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I Am Looking To Buy A New Pen


chrisphil00

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Hello, I am new to fountain pens. I have 2 Parker 45s and 2 chinese pens. I am looking for a quality and affordable fountain pens. Any ideas? Thanks

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Depending on your budget and if you want to try some vintage pens I would suggested the Parker "51" and the Esterbrook J series (and/or Esterbrook Dollar Pens). These are each iconic pens in their own way and can generally be bound in price ranges from $20-85 depending on condition and model. There are great forums here on FPN for both Parker and Esterbrook and you will find a lot of collective knowledge that will be very helpful.

 

 

 

NB: Mods may want to move this to

 

First stop - Frequently Discussed Topics

Edited by PenFisher
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I love my Parker 45 (a lot of people suggested it on these forums). But if you are looking for a modern pen, I recommend either a (1) Lamy Safari or Lamy Vista or (2) a Pilot Metropolitan.

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Esterbrook J-series

Reform 1745

Waterman Hemisphere

Auf freiem Grund mit freiem Volke stehn.
Zum Augenblicke dürft ich sagen:
Verweile doch, du bist so schön !

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I'm currently infatuated with my Metropolitan with a broad stub nib. $15 for the metropolitan, $10 for a Pilot 78G stub. The nibs are interchangeable and it's truly a pleasure to write with.

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Pilot 78G with fine nib is also worth trying. And if you are interested in trying very thin nib, approximately 0.2mm, then Pilot Penmanship should also be in your list.

 

Reform 1745, if you can get one for <USD 10, is also nice as it has a hint of flex. But there is a small chance you get a pen that need some adjusting. Pilot pens are a bit more trouble free.

 

Of chinese pens Jinhao X750 and the huge 159 are nice but again there is the chance of getting pen that does not work well out of the box.

Non notisi signi.

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Lamy Nexx or Safari - both < $30

Sheaffer 100 << $30

Pelikan P55 < $30

Platignum Studio < $30

Platinum Plaisir << $30

Pentel TRF100 Tradio << $30

etc.

 

All are very nice writers and relatively inexpensive.

Avatar painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825 - 1905) titled La leçon difficile (The difficult lesson)

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If you want to jump big...Lamy 2000 at about 160USD...iconic, lotsa ink, and generally great nibs. Or a Pelikan 200 for 124USD at richardspens.com or, for a bit more M400 Souveran.

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its important to know what you are looking for in a pen and your budget to know what to best recommend

 

lamy safari is a fantastic affordable modern pen for about $30

 

sheaffer touchdowns are fantastic underrated writers and they are going for $30-$60 restored on ebay at the moment.

 

parker "vs" is another great underrated writer that is going for $20-$50 restored on ebay right now

 

waterman 3v's are an underrated pen that sometimes will have a nice flex nib. they seem to be going for for $50-$80 restored on ebay at the moment

 

if you're looking for affordable flexible nibbed pens things get a little more complicated.

Edited by balson
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If one of your 45's ISN'T a Flighter (stainless steel) get one. Especially if you can find one with a gold nib. You can get one for $25-50. I paid about $15 for mine - the ebay seller had forgotten it was a 14k nib - was thinking it was gold plated steel.

 

Lamy Al Star - aluminum version of the Safari/Vista pens. Closer to $50 (all 3 you pay an extra $5 for a converter)

Pilot Metropolitan - $15 very nice writer - medium but skinnier than a western medium.

Esterbrook J - I paid under $40 shipped (lever)

Noodler's Konrad - $20 --if you put a Goulet #6 (available in EF, F, M, B,1.1 mm, 1.5 mm) it is an additional $15. (piston)

 

The Al Star/Safari/Vista use proprietary cartridges/converters as does the Metropolitan and as you know the Parker 45. The Pilot MR (Euro version) uses international cartridges/converters.

Brad

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind" - Rudyard Kipling
"None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try." - Mark Twain

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NOS Sheaffer.

Retro 51 Lincoln.

I ride a recumbent, I play go, I use Macintosh so of course I use a fountain pen.

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Pilot Metropolitan, Pilot 78G ($15-$20 from Amazon, eBay, JStationery.com, isellpens.com, lots of places) are great writers that look good and are fun to use, I recommend them to anyone looking for an inexpensive and good pen.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Stay far away from TWSBI, whatever you do.... ;)

 

Sheesh Tom... I totally disagree.

 

I would highly recommend a 580.

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/She_Thinks_In_Ink/Inked_Today/slides/2013-Ink_843.jpg

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Add one to the Pilot chorus. The 78G is a light plastic pen, but the B and BB stub nibs give a lot of line variation and are enjoyable to write with. The Metropolitan is much more solid, and I believe it will be available in a F nib in early May. Personally, I'm not too fond of the Noodler pens or the Lamy Safari or Al-Star, but that's a matter of aesthetics, not the pens themselves. I'm enjoying the Nemosine Singularity a lot, but haven't had it long enough to comment on its durability.

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:W2FPN:

 

+1 for Pilot Metropolitan (F nib option is already available at Gouletpens.com) and Lamy Safari. Have fun!

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