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Classic fountain pens

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Re: Classic fountain pens

#71

Post by hammyhavoc »

nunuvit wrote: post #47
e40 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I saw the recommendation for the Lamy Safari in a lot of places. Just want to say I actually hated writing with it. Maybe I got a bad one, but I doubt it.

I assume you mean the nib wrote scratchy. Honestly, troubleshooting that issue is something you have to be prepared for if you have a fountain pen. I haven't used enough of any nib to know if some of them have genuine design or quality control problems, or if the volume of reports online is due to people expecting a more plug-and-play experience.

Where you source nibs from matters a great deal.

Amazon? IME, more commonly bad batches.

Small independent retailers who live and die by satisfying their niche enthusiast customers? Yeah, they're fantastic, and they're generally passionate about what they sell.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#72

Post by hammyhavoc »

Al-Khwarizmi wrote: post #37
nunuvit wrote: post #2

For anyone with a budding or casual interest in fountain pens, the Lamy Safari is the way to go. They're plentiful, inexpensive, rugged, and have plenty of nibs, cartridges, and refillable cartridges to experiment with. Just pick your color and start using it to figure out what you value in a pen. Don't let the grip shape scare you off, you might like it more than you thought, but if not it won't ruin the value as an…

In my view, Lamy Safari is way overrated. Don't get me wrong, it's far from bad, a pretty consistent pen for the price. But the ink dries fast-ish if you don't use it, and especially, the cartridges are proprietary so you're tied to the brand's cartridges and ink colors (there's a piston converter, but converters, meh). A Pilot Metropolitan is approximately the same price and at least in my view, it's better as it us…

Who downvoted you? It's a valid perspective.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#73

Post by onebike »

quantgenius wrote: post #50

This list is certainly not classic fountain pens. They are mostly machined pens made by small batch producers with generic nibs and two with somewhat "different" nibs I wouldn't normally suggest most people get. These are pretty good pens but not what I would get as a first pen. Here are the pens I would suggest you consider if you don't know a lot about fountain pens. If you are a fountain pen collector, I'm mostly…

I came here to write something similar, so thank you. I would add a Pelikan M800 or M100 to the level-up list, though.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#74

Post by waynesonfire »

foobarian wrote: post #16

What advantages do fountain pens still have over modern gel ballpoints? I like the whole experience of fountain pens, how nice they look and the 'old-school' aspect, but sadly I don't feel they are practical any more.

There is much more variety to the physical shape of fountain pens, in just about every measurable dimension. Then, part of the process is to develop a sense of how each pen feels and to discover the one that feels best to _YOU_. It's very personal. It sort of behaves as a tailored suit.

I should mention that the ink can also influence the feel of the pen. There is also that to discover.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#75

Post by Alifatisk »

nunuvit wrote: post #2

For anyone with a budding or casual interest in fountain pens, the Lamy Safari is the way to go. They're plentiful, inexpensive, rugged, and have plenty of nibs, cartridges, and refillable cartridges to experiment with. Just pick your color and start using it to figure out what you value in a pen. Don't let the grip shape scare you off, you might like it more than you thought, but if not it won't ruin the value as an…

> Also check out the unrelated free Handwriting Repair pdf

Link?

Re: Classic fountain pens

#76

Post by [deleted] »

Alifatisk wrote: post #75
nunuvit wrote: post #2

For anyone with a budding or casual interest in fountain pens, the Lamy Safari is the way to go. They're plentiful, inexpensive, rugged, and have plenty of nibs, cartridges, and refillable cartridges to experiment with. Just pick your color and start using it to figure out what you value in a pen. Don't let the grip shape scare you off, you might like it more than you thought, but if not it won't ruin the value as an…

> Also check out the unrelated free Handwriting Repair pdf Link?

[deleted]

Re: Classic fountain pens

#77

Post by Alifatisk »

Apreche wrote: post #6

For most of my life I hated fountain pens. It turns out that was because the ones I tried were cheap, bad, and/or broken. I gave them one more shot. Again, a lot of them I did not like, but the Platinum Preppy was excellent. I wanted to get another one with a finer tip, but they were out of stock. In the meantime I tried some others, and found the Lamy to be just as good, if not better. Just for the sake of convenien…

I have Platinum Preppy right know (it’s my first fountain pen). My goal is to write beautifully in calligraphy.

Which pen would you recommend?

Re: Classic fountain pens

#78

Post by nordsieck »

Alifatisk wrote: post #75
nunuvit wrote: post #2

For anyone with a budding or casual interest in fountain pens, the Lamy Safari is the way to go. They're plentiful, inexpensive, rugged, and have plenty of nibs, cartridges, and refillable cartridges to experiment with. Just pick your color and start using it to figure out what you value in a pen. Don't let the grip shape scare you off, you might like it more than you thought, but if not it won't ruin the value as an…

> Also check out the unrelated free Handwriting Repair pdf Link?

I assume your parent is referring to this:

https://penvibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Handwriting-R...

Re: Classic fountain pens

#80

Post by WillAdams »

Alifatisk wrote: post #75
nunuvit wrote: post #2

For anyone with a budding or casual interest in fountain pens, the Lamy Safari is the way to go. They're plentiful, inexpensive, rugged, and have plenty of nibs, cartridges, and refillable cartridges to experiment with. Just pick your color and start using it to figure out what you value in a pen. Don't let the grip shape scare you off, you might like it more than you thought, but if not it won't ruin the value as an…

> Also check out the unrelated free Handwriting Repair pdf Link?

I suspect it would be something by Kate Gladstone:

https://handwritingrepair.info

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