A Good $50 Writer

[ImperialJoe]

I've bought a Pilot Metropolitan a few months back. It wasn't exactly my first fountain pen, but it was the first one I actually put some thought into buying.

Now I wanted to buy something a bit more advanced. I have about $50 for a pen (I plan to buy from ebay). I need a pen for a lot of writing. I prefer a Fine nib, maybe something that looks a bit classy.

The question is - does such a pen exist for that budget?

Edited September 15, 2014 by ImperialJoe

[Ted A]

I prefer my Lamy Studio, though it looks like the stainless steel is no up to about $70. I reach for my Monteverdes more often than the Metro. I have the Artista, Intima and Prima.

 

Finally, though it's up to you whether it's classy, my favorite under $50 pen is the Kaweco Classic Sport.

 

But... the step on the Metropolitan is the most irritating, to me, of any pen I have. Usually the step from the barrel to the section does not bother me, but this one just feels sharp.

[Kuscer]

Welcome to FPN, ImperialJoe! I think your choice depends completely on what kind of pen you're looking for - color, nib, materials... there's a sea of FP's out there waiting!!! Enjoy your time here.

Warm regards,

Dingan

Edited September 15, 2014 by FP189

[ImperialJoe]

How is the Monteverde Impressa? Pretty cheap, I found it for $54 on ebay with shipping to my country, which is great price wise.

There is also the option of a Sheaffer 100, which is just a tad bit more expensive.

Edited September 15, 2014 by ImperialJoe

[The Blue Knight]

A great question and a pen I have been looking for for a while.

 

My favorite budget pen is the Parker Frontier it costs around $20 these pens have excellent smooth nibs however the only issue is they don't have a solid feel that would give the pen a classy feel as does the Sonnet.

[itsallkg]

I would recommend a TWSBI around that price range (they run about $55). I don't personally own it, but I've tried out a friend's Mini, and it looks really classy, along with being a fantastic writer.

[ImperialJoe]

I would recommend a TWSBI around that price range (they run about $55). I don't personally own it, but I've tried out a friend's Mini, and it looks really classy, along with being a fantastic writer.

TWSBI Classic with shipping would be almost $70, which is a bit expensive. Is it justifiable over a Sheaffer 100 or a Monteverde Impressa? Both of them seem quite nice.

[arcadeflow]

I see you are used to a Metropolitan, so my guess is that you need at least something with good balance, girth, medium size. In that price range I would agree that TWSBI could make you happy, but if you are unlucky they can be troublesome. In that price range you don't have many options that would seem as an upgrade to the Metropolitan. If you could spend a little bit more, you could look into the Pilot Lucina, it is very classic and like a little sister to the Pilot Custom 74. I wouldn't get a Sheaffer 100 unless it was less than $30 and you are satisfied with its looks. In my country I can find Sheaffer pens for good prices, usually cheaper than importing them, for some reason (probably because Bic owns the market here), a Sheaffer 300 is like $45 and a Prelude about $50 and I prefer to import a Japanese pen over them. Their nibs look too simple and with a little more money we can start buying pens with gold nibs from Platinum and Pilot. Also they usually have too much metal for my tastes, I prefer resin bodies, their designs just don't speak to me. The Monteverde pens are nice, I am not sure about the nibs and the rest, but lookwise I got interested in the Artista and the Impressa. But you are used to a Metropolitan, so I am concerned you might not find a better Western pen for $50.

[dragos.mocanu]

No one said Parker "51"? I bet you could get a decent one on Ebay for $50.

[KBeezie]

No one said Parker "51"? I bet you could get a decent one on Ebay for $50.

I'd want it to be listed as fully restored, and you can probably get a P51 Aerometric for that price (I'd prefer to go with a Vacumatic, but least the Plum color is available on the aerometric/squeeze filler).

 

You can likely get a nice restored Esterbrook J, Sheaffer Touchdown, Maybe a Sheaffer Snorkel (like one I'm selling), a number of Eversharps, etc. You can also easily get a Parker 45 for that price restored or "excellent" working condition.

 

For modern, right around 40-50$ There's also the Faber-Castell Loom and BASIC, really smooth nib, height can just be a little on the large side especially posted. The BASIC I have has the smoothest steel western fine I've used. Though if you're looking for "fine" as in the same as the Metropolitan's Fine, you want an "Extra-Fine" from most of the western brands.

 

PS: A lot of the vintage nibs advertised as 'fine' are closer to what you'd expect a Japanese Fine to be, rather than a Western, so if you like really fine lines, there's quite a few vintage options.

 

In terms of whether or not they look classy, here's a picture of four of my sheaffers that you could probably get around the 50$ range, as well as my Parker 51 vac (which doesn't look much different than some aerometric ones, just different filling system).

