My top five are the montblanc 149, pilot custom 823, lamy 2000, a custom wooden fountain pen my mother got for me, and the Edison collier. Your list is also wonderful

Love your poetic reflection about the lost art of writing with beautiful fountain pens. I am German and sat through precise and tedious instruction during "Schönschreiben", which, directly translated, means "Beautiful Writing" during the first three years of elementary school. While back then I may not have enjoyed staying in between the various line schemes our notebooks had during the first three years of school, I believe that it paid off. I still write and journal by hand and my handwriting looks like it is "gestochen scharf", which means precise and sharp, although it has taken on specifically unique character traits. I am eternally grateful for this important lesson during my early life, instilling in me the understanding that writing by hand is something very important for our cognitive processes and to this day a beautiful art form. My first fountain pen when I was 6 years old was a Pelikan, followed by Geha and many different Lamy fountain pens later on. To this day, I carry fountain pens with me and while people sometimes smirk when they see me whip out one of my pens, the smirk vanishes and transforms into a warm smile when I hand them a written note. There is something truly personal about these almost vanishing forms of communication that celebrates logos, the word, with a touch of class.

At 74 years old, I remember using fountain pens in school, and I want to get back to them. This vlog was a good start for me to explore, which will be my first purchase. Any ideas for a newbie would be appreciated. I did not go looking for a vlog about pens and ink, but there you were, so I watched and enjoyed. I haven't journaled since 2004 when I went to Europe for the first time and decided I would get back to it. What inspired me was your discussion of SADs and Journaling on your trip to Quebec City. I'm looking forward to watching your other vlogs. I'm not a fan of tiktok, but I may have to go there. We'll see.

Fountain pens are important to me (they remind me of the first one I was gifted at the age of 10, among other things) and so are your videos. Many years have passed between that Pelikan M200 and your KZfaq channel and I thank you

Looking to get a Lamy Safari soon as my first fountain pen. I started out watching your Tiktok, and have been really inspired to write more, and also started journaling recently. Thank you!

The way you render the information along with the background music and the interest and enthusiasm is very pleasing and calming leave alone the valuable information you share. I just watch it for the fun of listening to you speaking with a child like enthusiasism.The content of course is top class too. Keep going...

Great selections! The Egyptian Montblanc one is very intriguing, I haven't heard of it before. Great content, just subscribed!

Just found your channel through my husband! Thank you for your posts! I enjoyed this one last night. I’ve recently resumed my interest in fountain pens. While I have mostly modern pens like the Laban and some of the Chinese ones, I also resumed my interest in vintage pens. After watching last night, my husband and I reviewed my five vintage pens and rated them 1-5. The top was Waterman 0552 1/2 LEC. Gold filigree with lever filler. Great writer! 2 - Montblanc 420 with gold nib; 3 Waterman Taperlite Corinth gold nib; 4- Parker 45 corn barrel gold nib and 5 Parker 51 corodovan Brown gold nib extra fine nib. The Parker 51 probably rated so low because it’s an extra fine nib and a lot of feedback. We’d love a show on your antique pens! I know you have the waterman 52 but in black. What a great writer it is too!

Picked up the Kaweco Brass Sport on your reccomendation and I can’t put it down! Love the content!

I've recently ordered a Twisbi Vac 700R Iris with a fine nib after watching your review. Being quite new to the hobby (only my second pen and the first one I've purchased for myself) I figured this would be fun one for me try without breaking the bank. Thanks for all the entertaining and informative videos. Any new pen suggestions are always welcome!

What a great list of your top 5 pens. I'm really drawn to the Montblanc Egyptian style pen. Your style and aesthetics are similar to mine. Your delivery and demeanor are calming and educational. One of my favorite current pens is the Asvine 169. It is a skeletonized chrome over brass with a rich blue acrylic transparent barrel and is a vacuum filler. The "fine" steel nib is tuned at the factory and is buttery smooth. For the price, it is an excellent buy. Thanks for all your videos as I look forward to each and every one!

