looking for a skinny fountain pen

I have a pilot 78g, lamy safari and a reform 1745. The reform is a good size, but I prefer the way the pilot writes. I like the pull off cap and color of the lamy. My problem lies in my pen slots in my uniform. I wear a flight suit and keep my pen in the shoulder slots, which are quite narrow. The reform fits fine, the pilot is a little cramped and the lamy just flat out doesn't fit a few of them. The pens' bodies aren't the issue, it's the cap diameter that poses the problem. The lamy pencil is about the biggest that will fit consistently.

So, are there any good fountain pens in the Safari/Alstar price bubble that will find my size needs?

Thanks!

I have a Lamy Logo. Its very skinny and it writes well.

Find a Pilot FCM-500 on Ebay.

Heya, I have the same problem on my flights and am interested. Will try the Reform.

Possibly a Parker '21' or one of the Sheaffer Snorkel pens should work for you.


-Xander

Aristeros, the Reform will fit without a problem and, if it's mostly full, won't leak on you as you climb...at least mine doesn't. My Lamy with converter doesn't leak either, but the Pilot leaks terribly. I assume its because the pilot uses a bulb instead of the screw vac system the others use.

I'll look into the suggestions thus far, thanks. Keep them coming if there are more.

Lamy Logo is thin and relatively inexpensive.
The CP1 is $16 more and IMHO, much nicer.

The Logo has a plasti-chrome cap on the non-nib end.
The CP1 is more solid.

The Logo has a textured area just above the nib that feels nice, but tends to hold ink after reloading, it's a bit of a pain to clean.
The CP1 is still textured, but much less aggressively, and cleans up nicely.

You can see that the CP1 (black) is a bit more slim than the Logo, and you can also see the ink staining on the raw (brushed) aluminum on the CP1:



I really don't think you're going to find a slimmer pen than either of these, and at $40 for the brushed Logo and $56 for the CP1, they are moderately priced.

Both post perfectly, and both have a spring-hinged pocket clip with a pinned pivot so they clip nicely into a heavier pocket (I keep a CP1 clipped into the inner pocket in my leather jacket)

Montblanc slimlines might be what you're looking for. I have two, and I love them:



Slim, great nibs, just outstanding pens.

Nick

I have a nice waterman Hemishpere deluxe that is very thin. Maybe a parker 45 or 51, if you looking vintage?

How could I forget about the CP1!?

I have a Cross Coventry that I picked up at Staples on sale for $20 that fits in my ABU pen pocket without any issues. It is almost too thin for me, but it came with 2 nibs (F and M), some cartridges and I couldn't pass it up the price. Its a metal pen so it has some weight and can handle being banged around...a solid workhorse. YMMV

Thanks for all the suggestions! I did a little research and found that a max diameter ofabout 12mm is my max. That's more or less the body diameter of the safari.

I found 2 pens that didn't make the list thus far and wanted to get your take on them. They're the Pilot Cavalier and the AG Spalding BRFT220 (the one with the maple body). How would those stack against the pens mentioned?

No suggestions to make among modern pens that I've tried. If you can get a Parker 51 with an aerometric filler, it might be perfect. Of course, the trick is getting one that's ready to go, or which only needs a thorough flushing, at a reasonable price.

Parker 180 is a slim pen and has a reversible nib. You should be able to pick on up pretty inexpensively on the bay.

Also, can't forget the Esterbrook SJ. Great little pen in many colors and the nib types are nearly endless!


-Xander

Sailor AceHigh Neo Beginner. Narrow pen that comes in Black, Blue, Green, Red and Orange. I have no idea how well it holds up in flight.

http://www.jetpens.com/Fountain-Pens/ct/214?ip=24&f=8ae1a6a3482c774a

cody6766 said:

Thanks for all the suggestions! I did a little research and found that a max diameter of about 12mm is my max. That's more or less the body diameter of the safari.

Click to expand...

Safari is bigger than 12mm.
CP1 is .371" / 9.4mm, Logo is .376" / 9.6mm, .400" / 10.2mm at the cap
The Safari is bigger than the Al-Star (all of my Safaries are at the office so I can't measure them):
Al-Star is .505" / 12.8mm on the wide part of the body, .455" / 11.6mm across the flats, but the cap is .588" / 14.9mm
Also consider the cap if you are thinking of storage in a pen pocket.

Safari might be 12mm on the flat part of the body, but it's going to be over 13mm on the rounded part, and the cap is going to be close to 16mm.

For comparison, the Logo is very close to the main body diameter of the Uniball 207 (the rubber grip portion is a bit larger).

BigWill said:

Sailor AceHigh Neo Beginner. Narrow pen that comes in Black, Blue, Green, Red and Orange. I have no idea how well it holds up in flight.

http://www.jetpens.com/Fountain-Pens/ct/214?ip=24&f=8ae1a6a3482c774a

Click to expand...

Nice and inexpensive, but I don't see any convertor options.

I was using the numbers from the jet pens website. I do know that the body of the Safari is good to go, but the cap is the trouble maker, as you mentioned. The Pilot 78g I mentioned fits in MOST of the pens lots, but there are production irregularities across the uniforms and some slots are bigger than others. The CP1/Logo will almost definitely fit, judging by a youtube video, the pics here and the specs listed on the Jet Pens site. Now I just have to decide which pen to go with.

Those Montblanc Slimlines are really nice... but I'm not sure they fit into even a Captain's budget.