I'm interested to see what you guys would recommend as a good value pen for a first time buyer. I have a co-worker who's dad designed for Parker so he's hardly impartial. Are these the best? I think I would be most interested in being able to use different bottled inks and prefer fine tip pens in general.
Good Pen for a new user?
- Thread starter PFP_Dad
- Start date
Depends on what you consider a good value. I just got my first fountain pen, a Lamy safari with a fine nib and a cartridge converter from Goulet pens. I couldn't be more happy with it
i have a Safari with Medium nib and converter on my way, glad you like yours. really looking forward to mine...YELLOW.
if i like it, which i'm sure i will, i'll add some more nibs
i bought a safari and an al-star. both wonderful starter pens made by lamy
Tell us how much (or how little) you want to spend and we'll find the best pen in your price range.
- Thread starter
- #6
I'm looking in the less than $50 range for sure. I looked at the safari, but it is too modern looking for my taste. I do like roughly that size pen from looking at it.
i have only 2 pens, (so far). looking at them they seem industrial looking but i like them both with fine nibs. the main reason i bought them is lamy bases out of heidelberg, my home town
I thought so, too, but my Al-Star is growing on me. Kind of a fusion of old and new. Plus, it lets you swap out nibs for cheap to suit your tastes. I got the 1.5 mm itallic nib on mine- may order a 1.1 to see how that looks (1.5 can be a bit broad sometimes)
I usually recommend the Lamy Safari, but since you said it looks a bit modern for your tastes (which I can certainly understand) I'll suggest looking for a restored Esterbrook J-series pen. They have a lever-fill system, which means you'd be able to use bottled pen ink. They can be found for very reasonable prices on eBay and they even pop up on our own B/S/T from time to time. It's a bit smaller than the Safari but it certainly looks more "traditional." Let us know what you end up with!
Pens with what I would consider "classic" styling are not plentiful in the $50 range. Retro 51 has some offerings and I think there is one Shaeffer model in that range. Occasionally a Levenger pen will go on sale for that. This is one of the reasons that the Lamy pens are so popular. Although I personally don't care for the "modern" look they are a good value. When you go to the $75 -$100 range the options become more numerous.
I use a Pilot Plumix in class everyday. I find it to be inexpensive enough that if i lose it i am not heartbroken, and it writes pretty well for me. Replacement ink cartridges are pretty cheap too, something like 5$/12 off of amazon.com. But i am also new to this whole fountain pen thing, so YMMV.
Just checked my email. Thishttp://www.levenger.com/PAGETEMPLATES/PRODUCT/Product.asp?Params=Category=8-275|Level=2-3|pageid=7022is on sale at Levenger. I have a few Levenger pens and find they write very well. I consider them a good value for the money.
- Thread starter
- #13
Ok, just ordered my first pen. An Esterbrook J series in real nice condition. It should be here in a few days and I'll let you guys know how it goes. I love the look of it, so we'll see how it writes. Paid $16.50, not sure if this is considered a "good deal" but it seemed worth it to me.
If you feel you need more after that try a Parker 21. I love mine, it is a great everyday writer.
Esties are great pens, and that is a decent price as well
Welcome to the club
There, that's better
well, my Yellow Lamy M point Safari with converter showed up today.
i inked it up (from a bottle ink) and there was no hesitation, it started flowing immediately. no scritch, nice and smooth.
i'm happy for $26 shipped (pen, 2 cartridges and 1 converter). the ink window on the barrel is nice, so you can quickly see if you have ink and what colour it is, without having to uncap it.
i inked it up (from a bottle ink) and there was no hesitation, it started flowing immediately. no scritch, nice and smooth.
i'm happy for $26 shipped (pen, 2 cartridges and 1 converter). the ink window on the barrel is nice, so you can quickly see if you have ink and what colour it is, without having to uncap it.
- Thread starter
- #19
So got my Esterbrook filled up and writing the other day, luckily the bladder was still good. So far I have to say, I love it. I'll definitely be keeping an eye our for new pens.
Congrats. I know you will enjoy that Esterbrook. Be careful though. They tend to multiply!
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