Graduation Gift Pen Advice

[mamoshka]

Hello,

I'm looking for advice on what kind of pen to give as a gift.

My husband and I left the Soviet Union, and came to the US to give our kids better lives. I'm very proud that that is exactly what happened. My children, first generation immigrants, both pursued higher education here. My son is now graduating the medical institute. I want to get him a proper gift for such a graduation.

My husband died while my son was in institute. He collected pens and my son took his collection and has been adding to it to stay connected to his papa. So I think a nice fountain pen is a very good gift, but I do not know anything about pens.

I appreciate advice about a good pen as a gift. I am not wealthy, but I have budgeted a couple of hundred dollars for my sons graduation.

Thank you for your help,
Vala

[titrisol]

You can never go wrong with a Pelikan
I like the 120s but it is up to you
PenChalet has the 200 on sale and they also do engraving which adds a lot to a present as important as this:
https://www.penchalet.com/fine_pens/fountain_pens/pelikan_pens/

[FredRydr]

Offer $200: http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/classifieds/item/53201-pelikan-m400-black-blue-stripes-medium-nib/

[Viktaurian]

Hello, Congratulations for assuring your kids a bright future. You have already gifted them the best possible gift one can get - Education.

Regards to pens, I am a novice myself. However, from what I have read and mentored by the aficionados of pen world. You can never go wrong with brands like Pelikan, Aurora, Montblanc, to name a few ( this list can't be comprehensive ever)

If you want to get the best quality pens from the modern time, I would strongly recommend Leonardo Officina Italiana. They have the best ' value for money' pens. The quality is backed by a strong legacy.

https://www.stilografica.it/products/leonardo-officina-italiana-pens


Also, I can strongly recommend one of my favourite pen sellers and incidentally he has a NOS Pelikan 140 for $ 160 bucks and I can assure you he would be more than happy to knock some $ off.
He also has a Pelikan M605 for $ 290.
There's no shipping charges and his service is the best.

Please PM me and I shall share his email ID.

I would be more than happy to help you have a memorable FP buying experience.
I wish you and your kids have a great and prosperous future.






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[Bold2013]

I have a background very similar to your son (parents are polish immigrants and I also persued medicine).

My recommendation would be to get a pen that he can use daily so he doesn’t worry about losing or breaking his fathers vintage pens at the hospital. So in order to get a pen you know he would like/use it would be helpful to know what his preferences are for size, shape, material, filling system, line width ect. That info should narrow it down quite a bit. After that I would find a dealer who can throughly tune the pen so it writes perfectly. Nothing is worse than a beautiful pen that writes poorly (it is more common than you would imagine).

If that information can’t easily be obtained or you want it to be a surprise I think a modern Pelikan m120, m400, m600 would be excellent as long as his hand isn’t very large.

Best of luck and message me if you want to discuss it in further depth

[Butthurticus-VIII]

A vintage Montblanc 244 or 342 would be an excellent addition to his collection.


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[SIR]

Lamy 2000 is a good choice for something of quality that will actually get used as well as be appreciated.

[RWS]

Hello mamoshka,
I second the suggestion of a Lamy 2000.
It is a quality pen, but it doesn't stand out as special to a non-pen addict, so is less likely to get "borrowed"
In fact, I have given Lamy 2000s to my nephews on their 18th birthdays.

[calamus]

Sailor 1911s are beautiful, very high quality pens and yet not as expensive as Montblancs or Viscontis, for example. They are available in a standard size and a large, depending on the size of your son's hands. I agree that you should find out your son's preference for nib width, and bear in mind that the Sailor is Japanese, so a Sailor fine nib is finer than a European fine. I also agree that you should get the pen tuned by an expert. I would suggest Mike Masuyama (MikeItWork.com) as probably the greatest living Sailor nib specialist. He always has a long backlog of work, but you can usually get the nib tuned much sooner by paying an expedited service fee. I have a Sailor 1911 tuned by him, and it's my favorite pen. You can also order one from nibs.com, and John Mattishaw will tune it for you as part of the purchase price.