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Learning my lesson about modern pens


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#1 pickles

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Posted 06 November 2011 - 05:26 PM

Except for 2 modern Pelikans that I have and love, I think I'm done with modern pens. I just bought the Visconti Homo Sapiens lava pen, which felt fine when I tried it out in the store. But when I tried it out at home, I realized just how ridiculously top heavy this thing is because the cap weighs a ton. It's a gorgeous pen and it does write beautifully--with the 23K palladium nib Visconti is touting--but unless I keep it unposted (I don't like writing with unposted pens as a rule), it's almost impossible to write comfortably with. I probably won't keep it.

Lately my favorite everyday pens have been a Sheaffer Touchdown Statesman and a Snorkel Admiral. So much for the newfangled jobs...

#2 Hugh

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Posted 07 November 2011 - 02:00 AM

I'd have to agree with you that most modern pens are too heavy!! Caran D'Ache seem to be some of the better modern pens imo. I'm also a great fan of the '50's Sheaffers, hard to go wrong with really.

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#3 vintage penman

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Posted 07 November 2011 - 09:33 AM

I'm down to one modern pen a Pelikan M800 that is way too heavy. It's far from being a favourite but since it was a 50th birthday present I'm stuck with it. What is the modern obsession with weight, bling, overwide nail nibs all about ? Ditto piston fillers. Keep it simple, HR / celluloid and lever / button filled I say.

#4 pickles

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Posted 07 November 2011 - 06:45 PM

I do like the piston filler--Visconti uses that system just like Pelikan--but I'm quite content with lever/button/plunger fillers and normal-size pens. So yeah, aside from being able to use some of them as weapons, I don't see much use for most modern pens.

And today I'm writing with an Eversharp Skyline and I'm enjoying it very much.

#5 Pedro

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Posted 08 November 2011 - 10:43 PM

Julie:
I fully understand your sentiments. Most pen designers can make a pretty pen, but if the pen is top-heavy it will cause your hands to cramp. Seems to me that the designer never actually held the pen in hand and actually wrote a full page for testing. They can keep the heavy, bling, and the garish pens to themselves.

A lot of the Japanese modern pens have a simple aesthetic, are lightweight and well-balanced, you just have to try them.
Pedro
Looking for a Sheaffer OS Balance with a Stub nib and other OS Oddities.

#6 pickles

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Posted 09 November 2011 - 02:05 AM

I agree, Pedro--it seems to be along the same lines as great-looking cars that were clearly designed by someone who has never actually driven. I will say, though, that the nib on this Visconti is really nice--like butter. But since I really can't write with a pen whose weight is concentrated all at the top 1" of the cap, I'm selling it.

Lesson learned.

#7 Orfew

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Posted 09 November 2011 - 05:31 AM

These days I am looking for vintage celluloid pens. They seem to be better built, use quality materials, and are a better value for the money. Personally I prefer celluloid because it feels warmer in the hand.

#8 Pedro

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Posted 09 November 2011 - 01:36 PM

Ebonite and Urushi feel great too! ;)
Pedro
Looking for a Sheaffer OS Balance with a Stub nib and other OS Oddities.

#9 pickles

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Posted 09 November 2011 - 04:38 PM

My only concern about celluloid is, doesn't it have a tendency to disintegrate? I'll have to check out ebonite and urushi.

Did they ever make pens out of Bakelite?

#10 Pedro

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Posted 10 November 2011 - 01:45 PM

There are some celluloids that are fragile, like our red-veined marbled grey by Sheaffer. However, most are quite stable except when subjected to an open flame. I have to be careful when I keep an OS Balance and a Montecristo #2 Torpedo cigar on my pocket: I don't want to light the wrong one!
;)
Pedro
Looking for a Sheaffer OS Balance with a Stub nib and other OS Oddities.

#11 vintage penman

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Posted 12 March 2012 - 10:48 AM

Try some hard rubber vintage pens - nice to handle, not really likely to degrade much but they do discolour somewhat over time. Can be brittle if dropped sadly.

Anyway, the warranties offered with new pens are not worth worrying about either. A properly restored, simple vintage pen won't need one !

I've only ever suffered problems with new pens......

Edited by vintage penman, 12 March 2012 - 10:49 AM.