I love the fixed blade Scandi-ground knife you show with your Brass Sport! It looks like a very handy size. The Brass Sport is also one of my favorite pens. FYI: only the metal Sport and Art Sport pens have threaded nib units that you can swap out easily. The Classic and Skyline Sports have friction fitted nibs and feeds - so you can swap them out, but it's more fiddly.

A very nice top 5! That Egyptian MB is the stuff that jealousy is made of!

Nice list! Very well spoken and put together. I've recently purchased my first (budget) fountain pen after watching your TikToks! Keep up the awesome work!

I have to say I love my Montblanc 146, I picked up my first one in a charity shop for £20 its a broad nib. I now own two more in a medium and fine and the fine is probably my favorite nib (for now). Love your channel I just stumbled upon it this evening.

Nice pens. Me, I've been a Sailor Boi since I bought my first, a Pro Gear, earlier this year. I like the feel and the precision.

Nice top 5. I agree with the Montblancs - I have three Montblancs in my top 5 (146 with OM nib, Unicef LeGrand with OB nib, JFK with BB nib) in my top 5, along with a bespoke Franklin Christoph Panther with Masuyama CI nib; and the newest member to the top 5 - a Faber Castell Emotion with a Speer Architect nib. Your discussion of the CI from Pen Realm really grabbed my interest. I will have to order one in the near future.

Great list! I love your poetical discussion of all your pens. My favorites include: Edison Collier Azur Skies, Edison Menlo Sweet Honey: The Arizona Pen which is made of copper, turquoise and mesquite made by Richard Altenhofen: TWSBI 580: Lamy AL-star. Honorable mentions include: Kaweco Sport and Pilot Explorer. Thank you for sharing your passion.

Great list hemmingway, however I'm not sure my bank will thank you, I may have to pick up one of these. Your videography is getting better and better can't wait to see what it will look like in a few months. Would love a similar video on inks. Keep up the good work, your videos make my day.

Fun list! I have the TWSBI Vac 700R in Iris, too and had to comment that it absolutely POPS when filled with Iroshizuku Yama Budo!

I really enjoy writing with Waterman's Carene. I do buy other pens, but I keep coming back to my Carenes. Enjoyed your video.

Awesome top 5, mine MB 149 are number one, for sketching and writing ❤❤❤

Hey Hemingway! I have recently gotten in to fountain pens after my Dad gifted me a Pilot Metropolitan. You have also been super inspiring to keep trying new pens and see what's out there. I have started to collect some pens of my own including the Lamy Safari (which I am pretty sure is a right of passage in the pen world) and the YStudios Classic Revolve. I noticed the YStudios is also in your collection and I would love to know your thoughts on it.

I love my TWSBI vac 700r iris, i currently have Noodler’s Baystate Blue in it.

I LOVE my TWSBI Vac 700 R Iris and I do use it at work!!

Great video! If you are interested to explore other soft and bouncy nibs, you have to try the Pilot Custom 743 Soft Medium nib and the Pelikan M1000 Fine nib: both are really outstanding, though personally, the Pilot is my favourite. Cheers!

Hemingway, your enthusiasm is infectious.

Well, I own only 5 fountain pens (for now!) but my favorite out of all of them is my Lamy al-star with 1.1 stub nib. This is amazing pen with amazing nib

Love the content

HJ, thanks for the video. My favorite pens are my 4 Montblanc 149, my Parker Duofold Centennial fp, my Sailor 1911 Realo fp. my Waterman Edson fp, and last but not the least, my Lamy Al-Star fps.

You have Sibley Birds on your shelf!!! My wife and I live in a home on a river bank with woods . . . . But, to your question about what I'd have put on your list if I were you (and I'm not) . . . Pelikan m805 Stresemann Broad. Too broad for regular correspondence in the obverse with my handwriting, but in reverse keeps up with an entire letter. . . . I remember, in 1995, testing at a Staples that let me do this, a Cross and a Mont Blanc. Got the Cross. Didn't have to mortage my first born. But, I've never forgotten what writing with that Mont Blanc nib felt like. So, joy to you!

