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Classic fountain pens

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Re: Classic fountain pens

#101

Post by bborud »

tristor wrote: post #84

I collect fountain pens (and other types of pens) and paper/stationary. I have been writing extensively by hand for many many years. While it is not my overall favorite, I think it's important for folks to know that from a writing quality and feel perspective that modern low-cost pens are actually /very/ good, and are the way to go. The Platinum Preppy is every bit as good as the majority of classic fountain pens, an…

I've found that with regard to ink, there is no one size fits all solution. Some pens work with fast-flowing inks, other pens don't work as well. So there is some amount of trial and error that goes into pairing pen with ink.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#102

Post by slowmovintarget »

falcolas wrote: post #10
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…

I'd go one step further and suggest a Pilot disposable fountain pen. Their nibs are remarkably good, and you're only out around $2 if you dislike them. And if you like them, well then, have fun with your new hobby!

I was giving away Pilot Varsity pens (a.k.a. V-pens) to people around the office that were interested. Amazon sells them in boxes of 10, and yes they have a surprisingly good nib for such an inexpensive pen. They also have decent capacity, as the thing is basically a non-refillable ink tank with a novel felt feed (similar to what markers use).

The next pen I recommend as a starter is usually the Pilot Metropolitan, or the TWSBI Eco for those who want to dive into bottled ink.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#103

Post by dbtc »

Alifatisk wrote: post #77
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?

If possible, get to a store where you can try a bunch and see for yourself.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#104

Post by cge »

MezzoDelCammin wrote: post #57

One thing that hasn't been mentioned so far. We've seen comments that "race to the bottom" (Lamy Safari, Pilot Preppy, ...), or that aim for "timeless classics" (basically any gold nib - Sailor 1911, Pilot Falcon, ~$150+ pens). There's a third way though. The "actual piece of history". In my opinion, no pen is better for this than a Parker 51. This for me is the embodiment (and a parent of) "the consumer fountain pen…

I'd agree. This article was not at all what I assumed it would be about: it is primarily a listing of boutique manufacturer pens that are entirely modern and not at all classic in mentality. They fit the standard "limited edition, barrel-design-focused, standard section and cartridge+converter, generic nib" product design and business model that I think is intrinsically linked to the move of fountain pens to being marketed as mostly status items.

There are great, actually classic pens, and being from a time when they were meant to be used, they can be far more interesting. Parker 51s are ubiquitous and reliable, and vacuum fillers in general seem significantly better than modern cartridge and converter pens. For mid century technically-interesting pens, I'm fond of Sheaffer snorkel fillers, where the pen can be quickly refilled without the nib ever touching ink and changing the line thickness or becoming messy. Even earlier, Waterman and other pens with fine, flexible nibs offer nib styles that range from very difficult to impossible to get in modern pens.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#105

Post by tristor »

bborud wrote: post #101
tristor wrote: post #84

I collect fountain pens (and other types of pens) and paper/stationary. I have been writing extensively by hand for many many years. While it is not my overall favorite, I think it's important for folks to know that from a writing quality and feel perspective that modern low-cost pens are actually /very/ good, and are the way to go. The Platinum Preppy is every bit as good as the majority of classic fountain pens, an…

I've found that with regard to ink, there is no one size fits all solution. Some pens work with fast-flowing inks, other pens don't work as well. So there is some amount of trial and error that goes into pairing pen with ink.

This is very true, the pen, ink, and paper work together to form a system. They all have some effect on all of the variables such as flow, ease of movement, drying time, etc. For the most part modern ink are better in every aspect compared to classic inks.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#107

Post by ben7799 »

jurassicfoxy wrote: post #92

Are fountain pens exclusively a right-handed pleasure? I've tried, and the smudging has been an insurmountable obstacle. I would love to hear from some fellow lefties. I love pens, ink, and paper, but I feel cursed.

It mostly seems like they suck for us lefties and the articles about how to use them are just attempts to sell more fountain pens to lefties. The main point of superiority for fountain pens is if you are the person selling fountain pens.

A lot of ballpoints absolutely suck for lefties too, but you can get good ballpoints that work perfect for left handed writing for 30x-100x less than the fountain pens in the article. And not have to jump through hoops or go through any hassle to get them to work.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#108

Post by mydriasis »

If you're a new or aspiring pen user, let me recommend you get a screw-top -- they won't pop open accidentally as you learn where you like to stash your pen. This was the cause of more than a few ink incidents for me when I was getting used to carrying a pen!

Re: Classic fountain pens

#109

Post by TimButterfield »

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…

The Pilot Custom 823 (amber demonstrator) is my favorite pen. I love the way it writes, the quantity of ink it holds, and that the screw down piston knob also blocks ink flow so it doesn't dry out. I have the Sailor 1911 and Pro Gear also, but prefer the Realo piston fill for the larger ink capacity. I enjoy the Rhodia paper also.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#110

Post by mpalczewski »

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 would not reccomend TWSBI for beginners, I find that the nibs are way to finicky. I needed to tune mine a bit before it wrote well. Pilot and Lamy are great out of the box.
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