Best Gift Pen

[ralpie]

Hey,

My Dad's birthday is coming up and I'd like to get him a great pen.

I have around $250-300 to spend. what are my best bets? I think he prefers roller-ball or ballpoint, no fountains.

Thanks!

[TattooedGQ]

Get a grey market MB. I just picked up a NIB Meisterstuck Classique black and Plat for 300.....to replace the one I lost at a trade show....

[Frosty]

I would go for a Montblanc Meisterstuck. The RB flows more like a FP, but, a BP writes on more surfaces.

Here are some places to purchase:

AD (They will E-mail you the qoute)

http://www.worldlux.com/montblanc-pens.html

http://www.fountainpenhospital.com

Pre-owned

http://www.nibs.com/

I have purchased form Nibs.com and was quite happy with the service. The other two are well known ADs

[Noonan]

+1 for World Lux. Their customer service is top notch.

[chris_1001]

I'll agree with the above and go MB, while I'm not a fan of "precious resin" (i.e. plastic)... Its the cough-cough, Rolex of pens.

[vintage69]

I also suggest that you look at the OMAS pens. Lux World also lists them. I own a fountain pen made by them and it is my favorite( I also own 6 other fountain pens). Their ball point and roller balls are also well made. Another company to look up is Sailor. Their nibs are consider to be among the best. Nibs.com is another good reference metioned above.

[Jim M]

Fahrney's Pens is a source I've used many times through the years. If he's a Yankee fan, I bought a pal a ball point pen made from old Yankee Stadium wood that was a hit for his 50th birthday.

http://www.fahrneyspens.com/?src=WMI...m_campaign=brd

[ralpie]

Thanks for the tips everyone!

I was about to pull the trigger on a plat/resin MB BP (which I also own and love), when I remembered something else. There was a limited edition Delta pen that we saw years ago while visiting Israel. My dad is not Israeli, but he was talking about that pen for weeks, so I'd wager he liked it.

I looked it up and found that it is the Delta Israel 50 pen which is way above my budget. The good news is that they made an Israel 60 pen, I know that my dad loved the pearly look of the 50, and the 60 is very similar.

I hope he still likes it 14 years later!

[Lion]

Ralphie, good luck and I'm sure your Dad will appreciate any pen you get him!!!

[ralpie]

Thanks Leo, I hope so!

[rolio]

Don't forget Pelikan. I have MB, Cartier, Pelikan, and Waterman. I think Pelikan is up at the top with the rest, in terms of quality, workmanship, and sheer writing pleasure.

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by lion

ralphie, good luck and i'm sure your dad will appreciate any pen you get him!!!

+1

[slim4511]

I love my Montblanc Clasique rollerball (platinum). Bought for about $300 a few years ago at a Montblanc store locally.

[Pattyrn]

This is just mt first post here. But I couldn't resist. I absolutely love my Cartier pen but it is always sitting in the vault. My MB's always disappear. My favorite pen to use that I can replace AND writes forever are my fisher space pens. So go ahead and get him a MB as a keepsake. But also get him a spacepen to actually use. They were designed for NASA and have a pressurized cartridge they write at any angle and under water and at any temperature. (I think they even make the refills for MB as well). I am a nurse and most of our documentation is computerized. But, when there is a code. (code is when you try to bring a dead,dying person back to life). Your pen you use on the code notes absolutely cannot fail as you have to keep track of a lot of things on this note and it is critical.

Not to mention if my pen fails I get really really mad. The space pens are $4 or so for refills and the pens range from 12-200. Their bullet pen (the astronaut model) is pretty but I lose the backs. You might ask him what he would use it for? For decoration which is fine, or to actually write with it. I have tried the spacepen refills in my MBs and that works out well until they "disappear". I can't very well get my initial monogrammed in my pens because my initials are PMS. So try getting both.

Another option sometimes when I want to gift someone they suggest I donate the corresponding amount of money to their favorite local charity in their name. And then a 20-50 dollar space pen that is engraved for them It will actually get used. And a charity may benefit.

Meanwhile my Cartier sits in a safety deposit box I haven't seen since 2007, my mont blancs are who knows where, and my space pen still writes and if it disappears I just get another one.

[masterserg]

I like the MontBlanc Starwalker (the Mystery model is great). Cartier and Omas make nice pens as well!