The funny thing is, many entry level pens are much more reliable and dependable some of the higher end pens you pay thrice the price.

The secret sauce of Lamy and Faber Castell is, their lower and higher end pens use the same feeds and nibs, so the lower end pens are very dependable, too.

You can leave a simple Lamy Safari (one of my favorites) to your grandchildren, and they'll be happy with it, too.

The only thing is, a good gold nib is a very comfortable thing to use, if it's your cup of tea, but modern steel nibs are very enjoyable to use, too.

On the ink side, if you want to have a single ink to depend on, give Montblanc Royal Blue a go. My dad used to use only that ink, and when I used it for the first time, I told my dad how wonderful to write with that, and he answered "yeah, it is" with a grin.