There's Something To Be Said For Cheap Pens...

[TSherbs]

If the "value" decision of a pen is based on the number of dollars spent per model per year, then the best thing to do is to spend as little money as possible and hold on to the pen (without purchasing others) for as long as possible.

 

I am confident that my results (perhaps lucky) with my cheap pens will be more cost-saving than most other purchases made for any model of pen over $30. And a person can't live long enough to bring the cost/year of an expensive pen down low enough to compete with a cheap pen that lasts just a year or two (losing one's pen or otherwise damaging it is another matter, but still, cheap pens come out ahead). I have 1$ pens (their retail price new) that have lasted 2+ years now. Even a $30 pen (I own 3) has to stay in my possession 60 years to bring the cost/year down to the same level. I also have a much higher success rate with my cheap pens than 50%. All of us don't get much beyond our own experiences (and anecdote). But I also don't just buy any cheap pen. I read about other person's reviews first. I also don't consider pens to have "failed" or be unusuable if they develop cracks or scratches or loose parts. As long as they don't leak and still do their job when called upon, I keep using them. Same with my cars, my appliances, my friends.

 

Most people don't avoid cheap pens because they are not cost-efficient to own. They usually leave them behind because they become annoyed with shorter life-spans or because they simply want to own a more expensive pen for other reasons (all legitimate).

 

No one gives me free pens, which of course, would be an entirely different matter. I am referring to pens purchased at retail price.

 

edit: oops. I just remembered. I have received one free pen as a gift from a kind and generous member who is now also a pen pal. Muchas gracias, otra vez.

Edited January 24, 2018 by TSherbs

[SpecTP]

I started down this rabbit hole using Platinum Preppy's. there are still a few in my desk drawers. quite reliable and the easy starts with no skipping issues. I don't touch them much nowadays, but I still keep them around in case someone wants to 'borrow' a pen.

[Dickkooty2]

While I write with pens ... Parsons Essential w/cursive nib, Lamy 2000 B, a number of Jinhao's, and Dollars from Pakistan for ink drawing, I buy pens for their looks and design. For this reason, I have mostly vintage German pens/writing instruments from the mid-XX century ... Pelikan, Fend, Geha, Markant and others.

 

While I appreciate the quality improvements that continue to be made in Chinese manufacturing, I don't see the point of buying more. Now I find that the new pens I am buying are the wonderful designs coming out of Lamy. More money for sure, but a more satisfying experience in aesthetic design and production.

[Bluey]

 

I agree. I have more than 20 Chinese fountain pen. More than half of them have some problems as low quality build, hard start etc. For now I only inked one Chinese fountain pen to use as throw away pen. Add some money and get something like Pilot Mr, Platinum Plaisir, Kaweco Sport or Lamy Safari is better idea.

I nearly choked on my tea when I read that. Seriously, do you honestly think that you're not likely to have tons of issues with either the Lamy Safari or Kaweco? Oh boy!

If my life were on the line, I would far more likely gamble on any Chinese pen than either of those for hassle free writing.

Edited January 24, 2018 by Bluey

[ParkerDuofold]

I nearly choked on my tea when I read that. Seriously, do you honestly think that you're not likely to have tons of issues with either the Lamy Safari or Kaweco? Oh boy!

If my life were on the line, I would far more likely gamble on any Chinese pen than either of those for hassle free writing.

Hi Bluey, et al,

 

I nearly choked on my cough syrup when I read this. In fact, it prompted me to take another hit.

 

I know you're serious,... but are you serious?

 

Jinhao's dry out on me all of the time... and I do not live in an arrid, dry environment,... in fact, I have an ocean for a backyard... but I've never had a Safari fail me... even when it has sat for a few weeks... but Jinhao's... they dry out in around 3-4 days if you don't use them.

 

At least that has been my experience with them... YMobviouslyV.

 

 

- Anthony

[Bluey]

Oh yes, I'm srsly serious. From my use of around 20+ Chinese pens and around 15 Bock nibs, I can very safely say that I would much rather take a gamble on any Chinese pen than anything of the steel nib Lamys or Bocks.

 

I don't believe the drying out has anything whatsoever to do with the nib section.

Incidentally, none of my Jinhaos ever dried out, and the only one I had to actually dry out was a Lamy Studio, which is surprising for the humid(ie grey, miserable, and p***ing it down with rain most days) climate around these parts.

[Nosferatualso]

Ive got a jinhao 750 with a goulet 1.1 nib and a battered silver Lamy al star with a 1.1 nib. I love them both

[ParkerDuofold]

...I don't believe the drying out has anything whatsoever to do with the nib section...

