Best products from r/fountainpens

You’re very welcome! I’m going to try to answer the first question the best I can, but it’s a bit out of my area of expertise. From my experience, if your pen is skipping with writing, the two things that I can think of is that the cartridge may not be inserted all the way or the nib is not alined correctly. The first one is an easy fix, as you just press on the cartridge a bit and make sure it’s snapped all the way in, but the second one is a bit more difficult to deal with. It requires more knowledge of how the pen works, etc. The easiest way to tell is if you look hold the pen at a 45 degree angle, nib facing towards you and the metallic/writing side facing down. Look to see if there is anything that is even the slightest bit out of line. If something is out of place, that could be the problem. The easiest way to fix it is to contact customer support from the pen company. There are other ways to try to realign them, but that goes way over my head at the moment. I’m trying to figure it out, but it takes some practice.

Now for an area I’ m a bit more familiar with. As for another pen after these, here’s the subreddit’s Holy Trinity of Starter Pen Recommendations:

You have the Pilot Metropolitan which runs around $15. It comes in a medium or fine nib and the pen body is made from metal. You can get them in a plain silver, black or gold or they have a retro pop collection with more “wild” colors. It comes with a black cartridge and a rubber converter if you want to fill it using ink from a bottle.

Then there’s the Lamy Safari. This one retails at about $37 but from a quick search on amazon, you can get it for around $20. This one’s made of plastic and comes with a cartridge. If you like the Safari but want one that’s made of metal, look into the Lamy Al-Star. It’s usually $10 more, but I found this one for the exact same price on amazon as the other Safaris. If you want to use ink bottles with either of these pens, you’ll either have to refill the cartridge or buy a converter. The converter is much easier to fill from a bottle with but reduces your ink capacity a little bit. Safaris come in a lot of different colors and special edition colors and nibs range from EF to B.

Finally, there’s the TWSBI ECO. This is right around the $30 mark. Instead of taking cartridges, the pen has what is called a piston filler. You hold the pen nib deep in a bottle of ink and turn the end of the pen and it fills for you. It has a large ink capacity because of this. This type of pen is also called a demonstrator because it has a clear body that you can see the ink move around in. It’s very cool. Another thing people love the TWSBI For is that you can take the entire thing apart and easily clean/replace parts. TWSBI nibs are pretty good too, and they come anywhere from EF to B and also carry a 1.1 stub, which is something similar to the flat calligraphy nibs on the speedball there. TWSBI also makes the TWSBI GO and I’ve heard great things about it but I have not personally used it, so I can’t say much about the differences between the go and the Eco. I think it’s mainly the filling mechanism (twisting the end of the pen on the ECO vs a spring loaded press of the button on the GO.)

Out of these three, I’d recommend the TWSBI ECO because the piston filling mechanism is really cool, you don’t have to worry about a converter, the nib is great, and I love the look of the pen. (However, I might be slightly biased as this was my first pen, lol.) I got a Safari recently and absolutely love the way it writes. It’s a fun, functional pen. I’ve used the Metro before and it’s a great pen when used with cartridges but I haven’t had good luck with the converter, sadly. When choosing a nib size, I’d recommend a F or M. I started with an EF pen and now almost all my pens are M nib. The broader the nib size, the smoother it writes as it lays more ink down when writing. The finer nibs (EF and F) have a bit more feedback but work better with smaller handwriting. I’d start somewhere in the middle depending on which experience you think you’ll like (F if you have smaller handwriting, M if you write larger and want it to be smoother). If you like the stub/flat nibs, don’t be afraid to get it in a 1.1 nib.

Now, here’s a few other recommendations outside the main three that come to mind when asking for a starter pen/are newer to FPs and want something else to try.

The Platinum Preppy runs anywhere under $10 and has a really good nib and in many different colors.

The Moonman M2 is a great eye dropper fill pen and has a really sleek design. It runs anywhere from $12-$20z The one I had before I lost it (oops) was a great writer and I really loved it. However, be warned that the QC isn’t the best with the nibs so you can get a good one or a not so god one. They also have a newer model, called the C1 which is really cool. I have this one and I really like it, but, again, you might get a bad nib. They also only come in one nib size (I think) so you can’t really choose what size you’d want sadly.

My last recommendation for you is a different type of Fountain Pen: the Pilot Parallel Pen. These are for calligraphy and you can get some really cool effects from them. They come with a little lettering/info book too so you can learn some basic styles with the pens. They come in 4 different nib sizes, and each pen costs around $10, but I attached amazon’s set of the 4 pens which you can get for $24 instead of around $40. These aren’t conventional FP’s, but are awesome if you really like calligraphy.

I hope I didn’t overwhelm you with this! Happy writing and happy pen browsing!

I'm a little late to the party, but in case you need any more feedback, I'd love to help out.

Let's start with the TWSBI Eco. This pen is phenomenal. It is a beautiful pen in my opinion, and writes very smoothly. This pen is a no-hassle pen, and can be taken apart and cleaned very easily. It goes for about $30, which is a great price for what you get.

Next, we can move on to Lamy Safari, Lamy Vista, and Lamy Al-Star. These pens are the same, except the Safari and Vista are made of resin while the Al-Star is made of Aluminum. The vista is Clear, and the Safari and Al-Star come in a variety of colors. They will all have a similar writing experience. The writing of the Lamys is not as smooth as the TWSBI Eco, but it isn't by any means 'scratchy'. It gives nice feedback. When getting one of these, it will come with an ink cartridge, but that will only last you very long. With a Lamy, you will need a converter if you would like to use bottled ink (if you don't right now, trust me, you will soon.) The Safari and Al-Star both have an ink window, so you can see when your ink is running low, which is a nice touch. These pens are very popular for beginners and long-time fountain pen users, and would be a great choice for you.

Lastly, let's look at the Faber Castell Loom. This pen is extremely nice, especially for this price range (~$40). It is the smoothest nib of these three (and one of the smoothest steel nibs that you can get.) It is a very beautiful yet subtle pen, and I find it very professional looking. It is a tad heavier than the TWSBI and the Lamys, and feels a bit sturdier in the hand (they are all excellent build quality. This one just feels sturdy). There is no skipping or hard starts while writing. The Loom does not come with an ink cartridge or a converter, so you would need to get one of those things. I recommend the converter as well as some ink.

What I do not recommend:

Pilot Metropolitan - although this pen is very popular for beginners, paying just a bit more for one of these other pens would be better in my opinion. The Metropolitan comes with a finicky converter, and is just not as good of a writing experience. If your budget is only $15, go with this pen, but If your budget is higher, you can skip over this pen.

Any Noodler's pens - Noodler's pens are great pens, if you know how to use them. They are not good beginners pens. I've had to take mine apart and adjust them in order to get them to work. That is not very beginner friendly, and can cause you to quickly lose interest.

Jinhao - Jinhao have some production problems, and not all pens are the same. Some are great, while others are awful. Don't play the lottery with your first pen.

Faber Castell Writink - I personally have not used this pen, but the reviews on it are not so stellar. It apparently does not use the same nib as the Loom, and some people are generally not happy with it.



That is enough for pens. Let's move on to ink.

If you got the TWSBI Eco or Faber Castell Loom, you need ink in order to use them. If you got a Lamy pen, they come with ink, which will last a short while, and then you will need more.

My first recommendation is to go with bottles. They are more economical than cartridges, and they are great because you can use them with any pen.

My second recommendation is to go with something safe. You will always need black or blue ink. Noodler's or Lamy black are both great. J. Herbin Perle Noire is also great. For blue, Noodler's Libery Elysium and Noodler's blue are nice. Don't get Noodler's Baystate blue. I REPEAT: DON'T GET NOODLER'S BAYSTATE BLUE. It will stain your pen, and you will be sad.

If you really want to go with something bold for your first ink, my recommendation would be to check here for what you want. It is a list of ink sorted by popularity, and any near the top are pretty good. Don't get any sparkling ink either, since they may clog up a pen, and you might be sad.

If you just can't decide, Goulet Pens is having a sale on ink samples right now, and you can get a bunch of little samples for pretty cheap (mostly around $1 ish). Maybe try getting a random pack, or possibly the shading pack, or just pick out a bunch! Up to you.


Last topic: Paper

Paper is just as important as anything else in the writing experience. Bad paper will feather and bleed, and get onto the next page. If you don't want to spend more money on better paper, that's fine. You'll want to go with an Extra Fine or Fine nib on the pen, and you shouldn't run into any of those problems too often. If you want a broader line, or just no feathering and such, I would suggest this paper. It is fairly cheap (especially right now. I ordered some the other day at $10 and now it is $6.59) and it is also fairly fountain pen friendly.


Some terminology: (just some common terms that you will run into)
converter - basically an ink cartridge, but you can refill it with whatever ink you want
nib - the end part of the pen that touches the paper
feathering - when the ink seeps into the paper and spreads out, and doesn't look like what you tried to write


Also, gouletpens.com is my go-to for anything. That is where I get all of my pens and ink from. They are a great company with great values. Their customer service is really great.


I hope I could help. Love having someone new to the fountain pen community!!
Let us know what you end up with!!

> I just realized you might not be in the US! Silly American assuming everyone else is from here... There are other retailers with equal prices and you won't have to pay for the silly overseas/border shipping. I actually don't know any of them because well, I'm in the US :P, but if you make another post with your country and ask I'm sure you'll get an answer pretty quickly. Here's some from the wiki though https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/wiki/index#wiki_vendors

I haven't found an online retailer from Switzerland, or at least not a company with a bigger variety of different companies. We do have some stores, but they usually sell a few Caran d'Ache pens and the more expensive pens I'd say.

> No experience with the 3776 personally, but I see the name pop up a lot and haven't heard anything bad yet so that's a good sign! Personally I would see if you can find a Lamy 2000 (F) or (EF) on either /r/pen_swap, Amazon, or some local website for around 100. Retailers will be 160 USD, but you can find them brand new for 100 on Amazon for some reason. Or used for 80-100. I say (F) or (EF) because the Lamy2k always seems to run a bit wider than normal and it's a wet pen. If I could only have X amount of pens though, Lamy2K would always be in that list.

Lamy 2k for $100 on Amazon? That seems like an incredible deal to me. I haven't found anything though. Would you mind sending me a link?

