Fountain Pens

[Zenas]

Any suggestiosn on quality fountain pens under $100?

I prefer something classic and classy, preferrably black or some other neutral, versatile color.

 

[LegalEagle143]

I'm in the same boat...if you do a search there are a few good threads on the subject/pens in general.

 

[brianw]

For Classic you can't beat a Parker "51"... vintage of course

 

[djh]

Check out the Lamy 2000. For me, it is a fantastic pen and great value- with a little internet checking you should be able to find one for less than $100

 

[Legion]

+1 Parker 51. You should get a really nice one under $100.

Or, for less, I have a Hero 100 Flighter which I've been using solidly for the last month or so. Very good value.

 

[Telecaster52]

+1 on the heros

for $100 you can get a handfull of them, and a different color ink for each pen and still have change left

 

[Isaac]

I would recommend a Parker 51 for a quality pen. Im not saying that the Lamy Safari isnt quality, but it has a cheaper feel. That being said, I do own one..and would definitely recommend it for a first time pen.

 

[Gymea]

Fountain pens are my "other" passion!

Pelikan makes a nice fountain pen, and you can get an M200 series for under $100. The nice thing about Pelikans is that the nibs are screw-out types, which allow you to change out the nib depending on what point size you are wanting (although, the nibs are approximately $30 or so each). The Pelikans are piston fill, with a fairly sizeable ink capacity.

The Lamy 2000 as suggested is a nice pen, but I believe that you'd be hard-pressed to find one for around the $100. But then, they're not a whole lot more (~$30 or so more). The Lamy Safari is another choice, which is much cheaper than the $100 you're wanting to spend...but then, it's a funky looking pen that isn't for everybody.

The Parker 51 is a good suggestion if you don't mind vintage -- they typically come in two flavours for filling systems: aerometric and vacumatic. I'm NOT a Parker 51 fan, although one of my favourite pens in my collection IS a P51. (Huh?? Yeah, that's right. That's 'cos it sports a gorgeous factory stub nib).

For modern, some of the modern Parkers are good -- the Frontier is still available on the 'bay on the cheaper side, and the Inflection if you want to spend a little more. You MAY be able to find a Sonnet around the $100 range, but BEWARE -- the Sonnet is a pen that is often counterfeited. First thing I'd do is take a magnet to the nib if it's marked "14K" or "18K"...

Sheaffer used to make some nice modern pens as well, but I've found their models to be somewhat lackluster since the closure of the Fort Madison, IA factory a number of years ago.

If you do decide to go vintage, make sure you buy from a reputable vendor/restorer, or make sure that you send the pen to a reputable restorer. There are many out there, many of whom I've met personally, so let me know if you need any suggestions.

There are other wet shaver fountain pen collectors on here who can add to the suggestions already made. That's no surprise -- in the past, I've waxed philosophical about fountain pen collectors/users knowing how to appreciate the finer things in history and who have an affinity towards things that are "mechanical"...such as using pen/paper versus a computer, reading a book or newspaper versus reading it online, wearing analog watches (and even automatic or manual wind watches) versus digital, and finally -- wet shaving versus electric shaving.

BTW, IsaacRN, cool Montblanc snowcap avatar. I'm a big Montblanc fan, even though the brand is considered a "luxury" brand by many FP enthusiasts. Can't beat a vintage Montblanc, that's for sure.

Hope this helps!

Jimmy.

 

[brianw]

Fountain pens are my "other" passion!

Yup same here... all in all about 150 of the beasties.... all of my vintage parker "51"s were either gifts or purchased with none of them costing me more then 100.00 including sending some of them off to Binder or Zorn for resaccing or such. My "plums" are a 1949 Plum pen and Pencil a old Korean Vet gave me and my 1950 Flighter that was my grandfathers. I really don't care for Lamy's except for the lamy 27 I have I got from a guy in Germany for 30.00.

I also have a bunch of Edison's and Conklin "crescent fillers"(vintage), Got rid of most of my Pelikan's... Cap seemed to always unscrew in my pocket and I kind of felt they had no "soul"....

Sorry for the ramble.........

 

[Gymea]

Yup same here... all in all about 150 of the beasties.... all of my vintage parker "51"s were either gifts or purchased with none of them costing me more then 100.00 including sending some of them off to Binder or Zorn for resaccing or such. My "plums" are a 1949 Plum pen and Pencil a old Korean Vet gave me and my 1950 Flighter that was my grandfathers. I really don't care for Lamy's except for the lamy 27 I have I got from a guy in Germany for 30.00.

I also have a bunch of Edison's and Conklin "crescent fillers"(vintage), Got rid of most of my Pelikan's... Cap seemed to always unscrew in my pocket and I kind of felt they had no "soul"....

