Pelikan 605 or Parker Sonnet or Something Cheaper ?

KCat wrote:
everyone has an opinion. I like piston-fillers like the Pelikans. But I'll
tolerate a c/c filler if I really love the pen. And I have some of those:
The Columbus Academia (a small, light pen), the Laban, the Phileas. Many
people prefer the convenience of cartridges - i like the piston filled pens
or using converters because I like being able to use whatever FP ink I want.
:-) There are some great inks in cartridges - there just aren't enough for
my liking. But if you're traveling or in classes all day and want an
endless, easy supply, then a cartridge pen can be a better choice.

Something tells me that ink in fairly involved as well

Well I purchased my first fountain pen. I mail ordered a restored
Duofold Aerometric. That's going to be my big pen. The price was right,
probably less than a tenth of what the current Duofolds are going for.
The next pen will definitely be a vintage Parker 51. I've fallen in love
with its styling, especially the hooded nib. It's like the ipod of pens,
just perfectly designed inside and out. I'll probably wait for a pen
show before getting that one. Then, who knows, probably a Rotring.

I'd like to thank everyone who responded with advice and express my
appreciation for the huge amount of information that has accumulated in
this newsgroup.

cheers,

e.m.

On Mon, 20 Sep 2004 16:05:04 GMT, "KCat" wrote:

"e.m. redding" wrote in message
ink.net...

In your experience do Pelikans increase in usability
and performance as the price goes up or do they eventually fall prey to
the performance-price inverse relationship?

hmm... IMO I wouldn't spend the money on an 800 unless it was a matter of
needing/prefering a large pen. I would say that the performance/quality
remains the same across all the lines (yes, including the lowly 200 with
it's wonderful steel nib.) Just that when you get up to the 800 and 1000
these are much larger pens with much larger nibs and some parts that are
plastic in the lower lines are brass in the 800 and 1000, making them
heavier also.

As kcat says, the only difference between the 400, 600, 800, and 1000
is the size. And you pretty much have to find a dealer who will let
you try them to see which one fits your hand. (Although, some of the
MO places might let you take a guess and order two or three with the
understanding you'll return one or two uninked for a refill.)

I could have gone with the 600 or the 800; I chose the 800 because it
was too big for my wife, who can lose any writing implement within 10
minutes. Her response when she saw the 800 was that it was too big
for her. As a result, she'll wander off looking for another pen, and
I know where my pen is years later.

YMMV

Pat

Email address works as is.

e.m. redding wrote:
KCat wrote:

SNIP

Something tells me that ink in fairly involved as well

Well I purchased my first fountain pen. I mail ordered a restored
Duofold Aerometric. That's going to be my big pen. The price was right,
probably less than a tenth of what the current Duofolds are going for.
The next pen will definitely be a vintage Parker 51.

Way to go!

Michael

"e.m. redding" wrote in message
ink.net...

Something tells me that ink in fairly involved as well

heh heh... i'm an inkaholic.

"Patrick Lamb" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 20 Sep 2004 16:05:04 GMT, "KCat" wrote:

minutes. Her response when she saw the 800 was that it was too big
for her. As a result, she'll wander off looking for another pen, and
I know where my pen is years later.

YMMV

Pat

:-) Fortunately, hubby only wandered off with my D200 (the mechanical
pencil) so I bought a couple of used ones and those manage to stay fairly
close to my desk.

As some of the other contributors to this thread have indicated, a pen is a
very personal item and my preferences may not reflect your own. I own a
Pelikan 605 and many other nibbed pens, both vintage and modern. The 605 is
my daily writer and the one pen in my collection which is always inked. I
can highly recommend it as a "workhorse" piece.

"e.m. redding" wrote in message
ink.net...
I'm buying my first fountain soon and I'd like to hear your opinion of the
relative merits of the Pelikan 605 and Parker Sonnet, and of cheaper
varieties as well. I borrowed my friend's Mont Blanc 146 (yeah, precious
resin, as subsequent research has shown) and was really impressed by the
feel of its weight and balance and the smoothness of the writing compared
to the disposable pens I use.

Should I go for a Pelikan 605 or Parker Sonnet as a daily writer that will
get heavy use? Or, do you believe that in terms of writing quality, a
mass-produced pen such as a Pelikan 150, Waterman Phileas, Parker Frontier
or Rotring Core/Freeway is the smart choice? Aesthetics don't really
matter very much to me - what I'm really interested in is a fine tool that
won't made my hand feel like it's going to fall off after several hours of
writing. Unfortunately I have no way of testing these pens personally but
I hope the fact that I enjoyed the Mont Blanc 146 will calibrate your
opinions.

cheers,

e.m.