> It's around 30usd, but a TWSBI Eco is nice for school. It has a massive capacity. Swirling around the ink when you're bored is nice too :P

Cool, I like the look a lot. I'll add it to my list and see which one I'd like to try. I can only assume that my next Gouletpens order is going to cost a lot. Do you know if there's any coupon or some sort of first purchase discount? :D

> For 60ish USD there's the TWSBI Diamond 580. Basically just a more expensive Eco from my understanding. I'll probably get crucified by someone for that comment, but oh well.

Haha, alright. Added to the list as well.

> For 40 there is the Faber Castel Loom, I've never used this guy, but I keep hearing great things.

Faber Castell seems to be much more readily available in Switzerand. Are the Faber Castell pens okay? I could also try these out.

> Hmm I'm not sure tbh. All my classes atm are online until August so I'm not really racing to take notes like I would be in a classroom. None of my inks seem to take long to dry though. A major part of this is how thick does the pen write, and how wet. Like my Lamy2K is actually a (B) so If I wrote with that on my Rhodia pad and flipped pages immediatly after writing it would 100% smear. That's the pens and papers fault though. The reason we want to use 'good' paper is so that the ink will pool ontop of the paper and dry instead of soaking in instantly and going through to the next page (bleedthrough) or spreading on the same page and feathering.

I think I just have to experience it myself to see what goes well for me and what not. Thanks for the input.

> For school I've been told to get Red n Black notebooks because they are cleaper and since they are a slightly 'worse' paper ink will absorb faster. I think this is it https://www.amazon.com/Black-Red-Notebook-Inches-C67009/dp/B000EFQG1I/ref=sr_1_4?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1496629691&sr=1-4&keywords=red%2Bn%2Bblack%2Bnotebook&th=1

I don't think it makes sense to import a cheap product to Switzerland, because shipping would probably cost more than the product itself. Maybe I can also find good paper in our local stores.

> I did quick search for fast drying inks and here's some that popped up. Most of these are 'bulletproof' meaning they are waterproof or really resistent. Good if you think there's a chance you'll spill a drink on your notes :P I still use fun colors because these are all pretty much black, but bulletproof is hard to argue with.

Not too sure if I like that or not. Honestly, the variety of different colours is what makes it a lot more interesting. Maybe I can try it out one day and see if I like it or not. Thanks for the suggestion!

> Last thing to note, about the Lamy2K (or any pen), If you decide to get one later you can get one with two nib sizes on the same pen!!! For example I have a (B) and you get get a nibmeister to reverse grind it so that it writes (B) one way, and (F) the other or whatever 2 grinds you want. You just have to buy the bigger size so they have something to work with.

Oh that's cool! Alternatively, I can also buy different nib sizes, right? But that sounds like a good option to go with.

Perfect! I would say with 99% confidence you have a fountain pen, not a dip pen (people can do anything, so not 100%). :)

Now, the only thing left to do is help figure out what filling mechanism you have, and what ink you want to start with.

For filling, it is most likely a converter of some sort, although with the end ring, it might be a piston fill using that. I doubt it, but that is a good place to start. On the end opposite the cap, does the part below the gold ring turn freely? That type of piston fill won't unscrew, but will turn freely until it gets to the end of the stroke, then it will turn freely the other way. I also have a parker that the end piece turns to release the section from the body. Again, I doubt that is what this one is, just because most chinese pens like this are not that way, but it doesn't hurt to check.

Most likely, what you need to do is take the cap off, grab the gold portion just below the body, and unscrew the body from the section. Once that is done, if you can take pictures of what it looks like, we can help you on how to fill it. Here are a couple of links to some chinese pens so you can see what I am talking about. In both pictures, the top is the pen fully assembled, the middle is without the cap, and the bottom is it unscrewed. There are two types of converter represented here too. Hong Qiang 621 Hero 257A.

Ask if you have any questions, post pics, go slow. I am sure you can get this figured out.

Now onto ink. The cheapest black you can get for these types of pens is probably Hero student ink. I haven't yet tried it, reviews I have seen have it as a very fast drying ink. I have a bottle on order though, just to see what it is like. The price makes it almost like sample pricing to pick up a bottle Hero Black Ink Amazon . Others have recommended Parker Quink Amazon again, an ink I haven't tried, but gets very good reviews. Noodler's has very good blacks too, I love Heart of Darkness, but if you are not on good paper, it may not work well for you, and it only comes in large bottles, so the cost may be more than you want to get into right now (although price per mL is great on it). If you write on cheaper paper alot, Noodler's X-Feather can be a good ink too, and it is designed not to feather on cheaper paper, and the standard Noodler's black is a good ink.

One big thing, only get an ink that is labeled for fountain pens. A lot of the other advice here (speedball, higgins, etc) assumed a dip pen.

Hope this helps.

EDIT: Noticed I repeated myself on getting ink, cleaned that up.

I don't own many pens, but I'll try and help

<20 - Jinhao X750 (I own this one and it's real cheap and easy), I would also recommend looking at this list by /u/DontFuckWithMyMoney, a lot of people also recommend the Kakuno or Metropolitan made by Pilot

20-50 - Lamy Safari/Vista (A lot of people don't like the design, but I love this pen. Not a fan of the Al-Star though), Noodler's Ahab (Nice pen that you get to play around with), Kaweco Sport, and TWSBI 580 (I haven't used the last two, but I like their look)

*50-100 - Waterman Hemisphere (A bit small, but really good pen), and the Pilot Custom 74 (Don't own it, but I've heard good things and it's $85 on Engeika)

*Note, around here it's things that I don't own, but have heard good things about

100-200 - Pilot CH92 on Engeika, Sailor 1911, and the Lamy 2000.

200-500 - Pelikan M400/600 (I believe it's a size difference?), Sailor Pro Gear, Custom 823

500+ - I really like the look of the pens made by Nakaya. Maybe a rare vintage flex pen.

Vintage pens - My favorite pen I own is the "51", but I'm looking to get an Eversharp Skyline and a Vacumatic.

*Best Designs - I like demonstrator pens (CH92), the Al Sport, Nakayas (milky way, their normal cigar shaped ones), my Parker "51", and the Lamy 2000.

Pens are really subjective though, so opinions will differ between different people. I personally like my pens to be smooth and decently wet if that helps anybody looking at this. But honestly, I think that just exploring fountain pens was a fun experience and people shouldn't take these lists as a strict guide.

EDIT: Adding links and added Al sport to best design

EDIT 2: I also really like the Murex

Current FP Carry:

• VP with [[Sailor Yama Dori]]
  
• Montblanc Classique with [[iroshizuku shin-ryoku]]
  
• TWSBI Diamond 580 with [[Diamine Oxblood]]
  
• Lamy Safari with [[iroshizuku fuyu-syogun]]
  
• Lamy Al Star with [[iroshizuku yu-yake]]
  
• Pilot Elite 95s with [[iroshizuku kosumosu]]
  
• Pilot Metropolitan with [[Diamine Soft Mint]]
  
• Pilot Ergo Grip with Oxblood
  
• Pilot Ergo Grip with [[iroshizuku ama-iro]]
  
• Muji with [[J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor]]
  
  I also have a Tombow mechanical pencil, a Montblanc ballpoint, and a metallic gold G2. It's a good fist-full, and a little too bulky for my preferences. BUT I LOVE THEM
  
  For the price, the Pilot Ergo demonstrator is an awesome pen and the EF nib is truly EF. I've even seen some people on here transfer that nib into other pens. I converted my Ergos into eyedroppers pretty easily with just silicone grease and the ink looks fantastic in them. I haven't had any leaking problems yet and they've been in action for about a month now. Despite being so fine, I haven't had any issues with them drying up too quickly either. The only thing I don't like so much about them is that they don't show off ink subtleties as well on paper since the line they lay down is so fine. I don't think they come with anything other than that EF Penmanship nib.
  
  I also really love my TWSBI Diamond, and I have heard great things about the Eco so I'll probably pick one up sometime soon.
  

All papers have their strengths and their weaknesses. Here are some recommendations based on what you might be looking for in paper:

Clairefontaine is ulta smooth. It uses a coating that repels ink, so feathering and bleed-through are drastically reduced. The downside is that dry time is quite long, precisely because the ink sits on top of the paper as you write. Clairefontaine notebooks are inexpensive compared to Rhodia, but they're still a bit pricey by their page counts. Clairefontaine is a French brand, too, so paper sizes follow European standards.

Rhodia is also very smooth, though some people will feel a tiny bit more "tooth" than Clairefontaine. Rhodia paper is coated much like Clairefontaine. In fact, the paper used in Rhodia notebooks is made by Clairefontaine, though it's not exactly the same recipe. Rhodia paper is also rather expensive, and because it's made by Clairefontaine, a French company, sizes follow European standards. There are a ton of styles of Rhodia notebooks and notepads, ranging from top-bound perforated pads to ring-bound perforated notebooks to fancy Moleskine-like books. Take a gander at the selection on Amazon.

Tomoe River paper is a very lightweight paper. It's rather like dictionary paper. It's not coated like Rhodia and Clairefontaine, but it's made in a way that the fibers don't absorb ink very well. This is a good thing because it lessens feathering and bleed through. Tomoe River paper is quite expensive, though, and you'll be pigeon-holed into dealing with certain retailers if you go this route. Dry time is slightly faster than Clairefontaine and Rhodia, but the difference isn't that big. The maker of Tomoe River, Tomoegawa Co., is based in Hong Kong, and sizes generally follow European standards. You can buy this paper loose from JetPens or bound from Seven Seas.

Staples Sustainable Earth notebooks are the sugarcane units you mention in the OP. They're excellent notebooks. The paper will take ink like your regular Five Star notebooks or whathaveyou, but by some sugary sorcery, Staples Sustainable Earth notebooks allow very little feathering or bleed through. Plus they're cheap, and the pages are perforated. The main downside is you have to buy it from Staples.

Some people also like Leuchtturm notebooks. These books are hardbound with fake leather, like Moleskine, only nicer. Leuchtturm notebooks feather a bit and will bleed through with wet writing pens, but they're a marked improvement over the paper used in Moleskines. These books are a pretty decent price for the style they follow. A good buy if you're into these kinds of things.

I personally quite like HP Premium Choice Laser paper. This stuff is heavy as the dickens--it honestly feels like thin paperboard. Wet writing pens will feather a tiny bit on this paper, but it won't bleed even if you dump an entire ink sample on it. (I've done this by accident.) Unfortunately this paper is only sold loose (because it's meant for printers), so creating a notebook out of it is a DIY project. Still, the price tag is 500 sheets for ~$17.50--cheap!

Hope you find this helpful!

