Cheap 'n' Cheerful Fountain Pens:

[Sailor Kenshin]

You all know by now that Dr. Inkenstein is the Chief Engineer on the Cheap 'n' Cheerful Fountain Pen Express.

 

And that I always jump in to recommend this pen or that pen (usually a pen that costs under $10).

 

But I've been thinking about this. At times, when I follow my instincts, I don't always know what I'm doing, until later in the process. Now I do: I've been experimenting with nib, fit, and finish, trying to see what suits me and why. Some cheap pens prove too cheap and plastic-y even for me.

 

That said, there are still certain cheapies I like, such as the Pelikano Jr. : Running from about $9-15, depending where you buy them, they are remarkably smooth writers for the money and the long Pelikan carts have a huge ink capacity.

 

Platinum Preppy: About $3 for a clear-view flat-top, comes in many colors, and two nib widths, .03 and .05. Eminently refillable, with Plat's big ink capacity cart.

 

 

See expanded discussion in blog.

 

Various cutie cheapies:

 

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5016/5414178185_6d069f67a6_z.jpg

 

 

Also discussed:

 

Pilot Petit 1

Pilot Plumix

Hero 616

Hero 366

Stypen Creeks

Sheaffer No Nonsense, OLD STOCK ONLY

 

 

I am NOT proposing that any of these pens are the equal of, say, a Sheaffer Legacy or Waterman Carene.

 

What I am saying is that more often than not, what gets inked is not the Legacy or Carene. Especially if I'm trying out a new, possibly DANGEROUS ink.

 

FOR THE MONEY---these cheapies are all good, reliable writers and no one should be ashamed of using them.

 

I'm going to run another pen giveaway soon. Watch the PIF thread for details.

[Black Rose]

Although I don't have a lot of pens to compare (yet), I do agree with you on the NOS Sheaffer NoNonsense FPs.

 

I have two of them (both F with a spare M nib) and really enjoy using them. I can see myself buying more of these.

 

I do like the using the Pilot 78G with an M nib, the F nib not so much.

[Ernst Bitterman]

I'm right with you, although I find the Hero 616 rather given to drying out overnight. Rigid expectations are bound to be disappointed, while if one has the sense to say, "I spent $x on this pen and I get y units of joy out of it," one can find that y/x=happy, whereas if y is replaced with a fixed and insisted-upon constant, <>happy is a lot more likely.

Edited February 4, 2011 by Ernst Bitterman

[stefanv]

Couldn't agree more on the NOS Sheaffer No Nonsense pens. I have one Fine and one Medium, and like them both. I just bought the Fine, a marbled blue one, recently from Peyton Street Pens, and it's one of my smoothest writers.

 

I also really like the Pelikanos, but not the new ones (too chunky looking). My daily writers at work are a pair of Pelikanos that I bought new in 1989. One has Waterman blue ink in it for general notes, and the other has a Waterman cartridge refilled with about a 5:1 mix of Sheaffer Red and Black, for marking important points.

 

With the amount of writing I do, the blue cartridge lasts me about a month. I just started the red, and expect it will last me for years.

 

PS. I also have a Hero 616, and it writes really nicely, but the problem I have with it is to hold with the right amount of rotation, since one can't see the flat part of the nib. Maybe I need to add a little dot on the section cover.

Edited February 4, 2011 by stefanv

[Sailor Kenshin]

I just bought a new Peli Junior, for dedicated use with Noodler's BSB. The color of the ink just about matches the barrel. ;-p

[karinh]

I'm a great fan of the cheap and cheerful pens, as long as they work properly. I've had a few that were a total waste of money, in my opinion, but the ones I have kept I use a lot.

 

The Plumix/Pluminix pens are probably my favourites because I love the nib and I find the pens comfortable to hold. My one gripe about these is that if you have a lot of them in a pencil case the caps tend to undo themselves because of the 'fins' and that can be messy.

 

Also really like my old No-Nonsense F italics and M normal nib pens. I like the nib on the Petit1 pens but find them a bit small to be a truly comfortable writer even with the cap posted. I also have a couple of Pelikano pens (new and older) which I like too - I wish that the nibs on those and the Pel Script were easily swappable (like Lamy) because the Script pen length can be a bit of a pain sometimes to fit in pen boxes/pencil cases.

 

Am I the only person who isn't really fond of the Preppy pens? I have several and just feel very ho-hum about the nibs on them.

