GOAT (Greatest of All Time) Fountain Pens 2016 

02:08 1. Italix Parsons Essential 03:40 2. Visconti Opera Elements 05:05 3. Parker Akkerman Duofold 07:00 4. Stipula Etruria 08:07 5. Visconti Carbon Dream 09:43 6. Yard-O-Led Viceroy Grand 11:11 7. Visconti Kakadu 13:27 8. Visconti Opera Master 15:07 9. Omas Newstyle Paragon 16:49 10. Omas 360 Magnum 17:55 11. LB5, Kaen, crosspoint 19:17 12. Namiki Emperor 4ml ink 23:07 Writing samples You welcome

Honestly these videos make me so happy. So much eye candy. Amazing as always and merry christmas Stephen.

Very enjoyable trip down your fountain pen journey. It was your videos that I first encountered when I began my own journey several years ago. I find them educational, a great source for research and always fun. Thank you for all the work that you put into them and I hope you will continue to make them. Your Canadian fan.

Just watched this for the first time. It is actually a very useful and efficient comparison of many interesting pens, nibs and inks, with the right amount of interesting context for each. Much appreciated.

Thank you very much for all of your videos. They are awesome. Merry Christmas to all and Have a Happy New Year!!!!

Sweet review Stephen!!! I own many of the pens in your GOAT review and find myself pausing your videos in order to search for those that I don't. 👌 Thank you for investing your time to educate us! And you really shouldn't ever worry about your reviews being "useful"! They always are! As I can attest to the days of time I have reinvested in watching them.

Thank you so much. It was very enjoyable and emotional, with a nice touch with the story about the heritage pens.

Christmas has started with this annual video treat. Thank you!!!

Merry Christmas to you and Aziza. Thanks for what you both do for the pen community. Looking forward to many more reviews.

Thank you Stephen, this is really entertaining and funny! I am really glad to see the OMAS 360 back in the GOAT list :-) Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too!

I'm very fond of your 75 story. Watched your old review of it last year and that video inspired me to get one and then one more. :) That pen still impresses with it's unique line. Merry Christmas Stephen!

Thank you for this personal review. That namiki Emperor is just incredible. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Great video! Thanks for the info and your time. Happy holidays to you and your family!

Amazing collection, Stephen. Thank you for sharing.

Dr. Brown, you are an exceptionally fortunate young man for many reasons. Thank you for sharing your passion, skills, time with us. We are made more fortunate because of you. The exact same goes for Azizah, too! .... and a Very Merry Christmas with a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year to both of you! .... THANKS!

Stephen thank you for another wonderful video. I feel like I should be paying you to watch these. :-) I hope you have a fun and prosperous New Year!

Another great video, I've been watching you for a number of years now. I just wanted to say thank you for all the information I have learned from you. 4 years ago when I was a little 16 year old boy I had been watching your videos for a couple of years and had developed a great interest and knowledge base of fine writing instruments. Thanks to what I had learned from you I managed to get myself a job at my local branch of The Pen Shop in the UK where I have been working for the last 4 years. So, keep up the good work and thank you for all the time and effort that you put in these videos.

I have 2 146s and buy and sell fountain pens all the time. However, my absolute favourite and perfect pen is my mothers pelikan m150, the plating is coming off, it has a large scratch, the clip is bent and it says "made in w-Germany" on the band. I love this pen more than anything and would chose it over my 146s any time. I can relate to your grandfathers pen there.

Dear sbre Love your pen broadcasts-I am addicted thanks for your sharing your joy and knowledge!

Thank you, Stephen. I look forward to your annual GOAT Pens video every year. I find my OMAS and Visconti pens to be amongst my favorites as well. Another brand I dearly love is Aurora. I'll look into a Stipula Etruria as it seems quite appealing. My best to you and Azizah in the New Year and as always thank you for all that you do for us.

Season's Greetings and Merry Christmas from Dhaka, Bangladesh! Your videos are superb. Thank you for the great reviews, and especially the enthusiasm with which you give us these orientations to the writing instruments.