My favorite is my Pilot Vanishing Point which cost me $200 here in India.. My other favorites include Platinum 3776, Pelikan M200, Parker 88, Parker Classic, Sheaffer Imperial, Intensity and a dozen pocket pens from Delike, Moonman etc…

Truly enjoyed your top 5! I rotate my pens quite regularly, as in when one runs out of ink, it gets cleaned and put away. That being said, Pelikan M600 Vibrant Orange with a medium nib, Esterbrook Oversize Cherry Maraschinos with a Broad nib, and Leonardo Momento Zero Grande in Dark Hawaii with an extra fine flex custom nib are the ones I cannot wait to use always! (I use only three pens consistently at a time) 😀

If you can find one, try the Lamy Lady Rosenthal. Gorgeous porcelain barrel, mine has the plaid barrel design. It is very, very smooth with the 14k gold nib. Mine was handed down to me and honestly it feels so good to write with. I have the Lamy convertor and use Diamine ink, Ancient Copper.

Great thoughts on your top 5 pens. Do you have calligraphy nibs or broad nibs for the 149 or Egyptomania?

My favourite is click aristocrat and classmate smoothie, flair ink tanker, pierre cardin Micra. Parker frontier is also very good.

Mine would be - Pilot Custom 742 and 823, Platinum 3776 and Platinum President, and pretty much any Lamy pen, from the steel nibs to the 14k 2000. Interesting that certain pens I didn’t like at first have grown on me.

Feel no guilt if you enjoy high end pens, they are gorgeous and wonderful writers, in many cases at least. My favourite of yours in the Montblanc 149. I haveca soft spot for Sailor, Parker amd ST Dupont fountain pens.

Hello! I have the Vac 700 and for me, it is always near the top of my list… and the Eco is not far behind. I’m very interested in the Kaweco. Do you find the grip slippery? I’ve always avoided metallic grips but it looks like I might be able to hold on to the brass more easily than steel. Thoughts? Thank you.

I just discovered your channel today and subscribed because your presentation is so unique. My favorites are: 1. Leonardo MZG in Primary Manipulation 4 with rose gold trim, fine elastic rose gold nib, red ebonite feed. Superb wet writer and very comfortable. Beautiful resin. 2. Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze Age Palladium Nib extra fine. Fantastic writer, little bounce, well balanced. 3. Montblanc 146 F that I picked up second hand, cleaned about 20 years of ink out, pulled the piston and lubricated and now fills very smoothly. Polished the outside very carefully and it looks brand new. Writes flawlessly. 4. Pilot Custom 823 F Smoke. Every time I fill it after it has been in storage for a while, I ask myself why don’t use it more often? It’s just that good! 5. Montblanc Geometry Doue Platinum 145 M. The geometry cap really bounces the light and adds some sparkle to the pen. It’s a great writing experience, too. The 145 nib is smaller (shorter) than the 149 and 146 nibs but this one definitely has a bit of bounce which I like.

Mister Hemingway your novels are the best.

The ratio of adjectives to nouns in this video is astounding.

My top 5 are at this moment are the Pilot custom 823 in a F 14k, Twsbi Eco in Smoke and rose gold ✨️ in a F nib, Pelikan M400 in F nib, Kaweco Sport in Coconut EF and a Lamy 2000 in EF. Thank you 😊

My top five Montblanc mysterious 149 (Platinum ) Pilot custom urushi Parker 51(Vintage) Graf von faber-castell classic ( Sterling Silver) Pilot custom 823

I’m not new to fountain pens nor am I a seasoned user. I have a huge bias to vintage fountain pens so my favorites are based on what I currently have: 1948 Esterbrook SJ (2668 nib), my 1959 Lady Sheaffer (corduroy pattern), 1947 (I think) Wahl Eversharp Skyline, and 2000 Waterman Harmonie. What modern pens do you recommend to someone who’s only written with vintage pens?