Hi Bluey,

 

Nor do I... I think the problem lies with the weak inner cap seal.

 

 

Sounds like you live in the Pacific Northwest.

 

 

- Anthony

 

 

EDITED to correct typo.

Edited January 24, 2018 by ParkerDuofold

[senzen]

It's great there are so many choices, even though with all the trouble I've had with fountain pens cheapies are a definite no no. My cheapest has been a recently acquired Pilot Metropoitan and it does everything I need, except that the nib was not as wet as I would want it to be, but it is smooth; my 7 Lamy Vistas finally work well with acceptable or smooth nibs but their design make them dry more quickly. Funnilly enough it took me a longer time to appreciate my more expensive pens, but it is a unique pleasure to feel my Le Man 100 or m600 glide on Tomoe River.

 

I have a Chinese macro flash and the battery door doesn't close anymore, as the latches on the flash itself (not the door) broke. That's the kind of quality I would expect from a 99 cent pen; but I'm buying them to be used, not to be collected, so any risk of failure is a definite cost; again, for me, and it's great that others enjoy experimenting and tinkering.

[ParkerDuofold]

...I love them both

Good for you, Nosferatualso... you've got the right spirit.

 

 

- Anthony

 

 

EDITED for no particular reason.

Edited January 24, 2018 by ParkerDuofold

[ParkerDuofold]

...and it's great that others enjoy experimenting and tinkering.

Hi Pseudo,

 

That's true... that's one of the things the real cheap ones are good for... practicing nib/feed work.

 

 

- Anthony

[woleizihan]

Quality things take time and money to make. For the best return, one has to invest at least a certain amount of money to the point that diminishing marginal return dominates the benefit gained by extra labor or material. The same is true for fountain pens. I think one has to put a minimal amount of money to guarantee a "properly" made pen. It used to be less when pens were produced in a larger scale but nowadays, I think this threshold is about $15 for a steel nib and $50 for a gold nib. I'm not saying one cannot enjoy fountain pens for less than that but one probably needs to make compromise. At the price point $10, each additional dollar you spend is about 10% more for the manufacturer to get better material or put more labor into the pen, which is actually a lot.

 

On the other hand, if you think of what you can actually get at $15 or a little bit more, these pens are arguably better value than the cheaper ones. You get Pilot Metro, Kakuno, a whole bunch of solid Wing Sung pens, those Pelikan school pens, the penbbs pens, Sheaffer NoNonsense, Parker 21...... These are all well built pens with solid performance.

 

I used to buy cheap Chinese NOS pens like $1~$5 each and they are interesting pens for sure but have problems. When I started to buy >$15 Chinese pens, I'm quite satisfied with either the quality or the design or the interesting features. To name a few, Wing Sung 698, those penbbs pens, which use the many beautiful acrylics, Kaco which is priced at $10 and has a #5 Schmidt nib...... No dry-out problem whatsoever and they are great values. You get the point. It's not about Chinese made pens, it's about the fact that there's no such thing as a free lunch. Nowadays, It's pretty tough to find ~$5 pens that are not made in either China or India. And frankly speaking, I don't think $1 Chinese pens are made to last. They are made for school kids who probably will lost the pen within a day. You don't blame the pen maker because I think the pen maker here is perfectly honest with the quality by a price that reflects their cost and there's definitely a market for them. However, is it good for you is a very personal question.

[calvin_0]

one of my best writer is Wing Sung 698 with Pilot Kakuno nib.. cheap pen from china is a great everyday pen... but obviously not all of them are equal.. wing sung, jinhou and PBS pens are all good cheap branded pen...

Edited January 25, 2018 by calvin_0

[Pichak]

I don't believe the drying out has anything whatsoever to do with the nib section.

Incidentally, none of my Jinhaos ever dried out, and the only one I had to actually dry out was a Lamy Studio, which is surprising for the humid(ie grey, miserable, and p***ing it down with rain most days) climate around these parts.

 

My Jinhao 911, 886, 189 and 155, they all are beautiful pen but dry out and hard start.

[Bo Bo Olson]

If it wasn't for cheap pens, I'd still just have my old bought in '70-71, P-75, and an inherited Osmia and Esterbrook.

It took a good year to go from $/E20 to $/E30 and lots longer to spend $70 on a very sharply chased BCHR pen. After that $/E 50 started being bought.....then a new on sale for E99 605. Still stayed in the E 50 range for quite a while.

The problem was I was in the Pen of the Week in the Mail Club.

Then got into the Pen of the Month Club.

Eventually one buys better in the Pen of the Quarter Club.

