Cross, Parker ,Waterman, or Schiffer ?

I have been collecting and using pens for many years and own and use those from all the brands mentioned so here's my $0.02, rather than rank I'll just share my experiences with each brand, alsoI greatly prefer fountain pens to rollerballs and in my opinion you're best off in a rollerball to buy a pen that can also take Pilot G2 and Uniball 207 refills, of the brands you mentioned only Waterman allows this, Aurora does as well and I highly recommend them also. I am partial to G2's and it is convenient to be able to buy refills at Wal-Mart. There are many other brands that are G2/207 compatible you can search the internet for more info on which pens/brands.

If you want a no-nonsense writer I'd say go LAMY, I do not own a LAMY roller, but have several ballpoints and fountain pens. Lamy pens are made in Germany and in new production pens I have been more satisfied with Lamy fountain pens out of the box than any other. They write smoothly, are easy to maintain, and are the only fountain pen I have been able to store capped and inked for months with out writing and them not dry out. I also find their designs to be the most ergonomic overall. The Safari is their entry level pen but it does have a somewhat triangular grip which some people do not like. The 2000 is the top of the line and an bottle filler but there are two small metal ears on the barrel the interfere with some people's grips. The Studio and Accent models are internally identical to the Safari but look much more upscale on the outside. This is not a bad thing as the Safari has among the best designed internals around.

Cross pens are built like tanks, my only beef with them is that they are currently produced in China, I only own 2 non-USA made Cross pens and can tell no difference in quality, they also have a reputation for making good on warranty repairs though I have never needed it personally. It would be hard to go wrong with Cross in my Opinion, despite current models being made in China. I also find Cross pens to be quite dull and lacking of personality.

Sheaffer, if we are talking vintage fountain pens they are among the best, and I have never experienced a bad US made Sheaffer, including modern pens. However I am not impressed with their current production, they are now made in various places all over the world and I have not been impressed with the recent Modern Sheaffers I have seen and used, I do not know what year they moved production but unlike Cross I have seen a decrease in Sheaffer quality since they left the US.

Waterman are made in France, I love their rollers often use one with a Pilot G2. As someone else mentioned already I have found their fountain pens to need a short "break-in" period however once broken in they work perfectly, it is hard to find a bad Waterman, but be careful they tend to multiply, I really like many of their styles and own a few:D

Vintage Parkers, especially the 51s are the best pens ever made as far as I'm concerned. Some years ago they moved production to the UK, I have never personally encountered a bad Parker even among modern designs but prefer to collect and use the vintage ones. In my experience I have found Parkers to have a "break-in" period similar to Waterman and to me at least Parkers develop a sweet spot in writing where the ink flows the best.

Another brand to consider is Aurora, made in Italy and producing their own nibs, they are not cheap but incredible, their Ipsilon model is around 100 bucks and is a great fountain pen, and there is also the Pilot Vanishing point. You may want to check out the fountainpennetwork website as there is far more detail there.

Hope all this rambling helps
 
I rotate between a Waterman Edson fountain pen with a fine nib and a Parker T-1 Titanium with an adjustable nib. The Waterman is a more consistent performer (the best of all my pens), but it cost a lot more than the T-1. The T-1 is a very unusual pen and fun to use. The Edson has an "engine" that captures overflow and puts it back in the bladder. You can do cross word puzzles at 40,000 ft. when flying.
 
I always thought the hierarchy from bottom to top went something like Parker/Schaeffer and Cross then Waterman. I've got some of all but have used the Parkers the most. I stopped using my Crosses years ago because I found their refills started blotting very quickly.
I've still got a stainless steel pen and pencil Schaeffer set my dad gave me to write my "Common Entrance" exams into college with back in 1979 and they've never been used, still in the gift box. Holy crap now that I think about it that pen set is 31 yrs old and still brand new!

Now I use cheaper pens like Pilots and Zebras Fine point ballpoints. Zebras have been my favorites for the past 10 yrs or so.
 
Thank you very much for the input. I went with a parker this time. Will get a waterman next month. :)
 
Spydiefan04 said:
If you want a no-nonsense writer I'd say go LAMY, I do not own a LAMY roller, but have several ballpoints and fountain pens. Lamy pens are made in Germany and in new production pens I have been more satisfied with Lamy fountain pens out of the box than any other. They write smoothly, are easy to maintain, and are the only fountain pen I have been able to store capped and inked for months with out writing and them not dry out. I also find their designs to be the most ergonomic overall. The Safari is their entry level pen but it does have a somewhat triangular grip which some people do not like. The 2000 is the top of the line and an bottle filler but there are two small metal ears on the barrel the interfere with some people's grips. The Studio and Accent models are internally identical to the Safari but look much more upscale on the outside. This is not a bad thing as the Safari has among the best designed internals around.
Click to expand...
Yep :thumbup:!
Best bang for the buck out there, though you have to not be bothered by their kind of bare design.
 
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