Unusual Pens For Under 150 Dollars. Any Suggestions?

[Stowford]

I have recently become interested in the more unusual fountain pens. Nothing too outlandish, but the unusual materials such as the TWSBI micarta, the ones that look a bit different. 150 dollars is my limit for any new pen. Any suggestions?

[Orpilorp]

A fully restored third tier pen from the 1930s, and you'll have about $100 left over.

[carlos.q]

Take a look here:

 

http://www.venvstas.com/fountain-pens

[vojtahlad]

Lamy 2000 comes to my mind.

[KLscribbler]

To clarify- by "unusual pens", do you mean pens made out of unusual materials, or pens that are in some way unusual and different (e.g. an interesting filling mechanism, interesting construction, etc.) without necessarily being made of unusual materials?

 

I can think of a few in each category--

 

Unusual materials:

 

- Lamy 2000, as suggested by others above. It's Makrolon, a fiberglass-reinforced plastic that is very tough, nice to the touch, and ages beautifully.

 

- Tactile turn gist - this one is available in several different materials. All are interesting. The basic "polycarbonate" one is actually very similar to the Lamy 2000 body material. Other choices include brass, copper, zirconium, and damascus steel, or combinations thereof (you can pick different materials for the grip, barrel, and finial, if you so desire.)

 

- Various brass and copper pens: Kaweco Brass Sport, Karas Kustoms Ink (available in brass, copper, or aluminum), Sheaffer Targa model 1020 (Imperial Brass) or 1068 (Copper)

 

- Pilot Legno89s. It's made of wood. And it's much more durable than one might think.

 

- Vintage Pilot Custom Maple. Made of maple wood. Sometimes shows up for sale on the 'Bay or from vintage pen sellers for about your price range. This model was made in the 1970s. It has an inlaid nib, unlike the modern Pilot Custom Art Craft series wood pens which have conventional nibs and a more boring appearance, IMO (the current Custom Art Craft pens are also beyond your stated budget.)

 

 

Unusual mechanisms:

 

- Pilot Vanishing Point, Decimo, and Fermo. The only retractable-nib fountain pens in the market. Most unique and interesting, and nice to write with.

 

- Vacuum-filling pens: TWSBI Vac, TWSBI Vac Mini. Also Pilot Custom 823 but that is also beyond your budget range.

 

- Sheaffer Snorkel (vintage). The most complex filling mechanism in fountain pen history, yet very reliable. They can easily be had around the $100~$130 mark. If you get a Snorkel, make sure you get it in fully restored condition, as the old gaskets, seals, and ink sac in unrestored pens can leak and rust the interior mechanism, destroying the pen. A fully restored Snorkel will not cost more than $150, unless it has valuable trim (e.g. all gold-filled), or it is the rare PFM model which is more of interest to collectors.

Edited September 26, 2016 by KLscribbler

[Vintagepens]

Lotsa unusualness here:

http://www.vintagepens.com/catill_100to150.shtml

and under $100 here:

http://www.vintagepens.com/catill_under100.shtml

[sandy101]

wooden pen, such as Faber Castel's ambition range - or a cheap glass dip nib, or even the novely feather with a dip nib.

[J_MM]

How about an Indian ebonite pen. Range model 3C is one of my favourites.

Edited September 26, 2016 by J_MM

[sandy101]

The National Theatre in London is selling concrete rollerballs & ballpoits. It was built using innovative concrete moulding/structures.

[coffeycat]

I just received my first Franklin-Christoph Pocket 20 and found it to be very nice with the cursive calligraphy nib. They also make some limited editions thus each piece can be unusual in my opinion. Hope this helps.

[mirosc]

Parker 50 Falcon gets a lot of comments.

Inlaid nibs, too (Sheaffer Targa, Imperial)

[SpecTP]

I have recently become interested in the more unusual fountain pens. Nothing too outlandish, but the unusual materials such as the TWSBI micarta, the ones that look a bit different. 150 dollars is my limit for any new pen. Any suggestions?

 

have you checked out Parafernalia http://www.parafernalia.com/parafernalia-worlds/ ?

[dogpoet]

Would the Rotring Core be considered "too outlandish"? That's definitely a striking and unusual looking pen.