Fountain Pens with Nib Size: F

We love how Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" often gets swept into the children's books category when it is really a biting political satire for adults. Montblanc paid tribute to the great satirist in 2012 with a Writers Series pen best known as the Montblanc Jonathan Swift. Ours is in mint condition and has never been used. It comes with its book box and that is all. The pen is numbered 07675 of 12,800. You will likely write a fine line with its 18k gold nib, but we have not dipped it to verify. No sense messing up its New Old Stock status. Click the headline for a close-up.

The business uniform of the 1950s was a grey-flannel suit. This handsome Sheaffer Admiral would have matched one nicely. We restored this vintage pen with a new ink sac, O-ring and point seal. Its only flaws are doozies. There is a nasty crack on each side of the loose pocket clip. Click the headline for close-ups. We showed the worst crack in the main photo. However, the pen works great. It is marked an F2, but we find it to write more of a smooth extra fine. 14.2cm capped.

We often wonder if the authors of the Montblanc Writers Series pens would actually appreciate a pen being named after them. Would the surrealist author who railed against the corporate world really approve of the Montblanc Franz Kafka? We don't know, but we suspect that he would love a cockroach imprinted on a luxury nib made of rhodium-plated 18k gold. Montblanc pays tribute to the author of "The Metamorphosis" with this stunning wine-red, art deco-inspired fountain pen. The sterling silver accents really pop. Our pre-owned pen once belonged to the author Bill Adler Jr. who wrote the 1-million-copies-selling book "Outwitting Squirrels." He says he never filled the pen, and the pen certainly looks mint in its original box. The papers and outer box have gone missing. Guaranteed authentic. 14.8cm capped.

Perhaps the most prized fountain pen among Montblanc collectors is the Montblanc Hemingway. It is the first of the Writers Series pens and came out in 1992. Our pen is in like-new condition with no trace of wear. We suspect it was filled once, cleaned and left alone as a collectible. There is just the trace of black ink around the piston. The piston moves smoothly. Our pen comes with its book box, reply card and booklet. We do not have the outer box. Everything is in the photo. Click the headline for a close-up. Just in the case the pen is N.O.S., we didn't dip the 18k gold nib that looks like a fine point. Obtained from a dedicated Montblanc collector; guaranteed authentic. Based on the pen author Ernest Hemingway once owned. A nice tribute to the writer of "A Farewell to Arms," "The Sun Also Rises" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls." 13.3cm capped.

We love the over-complexity of Sheaffer Snorkel pens. We replaced the O-ring, point seal and ink sac on this Sheaffer Sovereign fountain pen. We test drove this Rube-Goldberg of filling systems to make sure all was in order. There are no cracks or deep scratches on the cap or barrel. There is a little dimple just left of the pocket clip and a little flat dent on the top of the cap. You will write a firm, fine line with its two-tone, 14k gold nib. Classic mess-free filling in an age where competition against the ballpoints was fierce. A wonderful vintage pen. 14.1cm capped.

Carbon-fiber designs were hot during the early 2000s. Our Monteverde Invincia sports such a design, though we doubt it is real carbon fiber for the price it originally sold at. Our preowned pen looks good with only minor wear from use. You will write a smooth, fine, dry line with its steel nib. Click the headline for close-ups. Includes a standard international converter. 13.9cm capped.

Basic is best, sometimes. The simple magic of a Pelikan Souveran M200 is its ease of filling, attractive design and quality nib. We love the shimmering green design that reminds us of the Northern Lights. You'll find the piston operating smoothly. No cracks or significant wear, except for some spots the golden element of the nib is fading. Click the headline for close-ups. The Pelikan logo on the cap topper has a clean imprint of a mama pelican and two chicks nicely filled with gold. You will write a nice fine line with its nib, which does have a little feedback. 12.7cm capped.

Made in the late 1940s or 1950s, we believe this to be a Danish Parker Duofold. Not the most common of finds here in the U.S., it is a fully restored pen with a new ink sac. It has a button filler just like the Parker VS pens in the U.S. It feels like a Vacumatic Maxima in size. No cracks. There is some wear from use and brassing on the clip. You will write a smooth nib that just when we think it writes a fine line...it writes a medium line. Whatever it is, we love writing with it. 13.6cm capped.