Inexpensive Fountain Pens

[dhermann1]

Blotto for blotters!

We'll soon need a blotter forum! The cottage was also full of little fragments of blue stained green blotter paper. Fond memories!

 

[John in Covina]

Some less expensive pens.

Waterman Phileas
Lamy Allstar & Vista
Pilot Knight
Pelikam M75 or Go pens
Rotring Core or Skynn

for vintage you can't beat the Esterbrook!

I have or had all of these pens, which are Student pens, and they all write really wonderfully and were relatively inexpensive fountain pens again for the student market.

The Phileas and the Knight are traditional looking and would go well with a vintage look, while the others are more modern but are pretty darn bullet proof pens.

Esterbrooks are fine workaday pens and are still much appreciated by all but the most snooty of colectors. I have about 12 Esterbrook pocket pens and 3 of the desk sets.

Today is the day to write a note to a loved one or friend! Carpe diem!

 

[Marty M.]

Pelikan!! I adore them. I love the way they write, and even their lower end lines write beautifully, IMO!!
Check out the M215 or if you can find the M150 which is even less price.
Pendemoniumhas a good selection. I haven't shopped around in a while for these lines, so I'm not sure if they have the most competitive of pricing, but I really like their service and they have a decent sized selection. Pelikan also makes a very cool low end, disposable looking yet refillable fp that supposedly writes beautifully. I just really like this brand, worth every cent, IMO.

Great call Ms. Daisy B. I've always loved the look of the classic green and black model Pelikan pen. It's a timeless beauty.
Marty Mathis

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

Great call Ms. Daisy B. I've always loved the look of the classic green and black model Pelikan pen. It's a timeless beauty.
Marty Mathis

Why thank you Marty!! I am a huge fan of my Pelikans. I actually have about 5 different models, and prefer my M150 to my 800 series. Might have to do with the fact that I'm a girl, have smaller hands, so the smaller pen is much more comfortable. But, the nib on my M150 writes like a dream!! I bought my first Pelikan in Italy, I had lost the pen I was traveling with, so I had to buy another. I've been hooked ever since! Leaving for that fine country again in 5 weeks and can not wait to go pen shopping!! Aurora and Pelikan are at the top of my list

 

[Tango Yankee]

Hero pens

I've got three different Hero pens. Hero is a Chinese company. The ones I have (can't think of the styles off the top of my head, it's late and they're put away) look nice and write well enough for my non-expert writing--and they were cheap-less than $20 for the most expensive, IIRC.

Regards,
Tom

 

[DeaconKC]

Here's the Harley Davidson pen I carry every day.

 

[Edward]

DeaconKC, nice pen. That's different than mine, but still in the same stylistic ballpark. I don't have it with me today, but I'll try and get a chance to photo it asap.

 

[DeaconKC]

Thank you Edward,the nice thing is that it writes so smoothly, has definitely made me a fan of Waterman's. So much so that I ebayed another one today.

 

[Highlander]

Deacon, one cool pen.

As for inexpensive pens, as mentiioned here in a couple of posts, the Waterman Phileas is a good choice, nice price, good looking, nice nib. I have a couple and have started a few friends out by giving them these $50 pens as a gift. Buying a fountain pen for a fried is tough, fountain pen people are a certain "breed"..

The other thing, like mentioned earlier, I have never had a fountain pen wander off. Esp if it's a nice one. I rarely if ever loan my fountain pen to another (the old fear they'll bend the nib and it won't write for me). I always try and have another pen if they need to sign something etc.

If I do have to loan my pen.... I always hold the cap.... I have never seen anyone drop an uncapped fountain pen in their pocket.

Steve

 

[DeaconKC]

LOL! I know a couple of pen thieves I would love to see that happen to!

 

[Orgetorix]

I have a Lamy All-Star that I got at Fahrney's in DC for about $35. I have been very happy with it. I run the ink cartridges dry too quickly for my liking, so I've been meaning to get a converter and some bottled ink for it--just haven't had a chance yet.

 

[John in Covina]

On buying pens for friends.

If you are like me, you like to share those things you enjoy with others that might enjoy them too. When it comes to fountain pens, it is true that there are "fountain pen people" and there are not. And few straddle the fence on the whole FP experience.

If you know someone that is into it, you can get an expensive pen and feel confident that, unless they simply hate it and it is a bad match, they will use it frequently. However many people either have never used a Fountain Pen previously and don't know much about them. Here is the possibility of fertile ground to be worked. Knowing about your friend can help zero in on the choice of pen.

I am hesitant to buy expensive pens for newbies for a couple of reasons:

One- if they hate it or are a non user that was a waste of $
Two- if they are the type that saves such items "for special occassions only" it just might not get used even though appreciated.
Three- the forgetful, lose stuff types = money wasted.

