Have you seen it and held it, hefted it? How does it feel in your hand?my dream fountain pen is the ernest hemmingway mont blanc
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Fountain pen users, rejoice!
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my dream fountain pen is the ernest hemmingway mont blanc
Mine is the Mont Blanc Blue Hour.
@Scepticalscribe. It’s Mont Blanc cartridges buying time. I usually buy Mystery Black. I fancy a change and am wondering if you can recommend a black for me? Do you usually use black and if so which one?
Mystery Black is what I normally use, as well.
Sometimes, I use their navy (or blue black) ink (whatever it is called - can't lay hands on a cartridge pack this minute), and occasionally, I use their blue (a sort of royal blue).
I've never really used any other colour ink; the specialist shop where I buy my pens (and authorised Mont Blanc dealer) have offered me others, on occasion. I seem to recall having been given a pack of "Oyster Grey" cartridges, but I never used them.
Even in my teaching days, when I wrote with a fountain pen (though not a Mont Blanc), I never decorated student essays or term papers in lurid red, or screaming green; I simply marked and graded and commented on their essays/papers in black, navy blue, or blue ink.
Expense is not the point (or not the only point).
Rather, it is function: Do you like fountain pens? Do you like to write with them? Is any particular brand more comfortable in your hand than any other?
For years, I had disdained Mont Blanc, believing what was said (and written) about the brand to be pure hype. Then, I inherited an aged Mont Blanc roller ball pen, and was amazed at how comfortable it was to write with.
That was when I became hooked, as I don't much care for roller ball pens, and far prefer fountain pens, but this was so comfortable to write with that I realised I had to investigate their fountain pens.
The thing about Mont Blanc is that - assuming you have a pen which fits your hand - it is extremely well balanced and is exceptionally comfortable to write with.
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I bought the set when they came out. It's fat but still usable. I ordered it with a fine nib but sent it to MB and had they fit a XF to it, which I prefer.
If it is both balanced and comfortable in your hand, then, that is usually more than sufficient.
Lovely pen, by the way.
What is a good recommendation for a fountain pen for someone like me who knows nothing about them? I'd like to consider something that is a decent brand and quality but isn't also ridiculously expensive.
My suggestion would be to try several brands yourself and see how the writing experience (and not just scrawling your name) feels, how the pen (or respective pens) feel in your hand, how balanced they are, how comfortable it is to write with them.
Most reputable brands make excellent and sturdy pens, but holding and writing with one is a very subjective experience.
For example: Parker produce terrific pens, but they are far too chunky, large (and hence, uncomfortable) for me personally. Now, I fully recognise that others have had nothing but good experiences when writing with them.
Cross, Paper Mate, Pelikan, and Caran d'Ache all manufacture some excellent pens. Again, personal preference - re comfort, ease of use, balance in hand, will dictate which brand you prefer.
I used to think that all the stuff written about Mont Blanc was simply hype, spin and marketing.
The, I wrote with a Mont Blanc pen of a size which suits my (small) hands perfectly; the ease of movement, control and perfect balance mean that I will never write with anything else.
I am a collector (or better to say used to be). Have been using Montblanc for decades, nevertheless there are two brands that I like: Sheaffer and Cross. You might want to check both in a specialized shop. These brands are famous and not expensive. (Don't let them talk you into buying a Waterman!)
P.S.: I forgot about Pelikan. Very nice and excellent fountain pens!
Sheaffer are also very good pens, agreed.
Agree, too, re Waterman: I've had two - I bought a matched pair - exquisite to look at - in Heathrow airport prior to departing on an election mission. They looked stunning but were a pain to write with.
Again, @SandboxGeneral - try them out individually, for yourself.
My personal preferences have been Mont Blanc, Cross (nice, neat pens) and, indeed, Shaeffer.
Pelikan are too large for me, and, while I used to like Caran d'Ache, in terms of ease and balance, and sheer comfort in the hand, Mont Blanc leaves them in the shade.
Short of buying a pen, any pen, I don't know that there is anywhere near me where I could go to try one. I'm looking around online and haven't turned up much in my state as of yet.
Are there things I need to know about fountain pens? Do I have to buy a jar of ink, or are there options like cartridges, refills or tubes or something? What about types of ink? I have an inexpensive gel ink pen I'm using right now and I love how it dries instantly so that I avoid smudges when writing.
I found this website that looks intriguing and will spend some time on today to learn more. http://glennspens.com/aboutpens/index.html
Are there things I need to know about fountain pens? Do I have to buy a jar of ink, or are there options like cartridges, refills or tubes or something? What about types of ink? I have an inexpensive gel ink pen I'm using right now and I love how it dries instantly so that I avoid smudges when writing.
