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Classic fountain pens

wallpaper.com

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Re: Classic fountain pens

#161

Post by Ancapistani »

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?

What kind of calligraphy?

For “pointed pen”, I love my Pilot Falcon. It’s got the most “flex” of any modern fountain pen I own - I own way, way too many fountain pens. I haven’t inventoried them in a couple of years, but I had >200 at the time.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#162

Post by Ancapistani »

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 like your VP, consider buying only a “writing unit”. My favorite is a 0.9mm stub, which is somewhat hard to find.

There are also a couple of additional variants of the Vanishing Point out there. The Decimo is identical but thinner.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#163

Post by pkd »

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…

This is a good list but it has a massive jump in levels from $40 to $200+.

I would say that Platinum 3776 belongs in between these levels and not alongside the 2000 and Vanishing Point. Other entries on this level may include:

- Faber Castell Loom: Faber Castell steel nibs are absolutely buttery smooth. My favourite steel nibs and better than most gold nibs. The grip section is a bit slippery.

- Twsbi 580ALR: Beautiful colours, piston filler, good nibs, great value.

- Platinum Curidas: A capless pen like the Vanishing Point but in cheaper materials. Still a great option at a lower price since it's such a unique type.

- Pilot Custom 92: If you can source it from Japan. North American prices are crazy.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#164

Post by Ancapistani »

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.

There are fast-drying inks that are suitable for lefties. Noodler’s Q-E’ternity comes to mind.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#165

Post by e40 »

gregors wrote: post #85
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 really love my Lamy Safari, but tbh my experience is limited. What did you follow up with?

EnerGel Alloy RT Gel Pen, Medium Point, 0.7 mm

(copy/pasted from my amazon order)

I've been using this pen for a long time and I just love it so much.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#166

Post by iancmceachern »

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.

Just go to a store or pen show and write with one, you'll see immediately

Re: Classic fountain pens

#167

Post by wrp »

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.

There are many left-handed fountain pen users. For extensive discussion of pens, inks, and writing techniques, search for left-handed|lefty at site:www.fountainpennetwork.com.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#169

Post by wrycoder »

vr46 wrote: post #96

This “article” is total “churnalism”, just marketing bunk with absolutely no content. Obviously I am aware what Wallpaper* is, which is mainly a conduit to help people spend their money as fast as possible like Brewster’s Millions, but this article on HN is surely misdirected.

Yeah, but it’s an excuse for the usual excellent HN pen appreciation.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#170

Post by ahonhn »

blagie wrote: post #147
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…

I've been using a Platinum Plaisir as my daily driver for 5 years now. ( < $20) It uses the same nib as the ultracheap Platinum Preppy ( < $5 ) (of which I also have far more than I need).
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