Hi,

I put an ad in this forum yesterday looking for wooden pens for my honey & myself - had one response but nothing firm so please help!

But I'm also looking for an inexpensive every day sort of pen for newbies, like a Lamy Safari. I like a fine or extra fine nib (plus I've heard that the Safari nibs run pretty wide).

If you've got a new or gently used pen that would be good for a newbie will you please PM me?

Thanks!

Alan

Hi Alan ~

Have you considered a user friendly, well made, restored vintage Esterbrook? You may know that the nibs are swapable and they come in some nifty colors as well as a few variations in style. You can even mix and match the colors as you see I like to do with some.

The photo below shows a few that I have for $35. (The two in the middle are "Icicles" and they are $85 since they are "rare".) You can probably get one a little cheaper from some more generous soul !

Mine are guaranteed with new sacs and a variety of nibs including my own professionally ground Pendleton Point italic, which is smooth and crisp and quite fun to write with!

Please PM me if you are interested

Blue "J" in my apple tree ~ plump, juicy, ripe for the picking!

Also the Platinum~Gray "J" $75 will ship them both Priority Mail. Faster than a Grayhound bus.
Have a scribble-fest this weekend. I like your poetry Alan.

PM sent !

Alan,

I recently purchased a Jinhao 450 pen from isellpens.com, and I am very pleased with it. A very solid pen, puts down a nice, wet line, and looks great. I have a Lamy Safari, and hate it.

Good Luck,
Dan Heine

That's a handsome pen. I've been reluctant to try any of the Chinese pens but maybe I should give one a try. How do their nibs run? Like Japanese nibs meaning very fine.

I love the picture of the Estie in the tree - please tell me you threw it up in the air, quickly grabbed your camera, took the picture, set the camera down, and then caught the pen. That would be amazing.

PM sent

Hi, Alan.

You may have already checked it out, but you might check the pen makers forum here. There are lots of folks here who can probably set you up with a nice, and relatively inexpensive, wooden pen to start with. I actually got back into fountain pens because of the turned wooden pens I purchased from Robert Parish, and then found my way over here. My pen collection has expanded quite a bit since.

You have more than a couple of PM's so I hope someone has gotten you what you were looking for. If you haven't visited ISellPens, you might check them out for some very inexpensive chinese starting pens. Some have nibs that aren't always consistent writers, though, and some are aerometric fillers, which I personally don't care for. ISellPens has a huge selection of inexpensive starting pens, though. They also carry the Lamys, Kaigelu, Kaweco, Pelikan, and Bexley pens I mention here, as well. Other sites you may wish to visit are richardspens.com, swisherpens.com, and pendemonium.com. There are several others, as well, and you'll find references to many in the professional pens forum and scatter throughout all the forums here.

For inexpensive daily writers, there are so very many to choose from. The Lamy Safari and Al Star are ok for the $20 to $30 range, though I don't care for Lamy as a whole myself. I had 3 Safaris and an Al Star, and got rid of all but the Al Star. I don't use it, however, as I've found much better quality in slightly more expensive pens to use as daily writers.

I have a couple of chinese pens I enjoy, from the $20 to $40 range, a Kaigelu 316 (beautiful pen) is my favorite. Writes very nicely, and I even bought two, one in an amber/gray and one in just gray pearlized finish. Both are very nice. They are slightly larger and heavier pens, as they have metal/brass parts within. They really are very nice pens, though.

Around $40 to $50 you can pick up a Waterman Phileas. Not a bad pen at all, I have a couple of them. They aren't in my daily lineup, though. Not particularly outstanding for me in any area. A decent and reliable pen, though, for someone starting out.

For the $65 pricetag, I have a Kaweco (german company) Dia, in a classic black with silver accents. Very nice vintage styling, about the same size as a Pelikan M600, and writes very smoothly. I would put it up against the M200 any day for a better pen, the only drawback in the comparison being the Kaweco Dia is a cartridge/converter filler and the M200 is piston fill for more ink capacity and longer writing. I did reviews on both the Kaigelu and Kaweco pens.