A tremendous privilege to have the Italix Parson's Essential included in your GOAT 2016. Has made our Christmas. Peter Ford at MrPen.

Very enjoyable -- especially the last two. I think the nostalgia value is priceless and started many of us into pens.

I just subscribed! Love Stephen’s passion for pens, knowledge, eye for detail plus humor. Also he likes my favorite manufacturer, that seems to be taking over my collection, Visconti.

I love the story of your final two pens. And it's something we have in common. One of my "inspirations" for becoming a fountain pen fan is a pen I inherited. Mine was my father's EDC (front shirt pocket as long as I can remember) - a Parker 75 sterling silver cisle with a 14k B nib adjusted for a "lefty". I'm right handed, but I can't bring myself to change the nib/grip orientation- just makes me remember him every time I use it. Thanks for the eye candy!

Thanks for sharing your grandfather's pens! Many times our love of fountain pens can be traced back to a personal experience.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to Stephen an Azizah! I rarely post a comment but I always take a peek at your videos, which are always very welcome. Keep up the great job in 2017! :)

such great pens Stephen! I also started my pen obsession thanks to my grandfather's fountain pen which he gifted me three years ago. It is a Sheaffer Imperial sterling silver. Then I started to do some research and started watching your videos. Now i own more than 50 fountain pens :-) thanks for what you do to the community and keep it up!

Fantastic Video & Beautiful Pens Stephen. Keep up the great work. Nick.

Hey stephan, thanks to show me all you favorite Fountain Pens. It's very intresting to see the staff what have store in a long time. I whish you the best to the Year2017 and merry chrismas. With greeting from Germany Your Sebastian

Another fantastic vid! Your GOAT list is must view for me. So informative and personal. Vrolijk Kerstfeest!

You have a very clear and succinct way of explaining things. Keep it up!

I like the passion with which you describe your pens!

Great work. Thank you for sharing!

Mr. Brown - THANKS and I love you for your humor, communication skills, and fantastic timing of humor! :-) my my my lol hehe ... Keep them coming. Can you make videos of 'Best Ball Pens of $50 between $100', and 'Best Fountain Pens between $50 to $100' etc

Enjoyed this year's edition very much. Have a wonderful holidays.

GREAT VID! That Namiki Emperor is a beauty. I might need BOTH the RED & BLACK! ;) Merry Christmas, Stephen

Thank you, Stephen. The Yard-O-Led is spectacular.

Beautiful. Thank you for your videos. My obsession is now into dangerous territory. Happy 2017.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and Azizah too :)

Again.. a great video with tons of information, and I will be looking for a 360.

Great assortment of pens and rationales behind your choices. Happy holidays.

Loved your personal touch with the final 2 honourable mentions. You're absolutely right. My most special pen is a simple sheaffer 300 my mum bought me. Since then I've moved to montblancs and the rest, but you can put a price on sentimentality.

Merry Christmas, Stephen. Always interesting to see what's in and what's out ... that Opera Elements is a real fixed point for you, isn't it?

Thank you!!! Just fantastic!

Love the 360! I have the full sized version. The 360 in the arco celluloid is my grail pen.

“This is perfection....” BRILLIANT Professor!

Happy Christmas Dr brown and Azizah.

The Opera Elements is made of some resin, or Acryloid as they like to call it, rather than celluloid. Beautiful material!

Very nice video Stephen!!!

That is a stunning collection of ultra fine Fontanas!

Wonderful pens, great video!

I just have to say this video really surprised me. I also was given a gold Parker 75 by my grandfather which started off my journey into fountain pens. What a coincidence!

I love it your videos are awesome

Great video! Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication. What about a "favorite inks" vid? I'd love to gain your insight on some different options.

80 seconds in and I'm already laughing. This is going to be a good video.

Mr. Brown, when can we get the detailed analysis of the Namiki Emperor? What a work of art! Enjoyed all your videos very much. Thank you.

Thank you for showing that Parker pen set from your grandfather. I have a few pens like that. Not wonderful pens when measured objectively, but very important when measured by emotion, meaning, and memories.

Very nice pens, some of them are on my wish list.

