For Fountain Pen folks

[monbla256]

I hope this doesn't hijack the thread, but I am wanting to find a good starter pen for myself and one for my wife.  She has been wanting a good fountain pen for a while, and I would like one for myself..  So, I have been looking, but there are so many brands at such a wide variety of prices, that I figured I would turn to my brothers here for some advice.  I can spend no more than $75 on a pen, and would rather stay under $50 if at all possible.  Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks in advance,
JP

Something to remember about fountain pens, the NIB is where it is at so to speak and GOLD is the metal used to make the best nibs. With that in mind, you won't find a SOLID GOLD nib, usually 18k, on just about ANY new pen for under $200.00 these days, Most of the fountain pens sold at the under $100.00 price point have either gold PLATED or plain STAINLESS STEEL nibs which tend to be stiffer than their equivalent solid gold nibs. Sailor and Platinum do make some models with steel nibs that are softer but they don't sell in the price point you want. Also many of the lower priced pens are cartridge fillers which can be limited as far as colors of ink available as opposed to piston or convertor filled pens which allow a wide range of bottle inks in far MORE colors. Sadly the days of finding Parker 51's, Vacumatics, older Pelikans and other classic pens in your price range are over. They have been for well over a decade now which is when I stopped collecting. I collected them for over 30 years and in that time prices have just gotten ridiculus all around. The Japanese pens mentioned will probably be your best bet dollar wise. :twisted:

 

[Richard Burley]

You can get used to the Lamy Safari grip and Bauhaus styling if I can. It's a practical pen for someone that just wants a reliable fountain pen that you can beat almost like a Bic ballpoint. I've had one flopping around in a drawer for decades. What I don't understand about fountain pens is why anyone would want one that doesn't do the thick and thin bit with a flexible nib. You know, the slight calligraphic effect? What's the point of laying down a line with a fountain pen if it just looks like it was done with a rollerball?

 

[huffelpuff]

Richard you're absolutely right that's the best part of a fountain pen. I only used the EF nib for work, I had an extra wide one I kept at home. Somewhere along the way I lost it and never got around to replacing it. After all I have hundreds of dip pen nibs that give me that capability. Yes I know I'm weird.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

PeeB was hot on some oriental-origin pens (I think that's what they were) that were inexpensive and wrote well.

8)

 

[Carlos]

Here you go.

http://www.pendemonium.com/midnightmadness/mm_121514.htm

You can sign up for Pendemonium's email's. They send out an email on specials. New stuff they acquired. High end, low end, and weird. You just never know what will show up and catch your eye. These Sheaffer pens are in the style of the old "school pens". But a lot of these have expressive nibs. It's possible to use these with converters, or even refill cartridges from bottled ink for a wider variety of colors and shading.

Keep in mind that not every pen will like every ink. Reuse a cartridge enough times and you will be wearing ink. If a pen gets low on ink and it's thin enough, you could be wearing ink. Take a cross country flight, or get a fountain pen warm enough, you could be wearing ink. Some inks are washable, and some are so permanent they are considered archival.

Those expressive nibs are really fun to write with, but may have a little learning curve. Just keep it in mind. For those wondering WTF is it all about! Pick up nearly any ball point or rollerball made. If it's blue, it's blue. All the same and writes in a single width line for each pen. With a fountain pen, I can have a choice of hundreds of blue. Different shading effects even among similar colors. Some are washable, and others you will wear on a shirt forever. Some blue's are so blue they will make your eyes bleed to look at them. Some inks you have to shake a bottle beforehand. Some inks you do not use in a Lamy pen.

When you find a really great combination. Be sure to write it down in a journal or someplace. Take care of your pens with proper rinsing and they will work for you. Have fun!

