Help With Choosing My First Fountain Pen

[TWH]

I am finally taking the plunge and buying my first fountain pen. I am asking for your help and guidance to ensure that I am on course. I will try to lay this post out in a way that will illuminate where I am and get quality feedback.

 

Current Daily Pen

My daily pen is a Montblanc Classique medium rollerball (143). I love writing with this pen. I enjoy the size of the pen. I use it both posted and unposted and it is not too small or light for me. When I need to use a pen that can disappear, I use a Pilot G2 .7 gel pen.

 

Fountain Pen Requirements

Nib line variation: The primary reason I want a fountain pen is for line variation. I know that line variation can be achieved through various nibs. As this is my first fountain pen, I believe that a factor stub or music nib would be best for a fist fountain pen user. Flex, semi-flex, cursive italics, oblique, etc. all seem to have steeper learning curves for a first-time fountain

 

Nib writing characteristics: I enjoy a wet writing experience. It does not have to be glass smooth, but I will not use a pen with drag. I historically have not used pens with lots of feedback but am not opposed to it.  I know 

 

Body material: I want a resin pen. I don’t like metal pens. I had a pilot metropolitan gel pen, it was so dented and scratched after a few months that I doubt I will ever buy a metal pen again.

 

Flexible Fountain Pen Features

CC/Piston: I do not have a strong preference for C/C or piston filled. They both have advantages and neither seems overly difficult for a first-time fountain pen user.

 

Size of Pen: As mentioned above, I use and enjoy smaller pens. However, I do have larger hands and larger pens do not uncomfortable in my hands. Ideally, I would go to a brick-and-mortar shop, but there is only one an hour away (oblation paper in Portland, OR). There is a pen club in Portland but driving an hour as a complete newbie and just asking to see and hold people’s pens seems obnoxious at best. So, I am very flexible on pen size.

 

Nib material: I do not have a strong preference between gold and steel nibs.

 

What I Have Considered

My ideal budget is $100 to $200. I would prefer to be in the $50 range, as I may hate writing with a fountain pen, but I can’t find a pen that excites me.  

 

On my list is Pelikan M200, Leonardo Momento Zero, and a Sailor Pro Gear Slim. I am looking at likely buying it from a place that will “tune and smooth” option – similar to Appleboom’s option. As it is my first pen, I don’t want to get a pen and it not work well. I realize I don’t have enough knowledge to know if it tuned correctly and if not to fix the pen. I am not opposed to a used pen, but it does seem risker, especially if I look at vintage pens. Those seem better suited to add to a collection once I am more familiar with fountain pens.

 

So friends, is this a good plan? Am I overlooking an obvious choice? Please share your thoughts and opinions! I very much appreciate it and look forward to your responses!

[Sailor Kenshin]

Go to the pen club.  Rather than thinking it's obnoxious, they will welcome you and offer the kind of help you can only get in person.

[The_Beginner]

39 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Go to the pen club.  Rather than thinking it's obnoxious, they will welcome you and offer the kind of help you can only get in person.

Agreed.

[jchch1950]

Stub nibs require less writing experience than flexible nibs and they are available in different wides. Music nibs have some great variation of line but they are not easy to find and some of them are expensive.

[TWH]

Thank you all for the feedback. I just missed the pen club meetup. The next one is about 4 weeks from now. Guess this won’t be fast tracked. 😂

[Runnin_Ute]

The Portland pen club meeting includes one of our very own. @fireant

I'm sure she would be more than happy to answer any questions about the event they hold. 

 

My experience is regular nibs are easiest to use especially for new users, followed by specialty nibs such as stubs, and the rest. 

 

Some vintage pens are every bit as "easy-to-use" as modern pens. Sime more than others. (Parker 51 aerometric comes to mind.)  

 

Pelikan M200/M205 is a terrific choice. The difference in these two? M200 has gold trim and gold plated nib, the M205 has silver colored nib and trim. 

 

 

[TWH]

@Runnin_UteThank you for the response. I will be going to the Portland pen club meeting, assuming they will have me. I will reach out to @fireant to ensure I am on the right track to come to the meet up. 
 

On another note, as a grad of the U myself, I must say - go Utes!

