Alright let's hear everyone's recommendations

[Ssandstorms]

Hi there, I am a (confessed) closet lover of pens. They always brought fascination to me, but as a kid, I was only getting the cheapest possible pens to use for school. Once I started buying my own things, I stumbled into "intro calligraphy" felt pens and some generic cartridge fountains. Having liquid ink opened so many avenues of writing for me and I slowly realized that I much prefer script over print writing.

Fast forward I had fallen into a rut using Pilot G2 Pens, until today when I happened to stumble onto Karas Pen co. Thus reopening my eyes to the many possible pens I could be enjoying

Long story short, I would love to hear what everyone's favorite pen would be and also a few recommendations. Maybe one Fountain and one pen that can use my G2 refills.

Price isn't exactly a concern, but I really would love an 'every day carry' type pen.

Thank you everyone!

 

[Shave_Rat]

Not sure on the G2 refill usage part, but for fountain pens, the list of options even in the lower price points is pretty large. The usual suspects for starting out would be the Pilot Metropolitan, Twsbi ECO, Diplomat Magnum, Platinum Preppy (for a more disposable pen)... There are still others that will get recommended as well, I am sure.

 

[razorboi]

Pilot G2's are very popular everyday gel-pens, but if you really love fountain pens then you need to "plant your flag" and commit to that format!

I use fountain pens almost exclusively, especially at home. Different inks and nibs serve different purposes. Calligraphic for greeting cards, fine-nib for most writing, medium for short notes or a larger hand, x-fine, accountant's or needle-point for very small or confined writing, and a flexible nib for signatures. Black, blue-black, blue and red are my most commonly used colours of ink. Black or blue-black for business writing and signatures, blue for personal correspondence and sometimes for business signatures to distinguish an original from a photo-copy, and red for corrections, emotion, or emphatic notes. And this just scratches the surface of nibs and inks!

I am unfamiliar with Karas and would be reticent to trust the pens and especially the nibs of a upstart manufacturer.
Nib crafting is an art, taking years of study and experience to perfect. Respected pen manufacturers jealously guard their nib designers and craftsmen, as their alchemists and rain-makers. A few Japanese nib designers are veritable super-stars in the fountain pen world.

Prestige pen makers such as Conway-Stewart, Omas, Sailor, Montgrappa, Delta, Krone, Monteverde, Caran d'Ache, Visonti, Tibaldi, Conklin, S.T. Dupont, Stipula, Namiki, Lominchay, Yard-O-Led, Onato, and Faber-Castell are all reliable if sometimes expensive choices. They each have their niche, history, and loyalists.
The large power-house (but still quality) pen companies, such as Lamy, Sheaffer, Waterman, Pelikan, Parker, and Montblanc, are where most of the uninitiated look for a good quality first fountain pen and some have quite affordable offerings.

But you would be doing yourself a disservice if you bought without first trying out a number of pens at a shop or a pen show. Fountain pens come in a wide variety of types, sizes and styles. Long barrel, short barrel, wide barrel, narrow barrel, round grip, moulded grip, rubberized grip. Those requiring the cap be posted to write with and those that don't. Twist-off's, pull-off's, different filling mechanisms...not to mention the sizes and types of nibs offered on individual pens, which many consider the most important part!

Many people discover only after purchase that their medium nib pen lays too thick a line for their liking or writing size. Or, that the barrel is too large (or narrow) to write comfortably with for very long, if at all.
Or, that they press too hard and damage the delicate or flexible nib.
Or, that they're left-handed, and that certain pens and nibs work better for them than others.
And there are many more ways in which a pen and writer can be a mis-match.

Having someone assess your hand and writing style would go a long way to narrowing down the field and finding some options that would work for your individual traits, needs, intentions, budget, etc.

Parker, Sheaffer and Lamy, even Waterman and Pelikan have budget options that you might consider.
Also, most lower-end fountain pens usually accept cartridges, sometimes exclusively.

Don't let someone steer you to a particular brand or nib just because they like it.
Pens are very individual instruments and there is no substitute for learning through trial and error what works for you!

