3 ms·

If you haven't used a fountain pen recently you're really missing out. They aren't expensive and it really helps clarity. Pilot Varsity pens are plastic dispos

by rb808 8y ago

If you haven't used a fountain pen recently you're really missing out. They aren't expensive and it really helps clarity. Pilot Varsity pens are plastic disposable fountain pens, sell for $2-3 each in a pack. Pilot Metropolitans are ~$12 but feel really expensive. They are metal and have replaceable cartridges. You can get a italic nib which I love. Lamy pens are great too, they suit me because they're larger even if they aren't metal. When I write with ballpoints it looks terrible in comparison. I just saw this sampler, which looks great https://www.jetpens.com/JetPens-Beginner-Fountain-Pen-Sampler/pd/24218 https://www.jetpens.com/JetPens-Beginner-Fountain-Pen-Sample...

LyndsySimon 8y ago
> They aren't expensive. Well, they aren't all expensive. I highly recommend the Pilot Kakuno for a first fountain pen; it's not luxurious by any means, but the nib is excellent for the price. The Wing Sung 698 is also really excellent, for ~$15.
danShumway 8y ago
I also highly recommend the Twisbi Eco - more expensive (I think 30 dollars), but piston filled, which means you can buy any fountain-pen inks from anywhere and use them. I've had mine for... I don't know, maybe a year? I love it. It's difficult to articulate, but it makes writing feel more pleasurable somehow - not just because it writes well (although it does), but because the entire experience feels less "disposable", if that makes any sense. It feels good to fill it with ink from a glass bottle, even something as simple as unscrewing the cap and posting it is just a really tiny joy. I like that I can see the ink splashing around in it. I'm sure millage would vary on this, but I've also found that because I enjoy writing more with it, my handwriting and attention to detail has also become better. My cursive has gotten much better over the past year. If you use ballpoint pens, then you don't know what you're missing out on. If you use decent rollerball pens, you still might enjoy a fountain pen more. It's such a frivolous, unnecessary purchase - but it's still pretty high up on my list of things that I'm routinely glad I bought.
- mplewis 8y ago
  The Eco is wonderful. It carries a stupid amount of ink. I never realized how quickly you can run out of ink until I started on pens with small "converters" – refillable reservoirs for liquid ink. The TWSBI Eco's piston-filling reservoir is massive.
mdorazio 8y ago
As a counterpoint, even with Lamy fountain pens I had constant problems with ink leaking and nibs drying out. I gave up on them in favor of high-quality ball pens some time ago.
- Doxin 8y ago
  Turns out the ink is really important for your experience with fountain pens. I used to use noodlers ink but that'd dry in the nib if you left it alone for half a second. These days I switched to lamy brand ink and I can leave my pen lying around for weeks without it drying up.
adfm 8y ago
Another one to check out is the Pilot Kaküno. It's billed as a beginner fountain pen, but old hands like it, too. https://www.gouletpens.com/collections/pilot-kakuno-fountain-pens https://www.gouletpens.com/collections/pilot-kakuno-fountain...
archon 8y ago
> Pilot Metropolitans are ~$12 but feel really expensive. They are metal and have replaceable cartridges. You can get a italic nib which I love. To expand on this, you can also get converters that allow you to use bottled ink. I use Pilot Metropolitans and a Pilot Prera daily. The reservoir converters really open up a lot of possibilities for ink color choices.
romwell 8y ago
Personally, I am a big fan of Pilot Petit 1[1], which you can buy in packs of 12 with multiple-color ink. Always amazes others as well. Ergonomically, they are great; they don't take much space - and they are easy and pleasant to write with. They don't have a character (like some of my other pens do) - they just write. They are nearly indestructible - I've left one in a shirt pocket and did the laundry, and both the shirt and the pen were fine - and cheap, at $2-$3, depending on where you buy them. The only problem with them is that getting the ink cartridges is harder than getting these pens (the Pilot cartridges are incompatible with Pelikan, which is the most popular standard, as well as the popular-in-the-US Sheaffer). But at $2 a pen, their economics are approaching the ballpoint pens - easier to buy a new one than refill at times. [1]https://www.tokyopenshop.com/fountain-pens-c-51/petit-1-fountain-pen-p-969.html https://www.tokyopenshop.com/fountain-pens-c-51/petit-1-foun...
- teh_klev 8y ago
  Those Pilot Petit's look quite neat. I wish there was a supplier of these in the UK. Sadly all the sellers are on ebay and based in Hong Kong.
teh_klev 8y ago
I've always written and doodled with fountain pens since high school (cough, ahem the early 80's). My go to cheap and cheerful fountain pen has been the Parker Vector[0], it's not expensive and is really nice to use. I did for a while (12 years) own a Waterman Carene[1] which was gifted to me by colleagues when I moved on to another job. To my great sadness and annoyance I lost it in a house move. That was a really nice writing implement if perhaps a wee bit top heavy if you left the lid on the other end. After losing that pen I bought another Parker Vector and it's done me just fine ever since. [0]: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Parker-Medium-Vector-Fountain-Blister/dp/B00C2OUQ8I https://www.amazon.co.uk/Parker-Medium-Vector-Fountain-Blist... [1]: https://www.penheaven.co.uk/waterman-carene-amber-gold-trim-fountain-pen https://www.penheaven.co.uk/waterman-carene-amber-gold-trim-...