Sorry for the ramble.........

Ah, very cool, Brian! Say, do we know each other outside of B&B? Are you on Zoss? Fountain Pen Network? Fountain Pen Collecting? Pentrace? Did we cross paths at the DC Show way back when and exchanged scowls?

Richard Binder is cool -- not sure if you're aware, but when he first started selling notepads back in ~2003, those ones were handmade by me. He has them commercially made now. I know Ron Zorn by reputation, but don't believe I've met him -- his restoration skills are highly regarded, however. I hear that he's a workhorse (just as Binder is) at the various pen shows he attends.

I never count my pens or inks (especially the rare ones I've hoarded), just like I don't count my creams/soaps and blades...it'd be just too depressing to realize how much I've spent.

I know what you mean about Pelikans having little soul -- the ones I have are ones on which I've reground the nibs as stubs or cursive italics...so, at least I've given them SOME soul back... Now, the vintage Pels are quite awesome, especially those with an OB or OBB nib...

The two in my collection of which I'm most proud is the aforementioned P51 with factory stub (black with brushed silver cap), and a silver pearl Parker Vacumatic major (if memory serves) with factory stub. Oh, there's also my Sheaffer PFM V (black with gold plated cap) with factory stub that I paid king's ransom for -- but I always forget about that one, as I'm not a big fan of it, in spite of the nib (the barrel's a little to fat for me). I'm into stubs and cursive italics, especially factory ones, in case you hadn't noticed.

Hmm...have always wanted a Conklin crescent filler, but never actually took the plunge. I should revisit that, one of these days...

Cheers,
Jimmy.

 

[brianw]

Used to be a frequent visitor of FPN, but got tired of the Flame wars. Never been to DC show, only NYC.... I had a 200 Pel ground to a Italifine by Binder Cursive .7 on one side and fine on the reverse... still not enough "soul"... Lately I have been more into the crisp italics and have ground (myself) 2 med "51"s to a crisp... not bad if I say so myself. All my edisons and 2 of the conklin's are crisps as well. I sold Isaac his first "51"... I told him I would send him one of my crisp "51"s to play with... need to get that in the mail.

 

[Gymea]

Yeah, I hear you on the fame wars on FPN. BTW, I made their notepads also. The DC Show is pretty amazing -- although, I've only been twice.

That raises a question -- there aren't any wet shaving shows, are there? I know that Autruche had attended one trade show in Mississauga, Ontario (just outside of Toronto), but didn't actually display any of their wet shaving products. It was more of a hair show, if I'm not mistaken.

Very cool that you've reground your own nibs as well. What a fine couple of hobbies that we've embarked upon, eh? =)

Congrats, Isaac, on the P51 purchase! So, Zenas/Andrew, hope we've given you a few leads over the course of this thread!

Cheers,
Jimmy

 

[Isaac]

Yeah..Brian sold me my first 51..and now im about 14 pens into it. I have to say that the P51 is still one of the best. I myself do love Cursive Italics, but im a sucker for a nice Montblanc nib

 

[Uncle Erik]

Another vote for the venerable Parker 51 here. Don't be too nervous about buying a vintage aerometic model. They rarely go bad and are extremely durable.

I have about 100 fountain pens of all sorts of makes and models, but the 51 finds its way into my pocket 99% of the time. Right now I am carrying a grey aerometric with a stainless (Lustraloy) cap. It's fully broken into my hand and I love it to pieces. I have some more expensive 51s, but this one is just right.

Another great model you don't hear about nearly as much is the Sheaffer Snorkel. They often need new O-rings and a sac, but are terrific writers once restored. Restoration costs about $30-$40, so it's not too bad. On Saturday, I'll take one I got for $30 at the LA Pen Show in for restoration. I prefer the Triumph nibs on a Snorkel, but the PFM is nice, too. However, you'll find the PFM outside your budget.

 

[Wil Dorenbos]

+1 on the heros

for $100 you can get a handfull of them, and a different color ink for each pen and still have change left

+2 on the Hero's (only pens I use, all others are in their pouches), check the 100 and 110 series in black.

 

[brianw]

I have some hero's and use them for badly staining inks. The only problems with Hero's are the quality control is very dodgy and getting one that needs work is a real problem.

 

[Rik]

Greetings Zenas,

Pelikan is my fountain pen of choice particularly their larger Sovereign models. While these are in a rotation, my case always has a Lamy 2000. You can find one for under $100 at Oscar Braun Pens. Excellent folks to work with.

 

[DeaconKC]

Pelikan 215 is a fantastic pen. Medium size, great nib and a piston filler. Also another vote for the Lamy 2000. Cross makes an excellent pen for a very reasonable price too.