Best beginner fountain pen

[Jmp63]

Rabbit hole 🕳
Enjoy!

They never end do they?!?

Congratulations on the new pens @Jmp63 , enjoy in good health.

Much obliged! Thank you sir!

Another joins the fold! Make sure to post some pictures in the 2022 acquisitions thread when they arrive.

I will definitely do that! Thanks for the warm welcome!

 

[Scarry Knight]

Just received a grey kaweco extra fine sport, have a fine in navy in transit, and a few different inks (and a clutch pencil and colored leads). Liking it so far, as the first fountain pen since jr high.

 

[Jmp63]

Just received a grey kaweco extra fine sport, have a fine in navy in transit, and a few different inks (and a clutch pencil and colored leads). Liking it so far, as the first fountain pen since jr high.

Awesome! Congrats on the new pens! The Kaweco sport is on my list of pens to try! The more time I spend here the bigger that list gets! Lol

 

[tankerjohn]

I've been fiddling with fountain pens for way too long and have bought way too many. My two maxims:

1) Price and performance are not correlated

2) Knowing what I know now, it's awfully hard to beat the G2.

My recommendation if you want to give it a try is the Lamy Safari in F.

I like your perspective. My experiences differs:

1) By and large, you get what you pay for, however diminishing returns set in pretty early. Once you have a fountain pen that writes reliably and doesn't break after a couple weeks of use, everything else is about subtle improvements to your writing experience and how much you're really willing to pay for those improvements. For me, that topped out right around the $200 mark with a Lamy 2000 and Pilot Custom 912. I could envision springing for something in the next bracket up, like a Pilot 823 or Pelikan M600, but am pretty happy with my collection as it stands.

2) The G2 is a great pen for a cheap disposable pen, but its not a fountain pen. Nevertheless, I could certainly see why someone might try a fountain pen and decide they still prefer the G2. Hence, the wisdom of starting with a less expensive fountain pen, like the Safari, to decide if they like what a fountain pen brings to the writing experience. But if you stick with a G2, you might just decide it fits in your hand a little better and looks nicer if you stick the refill in a machined metal body. And then you might like to try a bolt-action nock. And then you find the hack for putting G2 carts into Retro 51s - ooo, that Space Shuttle one looks nice! And then...oh noooooooo!!!!!!!!! Down another rabbit hole.......

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Once you have a fountain pen that writes reliably and doesn't break after a couple weeks of use, everything else is about subtle improvements to your writing experience and how much you're really willing to pay for those improvements. For me, that topped out right around the $200 mark

That's my perspective too, albeit I have found that being prepared to smooth a nib, gives a massive discount. Most of my fountain pens are below £10 ($13) + 5 minutes, and work just how I want them to. I don't begrudge having to add those 5 minutes any more than tweaking the edge on a new knife, which I pretty much tend to do as standard too. My Parker IMs at <£20 haven't needed any tweaking at all... yet.

 

[KW Driver]

 

[Doc4]

Pilot 78Gs were really good cheap starter pens that I think are out of production.

IIRC, they returned a few years later with some slight changes. I believe the colours of the pen bodies were changed a bit ...

... with the red brighter and the blue now a real blue rather than blue-green.

Prices are up too ... they used to be $10 with worldwide shipping from Hong Kong eBay sellers ... now I think more like $20 (but I haven't looked in a long time.)

Like any other pursuit there is a curve of diminishing returns. At some point you can't possibly get a nicer writing pen. You can get a better built one, of nicer materials and so on.

True.

Ecclesiastical Stationery Supplies Registrars Ink Blue-Black With Iron-Gall - http://www.registrarsink.co.uk/ is the best I’ve used and far and away the easiest to keep inked long term.

Great ink!

Great points gents! Keep ‘em coming! Thank you!

Well, unless you get a generous PIF or have ordered something already ... *cough* ... I'd say give us your "reasonable max budget" and we can suggest the best pens in that price range. (No point buying a bunch of $20 pens if you really want to buy one good $60 pen. No point talking about $60 pens if you only have $20 to spend ...)

Thank you @airmech!!! You are a gentleman of the highest order sir!

Dang what a great gesture!

I ordered from Goulet was a Fine nib for the Safari!

You seem to be on the right track!

They never end do they?!?

Yes.

They end at the entry point for the next, deeper, one.

 

[KW Driver]

IIRC, they returned a few years later with some slight changes. I believe the colours of the pen bodies were changed a bit ...
View attachment 1424834View attachment 1424835
... with the red brighter and the blue now a real blue rather than blue-green.

Prices are up too ... they used to be $10 with worldwide shipping from Hong Kong eBay sellers ... now I think more like $20 (but I haven't looked in a long time.)

yep, that's where I got mine, if not Japanese ebay/sellers for maybe slightly under $10. I gave mine to mom years ago but I think she's got them parked. gave her my Safari to test drive and she bought her own purple because mine was the wrong color and nib size. but she's in her happy place too with 'em.

yay for enablers!

