three fountain pen daily drivers

content/post/2023/06/three-fountain-pen-daily-drivers.md

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+---
+title: Three Fountain Pen Daily Drivers
+date: 2023-06-19T14:51:00+02:00
+categories:
+    - braindump
+tags:
+    - fountain pens
+---
+
+It's been a while since I've bought a new pen---from [2021's Pilot Capless](/post/2021/06/the-pilot-capless), to be exact. My colleague received an engraved pen from his department with his doctoral title when he graduated, and for years I've been promising myself I could get a new pen if I finally get that degree. 
+
+This post is not about a new pen, though. I haven't made up my mind just yet (and I'm not a doctor just yet). To do that, I first need to thoroughly inspect which pens I currently use and why. For me, a new pen must have a purpose---I'm not a fountain pen collector, I'm a fountain pen _user_. Perhaps I've been thinking about pens a bit too much lately, but for me, that's part of the fun. Here's an overview of three fountain pens I find myself using almost every day. If you could suggest a fourth that perfectly complements these, please reach out!
+
+## The Workhouse
+
+The first expensive pen I ever owned was a **Lamy 2000**: German engineering at its best. The 2000 has a timeless design that didn't change since 1966. Its body is made using steel (the clip) and a special polycarbonate called Makrolon that, compared to most resin-based barrels, feels very durable. Need to take notes? Snap the cap right off: no need to screw---and the _snap_ it produces is very satisfying as well. Want to write pages upon pages? Sure, performance and comfort are both trademarks of the 2000.
+
+But the real reason why my Lamy 2000 is called _The Workhouse_ is of course the stellar writing performance. If you only need one pen, buy this one. It never fails, it has a huge ink capacity, the nib isn't a huge in-your-face ornate artifact that distracts your writing, and the feeling on paper is what one would call buttery smooth. If you know how to angle it just right, that is. I unconsciously sometimes rotate my pens and this one doesn't like that. 
+
+Advantages:
+
+- The snap cap is satisfying to fiddle with and the pen is ready to write in no-time.
+- The piston-filled ink reservoir is quite large and the easiest of the three to fill. I love to keep it filled with a turquoise ink.
+- My fine nib is buttery smooth!
+
+Disadvantages: 
+
+- This pen requires a bit of precision to write well.
+- The nib sizes edge on the broad side of the spectrum: the fine could just as well be called a medium.
+- Some are bothered with the very small metal indentations near the grip that hold the cap in place. If you grip your pens quite firmly, you'll notice this.
+
+Affordable alternative: the Lamy Safai that comes in a ton of lovely colors and features easily replaceable nibs that write smooth as well. The Safari is quite bulky---especially posted---and the cartridge converter's ink capacity is tiny, but there's a reason why this is one of the most popular cheap fountain pens.
+
+![](../dailydrivers.jpg "The daily drivers, from top to bottom: Lamy 2000, Pilot Capless, Pilot Custom Heritage 912 WA. As you can see, the 912 is the ostentatious one.")
+
+## The Note Taker
+
+No surprises there---it's the **Pilot Capless** (or outside of Europe called _Decimo_) I [bought in 2021](/post/2021/06/the-pilot-capless). I wrote earlier why that's a perfect note taker:
+
+> As for the nib and the writing experience, it's simply _flawless_. The super thin nib (A Japanese fine is thinner than a European one) is still buttery smooth, and it even writes great on cheap copier paper. It does not provide as much feedback as a Sailor nib would do. I like both. The thickness of the line is just right. 
+
+The Capless has a _retractable_ nib, meaning it's a "clicker": a fountain pen disguised as a sleek matte black nondescript ballpoint clicker, the perfect pen to take with you on those lovely corporate meeting rooms unless of course your purpose of writing down ideas is to show off your huge di---erm, nib.
+
+Advantages:
+
+- This is the perfect stealth pen. Nobody needs to know you detest ballpoints.
+- Compared to the Pilot CH 912 (see below) or other pens with a (cheap looking) resin body, the metal case and threads feel very durable.
+- The fine nib performs very well and the clicking mechanism is just great. I've never had any hard starts either.
+
+Disadvantages:
+
+- The metal body does come with a downside: it's quite a heavy pen. 
+- For some, its clip is awkwardly placed on the grip where your fingers should hold the pen. It doesn't bother me in the slightest.
+- Compared to a piston filler, the ink capacity is pathetic. It's a wet nib too, so expect to unscrew the body often.
+
+Affordable alternatives: if you want a Japanese fine nib and a reliable note-taker, the Pilot Metropolitan is your friend. It's not a retractable nib and the steel nib is quite stiff, but it writes well and comes in a variety of colors and limited editions. I've also heard there's a cheap Chinese reproduction of the Capless available if that's your thing.
+
+## The Letter Writer
+
+That's two out of three, now what? Both pens are of course also very much capable of writing a letter so my classification system might be worthless, but I wanted to have a custom nib that could write well on _any_ kind of paper and at _any_ angle. The **Pilot Custom Heritage 912** with a "WA" (Waverly) nib does exactly that. A WA nib is bent slightly upwards at the tip for a very smooth writing experience, even on cheap photo copier paper. A nib bent slightly down, the PO or Posting nib, does the opposite: it produces a very fine line at the cost of being a bit scratchier.
+
+Pilot's Custom Heritage 912 line offers a staggering amount of nib variety---but for some reason only a single body: classic black with silver touches. The result is a very conventional looking Japanese fountain pen that doesn't stand out until you unscrew the cap and start writing with it. On top of that, they're not as expensive as other gold pens with custom nibs. My 912 WA has no problems writing on laid paper and the converter is Pilot's CON-70 that hold much more ink than the Capless's CON-50. This pen is very comfortable to hold for those longer writing sessions.
+
+Advantages:
+
+- Writes effortlessly on any kind of paper.
+- The custom nib qualities are superb and the amount of options is just staggering: check out the [15 available nib options](https://www.nibs.com/pens/pilot/pilot-custom-912-black-rhodium).
+- For a converter, it holds a decent amount of ink compared to other Pilot pens.
+
+Disadvantages:
+
+- Yet another boring black Japanese pen with plastic resin?
+- Some of the 912's nib options are difficult to get hold of, especially in Europe.
+- The threads of the plastic body feel vulnerable---I hope this will last for years.
+
+I'd love to get a flexible FA nib next but I don't want yet another black CH 912 body! Affordable alternatives: The TWSBI Eco. That pen can be fully dismantled: the nib and feed are very easy to replace and the standard Jowo steel nibs that fit in the Eco are cheap meaning you can have it customized into a WA or PO at a fraction of the cost of the 912. It's a good way to test whether or not you like these unusual nibs before forking out a lot of cash.
+
+## The .... ??
+
+You tell me, what's next? A flex nib? A stub or cursive italic? An extravagant one? Doodlebud at YouTube built his "perfect 5 fountain pen collection" by categorizing them into everyday carry (Lamy 2000), Pocket (Kaweco Sport), some type of vintage with flex (a Pelikan M140), luxury pen (a Mont Blanc of course) and a travel pen/note taker (the Chinese Pilot Capless rip-off). I have no need for a pocket one, the vintages are too expensive and require a good amount of luck to find, and to be honest, I consider all of my daily drivers to be luxury ones...
+
+