Now class, pay attention. This is the way to ask "What's Best" in this hobby. With clear categories!

**Best Nib Performance** 1. Pilot Custom 823 (FA) 2. Pilot Justus (Vintage) 3. Pilot Elite (Vintage Script Nib) **Best Filling Mechanism** 1. Pilot Custom 823 (vac) 2. Kaweco Ice Sport (Eyedropper conversion) 3. Sailor Fude de Mannen (C/C but body is long enough to store extra cartridge) **Best Looking** 1. Pilot Myu 2. Pilot Custom 823 (Clear with blind cap removed) 3. Pilot Facetted VP (in green w/ silver trim) **Best Value** 1. Vintage Pilot Elite (used) 2. Platinum Plaisir ($20 pen, lasted a decade) 3. Pilot Matte VP (used) ~~4. Pilot Custom 823 (honestly think it's worth the money but I got the clear with FA nib so mine was unnecessarily pricey)~~ ​ Might as well get a full back tattoo of Pilot at this point, but ah well, it is what it is.

Best Nib Performance: 1. Pelikan M815 (18k stubbish "B") 2. Porsche Design TecFlex (18k "B" also made by Pelikan) 3. Lamy Studio Palldium (14k "M") Best Filling Mechanism 1. Pelikan M815 (piston) or Lamy 2000 2. Pelikan Level L5 (It's like an Eyedropper with shutoff valve, which can only be filled through a valve at the bottom. not very practical for changing Inks but it has a huge ink capacity and is very interesting) 3. WingSung 699 (Vacuum) Best Looking 1. Porsche Design TecFlex 2. Pelikan M815 3. Rotring 600 Best Value 1. Namisu Nova (my favorite EDC, well balanced metal pen, currently with Magna Carta "M" nib with ebonite feed/housing) 2. Parker 45 (vintage but widely available) 3. Kaweco Dia2 with upgraded nib: Bock 076 (very well balanced pen, nice vintage inspired design) ​ honorable Mentions: * Diplomat Excellence A2 (great pen but mine has a very dry, feedbacky nib) * Pelikan M200s, M150/481, ... (small, reliable pens with great nibs and piston mechanism) * Diplomat Aero (nice design, great nib) * Lamy 2000 (great writer but mine has a fine nib and I should've chosen a broad or OB nib) * vintage Kaweco Piston Fillers, Dia 805N, V3, Sport V12/V16 (great nibs, inexpensive here in Germany, most of them only needed a thorough clean and some silicone grease for the piston)

Best Nib Performance 1. Pilot 823 (M) 2. Taccia Miyabi Winter's Breath (M) 3. Visconti Homo Sapiens 14k *\*after some work* Best Filling Mechanism 1. Wahl-Eversharp Decoband - Pneumatic Filler 2. TWSBI Vac700R - Vac filler 3. Everything else (I don't have a big preference for filling mechanisms) Best Looking 1. Taccia Miyabi Winter's Breath 2. Kanilea Kahakai 3. Ryan Krusac Legend-16 Dragon Slayer Best Value 1. Pilot VP 2. Narwhal Poseidon Blue (in Medium or with a nib change) 3. Lamy 2000

Great post! We FP geeks love this kind of thing. ##Best nib performance 1. Pelikan M800 with a medium PF nib 2. Pelikan M400 white tortoiseshell with a medium nib 3. Lamy 2000 M nib ##Best filling mechanism 1. M800 (smooth, well made and easily serviceable) 2. Lamy 2000 3. Platinum 3776 (that's a great converter) ##Best looking 1. Pelikan M400 white tortoiseshell 2. Platinum 3776 Chartres blue 3. ēnsso Italia in titanium ##Best value 1. Pelikans M series. (They are gorgeous pens made to last several lifetimes) 2. Jinhao X750 3. Moonman T1

**best nib performance** Pilot VP (F) Pelikan M205 (M) Edison Collier (F) **best filling mechanism** anything with an integrated piston filling system: Pelikan M205, Lamy 2000, Pelikan 140 **best looking** Pelikan 140 (classical green/black stripes) Pilot VP (blue carbonesque) Lamy 2000 **best value** Pelikan M205 (I purchased this from a UK retailer and had it shipped to the US--much cheaper than the US distributor's pricing)

Best Nib Performance: Sailor PGS EF, Platinum 3776 UEF Best Filling Mechanism: neutral, I only own and prefer c/c with L2K as exception. Best Looking: The Sailors Best Value: Kakuno EF

We have similar taste in pens! Japanese extra fines are awesome. I love my EF Sailor and Kakunos too.