 

[Shave_Rat]

For what it's worth, I have looked at the Karas pens and drooled over them plenty, and from all the info I have found, they are a solid and reliable fountain pen.

 

[Ssandstorms]

assess my handwriting depending on what I'm doing I hold different writing styles. I have some notebooks I can grab but here's an pangram of my more focused hand writing (PS. I'm a doctor in development so my writing is slowly just deteriorating )
Here's a few examples of my penmanship alternating

 

[Doc4]

Price isn't exactly a concern, but I really would love an 'every day carry' type pen.

Just one pen? Pilot Custom Heritage 92 ... high quality Japanese piston-filler.

EDC pen? I'd add a Noodler's Konrad in ebonite. (I don't see the ebonite ones available nowadays, but maybe I'm looking in the wrong places.)

 

[tankerjohn]

I’ve heard nothing but great things about Karas Kustoms. Great value for American machined pens with quality German-made Bock nibs. I’m sure you can buy with confidence.

As far as my favorite pens... I really enjoy my Pelikan M200s. Quite short capped, but uncaps to a good size. Fits nicely in a shirt pocket. Great nib. Holds tons of ink via a quality piston filler. Great package for $100ish.

I am also partial to my Platinum 3776 Century. The pen body is nothing special, but the nib is amazing. I think it’s tough to beat in that first tier of gold nib pens.

 

[Tomo]

The Lamy 2000 is a fantastic daily driver that looks cool and flys under the radar. A real work horse with large ink capacity.

 

[Tomo]

The Montblanc 146 is the most ergonomically designed pen I’ve ever used. Writes as good as it looks but can be a bit flashy for daily use depending on you industry. I use mine mainly at home.

 

[Vespasian]

For an inexpensive every-day fountain pen, I haven't found anything comes near my Kaweco Sport Classic, black plastic,; the fine nib is the smoothest I own, by far. I edit books pen-on-paper, with J. Harbin Violette Pensee ink, in carts, because I'm lazy. Spend the couple of extra bucks and buy the handy brass clip.

 

[hightechtech]

My Pilot Vanishing Point is absolutely my favorite everyday pen, especially if you take quick notes or think you might get tired of dealing with a cap. I tend to write in short bursts so the VP is perfect for me. And it writes beautifully too

 

[Slivovitz]

A few additional thoughts, possibly helpful, possibly not.

Some of my favorite pens are vintage, but recommending those gets tricky, as you may get one that needs a lot of work, or is even beyond help. But at the lower end I could recommend a Parker 45, which will take Parker cartridges or (better) a Parker converter.

For modern pens, probably my favorite is the Pilot Custom Heritage 92. The Custom Heritage 91 is about the same to write with, and you might find one for significantly less than the 92. The 92 has a built in piston filler. The 91 would require a cartridge or converter, but the long CON-70 converter will fit it.

For relatively inexpensive modern pens, I'm not a fan of the Pilot Metropolitan, which I find uncomfortable to hold. There's nothing wrong with the quality, though, and YMMV on the grip. The Pilot Prera costs a bit more, but is still fairly inexpensive, and I could recommend that without reservation.

Some of the pens mentioned in the posts above are not to my taste (like the Metropolitan), but none are actually bad. You'll need to get at least two different kinds, though, just so you can see that not all fountain pens are the same. You can stop at two, can't you?

 

[Jut]

I know you like the pilot g2. What are you looking for in a fountain pen?

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[Ssandstorms]

I know you like the pilot g2. What are you looking for in a fountain pen?

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Hmm, well I would want to be using it for my note-taking. Mostly I am wanting that fluid feel and ease of writing I remembered from when I had calligraphy pens in the past. That is one of the reasons I like the G2 (or gels in general).
In terms of build, I think I would want a fine/medium nib somewhere in the 0.5-0.9 mm range, a piston filling system, and a less flashy design. I have been drolling over a Lamy 2000 because it fits those qualifications and looks very good. I'm just having an internal argument over 170 dollars.