I just realized you might not be in the US! Silly American assuming everyone else is from here... There are other retailers with equal prices and you won't have to pay for the silly overseas/border shipping. I actually don't know any of them because well, I'm in the US :P, but if you make another post with your country and ask I'm sure you'll get an answer pretty quickly. Here's some from the wiki though https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/wiki/index#wiki_vendors
> I'll do it that way: purchase the Lamy Al-Star, some Lamy ink and proper paper, probably Leuchtturm1917, which is available at a local online retailer.

Looks good to me!

> What would be your recommendation in the $50-100 range? The Platinum 3776 seems to be a good pen, right?

No experience with the 3776 personally, but I see the name pop up a lot and haven't heard anything bad yet so that's a good sign! Personally I would see if you can find a Lamy 2000 (F) or (EF) on either /r/pen_swap, Amazon, or some local website for around 100. Retailers will be 160 USD, but you can find them brand new for 100 on Amazon for some reason. Or used for 80-100. I say (F) or (EF) because the Lamy2k always seems to run a bit wider than normal and it's a wet pen. If I could only have X amount of pens though, Lamy2K would always be in that list.

It's around 30usd, but a TWSBI Eco is nice for school. It has a massive capacity. Swirling around the ink when you're bored is nice too :P

For 60ish USD there's the TWSBI Diamond 580. Basically just a more expensive Eco from my understanding. I'll probably get crucified by someone for that comment, but oh well.

For 40 there is the Faber Castel Loom, I've never used this guy, but I keep hearing great things.
> Which ink would you choose for university? I don't want to wait half an hour for it to dry, that's for sure.

Hmm I'm not sure tbh. All my classes atm are online until August so I'm not really racing to take notes like I would be in a classroom. None of my inks seem to take long to dry though. A major part of this is how thick does the pen write, and how wet. Like my Lamy2K is actually a (B) so If I wrote with that on my Rhodia pad and flipped pages immediatly after writing it would 100% smear. That's the pens and papers fault though. The reason we want to use 'good' paper is so that the ink will pool ontop of the paper and dry instead of soaking in instantly and going through to the next page (bleedthrough) or spreading on the same page and feathering.

For school I've been told to get Red n Black notebooks because they are cleaper and since they are a slightly 'worse' paper ink will absorb faster. I think this is it https://www.amazon.com/Black-Red-Notebook-Inches-C67009/dp/B000EFQG1I/ref=sr_1_4?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1496629691&sr=1-4&keywords=red%2Bn%2Bblack%2Bnotebook&th=1

If you want to use just generic notebooks for 99cents at walmart or whatever and are worried about feathering you can use an (EF) and/or use [Noodlers X-Feather] I don't use noodlers to try their random colors, but I would use this, If I had a need for it.

I did quick search for fast drying inks and here's some that popped up. Most of these are 'bulletproof' meaning they are waterproof or really resistent. Good if you think there's a chance you'll spill a drink on your notes :P I still use fun colors because these are all pretty much black, but bulletproof is hard to argue with.

Actually why am I typing out inks when I can just link the threads so you can read their reasoning...

https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/6b51ge/exam_ink/

https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/6b1szv/fast_drying_ink_but_inexpensive/

Last thing to note, about the Lamy2K (or any pen), If you decide to get one later you can get one with two nib sizes on the same pen!!! For example I have a (B) and you get get a nibmeister to reverse grind it so that it writes (B) one way, and (F) the other or whatever 2 grinds you want. You just have to buy the bigger size so they have something to work with.

Here's a thread about that https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/6d16ye/lamy_2000_with_cursive_italic_and_reverse_ef_grind/

If you don't know if you like the triangle grip of the Safari, best bet would be start with the Jinhao 599, same basic shape, much cheaper to try. This link is to a set of hooded fine nib 599s, they also come in exposed nib medium.

> would love to find one that comes with multiple nibs

This is my opinion only, but there are a lot of good pens at the low end of the market price wise that are still very good pens, the Pilot Metro you have is one of them. Find out what the nib variance is using these pens, and as you move to more expensive pens, buy the nib for the task you want the pen for. Forget about many nibs for a single pen, it really is more hassle than having a pen with the nib you want.

Also note if you want to move to pens by someone like Lamy, the M you have on the Metro is more like an F or EF on the Safari, depending on the luck of your grind from Lamy.

Now for some basic recommendations, besides the Wing Sung 698, the Wing Sung 659 and Jinhao 992 might interest you. The links are Amazon, but you might find them cheaper elsewhere like aliexpress.

Hope this helps some, lots of info as you get started, but also lots of fun as you begin this journey and explore.

Before starting, you should settle on a nib width that you are going to use. A lot of time people choose Medium because they think it's middle of the road and they often leave unsatisfied because it isn't. The line width you get from normal writing utensils tends to be more of a Fine on a fountain pen. I find it hard to get good handwriting with a medium nib whereas a fine is a lot easier.

Now at £10 here are some options:

• Pilot Varsity: Ready to use pen made by Pilot. I've never seen anyone complain about the way it writes, and it already comes with in inside it. You also get your choice of nib Cons? It's a disposable pen and isn't that pretty
  
• Platinum Preppy: Very similar but actually takes cartridges. You can choose your nib. I think you'll have to buy the cartridges separately.
  
• Baoer 801: Fine nibbed Chinese knockoff pen. Mine writes very well. Comes with fine nib. You'll probably want bottled ink. Section scratches easily but at the price I don't mind.
  
• Baoer 388: Very popular Chinese Sonnet knockoff. Mine writes very well. You'll probably want to use bottled ink with this one. Medium nib only.
  
  There are plenty of other Chinese pens out there, and you could go search them and find one you like too. I'm partial to Baoer pens: for me they have written better than any other Chinese pen. A lot of people recommend Jinhao pens, but their nibs run wide and they dry out a lot quicker when left sitting.
  
  As for bottled ink, I would suggest it for the Chinese pens because they come with the converter that is used to fill from the bottle. The inks I would recommend for you are:
  
  
• Parker Quink Black - my go-to black when it comes to inking any pen up.
  
• Waterman Serenity Blue - good generic blue. maybe a little light.
  
• Waterman Mysterious Blue - A darker, off blue
  
• Any freaking Waterman ink, I've heard good things from them. Tender purple? go get it. I suggest Waterman inks because they are cheap in the UK and very fountain pen friendly.

First, welcome to this sub-Reddit. Fountain pens are a blast! Be prepared for it to become a hobby. So many different color inks to play with that will vary in in different pens and nib sizes.

I'd agree with the recommendations of either a Pilot Metro ($15) or Twisbi Eco ($28.99 US). Does the Twisbi write $14 better? I don't think so but for me the Twisbi is less scratchy than the Pilot AND the Twisbi let's you see the color of your ink. The Twisbi does not look like a "normal" pen like the Pilot. For me, part of owning a pen is to be noticed writing with it. Twisbi does this easily. Also if you go With the Pilot, buy the Con-50 converter. This holds the ink a lot better and is easier to use than the supplied con-30 squeeze converter.

Notebooks - can't go wrong with Black & Red. $5.77 US as a addon item for Amazon. Great fountain pen paper that's perforated, so easy to tear out a clean sheet and turn in.

Ink - Noodler's X-feather is designed to not feather on cheap paper. I've never used it, but my go to black is Noodler's bad black moccasin. Never had a problem with it. If you want to experiment with different inks, Goulet Pens has a sampler of black inks. Why would want to experiment with inks? Because not all blacks are the same and because you can!

Other items you may want to add:

1. Bulb syringe - makes cleaning your FP a lot faster
   
2. Blunt tip syringe - filling ink into the FP is easier.
   You tube video showing bulb syringe https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ipwFvY0PUqs
   
   Lastly, good luck on your RN!
   
   

I'm not a vast array of pen experience but IMO

It's not the cheapest, but I feel the pilot prera is very underrated. I have it in F and EF, it's a great work horse and its compact size is great for travel but it posts to pretty much a full size pen for a comfortable writing experience.

Pilot also has this

Pilot Fountain Pen with Ergo Grip, Extra Fine Nib, Clear Body (PFP50RNCEF) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006CQUI9O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_v1JLxbF3E8KAC

It's the same nib as the metro and Prera but in a much cheaper body. I got one after a co worker bent my Prera nib and wanted to switch to EF. It's a

I've also recently received a Lamy Al Star and based on reviews it's the same as the safari, just in aluminum. I know the safari is a reasonable price and the ability to swap out nibs is pretty quick and easy.

I don't want to merely keep up the current FOTM that TWSBIs are bad, but I have been really disappointed with mine so far. I bought the 580 Rose Gold because it looks like the world's sexiest demonstrator for a price that seems too good to be true. The biggest problem is ink flow, if you simply uncap the pen and start to write you'll soon find your nib dry and lacking ink, while seeming smirking as you look back at the ink visibly moving around in the barrel. In order to write, you actually have to twist the top of the piston a smidgen, then air is allowed in through the feed somehow. I can't really explain the physics, I can only say that for that amount of money, the feed should really just work. I'd expect this from my x250, but not from a pen more than 10x the price.

If you did go with the Lamy 2k, I'm sure you would enjoy it. It's a classic and something I have definitely enjoyed using. While the barrel does taper a bit more than I was expecting at first, I found that it actually made writing more comfortable when writing for longer periods. Just something to consider if you tend to hold your pens quite close to the nib.

If you are willing to wait a bit longer, I would actually recommend the Waterman Carene. You can find it on the UK Amazon site for quite a cheap price. This is an amazingly smooth writer, and is a pretty good bargain for this price.

Not sure if you live in an area with Target but I have had a lot of luck with Greenroom notebooks. I got a bunch on clearance for like $.69 a pop or something ridiculous. Check for paper that is smooth, but not too thin at local stores.

Heavily recommended Black N' Red Notebook on Amazon for about $7 a piece. Again, not sure how much paper you run through, but it's good cost per performance.

If you need a lotttt of paper try HP Laserjet Paper on Amazon. Redditors vouching for it. If you need lines/dots, place a lined sheet of paper behind the blank paper to guide yourself and then three hole punch it.

Graph paper composition notebook from Staples posted recently.

---
Another thing to keep in mind you haven't discussed is what ink you are going to use. Pelikan 4001 comes highly recommended for it's cost while still being a dry ink that works on poor paper.