So how would you recommend is the best way to find a Montblanc?

Great topic and timing, as I have just recently put my top ten pens together a few weeks ago. Here are my top 5: 1) ASC Bologna Extra Arco Bronze Celluloid flex nib 2) ASC Bologna Extra Israel Blue Le Royal Celluloid flex nib 3) Pelican M1000 green EF nib 4) Montblanc 149 F nib 5) Pilot Custom 845 Urushi Vermilion. F nib These are based on how well they write, Longevity of remaining a classic, and collectibility, as well as how rare some are.

Thanks again I enjoyed it a lot. the Pineider fail to make the top 5? with the beautiful Krishna inks. My top 5 fountain pens this month: 1) Montblanc 149. 2) Pineider La Grande Bellezza Arco Blue Bee Limited Edition. 3)Pineider Full Metal Jacket fountain Pen 14K in Army Red. 4) Pilot Custom 823 Amber and number 5 is ... the Kaweco Sport Brass ... i am thinking also about the Montblanc Heritage Egyptomania Special Edition Black Fountain Pen... but I'm not sure yet, however this pen arouses my inspiration and interest, Who knows I might tie the knot today or tomorrow. Although the Otto Hutt design 07 Füllfederhalter silber also looks great... and many more...HELP

Here’s my top five! 1) Sailor 1911 Large-Pirates Life 2) Pilot Custom 823 3) Lamy 2000 4) Montblanc 146 5) Leonardo Momento Zero made with Jonathan Brooks resin

My husband loves his Montblanc 149. ❤ 🖊️ Great video. Thanks. Just discovered you. :) Be well.

I love my Kaweco Brass Sport too

I agree with only the five selections in your review that have unthreaded, "slip-off" caps. The Pilot 823 and the Montblanc both have threaded caps and so can't be "deployed" as quickly as the former ones. The only pen in your video that I don't own or have never used is the Kakuno. Pilot Varsity FPs are also a good choice, except that they look somewhat tacky.

The Montblank 149 Is the first in my wish list, i hope can buy it...

I like the new intro!

Personal Top 5 list of favorites is always fun to watch. The only Twsbi I really like and cared to keep is the Diamond Mini. Your Montblanc is an outstanding instrument. I have too many firm favorites. It would have to be at the very least a Top 10 for me. Naming just five is so painfully hard. However, in the spirit of this topic I’d say the following five are probably my absolutely indispensable, strongest favorite five (in random order): Aurora 88 Aurora Internazionale Sheaffer PFM V Sailor Pro Gear Sailor King of Pen

I don't have any Twsbis, so I can't comment on those. Likewise the Kaweco, though for both I often think, mmm . . . . The MB 149 is of course way up there, and deservedly so. My own was also a gift, so even more special. Nothing else comes close. I'm trying to love my Lamy 2000, but my Pelikan M405, and my Filcao Silvia speak to me more. If i'm really stumped, a simple pencil transmits my thoughts to paper as well as the fanciest pen in the Universe. But once you're addicted to fountain pens, a pencil is just a stand by.

No Pelikan? Mine is very smooth. It’s either an 800 or 1000, I think. Bought 1987 in Langenhagen back when the exchange rate was really good.

Did I see a Helle Gaupe in the Kaweko part? So, youre a knife guy, too?

Hello! I’m looking for a solid, durable, and stylish 3-5 fountain pen leather case. Any recommendations?

Every fountain pen enthusiast should have at least one variation of the Kaweco Sport. I run Diamine cartridges in my brass Sport with a gold plated broad nib.

Hemingway - I need help! I have a request. I own five fountain pens: Lamy Safari Medium x2, Pilot Prera Medium, TWSBI Eco Fine and TWSBI Vac 700 R Iris in EF. I love them all. I am new to fountain pens in the past two months. So, I have a big career change, a big promotion and I thought I would invest in my first pen with a gold nib to celebrate. I journal a lot, I use a written planner, I do everything on paper with ink that I possibly can (apps, yuck!). What do you recommend??

