DIY Planner - New to Fountain Pens with a few questions - Comments

I would consider looking at

xena — Mon, 26 May 2008 20:25:45 -0400

I would consider looking at the Waterman pens. There is a lot of variety to be had without going broke, and their quality is fantastic. I post under the same name at FPN- and I have had great deals Ebay- Penseller From France has a number of them, often at excellent prices. I own a Phileas and a Hemisphere- but you'd probably like the Expert II and the Phileas. Also, look at parker- their Frontier and Jotter look v. nice. Additionally, you may want to consider ink filling systems. If you write extensively, then you'll want to use a piston filler- the best and least expensive of these (discounting the ones that are problemmatic) are the Pelikan 150s, and the Pelikan 200's. Additionally, some vintage pens such as the Reform school pens may light your fire- they are piston fillers and easily acquired for very little money. Folks over at the Fountain Pen Network would be thrilled to assist you in figuring out what is right for you.

btw- I felt the same way with the safari. Oddly, my phileas is about the same weight, and I love it. the Safaris are just badly balanced in my opinion. Something about being too bottom-heavy/ top light. Balance is much more important than weight.

Thanks!!!

Nameless2131 — Wed, 21 May 2008 19:42:09 -0400

Wanted to say thanks to everyone for their comments. I'm in the process of ordering a small selection from a couple of different places to see what works and what doesn't. Thanks again

P.S. Isellpen dot com is an evil evil site. But in a good way. I now have my Birthday, Anniversary, and x-mas gifts for the next 10 years picked out.

Parker 51?

wikeh2004 — Tue, 20 May 2008 21:50:51 -0400

Given what you requested, I'd have to recommend considering a Parker 51. They would be about the right size and weight, are reliable writers, and seem to last almost forever. Plus, you're getting a vintage pen with some history behind it. You should be able to find a serviceable, if potentially well used, aerometric (squeeze filler) Parker 51 for about $40 -70 on www.pentrace.net/PenMarket.htm or Fountain Pen Network. Maybe a helpful person on one of those areas can help you find one for a reasonable price. I love 'em, but some people don't. Maybe someone you know has one you can try.

If you're thinking about using permanent Noodler's ink, though, you might want to look at a different pen, like maybe a Waterman Phileas or something similar.

Cheers,
Walter

-----------------------
"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." Albert Einstein and Buckaroo Banzai

Pens to try

Metropolitan — Fri, 16 May 2008 03:29:26 -0400

I have a couple of Lamy Vistas with different nibs, and enjoy them quite a bit, though I can see how the size is something that has to be adapted to. Still, they've been really reliable, and write when I need them to (if I've remembered to keep them filled). One has an italic nib, way more fun than I expected for everyday use!

I recently bought a Parker Sonnet fine point, and like it quite a bit. The point isn't as fine as others I've tried, more like a thinnish medium, but it writes very well and seems to fall into the size range you mentioned. Stainless nib, but I believe you can get a gold one as well. This one writes very smoothly, though, and I use it for notes in meetings as well as letters.

A friend bought a Pilot Knight, and loves it. More affordable, and has a stainless nib as well, but the company has proven it knows how to make a good nib regardless of metal.

Definitely try Fountain Pen Network - great group of supportive, enthiastic, profoundly knowledgeable people. Register, and ask away.

Lamy Studio

supenguin — Fri, 16 May 2008 02:51:59 -0400

One of my first fountain pen purchases was a Lamy Vista which is essentially a Safari in clear plastic. They are great pens, they just don't feel right in my hand. I've purchased a Lamy Studio which seems to be just the right weight, shape and size to feel great in my hand. The Studio feels very solid, slim toward the front. I got the metallic blue finish which feels like it has some kind of rubberized surface over the metal which makes it very grippable (is that a word?)

Not sure what kind price range you are looking for, but the Studio is $69.99 at PearTreePens.com The nib is solid steel, much like the other pens Lamy offers. It feels like a higher quality nib than the Safari.

The Studio is also available in the "Palladium" finish, which is a little pricier and comes with a 14k gold nib. I haven't had a chance to try it yet, so I don't know how much better it is than the steel nib.

-Kenny

Sailor and Namiki

Artbeast — Fri, 16 May 2008 02:21:41 -0400

Sailor pens are, IMHO, a bit dull to look at but they are really wonderful writers. They have many different nib selections all of which write wonderfully smooth.

The Namiki Vanishing Point is an interesting pen in that the nib clicks open and shut like a ballpoint pen. They do not compare to the Sailor pens for writing smoothness but are less expensive and pretty neat because of how they open and close.

Many people like to use the Noodler's inks because they dry waterproof. Personally I prefer a wetter ink for the fat/flex nibs I like to write with.

That is my .02.

Arthur
www.renaissance-art.com

FPN!

caligatia — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:56:31 -0400

Ask over on the Fountain Pen Network. They know EVERYTHING about pens there.
--
Steff
[ blog | photos ]

Great Pen Web Site

rickparadiso — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:19:27 -0400

Being somewhat of a collector (but very frugal), I like to buy a lot of FPs, but not spend too much $$ and then splurge when I find something I really like. Since you are new to the sport, you might want to go to Isellpens dot com and order a few of his. Most of what he sells are made in Asia, but are pretty high quality copies of pens that were made in the US or Europe at very good prices. I have a couple that you would swear are Parker 51s and a mid grade Sheaffer. If you like what you buy thru the site, you can wander into a pen store and compare what is in your hand to what is under glass and say.."wow, this looks like a ____" and then you can spend more to get the real thing. Some good sites for the real thing are Swishers and Art Browns (do a google search).
R

New to Fountain Pens with a few questions

Nameless2131 — Thu, 15 May 2008 20:06:21 -0400

Over the last couple years I have gotten back into the habit of journaling and found that on more and more occasions I'm reaching for some old no name fountain pen I've had forever. Well it finally exploded/disintegrated (literally!!) several months ago and instead of researching what it was before I threw it, I just junked it.

Fast forward to 2 weeks ago, I was in Las Vegas and stopped by the Paradise Pen store in the Fashion Show Mall. This store had quite possibly the best employees I have ever met in any type of store!!!! They worked with me for about a half hour letting me try different pens till I found one that I liked in my price range. Ended up with a Lamy Safari and couple different colors of inks.

The Lamy is a great pen but I'm finding it a little light and thick for what I "feel" is right in my hand. Yesterday my wife received a Waterford Ici & La fountain pen from a student that had just graduated from college and was going on to law school. My wife not being a fan of fountain pens gave it to me to use. Nice pen but the metallic lavender just isn't my color. :P

Joking aside, WOW, this is getting closer to what I want. I live in Omaha, Nebraska and we really have no good stores for pen shopping, so I'm stuck shopping off the internet and i dislike buying stuff that I'll never use. Sooooooooo I figured I would tap into the wealth of knowledge here to help me narrow down to what I'm looking for.

Can anyone suggest something in between the Lamy and Waterford in thickness, with a little more weight to it than the Waterford, a nice fine metal or gold nib?

Dang I sound really picky and demanding don't I?

Thanks all I appreciate any suggestions

D*I*Y Planner - New to Fountain Pens with a few questions - Comments