Miss Newbie

[TxTilly]

2 hours ago, Carguy said:

Hello and welcome from a FORMER Texan in self imposed exile. I have learned to love this place with all it’s knowledge and wisdom and I hope you will too.

Thank you!  I already do!  It's nice to meet others who get it.  I love being a Texan.  Maybe you can come back from exile some day.

[A Smug Dill]

4 hours ago, TxTilly said:

Is there a true difference between a $50 fountain pen and a $300 pen?

 

What counts as a $X pen, in the context of your question? Is it the (MSRP, RRP, or otherwise ‘official’ by any other terminology) retail price set by the manufacturer or owner of the trademark? If it's a Japanese pen, say a Platinum #3776 Century ‘Black in Black’ with 14K gold F nib (model PNB-15000#1-2), is it:

• a ¥40,000(+10% tax) — thus US$255, if you buy it in Japan as a visitor, tax-free — pen; or
• the ‘official’ US retail market — which means nothing to those of us in Australia, or our peers and fellow fountain pen buyers in the UK, Germany, or China — price of (I think, when it's difficult to keep track with all the rounds of retail pricing increases for the different brands) US$430; or
• the ‘street price’ in the US retail market that is the MSRP discounted by 20%, which seems to be ‘the least’ that US retailers offer, without actually either undercutting competitors or just to sacrifice some of their profit margin to be ‘competitive’; or
• you're buying secondhand from a fellow pen enthusiast (or reseller), and thus you could be paying anything between $50 to $400 as the asking price?

Then there's the question of what is the basis of assessing “true difference”. Teardown of all the material costs in the construction of the product? Technical excellence? Brand reputation? Writing performance? Aesthetic value? Resale value? Personal satisfaction (from the consumer spending; or from pride of ownership)?

[I am not a number]

13 hours ago, TxTilly said:

Is there a true difference between a $50 fountain pen and a $300 pen?

 

Hey, Tilly, and welcome in!

 

That right there is the $64 dollar question (or $64,000 dollar, if you hew to the 1950s version of that show).

 

For me, there is objectively little writing difference between my sub-£1 cheap and cheerful pens, and one of my Parker 51s . However, the subjective experience is wildly different, the cheap pens arrive in a box of 10, the Parkers have been individually tracked down and cost way more. I put time and effort into getting them, and I cherish each one as an extension of my personality (or lack thereof). There are differences in the materials used in the construction of the pens, but I find that I spend more money on a pen that I have a connection with, rather than one I view as a tool.

[inkstainedruth]

@TxTilly -- Well my most expensive pen is a Pelikan M405 Stresemann (which was a limited edition from a few years ago -- and it's an extremely nice writer (and I saved a little money by getting it from a vendor in Germany on eBay).  But my least expensive (as in what I actually paid for it) is a Parker 41 (a model that was only on the market for a couple of years) that I paid 50¢ for at an estate sale -- but got appraised for $37-150 at a thing like Antiques Roadshow (but local) the next morning (apparently that model was only on the market for a few years -- they were were supposed to be "ladies' pens" but apparently weren't popular and weren't made of the same grade of material as the 51s, which were the top of the line model for Parker for something like two decades.  Fortunately, my 41 hasn't developed cracks; I don't use it much, but it is a really nice writer.  

Sometimes the higher price of a pen has to do with the materials; but sometimes (especially for some limited edition pens) it has to do with the gee-gaws in the design.  

And I have a bunch of Lamy Safaris and al-Stars (all "special edition" colors as it happens); someone gave me a Jinhao 599 (a knock-off of the Safari/al-Star design) and that taught me I could get used to the triangular section (some people sneer at Safaris for being "school pens" but mine are nice writers and it's easy to swap the nibs between them; I've read the same thing about Parker Vectors as well, but mine are all inexpensive and fun little workhorse pens that come in a bunch of different colors and designs.  

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[boilermaker1975]

18 hours ago, TxTilly said:

Thank you!  I already do!  It's nice to meet others who get it.  I love being a Texan.  Maybe you can come back from exile some day.

 

I lived in Mesquite for 2.5 years, does that qualify for me being a Texan?

[Misfit]

Welcome to the community. You’ll learn a lot here. Please don’t be afraid to ask any question. People here are very nice, and will answer the same questions again with kindness.  
 

Besides here, you can find ink reviews from this website 

https://mountainofink.com

 

I have a brother, and his children and grandchildren living in Texas. My brother is in Lewisville. 

[Stompie]

Hello and Welcome on the site.

 

A good way to get back into writing and getting first hand information can be via snail mail - get to the snail mail section on here and you can get some pen friends. You get to meet people from all over the world and when they write to you you will find out the very diversified interest and information on fountain pens. You will also get to see the different ink colours first hand, and of course, the papers that work best with fountain pens. You also get to meet some very interesting people from places you may never have heard of let alone been to.

