A decent, functional, beginner set up?

[j_fro]

So B&B has gotten me re interested in something that I had an interest before. (And if I hadn't gone tobacco free on January 2 I would be all over the brown leaf too).

In the past I used very inexpensive cartridge pens that were mostly disposable and cost about 2.50 USD when I was in university in the late 90s early 2000's. I knew about the high end pens then but here's the thing- I want to use it as a tool, and I have little worry about the pen as a status symbol.

Frankly, I wish I could find the old ones but they seem to have disappeared from every shelf over the last DECADE. I have been cruising Goulet's and am thinking of picking up a fine and medium Preppy and a Noodler's Ahab.

What conversion do you think would be the best on the Preppy pens?

 

[SmoovD]

The Preppy is easily converted to a eyedropper. It holds a ton of ink and the nib is pretty decent for such a cheap pen. You might want to upgrade for the Plaisir. Much the same as the Preppy but armored for a potentially longer life. If you go with the Plaisir make sure you score a converter.

I like my Noodler's pens because they are easy to take apart and fiddle with. Many hate them for precisely the same reasons. There is a very good chance that the Ahab will need some adjustments out of the box for it function to your satisfaction. Also, the Ahab is a flex pen and although it isn't a wet noodle it does flex. If you don't mind these characteristics the Ahab is a great pen for the money, IMHO. I like the Konrad a little bit more than the Ahab but they are both decent pens.

 

[j_fro]

Thanks for the info, Flex pen is a new thing to me. The price is just about right for me to try though.

 

[SmoovD]

Thanks for the info, Flex pen is a new thing to me. The price is just about right for me to try though.

You don't have to utilize the flex in your writing. It works fine for me as a daily writer. And if you ED the Ahab it will hold an incredible amount of ink.

Have fun.

 

[Doc4]

You can get a free Preppy already converted to eyedropper with most 4.5oz bottles of Noodler's ink. (Read the fine print ... some bottles come with a crappy Indian pen that will leak and be crap, and some come with nothing. IIRC, Heart of Darkness is one with the Preppy.)

IMHO, the Pilot 78g is far superior, and you can get it delivered to your door for $10. It comes with a couple cartridges and a converter (all for that $10 ... e-bay sellers from Hong Kong), and a bit of silicone grease will make a great eyedropper conversion. No "status" but a real workhorse that says "I know how to get the best bang for my buck on $10 of fountain pen."

Kaweco Sport (Ice or regular) are also great to eyedropper (and take cartridges but too small for converters.)

 

[zethreal]

You can get a free Preppy already converted to eyedropper with most 4.5oz bottles of Noodler's ink. (Read the fine print ... some bottles come with a crappy Indian pen that will leak and be crap, and some come with nothing. IIRC, Heart of Darkness is one with the Preppy.)

I just got a bottle of HoD from Goulet and it came with a Preppy, so I can confirm that.

 

[j_fro]

Was it converted? I saw it on the site but missed that?

 

[zethreal]

Was it converted? I saw it on the site but missed that?

Yeah, it had some silicone grease & an o-ring on it so it was ready to use as an eyedropper pen right out of the box. There is also a ballpoint pen adapter that gets stuck into the reservoir part of the pen. Just pop that out & fill with ink and you're good to go!

 

[Go West Young Man]

Why not just the Preppy as is? Pop a converter in, load with your ink of choice, no muss no fuss!

 

[Lexbomb]

You also can't go past the Lamy Safari I love my two that I have, although I find the Lamy roller ball to be rather average

 

[Andy]

So B&B has gotten me re interested in something that I had an interest before. (And if I hadn't gone tobacco free on January 2 I would be all over the brown leaf too).

In the past I used very inexpensive cartridge pens that were mostly disposable and cost about 2.50 USD when I was in university in the late 90s early 2000's. I knew about the high end pens then but here's the thing- I want to use it as a tool, and I have little worry about the pen as a status symbol.

Frankly, I wish I could find the old ones but they seem to have disappeared from every shelf over the last DECADE. I have been cruising Goulet's and am thinking of picking up a fine and medium Preppy and a Noodler's Ahab.

What conversion do you think would be the best on the Preppy pens?

The preppy is a great cheap pen, I keep a few in my work bag at all times.
Personally, I find a converter the best on the preppies, I tried to eyedropper one but didn't have much success and the cartridge can be a bit hit and miss.

The Ahab that I had wasn't too bad but I found that I had to keep tweaking it to keep it running, and the ink evaporated quite quickly.

Alternatively Lamy make great pens, I really enjoy using my safari or Al-Star and the great thing about them is that you can change nibs very quickly.