Suggestions for a longer bodied fountain pen

Hi

I recently got my FIL interested in fountain pens by fixing up his dads old Parker 51 and gifting him a bottle of Mont Blanc Royal Blue.

Now that I also got him a bottle of Noodler's Polar Blue he's starting to look after a pen he can draw with comfortably.

He doesn't like the balance of a posted pen so I'm looking to find something with a longer body, maybe around 6 - 6.5 inches from nib tip to end

I thought about getting him something like a desk pen but the more affordable ones, like the Esterbrooks, are strictly desk pens so he won't be able to pocket it and and draw something on the road.

It doesn't necessarily have to be a new pen as I've gotten pretty good at fixing up vintage pens.

I blame you guys for that ;-)

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

I've had limited experience with FP's but I also like an un-posted pen. My Lamy Al-Star is pretty comfortable just by it self. Sorry I don't know the length off hand.

The Lamy Al-Star is 5.2 inches un-posted so there's still a way to go.

Too bad though, Lamy does have quite a large following here on B&B

Look at a Vac 700. It's a longer pen I believe.

If you are looking for an unposted pen that is 6 to 6.5 inches long, you might want to look at a desk pen as they are generally longer.

Also, Franklin-Christoph Model #66 is 6.10 inches uncapped.

Thanks for the suggestions.

kansaskyle said:

If you are looking for an unposted pen that is 6 to 6.5 inches long, you might want to look at a desk pen as they are generally longer.

Also, Franklin-Christoph Model #66 is 6.10 inches uncapped.

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The problem with a desk pen is that it's kinda tied to the desk.
I haven't seen any that you could put a cap on ad had a FP's ink capacity

I'll be sure to check out the Vac 700 and the FC 66.

If I can manage to find them in Denmark that is ;-)

bananhunden said:

Thanks for the suggestions.
The problem with a desk pen is that it's kinda tied to the desk.
I haven't seen any that you could put a cap on ad had a FP's ink capacity

I'll be sure to check out the Vac 700 and the FC 66.

If I can manage to find them in Denmark that is ;-)

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Vac 700 is made by TWSBI which is German I believe.

Phil1-6 said:

Vac 700 is made by TWSBI which is German I believe.

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TWSBI is from Taiwan. But they do use German nibs (I believe they're made by Jowo)

Edison makes some nice long pens (and balanced) like the Herald Grande.

Phil1-6 said:

Vac 700 is made by TWSBI which is German I believe.

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Taiwanese.

Another option may be the Lamy Joy calligraphy pen. I have a nice boxed set that includes several widths of nibs mounted on sections. The nibs are interchangeable with Safari nibs if calligraphy nibs aren't desired.

Taipei Personality said:

Another option may be the Lamy Joy calligraphy pen. I have a nice boxed set that includes several widths of nibs mounted on sections. The nibs are interchangeable with Safari nibs if calligraphy nibs aren't desired.

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That one certainly seems to be more affordable than the other options ;-)
I actually think I saw it the other day at the local pen store

A TWSBI Vac 700, unposted comes in at 5 inches.

Something to consider: all pens don't feel the same posted. I have a couple that I can't stand (OK, that might be a little strong) posted and some that I love posted. The Pelikan M800 is to heavy for me posted, but the M600 is perfect posted for my hand.

I found the Lamy Joy set: http://www.amazon.com/Lamy-Calligra...im_229_28?ie=UTF8&refRID=1632QTC7B6DQCH0DNCF0

Taipei Personality said:

I found the Lamy Joy set: http://www.amazon.com/Lamy-Calligra...im_229_28?ie=UTF8&refRID=1632QTC7B6DQCH0DNCF0

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Nice one, thanks

Seeing as it's a calligraphy set, the nibs are quite broad

Do they also come with regular nibs for writing, fx. a fine nib?

Or is it possible to switch the nib out?

bananhunden said:

Nice one, thanks

Seeing as it's a calligraphy set, the nibs are quite broad

Do they also come with regular nibs for writing, fx. a fine nib?

Or is it possible to switch the nib out?

Click to expand...

I have only seen them with italic nibs, as they are marketed as calligraphy pens. However, the Joy is just a Safari with a longer body, so any Safari nib will fit. See http://www.gouletpens.com/lmy-lz50bk/p/LMY-LZ50BK as a example.

Hmm...

I read up on it and it seems that the replacement nib does in fact fit in the Joy.

That, plus the converter, and I believe we have a winner.

Oh, Joy!

I did consider the other pens but the price tags are a bit too extravagant for me

Thanks for the help!

There is also the Pilot Plumix, but it comes only with a 1 mm italic nib, although you can swap out nibs from other Pilot pens , but the nibs are not available separately.