Thread: Fountain Pens?

Howdy all,

I had a chance to try out a fountain pen the other day and I liked the way it flowed.

I was wondering from the more experienced users what would be one to recommend.

I am looking to spend around 50-100 and like the sound of the ones that don't use cartridges but the piston filled ones? At least I think that's what it's called.

Appreciate the help,

Basil

Hey Basil. I wouldn't call myself a fountain pen expert, but I've been writing with a Pelikan M205 for several months now. It's my absolute favorite pen. I seek it out every time I need to write. It's a piston fill pen. I have a XXXF nib from Richard Binder (RichardsPens.com • Fountain Pens by Richard Binder). It's pretty sweet.

Feel free to PM me if you have questions.

It's going to be hard to find a decent piston-filler for 50-100. For that price you may be able to find a decently restored Parker 51, which is a great pen. Other inexpensive brands worth looking it are Bexley, Pilot/Namiki, and Aurora As mentioned above Richard Binder's site is great, but you should also check out the following:

1) Pentrace Market Board
2) Nibs.com
3) Thefountainpennetwork.com

Happy Hunting

Originally Posted by basil

Howdy all,

I had a chance to try out a fountain pen the other day and I liked the way it flowed.

I was wondering from the more experienced users what would be one to recommend.

I am looking to spend around 50-100 and like the sound of the ones that don't use cartridges but the piston filled ones? At least I think that's what it's called.

Appreciate the help,

Basil

Wow... fountain pens.

First question -- what was the one you tried and liked?

My favorite are the Pelikan, Pilot, Sailor and Namiki.
The Parker Sonnet has a fine nib and is well considered.
The Pilot vanishing point is a prize!

Add this site to your web search.

Shop Fine Pens, Pen Refills, Business Gifts, Corporate Gifts | Thank you for stopping by! | Colorado Pen Direct | ColoradoPen.com

Most have piston converters so the sky is the limit for the
choice of inks.

A fun pen is the big Lamy Safari especially for the price.

A good pen deserves good paper.
And you thought PAD was paper.

Do not ignore pen nibs for the old
dip pen if you have a desk.

Well, I'm quite new to them myself, but I've found this forum exeedingly helpful.

http://fountainpennetwork.com/

They've convinced me to go for the Lamy Safari. I like the look and I want an italic nib.

Hi Basil.

The FPN (see the post above this one) is the best place to get information about fountain pens. You may find me as a member there named...'Shangas'...same as here. There's thousands (literally) of very helpful and knowledgeable members there who'll be able to help you. I'm certainly gonna try and be one of them.

For $100 there's plenty of good, entry-level fountain pens that you can buy which you should be able to buy a seperate piston-converter for, at very little extra cost. Brands such as LAMY, Parker, Sheaffer and Waterman all sell cheap, good-quality converter-filler fountain pens.

The Parker '51' is probably the best pen for long term use. They are light, write well and hold a lot of ink.
A lot of the modern pens are too heavy and built more for show and signing your name, rather than writing several pages of script.

Originally Posted by niftyshaving

Wow... fountain pens.

First question -- what was the one you tried and liked?

My favorite are the Pelikan, Pilot, Sailor and Namiki.
The Parker Sonnet has a fine nib and is well considered.
The Pilot vanishing point is a prize!

Add this site to your web search.

Shop Fine Pens, Pen Refills, Business Gifts, Corporate Gifts | Thank you for stopping by! | Colorado Pen Direct | ColoradoPen.com

Most have piston converters so the sky is the limit for the
choice of inks.

A fun pen is the big Lamy Safari especially for the price.

A good pen deserves good paper.
And you thought PAD was paper.

Do not ignore pen nibs for the old
dip pen if you have a desk.

Im not exactly sure which one it is i tried since i have no idea about brands or types. After looking at a few pictures on the websites i think it was a lamy safari that i wrote with.

Went to a store today and tried out a few pens.

Most were out of my price range but I bought a Lamy Studio pen with a medium nib. It flowed nice and it came with a converter so I can use bottled ink.

Now my next question I which ink can I use that won't flow too wet. I do a lot of writing in moleskine notebooks and I don't want it to bleed through.

I have two Pilots, one vanishing point and one Custom 74. So far I have been very pleased with them.

I use the Vanishing Point as my outside the house pen and the Custom 74 stay at home. With the VP's plunger style oporation it's easy to deal with on the move. While the Custom 74 and it screw top cover makes it a pain when out and about.

I use Noodlers inks most of the time, Walnut being my favorite. But have about a dozen inks at my desk...

I got into fountain pens the same way I got interested in straights, less junk going into the landfill, reusing the same pen for 4 years now and haven't had to buy new ones in all that time