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Good, Tough, Cheap Pen


william2001

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China pens like Hero, JinHao and Bao'er will be great fountain pens if you're expecting rough handling. If you're a fellow parker fan, jotters, vectors, or if you're willing to up the price a bit, the lower end of reflexs and IMs.

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The Kaweco Sport Aluminium and Lilliput Brass are very rugged and meant to be carried in a pocket or thrown around. They would probably by one of my first choices for a pen to carry if I was still in school and was worried about dropping it, banging it around, etc.

Edited by discopig
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" I am 13 years old and $100 is a lot of money to me."

 

Let me start by saying that I am in my fifties, and $100 is a lot of money to me, too. You can get some excellent quality, long lasting pens for a lot less.

 

As a 13 year old at school, your pen is a tool. Nothing more, nothing less. It is perhaps one of your most important tools, but just a tool. I would take that as a starting opoint. You need something functional, tough and above all, reliable.

 

I’m in the UK, so my prices are in £ sterling – the pens I mention might not be easily availbable where you are, they might cost a lot more, or might cost less. I don’t know. They have both already been mentioned above. I will addd my recommendations.

 

I’d start by looking at the Kaweco Sport Classic. In the UK it costs about £20. Brilliant quality pen, 110% reliable. I have carried one in my jeans pocket every single day for many years and it has never failed or embarrassed me in any way. I also think (though of course this is subjective) it is a pretty cool looking pen. Mine is plain black. You can get them in a wide range of colours, from bright to subdued and everything in between. If you want to go up in price a little, they do other great pens in the range – aluminium rather than plastic etc (you might like the distressed one).

 

Next up – Lamy Safari. About £16 in UK. I think a rather ugly pen, though many people love the looks. I do not own one, but pretty well everyone who mentions them on here rates them as one of the sturdiest, most reliable pens around. They have an awkward grip, which some love, some hate. But that is the great thing about pens (and people). None of them are the same. You need to find one that suits you. Try one. Again, great range of colours, if that is important to you.

 

Schneider do some great quality school pens for about £10 (a little clunky in looks) but will last forever.

 

My eleven year old daughter has this: Online Highway of writing You could do a lot worse. It is a great little pen, and (I think) looks great. Several colours to choose from.

 

The important thing is that a pen is for writing with. As a school pen, it might be knocked and banged around in your bag or pocket. It might get lost or stolen. Someone might grab it to write a quick note and accidently damage it. I don’t think it is worth spending too much money just in case the worst happens. I don’t think it is worth taking anything too fragile (I wouldn’t take a vintage pen) or one that you really care about into that environment (that said, any pen you own and write with day in day out for more than a few months will come to mean a lot to you). I wouldn’t take any pen that cannot be easily and cheaply replaced.

 

Just remember it is a tool not a fashion statement – although there is nothing wrong with having a tool that looks cool, feels right and makes you proud to take out. But functionality and reliability should come first. I don’t think you need to spend anything like $100. You should be able to get something suitable for half or quarter of that money. In which case, buy two pens, and have a different colour ink for highlighting, or margin notes or whatever.

 

Hope this rant is of some help to you...

Edited by rbuchanan
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This has spent almost four years in my jeans pocket. Gets dropped at least once a month, crushed/scraped against walls on my morning commute, rarely gets cleaned, has been to some of the remotest places on earth and is generally a very "loved" tool.

 

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u11/davidfielding3832/IMAG0382.jpg

 

I uncap it and it writes every single time. I've treated it to a new style clip, because the old ones were pug ugly. Fitted it with a sac and a 1.1 nib. Pretty much my "Grail Pen".

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Adding my two cents - long ago, I started with Parker Vector in stainless steel (also other colors/finishes available). Quick Amazon.com search shows that these start at abot USD 15 moving up depending on the color/finish.

 

Back when I started with this, I was a couple of years older than the original poster - about 15, I think. I brought the pen to school etc. The pen survived, I still have it.

 

Actually, it is what started all this madness. Then it was a matte black Vector when I was about 21 - add a Parker Sonnet when I was about 26 - and then I found this forum...

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Frontier stainless steel flighter model is pretty cheap and is rugged. They are making them in India now. I got one for about $20, UK made, and $15 India made. Both are as good.

 

I agree, bang for buck it's the best pen I have found so far and mine is constantly inked.

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I also put my vote in for the Pilot Metropolitan or Lamy Safari. Oh and the Pilot Varsity pens. I use one of these at work daily. The thing I like most about the Varsity pens is that they're disposable but the nib is still great. So if I leave the pen somewhere or someone decides to steal it, I'm not too broken up about it. The Safari and Metropolitan are durable to.

I'll keep on struggling, 'cause that's the measure of a man.

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My first recommendation is the Pilot Metropolitan (only comes in fine or medium nib) followed by the Pilot 78g (fine all the way through BB stub). Be aware that Asian nibs tend to be one width smaller than their Western counterparts.