Edited September 19, 2024 by TWH

[carola]

Pelikan M200/M205 should tick every single box you mentioned. They come in a lot of colours and designs, too. And they are a great choice.

 

Another very good choice would be a vintage Pelikan 400. Same size as the M200s and M400s plus the vintage gold nibs are usually marvellous writers. And if you go for a B or BB nib, you will get a nib that has this little bit of wonderful stubbiness (without actually being a stub nib) that vintage Pelikans are famous for. Of course there is often no way of knowing what condition the pen you are buying will be in. It helps if you either learn how to restore it yourself or find someone reliable who will do it for you if need be.

(Here is where I would recommend attending pen club meetings if you can.)

 

And here is another nice feature of the Pelikan family: If you want, you can buy an M200/M205 and enjoy its (very good) steel nib. And if you get it into your head that you want to try a vintage gold nib (look out for a nib mounted on a feed with 4 longitudinal fins), but don't want to buy a vintage pen, you can simply purchase a vintage nib unit and screw it into your modern M200/M205. They are fully interchangeable.

Why a vintage nib unit, you ask, and not a modern M400 nib unit, as technically this would work, too? Because they are not the same. The modern gold nibs are stiff like a nail without the stubbiness you are looking for.

 

As you might have guessed, yes, I am a Pelikan fan.

[senzen]

Italic and stub nibbed pens have to be held a certain way before you start writing; make sure you're ok with that. You can't hold a regular fine or medium nib any way you want but they are more forgiving.

 

Analogy: a friend's dad had a Citroën Xantia, he said it was a terrific car he hated to use as he had to sit in it for a few minutes before taking off, as the suspension regulated itself.

 

I have five M205 so my choice is clear, even with my L sized hands. I really appreciate their reliability and constant ink colours. Some of the finishes are very elegant or quite striking.

 

For "holly cow" smoothness particularly on good paper, Pilot.

[Driften]

For the size I would suggest the Pelikan or slim Sailors. One good thing about the 20x model Pelicans is the steel nibs have some give to them. The Sailor nibs in general are hard. Here comes the catch...  You normally can't get those with stub nibs. If you buy from Nibsmith.com he can do a smooth and tune (3-5 days) or a full custom nib grind (7-9 weeks!) before sending the pen. 

 

Here is another option is Franklin-Christoph. You could look at their model 20 or a Model 55 which are somewhat smaller pens. They have their S.I.G nibs in Fine, Medium, and Broad as well as cursive italics and stubs. Many companies that do stub nibs only do them in a 1.1mm nib, but you can get medium and broad from them. I love their SIG nibs which are "Stub Italic Gradient" that give the smooth feel of a stub with line variation closer to a cursive italic. They do those grinds in house and are available to go with the pen. If you decide on buying some other brand of pen they do sell their nibs separately and are standard Jowo #5 or #6 nib units and as long as the other company uses screw in Jowo nibs you can just swap them.

[Waltz For Zizi]

"Herlitz My Pen" is great for a first one.

[TWH]

Thank you all for the continued input. It has been very insightful and is helping shape the course I will take. 

[TWH]

On 9/19/2024 at 2:59 PM, senzen said:

Italic and stub nibbed pens have to be held a certain way before you start writing; make sure you're ok with that. You can't hold a regular fine or medium nib any way you want but they are more forgiving.

This is very sage advice for me. I didn’t realize that a stub or music nib would require  more than a small change in my pen holding. I am still learning and this has made me pause in the choice of nib.
 

After even more research, I am wondering if getting a medium nib is best, or perhaps even a flex nib (vintage - later on?). 

One of the great things about this hobby is there are so many options, but that can make it a little more difficult to find the “perfect” place to start. 

[Black Spot]

I would suggest a MONTBLANC 145-Meisterstuck Classique in a M nib.

It really does not matter that much what your first pen is because you will get more pen's.  

[Penguincollector]

On 9/16/2024 at 4:10 PM, TWH said:

I am finally taking the plunge and buying my first fountain pen. I am asking for your help and guidance to ensure that I am on course. I will try to lay this post out in a way that will illuminate where I am and get quality feedback.

 

Current Daily Pen

My daily pen is a Montblanc Classique medium rollerball (143). I love writing with this pen. I enjoy the size of the pen. I use it both posted and unposted and it is not too small or light for me. When I need to use a pen that can disappear, I use a Pilot G2 .7 gel pen.

