Help! I Need A Good Beginner Fountain Pen.

[Shamalama]

Currently, I am being overwhelmed with the many fountain pen options. I am looking to buy two inexpensive ($10-$30) fountain pens that I could start with.

[OCArt]

You might find this current thread useful https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/321862-fountain-pens-for-beginners-twsbi-eco-v-lamy-safari-v-kaweco-sport/?do=findComment&comment=3834008

[LizEF]

Asking here is likely to get you inundated with too many choices again.

 

Do you have preferences to help narrow things down? Like what it's made of, shape, weight?

 

Given that you appear to be in Japan, the Japanese brands would probably be most cost-effective. You can get a combination of the following for under $30 total: Pilot Metropolitan, Pilot Kakuno, Pilot Penmanship; Platinum Preppy, Platinum Plaisir. You could also get various Jinhaos for under that price.

 

If your price is per pen rather than total, there are a lot more options...

 

(And yes, that other thread is a good place to look.)

[BillH]

Pilot Metro and a pack of cartridges. Inexpensive and durable. Lots of nib choices, lots of color choices, and they just work really well. Cheap on Amazon or you can find them in office stores everywhere. Highly recommended.

[Buzz_130]

Pilot Metropolitan, Pilot Varsity (get a box of them), Lamy Safari, Parker 45, Esterbrook J

 

Buzz

[antichresis]

A Pilot Prera is about $30 in Japan. It's easily found in stationery stores and should come with a cartridge and a converter.

[tgoto]

In my humble opinion, I would get one Lamy Safari instead of getting two.

That way, you will already have one great pen, and later by the time you save up for another pen, you will know which pen you want based on the experience with Lamy

[Mech-for-i]

Set your budget, goto a local store if possible and handle the pen in concern. After all, a pen is to be holded , cradled and manoeuvred to be able to write . It matters a lot if it feel right or not n your own hand. Fountain Pen itself is a dated but mature design so any decent brand is capable of producing a decent pen; but not every Mfr though give you a decent pen at the said price !! You must ask yourself what do you mean by " start with " - what kind of writing are you demanding from these two pens ... casual daily use, diary, journals, writing long hours or just many small pieces spread over the day. Will it need to serve you in the office / school ( read - not that quality papers ). You can have a good even great pen that just do not work for you, while a workhorse no frill model might surprise.

 

My advice is to stick with the less glamour, more workhorse type of a pen. and figure in the cost of ink / converter

Edited April 21, 2017 by Mech-for-i

[Tresconik]

A Pilot Celemo

[Sasha Royale]

The Pilot Metropolitan is excellent value, and an excellent writing experience. It is of medium size and reliable. People who write in Japanese and Chinese seem to like its "fine" nib. I recommend it as one of the best to suit your parameters.

 

I suggest getting ONE, only. Use it for a while. Decide whether you like it, or prefer something larger or smaller, or otherwise different. Then, choose the second pen.

[asegier]

The most popular choices are essentially the Pilot Metropolitan and the Lamy Safari. These two, with a bit of searching of "beginner fountain pens" or "starter fountain pens" you'd find online. So I'd like to provide another option for you that is cheaper, and performs great. Jinhao pens. I own Sailor, Waterman, Lamy, Platinum, Pilot, Parker, Sheaffer, Montblanc and Pelikan pens, and although the Jinhao is not my favourite, it still beats some of the other pens to my surprise. The pen goes for less then $10 USD, and it writes nice and wet and not the smoothest, but quite smooth indeed. It also already comes with a converter, so you're ready to buy and try with whatever ink you want to try the pen with. I personally have the Jinhao 159 and the X750. Take a quick look online for reviews and you'll see that the pens are well received and well-liked.

[ThomasB]

The Lamy Safari gets my vote as a great pen for beginners

[sandy101]

If you live in Japan, the Platinum Plasir is a good pen to start with. The nib is pleasant enough and the pen is durable - unlike the preppies which crack over time. You could get two - one medium and one fine and have enough change for some cartridges in your budget.

[RRE]

Hi. I will toss out 3 ideas that fit the price. Lamy Safari goes without saying. It is very dependable. The Preppy - you can use carts, converters or eye dropper it. Find a NOS- new old stock- Reform 1745. For around $15 you can get a decent piston filler to use and disassemble to clean. The Reform is one of my favorites. Best, Ron

[ac12]

CRUM, system lost my post

 

New:

• Lamy Safari
• Pilot Metropolitan
• Pilot Varsity disposable
• Rossetta Explorer
• TWSBI Eco (piston)

Used/out of production:

• Parker 45
• Reform 1745 (piston)
• Sheaffer school/cartridge

[RRE]

<p>

 

CRUM, system lost my post

 

New:

• Lamy Safari
• Pilot Metropolitan
• Pilot Varsity disposable
• Rossetta Explorer
• TWSBI Eco (piston)

Used/out of production:

• Parker 45
• Reform 1745 (piston)
• Sheaffer school/cartridge

I forgot about the Sheaffer scchool pen. Great choice.

[Moonshae]

For $15, you can go on eBay and get about 5 different Jinhao pens, each in a different size. They're great writers despite the cost, and typically come with a converter, so you can use bottled ink. From there, you can figure out what size pen suits you, and if you decide you want to upgrade, you have a good idea of what you like. Makes more sense to do this than spend $15-$30 on one pen that you may end up hating. You can also experiment with inks in these pens, because if you fail to maintain the pen properly, or the ink ruins the pen, you're only out $3, whereas you'd likely be pretty upset to ruin a more expensive pen.

[asegier]

For $15, you can go on eBay and get about 5 different Jinhao pens, each in a different size. They're great writers despite the cost, and typically come with a converter, so you can use bottled ink. From there, you can figure out what size pen suits you, and if you decide you want to upgrade, you have a good idea of what you like. Makes more sense to do this than spend $15-$30 on one pen that you may end up hating. You can also experiment with inks in these pens, because if you fail to maintain the pen properly, or the ink ruins the pen, you're only out $3, whereas you'd likely be pretty upset to ruin a more expensive pen.

 

A quick question actually. How often is it that an ink ruins a pen? I ask because I've been leaving ink in many of my pens that I only take out occasionally to use. I know many people don't maintain their pens on a monthly basis (which is what I've heard was recommended), and I've fallen short of that as well. I've never heard of people say the pen would be ruined though, so I was never in a rush or inclined to clean my pens so much. Now you've made me worried!

[antichresis]

 

A quick question actually. How often is it that an ink ruins a pen? I ask because I've been leaving ink in many of my pens that I only take out occasionally to use. I know many people don't maintain their pens on a monthly basis (which is what I've heard was recommended), and I've fallen short of that as well. I've never heard of people say the pen would be ruined though, so I was never in a rush or inclined to clean my pens so much. Now you've made me worried!

It depends on the pen and the ink. Taking a regular dye ink that has dried up in a pen you can disassemble the section of, it won't ruin the pen because the ink will dissolve when the pen parts are submerged in water. A more complicated pen or ink will make a pen harder to get back in shape because the you cannot get the ink out or the ink was chemically distorted the innards of a pen.

[mitto]

Parker 45 and Sheaffer cartridge School pens including the Triumph 440 and 330.