 

Safaris are pretty rugged but are more likely to lose a cap if you put them in your bag or backpack. I highly recommend a pen case or slip if you go that route. I would stay with the plastic body as it is cheaper and the aluminum version is more prone to dings and finish wear.

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Great comments!

I will just add my two peas in the pod...everybody must have a pilot metropolitan and lamy safari :)

Amen!

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another vote for the Parker Frontier.

comes in the full metal (except grip section) flighter version, too

Greetings,

Michael

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Pilot 78G, or even an *ugh* Safari.

 

And FWIW, dont buy into the "you are a kid so you must only use cheap, functional pens as tools" comments you will get here - you are allowed to enjoy pens as a hobby as much as anyone else. As for budget, again - that is for you/your parents to decide on what is appropriate, not a bunch of strangers here.

True bliss: knowing that the guy next to you is suffering more than you are.

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There's lots. Depends how ugly youwant to go. 1st Generation Sheaffer NoNonsense pens are cheap, tough and write great. but they look like student pens.

 

Get yourself a Parker 51 and you'll have a great pen (maybe the greatest) for life.

I already have a Parker 51 that I lost thanks to my dad while walking.

I don't feel like buying a same pen again, but yes, Parker 51 is a good pen.

-William S. Park

“My two fingers on a typewriter have never connected with my brain. My hand on a pen does. A fountain pen, of course. Ball-point pens are only good for filling out forms on a plane. - Graham Greene

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I have to vote for the Pilot Metropolitan / MR. They come in a variety of colors & I own 5 of them. You can bang them around and they don't show much damage. The cap is secure and is comfortable to post. For $15 each, it's hard to go wrong. They are the most consistently reliable of any pen I own.

I have destroyed one, but that was because I dropped it, uncapped, and it landed on the nib and snapped the feed.I was able to reshape the nib, but never could get the feed glued back together properly. (I contacted Pilot USA and they will not sell a replacement nib or feed) The body is still fine and I swap the section over from one of my others if I want to carry that color body again.

Edited by byggyns

_______________________________________

"Over the Mountain

Of the Moon

Down the Valley of the Shadow

Ride, boldly ride,"

The shade replied,

"If you seek for Eldorado." - E. A. Poe

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My vote goes for two very different pens. Kaweco Sport is a nice looking pen and takes standard universal cartridges. Lamy Logo is a beautiful steel pen but uses only Lamy cartridges or obviously a converter.

Caretaker for a bevy of Swans.

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The Parker Urban doesn't seem to have been mentioned yet. It is a sturdy, heavy pen that seems to be largely indestructible (and believe me, my friends and students have tried their hardest to destroy my two). I've seen them for about $35-40, and they come in a variety of colours and finishes.

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This has spent almost four years in my jeans pocket. Gets dropped at least once a month, crushed/scraped against walls on my morning commute, rarely gets cleaned, has been to some of the remotest places on earth and is generally a very "loved" tool.

 

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u11/davidfielding3832/IMAG0382.jpg

 

I uncap it and it writes every single time. I've treated it to a new style clip, because the old ones were pug ugly. Fitted it with a sac and a 1.1 nib. Pretty much my "Grail Pen".

 

Now that's a different-looking pen. I think I'll have to come back and view this image a few more times to get used to it. Really, it's interesting.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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Nemosine Fission 20$

"Never Say goodbye, because saying goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting,"

 

-Peter Pan

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My first recommendation is the Pilot Metropolitan (only comes in fine or medium nib) followed by the Pilot 78g (fine all the way through BB stub). Be aware that Asian nibs tend to be one width smaller than their Western counterparts.

 

Safaris are pretty rugged but are more likely to lose a cap if you put them in your bag or backpack. I highly recommend a pen case or slip if you go that route. I would stay with the plastic body as it is cheaper and the aluminum version is more prone to dings and finish wear.

You can also put the Pilot Penmanship and Plumix nib easily on either the Metropolitan or 78G (PS: I don't know if I'd consider a 0.6mm or so stub to be a 'BB').

 

:P There's also a Pilot Varsity to consider... $3

 

But I vote for the Metropolitan once again, it's smooth, it's medium is a western fine, and it's quite classy looking for $15 or less.

 

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/pmetro/uncapped.jpg

Edited by KBeezie
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You've probably already chosen your pen but I would get the Fountain pen revolution Guru, or if you like the dilli's style better get that but the piston looks really bad in the demonstrator (It is on sale though right now), because it is an indestructible piston filler with a optional flex nib that works well.

If anybody wants to buy a FPR triveni, a waterman's crusader with a modified barrel, or faber castell pitt brush pens I have one just for you!

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Seconding/thirding/whatever all the mentions of the Pilot Metropolitan! I find that it doesn't post all that well, actually, but I am super happy with mine otherwise. I've been stressed and clumsy as hell this week but it's survived the 5+ times I have dropped it. Great pen.

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