(Part 3) Best products from r/fountainpens

Ok. I'm going to give you a number of options here. Mostly they're white (because white goes with everything dahlink) but one is pink. They're all inexpensive. I'm giving you Amazon links and prices here, but you could use Goulet or maybe even get a better price on ebay. Here you go:

The Cross Beverly, about $36. Some people don't like Cross fountain pens, I love mine. This will be an attractive and reliable pen that she can be proud to use anywhere. It should come with Cross ink cartridges, which are very nice.

The Parker Vector, about $20. It's a bit plain looking, but they're superb pens, very reliable and write very well. It should have Parker ink cartridges.

The Jinhao 159, about $10. Very inexpensive, but Jinhao makes a surprisingly nice pen. It probably has a converter or can use standard cartridges. (It doesn't come with ink.)

The Jinhao 950 in white porcelain with blue chinese decoration, for less than $5.50. This is a very attractive pen (much nicer than the price implies) and the porcelain feels luxurious. (I have one with different decorations.) Also, the nib can be interchanged with the Goulet pen nibs. (Again, doesn't come with ink, probably has a converter in it.)

The Parker Urban, in pink, about $40. (It's not available in white, but that's a rather smashing pink, don't you agree?) This is a very stylish pen. She will be proud to pull it out and use it anywhere. I have one in black. Again, Parker makes fabulous pens. It probably comes with ink.

Or if you want to go very cheap on the pen and maybe get some nice ink with your budget, there's the Jinhao 599 under $5, although I will tell you you should be able to get this for under $2 on ebay.

Ink for her new pen

As I said above, the Parker pens come with ink, and they use a proprietary size cartridge. You can get a Parker converter or you can get craft syringes to refill a cartridge from bottled ink after she uses it up.

If you're getting her a beautiful pen, why not get her some lovely ink to go with it?

Wouldn't some lovely deep purple Iroshizuku ink (about $20) make a lovely impression with the white pens? I just got my first bottle of Iroshizuku this week and let me tell you, the bottle is gorgeous. Or maybe if she wants something less girly, a lovely deep turquoise for under $26?

Or if you want something a little less girly for ink, maybe you might want to look at the infamous (but glorious) Noodler's Baystate Blue for less than $13?

Or something slightly more exotic, with their Apache Sunset ink which shades from yellow to vermillion with writing?

If you want to get her some lovely ink in cartridges, because it's an easy way for her to start, you want to look at Goulet pens' web site for that, they have a lovely selection. I'll leave that shopping to you. Remember standard cartridges won't work in the Parker pens.

[edit:] If it were me, I'd get the Parker Urban, the Parker converter, the Iroshizuku purple, and the Noodler's Apache Sunset. That pen just screams style, even if it's stereotypically pink. (And they do make it in other colors, if you want to search Amazon.) She'll think of you every time she touches it.

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.
  

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE consider the Platinum 3776.

It's got an amazing 14k gold nib, lovely size (not too large) and perfect fit and finish. It has a airtight seal so the nib will never dry out. And best of all it's only £55.69 from Amazon right now.

Seriously crazy price for what it is. Watch some youtube reviews, it's amazing value!

Edit: It is a Japanese pen so all sizes will be one size smaller than regular Western style nibs. A Japanese Medium will have a line size similar to a Western Fine.

Edit II: They also do a "soft fine" which has a slight amount of flex to it. It looks truly beautiful!

Edit III: http://www.gourmetpens.com/2016/02/review-platinum-3776-century-bourgogne.html?m=1

Edit IX: Have a look at this which was recently posted by a fellow r/fountainpens subscriber. https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/5k9g2v/a_new_member_of_the_family_3776_sf/. It's a crazy price, and you won't have to pay any taxes or duties on it like you would if you ordered it from Ebay!

Edit X: Are you at Uni? I can send you some ink samples and a blunt syringe.

Also if you're thinking about Eco vs Safari, I would suggest the Eco, especially if at Uni. I have run out of ink mid note-taking and had to refill, quite a pain! The Eco has a huge ink capacity.

I'd love to hear what other folks are using. Ideally, I'd like a case that can fit a total of 16-20 fountain pens, but hopefully with a smaller footprint. The 96-slot Global Art Leather Pencil Case is almost perfect... but they changed their design since I bought mine and they now have only one loop per slot instead of two. (I utilize both loops for smaller things, like pencil leads, wax stamps, etc.)

