What is a good "starter" fountain pen?
- Thread starter Rosseforp
- Start date
Wow what a generous offer! I'll PM my address, and thanks!
I've tried Pelikan, Shaeffer, Noodler's, and Private Reserve.
Jinhao 80 are nice, I also like the 100 and the 159X. I owns several of each and they were all perfect out of the box.
I have an 80 but with their proprietary cartridges - a small mishap when ordering but it writes fine so all good.
I also got a green 100 and a black 159 that work/feel ok but not 100%. So for work is mostly one of my two 51 or the 80, my Kaweco’s hibernate at the moment
I didn’t know that there was an acrylic 159X so many thanks I just ordered this blue F
- Thread starter
- #65
That looks nice, how would you compare it to my Pilot?I have an 80 but with their proprietary cartridges - a small mishap when ordering but it writes fine so all good.
I also got a green 100 and a black 159 that work/feel ok but not 100%. So for work is mostly one of my two 51 or the 80, my Kaweco’s hibernate at the moment
I didn’t know that there was an acrylic 159X so many thanks I just ordered this blue F
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~doug~
I will receive it on Wednesday but I will check in with a family pic and first impressions, Doug.
Jinhao pens are the best a small amount of money can buy. Go to Aliexpress and search for Jinhao. They all write well. The plastic caps on the very cheap ones tend to split. Buy ones with a metal ring on the cap. They don't split.
The 159X Is huge and equipped with the biggest nib I own. It resembles a Montblanc 149 in shape and size. It Is a very nice pen at a ridicolous price (under $10 shipped)
- Thread starter
- #69
I happen to like a large grip, like the Pilot Dr. Grip ball point. Only problem I had with the Dr. Grip was the ridiculously small ink cartridge.
~doug~
And old question but my brief look at this thread says this may not have been answered, so ...
"Yes ... and no".
It's really easy to pop in your next cartridge in a different colour ... almost as easy to suck up a load of ink into the converter or internal filling system (piston, &c) using a new ink after a quick flush ...
... but really, you need to thoroughly flush the pen to remove all the old colour from the nib and feed.
But ... but ... there will almost always be residual pigment that lives in the feed even after a good cleaning, and it slowly comes out afterward. Not much of a problem if you are changing to a much darker colour or black but ... it'll taint your lighter colour for some time. (I had a pen that was dedicated to black ink for some time ... then after a thorough cleaning I switched it to be for a nice light orange ink ... which was basically "brown" for months of writing as the residual black worked its way out.)
No doubt brief use of a dark colour will stain the feed far less than years of dedicated use but ... IMHO just better all-round to dedicate a pen to a colour and leave it at that. Nobody here complains about having to buy another pen ...
~doug~
I love pens and have a collection from ballpoint pens to custom calligraphy pen holders. A wonderful fountain pen to start off for the money is the Moonman C1. I own at least 5 of these pens for live shows. They come with an ink converter but eye dropper method is the way to go for the best performance. This fountain pen uses a size 6 nib so you can always change out the nib to the more popular ones.
If you want a lighter and less expensive pen, I'd try a Pilot Kakuno. They're inexpensive and they have a softer nib that performs extremely well for the price. It doesn't include an ink converter but you can use a syringe to refill the ink cartridge.
PenBBS also has many wonderful pens for the price. If you find a design that fits your hand well, the eye dropper versions are excellent. Their finishes are delightful and can spoil you haha
Best of luck
If you want a lighter and less expensive pen, I'd try a Pilot Kakuno. They're inexpensive and they have a softer nib that performs extremely well for the price. It doesn't include an ink converter but you can use a syringe to refill the ink cartridge.
PenBBS also has many wonderful pens for the price. If you find a design that fits your hand well, the eye dropper versions are excellent. Their finishes are delightful and can spoil you haha
Best of luck
Pilot Kakuno is a great pen also because the nibs are interchangeable between the Pilot Kakuno, Metropolitan, Plumix and Prera? That way you can buy a donor pen to exchange the nib in your Prera for example.
-Boris
Lamy Safari and Parker Quink ink.
Pilot Kakuno! ~$8. Incredible writer, same nib as all other Pilots under the $50-100 range. Can eyedropper (turn the barrel into a whole sealed inkwell) with two drops of any kind of sealant and some dielectric (silicone) grease. Friction fit cap. Fits Kaweco sport clips if that matters to you.
