A Great Pen for $50-$90

[ChickenGod]

Lol! I'm starting to get confused now ... I guess I'll consider eBay again... the prices are just so darn low! What is the average price of a Parker "51"?

[Ray-Vigo]

Just one?! you'll never make it out now!

[rroossinck]

I'm going out on a limb here after reading the other posts, but....

 

I LOVE MY CROSS!

 

I've had a Century II for several years and I just have to say that it's probably my favorite pen. It never leaks, writes beautifully and always at the first stroke, and the nib is probably the smoothest that I have.

 

I'm comparing this with several other pens that I have including the Pelikan 200; Waterman Carene; the Waterman Charleston; and Aurora Ipsilon; and others....

 

Hope I don't get hung out to dry for admitting this!

Get a rope, boys... :ph34r:

 

Just kiddin'...I like the Solo that I have, too. Great pen!

[sonia_simone]

If I was going to do this, I'd get a Pelikan 200. The "51" is certainly a fine pen, even a legendary one, but I think the 200 is of even broader general appeal. And if you realize that medium nibs aren't what you want, it's very easy and not expensive to buy a replacement fine or broad. You can also buy a gold nib for it, if you ever want to check out what that is like.

 

In your shoes, if I was going to buy a "51," I would buy one restored from one of the many vintage vendors. Anything you get on eBay will probably need a good professional cleaning at a minimum, and it's just annoying to wait for a new pen to make its way through a restoration queue. Plus, if you don't know what you're looking for, you can end up with something that might take a good bit of work to bring back to life again.

 

Most people say the vac is better for a new pen user. I loathe squeeze fillers and much prefer my aero, but they're more mechanically complex.

[ChickenGod]

Do you know any good vintage vendors?

 

Does this look like a good bid?

 

 

ebay parker "51"

 

or

 

Another Parker "51"

Edited February 2, 2007 by ChickenGod

[rroossinck]

The Plum gold-filled is a waste of your time. It'll probably sell for, at minimum, 3-4x your top-end limit. The Plums were one of the most rare available.

 

The burgundy may stay more in your price range.

[ChickenGod]

Oh okay. Hey, can you look for other Parker "51"'s on eBay that are price worthy?

[rroossinck]

You might start here.

 

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?G...cat=14001&sim=y

 

Best of luck!

[ChickenGod]

Why vacumatic?

 

I was also thinking of this pen too:

 

Another "51"

Edited February 2, 2007 by ChickenGod

[ChickenGod]

Also, if I decide not to get the Parker "51" due to buying on eBay, what are some other NICE good and looking fountain pen?

 

I think I might settle for this one:

 

 

 

I just don't like bidding, and since this one is "Buy It Now," I don't need to bid .asdf

Edited February 2, 2007 by ChickenGod

[kissing]

A demi "51" is the same thing, except smaller.

 

Aerometric vs Vacumatic?

 

Well, the Vacumatic has more complex mechanisms inside, and is the older model. You fill it by pressing the knob at the back of the barrel about 10 times (with a pause of a few secs between each press). On the final press, you pull the nib out of the ink bottle to suck in the excess ink.

 

The Vac's have a bigger ink capacity, but the Aerometrics are known to be more reliable and less likely to be broken

 

If it were me spending $50~90 on the ONLY fountain pen which I'll ever buy (note: This is physically impossible, so I'll just be hypothetical ), I'd probably get something modern, rather than vintage, such as a Parker Sonnet, or like you suggested yourself, a Cross Century II. But that's just me - I prefer modern over Vintage. If I were to own one pen ever, I'd like it to be something brand new and that I've only ever used

 

How about a nice Japanese pen? Pilot VPs are amazing fountain pens, that have no cap! The nib clicks out like a retractable ballpoint How about a Namiki Falcon? Their nibs have a bit of flex to them, and they write beautifully. As the others have suggested, you also can't go wrong with Pelikans (if you buy from a nibmeister )

 

Of course, we're just being theoretical here - it's impossible to stop at just one fountain pen, and its doubly impossible if it's a Parker "51"

 

You've been warned :bunny1:

 

edited to add: Parker "51"s bought from random eBay sellers may sometimes need restoration and nib tweeking It's adviseable you buy from a reputable seller, such as Richard or Ernesto Soler ( http://parker51.com/gpage1.html6.html ) ) Also, as others have suggested, the FPN Marketplace is an extraordinary place of opportunities. Quality guaranteed

Edited February 2, 2007 by kissing

[ChickenGod]

How encouraging o.O

 

Does anyone recommend any MODERN, still in production, fountain pens? They must look sexy and are good write with... I don't feel like going through a lot of trouble just for Parker "51", no matter how good they are. They just aren't in production anymore... so it's harder to find...

Edited February 2, 2007 by ChickenGod

[ChickenGod]

Hey, I found ANOTHER pen that has already been cleaned and w/e...

 

Right here!!!

 

Which one should I get?

[brh]

I'd have to agree with Kissing on the VP. Not terribly sexy, but a wonderful writer and the whole retractable dealy is great too. Second choice would be to agree with whoever said Lamy 2000. Sexier than a VP (much), and writes great too. Or a Lamy Studio, for that matter. If you really like the looks of the Cross, I don't see any reason not to get that though. It's a good pen, and Cross has quite good customer service. I'm sure this wasn't much help at all.

 

-brian

[sobriquet]

Lamy Studio Palladium.

 

Lamy Accent Brilliant.

 

Namiki Vanishing Point.

 

All have 14K gold nibs and are truly fantastic.

[jd50ae]

One pen.......... :ltcapd: :ltcapd: :ltcapd: :ltcapd:

[john.reiss]

My suggestion for a modern pen would be the Lamy 2000. A little bit more than the price range quoted, but not by much. The nib writes very wet, so a fine actually writes like a medium. It also is very durable, been in production for a long time, and has a piston filler system which holds a lot of ink. The cheapest place I have found them is on www.isellpens.com (standard do not work for, etc, etc applies here) for 99.00.

 

Or the other option would be to buy as many cheap pens you can get your hands on and start the collecting that will surely ensue once you buy your first fountain pen. java script:emoticon('')

 

You will get one thousand and one suggestions on a pen to buy, but the best suggestion that anyone has ever given me regarding fountain pens is to try them out and if you don't have a place that sells the one you are looking for locally, make sure to buy it from someone that is willing to give you a grace period to see if you like the pen or not.

 

I hope that helps.

[OldGriz]

This will be my only pen.

YEAH RIGHT !!!!!

You actually think that once you find a nice fountain pen you are going to be satisfied with only one....

[Chris]

I've got to say that you are already hooked! You visit this site, converse with these guys, get great advice, and then try to decide which SINGLE pen you are going to buy. :roflmho:

 

I look forward to an update in the autumn of how many pens you have by then.

 

All these suggestions are good though.

 

Personally, I like Cross Century and Townsend but dislike the Parker 51 but that is because I can't see the nib and therefore no one else can either. It might write like a dream, but it is not for me (which leaves more for the rest of you).

 

I only have one pen - and it grew to a dozen within a very short time.

 

Chris

[JRodriguez]

For moderns, I second the Lamy 2000 recommendation. But if staying under $90 is essential, check out some Pelikans. Good luck!