My current case contains the following items, but as you can see I'm just about out of room!

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Side A: Pencils

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1. rOtring 800 in .05
   
2. Uni Kuru Toga Pipe Slide in .05 with red nano dia lead
   
3. Uni Kuru Toga Pipe Slide in .05 with blue nano dia lead
   
4. Uni Kuru Toga Pipe Slide in .05 with green nano dia lead
   
5. Erasers: refills for the General Pencil Co. Factis BM-2 mechanical erasers, plus some for the Kuru Toga
   
6. A pair of General Pencil Co. Factis BM-2 mechanical erasers (a nice, thin eraser capable of area or detail erasing)
   
7. Extra red, green, and blue Uni nano dia lead
   
8. Extra black Uni nano dia lead (in a spare Pentel container)
   
9. Alumicolor 6" engineer pocket scale, standard (used as a straight edge)
   
10. Heavy-duty X-Acto Gripster knife
    
    ---
    
    Side B: Fountain Pens
    
    ---
    
    
11. Noodler's Neponset Ebonite Flex in black, filled with Noodler's Apache Sunset
    
12. TWSBI Eco in black, filled with Jacques Herbin 1670 Emerald of Chivor
    
13. Jinhao X750 in Black Night Sky, filled with Jacques Herbin 1670 Stormy Grey
    
14. Jinhao X750 in Lava Red, filled with Diamine Sherwood Green
    
15. Jinhao X750 in Black Frost Black, filled with Rohrer & Klingner Alt-Goldgrun
    
16. Jinhao X750 in Black Night Sky, filled with Noodler's Blue Ghost
    
17. An inexpensive atomizer (used for fine control when creating ink splatters)
    
18. Pilot Plumix, filled with Noodler's Firefly
    
19. Noodler's Charlie (not sold; comes free with 4.5 oz Noodler's inks), filled with Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-Budo

Hi! I've been wanting to get a decent fountain pen for a while but I always get kind of scared away by all the different things (how to pick a nib, a pen, what kind of refill strategy to use, etc). I'm hoping someone can recommend me everything I need.

Here's everything I can think to mention to help:

• I really do not like plastic. I would like a pen that reduces my plastic usage as much as possible. I do not know if there are refill options that avoid plastic, but this is actually a huge motivation for switching to fountain pens.
  
  
• I'm just going to be using normal paper. I use Moleskine journals for personal stuff, and write class notes in the B5 notebooks from Muji.
  
  
• I've only used black Pilot Precise V5 pens for about 15 years? And I would appreciate something similar to this, specifically in the way it writes on paper. I imagine that means a fine or extra fine nib?
  
  
• I am not terribly concerned with having access to a thousand kinds of inks, but writing in more than blue or black might be interesting. I don't mind buying extra equipment to avoid plastic or to be cheaper in the long term.
  
  
• I write very quickly and I want to continue to be able to write very quickly. So, an ink that dries quickly would be nice.
  
  
• I don't want to spend a crazy amount on my first pen, but I also recognize I am probably asking for more than what a $20 pen can get me.
  
  Thanks to anyone that can help me out!

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 :)

Save up a little while longer for a pen with a gold nib. I (along with many others) enjoy Pilot's gold nibs, as they are smooth and springy. Pilot's quality control is also very good. For $81, you can get a Pilot Custom 74 on Amazon, which is a great deal for such a wonderful nib.

Feel free to get the Eco is that's what you really want, but don't expect the writing experience to be any different than what you already get from your Safari. I bought a lot of cheaper pens when I was starting out, and they never really satisfied me. In my opinion, you're better off saving up for a better pen that you'll really love using for a long time.

I would suggest the Nemosine Singularity and save the rest for ink.

The Monteverde Artista Crystal is also very nice (and sturdy).

The Kaweco Ice Sport is a good pen as well - the sub-par converter options are a knock against that one though, imho.

The Pilot Prera is a solid choice, but I feel you get more pen for the money with the above pens (even though I love Pilot pens).

Any of the TWSBI pens should treat you well - I have enjoyed all of them.