 

I have a very interesting bunch of pen pals and I enjoy the letter writing experience.

 

As for pens, well, any pen does pretty much the same thing and now, 300+ pens later, I go for pens that I like the look of. Chinese and Japanese pens have come a looooong way over the years and there are some fantastic pens at very low prices that do the job just as well as any high end brand. A letter from someone who spent $24 000 on a pen but suffers from arthritis so writes in Chicken Scratch is no different to a letter written by the same person with a pen that cost $20! 

 

But, overall, just enjoy the experience of sitting down at your desk in the early morning or evening, a cup of coffee at your side, a pen and paper in front of you and imagine you are a Jane Austen about to craft a missive to a close friend. 

There are also charities that are always looking out for people to write letters to the folk in hospitals or care - Donate a Letter/From me to you Letters, is one that I write for - it is a letter from you to a person who is undergoing cancer treatment, both parties remain anonymous but for the recipient it is a pleasure and distraction for them at a rather difficult stage of their lives.

[TxTilly]

On 5/1/2026 at 12:40 PM, I am not a number said:

Hey, Tilly, and welcome in!

 

That right there is the $64 dollar question (or $64,000 dollar, if you hew to the 1950s version of that show).

 

For me, there is objectively little writing difference between my sub-£1 cheap and cheerful pens, and one of my Parker 51s . However, the subjective experience is wildly different, the cheap pens arrive in a box of 10, the Parkers have been individually tracked down and cost way more. I put time and effort into getting them, and I cherish each one as an extension of my personality (or lack thereof). There are differences in the materials used in the construction of the pens, but I find that I spend more money on a pen that I have a connection with, rather than one I view as a tool.

Hi!.  Thank you.  Would you please send links to some of these inexpensive pens?  I have a serious budget constraint.

[TxTilly]

On 5/1/2026 at 5:04 PM, boilermaker1975 said:

 

I lived in Mesquite for 2.5 years, does that qualify for me being a Texan?

It does!!

[TxTilly]

On 5/1/2026 at 3:20 AM, A Smug Dill said:

 

What counts as a $X pen, in the context of your question? Is it the (MSRP, RRP, or otherwise ‘official’ by any other terminology) retail price set by the manufacturer or owner of the trademark? If it's a Japanese pen, say a Platinum #3776 Century ‘Black in Black’ with 14K gold F nib (model PNB-15000#1-2), is it:

• a ¥40,000(+10% tax) — thus US$255, if you buy it in Japan as a visitor, tax-free — pen; or
• the ‘official’ US retail market — which means nothing to those of us in Australia, or our peers and fellow fountain pen buyers in the UK, Germany, or China — price of (I think, when it's difficult to keep track with all the rounds of retail pricing increases for the different brands) US$430; or
• the ‘street price’ in the US retail market that is the MSRP discounted by 20%, which seems to be ‘the least’ that US retailers offer, without actually either undercutting competitors or just to sacrifice some of their profit margin to be ‘competitive’; or
• you're buying secondhand from a fellow pen enthusiast (or reseller), and thus you could be paying anything between $50 to $400 as the asking price?

Then there's the question of what is the basis of assessing “true difference”. Teardown of all the material costs in the construction of the product? Technical excellence? Brand reputation? Writing performance? Aesthetic value? Resale value? Personal satisfaction (from the consumer spending; or from pride of ownership)?

So...   I mean a difference in writing quality and comfort from the nibs.  Anything under $100US is inexpensive compared to very pens that sell for $900+.

 

Thank you!

[TxTilly]

On 5/1/2026 at 3:12 PM, inkstainedruth said:

@TxTilly -- Well my most expensive pen is a Pelikan M405 Stresemann (which was a limited edition from a few years ago -- and it's an extremely nice writer (and I saved a little money by getting it from a vendor in Germany on eBay).  But my least expensive (as in what I actually paid for it) is a Parker 41 (a model that was only on the market for a couple of years) that I paid 50¢ for at an estate sale -- but got appraised for $37-150 at a thing like Antiques Roadshow (but local) the next morning (apparently that model was only on the market for a few years -- they were were supposed to be "ladies' pens" but apparently weren't popular and weren't made of the same grade of material as the 51s, which were the top of the line model for Parker for something like two decades.  Fortunately, my 41 hasn't developed cracks; I don't use it much, but it is a really nice writer.  

Sometimes the higher price of a pen has to do with the materials; but sometimes (especially for some limited edition pens) it has to do with the gee-gaws in the design.  

And I have a bunch of Lamy Safaris and al-Stars (all "special edition" colors as it happens); someone gave me a Jinhao 599 (a knock-off of the Safari/al-Star design) and that taught me I could get used to the triangular section (some people sneer at Safaris for being "school pens" but mine are nice writers and it's easy to swap the nibs between them; I've read the same thing about Parker Vectors as well, but mine are all inexpensive and fun little workhorse pens that come in a bunch of different colors and designs.  

