A discourse on fountain pens...

What is the best pen to use? A difficult question to answer and one that would find a vast array of opinions if one were to ask to each of us. Is there really one pen that is better than another? There are certainly “better” pens, but it depends so much on usage and taste that it is hard to draw a line. For many a fountain pen is the only true instrument that should ever be considered for use on paper.
To follow are a few pens that are fairly well known and that for different reasons are considered worthy of use: some on a daily basis and others for special occasions. Such is the sturdier built Mont Blanc Noblesse (NOT the Oblige remake, but the Aurora Hastil copy from the 70's) in simple brushed metal, alas they are no longer produced (well constructed affordable instruments rarely are) and are the equivalent of today’s LAMY (for design) and Sheaffer and Parker pens (durable workhorses that are an incredible value for their price). Another great value are the elegantly minimalist Namiki/Pilot fountains (the Namiki LE’s are handcrafted beauties).
Honorable mention, of course, goes to Waterman (although they have lost their touch in the last decade) for having invented the fountain pen that sits at the top of the genealogical tree of today’s fountain pens.
If you want to go for a more elegant look then certainly a modern Mont Blanc like the Agatha Christie LE fountain works well as do vintage Pelikans and Watermans that have that simple and elegant style that seems to be lost with a lot of pen makers today.
Visconti pens, although certainly contemporary, along with the much older Conklin brands and the exquisitely eccentric Conway Stewart pens are amongst the few pen makers that continue to use an incredible array of celluloid and multi-colored plastics for pen barrel production which gives each pen a custom look, as opposed to simple resins and metals (although the Visconti Titanium Skeleton is quite a pen). Tibaldi for example has some great vintage multicolored celluloid, although today they seem to be experimenting more with precious metals.
Then there are the “artwork” pens that are made by the likes of Krone and Michel Perchin (of Faberge heritage) that are so heavy or bulky that you cannot write with them, but they are truly works of art.
If one were to give a hierarchy to pens then it would certainly see the top tier occupied by fountain pens. There are few unique experiences like using a fountain pen to ink your thoughts on paper.