For nice pens between $70 to $100, you can look at the Pelikan M200 (it does the job well and is a piston fill pen, many prefer this fill system), as well as a couple of very nice Bexley pens. The Bexley BX701 and the BX802 can be had in this price range, with steel nibs. Bexley pens have always written very nicely for me, and are among my favorite pens.

$100 to $150 opens up a lot more selections. There are a lot of choices, a lot of pens to choose from. For me, it meant the Namiki/Pilot vanishing point pens, and the Visconti Van Gogh Midi. The VP's are also among my favorites. The clip placement is a make-or-break deal for many, but it doesn't bother me at all, and actually helps me with my finger placement. Cartridge/converter fill (though the converters do not hold a lot of ink, and I tend to refill cartridges for this pen). The capless design is very nice, and it is a very durable pen that sports easily swappable nib units. The nib units are readily available separate from buying new pens to try different nib sizes. The nib unit prices are due to double (from about $30 to about $70) by the first of next year, though.

The Van Gogh Midi is a nice solid pen. It may be too short for some, then a Maxi would be in order, but the price jumps about $100 for a Maxi. Mine wrote beautifully out of the box, and it really is made from a lovely material. I don't like metal sections as a rule, but this one doesn't bother me at all. Even though it is short, my fingers won't slide off from it.

I couldn't hold on to a Lamy Studio or a Lamy 2000 very well because of the sections. I didn't care for them at all, and I didn't care for the Studio nib. The Lamy 2000 falls into the $100 to $150 price category, too, though to the lower end. I think the 2000 maybe has a better nib, and lots of people swear by them and really enjoy them.

My pen case that I take to work every day currently has 5 VP's, the Pelikan M600 (my favorite of the Pelikans), Kaweco Dia, Kaigelu 316 amber/gray, and a Dollar pen I picked up for $15. The Dollar pen is the only one I don't use regularly, but it's there anyway, should I need to loan a pen (may the stars forbid), or just for jotting down a list or two. My other pens all hold bulletproof inks, whereas the Dollar is just holding standard ink.

These suggestions were derived from my own opinions about these pens, all of which I've tried and used. Your mileage may vary (YMMV) as they say, and you will discover your own pen preferences as you go along and experiment with new choices as your budget allows. Enjoy, and welcome to FPN!

If your still looking I've got a black, old style Waterman Expert (med nib) in great condition. The pen is a marvellous newbie pen, cartridge/converter. No box but comes with converter and is backed by Waterman's lifetime warranty. I'm asking $75.00 but willing to consider counteroffer.

I also have a wonderful, virtually new, Lamy 2000 w/medium 14K gold in the box with all paperwork. This is a piston filler made of fiberglass and carbon. Retails between $130-$150.00, I'm asking $90 but again would consider a counteroffer.

At the more expensive range I have for sale a brand new S.T. Dupont Coat of Mail fountain pen w/ medium nib. This is a marvellous pen from a company with a stellar reputation. I've just put up a posting in the sales section. I don't have pictures yet but the pen can be seen at various sights around the net. I'm asking $300.00 but will match or beat any ADVERTISED price. This pen is a grand introduction to fountain pens.

Lastly, I have a vintage Sheaffer Military Balance restored to virtually new, mint condition by Gerry Berg. The pen looks and performs like new yet it is a vintage model that should go up in value as time passes. I love the pen its just a bit too short for me as I don't post. I am asking what I paid Gerry: $130.00. Its worth the price.

I have others if you're interested. These pens have been treated with much care. I also have a no hassle return policy. If you don't wish to keep the pen return i within 7 business days for a full refund (buyer pays return postage). Shipping: $7.50 US/$15.00 International. I use regular USPS first class shipping.

I can only accept paypal.

Thanks.

Mike