I said I want it

And now I got it! This is a story about getting a Bexley Americana as one of my "milestone" pens.

After my PhD defense in early March, Ann told me to pick something as her graduation gift to me. I thought about what I want for a while and decided that this gift must be something that I can use everyday and also have to be able to last a lifetime. With these two "simple" criteria, I quickly narrowed it down to a fountain pen (what else?).

I love the Pelikan M800 that I have been using for the past 10 years (bought it with my first month of salary after graduated from college) in almost every way. The only complaint I have is that it is a little bit heavy for long writing sessions. So I decided to find a slightly lighter pen with a similar size. Initially I thought about getting a Pelikan M620 Athens (UGA IS in Athens after all, albeit not the more famous one), but the pen was not easy to find and I also want to try something different. I also considered several other Italian and Japanese pens, but none of them gave me the feeling that this is the one.

Finally, I decided that I want a Bexley Americana in Rio Grande Red. The size and weight seems just right and the color looks really good. Also it is made in the US (the country where I got my Phd) and the design was based on Wahl-Eversharp Doric (my favorite vintage pen model). I got a chance to try the pen at the Atlanta Pen show and absolutely love it. Unfortunately the red ones seemed to be sold out everywhere and I had trouble finding one available. After several unsuccessful attempts I finally nailed one down from FPN's classifieds. The pen arrived today and it looks better than I have expected. I immediately filled it up with the Diamine Monaco Red and it writes beautifully.

Anyway, I am a very happy man now and have to get back to play with my new pen. :)