Wtb Inexpensive But Good Writer

[Sara]

My budget gets tighter and tighter but my desire for more fountain pens is growing!

 

I was wondering if anyone has or could recommend an inexpensive fountain that writes well.

 

The cheaper the better. Perhaps you have a gem that you no longer use or know of a great seller on ebay? I'd appreciate a note.

 

Thank you so much for your time and all the great help I have received in this forum

[Eccles]

My budget gets tighter and tighter but my desire for more fountain pens is growing!

 

I was wondering if anyone has or could recommend an inexpensive fountain that writes well.

 

The cheaper the better. Perhaps you have a gem that you no longer use or know of a great seller on ebay? I'd appreciate a note.

 

Thank you so much for your time and all the great help I have received in this forum

 

It would help to know your pen preferences, such as brand, nib size, etc, re: available, surplus pens, but as far as eBay sellers are concerned, I find these ladies very good and have had some bargains from them; obviously that depends on competition for an item, but they are honest and ethical.

 

http://shop.ebay.com.au/aki_kiyoko/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25

 

 

http://shop.ebay.com.au/mel-500/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25

 

Glenn.

 

 

[Sara]

my apologies

 

I live in Wisconsin, USA so state-side sellers would probably be my preference.

 

I would eventually like all types of nibs in my collection. The stub, italic and flex nibs appeal to me a lot these days - i hope to be able to mimic the spectacular writing samples i've viewed here.

 

I've noticed that pens that are too heavy or too thin aggravate my tendinitis.

 

I have been unable to located blunt needle syringes thus far so converter type filling systems are a must. (does anyone have any leads on where to locate these things? I've exhausted all my ideas)

 

Thank you!

[argonavis]

Even being in the US, you might consider the good selection of bargains offered at the ebay store pen-seller-from-france. (No affiliation, just a satisfied customer).

 

Low priced goodies here include the Phileas, The P45, and the Rotring Newton, and on a good day, even a Waterman Expert or a Parker Sonnet can be suprisingly affordable (these are all good pens). Also the Kultur or Frontier for an even tighter budget.

 

Another good option at low prices are the Lamys - Safari or AlStar. Shop around for these and you'll find good prices on your side of the Atlantic.

 

Good Luck!

 

Added note - The 45 is thinner than the Expert or the Phileas. The Newton is rather heavy, and so is the Expert. Maybe the Phileas or the Sonnet.

Edited September 20, 2009 by argonavis

[WendyNC]

It's hard to beat a Dollar pen, available from either Swisher Pens or HisNibs. Although nib sizes are often limited, I'd write to either of them and ask when they might be getting what. My experience is that Dollar pens write first time, every time, even after sitting for a week or more. They're simple twist piston fillers and hold a surprising amount of ink for their size.

 

Although they're small (I use mine posted) and light weight, I just looked and they have a larger girth than my Parker 75s or 85, so I don't think they qualify as skinny pens by any means.

 

As for refilling cartridges, I just carried an empty one into my local pharmacy yesterday and explained what I would be doing with the syringe. Since it's coming up flu shot season (which they give at the pharmacy), they were working with open boxes of syringes and gave me one. Apparently they think I can be trusted with sharp objects. Anyway, there's one of the online sellers well known to the FPN community who sells a cartridge refill kit for a very modest price, but I'll be darned if I can remember this morning who it is. I'm sure someone will post that information.

[penspouse]

You might want to try a Reform 1745 if it is not too thin for you. With a piston fill you don't have to sorry about a syringe.

[sallywally]

You might want to try a Reform 1745 if it is not too thin for you. With a piston fill you don't have to sorry about a syringe.

I'm in the market for another 1745. I really love the one I have for certain Noodler's inks, etc., plus I just like the pen in general.

 

I'm having trouble finding them on eBay these days, and I'm looking for one on this site!

[Chthulhu]

McMaster-Carr ( http://www.mcmaster.com ) has syringes and blunt needles of various lengths and bores, no minimum order, and are very fair on shipping costs.

 

I'll second the Dollar pens, though they're on the slender side. You can find Parker Reflex pens on eBay for about $7 plus shipping, pretty much what they sold for new when they were in production. Light weight, nice size, take Parker cartridges or converter only, and a nice, smooth, moderately wet medium nib. With a lubricating ink like Noodler's you barely feel the paper.

