Are Premium Fountain Pens Any Good To Write With?

[4lex]

I was playing with my fountain pens today. All together I inked twelve of them. All good fun.

But it crossed my mind that of these twelve pens the six that are most enjoyable to write with are all the cheaper pens. In fact, the only of the more expensive pens I played with today and I actually enjoyed how it writes is the 149. Dont get me wrong. I like the Nakaya lacquer. And M1000 nib is gorgeous. But Sailor Reglus or Pilot Volex are much superior as a writing instrument.

 

From top left to bottom right: Pelikan M1000, MB 149, Nakaya Long Cigar, Edison Herald Grande, Parker Duofold Centennial, Visconti Opera Elements, Sailor 1911 Standard, Pilot Elite 95S, Pilot Volex, Pilot Elite Cross Hatch, Sailor Reglus. It uploaded the picture sideways but hopefully you can make sense of it.

 

What is your experience? Does it happen to you that you find yourself really using the cheaper pens and keeping the more expensive ones in the display box?

Edited December 20, 2018 by vonManstein

[Mulrich]

Theres definitely diminishing returns on higher end pens. I think the general writing experience doesnt improve much after ~$200 (or whatever price an entry level gold pen is nowadays) but my favorite pens are all more than this. Some higher end pens have more unique material, which has both tactile, emotional, or visual appeal. Larger pens also tend to be more expensive, so if you want something big you have to pay more.

[sidthecat]

I like my pens small and old, so I’m on another playing field entirely. My optimal writing experience is rather flex-dependent, so modern pens don’t do much for me, whatever they’re made from (depleted uranium or free-range teak). The nibs are stiff and inexpressive, so I dismiss them as status objects to flourish at other status-seekers and pen-ignorant women.

[langere]

Well, it depends on how you look at it. I buy my pens for writing. I am loathe to go over a certain price point because then I am afraid to lose the pen and so don't take it with me. But pens such as the Nakaya or, say a modern Aurora 88 (both expensive pens), are there to write with. I'm not sure it depends on cost, but on what you like and what you feel comfortable with.

 

Erick

[A Smug Dill]

What is your experience?

Let's put it this way. Of the eleven Pilot Capless pens I have in my household, in which the nib assemblies are interchangeable between all of them, I think the replacement costs today range from US$148 to US$640, but of course they all nominally 'write' the same – or would, if I swap the nib assemblies in them around, which I think is fair enough given those can be bought for each model (as replacements) at the same price. Some of those pens will look more pleasing and/or 'classier', or feel better in my mind, but the physical interaction between nib and paper will be no different from one pen to the next.

 

However, it also certainly doesn't mean the Pilot VP pen with the raden stripes decorated barrel, which sells for US$640 today, doesn't write as well as its cheaper sibling.

 

Does it happen to you that you find yourself really using the cheaper pens and keeping the more expensive ones in the display box?

That depends on which pen(s) we're talking about. I'm more than happy to write with the most expensive of my (eighty or so) pens when it's inked, but I tend to use cheap pens for loading and testing my ~175 inks (because I'm more comfortable with completely disassembling them, from nib and feed to the converter itself, into the smallest components for cleaning between fills). My favourite EDC is a Pilot VP pen and the price of that is 'middle of the road'; it certainly isn't a $4 Chinese pen, but then it isn't a $1000 pen either.

[TheDutchGuy]

This topic frequently pops ups here, in some form or another. It's the same with musical instruments: up to a certain point, more money means you get a better instrument or, in our case, a better writing tool. Beyond that point, diminishing returns. With guitars, at some point you start paying thousands more for those last 5% of bliss. To the average player, that's insane. But for the really talented pro, those 5% means more inspiration and better playing. To them, the magic is in those 5%. With pens, I don't think you get more _writing_ magic beyond 200 dollars or euros, instead it becomes more about materials and overall vibe. Unless you get into specialty nibs made by levitating gurus halfway up a secret mountain somewhere far away.

 

With pens, I seriously think the best possible pen and the most desirable pen is the one that calls your name every time you pass by. If that happens to be a Preppy, then that's absolutely fine.

Edited December 20, 2018 by TheDutchGuy

[A Smug Dill]

If that happens to be a Preppy, then that's absolutely fine.

Extra Fine is even better.

[zaddick]

I chase nibs as much as pens and certain nib experiences have a higher cost of entry. I cannot easily replicate an MB 149 O3B or a Sailor KOP Cross Point in a lower cost pen. So for me these more expensive pens provide a better experience. But if I had a simple steel nib in a simple ebonite body, both customized to my tastes, that cost say $150 I would prefer that over a stock $10,000 fancy LE pen as that would likely have an M nib and not be of interest to me.

