Best Cheap Fountain Pen

[HDoug]

Clancy, that $8 Pilot 78 looks good. For what it's worth, Lamy Safari charcoal is avail at Amazon for $22 including shipping for Prime customers.

 

Doug

[Garageboy]

Pick an NOS Sheaffer Imperial from Peyton Street Pens, if he's a pen guy

For someone testing the waters, Pelikano, Pilot 78g

Nothing with questionably nibs (Lamy Safaris, Platinum Preppies, etc)

[NedC]

78 g is a great nifty pen. Can't go wrong with that as a starter. Why don't you get him to spend $40-50 on a gold nib parker 51. They are cheap and workhorses. Way better writing experience than a scratchy steel nib.

 

Where do you find reliable, restored, gold nibbed Parker 51s, for $40 to 50? $150 is more common. I'm not saying they aren't out there but finding one on the net isn't easy. And a decent steel nib is going to be no 'scratchier' than any gold nib anyway.

[UDog]

Platinum Preppy. Very affordable, and writes almost as well as my Lamy.

 

Totally agree.

[SeeksAdvice]

Only one thing about the Platinum Preppy: they crack. I own a few and have had two develop cracking problems. One was a cap failure, the other was a pen body failure. I've converted my to dropper fills, so a crack in the body is *bad*. Out of the four I own, 2 developed cracks, and one seems to have a feed issue.

 

I've come to realize something about the "price" of things.

 

There is the "initial cost," i.e. how much does it cost up front.

 

Then, there is the long-term cost, i.e. breakage, loss of functionality, durability functions, etc. resulting from a purchasing decision.

 

For example, I now have a solid wood desk. It has outlived my two prior particle board desks. Yes, the solid wood cost more, but, barring any unforseen circumstances, will be around for a long time.

[WaskiSquirrel]

Platinum Preppy is nice if someone wants a cheap fountain pen to refill a few times and then throw away.

 

Myself, I like the Noodler's Konrad. For me, the Parker Vector was my introduction to the fountain pen world.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I'm not sure if you will consider this a full-on fountain pen since its nib is a little strange. But the Hero 616 for a couple of dollars will set you off VERY well. Super cheap and write decently in my point of view. Yes, it is knock-off of the parker 51, but that doesn't subtract from its quality a single bit.

As long as you buy it from a reputable dealer. i always have a couple inked, and they are so comfortable for my hand.

[circlepattern]

As long as you buy it from a reputable dealer. i always have a couple inked, and they are so comfortable for my hand.

Lol, just make sure the pen is in original package. The pen nib is a very small piece of steel/metal? I already bend a couple.

[GabrielleDuVent]

Only one thing about the Platinum Preppy: they crack. I own a few and have had two develop cracking problems. One was a cap failure, the other was a pen body failure. I've converted my to dropper fills, so a crack in the body is *bad*. Out of the four I own, 2 developed cracks, and one seems to have a feed issue.

 

I've come to realize something about the "price" of things.

 

There is the "initial cost," i.e. how much does it cost up front.

 

Then, there is the long-term cost, i.e. breakage, loss of functionality, durability functions, etc. resulting from a purchasing decision.

 

For example, I now have a solid wood desk. It has outlived my two prior particle board desks. Yes, the solid wood cost more, but, barring any unforseen circumstances, will be around for a long time.

 

This is why I don't use eyedropper pens. I'm terrified of leaking. With converters, if the converter breaks then the ink will fill in the barrel.

 

Platinum Preppy is nice if someone wants a cheap fountain pen to refill a few times and then throw away.

 

Myself, I like the Noodler's Konrad. For me, the Parker Vector was my introduction to the fountain pen world.

 

I've actually used my Preppy for... two years now? I'm still on my first one (I've bought others to fill them with other colours). There is a sliver of a crack in the cap, but that's about it.

[Regulateur]

I am very pleased with my Sheaffer 100 that my son offered me for Xmas. Nice wet nib, never skips, great value pen

[Fabienne]

For an inexpensive, wet, medium GREAT writer, the Pelicano can't be beat. Goulet's has it. I have five of them! Don't know why people never mention these pens . Never skips - always ready to write !

I mention them! They are great! Yes, for cheap and good, you can't beat the Pelikano! The Faber-Castell Loom is great, too. Not a hint of flex but plenty smooth (don't go for the Basic...I will tell you why one day). Then, there is the favorite, the TWSBI 580. OK, it might start off with the troubles, but my friend it's so lovely to write with. Just skip all the others and go for the TWSBI. Got a problem with it, Speedy or Philip Wang will help you BUT I bet they have it all fixed now. Enjoy.

