Just saying hello from the UK

Have been a pen freak for many many years - but this is the first forum have come across

found it when comparing pen prices online

have always been a cheapy - like variety so lots of cheaper pens that its no hardship to lose as very absent minded!

have just got a lamy safari and an al-star - love em and have ordered an ef and a broad nib to play with

ordered a lamy abc for my daughter (she's 14 but thought it was cute)

and am looking at investing in something a little more now for me - something I'll want to make sure I don't lose.

love using different coloured inks and most of all using fountain pens in uni as they always get an interesting glance (am a mature student not a prof!)

have a question for all you officienado's........ what is a reasonable priced nice looking light weight that is slightly chunkier than the lamy's..... i have arthritus and gripping the lamy is a pinch after a while.....would love to find something more comfortable for longer stints at notetaking

thanks

Welcome to FPN, calliej .

Martin

What counts as reasonably priced to you? The Taccia Staccato is nice and light, but big enough to grip easily. You could also check out the Pelikan Pelikano Jr.

Welcome to FPN!

A big welcome to FPN!

Hello and welcome!

In terms of something that is more comfortable to hold I would look at something that is quite chunky but not metal.

If you are looking at a lower priced pen there are some good ebay shops, the Search facility here will produce some good sellers. I have used one in Hong Kong called Gotoschool888 whose service was immediate and the product was exactly right, good quality and well made.

The price was nice too at £10 for 4 pens including shipping!

Thanks for the advice

I havent decided what reasonably priced is yet....... maybe £50 (thought a grown up pen may be in order at some point in my life )

Will check out the suggestions though - as like to have lots of different coloured inks on the go at the same time

found the pelikans but not found an online in the uk with a taccia - and that looked like one I would defo go for

i have also seen some nice ones with the wooden barrel - I did think about that as better than metal, so thanks for that suggestion

good to see you all here anyways - i'm off to read some more reviews

I have no idea where to find Taccia in the UK (haven't been since I was 9 ) You could consider ordering from the US.

Welcome to FPN!

hey there - we'll definitely have to have a catch up about inks at some point!
Leonie

Hello and welcome to FPN.

Hello and welcome aboard the FPN.

Hi there and greetings. If you're into Lamy -- which I'm not -- at least check out the Lamy 2000, which, I as I see it, is a an okay pen....
Best regards,
Mike

yes - its on the wish list!

like the simple design and if the cheaper ones are anything to go by will love the way it writes too......!!

Hi CallieJ - welcome to FPN!

Had you thought of looking at one of the 1950s classics? An Aerometric Parker 51 or a Sheaffer Touchdown? These turn up regularly on eBay UK for reasonable prices.

A search on eBay on ("parker 51", aerometric) in "Collectables" with "Completed Listings" checked shows prices between £4.99 and £103.00 from the UK on the first page alone. A very nice clean-looking P51, boxed, with a plain Lustralloy cap fetched £26.00. Gold caps obviously fetch more but Lustralloy is fine for an everyday writer.

A search on "Touchdown" in "Collectables" with "Completed Listings" checked shows prices between £12.50 and £66.00, also on just the first page. Unlike the P51, many of these Touchdowns are available from USA (Parker had their own factory in UK). My personal experience is that the only difference between buying from USA and buying from UK is the wait (deferred gratification!) so long as the pen is not too valuable. If it is an expensive item, the Excise men jump but I think the break point is £18.00. Below that they don't charge. There are still quite a few Touchdowns coming up on eBay UK for reasonable prices, though - a nice maroon one went on 15 June for £12.50 in UK.

Both these pen ranges have large ink capacities (useful for taking notes all day) and write for much longer than a pen with a converter. You're spoilt for choice of ink colour since they use bottle, not cartridge, ink. Yes, I know you can refill cartridges with ink of your choice, but it seems a bit of a fiddle when you can get a pen that fills properly instead of using cartridges.

P51 nibs are very firm, no flex (I've heard them described as "nails") because of the hood over the nib. They are usually pretty smooth, though. Sheaffer nibs, unless they are steel, are typically very smooth, even after fifty years. But YMMV.

Hope this helps.

Welcome to FPN.

I have been toying with the idea of a vacumatic or an old conway stewart - I just dont know if I am up to the vintage thing yet - I wouldnt know what to do with it if it didnt work properly

If you want a vintage Conway Stewart then you're looking at a lever filler and they really are easy to do sac replacements. My first CS was a restored 75 that I bought on EBay. You could try writetime.co.uk for vintage Conway Stewarts as well. I love vacumatics as well, but have sent those away for repair at the Pen Museum. My Vacs are either inherited or have been bought on here, so I'd leave it to others to suggest the best places for buying Vacs.

Welcome to FPN, mate.