5) TWSBI ECO, any nib 4) Faber-Castell Loom, fine nib 3) Pineider Avatar, fine nib 2) Fountain Pen Revolution Himalaya (Old version with #5 nibs), any nib from EF to B (I like it because of the cheap interchangeable nibs which write nearly as good as anything.) 1) Pilot Custom Heritage 92, fine medium nib I've got a Platinum 3776 which I like and a recently purchased Sailor 1911S which I haven't quite warmed up to as well as a few cool pens from Bexley and some vintage pens from Parker, Esterbrook and Sheaffer. Least favorite/most disappointing: Kaweco Sport, Lamy Safari, Noodler's Ahab and Pelikan M600.

How can you be "wrong" about the "top five" pens that fit your needs and budget? They may not the same for me, or Earl Lee and Gertrude Mae, over there in the barn getting it ready fot the square dance, but that don't make you, me or them "wrong". 😁

Montblanc Egyptomania Fountain Pen & 149, what nib size are they? I feel Hard to choose, “F” or “medium”

My favorite all-time is a cheap knock off of the Sheaffer's PFM complete with touchdown fill, inlaid nib and snorkel tube.

A special greeting to you from an Egyptian lady, I purchased MB egyptomania because of you and this is my first ever deal with MB just waiting to be delivered to me and will give you my feedback

Great video Mr. Hemingway! Which one would you recommend to a student for daily use, Kaweco Sport Brass or Kaweco Liliput ?

Did you really (@4:41) spell 'italic' with two L's? Wowzer. Love your vids.

t the moment: Edison collier, Diplomat Aero, Colibri Ascari, Ranga Abhimanyu with #8 Boch titanium nib, Parker Duofold Centennial

Where are you from where you pronounce every single t?

New subscriber here sir. What do you do for a living?

No pilot 823?

I have four of the Vac 700r's, fine, medium, broad, and stub. My pocket pen is a Vac Mini in fine (medium and broad nibs on order as of this morning). They are nice pens, at least as far as my limited pen palette can discern.

Why do you have so little subs. It's a crime against humanity

Dear Mr. Hemingway Jones, I would like to write you and discuss our great passion for the tools that have enabled man to record all the events in our history, I’m 41 years old and I’m a deep collector of Pens, Fountain Pens, and Inks , stationary and quality paper, I believe the written form is the noblest of expressions and the tools we choose to transcribe our experiences shape the spirit of how we record them, I use a wax monogrammed seal on my correspondence and writing, and through my life this pen affection has always made me stand out and be noticed since so few choose to write or if so use industrially produced pens and inks that have no character or life to them! I know you share such a passion and I will be launching my KZfaq channel on Pens, Inks, stationary, and other subjects that interest people, I’m a fanatic of history and wanted to be an Egyptologist as a younger man, I was almost becoming a Roman Catholic priest also in my life, these parts of my life especially the church showed me the reverence and importance of parchement, seals, coats of arms and penmanship and ink! Please let me know how I can write to you, my email is riccardo.camarda@opesinc.ca, I am a fan of the Classics and Latin hence my company name is OPES the Latin for prosperity,wealth sand good fortune! I would love to share my collection with you and secrets of my travels, my trips to Hamburg at the Montblanc Factory, and many other places, also to share notes and advice from such a master would be an honor and a privilege, Montblanc is my leading brand but I’ve opened up to many others such as Montegrappa, Pelican, Lamy, Twisby, ST DuPont and many others, and I hope to here from you soon and it would be an honor perhaps to even begin a traditional correspondence and collaboration using pen and ink and the mail!!! Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Riccardo Camarda, you can message me on Facebook or reply here on KZfaq if you prefer not to compose an email! I’m eager to converse with you and I sincerely appreciate your work and everything you do to keep the beauty of this dying art alive with such decorum and respect, you sir area trie gentleman and a scholar ! Your friend and fan! Riccardo Camarda