Trouble free modern pen survey

[DrPJM1]

No problems with

Pelikan

Sailor

Shaeffer

Pilot

 

Problems with

Montblanc

Parker

Visconti

[Slush99]

rOtring core. I have 2, but I'm hoping the third will come any day now.

[hehiheho]

This is an od thread, but interesting. My list of brands is short, and includes most of the pens I own, which probably comes from the good advices of this forum.

 

Lamy

Pilot

 

Both problem-free for me.

[jar]

I guess it depends on what counts as modern.

 

If the Sheaffer Balance II's, the new Crests, Intrigue and the various Legacies count as modern they have all been trouble free.

 

All of my modern Conway Stewarts have been trouble free.

 

From Omas it depends on what you call modern, but all of them, new style and old style, have been trouble free.

 

The modern Conklins I've gotten have been trouble free.

 

The Duponts have all been trouble free.

 

In Montblanc it again depends on what you call modern, but they have all been trouble free.

 

My Waterman's have all been trouble free.

 

My Cross pens have all been trouble free.

 

 

 

 

[raillink]

Pelikan, Sailor and Lamy.

 

Edited to add - Rotring.

Edited August 25, 2009 by raillink

[Tsujigiri]

Only Sailor. Pelikan was close, but I had to push back the nib on my m200 a little to get it flowing. Does that count as a defect?

[gregamckinney]

100% Trouble free:

Sailor (8 pens)

Pelikan (15+ pens)

 

100% Trouble (or close)

Visconti - Every pen I've had new (me as first owner) had a nib and/or assembly problem.

 

 

greg

[Joe in Seattle]

3 different sailor pens all perfect in every way

[penicillin]

Good question.

 

7 Waterman

3 Lamy

0 problems

 

M

 

[penicillin]

Sorry for double post

 

Good question.

 

7 Waterman

3 Lamy

0 problems

 

M

 

[MidnightBlue]

Graf and Filcao. Both bullet proof. (....and of course, this thread is not about our favourite pens!???) 'cause these are not my overall faves.

Thanks

[ZeissIkon]

I'll probably get someone to shout at me for this...

 

Huashilai 2375 (pen is perfect, the converter that came with it sucks a bit)

Dollar 717i

Hero 257

 

Notice a trend here?

[Siv]

I have had more than three of the following and had no troubles:

- Pilot/Namiki (>20)

- Nakaya (5)

 

I've had more than 3 Sailors (7 in fact) and 6 have been absolutely perfect and one is a dog.

 

I have two Danitrios that are perfect but that's not three

 

I haven't had multiple pens of any other brand...

[eric47]

Of the brands with more than 3, none have been trouble-free. Setting aside operator error and NOS discounted pens with known issues at the time of purchase, I've had issues (out-of-the-box or in the long-term) with:

 

- Visconti

- Omas

- Pelikan

- Aurora

 

None of the problems were terrible. Of those that didn't get fixed for free, I spent no more than USD 50 for repairs. All pens that needed professional repair or factory servicing have since been trouble-free. Flow and non-starters I handled myself, and I had only one (Aurora) smoothed.

 

None of the issues with above compares the horrific experience with the only Namiki I own, a Vanishing Point, which failed 3 times within 6 months of purchase. The little door broke twice and the sac gummed up. That was a real stinker of a pen, and I won't even consider a VP again. I'd consider other Namiki/Pilots, but my interests are elsewhere these days.

Edited August 26, 2009 by eric47

[Hennypenny]

Edison!! Any adjustments or tweaking I've had done have been to customize the nibs to my preferences ... and they've been done graciously and quickly by Brian. I also have had good experience with Pilot VPs, Waterman Carenes and Edsons, Nakayas, and Conway Stewart 100's. HP

[Yuki Onitsura]

The only brand I own three of is Waterman. No problems with my kultur, harmonie or preface thus far.

 

Yuki

[offbase]

Three or more:

 

Pelikan - None out of 8 were bad. Mods done simply for my own preference.

Waterman - Why must the all be c/c???

Bexley - Out of 5, all were cosmetically perfect. Some may not have written exactly how I wanted, or had VERY mnor babybottom issues, but essentially trouble free).

 

Fewer than three:

 

Cross - But they're uncomfortably thin for me.

Omas - No issues with either of my two celluloid Milords.

 

Worst:

 

Conway Stewart (3 out of 4 had some type of issue)

Stipula (out of 6, only one had no problems and wrote nicely out of the box -- a black Etruria. The rest were all modified or returned).

Delta - 1 out of 4 was completely problem free, and all fairly expensive examples.

 

Hit or Miss:

 

Visconti (But a really good percentage, only 2 bad nibs and 1 defective piston system out of about 20. Now my favorite brand.)

 

Kudos to Glenn for the format I chose to steal!

[I am not a number]

Pelikan

Pilot/Namiki

Sailor

[jar]

I think a big issue is that each individual has a different idea of what a problem is. For example, I've purchased pens from folk here at FPN where the previous owner said they had issues with the pen, only to find I cannot seem to duplicate the problem they had.

 

For me, a problem is when parts fall off, the pen leaks like a sieve or the sucker doesn't write. Others may have far higher standards than I do.

[ibz]

I've never had any issues with Montblanc. I have been using a 149 for over 15 years and always works perfectly and writes beautifully every single time. I also have a little Boheme Noir that I have been using on and off for about 6 years, it feels very delicate and I have dropped it a couple of times but it still works and looks absolutely fine.