One year of fountain pens, and my thoughts
Oh hey there, this is kind of a long post. It's mostly my ramblings on fountain pens and only tangentially related to the pictures below. Also I'm really not sure how formatting works on reddit so if there's a better way to do these kinds of posts let me know
- Parker IM The Last Frontier M
- Parker IM CT M
- Lamy Safari
- Platinum Curidas F
- Sailor Shikiori Yozakura F
- Sailor Pro Gear Slim Morning Mist M
- Sailor Shikiori Princess Kaguya MF
- Sailor Shikiori Shizuriyuki MF
- Sailor 1911 Light Shining Red B
- Sailor Shikiori The Sound of Rain Summer Rain MF
- Kaweco Skyline Sport Mint F
- Hero 5070 F
- Pilot Custom 912 SM
- Lamy st M
- Platinum President M
- Platinum 3776 10th Anniversary M
- Platinum Plaisir 05
- Nahavalur Horizon F
- Conklin Mark Twain M
- Lamy Al-Star EF
- Conklin All-American Special Edition Demonstrator F
- PenBBS 309 F
- Monteverde Monza Omniflex
- Montblanc Meisterstuck 144 M
- Cross Townsend Scuderia Ferrari M
- TWSBI Swipe F
- Parker Sonnet GT M
- Platinum Preppy wa 03
- Montblanc Noblesse EF
- Faber-Castell Essentio B
- Platinum Plaisir 05
- Pentel Tradio
- Hero 616 F
- Parker 180
- Wing Sung 699 M
- Cross Classic Century Medalist M
- Faber-Castell WRITink M
- Asvine V126 M
- Teranishi Guitar M
- Moonman A1 EF
- Faber-Castell Hexo M
- Kaweco Supra EF
- Otto Hutt Design 04 F
- Lamy accent M
- White Feather 134
- Hongdian Black Forest M
- Lamy Al-Star M
- Pelikan M200 M
- Pelikan M30 Rolled Gold
- Pilot E95s M
- Pilot Metropolitan M
- Hero A09 fude nib
- Wing Sung 3008 F
- Lamy aion M
- Lamy studio M
- Platinum Plaisir 05
- Caran D'Ache 849 M
- Diplomat Magnum EF
- Waterman Perspective M
This all started about a year ago when my brother decided an appropriate present for me would be a fountain pen.
I'd been peripherally aware of this sub and the resurgence in interest, but I never thought it would be something I'd be interested in.
I hadn't touched a fountain pen since early 2000s when I was forced to use it in school, and I lost track of my old fountain pens. Having penmanship be an entire subject and the one you consistently do poorly in doesn't exactly build a deep love for handwriting.
But since I'd been given a present and I'd might as well look into it, I started really getting into it. This is the result. 60-odd pens over a year.
This next section is my opinion and ultimately you can buy whatever you want to buy
Now I don't claim to have any expertise on fountain pens, but what I do have is several entire notebooks full of writing at this point and I think a decently sized collection to make some observations. This is more or less what I wish someone had told me before I started buying everything.
I think Parker, Sheaffer, Cross and Waterman don't get talked about as much on this sub, probably because they aren't innovating as much or kind of overpriced. That being said, if you can get a good price on a Parker Sonnet, Sheaffer Taranis, or Cross Townsend, I do enjoy writing with these pens specifically. Don't buy a Cross Century unless you like using cartridges, there is no converter available for some iterations of this model.
Lamy pens are great. No, you don't need more than one Safari. The Al-Star is a nice step up if you really like the Safari aesthetic. The Lx isn't worth the premium, but if you can get one at a good price, it's basically an Al-Star. Once you get to the Lamy studio, accent, and aion, I recommend trying out the pen before buying - the aion can be unwieldy, the accent might disappoint when you have it in hand.
Don't sleep on Platinum preppys, Pilot kakunos and Chinese fountain pens. There's probably reams of information on this sub alone about them already, but just to expand on Chinese fountain pens: I feel Jinhao is really overrated and PenBBS, Asvine, Hero and Hongdian don't seem to get talked about as much. I have had several Jinhaos (82, X450) that have all been terrible writers, and their black ink has been the worst I've ever tried. I'd recommend trying PenBBS or Asvine if you tried a Jinhao and were as disappointed as I was.
Don't start buying Sailor pens if you are easily influenced by aesthetics and have poor self-control. I promise you, you don't need another Pro Gear Slim.
Don't buy specialty nibs without trying them first, or buy a really cheap version of it before pulling the trigger on an expensive one. Still don't know how to use a stub nib or a fude nib.
Also, if the people at the store are telling you not to use the shimmer ink in your fountain pen, don't buy the ink, no matter how nice it looks. You're never going to finish it with dip pens, and you will clog your pen.
Oh and get a pay raise, start saving, sell your kidneys. You'll need it once you find out how much that Duofold / Meisterstuck / KOP / Custom Urushi / Izumo / Namiki Emperor / GVFC Guilloche costs.
Posted Nov 1, 2023, 4:05 PM UTC