What pen?

[Aperitif]

Rotring are good! I used to deal in these pens and another brand which was trying to make its way in the UK...Erograph, from Prodimex - and they were cheaper. Wenceslas Holly was the guy's name - German - and he used to travel up to see me in London (drssed in long spy mac, trilby and carrying a big black leather briefcase) when I worked at art school and encumber me with all sorts of free gifts. Then he used to go to the Swiss Centre, drink coffee and be 'entertained' by Mr Raymond's finest of Soho, before returning to Worthing. On a day trip there, he introduced me to his daughter who took me for lunch in Worthing (choice of Complan restaurants..or mash bars without the bangers.) It was unfortunate that I was playing rugby or something under floodlights that evening otherwise I might just have inherited an "empire"! (and be obliged to visit the Swiss Centre + etc...)
Ahem, all that to say, I have a Mont Blanc 'proper' pen somewhere, which is very nice but nothing special - I suppose due to lack of practice, not the equipment. I used to 'write' a lot with an Osmiroid 75? sketchpen. filled with Fount India - a nice white object, but for everyday use I suppose it is Pilot Hi-Tecpoint V5 0.5 (comes as a 'grip' version too, with a little clippy bit for one's pocket) and, when I fancy, Pilot G-Tec -C4 pens with ultra-fine nib.
Sorry - rambling - all that to say 'Naughty Norm' for throwing a Rotring away! And good for you Ravenbait - keep writing, it's a lovely thing to explore.

Oh, and the other reason I couldn't deal easily with fountain pens is...I'm left-handed. My, my - schooldays were fun!

 

[ianjohnson67]

For day-to-day I go for Pilot V Ball.

For Leisure, Parker fountain pens.

For best, Waterman Hemisphere fountain pen with Gold plated nib.

 

[Norm]

Sorry - rambling - all that to say 'Naughty Norm' for throwing a Rotring away!

It was an old 0.5 XONOX technical pen, I've been using it for a very long time and it was pretty much out of ink anyway. It had served its £3 purpose.

 

[Night Train]

I have a Sheaffer 14k gold nib which is exellent and much better than a same make steel nib.

I used to have one of those when I was at school back in the 70's. My Dad gave it to me to help me to improve my handwriting.
Then some tosser (Mark Gilbert, I haven't forgotten you!) snatched it off me and stabbed it into the wall.

We never managed to replace it and my handwriting never improved. Teachers weren't a lot of help either, they never recognised the value of a good pen over a stubby HB pencil.

 

[trj977]

Hi I would recommend either Montblanc Noblesse Oblige or a Shaefer Targa. I use both and think they would be what you are looking for.

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/93146-montblanc-noblesse-oblige/

http://www.sheaffertarga.com/

 

[Saddle bum]

[In Italy] I was once sold an Aurora fountain pen and ball point set by an beatiful Italian lady who blew me out of my sox. Absolute cracker. So some may claim I am biased., but that pen set is one of my prized possessions. It writes beautifully, making my normal Engineer's scrawl amost legible. Fountain pens do have real style.

 

[Fnaar]

[In Italy] I was once sold an Aurora fountain pen and ball point set by an beautiful Italian lady who blew me out of my sox.

was that, like, instead of giving you a receipt?

 

[asterix]

How about quill pens? Those Mediaeval scribes prioduced some good stuff.

 

[Aperitif]

was that, like, instead of giving you a receipt?

Fnaar likes this - me too!
Naughty boy!

 

[Amanda P]

 

[porteous]

Try one of these! JINHAO , fabulous well made Chinese pens, high quality, rather like a Mont Blanc to write with and dirt cheap on E Bay.
I have two and have bought one for each of the family.

The only drawback is postage time takes a while.

Have a look here: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/jojopenshop

 

[swee'pea99]

'pen'? What mean this...'pen'?

 

[John the Monkey]

Try one of these! JINHAO , fabulous well made Chinese pens, high quality, rather like a Mont Blanc to write with and dirt cheap on E Bay.
I have two and have bought one for each of the family.

Interesting review of those here;
http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/141570-jinhao-x450/

Look to be worth a punt for the money.

 

[Ravenbait]

I was thinking that myself, John.

I've ordered one of these Platinum Carbon pens from Cult Pens. It should turn up today or tomorrow, so I'll see how I get on with it. I ordered the converter to go with it. Obviously not a pen for carrying around, but I have a selection of Vectors for that. I wouldn't want to lose a good pen and I'm very good at losing pens.

I do think I need to go to a shop where they will let me try before I buy before spending a significant amount of money, though.

Sam

 

[John the Monkey]

That looks lovely - the shape echoes the Rotring artpen (which is really comfy, although a bit of a bugger to carry around, as you note).

If you don't mind bottle fill, some of the "Hero" brand pens spoken of approvingly in the comments here;
http://www.diyplanner.com/node/5380
are less than £3.

It's also worth watching sales at Ryman and the like for everyday pens - for some reason they reduced lots of their Parker stock by 2/3s last year.