#12 penmanila

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Posted 12 March 2012 - 03:42 PM

i have a pretty decent collection of both vintage and modern pens--leaning more towards vintage, as my main interest is in vacumatics--and i must say, at least for myself, that's it's very hard to generalize between them, as both standouts and clunkers can be found in both categories. i like the fact that many modern pens seem to have been designed for efficiency--the use of no-mess cartridges and converters, for example--but now and then (as with my visconti wall street LE, whose palladium nib is adorable, and my pelikan level 5, with its huge capacity), a filling system will make me wonder "what were they thinking?" conversely, the past gave us classics like the 51 and the skyliner, but it also produced tons of bottom-tier pens whose nibs you could've used for raking the leaves or for tattooing (shows you my bias for broad, wet nibs).

i keep a vac senior maxima in the daily rotation, but my other "beaters" are almost all moderns--a new duofold international, a 146, a 149, and an M800, all of which have given me good service. and as valuable as these pens are in themselves, i won't cry as much if i lost one than if it were, say, a 1936 vacumatic oversize. except for the vac, these nibs are broad and wet, the way i like them, although nothing flexes like a vintage.

so i keep the best of both old and new around, proud of their virtues and generally forgiving of their faults ;)
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#13 pickles

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Posted 12 March 2012 - 05:24 PM

Since I last posted about this, I've acquired a few modern pens that I actually like very much: a Visconti Art Nouveau, a Parker Duofold International (Centennial was too big for me), and a Conway Stewart Wellington. They're all well balanced and not too heavy. The Conway Stewart even has a little bit of flex, too.

So now I'm finally able to enjoy having a mix of new and old--and penmanila, I like the way you phrase it: "proud of their virtues and generally forgiving of their faults." :)

Edited by pickles, 12 March 2012 - 05:25 PM.


#14 plmadding

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Posted 21 March 2012 - 04:36 PM

My favorite modern pen is the new rendition of the Conklin Endura. It is a large pen with a nice smooth steel nib which even has enough spring in it to give some line variation. Another good thing about it is that it is quite light, and feels perfect when posted. Iirc it sold for about $75 so not bad in that area either.

Preston


#15 Miami_Marlins_fan

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Posted 31 March 2012 - 04:04 AM

My first modern fountain pen was a Monteverde Regatta. It was a beautiful pen, but it weighted more than a pregnant moose cow. When the cap was posted, the pen's balance was so terrible that I thought it would tip over and take my arm along with it. Writing more than 3 pages with was worse that a torture session in a medieval rack machine. My shoulder was so badly out of shape after any significant period of writing that I started to prefer amputation to writing with a fountain pen. I almost gave up on fountain pens because of this pen.

Thankfully I discovered Pelikan, and that saved my love affair with fountain pens. Pelikans are some of the best "classical modern" pens in the marketplace. You get a modern pen with most of the qualities that make a vintage pen great. Discovering vintage pens has also helped tremendously.

PS: At least the Monteverde Regatta has one redeeming feature. If you are ever playing baseball with a group of friends, and your bat snaps in half, the Monteverde Regatta makes a nice substitute.

Edited by Miami_Marlins_fan, 31 March 2012 - 04:09 AM.


#16 plistumi

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Posted 31 March 2012 - 06:00 PM

Modern pens do not necessarily have to be heavy. I have a slew of Pelikan M400 and M200s. They are not heavy. Now, try something like a Pelikan Polar Lights pen and you might as well be lifting weights (In fact, that pen is going into the for sale bin). Bigger is not always better, that is all.

#17 mhphoto

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Posted 09 October 2012 - 03:42 AM

I've got some modern pens that I love, and some modern pens that I hate. One that I love, my fine nib Sheaffer Intensity, is one of the smoothest in my collection of 20. I, as a rule (only for my writing comfort), don't post the cap when I'm writing. Never have liked it. Why don't you like writing un-posted? If the Visconti is balanced without being posted, why not just write without it being posted? To each his own; I'm not criticizing the way you write.


#18 vintage penman

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Posted 12 October 2012 - 08:51 AM

Finally managed to offload the M800 base ball bat and replaced it with a Delta Windows ( with permission from the boss!) I am surprised by the lack of weight in the actual pen itself cpmpared to most moderns by being a simple button filler. The cap wieghs a ton though. Since i never use the pen posted it doesn't matter. The Delta solves the weight problem pretty well and is now the token new pen in my stable.

#19 Will

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Posted 15 October 2012 - 03:11 AM

Old Style Paragon or m400 for me--light, great grip sections, nice feel, piston filler...didadidadia. I've never had nice enough snork to have an opinion on them, but i know the P51 is not my cup of tea, in terms of the design and the grip section. The Aurora 88 vintage is better, but they leak more than my 1937 user grade vac.

#20 LedZepGirl

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Posted 20 November 2012 - 05:14 AM

I don't think I'll be buying anymore modern pens for the same reason. Oftentimes they are too heavy, or something else is off, flaws in material, poor trims, ect. Don't get me started on plastic pens with metal sections, I've never purchased one and don't plan on it, they look awfully uncomfortable. Of the four new pens I own my Pelikan M205 is my fav, it's nice, light and decently sized and has a built in filler.

I'd rather save my money for vintage pens.
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