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Personal loyalties

I have encountered a lot of retailers and brands in the past three and a half years running this blog. Many amazing products, plenty of great service (and a few problems, too, of course).

I’m looking, as many of us are, for more simplicity in my life, and I was inspired by a post that Michael from Scrively made, saying that he is focusing his personal collection on German pens.

It got me thinking about the mainstream brands and retailers I would focus on if I wanted a happy and easy life.

Say I’m making a recommendation to a nervous reader, or if I was rebuilding my collection after a fire and wanted to know things would be OK with no stress or problems.

I’d be looking for products that I know from experience really fit me like a glove. They are beautiful, comfortable, work well, and last long-term. No worries about nib quality or difficult cleaning, or cracking barrels, or dodgy nibs. And I’d be looking for great service, both in the purchase and any future support.

This is an opportunity for me to move on from those brands that I keep trying to like, but that either don’t fit my needs or give me consistent trouble — like Pelikan and Kaweco. And those that I love but are too unpredictable, like Aurora and Visconti.

To be on this list, I have to know that you really won’t let me down.

Pens

I wouldn’t go so far as Michael and pick German-only pens, but I definitely get where he’s coming from.

My first port of call would be Montblanc and Lamy.

I have more Montblancs in my pen tray than any other brand, and I simply don’t have problems with them. From EF to BB, the nibs just work. They don’t leak, they don’t dry out, the pistons work great, they perform well with many different kinds of inks. The nibs arrive wet enough and well aligned. And as a company, I’ve nothing but good things to say about Montblanc. I mean, I haven’t needed a service or repair, but I have done a few nib swaps, and they’ve run smoothly.

The Lamy 2000 is close to a perfect pen for me, as I’ve written before. I have needed service, and done a nib swap, and the experience was smooth and quick. If I had to pick just one pen, there’s a good chance it would be a Lamy 2000.

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In my ‘toy pens’ case I have half a dozen TWSBI Ecos. To me they are the ultimate no-stress pen. They are piss-easy to completely disassemble. The nib swaps in about three seconds. They’re demonstrators, so you can see what’s going on. Every single nib I have had, from EF to stub, has been perfect without fail. They write well with any ink. And they literally never dry out. As close to a post-apocalyptic pen as you’ll find under £30.

There are many like it, but this one (seven) is mine.

For a pocket pen, I’d choose a Schon Pocket Six. This should be no surprise to regular readers. Not only are these robust, comfortable and snazzy pens, I completely trust Ian Schon to have 100% perfect quality control in everything from the barrel finish to nib assembly. The essence of hassle-free.

So that’s the workhorses taken care of. Looking further east, I’d consider a Nakaya next. I’ve had three, and each has been so good out of the box that I haven’t needed to take the company up on its personalised set-up service. I mean, I haven’t had a problem with the sister company Platinum either, but you can be sure that every Nakaya has had more eyes on it during its construction than practically any other pen around.

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And if I were to take a chance on Italian flair, I would pick a Scribo — probably the new Feel Mediterraneo. Out of three Scribos in my possession, I’ve had one had minor nib problems, but the company fixed it fast and with a great attitude — so I trust that I’d be in safe hands with a new one.

Inks

Now what would I fill these beautiful pens with? I’ve kinda already answered this question. Looking through the inks I’ve boiled down to (not literally) this year, my collection is dominated by Montblanc, Sailor and its store-brands (Kobe, Bungubox, etc) and Birmingham. And I dabble with Vinta, Troublemaker, Edelstein, KWZ and a few other makers to give me some variety. But the one thing I can guarantee is that I can trust Montblanc, Birmingham and Sailor to perform well with interesting colours.

Paper and accessories

Of course, you have to have something to write on. I won’t beat about the bush: of course, it’s Tomoe River.

For chunky A5 notebooks my go-tos are Elia Note and now the outstanding lay-flat Galen Leather, with Musubi for fancy projects.

For slimmer and more portable notebooks, I’m still very partial to GLP Author and the A5 exercise books from Pebble Stationery.

And when it comes to pocket notebooks, I’ve had good luck with lots of manufacturers, but Pebble Stationery would be a good place to start. Its special editions are classy.