[[Noodler's X-feather]] can be incredibly useful for writing on cheap paper. It will not spread on cheap paper with a fine/extra-fine nib. I don't know if you are using cartridges or converters yet, but switching to a bottle ink can give you some better performance potentially depending on what ink carts you are currently using.

---

Some other pens that would be good for you at Uni would be the Platinum Preppy a $3.00 pen that starts as cartridge based but can take a converter or be eyedropper converted (where you fill the whole barrel full of ink). They come in EF, F, M and in a variety of colors.

Wingsung 698 in EF is another great bargain option for high ink capacity, uses the same nib as the Pilot MR line (Metropolitan, Retro Pop, etc.), with good build quality for under $20.

---

Another big takeaway for beginner fountain pen users is higher cost doesn't mean better functionality. Benefits level off really fast when spending more money when it comes to functionality.

Yes and No.

Yes, if you want to try out a lot of colors as well as trying the pens, it can be a good deal. To that point, have a look at https://www.amazon.com/Thorntons-Office-Supplies-Disposable-Fountain/dp/B01E68AKTC which appear to be the same as the Pilot Varsity, but in more colors and different cap design. This is a great introduction to fountain pens and the wonderful variation of ink colors as well as note taking in color.

No, if you don't intend to run a lot of colors, go with a cheaper pen like the Pilot Metropolitan or Jinhao 992 https://www.amazon.com/JINHAO-992-Fountain-Pen-Translucent/dp/B06XYFK681 and a bottle of ink https://www.amazon.com/PARKER-QUINK-Ink-Bottle-Black/dp/B004YK4VHA or https://www.amazon.com/Bulletproof-EEL-Noodlers-Fountain-Ink-Black/dp/B000WIUNOI and go to it. Small investment overall.

A final option for pen and ink would be one of the larger bottles of Noodler's with a pen in the box, something like https://www.amazon.com/Noodlers-Ink-Heart-Darkness-19808/dp/B0015VB4EE would give you a pen and ink, and you would be able to give it a go.

So pick your poison and have fun. I think the Thorton's 10-pack is a great introduction, it is an introduction with a lot of great colors and no mess, but you should choose what you think is your best introduction.

The paper makes the experience and for the time being this will treat you nicely. You can get a 5 pack for three dollars at most Target.

If you can justify the price Rhodia and Clairefontaine makes excellent paper.

Ink:This is a well behaved ink that will work great on any paper.

Waterman is a nice ink sold on Amazon, I have inspired blue and it's excellent and a lot of fun.

The folks here will suggest all different kinds of ink, enjoy your new pen and try not to get addicted like me!

Yes, as Auto said, check out the resources on this sub. They are great. Also, this community is great. Very helpful.

I started with a Pilot Metropolitan. I went with medium nib because I had heard Japanese nibs run smaller than western (Japanese medium is more like a European fine). Here's Goulet pens list of Starter Pens. I think any of these would be great...

For paper, I use Rhodia. Moleskine is OUT (I used that previously, with ballpoint).

Here's actually cut and paste from a response I just wrote on another thread...

Fountain pens are pretty easy to clean, and trying out all the different inks is my favorite part.

The Goulet Pen Company has ink samples, which are perfect for acquiring a MASSIVE collection of inks to try. Maybe start with the sample packages they have already grouped together (linked).

If you pick up ink from Goulet (or anywhere), don't forget to also order ink syringes. I'm paying this bit of advice forward... when I (recently) got obsessed with fountain pens/inks, someone on Reddit told me this info and I'm glad they did!!

EDIT: By the way, I store my inks in a shotshell box. I don't own a shotgun, but man these are the perfect size for 25 ink samples! ...again, thanks goes to some other Redditer. ...I even think a reviewer on Amazon mentioned ink samples in their review, so I know I'm not the only one! I also mark the tops of mine with a color and symbol to quickly ID them/narrow down what I'm looking for.

I recommend this and these
It’s a set of vials and syringes. I would recommend getting a vial holder as well. That way, you have all the vials in one places and are not as likely to spill. The vials are nice because you can test small batch mixtures. Label the tops of the vials and keep a notebook. Rhodia is good or something else that can show off sheen. This way, you can more down the vial designation, the proportions, the inks used and what the resulting color looks like.

Another thing you would want to learn about is color therapy because a cool yellow mixed with a warm blue will give you a different green than a warm yellow mixed with a cool blue. Rot dye has a great mixing chart that is a wonderful resource for color mixing.

Beyond that, different inks interact and react in sometimes unexpected ways when mixed, which is another reason to have small vials to see what the reactions are and if the ink start to separate or do something else unusual.

I carry my pens in this inside my bag. Sometimes my pens go in my shirt pocket, I never put them in my pants pocket (some folks like to put them there, but that's a recipe for disaster.) I don't take particular care of my bag unless I put my laptop in there (which is pretty rare), so it gets thrown around a bit.

The ECO, and all my other pens, hold up perfectly. It's only my oldest pens that have any issues, and they're cheap and somewhat misused since I didn't know what I was doing when I first got the pens. I only rinse out the Eco with water when I change inks, and roughly once a semester I have been filling it with a Noodler's Eel ink to lubricate the piston so I don't have to disassemble it and lubricate it myself.

You sound like you treat your pens with care, I wouldn't worry about the Eco, it seems to be a very rugged pen. I don't take great care of my Eco, not like my expensive pens, anyway.

edit: I love the pen case I got, it can hold like 15 pens (and not much else if you pack it that full.) But normally it carries as many pens as I would ever want, plus cartridges, converters, ink vials, a small package of tissues/wipes. You can be set for a semester or two without having to change anything in there.

I get mine from Amazon, but I also use a lot of tubes. Instead of inking up my pens from bottles, I only use sample vials (or something like a TWSBi inkwell for my larger pens). It's a great way to avoid contamination of your ink. We live in a pretty moldy area, so I"m always concerned about fuzz on the pens syndrome.

Note: there are other types of tubes that are on eBay, but these cryotubes are by far the best. The other clear ones can't have 5ml unless you fill it to the brim, making a mess of things. These tubes are exactly like the ones sold on Goulet pens, only it has blue lids instead of clear.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074QKMF2G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you'd like a rack for your sample vials, here's a link to the one that I purchased. It is identical to hte ones sold on Goulet.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005Z4QWIK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

A <F> nib will be less likely to bleed through because it puts down less ink. Although a Pilot <M> isn't really that wide. Also, the smaller your handwriting, the better you'd be with a <F> nib. On the flip side, broader nibs can make a person's sloppy handwriting look a little better, too.

Shin-Ryoku is a great ink but if you are just looking for value some Parker Quink (not the washable version) will probably be 1/2 the cost and work just as well for note-taking and general use. It's not as exciting but it's good solid ink for just about anything:

Black - https://www.amazon.com.mx/Parker-Super-Repuesto-permanente-botella/dp/B004YK4VHA/ref=sr_1_1?

Blue- https://www.amazon.com.mx/Parker-Quink-57ml-Bottle-Permanent/dp/B000J61TIM/ref=sr_1_2?

You might even consider just getting some Namiki ink cartridges to start out. Cheaper and it won't lock you in as long so you can get a little more variety until you really decide what you like

https://www.amazon.com.mx/Pilot-Fountain-Cartridge-Cartridges-69101/dp/B004IKTKQI/ref=sr_1_1?

LOL, I went to Amazon Mexico and about crapped when I saw that the Shin-Ryoku was over $400/bottle.......

Oh, Pesos...... oh, OK.

Just a few comments/suggestions :)

I would recommend the Pilot Metropolitan as a starter, for around the price of the Plasir it is very reliable, smooth writer, and much easier to clean. If you do buy the Plasir, you will also need to buy a convertor to use bottled ink, where the Metropolitan comes with one included.

The Jinhao is a copycat of the Lamy Safari, a good starter, but know that people either absolutely love or hate the style of the grip.

The inks you picked out are good, although to start I really recommend getting a Goulet sample pack so you can try similar colors before committing to an entire bottle, which will last quite a while.

Hope this helps! I love helping new people explore the world of fountain pens :)

Hmm. That's interesting that it bleeds so much.

If you're the kind of person who likes individual notebooks for every class/subject, there are a few good choices.
Clairfontaine and Black 'n Red are both very popular. I've tried both, although not extensively. The downside to these is the price. If you are taking 4 or more classes, or even some note taking heavy classes where you may need multiple notebooks, the sticker shock factor grows quick.

For loose leaf/3 ring I'd recommend HP brand Premium Laser Jet paper. Either 22lb or 32lb. 22lb is great, and has handled everything I've thrown at it. The 32lb paper is really nice, and almost as thick as cardstock. A ream costs a fair amount, however. If you want it lined, you can find notebook paper templates on line, and have it printed for pretty cheap if you're providing the paper. You could go further, and have them bind notebooks. You'd have to get quotes though, and see if it's worth it to you.

EDIT: Also, buying those HP brand papers is WAY cheaper at the box of 5 reams level. That could possibly be all of a persons collegiate notes. https://www.amazon.com/HP-Printer-LaserJet-Letter-115300R/dp/B004HME07G

If it costs 30$ to buy the paper, then $.07 per page printing(largely the dependant factor, this is a conservative estimate not including price of 3 hole punching), that comes out to be $.08 per page. Compared to a 10 dollar notebook that has 70 pages(black and red. Clairefontaine only has 50) that costs $.20 per page.

Now I'm starting to wish I had bought the paper in bulk! I've bought 3 reams separately so far!

Keep in mind, that the squeeze converter it comes with will fail (aka leak) over time. It's rubber and can only last so long. Might as well spring for the CON 50.

I'm not sure how much of a budget you are on, but low end Lamy pens can really perform well too. That's what I would recommend. Lamy Safaris are light, durable, and write very well. Here is the cheapest I found on Amazon, they are usually about $30 after shipping otherwise.

One thing that really turned me away at first about FPs, is that they sometimes don't like to write right out of the box. That can typically be remedied easily enough by running warm water through it and holding tip of pen in a paper towel or something to get all the water off the fins (where the ink rests.) Then, put converter back in and try to write slow lines with it until it flows as meant to. Good luck!! :)

If you're in America: Black N Red, Clairfontaine, Rhodia can all be had in spiral notebook form. (the Rhodia is top spiral bound)
Also, as I think someone else mentioned HP Premium laser 32lbs is very thick strong and FP friendly, almost no ink gets through. It is smooth, but the inks have a rougher look versus the other brands I listed, but this HP paper premium laser is IMO, miles better than Clairfontaine DCP. I have and regularly use all of these. While each have subtle pros and cons, all work great with FP's.