That amber-colored Opera Master is indeed spectacular. If it writes anywhere near as good as it looks, it's a keeper.

I'm glad to run into this. Congrats on your videos! The main point to me was about those gold parkers. That's what I"m looking for, something to inheritance ahead. "IF" you had 3 to 5 options, which one you'd choose? Thanks!

Fantastic!

-_Italix Parson's Essential_ 2:10 -_Visconti Opera Elements_ 3:49 -_Parker Akkerman Duofold_ 5:09 -_Stipula Etruria_ 7:01 -_Visconti Carbon Dream_ 8:07 -_Yard-O-Led Viceroy Grand Victorian_ 9:44 -_Visconti Kakadu_ 11:11 -_Visconti Opera Master Tobacco_ 13:27 -_Omas Paragon Arco Celluloid_ 15:08 -_Omas 360 Magnum_ 16:49 -_Classic Pens LB5_ 17:53 -_Namiki Emperor Urushi red_ 19:17 *_Writing samples:_* 22:56

very very nice presentation

the best pens are the pens of your grand-pa! nice, that you have them mentioned! Greetings from Germany

Many thanks to your grandfather. I hope my love of fountain pens carries on with at least one of my grandchildren.

A Flappy 2017 to you too!

Thank you for the Xmas video. I have learned from you. Newbie to the real thing although I still have my school pens in which there is a little collector interest. Spares available. One from 1930's is a Conklin given to me by an aunt and yes you're so right, it reminds me of her. I dug them out only recently. I am still learning, what is good - what s bad etc. Managed to get them all working quite cheaply. Fascinating; but my writing hand is only so so. I have purchased quite a few very cheap pens to experiment with. No loss if I break them. Tuning is interesting and I thank you for that video as well. Your enthusiasm is infectious and I am taking notes of your favourite makes, just as a guide. It may seem a bit cranky but that's me always. I'm good at cranky! All my Xmas cards were written with fountain pens this year. First time for near to 60 years. Hey! - see the date, - what am I doing watching you? That's your allure. You and your pens. Fascinating. Thank you and Happy Xmas! Berry G.

Good call on the Duofold. Got a Duofold Jr. (in orange) about 3 months ago. Good writer. Kinda want to get the duofold that has the oyster-like lines in the cap and body. (almost like a Pelikan and a lot of other pens too I suppose). I acquired the Duofold along with a Parker "51". The 51 is a bit too broad for my tastes... but DAMN is that nib smooth. It's like butter. Maybe cause it's old... maybe cause it's just a nice nib... maybe both. But easily my smoothest nib out of my 15 or so fountain pens.

Yes! Parsons Essential... Probably the one pen in your magnificent collection that I have😂

Also considering that it was your review of the Italix pens that triggered my purchases of their pens... This choice was gratifying in many ways..

Thanks Stephen. Another very welcome addition to your educational and fun videos.

the M1000 isn't even in the list anymore. I'm shocked. >.

I love your videos, Stephen! I have not yet tried the Namiki Emperor, but have a Namiki Yukari Royale in Vermillion Urushi which I adore. I just have a question about your GOAT list - I noticed there are no Pelikans on your list, and I remember you used to love your Pelikan Souveran M1000, at least when you first received it. Do you still have any Pelikans in your collection, or do you find you no longer enjoy using them?

appreciate! getting the last red pen soon

Your grad fathers pension are just lovely:)

need to repost my word those typos.. added due in part to you Omas PAragon omas 360 Viscounti ? empty bubbly ha and as a dream pen the Rediscover Pompei.. only a Delta but man what a cool pen! again your the BEST keep up the good work!!!

Hey my first fountain pen was also a parker! A Parker IM 75th anniversary set.

"this....................is penfection."