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Thank you so much!!  That is helpful. 

[TxTilly]

On 5/2/2026 at 8:51 PM, Misfit said:

Welcome to the community. You’ll learn a lot here. Please don’t be afraid to ask any question. People here are very nice, and will answer the same questions again with kindness.  
 

Besides here, you can find ink reviews from this website 

https://mountainofink.com

 

I have a brother, and his children and grandchildren living in Texas. My brother is in Lewisville. 

Thanks for this!  I'll look up that web site.  I hope you get to visit often!

[TxTilly]

On 5/3/2026 at 4:27 AM, Stompie said:

Hello and Welcome on the site.

 

A good way to get back into writing and getting first hand information can be via snail mail - get to the snail mail section on here and you can get some pen friends. You get to meet people from all over the world and when they write to you you will find out the very diversified interest and information on fountain pens. You will also get to see the different ink colours first hand, and of course, the papers that work best with fountain pens. You also get to meet some very interesting people from places you may never have heard of let alone been to.

 

I have a very interesting bunch of pen pals and I enjoy the letter writing experience.

 

As for pens, well, any pen does pretty much the same thing and now, 300+ pens later, I go for pens that I like the look of. Chinese and Japanese pens have come a looooong way over the years and there are some fantastic pens at very low prices that do the job just as well as any high end brand. A letter from someone who spent $24 000 on a pen but suffers from arthritis so writes in Chicken Scratch is no different to a letter written by the same person with a pen that cost $20! 

 

But, overall, just enjoy the experience of sitting down at your desk in the early morning or evening, a cup of coffee at your side, a pen and paper in front of you and imagine you are a Jane Austen about to craft a missive to a close friend. 

There are also charities that are always looking out for people to write letters to the folk in hospitals or care - Donate a Letter/From me to you Letters, is one that I write for - it is a letter from you to a person who is undergoing cancer treatment, both parties remain anonymous but for the recipient it is a pleasure and distraction for them at a rather difficult stage of their lives.

I was wondering how to find pen papls. I'll look for the section on this site.

 

I love the idea of donate lettrrs from  me.  Do you have contact information?

 

Thank you!!

[I am not a number]

6 minutes ago, TxTilly said:

Hi!.  Thank you.  Would you please send links to some of these inexpensive pens?  I have a serious budget constraint.

 

I'm in the UK, so things may be different, but for instance, I buy Dollar 717 piston fill pens to give to my friends who are interested in using oblique nibs. A box of 10 comes in at under £10 with shipping. They are amazing value for money, although the standard nib 717i pens write too fine and dry for me.

[TxTilly]

4 minutes ago, I am not a number said:

 

I'm in the UK, so things may be different, but for instance, I buy Dollar 717 piston fill pens to give to my friends who are interested in using oblique nibs. A box of 10 comes in at under £10 with shipping. They are amazing value for money, although the standard nib 717i pens write too fine and dry for me.

Thank you!.  I will look for those!

[Misfit]

You can find prefilled Zebra fountain pens at some Dollar General stores. 

[TxTilly]

4 hours ago, Misfit said:

You can find prefilled Zebra fountain pens at some Dollar General stores. 

Thank you!

 

I just found some for $20 supposed to be flex.  We'll see how they are.

[Stompie]

On 5/5/2026 at 1:48 AM, TxTilly said:

I was wondering how to find pen papls. I'll look for the section on this site.

 

I love the idea of donate lettrrs from  me.  Do you have contact information?

 

Thank you!!

https://www.frommetoyouletters.co.uk/donate-a-letter

 

 

 

[Mark from Yorkshire]

@Stompie well posted you could also post a cheeky post in the FPN post office and see if you get a response, the other party bites. Ask how I know 😜 or get advice from @georges zaslavsky. 

[georges zaslavsky]

On 4/30/2026 at 3:54 AM, TxTilly said:

Hi y'all.   I was referred to this group and am so glad to to meet all y'all.

 

I'm old, many decades ago, my teachers often used fountain pens.  Our desks had a place for ink wells.  I didn't use a fountain pen until I was a teen, but in those days there was no way to get such information.   So with poor results I gave up.  Now 55 years later I have come back to it.

 

I've spent the last few months dusting off my cursive skills.  I haven't written anything besides a signature in over 30 years.  I guess I rode the wave of technology.

 

I'm here to learn about ink, paper, and pens.

 

Thank you!

 

Hi and Welcome to the forums 

I think you will need to choose which nibs suit you the best rigid or flexible and then what is the acceptable diameter of fountain pen you like to use and whether you like to fill from the bottle or cartridge. Chatterley Luxuries, Fountain Pen Hospitals and Mora Stylos are places where you can source a nice pen, for inks MB, Private Reserve, Pelikan, Pilot Iroshiziku, Graf Faber Castell and Private Reserve ar recommended, for paper Clairefontaine,Rhodia, Moleskine and Seyes might do the trick.