Honorable mentions: If you want to spend a bit more then you can try the Tomoe River offerings or Midori MD notebooks with thinner and generally smoother paper. Not really a notebook, but amazingly smooth paper is the top of the line Clairefontaine triomphe paper. All Rhodia/Clairefontaine papers are not equal.

Leuchtturm1917 is terrible, Life notebooks bleed easy, Maruman notebooks dont bleed much, but have a weird feeling I personally dont like. I have tried others that aren't noteworthy.

edit: PS: I also have this wonderful, but overpriced Quo Vadis Habana notebook. It is like an ivory colored, triomphe paper, for 2x as much and a pleather cover. But I found it at a B&M store with just the shade of turquoise to match my TWSBI ECO.

Someone already made a list of price ratios here but it's only for Goulet Pens. Noodler's and Monteverde tops it with 7.2ml per dollar. It would honestly be pretty impossible to do the same for Amazon since the prices and shipping costs all fluctuate. If you want the best bang for buck, you should just get one of these 350ml Pilot bottles.

thank you all for your kind words, im truly flattered. Very motivated to keep on practicing <:


Btw I dont really have a fixed script for both capitals or lower case letters yet, im just copying whatever i find decent looking.


A while ago i found this image just browsing thru google:
https://i.gyazo.com/6e9fe4a6b9211273d79c900e1b8868c4.png
(source unknown to me) and thought they look pretty nice.

Also I just finished the Spencerian penmanship copybooks:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/088062096X/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
They are great, some of the capitals letters are from there.
http://i.imgur.com/BLhSBni.jpg?1

Hope this is helpful<:

I would recommend finding a cheap pen to play around with at first. If you have a Staples nearby, they might have some Cross fountain pens for sale for about $20. I bought one just to see how it writes and compare it to other higher priced ones. You could also get something online. Just perusing Amazon, these caught my eye:

https://www.amazon.com/Piston-Fountain-Plated-Transparent-Colors/dp/B07G281XVQ Four different piston-filler style pens for $20. Gives you the opportunity to abuse the one of your lease favorite color to see what kind of force it takes to spring tines (ruining the pen by bending the nib) and see how generally robust pens are.

​

https://www.amazon.com/Jinhao-Ancient-Playing-Fountain-Jewelry/dp/B00JBYXA94 Something a little more gaudy, if that's what you want.

​

https://www.amazon.com/Handcrafted-Collection-Converter-Journaling-Calligraphy/dp/B07H2BY8YN Something a little more simple and professional looking.

​

You're also going to want some inks. My Staples also sells black Parker "Quink" which is suitable for fountain pens. This comes in a bottle like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Parker-1950375-Quink-Bottle-Black/dp/B004YK4VHA and is only for pens which the body itself acts as an ink reservoir or the pen uses "Cartridge Converters".

​

Other pens are mainly meant for "Cartridges" which are small disposable ink tubes like these: https://www.amazon.com/Refillable-Cartridges-International-Calligraphy-Rollerball/dp/B07D43QR17 Luckily, most of these are interchangeable between pens. However, that's mostly just for the low-end pens. Higher end pens use different interface sizes and require their own brand cartridges. For this reason, I much prefer pens which either fill their own bodies with ink or use converters which are not thrown out. I rather dislike the disposable plastic bits of cartridges.

​

All in all, I'd save up $100 to start the hobby. Spend $50 on a pen or two and some ink to start. Figure out what you like and what you don't like and use the other $50 to find another pen that fits better into what your preferences are. Different pens are going to have different ways of writing. Some will be highly flexible at the nib and their line width will vary a lot, others will be very stiff and not have any change in line width versus writing pressure.

Aww, thanks!

To write as consistently as in this example, I have to go really slow. It takes about 15 minutes to fill one side of double-spaced A4 5mm dot paper. I just wrote out a page and timed myself to be around 10 words/min. My chickenscratch "non-presentation" cursive is probably double that in speed, but nowhere near as nice.

For a comparison, my block caps style has 30+ years of practice and muscle memory. I can write like this at over 30 words/min without it turning into an inconsistent mess.

I have been at it practicing my cursive every day for the last 8 months. I've made a lot of progress in terms of the aesthetics, but speed and muscle memory can only come with practice.

You make a good point with using copy paper. I've had good experiences with 32lb/120gsm HP Premium Choice Laserjet Paper. A ream of the stuff looks to be CA$26 (Staples) or for you lucky buggers in the U.S. only US$6 (Amazon). Photocopy or print a 5mm dot grid or whatever you want onto it for practice. It's definitely going to be a lot more economical than burning through Rhodia pads!

Some come with cartridges or converters, but you can always buy those separate.

• The Pilot Petit1 would definitely have originally had an in ink cartridge, but if you've lost it you can eyedropper the pen easily by putting silicone grease on the threads and just filling the body of the pen with ink.
  
• Lamy Al-Star uses Lamy cartridges/converters
  
• IIRC, Pelikano Junior & the Rotring Core should both use Standard International, which isn't quite as standard as you'd hope, but I would guess the inexpensive Jinhao converters will work.
  
   
  
  Congrats on a diverse set of nice starter pens :)

I most certainly do, especially if you have any friends who like fps and ink: Pilot Blue/Black in the 'coke bottle'. You can get this for around $22.00 for 350ml (you read that right) and that is for a remarkably good ink that is even fairly waterproof. If you split the bottle with friends, you can end up with the absolute best ink value on the planet. I got into this ink because pen restoration people I know use it, and they use a lot of ink and it can't be a problem ink. Give it a look.

Well, a solid black to begin with. The J Herbin Black they recommend is just over $9 on Amazon. For a nice shine, there's Diamine Quartz Black, which is $8 on ebay. If permanence is a concern, Sams Club sells Parker Quink for around $7.70 if you're not a member. Then maybe a sample collection from Jet.com, Xfountainpen, or Goulet. If there's a color captured in a photo that you want to write with, there's Tekker Inks for custom jobs for quite cheap.

As for paper, I'd go with 32lb HP Poly or Hammermill Laser or Color Copy. Use the custom dot generator and make a PDF to print out copies (I recommend doing this with a laser printer with built in duplex for your sanity). Rhodia and Kokuyo Campus make great notebooks if you want something premade and trusted.

Diamine, tons of colors and are affordable (especially in Europe) many colors are dupes of more expensive inks out there. They likely make ink for other companies that sell ink but don't have ink manufacturing capabilities, like Akkerman. They have a lot of great colors, but their water resistance is generally low.

​

Noodler's would be the ton's of colors and affordable US company but he's a 1 man show so people don't have much faith in him combined with his political views he's one of the more controversial company/people in the fountain pen world. He seems to experiment with inks and ink properties so he has some interesting water resistant colors and UV glowing colors out there.

​

I like water resistant inks so I'm a fan of Pilot Blue and Blue Black, Platinum Blue Black, Platinum Classic Iron Gall series, Platinum Pigment ink series, and Sailor Nano-pigment Seiboku and Souboku.

​

If you're looking for great bang for buck blue ink, I would buy a 350ml Pilot Blue Black bottle for 20 something dollars. But you'll need another bottle to put that into, so either an empty bottle or another bottle of a nicely shaped Pilot Blue Black.

Great pen choice, I have one in medium and I love it. I've never tried the journal you got and I'm not sure if it's fountain pen friendly--for a starter notebook, I'll add that Black N Red notebooks are fairly inexpensive and rather good.

And congratulations on joining! Enjoy!

My first pen was a Lamy Safari (I'm fairly new to fountain pens), and I enjoy it, I'd recommend it. It's a good pen, made of a good plastic and the cartridges are convent, as well as the converter is not expensive. I got that pen because it had good reviews and was a good price (and then I found this subreddit, before ordering my second, which should be here soon).

I picked up spencerian. Its nice but very slow. Properly practiced, most cursive are faster to write than print. Part of the reason they exist. Though spencerian, super slow. Will improve with muscle memory though.

If you need something faster, business script could be what you need.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/088062096X/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1487481437&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=spencerian+handwriting

I have been working through that with a flex pen. Very rewarding but its kinda weird to re learn to write at 32, but like you my hand writing was always crap.

From that book i learned i missed many fundamentals they simply did not teach. Oh well.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/281880651830?_mwBanner=1

100 for $9 vs 10 for $3 (+ $4 shipping) at Goulet. Comes out to 9 cents a piece vs 71 cents (with shipping) at Goulet. But remember they are literally on the slow boat from China from eBay!

You may also like this holder: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005Z4QWIK/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496098817&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=sample+vial+holder&dpPl=1&dpID=41dcT%2B82SsL&ref=plSrch

It is less than half the cost on Amazon

Both of these products are identical to what Goulet sells.

BTW I LOVE GOULET and do most of my purchasing from them! Always like to support the local community :)

>They are almost definitely not millionaires...

Your opinion vs my opinion = no one wins.

>They sell lower tier fountain pens.

You sure about that? On top of that Walmart sells low tier everything and that's working well for them. People will only buy high price items every now and then. People buy low tier all the time. Hence why the goulets have said in a past video their number one all-time selling item is the lamy z24 converter. Brian then went on to say "everything low price sells like crazy" Mark up on low price items is normally really good.

There's a saying in my line of work.

"Serve the classes live with the masses. Serves the masses live with the classes.

>That's quite simply unlikely to be a market that would make a retailer that rich.

Going off of their job listing alone from the past. They pay about $35 grand a year for a full time M-F, 9-5 employee, and they give full benefits. They're spending right at a million dollars a year on employee salary alone. If they can do that then they have to be making roughly $3-$4 million a year at least considering, insurance, inventory and other supply costs add on to that million a year in salaries.

>Can you give me an example of these "60%" discounts?

Firstly I said up to 60% but here's a simple one

Goulet Micro Mesh - $4.95

Anderson Micro Mesh $2.75 40% less

Goulet Lamy Safari $30

Amazon seller Lamy Safari $21 30% less

>Also, name one other place with such an amazing return policy and support?

Anderson pens, Amazon, Walmart, Target, every eBay seller I've ever had an issue with in the last 10 years, Bass Pro Shops, Chicago Cutlery, Bed Bath and Beyond so on and so forth.

I have a few Pilot Metropolitans. A black one with a medium nib was my first one, and I still use it as my daily driver. It's about $12 currently on Amazon, so if I were you, I'd start with that.

^^Ninja ^^edit also be aware that fountain pens are different from dip pens (I assume that's what you meant by drip pen? :) ). Fountain pens can be used for art projects, but they're mainly for writing. And also DON'T PUSH ON THE NIB unless you're sure it's a flex nib! Pens like the Noodler's Konrad or Noodler's Ahab are flex nibs, so you can push on them to get a thicker line. (Sorry if that was a little confusing!)
^^
Good luck!

Absolutely not.... The reason it wasn't writing well is just the fact that is a $4 pen and has practically no quality control. However, since it is so cheap, you shouldn't have a problem ditching it and going for something factors better that's not to much more. The Pilot Metropolitan(14.50) is a fantastic starter pen as well as the Lamy Safari(24.50). Personally, I love the Pilot Metro(I went through 2 malfunctioning Jinhaos first before I had enough) and definitely recommend it. The Safari has a generally larger nib so it might be a little odd getting accustomed to at first.

Also, you don't need to poke holes in the top of the cartridge. Just make sure you read over all the instructions and care for the pen, no matter what type. Fountain pens are awesome writing utensils but they do require more care.

I use the aforementioned 50-tube holder from Amazon as it's cheaper and larger than the Goulet's. They stack on top of each other in a drawer, which is a good thing, as I'm on my third rack.

And I used to try to cut up little bits of avery labels to put swabs on the top, but then I discovered paper hole reinforcers, and they fit on top of the vials perfectly. Here's what two of my racks look like next to my sample journal: http://i.imgur.com/K39IM2Y.jpg

I'll go with everyone else here and say the Pilot Metropolitan, which is just a classic. I love Pilot fountain pens. They have nice, even, fine and extra fine lines and are economical everyday pens. I prefer the way they work with the way I write to my more expensive LAMYs and Faber-Castell Pens.


I will also recommend the Pilot Kakuno, which is a plastic, hexagonal barrel beginner pen (I think it's actually intended for schoolchildren).

I also like [this one] (https://www.amazon.com/Pilot-Fountain-Extra-Clear-PFP50RNCEF/dp/B006CQUI9O/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_3?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1510627790&sr=1-3-fkmr2&keywords=cheap+pilot+fountain+pen) just cause I think it's a kind of cool little demonstrator. You can get right into using these with a CON-50 converter or you can use the Pilot IC-100 Namiki cartridges (which I actually prefer at work because they're a little easier to pop in and out).

Quink is good, but I'm a big Noodler's Ink fan. You will find many of them here.

Noodler's basic black is, IMHO, better than Quink - it dries quickly, doesn't penetrate through the paper or feather (much), is waterproof and bleachproof, and is very, very black. Their "bulletproof black" is fraudproof too -- it contains individually tailored formulations to identify the writing later -- but dries more slowly. Both cost about $10 for a jar that will last you nearly forever.

They have a range of amazing colors and some inks that do things that will blow your mind. It's worth browsing through the selection.

Haha, pretty much. Heavy glass soda style bottles. 11.83 ounces so nearly the same as a can of soda. Inked up forever for $22!

https://www.amazon.com/Ink-350ml-INK350BB-japan-import/dp/B001P35A74/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1500500408&sr=8-1&keywords=pilot+350ml

They're not fancy inks but I keep over 20 pens inked so I use primarily safe and simple inks these days... and I just love the flow and feel of Pilot's inks.

I'm not OP, but I have one and really like it. It looks neat, writes smooth, and the cap looks good when posted. Also I'm a fan of thinner pens and pencils so it scratches that itch.

I put a cartridge converter in mine which makes it last a while longer and use less expensive ink, although it still doesn't hold as much as a twsbi eco or even a lamy safari with converter because it's a smaller pen.

Edit: lady to lamy. Also [this is the converter](Universal Fountain Pen Ink Converter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002P2T42G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_27AP6CX567JxQ) I used for it.

Pilot's line of basic colors (Black, Blue-Black, and Blue) are among some of the best standard colors ever.

I'm a fan of Pilot Blue-BLack: https://www.amazon.com/Ink-350ml-INK350BB-japan-import/dp/B001P35A74

It's $23, but per mL of liquid, it's great (about 6 cents per mL).

It behaves well on cheap paper, is reasonably water resistant, shades, and flows well.

Thanks! Wish I would’ve straightened the labels out more for optimal satisfaction! Lol.

Karter Scientific 208U2 Plastic... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005Z4QWIK?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

For me it's the price difference.

Pelikan m800 | Goulet $572 | Amazon $415 | isellpens $425 | nibs $520 |

Namiki metal Falcon | Goulet $240 | Amazon $213 | nibs $240 |

Lamy 2000 | Goulet $159
| Amazon $125 |


I like Goulet as much as the next person, and I've supported them in the past, and will continue to selectively support them in the future. However shipping cost to Hawaii is expensive, combine that with free shipping from Amazon through prime makes it an easier choice where I spend my money.

The TWSBI Diamond 580AL is a great pen, piston filler and demonstrator for £58.99. That would also give you about £11 free for some ink and maybe a Rhodia dot pad staplebound or wirebound.

If you wanted to get a couple of inks and writing pad then you could go for the slightly cheaper TWSBI Diamond 580RB £46.99 leaving you £23 to spend on ink and paper.

If you wanted to push the £70 to the limit and just get a classy pen with a solid 18kt gold nib for £72.72. It wouldn't leave you anything over for ink or writing pads but it would be a classy pen.

The other option would be to go the cheap fountain route and buy 2 or 3 Jinhao X450's off Amazon or eBay, they typically sell for around £6-10 each, then you have a lot more to spend on ink and writing pads. If you go the Jinhao route then I would avoid the 250 range, they are fine nibs as opposed to the 450 medium nibs, and my experience are the fine nibs tend to be quite scratchy and I had one where the nib just wouldn't friction fit into the pen. I have 5x Jinhao X450's and not had a single problem with any of them.

This paper sounds like what you are looking for.

Before I bought my first fountain pen, I bought this paper to make some disc bound notebooks, after seeing it recommended on a notebook making site. In the comments, people kept talking about how great it is for fountain pens. Now that I've got more fountain pens than I need, I find that this paper does a fantastic job and it shows sheen and color variation really well. It's also thick enough to deal with really wet nibs without bleeding.

Anecdotal input here: Within the past few weeks I got my own first fountain pen, so I am far from an expert. This is just me sharing my limited experience with you since I also use my pen for work/notes.


The pen I chose as my first was the Pilot Metropolitan. I use the pen almost exclusively for both work, and my notes in sessions with my clients. The nature of the notes each of us takes are going to be very different, as I work in mental health and write very few formulae.


Often I end up having to use the low quality paper that my office supplies; the sort of paper commonly found in printers and photocopiers. Before I started using my Pilot Met I was using the Pilot G2 gel pen with a 1.0 tip. The Pilot Met that I got came with a medium nib, but you can see in the Noob Guide that this pen comes with a nib that is on the Fine side of Medium.


When writing with the new pen I have noticed a few things:

1. The thickness of the line of the fountain pen is very comparable to the G2 1.0, so you may be dealing with a thicker line than you are used to. A Fine nib might be what you are looking for if that is the case.
   
   
   
2. Using a fountain pen does not significantly alter how your writing looks with a narrow nib. Yes, there are some differences in how the ink sets into the page, but my notes really are not too different than when I used a regular pen.
   
   
   
3. The paper will have an interaction with the ink. What sort of interaction is dependent on the qualities of both, but this too need not have a significant impact on your note taking. On cheap paper the ink bleeds a tiny amount, but not so much as to really be noticeable unless you are looking for it. The ink also does not take much special care to dry. As long as you are not rubbing on it right after writing it should dry at about the same rate as regular pen ink. (For the record, I am still using the original ink cartridge that came with my pen, and have purchased These Refills. Other inks may have other properties, and I am new enough to not know how they all may interact.)

For good quality inexpensive "everyday ink" ink you cant go wrong with pilot black or pelikan 4001 black (they are a wet and dry ink respectively). Jet pens has a nive overview of some good of different black and blue inks to consider. If you want to be economical you can get a giant bottle of pilot ink that will last a looong time.

If you want more color I would say most brands are fine though as a beginner I would steer clear of super sheen organic studio inks as they are annoying to use (dry out the pen, smudge even days after writing)

You're buying waterman ink and a $15 pen in this equation which is absurd. Cheap pens need to compared to cheap pens.

Let's say you buy a $2 Jinhao from eBay, free shipping, in an EF nib, including a converter, and then buy this $22 350 mL blue ink from Amazon.

It's 7 times the ink for twice the price, which is 3.5 times the value on ink. Plus, in an EF, you're writing a line more comparable to the .05 line of normal cheap pens, while putting far less ink down on the paper, which could mean that you use half or even less of the ink than you described. That 350 mL bottle would last forever. And the total cost for basically a lifetime of writing is $24.


The lie we tell ourselves is that we can save money by buying the pens and inks we WANT to use. We don't, it's a fantastic waste. But at its core there is truth to the economic upside of a refillable pen.

My friend, here's a great cheap upgrade in paper. Will totally improve how your pens feel and forgive me if you already have quality paper. *Forgot the link : )

https://www.amazon.com/Black-Red-Notebook-Sheets-K66652/dp/B000EFQG1I

I'll throw in that I use and love HP 32lbs Laserjet Premium paper. It's really thick and FP friendly. It also makes a great presentation. The next ream I buy will probably be the next step lighter which I think is 24lbs. The 32lbs is just barely too thick to use as looseleaf for me.

My suggestion is to buy a Pilot Metropolitan, which comes with both a cartridge and a converter so you can try both out. I would also suggest getting a bottle of a basic, workhorse ink. Something like Noodler's Black would be a good option, a nice saturated black that is waterproof and behaves pretty well on cheap paper.

I agree with the other commenters, definitely want to use a fine nib and non-feathering ink. If the paper issue is the only thing holding you back from getting a fountain pen, I'd suggest investing a few extra dollars to buy notebooks with good paper. I'm in college and I really like these notebooks because the paper is bright white and shows absolutely no shadowing or feathering, even with my markers.

Check out this review from jetpens, as it helped me choose my own pen case: https://youtu.be/ls8rklb7kEs.

Personally, I use the LIHIT pen case (that's under $10 right now): https://www.amazon.com/LIHIT-Case-inches-Black-A7551-24/dp/B004WMWCYE. For the few months I've used it, it's has been durable, compact, nice to look at, multifunctioned and quite cheap! Good luck with any purchase you make 😀 {DISCLAIMER: N0T A PA1D BO7}

I just got this Lihit Lab case and like it. It holds a good amount of stuff, looks nice enough, and was really cheap... the cost was the driving factor for me. I am not totally sure what I want/need in a pen case yet, so I didn't want to commit to anything too expensive. This was $10 and does the job pretty darn well!

My suggestion is to get:

Pilot Metropolitan, you can also get a fine tip if you want that.

A Pilot Con-50

And finally, some Parker Quink.

I'd probably use the converters because they are less prone to leaking, and you can always get new ink in case you want another color.

A 2oz bottle of ink will likely last you around 9 months if you are writing a fair bit daily and don't spill any, though I've managed to go through one in 3 months, due to writing a novel.

If you want blue ink too, you can get some Blue Quink

Lamy also makes some great ink for cheap in Blue, Black and Turquoise

The Quink black you have is a good ink that is widely available at a good price as long as you're not concerned about water resistance. A couple of really popular, very affordable options if you want some water resistance are either Pilot Black (also in ridiculously large bottles if that's your thing) or Noodler's Black or Heart of Darkness. You could also go with Noodler's Black Eel, which would help keep the piston lubricated in your 2k.

Also look at Noodler's Bernanke Blue penaddict || officesupplygeek and Bernanke Black ikonhand. Both are extremely quick drying and the nice, solid inks.

Edit: For an inexpensive pen, I would look at the Nemosine Singularity, Pilot Metropolitan, or if you want something really inexpensive and that still writes well, maybe something like a Jinhao x250, x450, or x750. (The Pilot and the Nemosine are much lighter in weight, so I think they make for more comfortable writing pens for longer sessions, personally. But the Jinhao pens actually write quite well.)

Sorry, I should've been more specific. When I wrote Noodler's, I meant Noodlers Black, this one.

> if you find an ink too wet, you can add a tiny bit of water to make it drier. This works by diluting the amount of surfectants/other things that help the ink flow.

Well that's new for me. Thanks, that's awesome to know this! I'd think quite the opposite because all this wetness/dryness logic (such as add water = wetter).

Waterman Intense Black seems to be the best fit for your requirements. It's a nice black ink, and dries quickly.

Parker Quink is an option like you mentioned But I've used Quink in a fine nib and it wasn't grey but it was a light black. In a medium or bigger nib it should be a medium black.

I hope this helps.

Schmidt K5 converters hold-up better than the Chinese ones. Not saying you cannot break it, but you can tell when you're holding it that it's better made.

edit: linked to Amazon out of convenience. If you want to ensure you get an authentic one, pick a retailer of your choice but they're around $5.

Leftie here. The best solution I’ve found is Noodler’s Bernanke Blue (or black, I think) ink. It dries almost instantly on every paper I’ve tried.

The Lamy LH nibs don’t seem to work for me because the flow is too heavy for my writing speed (i.e. I write slow and they seem to flood ink), but my leftie SO loves them.

Edit: Noodlers Ink 3 Oz Bernanke Blue https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008YL1466?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

Also requires: Lamy Refill Converter (Z24) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001DVXWRI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_yqxKAbCKKQQ4Z

I just got a JinHao pen and it looks amazing. The reason I say looks is because I don't have ink for it. I've checked the sidebar and the sub wiki and such, but I had a question for y'all. What's your favorite non-blue and non-black ink? If I was going to go black I'd get this and blue would be this. But I want something.. different.

I'd like to stay around or under $20.

Your pic looks better than the one on amazon. Didd you remove the middle divider?

EDIT: Wow this one also looks nice. How is the quality on the one you have so far?

I have a few suggestions:

Memo pads:

• Office Depot Sugarcane Paper (3 for $6.99)
  
• Staples Sustainable Earth (12 for $18.99)
  
  Notebooks:
  
  
• Black N Red 8 1/4 x 5 7/8 ($3.00 on sale at Office Depot)
  
• Black N Red 8.5 x 11 ($6.00 on Amazon)
  
• Office Depot Notebooks 8.5 x 11 -CHECK FOR MADE IN VIETNAM!- ($2.00!!!)
  Best bang for your buck. I have personally tried them, but be SURE to get the ones MADE IN VIETNAM. These will have a little bit of tooth but are fountain pen friendly, they don't feather or bleed.
  
  Edit: Formatting.
  

sorry forgot to mention the ink I got, I've updated my post Pilot Namiki Ic100 Fountain Pen Ink Cartridge

​

okay thanks for the advice! The squeeze converter is the grey looking sac I've got with the pen right? Is that one good or should I get another one? I've seen some fountain pens with a piston converter that seems better

Oh! If you're interested in Pilot's Blue Black, on Amazon there's a 350mL version in a glass bottle imported from Japan that works out to be great value for money. Here

I think pretty much the entire J Herbin line is available with Prime shipping for ~13$, including Ambre de Birmanie and several blues: Eclat de Saphir, Diablo Menthe, and Bleu Nuit. They also have a couple other blues that you might like.
As for black, Quink is pretty good(and very inexpensive) but I find that it does better in F+ nibs. They also have a Blue-Black but it, unlike its black counterpart, isn't available with Prime shipping as far as I can see.

I’ve been slowly making my way through these books. I’ll practice a letter a bit and then integrate it into my daily writing to the best of my ability :)

Yeah, my demonstrator's held up nicely (despite being banged around more than a little), but the reports I've heard of the opaque Singularities breaking led me to making it a stay-at-home pen, just to be safe.

If you want a really fine line, check out the Sailor HighAce: thinnest line I've ever seen.

There's also the Pilot Metropolitan, of course. Medium nibs are on sale on Amazon right now, and a Pilot M is going to be both smooth and roughly equivalent to an F/EF western nib.

Noodler's Ink black. Item number 19001. I use the pen at work so I have to keep things simple and professional. I'd prefer a nice dark blue, but, eh. It's for my paperwork.

I like your handwriting. Mine is still sloppy but I'm working on it.

If cleaning doesn't work then I'll try the soap trick. Thanks.

Do not let ink price refrain you from witting. Please take a look to this great ink. Which also is Pilot and the cost is really good. This is a 350 ml bottle. Can last like a year or more!!! Cost about $20 bucks. Ink 350ml INK350BB (japan import) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001P35A74/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_mZGPzbTKR99MP

Here is an 8-pack of Jinhao 599 fountain pens from Amazon for $12.69 with free shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/Lanxivi-Jinhao-Fountain-Diversity-Transparent/dp/B00L95MIJQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1459028586&sr=8-1&keywords=jinhao+599+fountain+pen


And a Platinum Preppy 7-pack (rainbow colors) for $16.99 with free shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/Platinum-Preppy-Rainbow-Fountain-Point/dp/B00IU3US7O/ref=pd_sim_229_4?ie=UTF8&dpID=51ZXAYCAZOL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR128%2C160_&refRID=1V2M317AXM250K390K8Q

For a student I'd recommend the Nock Brasstown 100%. https://www.gouletpens.com/nock-co-pen-case-brasstown-raven-aqua/p/NC-NZ60BAq
If that's too steep then this one is pretty nice and it fits a graphing calculator or a pocket notebook too: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WMWCYE/ref=twister_B01FVTMSDG?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Hi, I am a total noob, like I just discovered this sub today, but I think I want to get a Lamy Safari. Amazon.ca has them in charcoal and they are prime eligible! I will do some more research before I pull the trigger but I had a few questions

-What is the difference between left handed nibs and regular nibs?

-As a leftie I push the pen across the page a bit more than a right handed person. Is this a problem with fountain pens? Do they glide when they are pushed or do they dig in?

-Any online recommendations to buy nibs/ink etc. that ship to Canada?

Thanks!

Pilot Blue-Black is cheap as dirt (350 mL for $25), waterproof, professional, and really well behaved. It also shades surprisingly well on Rhodia and Tomoe River paper (maybe a 6.5/10 on shading which is a bit unusual for such a standard color).

(I've recently rediscovered this ink after spilling some water on a page I'd written and seeing just a hint of desaturation instead of the complete washing away of everything. Instant convert/made me love the ink again).

If you are ok with not having individual pen slots, Lihit Lab makes inexpensive but decent pen cases. I have both.

LIHIT LAB. Smart Fit Compact Pen Case (Pencil Case), Water & Stain Repellent, Navy, 3.5" x 6.5'' (A7687-11)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BD0GPKE/

LIHIT LAB Pen Case, 7.9 x 2 x 4.7 inches, Black (A7551-24)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WMWCYE/

Looks like it doubled in price, but still a great buy imo. Here's the link https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004Y7CKT4?ref_=yo_ii_img&psc=1&pldnSite=1&th=1

Aside from getting a special "needlepoint" grind by someone like Mike Masuyama, your other option is to get a Pilot Penmanship, which is pretty cheap and the nibs are compatible with your metropolitan.

https://smile.amazon.com/Pilot-Fountain-Extra-Clear-PFP50RNCEF/dp/B006CQUI9O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473952567&sr=8-1&keywords=pilot+penmanship

I realize nobody told you how much the pen is. Brand new, the Lamy 2000 retails for ~$150. Amazon

It is beautiful and one of my favorite everyday writers!

Bam. It's heavy, bright white, ghost/bleed resistant and best of all cheap.

This is what I use and it’s great. It’s been mentioned here before and the general consensus is good.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EFQG1I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_tcWOAb6B5QMHT

You can buy them from Goulet pens, they have a 40 vials one.

I found this 50 vial holder, which is the same thing but bigger capacity. It works perfectly. (mine is almost full... I think I went overboard with it).

what is the difference between the Z24 and the Z26. when i look on amazon it looks like both will fit in my Lamy Studio, the Z26 looks more similar to the cartridges that i have in terms of shape....but they still look mostly the same. (also the amazon picture shows the z26 inside a studio)

Amazon link to the Z26

amazon link to the Z24

I was curious about the deal so I checked out Amazon as well. The price is crazy low! Especially since they all come with a converter. I assume that it's being imported directly from China since the estimated delivery is so long.

For the curious: http://www.amazon.com/Jinhao-Fountain-Diversity-Transparent-Unique/dp/B00L95MIJQ?ie=UTF8&keywords=Jinhao%20Fountain%20Pens&qid=1465346477&ref_=sr_1_5&sr=8-5

Now to get ink in all of those colors. Anyone know of any good yellow ink? :P

You can get a charcoal fine Safari on Amazon with Prime free shipping right now for $22.

