Good Pen?

[Andrew--]

I have absolutely had it with using cheap company branded biros. Scratchy to write with and notes look terrible.

So I need some ideas or suggestions. I don't want to spend much as I am likely to lose it after a month or two. £10-20 price range, then I can get a couple.

I'm open to fountain pens but it's a long time since I wrote with one. Answers on a postcard

[Cactussed]

I got a Lamy fountain as my every day jobbie. Works OK.
Saves me losing my Parker

[summit7]

Pilot G2 disposable pens, they use proper ink but through a 'biro' system. Not scratchy at all, flow nicely when you use the black ink gives a nice finish that is NOT like biro at all. Buy in packs of 4 or 5, each pen lasts me about 6 weeks with a fair bit of writing each day.

Richard

[arryb]

I'm currently using a uniball Signo which is nice - not scratchy but also a desposible pen. Parker make some good fountain pens so could be worth buying one and trying it out but also remember that fountain pen nibs mould your writing style so will probably feel quite scratchy to start with.

And for the sake of posting a funny link: www.penisland.net - Not to be confused with penis land, the link posted is actually a pen site

[foreright]

Andrew-- said:

I have absolutely had it with using cheap company branded biros. Scratchy to write with and notes look terrible.

So I need some ideas or suggestions. I don't want to spend much as I am likely to lose it after a month or two. £10-20 price range, then I can get a couple.

I'm open to fountain pens but it's a long time since I wrote with one. Answers on a postcard

Rotring artpens are great - very smooth. I use the 'sketching F' ones:

http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/rotring_Artpen.ht...

[JonnyV8]

I have a Parker fountain pen and I absolutely love it.
So much so, I bought a second one just in case

[andy_s]

A pen thread - oh goody.....


A bit obscure but my favourite:



Pilot MYU 701, lovely with brown ink.

Sorry - just noticed your price range - Lamy would be a good bet.

Edited by andy_s on Sunday 4th January 17:11

[Dover Nige]

Recently picked up a Retro51 jobbie. Very nice for the cash.

LINKY

[gamefreaks]

£15-20?

Hmm...I like the Parker 45, in stainless and gold plate trim.

Should be on-budget, and they look and write nicely.

[Andrew--]

andy_s that pen looks stunning. But like you corrected yourself.. slightly more expensive than I want to spend on a day to day pen.

I like the fountain pen recommendations here. I'm in Reading town centre tomorrow so I'll pop into WHSmiths and see if they have some of the pens suggested. Unless anyone can suggest an alternative shop in the town centre?

Edit
I think I'm leaning towards a Parker 45 as a quick google after the suggestion above and it looks ok. I'll have a look at the other suggestions too and maybe give them a go. Personal preference at the end of the day.

Edited by Andrew-- on Sunday 4th January 17:19

Edited by Andrew-- on Sunday 4th January 17:20

[LHDisbest]

Office World do a nice line in Cross rollerballs, great pens. I've got a Cross Century II that was about £25 from Office World. It writes great, better than my Mont Blanc rollerball.

I've got a Cross Matrix as well (the pull out bullet-type pen) which lives in the car.

I like Cross pens, you might have guessed.

[TWSTEEL]

Brill - write anywhere - slip in your trouser/jacket pocket - mine goes everywhere with me no matter what I'm wearing (Well almost )

http://www.thepencompany.co.uk/product/fisher_bull...

ETA


DOH!

Edited by TWSTEEL on Sunday 4th January 17:24

[shakotan]

Get a rollerball, much better than scratchy ballpoints.

I have used a Rotring for many years, nice weight and refills as affordable enough.

[Mannginger]

andy_s said:

A pen thread - oh goody.....


A bit obscure but my favourite:



Pilot MYU 701, lovely with brown ink.

Sorry - just noticed your price range - Lamy would be a good bet.

Edited by andy_s on Sunday 4th January 17:11

I think I've fallen in love! Are these "thin" pens? I find modern pens too thick really, but the styling on this thing is wonderful.

They don't seem readily for sale however - any hints / tips? Anything to look out for?

