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Your least expensive but most loved pen(s)?


KCat

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So... going the other direction of the "Most expensive pen" thread.

 

Is there a cheapo that you adore and why.

 

For me...

 

It is a CGB 2500 (no longer in production and almost impossible to find). Why - because it writes so well for a $10 pen and is solidly built. The nib is smooth and almost stub-like. it's not pretty and the nib is small (something I usually don't like) but it's very comfortable for me.

 

I have other great writers that are cheap - but not as cheap. Truly a shame that these little pens with Indian made nibs didn't stay in production and make it to the US.

KCat
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Hi KCat,

 

Pelikan M75, Pelikan M200, Waterman Allure, Pilot Parallel Pen ( :lol: ), Lamy Joy.

 

Ok, I´ve got a warped sense of a cheap pen, can´t help that now, being mad, can I? :D

 

Warm regards, Wim

the Mad Dutchman
laugh a little, love a little, live a lot; laugh a lot, love a lot, live forever

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My entire pen collection is made up of cheap pens. For me, the M200 is still way out of my budget! So of my current pens, the Pelikano makes me happy, as does my Pelikan Futur.

 

But my most beloved cheap pen is my olive green Parker 45, that I bought for about $12 in the late 1970s. It wrote more words than any other pen ever will during my lifetime. It never, ever skipped, clogged, or got fussy. In the mid 1980s when I got a good-paying job, I splurged on a very expensive (for me) MontBlanc (all of $45!), because I'd heard they were the best of the best. I don't remember the model name, but it was a slim, all-black pen with an inset nib like the Pelikan Futur. Wrote like garbage. A hard starter, constantly skipped, and leaked on my fingers to boot. I literally threw it away after a couple of years, I was so disgusted with it. Meanwhile my faithful old Parker 45 just kept writing and writing and writing...

 

It finally had a sad sort of death. The spring clip inside the cap kept catching on the nib when I capped the pen. One day it got bent so far back that it blocked the opening of the cap and damaged the nib in the process. I didn't think it was reparable. I held onto the pen for sentimental reasons, but it got lost in my last move about eight years ago.

 

I loved that pen. I've tried other Parker 45s since then, but none feel like that pen did in my hand.

 

ElaineB

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I'd have to say my Kaweco Sport. At just $10, it lays down a fat, wet line. The Parker Vectors and Reflex pens are nice, but they're not as smooth or wet as the Kaweco.

 

--Roy

:bunny1:

I too have a Sport and love it, but since I got my big fat Pelikano Jr. the Kaweco has languished in a closet. Anyone interested? email me. red ice.

 

The pelikano is a great pen and right sized for my hand. Now I just have to turn it into an ED and I won't have to refill it for months.

 

My other great cheapo is a Rotring Core! Can sit in my pencil cup for months and still writes first time.

Kendall Justiniano
Who is John Galt?

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1960's era Sheaffer cartridge filler "student pen" in fine. A real nice fine wet line, and good feel! It's not my most loved, but the least expensive of my most loved ones.

-Mike

So much ink, so little said...

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Sheesh, I have so many cheap pens that I like quite a lot. In current production pens I think the Heo 329 and 330 are hard to beat. They can be picked up for two or three dollars and are good solid everyday pens. For slightly older pens my vote would go to the Parker 45. They sell for around $5 and are bomb proof. Shaeffer Admiral TDs and Snorks are good buys too. The open nibs usually have a bit of give but for some reason sel for much less than the tubular nibs. Both TD and Snork are well made with a high capacity filling system.

 

My personal favourite among my cheapies is a Snork made out of unsaleable repaired parts and a stub I ground myself from a busted Pd-Ag conical nib. Market value, zero.

Ther are 10 types of people in the world; those who understand binary and those who don't

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My Sheaffer "No Nonsense" (NN for short) cartridge-filler pens...not the modern "Viewpoint" ones with the rubberized grips but the original ones whose nibs can be interchanged with Balance II nibs or Levenger Seas nibs... My red NN was the first fountain pen I owned---back in the mid-1970s--and it still works, to this day.

 

I can't believe I beat Keith to the punch! Usually he is the first one to sing the praises of the Sheaffer "No Nonsense" :lol:

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Inexpesive pens, how do I love thee?

 

I think if anyone stopped by and perused the collection of pens here they would think I had some pretty expensive tastes as there are some gems in the collection that just happend to be found at less tham diamond prices.

 

When I go out or am putting words to paper the pens I use most are generally really inexpensive models like my Sheaffer NN pens with their assorted custom ground stubs and italics, lesser Pelikans like my Future, and my Parker Vector.

 

I generally slip something a little nicer in the pocket and this can be anything from my favourite copper J to pens like vintage Watermans or newer moderns.

 

I have been using the new Amber Javelin so much of late some of my other pens have been neglected but with a week off coming I think I'll give some of the other pens the play they deserve.

Please visit http://members.shaw.ca/feynn/

Please direct repair inquiries to capitalpen@shaw.ca

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My favorite "least expensive, but most loved pen" is this Chilton that I got in a box of "parts pens" for $26. Other stuff that was in the box has been fixed and sold, and in the end, this pen cost me nothing. :)

 

http://home.earthlink.net/~lasvegasburtons/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/chilton1.jpg

 

The cap isn't in the best shape, but the pen is totally functional, and I love the filling system (pneumatic).

 

http://home.earthlink.net/~lasvegasburtons/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/chilton2.jpg

 

http://home.earthlink.net/~lasvegasburtons/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/chilton3.jpg

 

I should also add that when I got this pen ,its feed was snapped in half and it lacked a nib. Currently it has a Waterman #2 nib in it.

