Hey,

I'm not a pen collector and I'm new to the art of fine writing and to this forum but I write a lot and I do love it. The only fountain pen I own currently is a Waterman Phileas and I like it a lot!

I'm looking towards buying a new fountain pen that's cheap (around $50-$100), comes with a converter, uses a good ROUND* XF NIB (I'm okay with F, too. But I prefer XF if possible), black (just no crazy lookin' colors like yellow or pink), and has smooth writing capabilities.

I'm looking at purchasing one of these two pens, so far: a Waterman Expert 2 (black, silver finish, F NIB size,) or one of these:

Retro 51 Scriptmaser 2 - Tortoise Fountain Pen:

http://www.moleskines.com/resmfp-502.html

Retro 51 Double 8 - Granite Grey Fountain Pen:

http://www.moleskines.com/red8fp-702.html

I'm leaning towards the Double 8 because of how great the granite design looks, but if there's any difference between these two pens other than artwork and the price tag, please tell me.

In the meantime, I will be conducting some more research on fountain pens. All comments and suggestions are very well appreciated!

Thank you.

*I don't think I'm ready for live-variation type NIBS such as flex, italics, or obliques. Besides, I think round NIBS have the largest, "Sweet Spots."

hi Gurkel,

Welcome to FPN!

Just a quick comment, if you are into EF lines, why don't you look into Japanese pens, such as Sailor, Pilot, or Platinum pens. Although I like Japanese pens, I am not really an expert on them. I am sure others can let you more about Japanese pens and nibs.

purpledog

Welcome to FPN. Congratulations on knowing exactly what you want!

I loved my Phileas too. But if you are looking for an EF, have you thought about a Prera? Also, you can sometimes find a Sailor Sapporo EF in the upper range of your price range -- I just got mine and love it (the nib is very smooth and very, very fine -- on a par with my very finest point, which is a Hero 329 new style -- if you catch some reviews here, you'll find that the Sapporo F is quite fine, too). These are both a little shorter and definitely lighter than the Phileas, I think.

I have seen some threads about quality issues with Retro 51 pens - try searching the forum. They certainly are beautiful though.

You can get a custom Pelikan M200 XF from Richard Binder for about $100 - he will hand-finish it and make sure that it writes perfectly. Asian pens generally run finer, so the other posters have certainly steered you in the right direction on that. The Hero 329 is waaay below your price range (around $15), but it's also a great, reliable pen with a surprisingly excellent nib. Good luck!

I will definitely look into that. Thanks!



I am still considering that particular pen from RB. But that price is, well, pretty borderline. But I trust his selection becayse he was the one who recommended the Waterman Phileas to me.

And what kind of quality issues are we talking about regarding the Retro 51's?

Also, the Hero-pens, do they come with converters?

Most Hero pens come with built-in squeeze converters, which work nicely. They are permanently attached, so you won't have the option of using cartridges. They're so inexpensive that you might as well try one.

There were a few threads in the Repair forum about Retro 51 sections falling out (this one, for instance). I went back and checked through them quickly and I don't really think they're anything to worry about. If you do have a problem they have a nice warranty, apparently.

If you're not absolutely wedded to an XF point, I can personally recommend the M200 in a regular Fine point (about $75 from Richard Binder). If you want something vintage you could look into Esterbrook Js (usually quite inexpensive), or maybe Sheaffer Snorkels, some of which have extremely fine nibs. You have a huge variety to choose from, even in the $50-100 range. You might browse hisnibs.com or isellpens.com ; both sites have very competitive prices and an interesting assortment of Asian pens.

Welcome to FPN.

Out of the entire Hero-pen line, which do you think will best fit my criteria?

I think the Hero 329 would fit very nicely - it's not a cheap-looking pen despite its low price. It's extremely tough - I've dropped mine on concrete and it didn't even scratch. Mine also started right up after I left it inked and unused for about a month. In the fountain pen world high price doesn't necessarily buy quality or performance.

If you want something a little nicer the Hero 100 has a very good reputation, and is $30 at isellpens - the extra money gets you a 14k gold nib. I've seen people recommend the 616, which is a very accurate knock-off of the famous Parker 51 and is very cheap (looks like it has a somewhat broader nib than the others though).

Try searching the review database in the reviews forum for Hero pens - Hero makes like a zillion different kinds of pens, and the database has reviews of quite a few of them.

Gurkel,

Welcome aboard the FPN! I like my Waterman Expert II, especially since Richard Binder worked on the medium nib and feed sections. What was once a pen with some serious ink flow issues, now writes like a blazing hot knife through butter; hence, extremely smooth!

If you're looking to stay in the $100 and under price range, I would recommend buying a Pelikan M200 from Richard Binder, complete with a modified fine nib made of 14K gold. You will be very impressed as to how smooth this pen will write. Moreover, as mentioned earlier, if you are into extra-fine, and fine nibs, you may want to take a serious look at fountain pens made in Japan. They are of excellent quality, and write like a dream.

I know what I am going to purchase now:

a Hero 329 Black, a Hero M2016, and a Hero 100 Stainless -- all from isellpens.com

I might make some reviews for these pens but I could only comment on things like NIB performance, because everyone has a different perspective regarding things like design and fancy artwork.

I'd figured that seeing how these pens are made from China, I'm going to get a whole lot of bang-for-your-buck especially with the more expensive line of Hero pens.

Thanks for your help, guys!

Welcome to the forums!



For $100 you are looking at a steel nib on an M200. The 14k nibs start around $70-ish, and the pen body is $50, so.

That said, I have an M200 with Binder nibs (one M, one EF), and it is marvelous. I just ordered a 600 with a cursive italic nib last night.

I also second the thought of buying a Chinese pen or two and trying them out.

Hi and forgive me for greeting you so late. I was off for 2 weeks. If I had only one pen as a starter, it would have been a Phileas, too. But my first Waterman was a Charleston and my first two Parkers were duofolds. So you'll end up folding out your wallet in this regard...

Mike

Hello and welcome to FPN.