[heineda]

Sara,

 

I have one of the Indian Dollar pens, and I like it very much. One of my favorite pens is one I bought from the Lavenger Outlet on ebay. It is a True Writer, and I love the pen. Medium nib, smooth writing, wet line............ This is a link to their current listings:

 

http://shop.ebay.com/levenger_outlet/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=

 

Also, take a look at this:

 

 

Good Luck,

Dan

[amh210]

Check out Isellpens.com. There are a large variety of inexpensive pens, mostly Chinese, and many of them write rather nicely.

 

Andy

[Sara]

Thank you for all the input I am now overwhelmed with all the options lol

 

Can anyone recommend a blue-black ink and a black water resistant ink? I've looked and am overwhelmed by all the options!

[Zeroblade]

Blue-black... Waterman's seems to be pretty good, but I find that for a true Blue-black, I mix 3-5 parts Quink Blue with 1 part Quink Black. Increase the amount of blue for more... blueness.

Black water resistant inks - either Noodler's Bulletproof stuff, or Sailor's Kiwaguro Nano-carbon ink. I'd go with the latter because it sounds awesomer.

[RLTodd]

Also, the Pelikan Pelikano & Pelikan Future are pens that I find to be nice writers.

 

Another student pen I was impressed with is the Stypen (BIC) line. I am not sure that an engineer could design a less expensive manufacturable cartridge pen that would work, but the ones I have tried were very smooth & reliable writers.

[Sara]

is there a place to find out how wide these pens are?

 

i find myself with a pack of Hero 266 pens that are far too narrow for me to enjoy using and i'd hate to have this happen again

[Sara]

my apologies for a double post.

 

would you recommend a medium or fine point Parker Reflex? the grip area looks very appealing to me.

 

Thank you so much for all your help! i love this place

[Ernst Bitterman]

The Reflex is generally found with a medium point, and if it's in proper shape it's a quite decent pen (I have two, one of which was great off the blocks, the other a nightmare of tweak-tweak-tweak-grind-tweak to reach a level of bare acceptability). A Pelikano is about the same size and more likely to do as it ought, the Lamy Safari is a bit more expensive but worth it-- the section is a little narrower than the Reflex, but vastly superior in ergonomics. The Hero 330 is essentially the same profile as the Parker 61, which is slender but not abnormally so, and it a good combination of reliability, cost, and function.

 

Blue-black inks; modern Parker is not to be trusted, sadly, but Sheaffer's is quite nice. Lamy's is very old school-- reacts with paper, extremely permanent, but quite dark in the end. I have heard good things about Sailor's, if you can find it. Herbin's Bleu Nuit is quite pleasant, but somewhat given to feathering on imperfect papers.

[Chthulhu]

my apologies for a double post.

 

would you recommend a medium or fine point Parker Reflex? the grip area looks very appealing to me.

 

Thank you so much for all your help! i love this place

 

As Ernst said, the Reflex generally came with a Medium nib, and a fat & juicy one at that. I transplanted the nib and feed (*very* easy to do!) from a damaged Parker Vector into my Reflex simply because I prefer a Fine(-ish) nib.

[Sara]

bummer... i was hoping for a fine nib.

 

what about a Waterman Phileas or Parker Frontier?

 

i was hoping not to spend very much but it looks like most pen shops charge a good chunk for shipping and handling lol - might as well start couch diving for change, right?

[Ernst Bitterman]

The Phileas is an excellent pen; I've got M and XF points for mine, and they're both a bargain at twice the price. A good source if you want a specific point size is this eBay vendor-- he's in France, right by the source, and is also one of us FPN types. I don't think I've seen anything but raving admiration for him.

[Sara]

I wanted to stop in this thread and let everyone know that I found an Esterbrook in the most unexpected place - a bag of sewing notions.

 

Here is the link to the post I made asking for help with getting in it working order: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=125589

 

Thank you all so much - my list of pens to watch for and to buy is bursting with possibilities now Please do message if you have something I might like - I'm still having a serious case of "penvy"