[dcwaites]

I can only second the Kaigelu 356. It's build quality is only just a tad behind it's $200 model, the Sonnet. It writes as nicely as my early model Sonnet and is one of my few flawless pens (along with my Sailor ProGear NMF, Parker 51, TWSBI 300, Lamy 2000 and the Sonnet). I think I will be getting a few more.

 

Also, the Platinum Preppys are excellent for experimentation. You have both Fine (0.3mm) nibs and Medium (0.5mm), and it is relatively easy to adjust them from wet to dry as needed.

The cracking mentioned tends to happen with the base of the cap, and can be fixed with a couple of turns of sticky tape.

I have gone off using them as eyedroppers, as you have to fill them up with nearly 4 mls of ink, and I never use them that much for extended writing.

While I haven't had a body crack on me yet, they aren't that robust, and I won't carry a Preppy ED filler in a shirt pocket.

I now just refill some cartridges if I want to use various inks.

[ReverendPen]

Nemosine singularity ? Amazon has them for less than $20. I really like mine. I would say a noodlers but they can be fussy. How about a Sheaffers Prelude?

[XmyDesperadoL]

I think Lamy Safari is a good chioce,cheap and comfortable.

I'm a Chinese.In our country,Hero 100 is a very good pen with 14K nib.And it only costs 30$.I think it is very affordable.

 

Good luck!

 

[Justindo]

I have a Lamy Safari and a Pilot Metropolitan and I like the looks, feel, and performance of the Pilot much better. I also paid less than a third for the Pilot as I did the Lamy.

[SeeksAdvice]

To DuVent:

 

Actually, if you don't have the pen body sealed like you would for an eye dropper, the ink will just leak out around the junction of the grip and body should the cartridge/converter fail.

 

Had a Preppy leak Diamine Sherwood Green on me pretty badly. Appeared to even be leaking from the bottom of the feed.

 

They were purchased as an experiment. Wanted to try color coding stuff at trial. They worked okay at that for a few times.

 

Just have to be really careful not to overtighten.

 

In the end, you do get what you pay for in this case.

 

Let's compare initial cost with long term cost: I got lucky when the one loaded with Sherwood Green failed. I was eventually on my way to help out a local church's gardening project, so getting inked wasn't an issue. I actually had a "green thumb" from the experience. However, let's say that I'm in a jury trial with suit, tie, dress shirt, etc. when the pen pops. Not only would it create the very real risk of damaging valuable clothing items, it would also be... embarassing. Then there's the potential for stuff going places it shouldn't: paperwork, exhibits, etc.. If I wanted exploding pens, I could always grab some RB's/BP's. I do not want exploding pens.

 

When I go into the courtroom, I want items I can depend on. I don't want to have to wonder what I'm going to get. I don't want to have to worry about what color my fingers are today. I have confidence in my case, my strategy, my tactics, my witnesses, and my exhibits. Why would I want something that I don't have confidence in? Why would I want something that has demonstrated a lack of reliability?

 

Then, compare that to the Pelikan and Sailor pens I have that, unless loaded with a certain brand of ink that I no longer own, don't burp, blech, ooze, or otherwise misbehave. My TWSBI also seems to be fairly well behaved for the price-point, though not particularly generous with the line when loaded with Tsuki-Yo.

[Kugelschreiber]

The Faber-Castell Loom is great, too. Not a hint of flex but plenty smooth (don't go for the Basic...I will tell you why one day).

 

 

Can you tell us about the Basic now? It posts like a telephone pole and ink can be a little hard to get out of the grip, but otherwise it seems as good as the Loom. Neither of the pens comes with converters and I haven't had the best of luck when trying Schmidt or other standard converters with them. Both seem to write much better with cartridges, at least for me.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Has the little Sheaffer VFM been mentioned? I bought one almost by accident but it's a cute, reliable writer that does not use Sheaffer carts but standard internationals.

[Jake.Coventry]

Thanks everyone for the help!

 

I have gone with the Hero 616 for my friend as there was a pretty good deal on one,

again thanks!

[Sasha Royale]

I am enjoying a Rosetta Explorer ($15 USD). Also,

 

 

LAMY Safari ($35) Parker 45 ($25) Rosetta Napoleon ($30) Reform 1745 ($15) Pilot 78G ($10) Waterman Kultur ($25)

 

Suggestion: Raise 100 pounds, and get them all.