But it takes time to get use to spending real money on better pens.

 

Believe this to be '30's or start of the War...

 

Edited January 25, 2018 by Bo Bo Olson

[TSherbs]

 

 

On the other hand, if you think of what you can actually get at $15 or a little bit more, these pens are arguably better value than the cheaper ones. You get Pilot Metro, Kakuno, a whole bunch of solid Wing Sung pens, those Pelikan school pens, the penbbs pens, Sheaffer NoNonsense, Parker 21...... These are all well built pens with solid performance.

 

 

I agree with some of what you say. But my 992s write better (smoother, wetter), than my Kakuno and feel better in my hand. And they have a clip for my shirt pocket (a must for me). For me, the Kakuno is nice, but I won't buy another. I'd rather own four 992s in different colors. "Quality" and "value" are largely subjective terms.

[woleizihan]

I agree with some of what you say. But my 992s write better (smoother, wetter), than my Kakuno and feel better in my hand. And they have a clip for my shirt pocket (a must for me). For me, the Kakuno is nice, but I won't buy another. I'd rather own four 992s in different colors. "Quality" and "value" are largely subjective terms.

It's not contradictory to what I said. I said that "one probably needs to make compromise" for pens under that. What compromise you are willing to make depends on your preference for sure. If you can find cheaper one that works for you, it's great and it's a good value for you. For example, the 992 has the barrel cracking issue. If you are lucky or just fine with that, you get a great value. For me, that's a compromise I have to make. And of course, one also can't expect a perfect pen at $15. All I want to say is that at $15, you can expect a pen that writes well right out of the box, is durable and doesn't have cracking issue, feel good and balanced in hands and has some other interesting features: nib choices, material, filling system...... For a fountain pen as writing instrument, I think that more or less just defined quality.

Edited January 25, 2018 by woleizihan

[Bluey]

Hi Bluey,

 

Nor do I... I think the problem lies with the weak inner cap seal.

 

 

Sounds like you live in the Pacific Northwest.

 

 

- Anthony

 

 

EDITED to correct typo.

Where I live is wetter than an ocean.

 

Jinhaos and others can often have flakey parts, but as hassle free writers they surpass the likes of the Lamy Safari and any Kaweco by a considerable margin. I thought that's what we were talking about. The drying out is a separate issue.

[marcelo]

I think the best buys on FPs are the average priced ones. I have a $60 Faber-Castell Ambition and really can't think of a better quality/cost ration.

 

Edited January 25, 2018 by marcelo

[Sailor Kenshin]

Now I am absolutley no expert by any means, and am very new to fountain pens. I dont own any pens that cost hundreds of dollars, nor will I ever. My highest pen purchase so far was $75.00 and I wish I had listened to the warnings on said pen...not a mistake I will make again. Anyway, on the the jist of my thoughts today...

Today I recieved three pens in the mail, three "el cheapo" pens, the cheapest being a whopping $ .99 with free shipping, thats ninety-nine CENTS... I dont think you can get cheaper than that. I inked each one up and thought "Ok...here comes the consequences of buying cheapie pens". But much to my suprise all three pens write BETTER than my $30-$75 pens...no hard starts, no skipping, no leaking, no fiddling to get the inks to flow, not one single issue! And all three "el cheapo" pens write smoother then the more "expensive" pens. I also have a Jinhao cheapie that falls in with the other three cheapies. Absolutely wonderful writing pen, smooth, no issues, a pleasure to write with.

It just blows me away...Im sure eventually you're going to run into a dud no matter what you buy, but wow, makes you wonder just how bad some of the brand name pen makers' QC really is when a $.99 pen totally blows away all the brand name pens you have in fit, finish, and function. the three pens i got today are...

 

Luoshi Wooden with Gold trim. (looks like rosewood) best of the lot, smoothest pen I own. fit and finish are amazing for $.99...

Lanxivi Crocodile (multi color green Celluloid with gold trim, the clip looks like a Crocodile. $10.00. writes a tad dry, but still very smooth.

Generic no-name bamboo pen, not the most comfortable pen to write with, but wow does it write....smooth and juicy. $6

 

For anyone wanting to add to their collection and not spend a bunch of money, or if you're on a budget, check the Luoshi and Lanxivi out for sure. The generic no-name bamboo pen is not comfortable at all, but is a good writer.

 

Preachin' to the choir here.

 

Though I also own MBs, Sailors, Pelikans, etc., I do love the pens I can take into the wild with no fear. Or just grab to scribble some notes. Most of them are very nice writers, including the hooded JinFari, vintage and genuine Hero 616s, and of course the Sheaffer school pen brigade.