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Young Collectors Guide


ropes17

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Hello all!

 

As a student I love fountain pens. The problem is that being a student is the lack of funds for fountain pens because of this I would like to suggest we create a student buyers guide or a young collectors guide. I feel like having a topic of this would be an incredible help to first time buyers or people who do not have that much money but would love to expand their collection. I realize that there are lots of videos and lists out there about this topic but I think having them in one central location would be a great help.

 

If you are willing to help me create this list of fountain pens what i would like for you to post is,

 

-A picture of the pen

-The price of it that is easily found

-A short review or quick little pros and cons about the pen

 

I know its a lot to ask but i think this list could help many people like me expand their collection and fall more deeply in love with fountain pens.

 

- Joe -

 

 

*EDIT*

 

This is where i will be posting a master list. It may take a while to get ready but it should stay here.

 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zJpznmZ1dt32CkN4O2GMDoaF9DwMRrWKorsGi1d-zNQ/edit?usp=sharing

Edited by ropes17
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Very good idea.

 

Pen Reviews: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/81758-review-index/?p=1742338

 

Among the sub $50 pens that are very good are:

 

Lamy Safari Vista & Al Star - Al Star because of aluminum body is about $10 more than the others

 

Pilot Metropolitan - perhaps the best $15 pen out there.

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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There are a ton of Chinese pens available for under $10 shipped these days, good writers with decent build quality and a wide variety of styles. Jinhao, Baoer, Kaigelu, Hero, etc.

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This sounds like a great idea, maybe we could create a downloadable pdf guide or something.

 

I'd love to help, though will have to be in a few weeks after exams!

Parker 75, Ingenuity, Premier, Sonnet, Urban | Pelikan M400 | TWSBI Diamond 580 | Visconti Rembrandt



Currently inked: Diamine Apple Glory (Rembrandt), Pelikan 4001 Turquoise (M400), Lamy Black (Diamond 580)

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Faber Castell Loom

http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/fc-loom-fp-sec.gif

Price Range: £25-30

 

Pros: Very smooth nib, cartridge/converter filling system is easy and simple to use. Good for posting.

 

Cons: Tapered grip could be seen as a bit annoying and some people have reported slipping issues. Pen may be a bit small for those with very big hands.

 

Other: This pen is quite heavy, and weighs around 25g. There is a heavier [and more top heavy when posted] version of this called the Basic, and it is cheaper but it cannot take converters.

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Indian Pens from Airmail/Wality and Camlin mostly Ebonite feed and are EDs but good pens for their price 10USD? I already owned a Wality has been good with me as an ED pen.

 

Noodler's pens for new people who like to tinker with their pens in the same line TWSBI. I think they satisfy the 50 USD mark

and I think we know how theses pens look...

well if not

TWSBI diamond 580 I'm sorry brian goulet :X

http://www.gouletpens.com/v/vspfiles/photos/TW-M7443140-2S.jpg

Pros: Piston filler, is home servicable, has a wrench for disassembly of the pen, also as people said TWSBI has a good customer service but I honestly haven't had problems with the pen so what do I know

Cons: does not post, the Demonstrator look may not be for everyone

Price: 50 could be cheaper in taiwan or maybe not also stretching the budget further there's the rose gold furniture option but thats added 15 USD

TWSBI classic

http://www.gouletpens.com/v/vspfiles/photos/TW-M7443700-2S.jpg

Pros: pretty much like the 580

Cons: does not post (I have heard that TWSBI is redesigning the classic that will post), the colors black blue and burgundy may not be to everyone's liking

Price: 50

TWSBI mini

http://www.gouletpens.com/v/vspfiles/photos/TW-M7442990-2S.jpg

Pros: IT POSTS!, rest much like the 580 and classic

Cons: as being the smaller cousin of the 580 it has a smaller ink reservoir

Price: 50 USD

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Oh wow, this is really cool! Thanks! I've poked around here for about a little over a month and hadn't seen this one yet.

 

I'm not a student, however I've only recently renewed my interest in fountain pens and have picked up a handful of "starter" pens since I joined FPN after reading through many old posts about recommended starter pens.

 

These are my impressions:

 

Parker Vector (<$20 USD)

Very lightweight plasticky pen, writes smoothly, but lacks soul. It's a perfectly functional pen, but I don't find myself reaching for it often. I'm going to see whether my 9yr old would be interested in using this. I picked up a separate ink converter for this pen since it doesn't come with one.

 

Pelikan Pelikano (<$20 USD)

I think this is aimed toward someone in elementary school, and I see how the design may appeal more toward kids. That is, you're not going to pull out this pen during a meeting in the "Corporate World". LOL. I picked this up for my daughter and she liked it for a while. It writes pretty well and I like using it from time to time. I am open to trying out a higher end Pelikan due to how nicely this "kids" pen writes.