 

Course if you get one of them cheap enough (like under 20), it doesn't cost much more than $30-35 or so to have them professionally restored/polished to like-new condition. So that's always an option if you find one that really appeals to you, but unsure if it works or not.

 

The green one below writes a finer line than my Platinum PTL-5000's Extra-Fine Nib, and it's smoother than the platinum.

 

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

 

This little gem was less than $30 shipped from ebay, and I self-restored and polished it (the touchdown repair kit from fountainpensacs.com was less than $10 with enough parts to restore four touchdowns), keeping the total cost under $50 easily.

 

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/touchdown_wd/tdwd_final_1280.jpg

 

The disassembled picture prior to fixing it up:

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/touchdown_wd/prework_disassembled.jpg

 

And my Parker 51 Vac:

 

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/p51_gold_brown/uncapped.jpg

 

For comparison, here's a shot of the Faber-Castell BASIC in Leather I mentioned earlier.

 

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

Edited September 15, 2014 by KBeezie

[amk]

I concur with Dragos Mocanu - you may get more bang for your buck if you go vintage. You *might* be lucky with a P51, but I'd suggest you're better off angling for a Parker 45 as your second pen on ebay - there's less can go wrong with it. You might even get a gold nib.

 

Or for a modern pen consider one of the mid range Lamys. Studio is quite nice but you might look at Pur / Linea as well.

[ac12]

Try this, Sheaffer Imperials 330 or 440. Nice looking pens.

http://www.peytonstreetpens.com/sheaffer/imperials/sheaffer-330-imperial-fountain-pen-nos.html

http://www.peytonstreetpens.com/sheaffer/imperials/sheaffer-440-imperial-fountain-pen-v-shaped-inlaid-nib-new-old-stock.html

They both take cartridge or converter (included) so easy there.

 

Besides that:

- Esterbrook J series is a good suggestion. You should be able to find a restored one for $30-40. Nib is interchangable.

- Sheaffer Touchdown. Sack pen, need to buy restored.

- Eversharp Skyline. Sack pen, need to buy restored.

- Parker 51-Aero. Warning, the P51 is not marked for nib size, and many of the sellers do not know how to size the nib, so you would be buying blind. You need to find someone who has sized the nib, so you know what size nib you are getting. Most of the US made 51s are F, so odds are good that you will get an F nib.

[sandy101]

Parker 45 with 14k gold nib.

 

Failing that, 2 Parker 45s with 14K gold nib.

Edited September 15, 2014 by sandy101

[Tadeusz]

If TWSBI decides to release the Eco version (anytime soon), that would be perfect, as it would provide enough to get a bottle of ink plus the pen for ~$50.

Edited September 15, 2014 by Tadeusz

[serpent]

I'd spend the couple of bucks more and buy a TWSBI 580. F or EF they are great writers and hold a boatload of ink. They do not post so if thats a must go for the Mini. I use both as EDC's and they've never let me down.

Why use a vintage if your looking for a workhorse???

[KBeezie]

I'd spend the couple of bucks more and buy a TWSBI 580. F or EF they are great writers and hold a boatload of ink. They do not post so if thats a must go for the Mini. I use both as EDC's and they've never let me down. Why use a vintage if your looking for a workhorse???

 

And don't let the fact that something like a Parker 51 looking plastic fool you, they take a beating and have been taking a beating for over 60 years. You get something like that fully restored and you got easily several more decades of use out of it.

 

For the $50 to $100 price range of what you can get, it becomes even more apparent "that they don't make em like they used to". (especially considering you could easily get something like a 70s era Pilot Elite pocket pen with an 18K gold soft fine nib for $30-40, try to find something of the same specs for that price in modern offerings)

Edited September 15, 2014 by KBeezie

[Sasha Royale]

I have never been able to score a working P51 @ $50.

How about a Parker 45 or J-series Esterbrook ?

[georgeb]

Sheaffer NoNonsense

Parker 25

Parker Super 21

Platinum Balance

Hero 329

Hero 616

[ParkersAndPaper]

If you want to go a little more inexpensive:

- The Parker Frontier is a great pen.

- Parker 45's are quite possibly my (2nd) favorite pen and can be had with a gold nib around $30.00 on ebay if you are patient.

 

Good writer for $50.00?

 

- Sheaffer Touchdown and Snorkels can be had for that price.

- All of my Lusteroy capped Parker 51's (3) have been under $50.00.

- Many WWII era Parker Vacumatics with the plastic plunger can be had at that price, at least mine were.

Edited September 15, 2014 by ParkersAndPaper

[TimTheZaj]

You could get a hero 100, 110, 200, 300, 160, 892 , 711 all with a gold fine nib new for 50$ . They are all great but my personal favorite is the 100