[O'Hare]

Here are a few of my Cheap 'n' Cheerfuls: fun c/c Sailors, nice, fine writers.

[rwilsonedn]

May I toss a few Chinese school pens into the ring? I'm particularly fond of pens like the Youth and the Golden Star--light, very modest syringe or bulb fillers, not nearly as robust as the Pelikanos, but with really lovely nibs (the latter has not been my experience with Pelikanos.) Also there are some little metal Chinese pens like the Youlian that look like throw-aways, but that with a good flushing write delightfully.

ron

[Sailor Kenshin]

Here are a few of my Cheap 'n' Cheerfuls: fun c/c Sailors, nice, fine writers.

 

 

Prettyyyyy!!!! Are these current models? (suspect not; metal clip).

 

rw, I hear you about Chinese pens, though the Peli nibs seem nice to me.

 

I've received and reviewed some NOS Wing Sung and Doctor pens that write like they cost far more than they do.

[O'Hare]

Here are a few of my Cheap 'n' Cheerfuls: fun c/c Sailors, nice, fine writers.

 

 

Prettyyyyy!!!! Are these current models? (suspect not; metal clip).

 

 

Sorry I don't know. I got them a couple years ago from Speerbob and haven't seen them anywhere else since then. He has a couple very Cheap 'n' Cheerful Reforms, though (and I haven't used a Reform that I didn't like).

[foxtail1]

Here are a few of my Cheap 'n' Cheerfuls: fun c/c Sailors, nice, fine writers.

 

:puddle:

 

If anyone has a source for these, I'd love to have it!

 

Kristi

[georges zaslavsky]

I still have the waterman forum and the waterman centurion that I was using at school. They were among my most consistent performers.

[amyx231]

nice. im considering getting a yellow or green pelikano jr for green ink. but i have no green ink yet, so no rush there . whats the best place to get these cheapies?

 

and heres a thought, how many times can u refill a varsity before the nib falls off by itself? (im talking the pull nib and feed out method)

Edited February 24, 2011 by amyx231

[Sailor Kenshin]

nice. im considering getting a yellow or green pelikano jr for green ink. but i have no green ink yet, so no rush there . whats the best place to get these cheapies?

 

and heres a thought, how many times can u refill a varsity before the nib falls off by itself? (im talking the pull nib and feed out method)

 

 

I've never refilled a Varsity so I can't answer that.

 

However, I get my Peli Juniors from isellpens. He has also the Pelikan Future (same page as the Juniors) that cost a bit more, but might come in more sober colors, I don't recall.

 

They also have a B nib which I have and enjoy.

[Randal6393]

nice. im considering getting a yellow or green pelikano jr for green ink. but i have no green ink yet, so no rush there . whats the best place to get these cheapies?

 

and heres a thought, how many times can u refill a varsity before the nib falls off by itself? (im talking the pull nib and feed out method)

 

 

I've never refilled a Varsity so I can't answer that.

 

However, I get my Peli Juniors from isellpens. He has also the Pelikan Future (same page as the Juniors) that cost a bit more, but might come in more sober colors, I don't recall.

 

They also have a B nib which I have and enjoy.

 

I have a pair of the Pelikan Futures in red and green. Both had Broad nibs, converted to italic nibs now. Performance has always been excellent and they are my go-to pens for trying out a cartridge of new ink. Haven't been able to find a converter for the Future but long standards work out really well. Or short internationals. Montblanc and Diamine inks work really well in them.

 

Enjoy,

[englishchese]

My pelikano Jr just broke today but I still have my Pelikano

I loved my Pelikano Jr but the fact that it had no clip was the only down side and its also the reason why it died

it was an amazing pen Long live Pelikano Junior

Edited February 25, 2011 by englishchese

[amyx231]

im gonna get myself a pelikano jr.

if i dont like the nib (it might be too broad), i may buy it to convert to stub nib - how hard is that, i mean, if i used say a nail file and rough paper to "grind"? if im careful? altho, idk if i have the courage....

(Or maybe i should go the lamy safari route, and buy an extra nib?)

[bobs51]

nice. im considering getting a yellow or green pelikano jr for green ink. but i have no green ink yet, so no rush there . whats the best place to get these cheapies?

 

and heres a thought, how many times can u refill a varsity before the nib falls off by itself? (im talking the pull nib and feed out method)

 

Amy... what does it matter how many times you can refill it?? They're cheap enough that you can refill 'till it dies, and then get another one.

 

Mine's on a second filling, but I don't write that much.

 

Bob