by rb808 8y ago

LyndsySimon 8y ago

> They aren't expensive. Well, they aren't all expensive. I highly recommend the Pilot Kakuno for a first fountain pen; it's not luxurious by any means, but the nib is excellent for the price. The Wing Sung 698 is also really excellent, for ~$15.

danShumway 8y ago

I also highly recommend the Twisbi Eco - more expensive (I think 30 dollars), but piston filled, which means you can buy any fountain-pen inks from anywhere and use them. I've had mine for... I don't know, maybe a year? I love it. It's difficult to articulate, but it makes writing feel more pleasurable somehow - not just because it writes well (although it does), but because the entire experience feels less "disposable", if that makes any sense. It feels good to fill it with ink from a glass bottle, even something as simple as unscrewing the cap and posting it is just a really tiny joy. I like that I can see the ink splashing around in it. I'm sure millage would vary on this, but I've also found that because I enjoy writing more with it, my handwriting and attention to detail has also become better. My cursive has gotten much better over the past year. If you use ballpoint pens, then you don't know what you're missing out on. If you use decent rollerball pens, you still might enjoy a fountain pen more. It's such a frivolous, unnecessary purchase - but it's still pretty high up on my list of things that I'm routinely glad I bought.

mplewis 8y ago
The Eco is wonderful. It carries a stupid amount of ink. I never realized how quickly you can run out of ink until I started on pens with small "converters" – refillable reservoirs for liquid ink. The TWSBI Eco's piston-filling reservoir is massive.

mdorazio 8y ago

As a counterpoint, even with Lamy fountain pens I had constant problems with ink leaking and nibs drying out. I gave up on them in favor of high-quality ball pens some time ago.

Doxin 8y ago
Turns out the ink is really important for your experience with fountain pens. I used to use noodlers ink but that'd dry in the nib if you left it alone for half a second. These days I switched to lamy brand ink and I can leave my pen lying around for weeks without it drying up.

adfm 8y ago

Another one to check out is the Pilot Kaküno. It's billed as a beginner fountain pen, but old hands like it, too. https://www.gouletpens.com/collections/pilot-kakuno-fountain-pens https://www.gouletpens.com/collections/pilot-kakuno-fountain...

archon 8y ago

> Pilot Metropolitans are ~$12 but feel really expensive. They are metal and have replaceable cartridges. You can get a italic nib which I love. To expand on this, you can also get converters that allow you to use bottled ink. I use Pilot Metropolitans and a Pilot Prera daily. The reservoir converters really open up a lot of possibilities for ink color choices.

romwell 8y ago

Personally, I am a big fan of Pilot Petit 1[1], which you can buy in packs of 12 with multiple-color ink. Always amazes others as well. Ergonomically, they are great; they don't take much space - and they are easy and pleasant to write with. They don't have a character (like some of my other pens do) - they just write. They are nearly indestructible - I've left one in a shirt pocket and did the laundry, and both the shirt and the pen were fine - and cheap, at $2-$3, depending on where you buy them. The only problem with them is that getting the ink cartridges is harder than getting these pens (the Pilot cartridges are incompatible with Pelikan, which is the most popular standard, as well as the popular-in-the-US Sheaffer). But at $2 a pen, their economics are approaching the ballpoint pens - easier to buy a new one than refill at times. [1]https://www.tokyopenshop.com/fountain-pens-c-51/petit-1-fountain-pen-p-969.html https://www.tokyopenshop.com/fountain-pens-c-51/petit-1-foun...

teh_klev 8y ago
Those Pilot Petit's look quite neat. I wish there was a supplier of these in the UK. Sadly all the sellers are on ebay and based in Hong Kong.

teh_klev 8y ago

I've always written and doodled with fountain pens since high school (cough, ahem the early 80's). My go to cheap and cheerful fountain pen has been the Parker Vector[0], it's not expensive and is really nice to use. I did for a while (12 years) own a Waterman Carene[1] which was gifted to me by colleagues when I moved on to another job. To my great sadness and annoyance I lost it in a house move. That was a really nice writing implement if perhaps a wee bit top heavy if you left the lid on the other end. After losing that pen I bought another Parker Vector and it's done me just fine ever since. [0]: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Parker-Medium-Vector-Fountain-Blister/dp/B00C2OUQ8I https://www.amazon.co.uk/Parker-Medium-Vector-Fountain-Blist... [1]: https://www.penheaven.co.uk/waterman-carene-amber-gold-trim-fountain-pen https://www.penheaven.co.uk/waterman-carene-amber-gold-trim-...