Cheap Italic Pen Recommendation?

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

For a pen that you may actually find useful for normal writing, not calligraphy, take a look at the Pendemonium site. There is a selection of Pens & Custom Nibs. You might well take a look at Item CG-1648D.

 

I bought a Sheaffer with a custom nib from them quite some time ago, and it has become a favourite. A lot more of a 'real deal' that the Lamy, Pilot (which I tried then gave away) or likely most other over-the-counter offerings.

 

Bye,

S1

[dnb]

I would recommend lamy safari with 1.1 or 1.5 italic nib depending on the size of your writing. It is a cheap and nice entry model, It gets it share of time with me despite I have many expensive pens.

 

+3

[medici]

Depending on what you use your pen for, you might also consider a set of dip pen nibs. Brause makes killer crisp (calligraphy) italic nibs -- I love them!

 

For fountain pens, I agree with all of the Lamy Safari suggestions - great pens at great prices.

Edited May 28, 2010 by medici

[oldstoat]

+1 on the Pilot 78G stub. Speerbob. well-known and well-respected here has some.

[TangleCrafts]

Great, another to add to my wishlist.  Thanks...

[jBeckett]

I just bought a 78G broad stub from Speerbob, why? Because I didn't have one in red, but now I do and that's awesome.

[physicsgirl]

I have the Hero calligraphy set it has 1.1, 1.5., and 1.9 nibs. I got mine for ~$12, and it is a really great pen set.

[ehebert]

I have also been looking at italic nibs, so I found this thread very helpful! One pen that I am surprised nobody has mentioned yet is the Pilot Parallel pen (available in 1.5, 2.4, 3.8 & 6.0). Jetpens has great reviews and writing samples of the cool color-changing effect when you use two pens. However, Amazon has them for around $8 and change.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Do a search for LAMY. Or, buy a used/vintage pen for around $25.00/$35.00 and send it to Pendemonium ( or other nib master, cost varies) for a grind to an italic nib. Or, look at Esterbrook J pens with the advantage swapping all sorts of nib styles. Or, goto www.oscarbraunpens.com, look for the

Pelikan Blue demonstrator with Italic nib for $69.98. The Pelikan Italic writes quite wide. But you can't beat the price for an entry level

Pelikan with a Piston filler.

 

 

I bought a three-dollar Stypen, clipped it with a nail scissors, smoothed it with nail files and buffers.

 

And it writes REALLY well. I can hardly believe it myself.

[stine4115]

Try "Isellpens". They have a HERO brand caligraphy pen for a very good price. I have one and it writes very smoothly.

[jszh]

I only have experience with Lamy 1.1. They write very well, never skip, always start right away. I got my safari's from an ebay seller in Canada, 25 $ with any nibs including converters too. In Canadian stores, safari is sold for more than 40 $ without converter, plus tax!

 

I got compliments from people when I wrote with the 1.1mm nibs, actually with all fountain pens since most people use ball-pens these days. People notice the line variation right away. But the variation became less obvious for me after a while so now I am thinking about the 1.5mm. I wish I had ordered one last time. Now another postage.

 

I also wanted to try the Heroes when I go to China. I don't think there is anything to lose at the even cheaper domestic price. I will grind a bunch of them and see what I can get.

[GouletPens]

I have a Lamy Joy and it writes like a nail on asphalt....possibly the worst writing nib I've ever used, and I've used a lot of pens. From what I've read this is not the usual, so take my opinion for what you paid for it. Now, I have had good experience with the Pelikan Script ($15), which was half the price of the Lamy($30). I have all 3 of the Scripts and find the 1.5mm to be most suitable to my handwriting on 8mm ruled Clairefontaine paper. Now if you go using a nib that wide on cheap paper it's going to feather out so bad you might end up with a solid page of ink...so make sure you take your ink and paper choices into account. Good luck!

Edited May 29, 2010 by GouletPens

[Sailor Kenshin]

That's true--I used to have the Pel Script set and they were very smooth, but too broad for everyday writing (at least for me).

[GouletPens]

That's true--I used to have the Pel Script set and they were very smooth, but too broad for everyday writing (at least for me).

Even the 1.0? That one's not very broad.

[Sailor Kenshin]

That's true--I used to have the Pel Script set and they were very smooth, but too broad for everyday writing (at least for me).

Even the 1.0? That one's not very broad.

 

 

I used that one, true. I also liked the clear clutch ring.

 

But I already had a couple of Rotring 1.1 that I used a lot, so I gave the Pels away.

[Anes]

Question for Lamy 1.1 users: what ink you are using with this pen? I don't see good line variation with Lamy Black ink.

[Chthulhu]

I looked up the Pluminix and it looks nicer than what I've got. Mine's a Plumix. They're similar, but the reviews for the Pluminix I saw looked better. Plus it won't take a converter. I'm looking at the Lamy Safari because of the multiple recommendations for it. It seems really well liked and certainly a good start. I'm wondering what ink to use because I also know nothing about that!

 

The Plumix will take a Pilot/Namiki CON-20 or CON-50 converter; the Pluminix won't, simply because it's so short. The Lamy Safari will take a Lamy Z-24 converter, and often ships with one in the package. I don't have an italic Safari, but have been very pleased with the standard F nib it came with. You can change nibs easily between sizes, and they only run about $11 each plus shipping. If you order a Safari on-line, it would be a good idea to buy one or even both of the additional italic nibs (and the converter if it doesn't come with one) to save on later shipping costs. You should still end up around $50 plus shipping with the whole shebang.

[dizi]

Has anybody tried Parker Vector with italic nib?

[dogpoet]

Good heavens, why on Earth would anybody want to?

[51ISH]

Sorry to (sort of) 'piggy back' on this thread but I have been looking at a Lamy Safari 1.1 nib as a cheap way into an italic nib too.....

 

Anyone have any experience of the black nib in the charcoal pen? Does the black nib behave any differently? I'm sure I have seen this matter discussed before, but have been unable to find it in a search........what is the black coating? Is it any better or worse?