I just checked, and honestly the only concern I have about J-Subculture is that they don't have HTTPS on their website, so I wouldn't give them my credit card info (not because of them, but because of people who might intercept it). Other sites that people are recommending here like Engeika and Rakuten aren't any better in that regard actually, but if you use Paypal, the risk should be mitigated.

To explain J-Subculture, it's a Japanese import service. Their basic shtick is that you give them a link to a page where something is being sold or auctioned, you pay them, and then they buy it and ship it to you, although they do have their own shop as well.

If you don't feel comfortable with the lack of HTTPS, definitely try Amazon. For about $220, you can get a C823 from Amazon pretty easily (though I would recommend buying from a seller with high ratings).

Alternatively, if you don't mind the flat top design or the piston filling mechanism, you could try a Pilot Custom Heritage 92. It recently dropped to $133 on Jetpens and on top of that, it comes in Black and Blue now too (for a long time, only clear CH92s were available outside Japanese sellers). It's the same nib as the Custom 74, though, so if that's a turnoff, sorry.

> try the soap with water or an ammonia solution.

The Eco at least has been soaked in a diluted ammonia solution with a couple drops of soap (I forget which ink left a residue, but it required extra cleaning). I'm pretty sure I thoroughly cleaned the Classic since it was writing dry until I deepened the ink channel (Eco/580 feeds are unmodified). When I finish the current fill, I'll be sure to give them a soapy scrub.

> if the feed is aligned with the nib
> see if something or if larger particles are obstructing the feed

The nib+feed all look pretty well aligned. Though, I've got this fude nib on my Eco currently; and the Eco & Classic both have bent feed-fins.

I pulled the nib & feed for inspection. I don't have my loupe with me, but didn't see anything clogging the ink channel. The Classic had a lot of glitter on the feed from the Brandy Dazzle, though the 580 was surprisingly clean despite EoC's glitter component.

Also: turns out the bent fins on Classic/Eco are only the ones external to the grip section. Are those purely cosmetic? I'm struggling to imagine what they could be for.

I've heard the books by Andreas Lambrou are pretty great, but I haven't read them myself. There's Fountain Pens of the World, Fountain Pens of Japan, and Fountain Pens: United States of America and United Kingdom. They're not cheap, but they have lots of glossy pages of amazing color pictures. You'll see them around at pen shows and I have looked through a few of the pictures then

Edit: You should also check out Shawn Newton's process

Pilot makes an ink under the Iroshizuku brand that has a fantastic magenta called Yama-Budo. It and other Iroshizuku inks are available at Amazon for very good prices. If I were to start over I would only buy Iroshizuku inks, they are that good and very well respected by the fountain pen community.

<img>https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51gwiS2jGWL._AC_.jpg</ing>

https://smile.amazon.com/Pilot-Iroshizuku-Fountain-Yama-Budo-69217/dp/B003MVMBHE/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=yama-budo&qid=1574648169&sr=8-1

This Jinhao x450. It's a really nice dark green. There's also this older version for $2 less, and that one looks almost black until light hits it.

Those pens have a great juicy medium nib, come with a converter, and take standard international cartridges. They've got a metal body with a great weight to them. And best of all, they cost almost nothing. I love these pens.

I would second looking into the Pilot Prera. On amazon they are about $30 bucks and they look pretty to me! I have a metro that I love, and a Pilot Prera will be my 5th pen :)

You can also interchange nibs between the Prera and Metro. The Prera's Con-50 converter will fit your metro as well! I see it as the metro's demonstrator cousin.

Amazon Link

You cannot buy Pilot nibs separately, but the Kakuno steel nibs are interchangeable with those on the Metro, Plumix, Prera, Penmanship and 78g. The nibs and feeds are simple friction fit so just grip the nib and feed and pull. The first time you do it they may be in quite firmly, so a very slight twist as you pull can loosen it up.

I would recommend a Prera if you don't like the look of the Metropolitan. In my opinion, a better balanced pen with a far more comfortable section. The demonstrator versions look modern.

How much are you looking to spend per notebook and how long do you want them to last?

I have had a lot of good luck with these they are a bit inconsistent with pens, so I recently switched to Rhodia and Clairefontaine with a slightly more cost per notebook. But overall, they're good notebooks.

Check out this map see if a store is located near you and at the very least they should have notebooks are works well with fountain pens. Despite the margin size and line spacing being a bit too big I'm happy with my switch to Clairefontaine.