If I clean a pen and it Wright juicy and it wrights dry but has no ink issue 2--3 hours of use would this be because of the ink percentage is less it's not terrible juicy but not all to dry. It's a medium but the ink flows off of it like a juicy fine as weird as it sounds

Stephen, I always enjoy your end of year top 10. This year (perhaps not for the first time,) your list really stands apart from others in that it feels very 'nibbish.' (NOT to be confused with nebbish. LOL.) Your handwriting especially with the italics and stubs, is lovely and I can see how the MB ink shades beautifully with the broader/wetter nibs. (The superb Etruria, Carbon Dream and Yard-o-led especially.) This video makes me focus on the fact that nib size choice does affect personal preference and that any one pen may seem ho-hum with one nib but not another, so to try a number when considering a purchase may be ideal. A lot depends on personal writing style too. Not everyone's handwriting is enhanced by the extra flourish a stub or italic offers (for instance, mine is more printing than script and my taste runs more towards the pragmatic, so round nibs suit me better than italics.) Even so, it's great fun to see what broader, wetter nibs can add and it's easy to see why you gravitate to them. Thanks for the great video!

The Visconti Opera Elements Cherry is an awesome pen.

In art school I had this professor who, when someone would start by saying "in my opinion...," would interject with "of course it's your opinion, if you're saying it it is obviously your opinion; no one here is speaking absolute truths." In keeping with that tone, I appreciate your GOAT videos and I don't watch them expecting purely objective empirical fact. Actually I think in certain cases someone's somewhat subjective opinion based upon experience and preference can give a more informative view. Thanks for sharing your findings and insights! I must ask though, god forbid something ever happened to your Opera Elements, what do you think might be it's successor?

I am so grateful to the Parkers!

He loves it.

Good grief, your handwriting looks good with italics!

Wish that Visconti would make less pens with a metal grip section. (Metal gripsections are my dealbreaker.) And more pens with that Opera master Tobacco finish. That material looks stunning !!! Nice number one. I am a sucker for big cigar shaped pens.

please question : wath the difference : montblanc pen JFK real and fake ? thanks

Nice review. But I missed Waterman Expert, Hemisphere, Lamy LX.. Thanks anyway!

This is Penfection- autocorrect messes me up !!!!!

OMG that Namiki Emperor. One day...

What is the ink in the Visconti Kakadu ?

Lovely. I have a Parker 75 in sterling silver which belonged to my grandfather. My grandfather never parted with it and it took a lot of work to get him to give it to me when I was still in school. :-) I had forgotten about it until recently when my father discovered it in my old stationary collection. It is the only memory I have of my grandfather and the nib is damaged on it. Would you know if some company will be able to restore it?

StephenI have a Conway Stewart 100 and unscrewed the nib assembly as I am thinking of getting a broader nib. However, I now find that I cannot screw it back in. My particular model has a captive converter so the section will not unscrew from the barrel. Am I missing something?

Does Platinum farm out some Preppy manufacture? I bought four at a pen show. The two labeled "Made in Japan" are great. The two without that marking went into the trash can.

Dr. Brown, what was the red ink used in the kakadu writing sample? Thanks

Hi Stephen! Is there any chance you could provide links for each of the pens in this list? I'm new to the hobby and would love to learn more about some of these pens, including where I can buy the pens you're mentioning. Thanks for all that you do!

Can you share the name or link to the pouch you showed from your Grandad’s pens? I could not make out the name. thanks!

Hi Stephen, nice to see that your channel is growing significantly and you're putting out new stuff quite often. I took your advice couple years ago when I wanted to get my first fountain pen (Sheaffer 100) and since then I have acquired quite a few mid range pens including Cross Centuries, Bailey, Parsons Essential, Sailor 1911S, Pilot Custom 74, TWSBI Eco, Diamond Mini, a few Gamas etc. I just had a question: I am looking to buy a more "higher end" pen, and currently my most valuable pens are Pilot Custom 74 and Sailor 1911S (I know, nothing too fancy but I LOVE that Sailor fine nib). I think I want to spend around £200 or less but I want the most bang for my buck. Ideally I would have liked a Pelikan M800 if it was cheaper but I'm conscious of the price tag. I prefer something girthy, similar to how you like it ;) Would appreciate any thoughts/recommendations! Thanks Rabi

Great video stephan! Thank you! I have a question for you; Is the hike in the price worth it to jump from a sailor kop to lb5? What are the reasons if yes or no? Thanks in advance