Cheers in advance

Phil

[andy_s]

Mannginger said:

andy_s said:

A pen thread - oh goody.....

I think I've fallen in love! Are these "thin" pens? I find modern pens too thick really, but the styling on this thing is wonderful.
They don't seem readily for sale however - any hints / tips? Anything to look out for?

Cheers in advance

Phil

They're about the same thickness as a Vecter ballpoint (Parker) pen - so not at all fat. It's a bit of a pain in the bum to get one, they made them in '71 and stopped shortly afterwards. They still have unused stock lurking in Japan & there is one or two specialist ebay sellers that have them now and again - I'll dig out the guys ID & PM you if you're interested - that's where I got mine. As they are in limited supply the sell for about £100-£120 depending on whover is looking to buy one at the time.
There are a few different styles but the plain one does it for me. The Japanese nib sizes are a tad bigger than US/UK ones, but not dramatically - medium nib is probably best. A reservoir and cartridges are fairly easily available as they're standard. It's the only pen with an integral nib except for, I think, one of the parkers (which I've got but it isn't as nice aesthetically or to write with), and a very rare T1 (Parker again I think, made from Titanium & had some sort of outer-space connection - very quickly abandoned due to the cost of machining the nibs)
I did a search and apparently there has been a run of about 7,000 ones been launched recently (2008) but only in Japan, these are very similar but have a thicker collar which sort of spoils the clean line & a blue jewel on the cap, they are a bit more reasonably priced though - or should be!

Anyway - here are a few links:

Article describing the history & range:
http://www.stutler.cc/pens/murex/index.html
That new one I mentioned (there may be other resellers but this was just a quick look see): http://www.melpens.com/Pilot/Limited_Edition_Myu_9...

(ETA - there a few new MYU 90's on ebay, but can't see any 701's there at the mo)


(Ha - have read this back and sound like some sort of nutcase - this knowledge was aquired in the hunt for this specific pen is my only defense!)

Edited by andy_s on Monday 5th January 15:48

[andy_s]

Out of interest - $270 from Russ - http://www.stutler.cc

[A1GOY]

I'm a fan of the Parker Jotter. The Goldeneye pen. They're a tenner a go, so it doesn't matter if you lose it and it's not scratchy at all! Works a treat. And it's all biro, all the time (so leftie devil children like me can use them).

[Tycho]

Andrew-- said:

andy_s that pen looks stunning. But like you corrected yourself.. slightly more expensive than I want to spend on a day to day pen.

I like the fountain pen recommendations here. I'm in Reading town centre tomorrow so I'll pop into WHSmiths and see if they have some of the pens suggested. Unless anyone can suggest an alternative shop in the town centre?

Edit
I think I'm leaning towards a Parker 45 as a quick google after the suggestion above and it looks ok. I'll have a look at the other suggestions too and maybe give them a go. Personal preference at the end of the day.

Edited by Andrew-- on Sunday 4th January 17:19

Edited by Andrew-- on Sunday 4th January 17:20

Try John Lewis. I think that the pen dept is on the ground floor.

[g77]

How about a Rotring 600 - I've got a fountain pen and it is absolutely lovely to use.
It feels nice and heavy in the way that the very best German engineering does and will almost certainly last a lifetime.

I've got a Mont Blanc Meisterstueck fountain pen and it is terrible. Ever since I have had it, it has always leaked and Mont Blanc seem unable to fix the problem.

Only problem is that it was discontinued years ago so you'll have to search around for one..........and it might be slightly above the price range.
But it is a lovely pen.

In fact it was so nice that I went back and bought the pencil and the ballpoint pen.

[Alfanatic]

A1GOY said:

I'm a fan of the Parker Jotter. The Goldeneye pen. They're a tenner a go, so it doesn't matter if you lose it and it's not scratchy at all! Works a treat. And it's all biro, all the time (so leftie devil children like me can use them).

+1. I've been using them all my life, never had a bad one. I'm also pretty sure they were under £5 last time I looked in WHSmith. They look good, are comfortable and write well. Only bad point I've had with them is they seem to grow legs and vanish faster than any other pen I've ever known.