W/NW Show me your nice fountain pens

Like the Leica camera repair wizards--Golden Touch and DAG--there are also fountain pen nib wizards/doctors, those who can turn your scratchy Pelican or Waterman into a smooth writing machine. I was lucky enough to have bought a Pelican M200 from Richard Binder at the D.C. Pen Show a number of years ago and watch him tune it to my specifications before my eyes. It was an impressive show. Here's a story about Binder in the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...mous-pen-doctor-come-to-dc-area-this-weekend/

Having a properly tuned fountain pen is akin to having a just-CLA'ed M3. Smoooooth...

Whom do you go to these days for care of your sick pens?
 
some pen repairers and nib specialists

some pen repairers and nib specialists

Joe Vitessa said:
Like the Leica camera repair wizards--Golden Touch and DAG--there are also fountain pen nib wizards/doctors, those who can turn your scratchy Pelican or Waterman into a smooth writing machine. I was lucky enough to have bought a Pelican M200 from Richard Binder at the D.C. Pen Show a number of years ago and watch him tune it to my specifications before my eyes. It was an impressive show. Here's a story about Binder in the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...mous-pen-doctor-come-to-dc-area-this-weekend/

Having a properly tuned fountain pen is akin to having a just-CLA'ed M3. Smoooooth...

Whom do you go to these days for care of your sick pens?
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Richard Binder is no longer repairing pens, unfortunately. But there are quite a few other pen mavens. In the US I quite like the work done by Inkjpen Vintage Fountain Pen http://ink-pen.com/. John Mottishaw and his apprentices at Classic Fountain Pens http://www.nibs.com/ are a very well-known repair and nib customization source. I have also used Mike Matsuyama http://www.mikeitwork.com/NibRepair.html (mentioned in an earlier post) for nib adjustment and smoothing, and he is a true master.

There are actually quite a few general repairers around today, but fewer who can rebuild nibs and make them glassy smooth writers for people with different writing styles.
 
Here's some I used to own. I've since sold most of these, but I do still have the Conklin (red pen with silver filigree overlay)
IMG_9344%20copy.jpg
 
Received this morning a new Pelikan M200 with a Fine Gold nib. My Pelikan blue-black ink did not arrive so I had to use some very old Shaeffer ink in Peacock Blue which is a bland color but looks good on the paper. The pen is marvelous and smooth and I'm very pleased with it. Many thanks to all the posters here, I got so many great pieces of advice and helped make my choice much easier.
 
For repairs I use Rick Horne, the self styled "Southern Scribe". He communicates very readily with you, and works fast. He's serviced an Italian Safety pen (new seals), an Onoto plunger filler, and a Sheaffer plunger filler for me.

For serious nib work, I've contacted John Mottishaw. He also overhauled my large orange Paker Duofold, and my humble (but with the most awesomely flexible nib) Waterman 52.
 
Just curious, I've enjoyed this entire thread, but have noticed, I think, little love shown Montblanc here, if love corresponds to mentions.

Any reason for that, which it might profit me to be aware of? Too expensive, e.g. 149, or are people not that crazy about them for some reason?
People here are obviously not inhibited about spending real money on nice pens, so I didn't think 'too expensive' would have been the reason, though it might be for me.

Thanks.
 
Larry Cloetta said:
Just curious, I've enjoyed this entire thread, but have noticed, I think, little love shown Montblanc here, if love corresponds to mentions.

Any reason for that, which it might profit me to be aware of? Too expensive, e.g. 149, or are people not that crazy about them for some reason?
People here are obviously not inhibited about spending real money on nice pens, so I didn't think 'too expensive' would have been the reason, though it might be for me.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Great question... I'm also interested in what aficionados have to say about Montblanc.
 
Larry Cloetta said:
Just curious, I've enjoyed this entire thread, but have noticed, I think, little love shown Montblanc here, if love corresponds to mentions.

Any reason for that, which it might profit me to be aware of? Too expensive, e.g. 149, or are people not that crazy about them for some reason?
People here are obviously not inhibited about spending real money on nice pens, so I didn't think 'too expensive' would have been the reason, though it might be for me.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I have a MeisterStuck and like it but I do not love it. Part of its problem is one of perceptions. About 25 years back it became associated with yuppies and so its now seen as a bit passe. (A pen for wannabes I guess.)

But what I really do not like about mine is that its actually quite fragile. The pen is made from some kind of brittle plastic which if dropped can shatter. I hate that in a pen that costs this much. I also found with mine that the nib was quite "dry". It was only after it was worked on to increase the ink flow that I found it was good to write with. As a result I like mine now more than I did for the first few years of ownership.
 
Peter has it on the nail. Very fragile plastic used in the modern Montblanc pens. The nibs, for all their fanciness, are not better than others. They are typical rigid nibs. Montblanc do offer metal pens (gold, silver, gold plated silver), which are beautiful, and costly to match.

As far as everyday writing is concerned, there is a reason you see so many Lamy pens here. They just write well. I use a Lamy 2000 on a daily basis, as well as Parker 180s, and some Noodler's eyedropper fillers which have been upgraded with flexible #2 nibs from busted Waterman 52s.
 