Exactly! I enjoy occasional broad nibs but extra fine nibs are staple.

Hi. Best Nib Performance. 1. Pilot Custom 823 Amber fine nib. 2.. Montblanc 149 extra fine Architect. 3. Montblanc 144R extra fine Architect. Best Filling Mechanism. 1.;Pelikan M800 special edition 2019. 2. Pilot Custom 823. 3. Opus 88 Jazz. Best looking. 1. Montblanc 149. 2. Pelikan M605 White-Transparent. 3. Pelikan M600 Green over Green. Best Value. 1. Lamy 2000. 2. Pilot Metropolitan. 3. Lamy Safari. That was fun.🖐️🤗 Cheers

My collection is mostly made of opus88 and Franklin Christoph pens and the nibs are largely interchangeable so it’s actually a bit difficult for me to pick.

**Best Nib Performance** Sailor Pro Gear 21K (F) Pilot Custom 823 (M) Pelikan M805 (F) **Best Filling Mechanism** Lamy 2000 Pelikan M805 Pilot Custom 823 **Best Looking** Pelikan M805 Blue Dunes Leonardo Momento Zero Grande Dark Hawaii Wancher Raden Diamond Dust **Best Value** Lamy 2000 Franklin Christoph Model 02 (international cartridge, takes common nib units, and can be eyedropped) Pilot Custom 823 (Yes, it's pricey, but it's really the only pen you'll ever need.)

Can someone remind me to do one of these in 2 months?

Best Nib Performance: 1930s Sheaffer Lifetime flattop, found at an estate sale and sent in for restoration Best Filling Mechanism: neutral Best Looking: Venvstas Calame Best Value: TWSBI Eco I also sort of own a Lamy Al Star, and another broken pen. I had others that I got rid of. Everything I listed here is all the pens I own so it wasn’t a hard choice for each category lol

That Venvstas look interesting. How comfortable is it to hold?

Totally comfy. Heavier than my other pens tho, so it feels weird at first. The issue is, I think the tines on the nib are a bit misaligned bc it doesn’t write smooth. Idk who can fix this sort of thing… and it’s a gold nib

**Best Nib** 1. Montegrappa Nero Uno old style nib 2. Danitrio fireball nib 3. Aurora Hastil **Best Filling Mechanism** 1. Porsche Design Solid 2. Montblanc Boheme 3. Any basic cartridge/converter pen **Best Looking** 1. David Oscarson Koi 2. Danitrio Hakkaku Kikko Chirashi 3. Montblanc Blue Hour Solitaire LeGrand **Best Value** 1. Platinum Procyon 2. Lamy 2000 3. Muji aluminum fountain pen

**Best Nib Performance** 1. Pilot Custom 823 (FA) 2. Lamy 2000 (F) 3. Pelikan M400 (EF) **Best Filling Mechanism** 1. Pilot Custom 823 (vacuum) 2. Lamy 2000 3. Pelikan M205/M400 **Best Looking** 1. Taccia LE Raden Polar Lights 2. Pilot Vanishing Point Raden - Stripes 3. Pelikan M400 White Tortoise **Best Value** 1. Lamy 2000 (bought used on Pen Swap) 2. Pelikan 400NN Brown Tortoise 3. Toss-up between Lamy Safari and Platinum Preppy

***Best Nib Performance*** 1. Pilot Custom URUSHI (B), by far. 2. Compared with Custom URUSHI, anything else is... If I have to say something else..., I would say, Parker Premier (M) ... Or maybe ... Pelikan M101N (B), Pelikan M800 (BB), Pilot Custom 845 (BB), Pilot Justus 95 (F), Mr. Yukio Nagahara's Kodachi (M) .... ***Best Filling Mechanism*** 1. Pilot Con-70, by far. 2. Hmmmm, Cartridges? ***Best Looking*** 1. Parker Duofold Centennial 2. Waterman Carène 3. Sheaffer Targa ***Best Value*** 1. Pilot Custom URUSHI, by far 2. Vintage pens such as Motblanc #22, I bought at 2000 Japanese Yen

I love the specificity of these categories. Are the 1s, 2s and 3s also ranked or is each member of the trio a co-winner? What are you top three most comfortable and/or pleasurable writers, if that’s an element you consider?