 

[Jmp63]

IIRC, they returned a few years later with some slight changes. I believe the colours of the pen bodies were changed a bit ...
View attachment 1424834View attachment 1424835
... with the red brighter and the blue now a real blue rather than blue-green.

Prices are up too ... they used to be $10 with worldwide shipping from Hong Kong eBay sellers ... now I think more like $20 (but I haven't looked in a long time.)


True.



Great ink!



Well, unless you get a generous PIF or have ordered something already ... *cough* ... I'd say give us your "reasonable max budget" and we can suggest the best pens in that price range. (No point buying a bunch of $20 pens if you really want to buy one good $60 pen. No point talking about $60 pens if you only have $20 to spend ...)

Not sure if I’m ready to spend $60 on a pen yet, but starting out with wet shaving I never thought I’d spend the money I did on that! So who knows! What are a few nice ones around that dollar mark I should take a look at?

Dang what a great gesture!

It really was/is an incredible gift! I’ve never enjoyed writing up until now. Being able to take things that were once so mundane and find some joy in them has been one of the best parts for me!

You seem to be on the right track!

Thanks Doc!

Yes.
They end at the entry point for the next, deeper, one.

Lol

 

[Jmp63]

View attachment 1424825

This is great! happy to be here!

yep, that's where I got mine, if not Japanese ebay/sellers for maybe slightly under $10. I gave mine to mom years ago but I think she's got them parked. gave her my Safari to test drive and she bought her own purple because mine was the wrong color and nib size. but she's in her happy place too with 'em.

yay for enablers!

Super cool that you were able to pass this along to someone else! I’ve already got a couple people in mind to gift a pen to.

 

[Jmp63]

That's my perspective too, albeit I have found that being prepared to smooth a nib, gives a massive discount. Most of my fountain pens are below £10 ($13) + 5 minutes, and work just how I want them to. I don't begrudge having to add those 5 minutes any more than tweaking the edge on a new knife, which I pretty much tend to do as standard too. My Parker IMs at <£20 haven't needed any tweaking at all... yet.

I’m sure there are a few threads here on it already, but what/why/how do you smooth a nib?

 

[Chandu]

Not sure if I’m ready to spend $60 on a pen yet, but starting out with wet shaving I never thought I’d spend the money I did on that! So who knows! What are a few nice ones around that dollar mark I should take a look at?er

Waterman Hemisphere.

Nice pen, takes international long and short refills as well as a converter. If you are buying inks in cartridges, just get the Waterman, it is excellent ink.

 

[Doc4]

Not sure if I’m ready to spend $60 on a pen yet, but starting out with wet shaving I never thought I’d spend the money I did on that! So who knows!

No "need" to. The pens you have now are perfectly good pens, and can be "good enough" for most purposes. IMHO the Preppy can be a bit fragile for rough use (getting tossed around a briefcase/backpack, &c) but are just fine for sitting on the desk at home in between note-takings or whatever. The LAMY is a clear step up ... but you will figure that out soon enough.

You can stop where you are and have a lifetime of fountain pen enjoyment.



Dang, now I'm starting to sound like @AimlessWanderer ...

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I’m sure there are a few threads here on it already, but what/why/how do you smooth a nib?

Rule 1: If it's not broken, don't fix it until it is Tine misalignments or incorrect nib gaps, don't need fixing with abrasives.
Rule 2: Learn on something that doesn't matter if you wreck it. I used a £2 ebay jobbie, and played around with that till I figured out the basics.

After that, it's pretty much as simple as writing on something abrasive. I use the cheapo nail buffers with several different grades of abrasive.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

You can stop where you are and have a lifetime of fountain pen enjoyment.



Dang, now I'm starting to sound like @AimlessWanderer ...

... but, it's true...

 

[KW Driver]

Rule 1: If it's not broken, don't fix it until it is Tine misalignments or incorrect nib gaps, don't need fixing with abrasives.
Rule 2: Learn on something that doesn't matter if you wreck it. I used a £2 ebay jobbie, and played around with that till I figured out the basics.

After that, it's pretty much as simple as writing on something abrasive. I use the cheapo nail buffers with several different grades of abrasive.

and you may not have to start that aggressively. American grocery paper bag quality of paper (amazon/chewy shipping stuffing paper too I'd imagine) could be just course enough with some random scribbling until it feels right. I've done that.

 

[tm3]

I like your perspective. My experiences differs:

1) By and large, you get what you pay for, however diminishing returns set in pretty early. Once you have a fountain pen that writes reliably and doesn't break after a couple weeks of use, everything else is about subtle improvements to your writing experience and how much you're really willing to pay for those improvements. For me, that topped out right around the $200 mark with a Lamy 2000 and Pilot Custom 912. I could envision springing for something in the next bracket up, like a Pilot 823 or Pelikan M600, but am pretty happy with my collection as it stands.

