First Pen + Upgrade

[Deepgreen]

Hello. As I new fountainpen user I come here seeking advice

I have purchased a platinum preppy, and it's an ok fp. I mean i enjoy using it and the looks are awesome , after you remove the print on the barel.

But i am put of by the nib. It was scratchy while moving it to the right. I tryed bending the tongs did a little polishing and its a looot smother. But now it puts down more ink and has a thicker line compared with the initial line .3

So i figured maybe i should buy another better pen insteqd of buying a replacement preppy.

I love the transparent body, i saw twsbi has a very nice design but i can not find one localy. My options are kwaco, pilot metropolitan, lamy, fc loom.

All are at the same price verry little variation.

I like the kwaeco but i dont know if it will be comfortable for quick notes umposted plus it has a threaded cap

Metropolitan has a soso design

Lamy is nice but inhave doubts about the plastic body

The loom looks ok but the pen is heavy

 

All this pens are around 20 usd. Do you think an upgrade will be oportunistic. Will i enjoy the pen more

 

Ps how do you tell if you need refiling it? Dont judge me i am a mechanical pencil guy

[mbankirer]

Welcome! You will find very knowledgeable enablers here!

 

If you are near a real store that carries pens, you can get an idea of look and feel but, as you have discovered, TWSBI is not sold in stores...I would suggest you try one ordered online, since the transparent body (known as a demonstrator) is what appeals to you. The TWSBI ECO is quite nice...but your opinion is really the only one that matters!

[Deepgreen]

All of the above fp i can check in a store. Twisbi i have to buy it online and i have 2 problems about it. I cant hold it in hand and the second is the price wich is higer about 45 usd shiping included

 

I dont know if i am ready to spend such money on a fp yet. Plus i have already a rotation schedule for my mechanical pencils. For now they are off so i can use the preppy

[otw]

I'm also relatively new to fountain pens, but I'm a little ahead of you and have been evaluating the pens you have listed. The answer to your question is "it depends".

 

What are you looking for in a pen? Here are some things to consider:

 

• Design (you mention it a couple of times -- are looks most important to you?)
• How long will you write? (quick notes vs long journaling sessions)
• Smoothness
• Line size

If you tell us what qualities your ideal pen will have, we can offer better suggestions.

Edited March 23, 2017 by economicalpenster

[voltron]

Among all those pens that you mentioned, FC Loom has the smoothest nib. Lamy Safari is a very fine entry level pen & it is made from tough ABS plastic so don't worry about it. Kaweco Sport is a nice useful pocket pen also made from ABS plastic. TWSBI Pens are attractive & write well but they are prone to cracking though on the positive side TWSBI has excellent customer service.

[LizEF]

All of the pens you list will be an upgrade from the Platinum Preppy. I can only speak for my own experience, but the Metro and Lamy Al-Star (same nib as Safari) were very smooth right out of the box.

The Metro will have a finer nib than the other pens (a Metro fine nib is like an extra fine nib in the other brands).

 

I've heard that the FC has a super-smooth nib, but I've never tried one. I've read mixed reviews on Kaweco nibs, but never tried one myself.

 

The fatter the nib, the smoother it feels (in general), but that varies greatly with the paper type and the nib itself. (I only use EF and F nibs, and mine are all smooth (either out of the box, or I smoothed them myself); but I use good paper.)

 

I also have a TWSBI Eco, and I think if you really like the looks of that a lot more than the others, you won't regret buying it - it's a really nice pen. Loved the nib the minute I wrote with it (I got an EF, and ordered a second one right after trying the first).

 

As for how to tell you need to refill it - it runs dry. If you have a cartridge or piston converter, you can see the ink level. I find that once there's no more ink in the cartridge / converter, I've still got a page or two of writing (depends on how much ink the feed holds - also, that's with an EF nib). The Metro comes with a squeeze converter that won't let you see how much ink is left (unless it's an MR that uses Standard International, in which case, I don't know what it comes with) - I recommend getting one of the piston converters so you can see the ink. You'll have to ask about what each pen comes with so you know whether you need to buy a converter to see ink, or buy cartridges, or what.

 

With the Eco, you just buy a bottle of ink, fill the pen, and gaze lovingly at the sloshing ink... (The Eco is not as prone to cracking as other TWSBI pens. It's not immune, but it seems the majority of users don't have problems.)

 

If I had to pick one from your list, I'd go with a Lamy Vista (clear Safari), I think. But I'd prefer the Eco.

[Out0Mind]

All of the pens you list will be an upgrade from the Platinum Preppy. I can only speak for my own experience, but the Metro and Lamy Al-Star (same nib as Safari) were very smooth right out of the box.

