I have no idea!

[Cbear]

Hello,

I’ve started journaling and have got myself a nice notebook, my husband bought me a v pilot cheapie for Christmas but I’d like something nicer and that I will use for years to come... the problem being I have no idea about fountain pens, I dipped my toes into researching but be quickly overwhelmed.
I am hoping to gain more knowledge and suggestions, if I put my requirements, is this the right place to ask? 
 

• my budget it £100 all in and needs to include nibs/inks

• I won’t be taking it out and about but will use it most days for jotting lists and writing my diary.

• I think I would like a medium nib? And to use ink cartridges.

• how it looks is important, i’m quite young and trendy! Don’t like silver but do like warm metals 

• i’m female and have small hands - I have no idea if this makes a difference? 
 

I tried the Wordsworth & black Erudite which I liked how it looked but it didn’t flow very well even after I flushed it out.

 

Any pearls of wisdom or suggestions will be gratefully received, thank you in advice.

 

[mizgeorge]

Hello Cbear and welcome

You might find this recent thread useful - 

 

Also happy to recommend some fantastic pen shops in the UK who would be only too happy to help.

[PAKMAN]

Hello and Welcome to FPN!! So glad to have you as a member!!

[northstar]

Hello and welcome to FPN.

[OCArt]

Hello and welcome to this friendly corner of the fountain pen universe from a pen user in San Diego. There is such a wealth of information for you to discover here. Write On!

[joss]

Hi,

If a friend or relative would ask this I would guide her to a quality vintage fountain pen such as any Parker or Pelikan pen from the 1960s-1970s.

 

• my budget it £100 all in and needs to include nibs/inks

that limits your choice but still you can find a vintage Parker 51, Parker 45 or Pelikan 400 in that price range. If you want a modern cartridge pen I could think of a Lamy 2000 or Pelikan M600 Violet but these are in the higher price range. These are high quality pens though that you will use for a lifetime.

• I won’t be taking it out and about but will use it most days for jotting lists and writing my diary.

• I think I would like a medium nib? And to use ink cartridges.

for making lists and diary notes I would rather go for a fine nib.

Cartridges are easy. You can find many Parker 45 pens for sale in many different finishes. But also a reliable piston filler (eg Lamy, Pelikan) could be considered, it allows you to take ink from a bottle. And the Aerometric filling system of a vintage Parker 51 would be perfect too.  

• how it looks is important, i’m quite young and trendy! Don’t like silver but do like warm metals 

what can be more trendy than writing with a vintage fountain pen?

• i’m female and have small hands - I have no idea if this makes a difference? 

yes it does, you need a pen of smaller size. 

[Wahl]

[Cbear]

Thank you Joss, I just ‘won’ a eBay bid on a Parker 65 cumulus which came in just under budget. It comes with a matching ball point pen as well. Fingers crossed it will be okay, and I can work out how look after it properly.

[Mar_]

Cbear! Welcome to the forums! I've too just joined but I'd love to make a few notes in response to your inquiries
 

A great source of information has to be from Goulet Pen Companies channel. https://www.youtube.com/c/Gouletpens
a "^" will reference this channel.

 

I just got into the hobby this Christmas, (I've only owned one pen) most of what I know is from videos, reading, and the grape vine of people.

 

 my budget it £100 all in and needs to include nibs/inks

So, though your choices will be limited, I am sure you're not going to have to dig all that much to find valid items. Using references alike ^ and many more channels with tier listings of different pens, you can narrow down on styles you prefer and sharpen your search down to a few for there you can go about finding pen specific reviews. Inks the same, I'd be careful watching ink specific reviews and getting overwhelmed by numbers and science and etc, I kind of did.*

 

So, i've noticed you can find deals or sellers online that will sell multiple nibs in a bundle, for example the Hong Dian Forest Series have three nibs HERE is an example , so once(if) you decide a favorite pen brand, you can return to getting more nibs instead of buying more complete pens.

 

• I won’t be taking it out and about but will use it most days for jotting lists and writing my diary.

You've stated that you're not going to be using your pens out and about, and you're only going to use it to jot lists and make diary entrees, I'd still consider in that budget some more paper, Rhodia or other smooth slick papers as I don't doubt you'll venture into sheening inks soon. Sheening inks work best on slick paper. 

 

• I think I would like a medium nib? And to use ink cartridges.

I'd highly suggest using bottled ink, for multiple reasons.

• Cost Effective - You get a pack of cartridges... 

Most of them run from .5mL to around 1mL per cartridge, and are usually sold in packs of 5-8. So, you’re looking at paying around $5 for 4mL-5mL of ink. That’s more than a dollar per milliliter. Let’s look specifically at Lamy, because they’re one of the most popular brands for beginning fountain pen users, and they don’t include a converter by default.

A 5 pack of Lamy cartridges contains around 5mL of ink and costs $5 dollars. In dollars per mL, that’s a solid 1. If you buy the same color of ink from Lamy, but get it in bottled form, you get a 50mL bottle for $10.50, which is 21 cents per mL. It’s five times cheaper to buy their own ink in a bottle than in a cartridge.

 

• You're preventing waist (technically)

 so... yeah the cartridges are more convenient for ease of use but you're still throwing the emptied plastic to the waist. You're technically not preventing waist if you don't buy them as they're inevitably produced and will inevitably be used and tossed away but it'd be a lot better to try and not use cartridges (just feels wrong for me, idk ..  )

• Options!

Feeling creative? Want more than a blue or black? Bottled inks are a joy for both the interaction and the action! Filling pens (for me at least) feels rewarding, fun, relaxing and just simply satisfying. The action of having a color that you are otherwise prevented from a cartridge would be an absolute beauty. Sunrise oranges, Blue Black gradients, Color Shifting, Sheening, Layer able inks (any ink can layer, some look better than others when doing so) .

 

 

• how it looks is important, i’m quite young and trendy! Don’t like silver but do like warm metals 

Young and Trendy! I'm younger and probably less trendy but I understand exactly what you're thinking. I don't fancy silver either though there are some matt silvers that look nice in combinations with other schemes. Warm metals? I may have a suggestion, I'll list my product suggestions below vvv

 

• i’m female and have small hands - I have no idea if this makes a difference? 
Actually yeah, the hand size will be a factor, the gender not. It's all up to preference but you're looking at pen weights, diameters at the grip (not so much the main body), and weight balance/length. Pens that can be posted (cap on the back of the pen) are great, the more weight the pen its self has the better line flow it'll have with less pressure placed by you. Well tuned pens should write under their own weight. Weight balance is important because of your control, heavy towards the nib is great, heavy towards the posted cap tends to be wacky. 

 

I tried the Wordsworth & black Erudite which I liked how it looked but it didn’t flow very well even after I flushed it out.

Never tried this pen before, perhaps the nib was altered in production or shipping. Small maintenance can be done, some videos can be found from ^ or other great sources.

 

Any pearls of wisdom or suggestions will be gratefully received, thank you in advice.

 

Just some links
Pen suggestion (same style as mine) - Ideas

Inks - https://www.gouletpens.com/collections/all-ink

Papers - https://www.gouletpens.com/collections/all-paper