I hope this doesn't hijack the thread, but I am wanting to find a good starter pen for myself and one for my wife.  She has been wanting a good fountain pen for a while, and I would like one for myself..  So, I have been looking, but there are so many brands at such a wide variety of prices, that I figured I would turn to my brothers here for some advice.  I can spend no more than $75 on a pen, and would rather stay under $50 if at all possible.  Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks in advance,
JP

 

[monbla256]

Here you go.

http://www.pendemonium.com/midnightmadness/mm_121514.htm

You can sign up for Pendemonium's email's.  They send out an email on specials.  New stuff they acquired.  High end, low end, and weird.  You just never know what will show up and catch your eye.  These Sheaffer pens are in the style of the old "school pens".  But a lot of these have expressive nibs.  It's possible to use these with converters, or even refill cartridges from bottled ink for a wider variety of colors and shading.  

Keep in mind that not every pen will like every ink.  Reuse a cartridge enough times and you will be wearing ink.  If a pen gets low on ink and it's thin enough, you could be wearing ink.  Take a cross country flight, or get a fountain pen warm enough, you could be wearing ink.  Some inks are washable, and some are so permanent they are considered archival.

Those expressive nibs are really fun to write with, but may have a little learning curve.  Just keep it in mind.  For those wondering WTF is it all about!  Pick up nearly any ball point or rollerball made.  If it's blue, it's blue.  All the same and writes in a single width line for each pen.  With a fountain pen, I can have a choice of hundreds of blue.  Different shading effects even among similar colors.  Some are washable, and others you will wear on a shirt forever.  Some blue's are so blue they will make your eyes bleed to look at them.  Some inks you have to shake a bottle beforehand.  Some inks you do not use in a Lamy pen.  

When you find a really great combination.  Be sure to write it down in a journal or someplace.  Take care of your pens with proper rinsing and they will work for you.  Have fun!      

I hope this doesn't hijack the thread, but I am wanting to find a good starter pen for myself and one for my wife.  She has been wanting a good fountain pen for a while, and I would like one for myself..  So, I have been looking, but there are so many brands at such a wide variety of prices, that I figured I would turn to my brothers here for some advice.  I can spend no more than $75 on a pen, and would rather stay under $50 if at all possible.  Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks in advance,
JP

I've known Sam Fiorella @ pendemonium for over 20 years now and she's GOOD folks to deal with!! Contact her and I'm sure she could put together a sort of "beginners" fountain pen package for you and your wife around the amount you can afford !! I HIGHLY recomend her to get your start in fountain penning !! But watch out, they can be as alluring as your pipes !! :twisted: :twisted:

 

[idbowman]

Not a fountain guy, but I have been using the same pen made from hand-turned wood for the last seven years or so (standard Parker refills). Not that my handwriting warrants having a "good" pen, but it's nice having the same piece at my desk for everything I do, every day.

 

[d4klutz]

Thank you all for your advice. I have contacted the owner at Pendemonium. I have an idea of the direction I want to go. I will let yall know what I end up with.

 

[Psmith]

What a coincidence. I just got a new fountain pen on Sunday. My wife bought one for me as a Christmas gift, a matte black Parker Urban with a converter, bottle of Quink and a couple of cartridges. The 200 dollar Waterman pens with gold tips were looking pretty nice but this 60 dollar Parker will be a test to see if I can manage to not lose it (or someone walks off with it). Also I think my next investment will have a more square tip.
Up until the Parker I was always using a Japanese cheapie called a Preppy. They look like any 5 dollar plastic pen but have pretty strong nibs and you can buy boxes of 10 of the cartridges. I saw them available on Amazon for anyone looking for really reliable cheap refillable fountain pens for either the office or classroom. They are super cheap in Korea, sold in bundles of 5 so I always have them about my desk and at home. The only complaint with those ones is that they are quite light but I guess that is the nature of a plastic pen.
I'm in the midst of completing my masters thesis and prefer to do all my note taking and rough drafts by hand in cursive. Something meditative about it. Also I have recently begun writing a journal every night before going to sleep...something relaxing about writing for 20 or 30 minutes at the close of the day.
For d4klutz, if you are still sussing out nice fountain pens under 75 dollars I would recommend looking at the Parker Urban. Think I saw them on Amazon for about 40 dollars or so and you could score a pink one for the missus. Cheers!

