Favourite pens and inks?

[Roefisher]

Hey folks,

A few years ago, I was into pens and the urge has arrived again so I fancy getting a couple more.

I went ahead and purchased a rollerball (read on, please!) and now I want to get a couple of fountain pens - one for here at home and one to carry.

So, what are your favourite fountain pens?

Also, what's your favourite ink? I've only used Parker and Waterman as I got them in the shops before the Internet days. The Waterman is excellent, I think, but I'll order something new when I am buying the pens. So far I have spotted interesting inks from Caran d'Ache, Diamine, Pelikan and Pilot. Any opinions on these or good ones I've missed?

Cheers,

Mark

 

[n1vlo]

lamy safari...with lamy bottle green ink...me favourite

 

[Neilo]

Smoothest pen nibs out there are On Sailor fountain pens, they are like glass and the pens are great value. Ink wise you can't go past Diamine inks.

 

[Northam Saint]

Diamine ink is very nice I have a purple and a brown. As for Fountain pens Parker and Pelikan are the only was I have and both are excellent.

 

[chrisbell]

Only really getting into fountain pens as an interest recently, despite using them for years due to not getting-on with ballpoints. I am, however, most impressed with the Parker 45 I bought from Steve (sunburyboy). As for inks, I've only used one bottled ink so far - Waterman Serenity Blue, which I'm very pleased with.

 

[Northam Saint]

Only really getting into fountain pens as an interest recently, despite using them for years due to not getting-on with ballpoints. I am, however, most impressed with the Parker 45 I bought from Steve (sunburyboy). As for inks, I've only used one bottled ink so far - Waterman Serenity Blue, which I'm very pleased with.

Chris treat yourself to a bottle of this

http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Diamine_Ink_Bottles.html

Just the retro bottle alone is worth it, let alone all them colours.

 

[FuzzySteve]

I have a beautiful YSL branded fountain in chrome plate. It's a beauty but has suffered a crack in the plating which is very obvious.

Generally I love MontBlanc, but can't justify it seeing as I work with rocks and soil on a daily basis.

 

[chrisbell]

Only really getting into fountain pens as an interest recently, despite using them for years due to not getting-on with ballpoints. I am, however, most impressed with the Parker 45 I bought from Steve (sunburyboy). As for inks, I've only used one bottled ink so far - Waterman Serenity Blue, which I'm very pleased with.

Chris treat yourself to a bottle of this

http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Diamine_Ink_Bottles.html

Just the retro bottle alone is worth it, let alone all them colours.

I have my eye on some Diamine, actually.:angel:

 

[Northam Saint]

Only really getting into fountain pens as an interest recently, despite using them for years due to not getting-on with ballpoints. I am, however, most impressed with the Parker 45 I bought from Steve (sunburyboy). As for inks, I've only used one bottled ink so far - Waterman Serenity Blue, which I'm very pleased with.

Chris treat yourself to a bottle of this

http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Diamine_Ink_Bottles.html

Just the retro bottle alone is worth it, let alone all them colours.

I have my eye on some Diamine, actually.:angel:

Do share which colour you decide on.

 

[chrisbell]

Only really getting into fountain pens as an interest recently, despite using them for years due to not getting-on with ballpoints. I am, however, most impressed with the Parker 45 I bought from Steve (sunburyboy). As for inks, I've only used one bottled ink so far - Waterman Serenity Blue, which I'm very pleased with.

Chris treat yourself to a bottle of this

http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Diamine_Ink_Bottles.html

Just the retro bottle alone is worth it, let alone all them colours.

I have my eye on some Diamine, actually.:angel:

Do share which colour you decide on.

Will do. I'm leaning towards lavender, actually. Had been considering a dark green until I read about the stereotypes about people who use green ink, which I'd never come across before.:blush::s

 

[Sunburyboy93]

i don't use my fountain pens as often as would like due to me working with sticky fingered people, but i do use one at home and i keep one in my bag along with a nice brown leather bound note book.

i collect vintage pens and have a large selection of vintage and modern parker, sheaffer, waterman, conway stewart, and lamy pens to name a few.

for everday use i use a charcoal lamy safari and a parker 45 flighter

i like waterman inks but have been looking some of the amazing colours available so may have to have a play

 

[hunnymonster]

I find most of the mainstream inks have a drying/smudging time that's just too long for me. Diamine doesn't and nor does Platinum (Japanese ink - love the blue-black).

Diamine colour of choice Plum, although I do like a turquoise too

 

[tarbyonline]

Not used too many different types but my favourite is the Lamy Nexx and the blue washable Lamy ink. Also have a couple of Safaris and Parker Vectors. When I was younger I learned to write with low end Osmiroid and Platignum's which I didn't get on with so jumped at the chance when we where allowed to use Berol roller pens as an alternative to fountain pens. Nowadays I can write much better with the Lamy than with any roller ball though which I thinks shows the importance of the quality of the actual pen and its design.

 

[Dr Rick]

My daily carry pens are my working pen, a Waterman Expert loaded with Diamine Sapphire, and my marking pen, a Sheaffer Prelude with Diamine Monaco Red. This dries the colour of blood, which raises healthy interest among the younger children*, and does so quickly enough to make making a stack of books with it a viable proposition. Refilling pens from bottles is a guaranteed way to grab their attention, as most had never thought it a possibility.

At the moment, with us having been issued iPads, I'm getting more queries about stylus selection, the Adonit Jot Pro being my current choice.

The number one pen amongst the boys continues to be the Lamys Safari and Al-Star, and not by a small margin. Almost all on cartridges, of course.

* obviously I would never tell them that I extract next year's ink from the worst-performing child of the current year. Never.

 

[jaycey]

Up until early this year I used MB Meisterstück's but 1 was nicked and 2 destroyed (1 under the wheels of a JCB )

I now use a Lamy Vista, with Lamy Black/Blue cartridges. I miss my MB's.

 

[chrisbell]

I didn't like to be the first one to mention Montblanc, but...:angel: You may remember that my grandmother passed away earlier this year - she left me some money in her will, and I'm intending to buy myself something to act as a remembrance. Our local independent department store (Jarrolds of Norwich, which I've mentioned before for their shaving and EdT selection, has a rather nice pen area. I had a browse a few weeks back, and they had some rather nice pens, but the chap behind the counter, who seemed to be the manager for that department, informed me that, as of October, they are due to be granted Montblanc outlet status. I'm thinking of paying a visit next month and trying a few pens, amongst which I'd like to think might be a Meisterstück 146.:angel: