Fountain pen - recommendations

[equationgirl]

A lot of fountain pen folk will say that Tomoe River is absolutely the best thing ever and absolutely perfect for any ink or pen and... well, it isn't quite that great. Just to warn people. It's generally good paper but can have issues with drying times, and given that it's so physically thin there is always going to be some showthrough from the darker inks.

You're certainly right about the thinness, it's very thin compared to notebook paper. It has a different surface though, which I think is why there's better sheen results. I did look to see if there were any notebooks available which use it, and found one at a fancy Japanese stationery shop in covent garden -for £40 iirc. That's two Lamy pens or two Moleskine books!!

For playing around, it's fine but agree with you that it has limitations. If anything, it's light but feels cheap.

 

[Pickman's model]

Very interesting article here How India's artisanal fountain pens are making their mark

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Crooked boss fleeced firm and spent thousands on luxury pens

Finance director Ashif Zackaria spent a fortune on expensive watches - and fountain pens

www.coventrytelegraph.net

Between 25 May 2010 and 12 August 2014, Zackaria made 34 cheques payable to Penbox to buy luxury and limited edition fountain pens which were bound to increase in value.

A total of 180 fountain pens were later recovered from his home which he shared with his brother. Penbox considered the defendant to be a regular and high-value customer.

Who amongst us etc

 

[Pickman's model]

Crooked boss fleeced firm and spent thousands on luxury pens

Finance director Ashif Zackaria spent a fortune on expensive watches - and fountain pens

www.coventrytelegraph.net

View attachment 272266



Who amongst us etc

west midlands police being what they are i shouldn't wonder that there'll be some new calligraphers among them in a few months' time

 

[Throbbing Angel]

I'd like a good, wet, somewhere between fine & medium nibbed, everyday pen.

Any suggestions? Cartridges are preferred for ease/portable filling.

I'm using a medium nibbed Waterman Expert at the mo' which I like, but is quite wide for a medium I think, and I therefore write shittily with it and can't decipher it quickly later. I can write more thinly with it if I hold it at an unnatural (for me) angle - but what's the point of that!?

 

[izz]

Pen purists will clutch their pearls but StackPath is my handbag pen, cheap, writes well and takes a lot of handbag-related punishment. Has never yet leaked and I've become quite fond of it.

 

[Throbbing Angel]

Pen purists will clutch their pearls but StackPath is my handbag pen, cheap, writes well and takes a lot of handbag-related punishment. Has never yet leaked and I've become quite fond of it.

Standard refills is it? I'm not paying £2.50 for 2 cartridges from Muji

 

[izz]

Standard refills is it? I'm not paying £2.50 for 2 cartridges from Muji

Ah hell yeah - I refill mine tho' as I'm snobby about ink and I have access to a supply of used hypodermics. *







*Diabetic cat

 

[Throbbing Angel]

Ah hell yeah - I refill mine tho' as I'm snobby about ink and I have access to a supply of used hypodermics. *

*Diabetic cat

I haz a converter somewhere I can use - might give that pen a whirl unless I get some more recommendations ...

 

[FridgeMagnet]

While I can't see the cartridges I'd bet they were standard international size because that's what's generally used for everything which doesn't say otherwise.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

I was going to suggest a Japanese pen as their M nibs tend to run finer than Western ones, and most are cartridge/converter, but fuck me pens are expensive now. I swear they're about 2.5x the price they were when I was buying pens a few years ago.

 

[Throbbing Angel]

I was going to suggest a Japanese pen as their M nibs tend to run finer than Western ones, and most are cartridge/converter, but fuck me pens are expensive now. I swear they're about 2.5x the price they were when I was buying pens a few years ago.

Any brand names you'd care to share?

 

[FridgeMagnet]

I've liked Sailor, Pilot, and Platinum pens over the years. Sailor and Platinum both have core lines of solid, trad fountain pens with great nibs - the 1911 for Sailor (founding date of the company) and the 3776 for Platinum (the height of Mt Fuji in feet apparently). Pilot are more famous for their non-fountain pens but they do also make a bunch of fountain ones including the Capless which is easily the best retractable pen IMO - oddly the nibs on that are more Western style though still a bit narrower than you'd expect.

Pilot and Platinum do make budget fountain pens but I've not found them that available in the UK. The Preppy is one that you can get and is surprisingly good (and refillable) Platinum Preppy Fountain Pen 05 Medium

 

[maomao]

Everytime I try a proper pen it's not as good as a Platinum Preppy (though tbf that would probably change if I could face spending more than about 25-30 quid on one). They make pretty ones that look like this too:

 

[izz]

The Muji cheap handbag pen I mention above, I'm delighted to report, copes well with a glittery Herbin ink that clogs many of my other, more expensive scribblers

 

[Throbbing Angel]

Bought a Fine nibbed Preppy off of that Amazon with 4 cartridges for £7 I think.

Very light, find it easy to hold, 0.3mm nib, it writes fine but it feels slow/draggy to me so I think I'll try a medium next.

They also do a model called the Prefounte which seems to sell for anywhere between £8 and £17 on Amazon at the mo.

And the Plaisir which sells for around £18 and looks like a metal as opposed to a plastic body <investigates>.

 

[equationgirl]

Have a look at Lamy, they're good (German) or Kaweco (also German). I also have a couple of parker pens that I am quite fond of.

Has your ink addiction started yet? Check out Dominant Industry inks, they have something to suit everyone.

 

[Virtual Blue]

Looking to replace my now broken Pilot fountain pen and shocked at the price hikes!!
Even a Pelikan is OTT.

A basic Lamy Safari is over £20!!

 

[Callum91]

Looking to replace my now broken Pilot fountain pen and shocked at the price hikes!!
Even a Pelikan is OTT.

A basic Lamy Safari is over £20!!

I've been out of the fountain pen game for around 4 years or so, decided to log onto Cult Pens and see how much my collection would cost now and holy fuck, doubled in cost at least for most of them, legitimately at the point now where I'm considering insuring my collection...