Inexpensive Fountain Pens

[DeaconKC]

It was a little stiff at first, but is writing much more smoothly now. Seems to like Quink!

 

[Ethan Bentley]

Always been a fan on Waterman - I've got them for as little as £1 and you can get a really nice one for about £30-40 - £10-15 on eBay.

Also there's about 8 different ink colours available for them

 

[MEDIUMMYND]

I picked up a Pilot Varsity Fountain Pen, disposable, on Saturday and I must admit I'm really shocked at how nicely this pen writes. I purchased it to bring to the office, I don't want to risk bringing in a nicer pen and have someone "borrow it"...

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

Sorry, I realize disposable pens aren't very environmentally friendly...

I have to agree i have been using them for many years and have found them to perform well,they do vary but when you get a good one the results are surprising.

 

[John in Covina]

If you like a firm pen with a weighty feel the Pilot Knight is a great starter pen and you can find it for about $45. But if you look around you may find a better deal. Like most Pilot's it writes beautifully, smoothly like writing on glass. It has a classic fountain pen look and does not feel "cheap" in construction.

I just spent Sunday (2/15/09) at the LA Pen Show in Manhattan Beach and had a blast. I did not buy any pens but did pick up some paper for letter writing. Classy Dame (Shellie) came over too and we spent some time wandering thru the big room and the other sections. I pointed out some specific pens, then described lever fillers and talked about design changes thru the eras. Some excellent stuff and if you searched, bargains to be had.

Shellie found a Silver Esterbrook Dollar pen that she liked and found a black desk set Esterbrook with the art deco base (the one that is shaped like a wedge of cheese) that she also bought. So Shellie is moving from Pilot Varsity disposibles to vintage lever fillers from the venerable and ubiquitous Esterbrook line to compliment her vintage passion.

 

[Edward]

I'm currently scouring eBay for a deal on a Parker 51: everything I read about them leads me to believe I would enjoy writing with one. Prices used on eBay seem to vary wildly - I've seen them go for anything between GBP20 and GBP200 depending upon age, condition, and rarity. Interestingly, I've discovered the existence of a nice copy made by the Hero company, based in Shanghai, China. They do a range of replicas of the 51, varying in quality. The cheapest ones, which don't seem to be highly thought of, are out and out copies. The Hero 100 model, more a "tribute" than a counterfeit (it does not copy the Parker arrow clip), seems to be considered a close second to the real thing, if the online reviews I can find are reliable. To pick one of these up on eBay is the guts of GBP30 by the time one pays for postage, though if they were as good as they're cracked up to be, they would make a nice 'daily driver' that could be more easily repalced if anything happened. (I say that as I wouldn't always want to be carrying a collectable old pen for daily use, I think.) Has anyone any experience of these Hero 100s?

 

[John in Covina]

I don't have a Hero 100 but Hero is well regarded. I have one a different model that is very nice with a very fine nib.

Also there are several models of Parker that are similar to the 51 but are less expensive. I think it's the 21 and 61 thast are very close but more moderately priced as collectables. The 45 has a semi hooded nib.

 

[DBLIII]

My favorite inexpensive (around $25) fountain pen is the Lamy Safari. I carry an extra fine nib and an italic nib every day -- the italic nib I just enjoy and was willing to spend $25 to see if I'd like one. The pens themselves seem durable, but nothing fancy about them. I use converters and Noodler's inks. The Safaris are kind of my "test" pens but whatever I do with them, they keep right on going.

 

[Edward]

So, eBay turned up several deals for me and I have a Hero 100 as well as a couple of real Parker 51s on the way.... one of the Parkers has a dinged cap and I'm toying with the idea of having the cap restored, if not too expensive...

Anyone have any recommendations for that sort of thing?

 

[Edward]

My Hero 100 arrived this morning. Nice pen. Jewelled both ends, it somewhat resembles the early Parker 51s. It is basically a 51 clone, though the clip on the cap is its own design, not an arrow: it isn't trying to be a counterfeit Parker. Nice, smoothe writer, compares favourably to an early 50s Aerometric-51 I have. A surprising detail is that the threaded bit of the section where it screws into the barrel is actually aluminium, rather than the Parker's plastic. It has a nice heft to it too, feeling in the hand similar to the Parker. I'm not sure what differences there are in the plastics used: the Parker just feels a very tiny bit classier, though this may be illusory. The Parker is fractionally thicker in the body, which is preferable, but not enough of a difference to rule out the 100. On balance, I would naturally prefer the "real thing," but the Hero is certainly a nice pen, and I will be keeping an eye out for the Flighter version when I'm in Beijing in May.

Overall, I can recommend the Hero 100; I will certainly be taking mine places where I might hesitate to take a real Parker 51.

 

[John in Covina]

Sounds like a good deal for the Hero 100. I have said before most people find the Hero pens to be pretty well made so the quality versus cost is a good ratio to keep you in the "Transient Sparkling Double Happiness" mood range for a while.

I can say I don't recall reading a poor review for a Hero pen. The one I have is a # 166 model with a rather fine point that writes well and has a slender metal body with a good balance.

 

[Edward]

Yes, Hero does seem to review well, though the general buzz I see if that for their P51 clones, the 100 is very much the model to go for. By the time I imported from the US, it was coming close to the cost of a cheap real 51, but still worth what I paid for it. The 616s are considerably cheaper, but seem by all accounts to be a bit more hit and miss. In the past when I've been in Beijing, I've been buying fake Mont Blancs (bought for the style rather than the label they copy, I should add), but I tink next time I'm out there I will maybe pay a bit more attention to the local brands and see what they have....

 

[John in Covina]

If you do go there you may wish to bring some of their ink back.

Some years ago one of the pen magazines did a torture test on black ink and there were two inks from China that were in the # 1 & 2 spots. Aurora Black was #3. The Duke black was considered good the other i don't recall the name. This was prior to Noodlers Eternal and Bullet Proof inks coming out.

 

[Edward]

I'll maybe have a look for that... though I've been out there a few times already, I hadn't really given much thought to the popularity of fountain pens out there. Nice to see: I was the last generation in Northern Ireland to be taught to write with a fountain pen. I think most kids these days stick with disposable Biro-types. I actually went back to a fountain pen through personal choice at 14 (after a couple of years of being away from them). I have to be careful with ink, being left handed, but it improves my handwriting so much.