Edited by chris burton

Chris

 

Custom Bindes

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My most loved cheap pen has to be my Pelikan Go. It writes better than some of my more expensive pen that are 20 times the price I paid for my Pelikan Go. I bought 4 on Ebay by accident. This was last year, they were going for 12.50 each on Ebay, the buy me now option. I was only going to buy 2 of them but I hit the submit button twice by accident. So I got charged for 4 of them. I gave 1 to my wife, 1 to my Dad and one to my friend at work. THis is one heck of a writer. I dont thik I will ever find a deal like this again!! Too bad Pelikan does not make them anymore. I imagine that they are too expensive to produce and sell them for under 15.00

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That's Easy!!

 

Any of my Rotring Cores. There's one in my pocket almost every day. For my (large) hand, easy to hold, writes first time, every time.

 

Also, since I use 'em at work, they're writing on anything from my Clairefontaine journal to a file folder jacket. I wouldn't want to do that with some of the more costly pens.

George

 

Pelikan Convert and User

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I guess I should add another favourite...

 

The Parker Reflex... The large rubberized grip makes this pen very easy to hold and the pen itself is very well balanced and well made. The nib is almost identical to that of the Vector and I have found them all to be smooth and consistent writers from the moment they are inked up.

 

Sizewise the pen compares well to the Sheaffer NN so most should find it to be a fairly comfortable pen in the hand. It is a much longer pen and I find it to be comfortable even when uncapped as it is 130 mm while capped it is 155 mm (just over 6 inches).

 

I have given many of these away to first time users and many have never thought about using another pen.

 

Cost... about $6.00 - $7.00 U.S.

Please visit http://members.shaw.ca/feynn/

Please direct repair inquiries to capitalpen@shaw.ca

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Hi Keith,

 

As it is time to disagree again :lol:, I have to say that my experiences with Parker Reflexes are not consistent with yours.

 

First of all, they cost 15 euros or more over here, they are made of cheap plastic and look that way, and all of the ones I have handled, had flow problems and scratchy nibs. And it was very difficult to fix these problems, too.

 

This is one of the reasons I switched to Waterman Allures. They are only slightly more expensive, but boy, do they perform! :D And they look the part, too.

 

Warm regards, Wim

the Mad Dutchman
laugh a little, love a little, live a lot; laugh a lot, love a lot, live forever

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I would have said the Pelikan GO, but mine ended up with loose caps, so one got killed in a nasty accidental dropping. :(

 

I have 2 Senator Windsors that write beautifully, one customized, one just stock. These were around $18-20 when I bought them. Too bad they're not being made anymore.

 

My favourite inexpensive pen, the one I use constantly, is my red Aurora Ipsilon that began life not wanting to give up any ink at all. Viv stubbed it for me, and it is by far my best writer. The initial cost was around $48.

 

However, the Sailor Ink Pen is a marvel at a mere $2.00. I gave one to my artist daughter to draw the manga stuff with, and she adores it.

 

I guess I didn't narrow it down that much. :huh:

Never lie to your dog.

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My vote was going to be for the Waterman Phileas, which I think I paid about $40-45. A medium nib that acts like a broad nib, but the pen is so smooth and silky that it simply glides on the page.

 

However, given the other posts and price ranges cited, I'll vote for my cheapo Parker student cartridge pen. I have no clue on the model name or number. I've had it since high school in the early 70's and probably paid about $5 for it. I've held onto it since then, giving it a fairly recent rebirth with red ink to use as a corrections pen. Brushed silver cap and burgundy plastic body. A great pen, which, when I measure in "cost per use" is now down into the fractions of a penny.

 

Brooke

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My vote was going to be for the Waterman Phileas, which I think I paid about $40-45. A medium nib that acts like a broad nib, but the pen is so smooth and silky that it simply glides on the page.

 

However, given the other posts and price ranges cited, I'll vote for my cheapo Parker student cartridge pen. I have no clue on the model name or number. I've had it since high school in the early 70's and probably paid about $5 for it. I've held onto it since then, giving it a fairly recent rebirth with red ink to use as a corrections pen. Brushed silver cap and burgundy plastic body. A great pen, which, when I measure in "cost per use" is now down into the fractions of a penny.

 

Brooke

Just was in the local Office Depot and the Phileas pens are now $31-$33 a piece for the medium nibbed versions. They are in the little standing display away from the usual pens.

 

 

Kurt H

 

 

And the Sailor $2 Daiso pen is my favority inexpensive pen, it has yet to not see ink since being purchased.

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Lamy Safari Clear Demonstrator, MK nib, filled with Hellbender Red.

 

Stiff as a nail and no line variation, but consistently starts everytime, pleasant ink flow, writes very well on all papers and other surfaces.

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Leslie,

 

I have one of those Sailor "Ink Pens" and really like it, it writes like a superfine italic and I converted mine into an ed filler so figure that I might need to refill it sometime in 2007.

 

I received two and gave one away and it's owner likes this simple little pen a great deal.

 

It's all about maintaining that karmic flow...

Please visit http://members.shaw.ca/feynn/

Please direct repair inquiries to capitalpen@shaw.ca

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I have one of those Sailor "Ink Pens" and really like it, it writes like a superfine italic and I converted mine into an ed filler so figure that I might need to refill it sometime in 2007.

Keith,

 

Where can one buy those Sailor Ink Pens? I saw someone else mention them here, and I'm intrigued.

 

Thanks!

Nicole

 

P.S. I think I'll be sending some business your way when I receive some goodies from Ebay.

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Leslie, you mentioned that you have a couple of senator windsors and Pelikan GO!s. How do they compare? I've heard phenomenal things about both, but have had only experience with the M75.

 

btw, does anybody how to remove esterbrook nibs from the feed mount?

 

Edward

"I had not the time to write a short one."

-Blaise Pascal

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