Did it come with a cartridge or ink?

I'm not certain (as I am new to fountain pens), but could the maker mean these Cross Fountain Cartridges? If so, maybe one of these converters will work: screw style or push in style. Or perhaps this universal converter? If that doesn't help, I'd be contacting the maker for more information. Best of luck!

It was actually my first fountain pen, and I was originally so let down by how it wrote that I was turned off for a while. Once I dug deeper and decided to try the converter, it helped a lot and now I have a few other pens as well. The converter I found on Amazon. It's still a thicker line but usable to me now. I would recommend a "dryer" ink for the Cross. Like I said, I used Quink and it works nicely in it. There are plenty others though.

Not OP but it looks really similar to the case I use (Amazon Smile link) and I love it.

In 2014 I bought one of these, then went back and bought a case of them because I liked them.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007XZKFSM/ref=pe_385040_30332200_TE_item

Show through doesn't bother me much, so I'll have to look and see what my comp books look like. Bear in mind that I use fine and extra fine Japanese nibs so my pens aren't throwing a LOT of ink....

If you consider buying, I'd reach out to the seller and make sure they are still selling the ones made in Brazil....

If you are just starting out then I would recommend the Kuretake No 13. It is a decent brush that can use Platinum converters.

Now not only is it a good starter brush pen that is refillable. This pen can also fit the natural sable hair brush refills if you care to upgrade without having to pay out for the Kuretake No 40/50 pen.

Here is a gallery from a past post where I used the natural brush heads in kuretake pens to give you an example. https://imgur.com/a/pBpHt#4

And lastly you really don't need a converter unless you really want to use them. Just syringe refill the cartridges when they are empty.

Disclaimer first: I don't own this pen, so what I'm about to write is simply from some research I just did.

This is a discussion about the Cross Aventura on FPN and there seems to be some mixed signals here. Most people say that the Cross push-on converter will work in the Aventura. Some people say that there is a spring inside the body of the pen that you need to remove first so the converter will fit, others say even without the spring, it doesn't seem to fit.. hard to say based off this thread alone.

This is a discussion about converters for the Cross Aventura on a different forum and again it seems to be the consensus that the Cross push-on converter will fit once you remove the spring from inside the body of the pen.

I called Cross's customer support line, but of course they closed about 20 minutes before I called.

If you want to order up one of these push-on converters, here's a link to it on Amazon and here's a link to it on the Cross site. On the cross site, it's the bottom one called "Push-in style..."

Hopefully someone else here owns the pen and has personal experience with a converter in it or has a more definitive answer for you! If you want to call Cross tomorrow, their number is 1-800-282-7677 and their hours are 8:30am to 5:00pm Eastern.

If someone buys a Pilot Metropolitan on Amazon, and searches for Pilot inks, sure they will see some bottles, but unless they know to track down the proper converter they cannot use them. Meanwhile the very first hit is Pilot's black cartridges, followed by their blue/black, followed by their blue.

I got my first two pens from Staples (one we went shopping for, the other was a gift). Literally all they had in stock for the first one was Waterman blue cartridges (although that one did come with a converter, it was years before I used it). The second was a Cross Aventura, which doesn't actually have a native converter, although there is one that kind of works (link), and Staples only sold black and blue cartridges for that, so that's all I used for a few years.

To take another example, if people don't buy a Metro, they'll probably get a Lamy Safari, and if you search "Lamy ink" on Amazon the first eight hits are all black and blue ink, with one inkwell mixed in and one converter. The ninth hit is actually violet ink, so that might be a good introduction, but I wasn't introduced through Amazon so I'm not really sure whether someone would know to go looking for that.

Similarly, searching for "fountain pen ink" gives you all blacks and blues from all kinds of different manufacturers. People brand new to the hobby aren't going to know about places like GouletPens, and sadly fine writing stores, where someone might see nice starter pens alongside multi-thousand-dollar limited editions and a wide variety of inks, seem to be few and far between.

If you are looking for the smoke color, the the easiest place to get it would be from amazon. To the depth that I understand UK import fees, it's a complete toss up as to if you will have to pay duties. You can find the Amber color on eBay as well, but once again, you won't really know about duties till after it arrives.


The clear color way is pretty really hard to get in the UK.