 

Hero 448 (~$5 USD)

This is not a pen anyone recommended on FPN, I just picked it up to try out a Chinese pen, and I'll admit I also picked it up because it was pink. It is a small pen, short with very slim barrel, so it would not be comfortable for anyone with average/large hands. The slide converter does not hold much ink, however this makes for a good excuse to change colors. My 9yr old loves this pen and dropped the Pelikano to take this one to school.

 

Pilot Metropolitan ($15 USD)

This pen wrote smoothly right out of the box. I picked up the Medium point. The metal gives the pen a nice weight to it (if that's what you like) and the pen looks much more expensive than $15. I will definitely pick up the Fine point. This pen comes with an ink converter, not bad for a cheap pen. The pen is a bit "slippery" and the rounded ends don't really help, so I make sure to clip it when I insert it into the pen slot of my bag.

 

Lamy Safari/Vista/Al Star ($25-40 USD)

These are all different flavors of the same base pen. Safari is plastic. Vista is a clear demontstrator. Al-Star is aluminum. They don't come with an ink converter so that would need to be purchased separately.

I have a love and hate relationship with these pens. It's not a particularly pretty pen to look at. They don't write well out of the box and need a bit of "fiddling" before they work properly. That said, I have picked up 5 of these in the last 2 months (3 Safaris, 1 Vista, 1 Al Star). It's really odd, even though the Metropolitan writes smoother, feels like a "nicer" pen and costs less, I feel more comfortable carrying the Safari/Vista/AlStar around (as my EDC pen) without fear of it getting lost or trashed from daily use.

 

 

 

 

 

After reading old posts about demonstrators and non-C/C fillers, I'm now interested in trying out a TWSBI 580.

Everyone should be respected as an individual, but no one idolized. -- Albert Einstein

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Thank you all so much for posting new pens! ill have to check them all out and keep posting! Ill start to compile a list and put it into the original post so its easy for people to find

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Thank you all so much for posting new pens! ill have to check them all out and keep posting! Ill start to compile a list and put it into the original post so its easy for people to find

You won't be able to edit the original post soon, so I suggest that you make a Google Document about it or something like that.

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In one of the stickies above there are some helpful links to similar sub $50 threads that could be useful for gathering the information.

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This post is a really good idea! I hope it keeps some traction and is maybe pinned to a sub forum by the mods.

 

Parker Frontier

Price Range;£7-£25

 

Pros Buttery smooth nib, light weight, comfortable with good ergonomics, relatively low cost (around £10 in UK),

Cons Takes Proprietary ink cartridges, is out of production.

Edited by top pen
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Hello all!

 

As a student I love fountain pens. The problem is that being a student is the lack of funds for fountain pens because of this I would like to suggest we create a student buyers guide or a young collectors guide. I feel like having a topic of this would be an incredible help to first time buyers or people who do not have that much money but would love to expand their collection. I realize that there are lots of videos and lists out there about this topic but I think having them in one central location would be a great help.

 

If you are willing to help me create this list of fountain pens what i would like for you to post is,

 

-A picture of the pen

-The price of it that is easily found

-A short review or quick little pros and cons about the pen

 

I know its a lot to ask but i think this list could help many people like me expand their collection and fall more deeply in love with fountain pens.

 

- Joe -

If you're looking for more retro... I can easily find c/c Sheaffers like the No Nonsense on Fleabay for $15 (often including shipping). Personally I love 'em ;) They write well, for my tastes, at least.

Pros: Easy to find, many colors, different nibs (F, M, B, plus Italic versions of F/M/B)

Cons: C/C. I know some people prefer lever or plunger. Other than that...eh. Not sure.

Looks... like this: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/5530-sheaffer-nononsense-fp/

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I just added a google docs page to the original post(thanks for the warning Blazing) I should be able to update it soon probably tonight with these new pens.

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One very cheap way for students to get into fountain pens is to buy a pack of Pilot Varsities or Platinum Preppies.

These can both be refilled (Varsities need pliers). Students who have tight budgets can spend their money on ink instead of pens. For the adventurous, a nib smoothing kit from the Goulets or Richard Binder can turn even a stock Varisty into something comparable to a Pelikan M200 nib (not kidding!)

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I just added a google docs page to the original post(thanks for the warning Blazing) I should be able to update it soon probably tonight with these new pens.

No problem, good luck. I'll offer any help that you require.

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Ok, dumb question

 

what is the purpose of the guide(s)? Is it to collect pens on the cheap, to facilitate the purchase of a wide range of pens, to know what pens you want to buy? All of the above?

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Ok, dumb question

 

what is the purpose of the guide(s)? Is it to collect pens on the cheap, to facilitate the purchase of a wide range of pens, to know what pens you want to buy? All of the above?

To give young fountain pen users a kind of guide to see which pens are good for the price range that they have to spend, showing the good and bad points of each pen.

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I think Parker also can use international cartridges.

I'm not a C/C type so am limited to what I know.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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