Lamy Safari Fountain Pen - Charcoal - Fine https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002T401Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Qgz4AbEP74NBC

Thanks, I appreciate it. I think it is true that no one ever really likes their own writing because I think mine is horrific. I was in that last generation that they still taught cursive in school, so it is a mix of the garbage school guidance and Spencerian theory. I wish I could go back in time and learn the write way when I was 8 vs working on it now.

Spencerian Penmanship (Theory Book plus five copybooks) https://www.amazon.com/dp/088062096X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_csmSBbBJ4XAE7

Spencerian, though they've made some variations to make it their own.

[My wife got me some books for Christmas last year] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/088062096X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526597551&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=spencerian+penmanship+theory+book+plus+five+copybooks&dpPl=1&dpID=51Q0SSR5udL&ref=plSrch), and I like them a lot. The sentences from the workbooks feel like 19th century propaganda, and are a lot of fun to write.

Hi Guys,
I currently do not own a fountain pen and am looking at a couple different ones to try. Keep in mind I have never used one in my life.

Really my question is, these are the two pens I am looking at. Which is better for the price? And if neither is good, what should I get in this price range?

Pilot Metropolitan Collection Fountain Pen, Black Barrel, Classic Design, Fine Nib, Black Ink (91111) https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00KRPFD96/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_5zsGyb8VZE14Y

Lamy Safari Fountain Pen (Charcoal) https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0002T401Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_DDsGyb5Y4RAVM

Thanks a lot

Black 'n Red notebooks are very good, and are about $5.50 each:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EFQG1I/

Otherwise you could also save your fountain pen for other uses and use conventional ballpoint or gel pen on your cheap notebooks.

Yup! Here you go!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000099O2W

It feels really nice. There's some feathering with EofC and the Parallels, but it's nice to have a big stack of it to scribble all over and practice some calligraphy, at which I am abysmal.

I just had this come in today from Amazon and its great. Might be a little bigger than what you want but overall its not that large. In the front left I have 4 Pilot G-2s and 4 Pilot V5s and in the front right I have 6 different Fountain Pens. I cant say much for durability since it just came in today but it feels like a quality product.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004WMWCYE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Noodler's Black is fairly well known for being bleed resistant:
https://www.amazon.com/Noodlers-Black-Waterproof-Fountain-Pen/dp/B000MVZ2E6

For bleed through I've found that higher quality paper helps more than different inks. I like these A5 Clairefontaines:
https://www.gouletpens.com/clairefontaine-1951-clothbound-notebook-black-lined/p/C195246

If you want a giant bottle of good, cheap ink for your students, the "coke bottle" of Pilot Blue-Black is a good choice.

Well, you can get a single one in fine for $13.22 from Amazon right now: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009X9Z2FW

But if you actually want two, yeah. (I have two, because I wanted to try both nibs.)

Edit: $12.93 for a medium: http://www.amazon.com/Pilot-Metropolitan-Collection-Fountain-91104/dp/B009M3PIK8

i got these two with a metro

hope i got the right stuff lol

I haven't tried many inks, but the one I'm using now is Noodler's Bulletproof Black, and it's just excellent. In a Lamy Safari EF, it's my go-to pen for everyday use.

yea i found the pilot on amazon, i was thinking of getting a couple just to see how they feel then buy a real one.

Here is the varsity
www.amazon.com/Pilot-Varsity-Disposable-Fountain-Black/dp/B00AU2V8Q8/

&

Would you recommend this one if i like the way fountain pens write and want to spend a little more?

http://www.amazon.com/Lamy-Safari-Fountain-Pen-Charcoal/dp/B0002T401Y

Yes, I compare the prices per page and not by notebook or weight.

Is this perhaps what you’re talking about? Unfortunately, it seems the product you’re talking about is only available in the UK market... but I’ll keep my eyes peeled for it! Thanks!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000EFQG1I/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520376432&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=black+n+red+notebook+8+1%2F2+x+11&dpPl=1&dpID=41GbPn4ianL&ref=plSrch

G'day! I would like to buy a converter cartridge for my Parker Minxy "15", but I don't know anything about sizes and specifications. Should I be buying a specific size of cartridge? Or are the cartridges claiming to be "universal" size actually universal? Thank you! (I ask because this Parker looks extremely short compared to a normal pen, so I'm worried about converter lengths.) The converter I'm referring to.

I just have them floating in a drawer right now also, but a guy I work with uses this test tube rack and it works exceedingly well. I'll be picking one up soon, or one like it.

While you can get them cheaper, anything between $15-$30 will get you a decent pen. I got a Lamy Safari as my first pen and really like it. One pro is that you can get new in sizes cheap and easy. If you don't want the triangular grip of the Safari, get a Pilot Metropolitan. If you want something that's one tier above and holds more ink, get a TWSBI Eco.

I'm a fountain pen beginner, and am trying to decide what to buy. I've looked through recommendations, and have narrowed it down to the most popular two.

Lamy Safari fine point, which I can get for $20 (no converter)

Or the fine pilot metro which I can get for $19 shipped (with converter). One of my concerns about this one is it's size, how thick is it? As big as a highlighter? Sharpie?

I'm a lefty, and hoping that a fine nib will cut down on ink smear. I will mostly be using the pen at home, probably on pretty crappy paper.

Most fountain pens should last you in the region of decades baring dropping and the like. Beyond the suggestions in the wiki I would make the following suggestions. Feel free to ask more questions if you have any.

Cult pens are a UK based supplier with good customer service and a broad selection. If you are looking for a piston filler pen to use with bottled ink I'd suggest taking a look at some Pelikans, their M200 range is a good pen with a steel nib, I've had one on mine since the mid 1990's for some more money you can get an M400 (same size gold nib), or an M600 which is slightly bigger (M800s and M1000s bigger again). Otherwise take a look at the TWSBI Eco.

If you are after a cartridge/converter pen then take a look at the Pilot Capless (about £150) a bit of a marmite pen but it's one of my favourites. Otherwise a Waterman maybe Carene.

I thinks its just a case of writing a page of each letter, taking your time to form the letters correctly. And then doing the same with words etc until you can slowly get faster and faster.


Also I would say spend an evening of two on form, how to hold the pen, and some exercises to help you get the hang of the different movements that all letters are made from. I found these books really helpful, although I did end up changing some of the letters to speed up my handwriting.

I use a vial rack from amazon it was around 5.99 and holds 50 vials.

ETA link and state price is now $6.09

I also bought some tiny round stickers. I put one on top of each sample vial and put a little ink on the sticker. Makes it easier to find a certain color.

LIHIT LAB Pen Case, Black, 4.7 x 7.9" (A7551-24) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WMWCYE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_goJ-ybWVXQRSW


Great experience so far! Lots of space to hold pens!

Lol there was a photo I upload but it got deleted. Well here are the links... https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00L95MIJQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB&psc=1

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B071W4WNMY/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=A7RM57FDIWEJ0&psc=1

I am pretty sure it is this

https://www.amazon.com/Jinhao-Fountain-Diversity-Transparent-Unique/dp/B00L95MIJQ

$11 for 8 pens. I absolutely love them, they are so much fun to write with.

The only companies that sell 8.5x11 notebooks that tear out nicely are Red&Black and Clairefontaine, afaik.

The issue with the Red and Black notebook is the torn out page is slightly smaller than 8.5x11, as it's the whole paper that's 8.5x11, not the torn out part. The issue with Clairefontaine is just that it's a little pricey for homework/note-taking paper. If you have a printer you could always just get the HP laser papers and print your own grid. 24 or 32 both works but 32 is better

Looks like an International Standard converter to me. They're $5 on Amazon. Schmidt makes a good converter, as does Kaweco.

Sometimes you can get HP paper on sale. I use this 32 lb paper and it's great for fountain pens. I can even use my dip pens with that stuff!

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

on Amazon

---

^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

https://www.amazon.ca/LIHIT-LAB-Case-Black-A7551-24/dp/B004WMWCYE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523858453&sr=8-1&keywords=lihit+lab+pen+case&dpID=41iFZrvOA8L&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

I currently use this one, it can fit at least 12 pens! Also, it has pouches on the other side that can fit spare cartridges/converters and other stationary items.

Absolutely. Great pen to start with. The only real issue is you would need to buy a bottle of ink and if you end up not liking fountain pens, you're out the money for both. I suggest going with this or this, simply because both already come with cartridges that you can use. The first one was my first pen and I still regularly use it.

In case anyone else wants to do this next year,
these things are super cheap, and all come with a converter!

Recently fell in love with these Black n' Red Twin Wire Poly Cover Notebook, 11" x 8-1/2", Black/Red, 70 Ruled Sheets (K66652) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EFQG1I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_evKXCb9WK4DMK

But also Rhodia paper is great but I feel that the black and red notebooks show more Sheen

It's a Pilot, I can't find any sort of model name. It's got an extremely fine point. I like fine lines, but I don't use this one much because the other two are so much nicer to use.

Pilot fountain pen with ergo grip

Fine lines:
http://imgur.com/bJggd7Q

May want to check out /r/handwriting for tips.

However, I recently got the Spencerian books after they were recommended on here a few times.

There are also a few good online resources were you can download practice sheets and whatnot. It may come down to what style you are wanting to learn.

Then I'd recommend this one for 25% less. The Lamy's you are looking at are all identical per their functionality. It's just construction materials that differs, so pick the one you like the look of.

Well, since you've purchased it perhaps you'll be glad to know it's only 20.99 on Amazon! At least in the US for the F nib.

Ah, sorry. Best I found on amazon.in was an 8-pack for 1155 Rupees:

https://www.amazon.in/Jinhao-Fountain-Diversity-Transparent-Unique/dp/B00L95MIJQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519739251&sr=8-1&keywords=jinhao+599

I'm thinking about getting my first pen. How's this deal?

Lamy Al-Star

https://www.amazon.com/Lamy-Al-Star-Fountain-Pen/dp/B00C6OY5XQ/ref=sr_1_6?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1484539366&sr=1-6&keywords=lamy+al-star


Would a Lamy Safari be better?

https://www.amazon.com/Lamy-Safari-Fountain-Pen-Charcoal/dp/B0002T401Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1484541983&sr=1-1&keywords=lamy+safari

https://www.amazon.com/Lamy-Safari-White-Fountain-Pen/dp/B0002XT27W/ref=sr_1_4?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1484541983&sr=1-4&keywords=lamy+safari

What would you get in my case?