 

[PeterD]

...I've used only fountain pens for more than 55 years...Like my pipes, I have a broad selection of pens from very inexpensive to quite expensive...My newest addition is the Namiki Falcon Red with a soft Broad 14k nib...



quite a nice pen with a smooth delivery of ink to paper...

 

[Jevverrett]

Being what my Granny called "cack handed", I've never had any ability to use one. I bought one to do a school project in third grade, and made a terrible mess with it. Cack handed means lefty, by the way. Also, an old word for s**t, however Granny loved me anyway

 

[huffelpuff]

Lefties require a special tip brother! Doubtful that you picked up a lefty ground nib at that age. They can be hard enough to find nowadays can't imagine pre internet.

 

[Jevverrett]

How does it keep your hand from smearing the ink over as you write? Merry Xmas btw

 

[tarheel7734]

How does it keep your hand from smearing the ink over as you write? Merry Xmas btw

http://www.nibs.com/Left-hand%20writers.htm
http://www.richardspens.com/?page=xf/2005/03.htm

 

[Carlos]

Not all inks dry at the same speed. Leftys need to find the right pen that will feed a fast drying ink, and not clog up much. It helps to find good paper, but that's is not always a choice. Sometimes an ink that clogs a pen overnight can be used if you dip the pen in a bit of water each morning before using it.

You can always try water with a bit of ammonia when cleaning your pen, and then when rinsing, rinse with a drop of dish soap in the water. Do a final clean water rinse. The ammonia cleans extra good and should lift the dried ink out of a feed. The dish soap acts as a surfactant and should help the ink flow better. But some pens will flow too much and may leak at every opportunity. Or fling a drop when uncapping.

It's just more work for a lefty to get it right.

 

[Wet Dottle]

Found most of my old fountain pens. From left to right: my 1st grade pen (don't know the brand), Waterman, Pelikan, 2 Parkers, Leonard, Waterman, another one I don't know the brand (has carbon fiber barrel), Montblanc, and Dupont. I'm pretty sure I have more, at least another Pelikan (similar to what Carlos posted earlier) and a Parker Duofold. But they all have been in storage for 20 years and I'm not sure anymore. I'm not a collector, these were bought to be used, but they're just not practical anymore. Had great fun using them, though.

 

[d4klutz]

So, after much thinking, I sprung for a couple of e-bay specials to see what the big deal is about. I bought my wife a lady Sheaffer ($27), and a Parker 21 ($21). I got myself a Parker 45 ($2.50) yes, that is what I paid for it. All pens were checked out by a local pen shop and verified good and in need of no repair. I bought some Noodlers Ink, and we are off and running. I got a black, a blue, and a red. I do like the Parker, but would like to have a different nib (flat, no ball) I am in contact with a seller that is highly recommended by brothers here on this forum. I hope she can get me a good deal on another pen. The Parker 45 writes beautifully, but I find it is a bit picky on how I hold it. I tried my wife's lady Sheaffer, and it is much more forgiving, as I hold my pens differently than most.

Thank you for all your advice and opinions.

 

[puros_bran]

Holy smokes Dottle... That's a drool worthy roll of pens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



As to the subject of daily writers: I use a Parker 45 in medium, a Lamy Safari LE in Fine, and a Pilot Elite in Extra Fine.., I have a couple others I don't use so much...

I just had a new pen roll made today... The pens were just fillers for pocket spacing and whatnot.

 

[Stick]

Here you are chaps. I found this whilst looking for vids of the fellas who have recently topped out on El Cap'. There's some interesting vids that follow it too...

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/

 

[tarheel7734]

Here you are chaps.  I found this whilst looking for vids of the fellas who have recently topped out on El Cap'.  There's some interesting vids that follow it too...

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/

Richard Bender is quite famous in the fountain pen community.