Thanks a lot buddy! I love the bourgogne. At this point I've narrowed my options down to your suggestion, and another suggestion I got a while back. Wondering what you thought of this Pilot Custom 74? https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0018HHWFK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?smid=A2J4NEUQ74FYV6&psc=1

Silicone grease is just silicone grease, not any other kind of grease like plumber's grease. It's the stuff that scuba divers use because it doesn't accumulate or alter materials like tubing. Ideally, you don't want to use plumber's grease but I guess it will work. It's just a cheap Kaweco but on something more important I wouldn't use a grease with any additives because you could get stuff like discoloration.

I think the largest bottles of ink I've seen are the 1L Pelikan Brilliant Black/Royal Blue bottles. It comes out about 6.5 cents a mL, which is pretty darn cheap in my book, while still getting high quality ink.

Good question. Pilot Custom 74 is a style of pen by Pilot, as is the Pilot Custom Heritage 92. Generally if you see it capitalized, it's a Pilot pen (mass produced) and it typically has a number after it like 74, 91, 92, 823 (there are a few others, but those are the common ones.) Generally when it's lowercase people will tell you the manufacturer like Edison Pens or Newton Pens or Scriptorium Pens.

This is probably your best bet -- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000DCVZL/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=.

You can also get it from Walmart for the same cost.

Obligatory: order from Goulet to support small businesses. $3 for 1/8 of a oz, which will last a long time.

The $25-30 Preras are usually the full color japanese that don't come with the converter. The ~$56 ones are the american demonstrators with converters. Although, it looks like you can pick them up for around $30 now.
Personally I think they're a lot better than the metro, the solid brass body is just too heavy and the center of mass is low enough on the Prera that it can be posted comfortably.

You actually probably do!

Platinum Preppy $5.67
Pilot Varsity $8.49 per 3 pack
Pilot V-Pen $6.99
Bic Disposable $5.06 per 2 pack
Jinhao X450 $4.54
Zebra V-301 $7.87
Jinhao X450 $4.54
Baoer Silver Cross Line $4.50
Pelikan 4001 Ink 30ml Royal Blue $8.65
Jinhao $5.21 for 15

So you see, you can buy one. Maybe not a Montblanc just yet, but don't worry, these are all still fun.

try platinum pla5000a they looks pretty neat.
or pilot C74

Cross uses proprietary cartridges, meaning your pen will not be compatible with cartridges from any other brand. If you've been happy with the ink that came with your pen, you can just buy some more Cross cartridges on Amazon.

If you don't like the ink that came with your pen, you have a choice. You can refill one of your existing cartridges from a bottle by buying and using a cheap, blunt syringe, or you can buy a small gadget called a converter that converts your pen into a piston filler. Both of these options will allow you to use bottled ink.

If you decide to use bottled ink, the question then becomes one of what color you want. There are many colors and types of fountain pen ink available. Do you have any preferences?

I'm think about buying the platinum ptl-5000a. If I got it I would probobly buy it from Amazon at about 50 dollars. Do you guys think it's a good pen or there is a better pen for a similar price. Any feedback is apricated.
https://www.amazon.com/Platinum-Fountain-PTL-5000A-point-Black/dp/B004BA69XW/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1538848612&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=platinum+ptl-5000a&dpPl=1&dpID=41w5dqd2a-L&ref=plSrch

Thanks. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DCVZL/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 This is the grease I ordered, although I got mine directly from Amazon. Looks like it's about $9 US. Goulet Pens in Vermont, USA sells little tiny jars of it for $3.00, too (and you can piggyback an order of some of their found-nowhere-else inks). I imagine a little goes a long way?

A cheap TWSBI is really good. Or search PenBBS on ebay..
Here is a $80 Platinum with M nib. A gold nib is not for bragging rights, it really gives a better writing experience.
https://www.amazon.com/Platinum-3776-CENTURY-Chartres-Blue/dp/B00B1N90W4/

Didn't know that you were in the US.
You can try the gray market for Japan pens such as:
https://www.amazon.com/Sailor-Pen-fountain-professional-11-1222-220/dp/B001TI9LMU/

https://www.amazon.com/SAILOR-Professional-Shiki-Oriori-Season-Yukitsubaki/

https://www.amazon.com/Platinum-3776-CENTURY-Bourgogne-nib/dp/B007RA4U6Q/

https://www.amazon.com/Pilot-Fountain-Custom-Heritage-FKVH-15SRS-NC-F/dp/B0046L6L4S/

https://www.amazon.com/Pilot-Fontain-Custom-M-Nib-FKK-1000R-DL-M/dp/B001AX3T4A/


You can go for Pilot Custom 823: https://www.amazon.com/PILOT-CUSTOM-823-Plunger-TransparentBlack/dp/B001AX7T9Q which is more expensive but so much better according to every owner.


