My “go to” pen is a Lamy Joy pen (this is a calligraphy model as opposed to the standard Lamy Safari pen) with a convertor (so I can fill with my own ink) and an ‘once EF’ nib (see more details below).

Why the Joy?
– There is NO difference between any of the lamy pens in terms of performance… the reason I use the Joy pens are because I love,  absolutely LOVE the balance of the longer tail. The lid does fit on the end of the pen but I never put it on when using since it changes the balance and weight of the pen in my hand. Surprisingly I have never lost the lid!
– I love the name ‘joy’ … just expresses my feeling when I have the pen in my hand!
– The Joy pen is Lamy’s calligraphy model so normally comes with a calligraphy nib…so you have to either buy your pen at a pen shop where they can replace the calligraphy with an EF or buy an extra EF nib.
– I prefer the black or white Joy to the AL version as they are a fraction lighter.
– I am currently using a gold nib (3 x the price of the pen!) I bought it years ago when I was more extravagant. It is more flexible that the standard nib but it is not really worth the expense.
– Most people like an EF nib (extra fine), and my gold nib was originally EF (well if fact it was a F nib that the pen shop ground down to EF) but after all the use I have given it, it is more like a F or even a M nib with a bit of pressure. I moving away from EF nibs these days… but more later on about this!

Check out my comprehensive 7 part series about using fountain pens here.