With that in mind I tend to stick to the less expensive (but proven as good ones) fountian pens. I have given away 5 or 6 Esterbrooks as gifts, including an "eight ball" style desk set. I have also given away several Lamy Allstars which are modern looking but bullet proof and good writers. I have given away a Pilot Knight as a gift. Also a Pelikan Go fountain pen. All are relatively inexpensive but good writers and were well received.

A little more expensive: I have given away a Pelikan M200 which was a happy gift, and i hope it is being used. Also a blue with silver trim Cross Verve, the most expensive pen I have use as a gift, this is liked but not used much, it is reserved as a special occasion pen for "the Big Signature" only.

I did give a Parker 51 away as a gift but I don't know if it is being used at all.

Another thing is that people don't realize that using a fountain pen on faxed documets, copied documents or recently printed documents can give the pen nib fits. On all of these sheets of paper may be chemicals from the printing device that often interferes with the surface tension delivery of the ink not only in fountain pens but gel pens and rollerball pens too. So suddenly a good pen just doesn't work so good anymore to the great frustration of the newbie.

However at least with the Fountain Pen you can do a flushing of the pen to restore it's writing ability. Here is the Formula 409 trick:
use 3-4 parts cold water + one part Formula 409, flush in then out about ten times or so, then rinse about 5-10 times with plain cold water. Use caution on old pens of tender material use like casein, no over night soaking with the solution unless you can pull the nib and feed out to soak alone.

You can substitue non-sudsing ammonia for the 409, just becareful and don't ruin anything.

ALso remind the newbies never use India Ink (the Drawing type) in an FP as they contain drying agents like shellac that will ruin the feed section which may not be replaceable.

Anyway, a pen, some ink and some good writing paper will be a great gift for the writing friend. But give them some lessons too, as those un-initiated don't have a clue where the sweet spot is on the nib.

 

[John in Covina]

I have a Lamy All-Star that I got at Fahrney's in DC for about $35. I have been very happy with it. I run the ink cartridges dry too quickly for my liking, so I've been meaning to get a converter and some bottled ink for it--just haven't had a chance yet.

********
I have an aluminum Allstar and a Vista (the clear plastic version) and both are great. The Allstar has a broad nib and I consider it to be a great "addressing envelopes" pen. Lamy has added their Italic nibs to the line up for the Allstar, if I remember correctly, if you have even and regular writing an italic can really jazz up your writing style, perfect for greeting cards and Christmas.

 

[Highlander]

John, I personally love the oblique nibs....They seem to follow the angle of my writing and my hand... giving a little distinction in each direction of the pen strokes.

 

[Naphtali]

... Does anyone else have any cheapie Fountain Pens that they like?

I have disposed of three Sailor Tridents -- I'm left-handed. I now have only a Rotring with extra fine point. This is Rotring's heavy all-brass hexagonal pen, with Rotring's ink converters (one for back-up) cost me about $25 NEW on you-know-what auction site. Using Noodler's Polar inks, I expect the pen to last generations. Amortized cost should be in the neighborhood of .01¢ per day for my lifetime.

 

[Idledame]

Gosh, was anyone else here taught how to write cursive with wooden dip type fountain pens? It must have been about 1957 for me, in Orange County California. Fountain pens were already rarely used, but I guess the older members of the school board weren't ready to change. The teacher ranted on about how stupid it was..no-one used that type of pen anymore, and how messy it was, and some child always spilled their ink bottle and made a big mess she had to clean up. But it did teach you to write carefully and focus on what you were doing. Of course the poor lefties had a horrible time of it. I love how a fountain pen just seems to want to write elegantly, while ball-points really don't care at all.

 

[DeaconKC]

Hmmmmmm, [wonder how to get on John's Christmas list?]

 

[John in Covina]

Dip vs fountain

Gosh, was anyone else here taught how to write cursive with wooden dip type fountain pens? It must have been about 1957 for me, in Orange County California. Fountain pens were already rarely used, but I guess the older members of the school board weren't ready to change. The teacher ranted on about how stupid it was..no-one used that type of pen anymore, and how messy it was, and some child always spilled their ink bottle and made a big mess she had to clean up. But it did teach you to write carefully and focus on what you were doing. Of course the poor lefties had a horrible time of it. I love how a fountain pen just seems to want to write elegantly, while ball-points really don't care at all.

**********
Back on Long Island as a grade schooler, early 60's I remember getting some lessons in class with the dip pens using Speedball nibs and a book with the how to make the letters.

FYI> Dip pens and fountain pens are two different animals! A dip pen is just that, you need to dip the pen regularly into the ink. These are the same method as early pens and quills. It can hold only a drop of ink and then needs to be dipped. A fountain pen uses the term "fountain" because it has a supply of ink that is carried in the pen and uses a feed which controls the flow of ink to the nib. The first succesful fountain pen was invented by Waterman in the 1890's I believe. It is the feed, using surface tension to control the flow of ink that makes a fountain pen workable.

 

[DeaconKC]

This one arrived today, a Sheaffer Balance

 

[John in Covina]

Lever fill

The veritavble lever fill Balance, I have several of these.