re: Anyone actually buy nice pens?

I get lots of the freebies from the bank, insurance office, booths at the fair, and such.

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What's a good fountain pen to start with?

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Lamy

ETA - The Safari to be specific

Good pens to start with-

Waterman Phileases can be filled from ink bottle or with cartridges. Pelikan 400 is a nice pen but a lot more pricey.

As an alternative to newer pens a working esterbrook from the '50's can be had from eBay for under $20 if you are patient and picky. Of course you'll need a source for bottled ink.

I have to upvote you correcting me. That was piss poor. I am disabling my fricking spell correct from now on. I don’t mind the spell help but the grammar corrections are annoying as hell.

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Anyone actually buy nice pens?

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I read this as buy nice penis.


Carry on.

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What's a good fountain pen to start with?

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I agree with the previous poster who suggested starting with a Lamy Safari. They are made in Germany and are a very good starter pen. The great thing about Lamy pens is that their nibs are very inexpensive and easily interchangeable. One way to immediately get turned off to fountain pens is to find a nib that feels scratchy or dries out too quickly. The finer you go (e.g. a fine or extra fine nib), the scratchier it will write. This is not to say that fine nibbed pens are a bad thing, but definitely something to keep in the back of your mind when trying new pens.

I would also point out that writing with a fountain pen is different than writing with a rollerball because you let the weight of the pen do most of the work rather than actually pressing the tip of the pen into the paper as you would do with a roller ball. You have to exert pressure on a rollerball because you are using the friction created by pressing down on paper to turn the ball. This pressure is what actually causes the writing fatigue. With that said, I prefer a heavy fountain pen over a lighter pen.

Another thing not really discussed is the importance of the paper you use. The smoothness of the paper is described by the term "tooth." On one end of the spectrum, you can think of construction paper or card stock. These would be described as toothy. On the other end would be paper that is milled to replicate vellum (animal skin used for writing). This would have writing properties closer to writing on glass as opposed to sandpaper. Clairefontaine and Rhodia make notebooks that resemble vellum and are sometimes labeled as "vellum" paper. A more economical approach is to test out fountain pens on Laser Printing Paper. It has a similar smoothness to Clairefontaine and Rhodia paper but at a lower price point.

Rhodia Website - Notebooks Section

Clairefontaine Website - Notebooks Section

There are a few options out there to check out if you want to try out fountain pens. Most of these pens are less than $50, but are a good way to see if you enjoy the experience.

Lamy Safari

This is a good starter pen and can be purchased for around $30. The replacement nibs are pretty inexpensive and allows you to try out different line widths to determine which works best for you. Most of the links are for Goulet Pen Company. They are a great purveyor of pens, ink, and paper.



Lamy Safari - Goulet Pen Company - $29.60

Retro 51 Tornado

It was mentioned in an earlier post, but I agree that the Retro 51 Tornado - Lincoln is a wonderful pen. It was actually one of my very first fountain pens. They have a copper finish and are relatively heavy. You can purchase this pen for $53.60 at Goulet Pen Company.



Retro 51 Lincoln - Goulet Pen Company - $51.60

Pilot Metropolitan

A third option is the Pilot Metropolitan. It is a bit too light for my preference, but I prefer heavy pens. Pilot makes great products and you won't go wrong taking this pen for a spin to see if you enjoy writing with fountain pens. This pen runs $23.99 at Goulet.



Pilot Metropolitan Fountain Pen - Goulet Pen Company - $23.99

If you are in the New Orleans area, there is a great little pen shop in the French Quarter called Papier Plume. They have a great selection and are a great resource for anyone wanting to try out different pens.

Papier Plume's Website

I was given a Mont Blanc about 20years ago. It's in a box on a shelf somewhere.

I bought a handful when I was a young lawyer and lost them when I got fired.

I take one when given the chance.

I’ve been using the same pen at my desk for 3 years at least, it was cheap company swag