 

So, I would summarize as you can have an amazing writing experience for not a lot of money. Money does not guarantee a better writing experience, but it CAN provide one in some cases.

Edited December 20, 2018 by zaddick

[minddance]

yes, they are good to write with - as long as the grip/section material and girth suits your hand, nibs write as you desire, entire pen material, weight and balance makes you comfortable.

 

ditto cheap fountain pens.

[4lex]

yes, they are good to write with - as long as the grip/section material and girth suits your hand, nibs write as you desire, entire pen material, weight and balance makes you comfortable.

 

ditto cheap fountain pens.

I think you are right. It may be that smaller pend suit me better. For some reason premium pens tend to be larger. This calls for another topic: which smaller premium pens would you recommend?

[Barnowl251]

I enjoy my MB146 and my Pelikan M600, both around the $200-250 price point, but enjoy my lower end smooth writers just the same. I keep different inks in each so sometimes it becomes a question of what color I want to write with on any given day.

[ParkerDuofold]

Hi all,

 

It's all relative... I've been complimented on pens... and told the people it only cost $50/60... and they looked at me like I was completely insane.

 

What's one man's goose is another man's gander... or something like that.

 

Be well... or at least give it a try.

 

 

- Anthony

[Bo Bo Olson]

I prefer the better balance (posted of course) and stubbed semi-flex nibs of the '50-70's German standard and medium-large/long pens. I normally buy old used pens. One can get flagship pens for cheap. Superior balance and nibs.

 

I don't like nails, so that gets rid of my Lamy Persona....even if it is now a real nice PB CI, too heavy. Townsend the same. The Large Virginia Woolf was bought because it's pretty, I have better balanced pens. Nib ok, 'Springy' wide for a B.

The 1005 only has a springy regular flex nib OBB; not one of the Bock made semi-flex ones. Lighter and less clunky than thought.

((IMO for a good oblique, (that really shows line variation) one has to go back to the '50-70 era of stubbed semi-flex German nibs. Modern regular flex, semi-nail or nail obliques are a pale shadow of the real thing))

 

Cheap pens bought, Pelikan 215, & two 200's., and a 605 that was stubbed to 1.0 from BB. The 600 is 'cheap' in it was a Galeria Kaufhaus buy. Only 6-7 of my seventy pens were bought new. Some NOS.

 

 

Depends on which era you grew up in. I grew up in a time when a well balanced pen was a must, or it didn't get bought. One Man, One Pen, and one bought a new one every 7-10 years when the nib wore out, or it was too old fashioned for one's status position. (One was brand loyal, in they taught you to like a fatter Parker nib over a skinner Sheaffer nib or vice versa.)

So posted standard and medium/long/large pens have the balance; as they were designed to have posted. Folks wrote all day long with them.

 

Then it is only a preference to which common nib flex one wishes. (Large 'fat' pens (which are now normal) were scarce and the PFM didn't sell well. I'd never seen one in real life....back in the day. That the Snorkel was a Large pens was a . But it is a thin pen, so balances very, very well. I just happened to have out my Safari at the same time and was shocked both had the same length.

 

Many grew up after Fountain pens made a comeback as status 'Bling Things'. Large conference table note takers and signature pens. IMO don't understand balance in few Large pens have it.

The Large 146 does have more than an 800, but lacks the balance of the '50-70 medium-large 146 nor does it have as good a nib. One can write with a large 146 posted.

 

Some folks refuse at all costs to post a standard or medium-large pen and have the nerve to complain they are too small. ..... well, if I posted their Large pens, I could complain too, about needing a crane.

 

Balance and the flex of a nib make a great difference in writing. And a regular flex nib gives a real nice comfortable ride (don't have to be semi-flex).....Nails and semi-nails seem to need to be polished butter smooth to give a decent ride..........what then of slick paper?

......and then it's what paper one is using, what ink.............to what writes well.

 

Expense has little to do with if a pen writes well...............Does it have any balance? Is the section well designed.

Is one chasing a nib???? MB is 'Springy'. Parker still a nail. So is Cross.

 

There are Japanese nibs that are modified/(ground half moons or slits) at the factory to give semi-flex. Don't know what exactly the regular "soft" nib the Japanese is.........is it 'regular flex' like a 200? Is it semi-nail?

Know from reading the regular "soft" Falcon is not semi-flex.The mod is.

I don't chase Japanese, got enough on my plate with old German pens.

Nib flex, girth & section, balance, weight.........not expense is what makes a pen write well.

[kazoolaw]

...are much superior as a writing instrument.

Without an agreement on what is "superior" all we are doing is expressing our preferences.