 

[Slivovitz]

For rollerballs, by the way, Retro 51s are quite nice. The seller link is to show the variety they have, but of course you can buy them at other places as well. They use their own liquid ink rollerball refills or the Schmidt equivalent (I think their own are probably rebranded Schmidts) and will also take Parker style ballpoint and gel refills. Not the Pilot G2, but I think the Schmidts are at least equally nice to write with.

 

[Waistgunner]

Here's a recommendation: Monte Verde makes a very nice rollerball pen and fountain pen. They aren't high end as Montblanc but are medium range range. I paid $80.00 for the rollerball pen and $130.00 for the fountain pen. They both write smooth as butter and the G2 refills fit perfectly in the rollerball pen.

 

[Jut]

Hmm, well I would want to be using it for my note-taking. Mostly I am wanting that fluid feel and ease of writing I remembered from when I had calligraphy pens in the past. That is one of the reasons I like the G2 (or gels in general).
In terms of build, I think I would want a fine/medium nib somewhere in the 0.5-0.9 mm range, a piston filling system, and a less flashy design. I have been drolling over a Lamy 2000 because it fits those qualifications and looks very good. I'm just having an internal argument over 170 dollars.

Sounds to me like you want a Pilot Vanishing Point. The L2K is a mighty fine pen as well.

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[razorboi]

assess my handwriting depending on what I'm doing I hold different writing styles. I have some notebooks I can grab but here's an pangram of my more focused hand writing (PS. I'm a doctor in development so my writing is slowly just deteriorating )
Here's a few examples of my penmanship alternating

From your script, it appears that your writing may be too small for a medium nib. I expect you'll find that short and long loops (such as lower-case E or L) will merge together into a blob. Similarly, lower-case K's and R's will lose their distinctive features. Lower-case A's, B's, and D's will look poorly, even lower-case M's, N's, and W's can run together.
There is no industry standard for nib widths, so a medium nib from one maker may differ from that of another. You should try some out, but I suspect that a fine nib will suit your writing better.

From your pencilled notes, it looks as though you bear down rather hard. It may be just what you do with pencils, but if you do it with a fountain pen, a flexible nib is not for you. Bearing down too hard can damage any nib, but the most common complaint is that paper fibres get caught between the tines. Thus, you may be well advised to choose a stiff nib at this point.

I see you write equations and formulae in a very small hand. You may prefer to do this only in pencil, but with a pen you would seek out an accountant's nib or needle-point nib. They are also good for inserting notes and corrections.

If your hand-writing is deteriorating, you must slow your writing down to re-train your hand. In your spare time (if you have any), try writing out quotations that you like. Write the same quotation repeatedly, until it presents well. Slow down if it's sloppy...even enlarge your writing if necessary. Here is where a medium nib might serve you. During this time, try not to write anything at your normal speed. Consider everything you write an opportunity to practise your hand-writing. You will soon re-train your motor-skills and amass mental notes on executing letters that present a problem for you.

Dabbling in calligraphy also helps!

 

[tankerjohn]

For rollerballs, by the way, Retro 51s are quite nice. The seller link is to show the variety they have, but of course you can buy them at other places as well. They use their own liquid ink rollerball refills or the Schmidt equivalent (I think their own are probably rebranded Schmidts) and will also take Parker style ballpoint and gel refills. Not the Pilot G2, but I think the Schmidts are at least equally nice to write with.

100%! I love my Retros! Their fountain pens are great too. They have excellent Jowo nibs you’ll usually find on much more expensive pens. If you want a Retro 51, though, you best jump on one quick. The owners of the company are supposed to be retiring in a month or so and they say they’re closing up shop rather than selling the company. Now I find it hard to believe that a brand as beloved in the pen hobby as Retro 51 won’t eventually come back. But who knows if the pens will as good or if prices go up or whatever else happens to beloved brands when companies get sold.

 

[tankerjohn]

Sounds to me like you want a Pilot Vanishing Point. The L2K is a mighty fine pen as well.

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Eh, maybe. I’m going to propose that retractable fountain pens are a love it or hate it proposition. But having said that I do agree that the VP is an excellent pen for taking notes for someone who is into non-traditional pens.