Or buy this Lamy 2000 which is superior to the Visconti if you want a European fountain pen:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001D3PYT0/

If you're OK with a lightweight pen then I would recommend the Platinum PLT-5000a. It's been my daily carry for a while and it looks as good as when I first got it, plus its got a very nice 14k nib. You do need a proprietary converter, but even with that you should still be within budget.

If you want a metal body you could try the Jinhao X750. You could also look at a Conklin Herringbone, or the Platinum Procyon, but I don't have any personal experience with them.

Sorry, it's a 750. Here's an Amazon link to the pen I bought. I think's its a cool looking pen for the price. It really does shimmer with different colors of red, green and blue.

Yes, I paid $8.49 for it to be shipped prime. Had a 1.5mm #6 stub nib not being used and didn't want to wait 2-3 weeks. I can say it feeds ink to the 1.5mm nib very well. It's a workhorse for me.

I should add, I have the 8812, too, and prefer it to my Pilot Metro. Edited to add The 750 is bigger than the 8812 and uses a #6 nib while the 8812 uses the #5 size nib.

This super cheap one from Amazon.

I have one on the way right now on a slow boat from China, I found it for $3.37 on Amazon + free shipping. Here

Edit: or $5.98 with prime! Just look in the other offers section!

Love this pen!
http://www.amazon.com/Platinum-3776-CENTURY-Chartres-Blue/dp/B00B1N90W4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1453814469&sr=8-2&keywords=platinum+3776

They'll come with cartridges, which are usually disposable. You can still get that pack, but if you want to easily take ink from your sample vials, you can either buy a platinum converter, or you can buy a blunt tip syringe(look em up on Amazon) and use that to decant inks into used cartridges.

The converter has a mini piston that draws up ink. Since the preppies seem to come with a cartridge each, I'd just go with refilling the cartridges with a blunt tip syringe as it's cheaper.

Don't forget to wash out the pen and cartridge or converter every time you switch inks!

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:

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B007XZKFSM/ref=pe_385040_30332200_TE_item

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00ITXB8XS/ref=pe_385040_30332190_TE_dp_1

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^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

Platinum 3776, Black, Medium Nib

This plus the Converter is under $70 for a great pen with a gold nib, and cap that will keep the pen from drying out for over a year.

Idk of its just me, but I wouldn't put any pen in there. It'd be way too easy to get them all scratched up, especially my resin ones.

I use this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01BXQZMK2/ref=sxts1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491346693&sr=1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65

And this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00LW7NPCK/ref=sxts2?ie=UTF8&qid=1491346693&sr=2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65

I'll take any chance I can get to show off. :)

http://i.imgur.com/vgYYX83.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0040776OC/

I use CamelCamelCamel to watch prices on amazon. It's pretty handy.

It looks like you unfortunately bought it at its highest price.

Came here to suggest this case but I kind of like /u/wesleytylerky suggestion better if you have a couple more bucks.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0040776OC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Its a winner

What about this

PILOT Iroshizuku Bottled Fountain Pen Ink, Yama-Budo, Crimson Glory Vine (Purple Red) 50ml Bottle (69217) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003MVMBHE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_x3k4Db67S53V8

https://imgur.com/a/xcE1yeF

It takes 30 pens and is very portable! Mine is out of stock but here’s an almost identical from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/32-Pen-Display-Case-With-Lid/dp/B0040776OC

Pens: Lamy Al-Star | Lamy Safari | Lamy Vista | Lamy Logo | Pilot Metropolitan | Caran d’Ache Genève | Online Vision | Online Carbon (?) | Parker Jotter | Parker Urban | Lamy Studio | Paperchase Rose Gold FP | Lamy CP1 | TWSBI Eco | Custom made

The Pilot Celemo (sometimes spelled Seremo on Amazon) and the Platinum PTL5000 are a bit over your price range at a bit under USD 50, but both are black with gold trim and have 14K gold nibs. I think you might like them.

https://www.amazon.com/Platinum-Fountain-PTL-5000A-point-Black/dp/B004BA69XW/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

(Edited to add link to picture)

Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue is supposed to be truly washable from clothing - widely used in schools here (and you can use those ink eraser pens too on paper, and if you buy a jar of world's best ink remover it's completely washable from hands too.. might be washable with just soap and water even?)