[putteringpenman]

Apart from my Pilot Custom 823, my less expensive pens get the most use: TWSBI Eco, Nemosine Singularity, and Pilot Metropolitan. I find that my sub $30 pens write better than my $50 - $100 pens. My $150+ pens write better than my sub $30 pens but not significantly. Nevertheless, I use my sub $30 pens the most.

 

Of course, this is all one person's opinion. I'm sure everyone has different preferences. I find that cheaper fountain pens usually write very well.

[A Smug Dill]

This calls for another topic: which smaller premium pens would you recommend?

Platinum 100th Aniversary edition Century "The Prime", perhaps? Both the limited platinum edition and the limited silver edition are smaller in dimensions than the basic Platinum #3776 Century fountain pens.

[Uncial]

Depends on what your preferences might be. One's meat is another's poison.

Cheaper pens are great and there are many great writers to be had. Do I expect my TWSBI Eco to be in my rotation twenty years from now? In all honesty, no. Don't get me wrong, it will be great if it is but I doubt it will last. Many of my cheap buys aren't really that old yet some have fallen apart, some developed leaks or cracks, others have unsightly wear. Of course, an expensive pen can do that too, but hopefully not within a five year period - at least, that wouldn't be my experience. It's the mid-range that bothers me a bit - by which I mean that 150-250 euro mark. Some of these are great, but there are also quite a few really dreadful duds that just aren't worth the money and aren't especially good writers or made to last. I find that a bit disappointing.

With something like the M1000 or a Visconti, I think you'd be very hard pushed to find nib qualities that match in a low end pen, providing of course that you get a Visconti nib that writes as their QC seems to be fairly grim these days.

Some like a utilitarian look to practical objects. Personally, I'm rather drawn to people who make small things that are practical and also beautiful and pens fit that slot perfectly. If it's ugly or plain I just don't have the interest in it. That's not to say I don't enjoy a pared back aesthetic, but it's got to be done well, not just out of laziness. In today's market I think Lamy and Franklin Christoph probably do this kind of thing best.

Considering my own preferences I find myself writing a lot with Montblanc, Pelikan and Omas (none of which could be called cheap), but I also very much enjoy writing with my Eco, Pen BBS, Prera and such. Of the expensive pens that have been a total let down, Nakaya comes top of the list (for me - some adore them) and mid-range Pilots are just ok (not really worth the money in my opinion) and Platinum and Sailor can be great pens but the nibs are a (bleep) shoot. Then again, you might love everything about the pens I find fault in.

So, in short, it boils down to preference.

[Uncial]

Oh....it bleeped out a word used to describe a gambling game!

[PAKMAN]

While it is true that the writing experience with a fountain pen is very much about effectively putting ink to paper, it is about more to me. If a cheap nondescript pen does just as good of a job writing as a costly, beautiful, limited edition pen, many would say why have the more expensive pen. Well for me the writing experience in about more than putting ink to paper, it's about how the pen feels in my hand, the balance, the beauty and yes how well it writes. I have one pen that has been inked for a year and a half continuously and of course others that come and go in rotation. Why has this one pen been in rotation so long, because I smile whenever I see it in the inked pen tray or when it's in my pocket and most of all when I hold it in my hand and put my thoughts down on paper. Yes it's a quite expensive pen and that's ok as I could afford it.

 

What ever makes each of us happy, be it getting the best value for a pen that writes well or spending quite a bit more looking for that grail pen that ticks all the boxes. We all enjoy this pen habit in our own way (as it should be) and enjoy our time here on FPN sharing our thoughts and our pens with each other!

[inkstainedruth]

I have moderately high priced pens (a couple of Pelikan M405s) and they're *great* writers. I have pens that cost way less than that which are also great writers. Okay, I'm the Queen of Cheap, so if I can score a good pen at a great price, I'm especially pleased (I have a lot of vintage pens and I've gotten lucky in antiques stores and at estate sales at times; and if I think it's too expensive for what it is, or for the condition it's in, I'll walk away).

What I do NOT buy are they overly expensive bling-y LE pens which seem ONLY to be on the market for collectors. And (beautiful as some of them are) I don't buy maki-e pens because they're frightfully expensive and I don't trust how much they've "cured" the urushi. And every time some person buys one of the bling pens at an exorbitant price, that just tells the manufacturers that there's a market. Doesn't matter if the pen doesn't write for [expletive deleted] -- there's a market and they're going to put out another one because clearly P.T. Barnum was right (and they'll happily be the one to take that sucker customer who's bought into the hype.

I use my pens. The ones I don't use? It's because I haven't gotten them fixed yet....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth