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Classic fountain pens

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Re: Classic fountain pens

#141

Post by ubermonkey »

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…

Quality post right here. Absolutely no notes.

My daily driver for nearly 20 years was a Vanishing Point. They write REALLY well, feel smooth, and the cartridge ink is entirely acceptable -- which was important to me when I was traveling often for work.

These days I alternate between a TWSBI, a couple VPs, a Safari, and a nicer Aurora my sister gave me for Christmas.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#142

Post by quantgenius »

jimmyjazz14 wrote: post #91
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 have a number of fountain pens but the one I keep coming back to is the Pilot Kakuno, they are super cheap but they just feel so good in hand especially for sketching and drawing.

Kakunos are awesome. Really good nibs. Awesome value for money.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#144

Post by quantgenius »

thisisauserid wrote: post #124

I bought a Pilot Vanishing Point on a whim just assuming I'd love it. (No wait, it was after some HN thread around five years ago, I think.) Anyway, it's so amazing that I've never considered another fountain pen. What am I missing?

If you enjoy writing and love writing with a Vanishing Point, this is a question that is very, very dangerous for your pocketbook. :-)

Re: Classic fountain pens

#145

Post by suzakus »

bborud wrote: post #126
mpalczewski wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Funny, I've had the opposite experience. That might be down to things like hand size, how you hold the pen etc. I've had 3-4 Lamy pens and they have all ended up wither being given away or thrown in the bin because the nibs tend to be either dry or scratchy for me. I think I have only one regular Pilot pen and it works well for me. (I did try a flex nib Namiki Falcon, and that just didn't work at all for me. Namiki/P…

I haven't been in the fountain pen world for a couple years, but it was typical for everything except the Japanese pens to have consistency issues. I wouldn't fault this on the OP's usage habits with his regards to TWSBI issues. I've heard they've gotten better, but again, haven't been buying for years at this point.

Namiki is the same as Pilot yes. The flex falcon's are notably scratchy, and it's a well known issue. The general cheap pens (i.e. the metropolitan and co) are amazing, both in consistency and performance. The Falcon nibs on their #15 pens (most famously the 823) don't have the scratchiness, but can have flow issues.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#146

Post by suzakus »

thisisauserid wrote: post #124

I bought a Pilot Vanishing Point on a whim just assuming I'd love it. (No wait, it was after some HN thread around five years ago, I think.) Anyway, it's so amazing that I've never considered another fountain pen. What am I missing?

The vanishing point (I have many many of these, including vintage ones!) has relatively low ink flow compared to some of their other pens. Generally, the amount of ink laid out and smoothness can vary quite a bit from pen to pen. The physical writing experience varies a lot, but if you're happy with it and don't want to spend more money on pens you're perfectly fine staying on the vanishing point. The convenience is hard to beat as well!

Re: Classic fountain pens

#147

Post by blagie »

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'll mention: Another way to go are $1-$5 fountain pens from China. You can get about a dozen for the cost of a single Pilot, or about a hundred for the cost of the Montblanc. The quality is mixed, but if you buy a few, you'll get a couple really good ones, a couple typical ones, and maybe a broken one. My better ones are every bit as good as the Pilot.

The nice thing is that at that price, if you lose one, it's not a tragedy.

And at that price point, you can also get a bent nib, a flexy nib, a wide nib, etc. just for fun.

If nothing else, it's a great way to start experimenting and seeing what you like before you buy a more expensive pen to see what you want.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#148

Post by Kon-Peki »

vgeek wrote: post #68
throwaway2203 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have a recommendation?

Pilot Kakuno is cheap, relatively durable and pretty good quality. I would take it over a Safari in the sub $25 category.

The Kaküno is a small pen, intended for the hands of children. But it is outstanding at that price point, and it uses the same cartridges/converters as the Metropolitan.

My kids have them and will use them until they outgrow them.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#149

Post by selykg »

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 love my Custom 823. I have several Pilot pens, they're all superb.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#150

Post by aarghh »

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…

Great list.

One addition on the really cheap end - Pilot Prera - which comes with a wonderful calligraphy nib as well (CM). Also, the Pilot Vanishing Point is available with a calligraphy nib (I retrofitted mine of 20 years vintage with one, and it has been a great joy).

Mnemosyne notebooks are what I use. Comb bound, so can lie flat, and very good paper.

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