2) The G2 is a great pen for a cheap disposable pen, but its not a fountain pen. Nevertheless, I could certainly see why someone might try a fountain pen and decide they still prefer the G2. Hence, the wisdom of starting with a less expensive fountain pen, like the Safari, to decide if they like what a fountain pen brings to the writing experience. But if you stick with a G2, you might just decide it fits in your hand a little better and looks nicer if you stick the refill in a machined metal body. And then you might like to try a bolt-action nock. And then you find the hack for putting G2 carts into Retro 51s - ooo, that Space Shuttle one looks nice! And then...oh noooooooo!!!!!!!!! Down another rabbit hole.......

For sure, pens are a YMMV endeavor -- just like another hobby we share!

For me, what makes the fountain pen experience is when the nib "floats" on a cushion of ink and thus glides effortlessly across the page. A 1.0 G2 sorta kinda approximates that sensation, although it can't quite equal it. But for all of the fountain pens I have experienced, only 3 actually deliver that nirvana -- a $19 Lamy Safari, a $250 Pelican, and a $3 Pilot VPen. None of the Parker, Pilot, TWSBI, Schaeffer, other Safaris, etc. do it, not a custom job from a nibmeister, nor pens that have gone back to the manufacturer to be "fixed." In my hand at least the G2 beats them all.

Add in the price and convenience (and ignore the aesthetics) and I find the G2 awfully hard to beat, but again YMMV.

 

[Jmp63]

Waterman Hemisphere.

Nice pen, takes international long and short refills as well as a converter. If you are buying inks in cartridges, just get the Waterman, it is excellent ink.

I will look that one up! Thank you!!

 

[Jmp63]

No "need" to. The pens you have now are perfectly good pens, and can be "good enough" for most purposes. IMHO the Preppy can be a bit fragile for rough use (getting tossed around a briefcase/backpack, &c) but are just fine for sitting on the desk at home in between note-takings or whatever. The LAMY is a clear step up ... but you will figure that out soon enough.

You can stop where you are and have a lifetime of fountain pen enjoyment.



Dang, now I'm starting to sound like @AimlessWanderer ...

Much obliged, thanks Doc!

Rule 1: If it's not broken, don't fix it until it is Tine misalignments or incorrect nib gaps, don't need fixing with abrasives.
Rule 2: Learn on something that doesn't matter if you wreck it. I used a £2 ebay jobbie, and played around with that till I figured out the basics.

After that, it's pretty much as simple as writing on something abrasive. I use the cheapo nail buffers with several different grades of abrasive.

Interesting! Yeah I have no intentions of trying that right now. But might be fun to tinker with at some point. Didn’t know it could be that simple. My assumption is that you write on something abrasive to “smooth” any rough edges on a nib?

and you may not have to start that aggressively. American grocery paper bag quality of paper (amazon/chewy shipping stuffing paper too I'd imagine) could be just course enough with some random scribbling until it feels right. I've done that.

Sweet! Thanks for the tip! I’ll keep that in mind if I ever need to! Is there ever a time where a nib would need to be re-broken in? Not sure if that’s the correct terminology or not.

For sure, pens are a YMMV endeavor -- just like another hobby we share!

For me, what makes the fountain pen experience is when the nib "floats" on a cushion of ink and thus glides effortlessly across the page. A 1.0 G2 sorta kinda approximates that sensation, although it can't quite equal it. But for all of the fountain pens I have experienced, only 3 actually deliver that nirvana -- a $19 Lamy Safari, a $250 Pelican, and a $3 Pilot VPen. None of the Parker, Pilot, TWSBI, Schaeffer, other Safaris, etc. do it, not a custom job from a nibmeister, nor pens that have gone back to the manufacturer to be "fixed." In my hand at least the G2 beats them all.

Add in the price and convenience (and ignore the aesthetics) and I find the G2 awfully hard to beat, but again YMMV.

Hey I appreciate you chiming in! The G2 is a great pen that’s for sure. I’ve noticed it’s very uninspiring for me though. Sure it’s very nice to write with and performs very well it just doesn’t bring any joy out of writing with it. For me at least. I’ll always have some around though, they are great for traveling with! And of course the YMMV statement at the end

 

[Chandu]

The G2 is a great pen that’s for sure.

I can not abide the G2. I realize it is one of the most popular and I don't understand why. It's a scratchy pen with non permanent ink. Any fountain pen writes nicer, save for a disposable Zebra. While the G2 claims archival ink, it is non acidic, but not water resistant to any degree. IMO if you want a Gel pen get one of the Uniball 207 series with "super ink". It's 100% permanent ink and the pen has a much nicer feel when writing.

Most of the time if I'm not using a fountain pen, I'm using a pencil or ball point. To me gel and roller balls are for the most part not as good as a bog standard ballpoint. Uniball vision are probably the only non fountain I would use in front of a ballpoint.