It's now called inkzap apparently

https://www.indy-pen-dance.com/InkZap.html

Looks like Amazon has the 1 liter bottles, it's listed as black but you can choose Royal blue.

https://www.amazon.com/Pelikan-Bottled-Fountain-Brilliant-301168/dp/B000WKZBCK?th=1&psc=1

Will get back with a Jinhao/hero list. (When it's not 3 am. Why the hell am I awake and on Reddit -> helps me feel back asleep)

Lamy also makes student school pens from wood with a few plastic parts. Those might be reasonably edible-proof if the plastic part can't come off? Lamy ABC https://www.amazon.com/LAMY-abc-Beginner-Nib-Fountain-x/dp/B000FA5EII/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1541470093&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=lamy+abc+fountain+pen&dpPl=1&dpID=31fzHCKMqGL&ref=plSrch

You can slide the students name into the cap.

I don't live in the US, but here in the Netherlands you can buy school pens in bulk at a discount if you're ordering as a school.(at heutink.nl but it's Netherlands only). You might have something similar in the US?

I just take a plastic pipette, and refill my preppy cartridges. $5 for 100 pipettes that can be used for multiple pens, or $7 for the converter that is easier to use, but only for one pen. I guess it's a matter of preference really.

> I'd have to import, and then with the added Taxes and Shipping costs the 823 would be more expensive than the M1000

Challenge accepted.

https://www.amazon.de/Plunger-character-fountain-transparent-FKK3MRPTBM/dp/B001AX7T9Q

was delivered with all duties paid in advance.

It’s this one. Hope your move goes well.

The Pilot Blue-Black is only 350 mL, not a full liter. If you're willing to wait for slow shipping, it's only $22.

​

If you want a full liter of ink, you can get some Pelikan 4001 from Amazon Germany for only €26.45 plus shipping.

I think I've seen this one http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DCVZL recommended around here before

The nib name is Fude.

http://www.jetpens.com/Sailor-DE-Brush-Stroke-Style-Calligraphy-Pens/ct/836 Sorry out of stock

Amazon links

http://www.amazon.com/Sailor-Fountain-Profit-InchFude-Mannen-Inch/dp/B001MTCF92

http://www.amazon.com/Sailor-Fude-Mannen-Calligraphy-11-0127-740/dp/B002WGMOTK

This style of converter should work with the Century Classic - it's the thinner of the two and the one I use in my Cross Century and it works just like it's supposed to, so unless there's a radical size difference between the pens it should be fine.

I'm afraid I've never had a nib adjusted so I can't help you with that question. :(

It's on Amazon for $70, with prime shipping. I've never heard of the seller before, but they get reputable reviews.

Link: Platinum "#3776 CENTURY / Chartres Blue"(nib : Medium) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B1N90W4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_cLyPzbVJ07H52

If you're talking cartridges, then no, Cross cartridges are proprietary. However, if you pick up a proprietary converter (https://www.amazon.com/Cross-Converter-Fountain-Townsend-Aventura/dp/B003H0ZTOW), you can fill with any ink you like.

The cheapest ? Hold my ink bottle ! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pelikan-301168-4001-1000-Black/dp/B000WKZBCK

Pelikan has us covered.

Pelikan 4001

Here's a handy refill for the 4001: https://www.amazon.com/Pelikan-Bottled-Fountain-Brilliant-301168/dp/B000WKZBCK

Maybe do 50% blue, 50% black.

http://www.amazon.com/Pilot-Fountain-Custom-Transparent-FKK-1MR-NC-F/dp/B0018HHWFK/ref=sr_1_1?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1452813995&sr=1-1&keywords=pilot+custom+74

http://www.amazon.ca/custom-fountain-character-FKK1000RDLM-japan/dp/B001AX3T4A/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1452814021&sr=8-2&keywords=pilot+custom+74

http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/menet/item/fkk-1mr-nc/

http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/bunkidou-shop/item/fkk-1mr-nc/

http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/bunkidou-shop/item/fkk-1000r-b/

http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/bunkidou-shop/item/fkk-1mr-nc/

Also Yama Budo for $15.29 and Take Sumi for $14.87

The Eco is the cheapest piston filler but there's other demos that are in the same ballpark in looks. IMO the Nemosine is the nearest.