And to put it in? I’ve lost track of how many Nock cases I’ve bought over the years. While I do use other cases of various sizes, it’s Nock that has no flaws in my eyes. Separate pen slots that are big enough for any pen, non-scratchy zips, and perfect space efficiency for two pens up, with paper storage too. I’d start with a Sinclair for portable use and my Burton for journalling.

To complete the picture, I’m very wedded to my Galen Writing Box and desk mat.

Retailers

To buy all this stuff? Well, Nock and Galen sell direct, as do Elia Note and Musubi, but I’ve had years of great service from Write Here, the Writing Desk, Cult Pens, Iguanasell, Wheelers, Izods and Nero’s Notes. A good retailer can make all the difference to how comfortable you feel with your purchase.

If you wanted an easy stationery life, which brands do you trust most, every time?

13 Comments

  1. dapprman

    If you’re happy with the brighter colours you might want to try a Nock Seed for work – I have one (the Oh La La limited edition – thank you Inkantadora for the arm twisting) which nicely takes an A5 notebook (in my case the Tesco Moleskin clone) and has internal slots for two pens which are large enough for a couple of ScriBo Feels.

    • Anthony

      That’s a good shout, Gary! Thanks!

  2. Kate

    I love Sailor inks too and I’ve also always had good experiences with Pilot Iroshizuku and with Franklin-Christoph inks. I’m interested in trying Birmingham, but is it tricky getting them shipped to the UK?

    • Anthony

      It’s expensive but not tricky. I think the cheapest shipping is $18, so if you buy four small bottles for $36 a third of your total cost is in shipping.

      • Kate

        Thanks – I’ll look into it further. I’ll be checking out your ink reviews. 🙂

  3. Warren

    I have had my 149 for 6 years and 226 fills (so far). I use it every day and it never fails. I once accidently dropped my Lamy 2000 20 feet off my balcony. It survived and still writes perfectly. If I started over it would be one each of those, with Mont Blanc and Sailor ink.

    • Anthony

      Wow Warren, you were lucky with that 2000! And I’m impressed that you have logged every fill of the 149 — do you have other pens you’ve used (nearly) as much? Wonderful to hear about such faithful pens — you really got your money’s worth!

      • Warren

        The only other one I count the fills of is my M1000. I got him 5 years ago and he is at 166 fills. He and the 149 are my priciest pens. Coincidence? Silly, but I guess I want to have the “mileage” in case they ever need to go to the shop. Thanks for the great blog!

  4. Ketan mbhatt

    I am conocessiure of pens,with mostly all limited edition of montblanc,cartier,dunhil,montegrappa……
    I suggest for smaller size pocket ink pen you can go for Montblac anniversary tribute to montblanc or Mozart collection of same co.tribute comes in white color with rose gold
    and mozart collectionin usual black colors.

    • Anthony

      Thank you for the suggestion!

    • Katherine Smith

      I have a white Montblanc Mozart Tribute and just love it! It’s probably my most expensive pen and such a delight to hold and use.

  5. Alex Segall

    Lamy 2000, Waterman Black, Midori MD A5 gridded. That’s all I *need*…

  6. Chapel

    If I was starting over I’d do two things differently.
    1. After trying out a few inexpensive pens like Noodlers, Conklins, Kaweco, etc., I’d go straight for heavy-duty grail pens. Since I bought a Yard-O-Led Viceroy Grand Victorian and a Pelikan M1000, I’ve not bought another pen. Unless I find a pen that is equal or better than those two, there’s no need to buy anything else.

    2. Buy a few inks and use them. For many inks are like meth – the latest and greatest inks are addicting, but for me added nothing to my experience. I now have 6 inks that I use constantly rather than 20 inks gathering dust.

    I’m also a user of my pens. If I’m not using them, I don’t need them. I now have only the pens for my desk and on the road that I use regularly. The other pens I don’t use I sell or give away. Other than a couple of pens I keep for sentimental reasons, I’m down to about 10 pens and that’s plenty as they’re all inked and get used every day or every other day.

    Whenever I see a new-to-me pen (new or used) and begin to drool, I stop and think, “What will this pen ACTUALLY do for me?” More and more the answer is “Not one thing I don’t already have covered.” There comes a time when one must determine whether they’re an accumulator of pens or just a user of pens.

    I’ve made my choice and can happily state that using pens gives me far more pleasure than simply owning pens. The bonus is that I keep money in my pocket and if and when a grail pen comes along I’ll have the scratch to buy it.

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