I found this website that looks intriguing and will spend some time on today to learn more. http://glennspens.com/aboutpens/index.html
At university, I used to use an ink bottle when writing - and carried it in my briefcase. The ink was always that of the appropriate ink for the pen - i.e. I used the ink manufactured by the same company as had crafted whatever brand of pen I wrote with.
These days, as I travel so much - both within the country for meetings and when I am working abroad - I use cartridges (again, always the same brand as that of the pen, or ones that the pen can take easily) exclusively.
I agree, I have a fountain and a ballpoint Mont Blanc and they have endured the hardships of many countries.
As Scepticalscribe said one of the most important aspects is the feel, the balance of the pen. The second one is the nib. I personally prefer medium (M). It depends on your writing style and dynamics. My father used solely fine (F) and extra fine (EF).
For the same reason as Scepticalscribe I use mainly cartridges.
For the same reason as Scepticalscribe I use mainly cartridges.
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Can you define "ridiculously expensive"?
I think the two I'd recommend right off the bat that are excellent pens I'd write with frequently are the Pilot Custom 74 and the Waterman Expert. The Expert was the pen that got me started collecting -- previous to that purchase, I was given both a Sheaffer something-or-other and then a Mont Blanc Edgar Allan Poe edition as gifts. I liked both well enough but they both had leakage issues.
I bought a Pilot Metropolitan to start, which was a really nice sub-$25 pen.
Shortly thereafter I read Stephen King had called a Waterman the greatest word processor ever, and I figured I'd take that plunge. That was my first "serious" pen I bought on my own, and I think I paid around $100-ish for it on Amazon. Its fine nib is terrifically smooth and I found I could write at length very comfortably.
Pilot is probably my favorite brand, though, with a Custom 823F being my favorite pen. The nib on it is fairly close to the Custom 74, though, so I think that's a pretty great deal, which you can usually find for anywhere between $100-$200. I get most of my pens from Goulet Pens, when I can; great online shopping, great customer service, and great independent small-business owner.
They're both pens you could write with for hours at a time and for years down the line if properly maintained. Both can accept cartridges (I think Pilots are proprietary), but both also have converters so you can use bottled ink. The Pilot Con-70 converter is one of the best.
Likewise.
I also use a fountain pen (the Meisterstuck 144) and a ballpoint Mont Blanc whenever, and wherever I travel; my Mont Blancs work for their living, as I use them extensively when making notes, or preparing briefings, or taking minutes, or writing reports.
Actually, I use them daily.
Usually the pens in the cheaper range come with cartridges and the more expensive ones use ink wells/jars. However, you can buy adapters for the cartridge pens to use ink directly from the wells. I usually carry one of each, and since I do not write extensively (mostly I sign printed documents, write prescriptions and brief notes) I'm almost never caught with a dry pen.
About the types of ink, you have to try several different kinds before setting for one. Most of them will dry slower than the gel pen you are used to, and the kind of paper you're writing on will be of consequence also, but there is no substitute to trying several brands. I mostly buy Montblanc ink for using with the MB pens and Caran D'ache Blue night or colored Iroshizuku for the rest of the pens.
One of my 2 most important pens (for sentimental reasons) is a Montblanc EAPoe, it was broken when I bought it (used, on eBay), but a brief, non-expensive visit to a MB distributor, and it has worked as a charm ever since. Once I had my MB Defoe leak like crazy, but then again, a visit to the shop and it was fixed.
For cheap and comfy pens I can not recomend anything above the Lamy Safari (even the Pilot metropolitan), it is a wonderful little fountain pen that is a joy to write with.
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The Mont Blanc pens I have are equipped to use both cartridges, and ink wells (or ink pots).
They come with a piece of equipment that allows them to extract ink (by suction) from an ink well, or ink jar/pot; however, you need not avail of this - I don't - as I choose to use cartridges instead. So, this lovely little suction device sits in the case of the fountain one should I ever wish (or need) to avail of it.
Mine's sentimental as well! My now-wife gave it to me as an engagement present. She, too, bought it used on eBay, so I'll definitely have to take your suggestion there and visit an MB distributor. I have a feeling it'll need a tuning on top of any fix, though; it's a medium nib, and I vastly prefer fine/extra.
I've heard that about the Safari. I had one, but it was before I really got into fountain pens and I didn't really use it much, so I think my negative experiences were a result of that lack of usage (hard starts, that kind of thing). For me, I prefer Pilot Metros for the feel and the aesthetics, but I think between the two one can't really go wrong in terms of wonderful little (inexpensive) fountain pens that are joys to write with.
I have a Lamy 2000 EF that I use occasionally, and I do like it. Wonderful pen. Lamy seems to me to be very precisely engineered in ways that I think of other pens as well crafted, if that makes sense. There's something terrifically utilitarian about it in the way that form follows function for Lamy. Not that they're not well designed or handsome pens (they certainly are).