 

The Metro will have a finer nib than the other pens (a Metro fine nib is like an extra fine nib in the other brands).

 

I've heard that the FC has a super-smooth nib, but I've never tried one. I've read mixed reviews on Kaweco nibs, but never tried one myself.

 

The fatter the nib, the smoother it feels (in general), but that varies greatly with the paper type and the nib itself. (I only use EF and F nibs, and mine are all smooth (either out of the box, or I smoothed them myself); but I use good paper.)

 

I also have a TWSBI Eco, and I think if you really like the looks of that a lot more than the others, you won't regret buying it - it's a really nice pen. Loved the nib the minute I wrote with it (I got an EF, and ordered a second one right after trying the first).

 

As for how to tell you need to refill it - it runs dry. If you have a cartridge or piston converter, you can see the ink level. I find that once there's no more ink in the cartridge / converter, I've still got a page or two of writing (depends on how much ink the feed holds - also, that's with an EF nib). The Metro comes with a squeeze converter that won't let you see how much ink is left (unless it's an MR that uses Standard International, in which case, I don't know what it comes with) - I recommend getting one of the piston converters so you can see the ink. You'll have to ask about what each pen comes with so you know whether you need to buy a converter to see ink, or buy cartridges, or what.

 

With the Eco, you just buy a bottle of ink, fill the pen, and gaze lovingly at the sloshing ink... (The Eco is not as prone to cracking as other TWSBI pens. It's not immune, but it seems the majority of users don't have problems.)

 

If I had to pick one from your list, I'd go with a Lamy Vista (clear Safari), I think. But I'd prefer the Eco.

 

I'm inclined to agree with LizEF, on this one. Out of your list, I'd go with the Lamy Vista. It looks great, writes well, and is well built.

 

Within your budget, I'd target the TWSBI Eco Clear (they're all demonstrators, but I prefer the whole thing to be clear). I've written with extremely expensive pens and super low-cost pens, and never have I used such a well built pen in that price range with a piston.

 

The ability to use bottled ink with this pen is a massive boon; giving you access to the entire swath of fountain pen inks available today.

 

I understand it may be a $20 difference, but I'd, personally, wait a month or two and get a TWSBI Eco (which is a dollar cheaper than the FC Loom) over any of the other pens on this list.

[Deepgreen]

I like simple pens not fancy traditional designs. I guess this is why i like the look on demonstrator pens, plus you can see the level of ink. From the above i think pilot has the design a little off, the rest are acceptable. Twisbi looks very nice but as mentioned it is a little over budget. (but I think i could live with the pilot as well)

 

As I wrote with a cheap fountain pen in school grades 1 to 4 (it was mandatory) and now with a preppy I do not have experiance in telling what exactly I look for in the pen.

I guess smoothness is important.

But very important is the pen to be a non fuss. No skipping what so ever, no hard start.

I have an older non branded fountain pen that came in a set (wooden body iridium nib) that has problem with sikipping (for me it skips when i start some of the letters like l or e, and I can't stand it)

Compared with the preppy it is buttery smooth, but I am ok with the preppy as well being a bit scratchy

 

Very important, i do not use high end paper. I use regular a agenda or print paper, or something like this (medium quality at best)

I will use it for quick short notes, i rarely write more then a few lines.

 

My boss has a Rotring artpen I think in medium nib, and I don't like the thick line that it produces. It is impossible to write smaller

I tested a lamy in a local shop and it was a medium and in my opinion it had a finer line.

I read that Pilot would be a very good solution to low quality paper, but also the Lom has very high reviews, and the loom it is a couple of USD more expensive than a pilot

 

I don't know which pen will make me happy or if i should stick to the preppy

[Deepgreen]

one mention

The FC loom, Lamy, Kaweco are 20$, Pilot Metropolitan is about 18$

So the Twsbi it's double in price

[ac12]

If you are going to adjust the nib, you should get a 10x loupe and a bunch of cheap pens to practice with. While you are learning to adjust the nibs, you WILL damage a few nibs. This is why you practice on cheap pens.

 

A dry pen/nib will put down a narrower ink line than a wet pen/nib. More ink = wider ink line.

 

In college I carried TWO Parker 45s. When one ran dry, I switched to the 2nd pen. Then when I had time between classes, I would check the first pen, to see if I needed to change the ink cartridge. IOW, I wrote till the pen stopped writing, or the ink line got dry and narrow.

[otw]

Based on your criteria, I agree with the others in recommending the Lamy Vista.