Nemosine demo $15

Noodlers Demos $23

Pilot Pera $30

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004XDE024/ref=sr_ph?ie=UTF8&qid=1452357357&sr=1&keywords=platinum+converter

There is only the Platinum proprietary converter. Nothing else fits. I think there is a choice between a gold and silver version.

Luxury Brands Platinum Fountain Pen Converter (PLAT500) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004XDE024/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ojMRyb9KXK671

Platinum "#3776 CENTURY / Chartres Blue"(nib : Medium) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B1N90W4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_StnGzbT6XMEE2

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00HJ2OYPY/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1509895350&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=jinhao+x750+shimmering+sands&dpPl=1&dpID=31D-sn4HlVL&ref=plSrch

Hehe if you don't mind a wait, the shimmering sands Jinhao can be had for $4.88 with shipping.

I bought this one not long ago. It's cheap plastic and I don't know how long it will last. It did ship from China so took a long time to arrive. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KDDS6O6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If I wear a shirt with a pocket, I usually have two pens in it. I also usually have an aluminum Kaweco Al-Sport in my pants pocket.

In addition, if I'm at work or otherwise not going to be somehow athletic, I carry a cheap 12-pen case like this one.

https://www.amazon.com/Platinum-Fountain-PTL-5000A-point-Black/dp/B004BA69XW

Cheapest gold nib I'm aware of, with a snap cap. Not sure if you were specifically looking to spend all of the $100.

Hey, I might be late on this one but I saw a Cross Century the other day, and the owner used this green converter:

http://www.amazon.com/Cross-Fountain-Converter-Townsend-Founatin/dp/B003H0ZTOW

Not sure if itll work for your pen but it was on a Cross Century (albeit an older one)

I'm a little unclear on the capacity that you need, and are you intending on carrying this around all the time?

Here's a 48 pen case so you can hold all the writing materials in one. The same company makes a 12 pen case if you only need to carry around a few at a time.

Actually, no. Even though most retailers based in the US give you options with a price range of upper $150, you can still buy gold nib pens with relatively low price if you are willing to do some research.

For example: https://www.amazon.com/Platinum-Fountain-PTL-5000A-point-Black/dp/B004BA69XW

Amazon is a strange and versatile place. Many relatively cheap gold nib fountain pens could be found there. Try to search for Pilot Custom 74, Wing Sung 698 14K, Platinum 3776 Century. These should all be in your price range. Choose your seller carefully, though.

You must use fountain pen ink in a fountain pen or it will at least clog the pen. At worst it will destroy the pen.

Fountain pens use ink at a quicker pace than a ballpoint or whatever. Ink usage and whether you would have to refill or not for an a5 picture depends way, way too much on what pen/ink combo. Nib size is a factor--extra fine and fine nibs use much less ink than a broad nib. Some pens hold more ink than others. Even if you chose a pen that couldn't get the job done, refills are easy enough.

Ink can be dirt cheap and utilitarian, especially when bought in bulk (Pilot 350mL , Pelikan 1L) or rather expensive per mL (Aurora, Iroshizuku, Sailor, others, I'm sure). Inks really are all over the place, cost wise. Keep in mind that 1L of ink, as in the above example, would last several years of continuous use, likely equal to thousands of refills--common beginner pens often have around .8mL to 1mL capacity and generally no more than a couple mLs for pens with the biggest capacities.

So I just got this converter for my Cross Aventura and it came with no filling instructions. Being the fountain pen newbie that I am, I searched for some Youtube videos that would show me how to fill it. I came across this video and gave it a try. What happened was it caused the ink to get really bubbly inside the converter and after the bubbles settled the converter was just a little over halfway full.

What am I missing? Could it be the ink I'm using? I ended up pushing out all the ink and just filling the converter directly but that got really messy. There's got to be a simpler way?