 

Fountain Pen Requirements

Nib line variation: The primary reason I want a fountain pen is for line variation. I know that line variation can be achieved through various nibs. As this is my first fountain pen, I believe that a factor stub or music nib would be best for a fist fountain pen user. Flex, semi-flex, cursive italics, oblique, etc. all seem to have steeper learning curves for a first-time fountain

 

Nib writing characteristics: I enjoy a wet writing experience. It does not have to be glass smooth, but I will not use a pen with drag. I historically have not used pens with lots of feedback but am not opposed to it.  I know 

 

Body material: I want a resin pen. I don’t like metal pens. I had a pilot metropolitan gel pen, it was so dented and scratched after a few months that I doubt I will ever buy a metal pen again.

 

Flexible Fountain Pen Features

CC/Piston: I do not have a strong preference for C/C or piston filled. They both have advantages and neither seems overly difficult for a first-time fountain pen user.

 

Size of Pen: As mentioned above, I use and enjoy smaller pens. However, I do have larger hands and larger pens do not uncomfortable in my hands. Ideally, I would go to a brick-and-mortar shop, but there is only one an hour away (oblation paper in Portland, OR). There is a pen club in Portland but driving an hour as a complete newbie and just asking to see and hold people’s pens seems obnoxious at best. So, I am very flexible on pen size.

 

Nib material: I do not have a strong preference between gold and steel nibs.

 

What I Have Considered

My ideal budget is $100 to $200. I would prefer to be in the $50 range, as I may hate writing with a fountain pen, but I can’t find a pen that excites me.  

 

On my list is Pelikan M200, Leonardo Momento Zero, and a Sailor Pro Gear Slim. I am looking at likely buying it from a place that will “tune and smooth” option – similar to Appleboom’s option. As it is my first pen, I don’t want to get a pen and it not work well. I realize I don’t have enough knowledge to know if it tuned correctly and if not to fix the pen. I am not opposed to a used pen, but it does seem risker, especially if I look at vintage pens. Those seem better suited to add to a collection once I am more familiar with fountain pens.

 

So friends, is this a good plan? Am I overlooking an obvious choice? Please share your thoughts and opinions! I very much appreciate it and look forward to your responses!

 

   Please accept my invitation to the next monthly meeting of the PDX pen club. It’s not a bother at all, and we love helping people discover their preferences. The next meeting is October 13, 2024, 1 pm, Lucky Lab Brewing on Quimby. We do have some people selling pens regularly, so there’s a chance that you might find something that you like. There are a couple of pen stores downtown (Kinokinuya is not far from Oblation) and you could make a day out of it. 

[Misfit]

If you want to spend less, I’d suggest a Pilot Prera Iro-Ai that comes with the CM nib or calligraphy nib. It’s a very nice nib that shows line variation.  The nib would swap easily onto a Pilot Metropolitan, Explorer, Kakuno, or opaque Prera. 
 

If you went this route, you would save money, and learn if you like this type of nib. The Prera is close to the size of a Pelikan 2xx and 4xx

[Penguincollector]

@TWH, I unfortunately have caught a virus and more than likely will not be attending this weekend. I’m letting the rest of the club know to look out for you. If I end up going I will PM you. 

[fireant]

@TWH Hi, I'm in the Portland pen club too. We'd love to have you join us. We meet meet at the NW Quimby Lucky Lab (in the event space) at 1pm. Some of us get there early and eat before the meeting starts.

 

I posted in the PDXpen facebook group and asked if anyone who had the type of pens you're looking for could bring them/some. So please introduce yourself when you get there so I can introduce you to those who brought pens for you to look at.

[TWH]

Thank you @Penguincollector and @fireant for your kindness. @Penguincollectori hope you get feeling better quickly! 

 

i am looking forward to the meeting and meeting local enthusiasts. I really am grateful for you being so welcoming. 

[Penguincollector]

  @fireant, you really are the best- I always enjoy hanging out with you during meetings and it’s a bummer that I’m sick. @TWH I hope you have a great time! I wanted to add that Oblation has one of the Sailor flat top pens in every nib width to try in store, so that would be a good place to try those.