Affordable Pens: Why Never Parker/sheaffer/waterman?

[Ernst Bitterman]

I also recommend Sheaffer 100s and VFMs, and Parker Vectors... while recommending various Japanese, German and Taiwanese items at the same time. There's a balance to be sought between quality control, durability and price, while also remembering that there's broad variations in taste. Heck, some people actually like the way the Faber-Castell Loom looks!

[Dronak]

The Pilot Metropolitan (and maybe some other models) also seems to be a fairly often suggested lower cost fountain pen. Lamy Safari or Al-Star seem similarly oft-recommended. I didn't think Pelikan was suggested that often though, as most of their pens seem to be in a higher price range. The new Stola III is less expensive and pretty good, as long as you don't want to post the cap (it's wobbly); IIRC, the Pharo was in a similar price range (and I have one), but not around anymore (and mine isn't working great, hence the recent Stola III purchase). Hero, Jinhao, and probably other Chinese brands seem to produce a large variety of pens that sell quite cheap, but in my experience, they hit-or-miss on quality and probably not the best choice (though it's hard to deny that they're affordable).

 

As for your "why not" question, I wasn't aware of a FP model of the Parker Jotter. Skimming here, apparently it does exist, but go to http://www.parkerpen.com/en-US/jotter-us and only the ballpoint is listed. Perhaps the FP is easier to get in some places than others. The Parker IM is a lower-cost model that I do have, and it's OK, but it often gives me trouble in that it's slow/hard to start most of the time, so I wouldn't suggest it based on my personal experience. I'm not familiar with the Waterman Graduate. If the Waterman Phileas were still around, I think it would be a great choice. It was my first fountain pen (that wasn't specifically a calligraphy pen) and quite good; I still use it fairly regularly. I also don't know about the Sheaffer VFM; the only Sheaffers I've had were calligraphy pens. On a quick web search, the VFM seems similar to the Pilot Metropolitan to me. It might be a good model as well, but I don't know anything about it.

[sciumbasci]

The Pilot Metropolitan (and maybe some other models) also seems to be a fairly often suggested lower cost fountain pen. Lamy Safari or Al-Star seem similarly oft-recommended. I didn't think Pelikan was suggested that often though, as most of their pens seem to be in a higher price range. The new Stola III is less expensive and pretty good, as long as you don't want to post the cap (it's wobbly); IIRC, the Pharo was in a similar price range (and I have one), but not around anymore (and mine isn't working great, hence the recent Stola III purchase). Hero, Jinhao, and probably other Chinese brands seem to produce a large variety of pens that sell quite cheap, but in my experience, they hit-or-miss on quality and probably not the best choice (though it's hard to deny that they're affordable).

 

As for your "why not" question, I wasn't aware of a FP model of the Parker Jotter. Skimming here, apparently it does exist, but go to http://www.parkerpen.com/en-US/jotter-us and only the ballpoint is listed. Perhaps the FP is easier to get in some places than others. The Parker IM is a lower-cost model that I do have, and it's OK, but it often gives me trouble in that it's slow/hard to start most of the time, so I wouldn't suggest it based on my personal experience. I'm not familiar with the Waterman Graduate. If the Waterman Phileas were still around, I think it would be a great choice. It was my first fountain pen (that wasn't specifically a calligraphy pen) and quite good; I still use it fairly regularly. I also don't know about the Sheaffer VFM; the only Sheaffers I've had were calligraphy pens. On a quick web search, the VFM seems similar to the Pilot Metropolitan to me. It might be a good model as well, but I don't know anything about it.

Hey Dronak,

U.S. version of Parker is slightly different. You can find the Jotter in the international version, scroll down all the way past all the specs, click see entire collection, fountain pen is past the ss/gold ballpoint

[sidthecat]

I got a Moore ringtop for under $50 this morning, so you can find flex for reasonable money if you're careful and persistent.

[Sasha Royale]

Please be more specific. "Affordable" means "one that I can afford". For the sake of current discussion, please assign a numeric value to "affordable". Thank you.

[sciumbasci]

Let's say... Newbie budget? Like around 50$ maximum.

I thought affordable had the mean of cheap, but without the pejorative aspect of it. Low cost, good quality. Hence why I wrote in OP pens in the same league of price (Jotter, Graduate and VFM are all priced 20~25€ here on Amazon. The Sheaffer 100 is a bit more, around 50€)