Used to own a Montblanc 149, but I sold it and got a Sailor "King of Pen" instead. Over all the 100+ fountain pens I have owned - USA, German, Italian, French, Chinese, and Japanese - for a Modern pen, you cannot beat the Japanese for pure reliability and function. Sailor, Nakaya(Platinum), and Pilot/Namiki are tops.
 
markwatts said:
Overly succesful marketing? Perceived as too commonplace and identifiable perhaps?
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Definitely. But the RFF audience here is probably not representative of the population at large. We almost all shoot film, and then various among us do various combinations of the following:
  • Mix our own chemistry from Photgraphers Formulary raw chemicals, or make Caffenol.
  • Drive stickshift cars (in USA, where it's becoming rare) and/or frightfully unreliable 1960s British sports-cars or motorbikes.
  • Use typewriters, and in rare cases, even slide-rules.
  • Listen to music using tube amps and phonographs.
  • Collect and play vintage electric guitars (and I think we have a few guitar makers among us).
  • Roast our own beans and/or grind them and/or pull espresso shots with varying levels of manuality.
  • Collect old (and/or hand-craft artisanal new) watches, guns, knives, etc.
So we might skew just a bit more anti-commercial, anti-marketing, anti-modern than some. 🙂 It is not surprising, then, to see us turn against the once-revered fountain pen provider who has rushed headlong into opening mall stores where they sell belts, briefcases, cuff links, and lots of other non-scriptory bits. And their pen selection has unfortunately become bewilderingly toothpaste aisle.

markwatts said:
I like mine.
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I like well enough the MB pen that I somewhat recently got as a gift, but would not again choose (and have not recently chosen) them when buying pens myself. Lots of other better values, underdogs who better deserve my custom, and craftsmen truly focused on writing instruments.

--Dave
 
Thanks for the helpful replies, re: Montblanc, and the recommendations. Sounds more like grudging respect and "like" rather than love.
One of my reasons for asking was that I gave my father one 30 years ago, and it came back to me a few years ago when he passed away. The body was cracked in a couple of places, and has some other problems. Awaits a decision as to whether to get it repaired or not.


Argenticien said:
  • Drive stickshift cars and/or frightfully unreliable 1960s British sports-cars or motorbikes.
  • Listen to music using tube amps and phonographs.

    --Dave
Click to expand...


  • Yes, yes, yes, and yes, but my Norton Commando is very reliable! (now that I've replaced all the unreliable bits, which was, frankly, most of it.)
 
Monz said:
Such a beautiful pen... is it a Japan import or did you get it from a pen show?
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Thank you, I have great pride of ownership. I imported it direct several years ago now. Specifying on the order the angles I hold and write at so the nib is personalised on receipt. Of course specifying the filler design was essential, you can't beat using the pen knowing that the craftsmanship is hidden and only there to please you on filling.
It is in everyday use.
 
Larry Cloetta said:
Yes, yes, yes, and yes, but my Norton Commando is very reliable! (now that I've replaced all the unreliable bits, which was, frankly, most of it.)
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My 1966 Bonnie is quite reliable too, and spits a bit of oil as all proper Brits should, just like my 1960s Pelikan weeps a bit of ink like all proper classic German pen would! 😀

But seriously, I think many of us are THAT kind so I can understand the bias towards less corporate, less marketing heavy companies. I'd love to track down a bit older 149 at some point though.

For me, vintage motorcycle, tube amps, vinyl records, roasting beans, mechanical watches, experimental film devs, knives, ukuleles and so on. Funny I design cutting-edge internet of things type of stuff for work, but my personal life is very much detached from tech. I wake up to hand grind coffee beans and wind my watches, and develop films and refill fountain pens before I go to sleep. :angel:

And yet again, like someone said here, there is something really nice about the fact you can use classic forms of tools like fountain pens and mechanical watches for practical everyday life situations.
 
Argenticien said:
Definitely. But the RFF audience here is probably not representative of the population at large. We almost all shoot film, and then various among us do various combinations of the following:
  • Mix our own chemistry from Photgraphers Formulary raw chemicals, or make Caffenol.
  • Drive stickshift cars (in USA, where it's becoming rare) and/or frightfully unreliable 1960s British sports-cars or motorbikes.
  • Use typewriters, and in rare cases, even slide-rules.
  • Listen to music using tube amps and phonographs.
  • Collect and play vintage electric guitars (and I think we have a few guitar makers among us).
  • Roast our own beans and/or grind them and/or pull espresso shots with varying levels of manuality.
  • Collect old (and/or hand-craft artisanal new) watches, guns, knives, etc.
So we might skew just a bit more anti-commercial, anti-marketing, anti-modern than some. 🙂 It is not surprising, then, to see us turn against the once-revered fountain pen provider who has rushed headlong into opening mall stores where they sell belts, briefcases, cuff links, and lots of other non-scriptory bits. And their pen selection has unfortunately become bewilderingly toothpaste aisle.



I like well enough the MB pen that I somewhat recently got as a gift, but would not again choose (and have not recently chosen) them when buying pens myself. Lots of other better values, underdogs who better deserve my custom, and craftsmen truly focused on writing instruments.

--Dave
Click to expand...

yeah, well, you know i used to grind my own beans, but then it got kind of commercial, and then, like, i bought a coffee plantation, and then tax haven people showed up, so like i just use vintage nescafe crystals, from, like, a curated collection. in fact, next week, i'm getting a shipment from a guy who recrystalizes his own freeze dried coffee. it's A-MAY-ZING.
 

Meisterstuck 146 by Monz, on Flickr

This Mont Blanc Meisterstuck 146 was originally bought by its first owner in 1986 in Copenhagen, then got passed on to a dealer in the UK and was bought by me last year. This older 146 has a monotone 14K nib which is more flexible than the modern one. The pen is in nearly mint condition and cost be about 50% of the current new price.... I didn't feel cheated. It's a nice smooth writer straight out of the box (I suspect the previous owner may have had the nib optimised).
 

Pelikan M200 Cognac by Monz, on Flickr

A special edition baby Pelikan fountain pen. The Diamine Ancient Copper ink is a perfect match for it. It's a bit small and needs to be posted to write comfortably. The nib is stainless steel but is unbelievably smooth. Cute, no?
 
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