some vintage Parker, but that doesn't help things.

[corniche]

Hello Black Pen, et al,

 

I would ALSO have to say Pelikan, followed by Pilot. Believe it or not, I am amazed at how well my Pilot Metropolitan writes and I only paid $15 for it at Staples. But with Pilot - be warned, the Metropolitan is an exception to their rule of being drier than dust.

 

If you like martinis- get a Pilot; if you like fizzy drinks- get a Pelikan.

 

All the best,

 

Sean C.

[Nick13]

Hello,

 

For me, Lamy is one of the best, they may not have the most "classic" designs, but their nibs are fantastic even in the lower tiers.

 

 

Nick

[warblerick]

Conway Stewart.

[ethernautrix]

I do.

 

What?

 

Oh. I thought the question was, Who buys the best pens.

 

Never mind.

[Ashok]

My vote is for Montblanc , I even like Sailor and waterman

[EdBurke]

I have a number of used pens and a few that I purchased new that are my best writers. One of the ones purchased new is a Waterman Liaison with a fine nib that I like better the more I use it. I have a pre-war Conway-Stewart, with the number worn off, that is a great writer that I carry almost every day. I have a Sheaffer Touchdown that is rather small for my hand, but is a very smooth writer with a fine nib that has just enough feedback to enjoy writing with it for long times. Another one I purchased new, it is the most expensive pen I have ever purchased, an Aurora 88 with an italic nib, I carry it so often that I bought a used 88 with an extra fine nib so I could rotate it. The other three used pens I purchased that I think are great pens are a Montblanc 232 with an Oblique Broad nib, an Omas Extra old style Paragon with a fine nib and an Parker Oversized Dufold with a fine nib. I have a few early Waterman safety and eyedropper pens with Flex nibs that make for fun and I sometimes use them at the desk to write thank you notes or short letters. I have tried Sailors, Pilots, Lamy, Delta, Stipula, Pelikan, Rotring, Visconti, Bexley with a stub, Duke with a stub, MB149, Welty, Edison, and at least a dozen or so more US, English and German pens and on some days I find I really enjoy writing with one of them. The Edison Collier, the Pelikan 800, the Bexley 58, Visconti Van Gogh Maxi, the Parker Duofold, the Waterman 100, the Waterman Gentleman and the MB146 are all part of my regular rotation. The smaller pens that make it into my rotation are the Sheaffer Touchdown, the Esterbrook Skywriter, the Esterbrook Doric, the Parker 51, old (1920a) Onoto and a Lincoln by National Pen. Choosing the best from among the ones I consistently carry is very hard, the Aurora, the Liaison, the Montblanc 232, the Conway-Stewart and the Omas are all very good and depending on the day and the mood I am in anyone of them is the best. So for me no one pen is the best. Thus I agree that it depends on who you ask, what they like and if they grew up writing with fountain pens or recently took up writing with fountain pens.

[Doctor_Bill]

I have been using relatively low end pens for years. I did stumble onto a Rotring 600 at a clearance sale once and, until it broke, it was my favorite. Recently I have purchased a couple of TWSBI pens and and some restored Parkers and for me at least these are more expensive pens. I am beginning to think that fountain pens, like much else in life, have a return on investment that proportionately decreases after some point.

 

In most cases a $30 pen is "better" than a $5 pen: it may actually be six times better. However, is a $600 pen six times better than a $100 pen? I think the point where the curve starts to fall off is somewhere around $150. Certainly pens priced higher can be of better quality but your return for each additional dollar invested gets proportionatly lower. The exception to this is if you are a specific collector or like to display your status by the materials used in the pen but for me at least, since I am focused on the performance of the pen as a writing instrument, I think I have found my inflection point on the curve.

 

I guess my recomendation is that if you are really concerned about function, look for good recomendations in the roughly $150 range. If you want to show off, go out and buy something designed by a celiberaty that sells for more than a new car but don't expect it to write all that much better.

[Buzz_130]

Another vote for Pelikan. I'll also add in Sailor but include two other ones for consideration. I enjoy Platinum and Onoto pens as well.

 

Buzz

[Gloucesterman]

Overall, I think that Pilot/Namiki delivers the best pens from $10.00 to multi - thousand dollar pens.

 

It is relatively easy to make a good, solid, basic pen in the $50-100.00 range. And of course when you start moving above $100.00 it gets easier because the quality control, design and assembled materials can be better.

 

In my mind, the challenge is to offer value and quality across the widest range of prices and materials, and Pilot/Namiki does that very well - IMHO, of course!

[UK Mike]

An unanswerable question because choosing a fountain pen is an extremely personal decision.

 

I could however categorically tell you who DOESN'T make the best pen.

[sandy101]

Of the few brands I have, Mr Pen's Italix stands out for me. I have the Parson's Essential with the non-Italic medium nib and it works like a dream. It skates on the paper and is a pleasure to use. No skips and (perhaps because it's not the Italic nib) writes anywhere with out complaining. it's a heavy pen and looks like it will last for decades. It also has a nice grip - although I can't post it as it makes it too heavy for me.

 

But then, I also enjoy my Platinum Plasir's and Preppies. They work well with cartridges and are robust, and cheap enough to carry around and post, making writing on the bus or train easier. (Mr Italix pens are staying on my desk). The Platinums don't work as well as the Italix, but they were 1/4 and 1/10th of the price. So in some ways I can appreciate that if you pay more, you can get more.

 

Both J Herbin's and Waterman's inks look nice on the page with all of these pens.

 

As I've said somewhere before, most people seem impressed with the Preppies as they seem to like the coloured nibs and funky barrels where they can see the ink swirl around in them. It's bizarre, they are one of the cheapest fountain pens out, but people seem to love them despite the lack of ostentatious bling. (Two have disappeared so far, so perhaps they are just too funky).