Fountain Pen Users! I need your advice!

Hey folks.

Now, basically, my problem is this: I would -love- to try using a fountain pen that takes ink instead of your standard cartridges. The thing is, I don't know where to start; I mean, I don't know what sort of pen would be good for a beginner, I don't really know how to use those sorts of pens, and I don't really know what kind/brand of ink would be best (but I have seen some BEAUTIFUL colours).

While I do follow http://30daysofinksanity.blogspot.com/ - I don't know if I can actually get a hold of any of those pens for relatively cheap, I live in the United Kingdom you see.

Any advice/tips/recommendations would be very much appreciated!

~ Ken-Ren

You really should go to a specialist shop. These kinds of fountain pens aren't sold on the highstreet normally, plus you want good advice. Google for local specialists and be prepared to part with quite a bit of money. On the other hand it will be a pen for life.

You can get cheap fountain pens, so you can get started with them and figure out if they're for you. Parker do a big range of fountain pens, starting from under a tenner! I You can ever get disposable fountain pens, which are a good way of trying out working with a nibbed pen. Or try one that's aimed at kids using a fountain pen for the first time.

I see you're in Southampton. There is a Pen Shop there according to the internet.

The Pen Shop
Queens Buildings
Queens Way
Southampton, SO14 1NH
Phone: 023 80334671

They should allow you to try before you buy on the more expensive pens.

A good site to look at for pens - of every kind, but also plenty of fountain pens, including disposables and ones for fountain pen newbies is http://www.cultpens.com/.

I'm a total pen perv, I browse Cult Pens just for fun! :D

I'd totally second the vote for the Lamy Safari. Inexpensive, super comfortable, writes nice, and it takes cartridges or you can get a converter, essentially a tube with a piston mechanism inside it, so that you can put in any ink you like. I like the Lamy blue or the Noodler's Blue-Black.

I've had a couple of the noodler's pens, not the flex nib but the regular nib, and found them each a little different and in need of a tweaking to get them where I wanted them. The Safaris I've had have all been good right out of the gate.

Lamy all the way!

Just make sure you don't put calligraphy ink in the tank :)

I have a dozen or more fine fountain pens but I use my Namiki Vanishing Point fountain pen every day. It is a great fountain pen and works like a ballpoint pen to avoid the only frustrating part of fountain pens, taking the cap off and putting it back on. And it comes with a refillable cartridge and the sealed cartridges so you can refill it if you want to. I prefer the cartridges for the convenience. Joon.com sends me my favorite hard copy catalog to lust over seasonal offerings.

You mean I'm not the only one who has the Cult Pens website open all the time to see what's new, and just... because? Yay!

I'm going to vote for a TWSBI Diamond 540. They are about $50 bucks but worth every penny. They hold a ton of ink, respond really well and feel great to write with. Plus, they can easily be taken apart and cleaned if you decide to change ink colors or store the pen for any length of time. I bought mine for Nano this year and it easily out-writes many of my other more expensive pens.

I have two Lamy safaris myself, but i use cartridges for those, and they are beautiful pens. I have a cartridge based Parker too and that's a beautiful thing. (i have loads of fountain pens, i seem to collect cheap but pretty ones but all of them seem to be cartridge based.)

Ive heard good things about the TWSBI Diamonds, so I'll look into those, Lamys and Parkers, I think. To start with anyway.

Anyone have favourite brands and colours of ink?

~Ken-Ren

I love quirky colours, like lilac. I mean, if you're going to the trouble of not using a ballpoint pen, at least make it special.

i use the Lamy Safari Fountain Pens too. I bought my first at Paradise Pen for 35-45 bucks. Had it for a couple of years and added to more Lamy Safari's to my collection. All of mine are medium point, but they do have fine and extra fine if it your preference. When I bought them I also got converters. Of the line the cheapest I found is at amazon at 25 dollars. The converters are an additional 5 bucks. (its the usual cost for 5 cartridges. can't beat it) Its an ink cartridge that takes in ink by twisting the top half. The ink I buy is Parker Quink (color black). It is the one I have had the least amount of problems with clogging. I go through a bottle every 8months to a year.

Actually my avatar was writing with my fountain pen. The dip is just for show when I was taking photos for kindle screensavers.

link to the Lamy Safari Vista fountain pen. One of my favorites its clear.

http://www.amazon.com/Lamy-Vista-Fountain-Demonstrator-L12F/dp/B0002T405A/ref=sr_1_6?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1322037524&sr=1-6

the converter
http://www.amazon.com/Lamy-LZ24-Refill-Converter/dp/B001DVXWRI/ref=sr_1_1?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1322037984&sr=1-1

I got a Platinum Preppy fountain pen as a cheapy last time I was in Japan and it is my favorite pen right now. The nib is flexible but firm and has just a hint of an italics cut to give a bit of line width variation and it is MUCH smoother than any cheap plastic fountain pen has a right to be. Very highly recommended:

http://www.jetpens.com/Platinum-Preppy-Fountain-Pen-Medium-05-Nib-Blue-Black-Ink/pd/4523

I got my main fountain pen in WH Smiths - they had a separate counter with the nicer ones in a locked display cupboard (they can get extremely expensive, but mine was about £25). It's a Parker, so you can get the bottles of ink in the same shop. Like someone else said though, try one of the cheaper ones first to see if you can get on with the refillable ones. They should be in the section with all the biros and fancy shaped pens. Don't go for a calligraphy pen with the flat nib end, but one with a nib that ends in what looks like a little ball. The only difference between writing with that and with a biro is the angle (you have to hold the fountain pen a smidgin more upright) and not pressing down hard when you write.

If you decide it's for you, then go for a good one with a gold plated nib. I find the plain steel ones scratchy (both in terms of catching on the page and the sound they make), whereas the gold plated nib is incredibly smooth. Also because it will last you for a very long time, insist on being able to hold different ones, see how they fit your hand. All pens are not equal!

I have mostly ones by Lamy, but I have one or two older ones in my collection as well.

On the issue of inks, go with Noodler's or Private Reserve. They're both pH neutral (barring Noodler's baystate colors) and won't corrode the inside of your pen the way other inks will.

I use a Lamy AL-star every day at school, and for any other writing at home. I have the normal blue ink cartridges, and I love it- it's very similar to the Safari, but it comes in different colours, mine is a bluish-silver, and I prefer the grip. That's mostly my opinion, though, so I'd recommend either that or the Safari- I've never had any real problems with it, it writes smoothly, and it's not too expensive. The only issue is that I lost it at one point, and since it came back I've had to shake it to get the ink flowing after I put a new cartridge in, but that's no big deal and I think it got a little battered when it was missing anyway- there's a scratch on the lid, which I was very sad about.

I would like to recommend the Pelikan brand of Fountain Pens.
I'm using the m200 for my everyday writing and the m800 for the more "serious" work :-)
those pens are among the best (imho) pens you can get for the price and they will last you a life time.
And Pelikan has two different brands of Ink, go to the homepage pelikan.com and check them out!

Lamy Safari with italic nib & converter. The italic nib makes every word special. 'Nuff said.

I'd have to recommend a TWSBI 540. Great price for what you're getting, great choice of nib grades, holds tons of ink and writes like a dream.

Welcome to the wonderful world of fountain pens!! They are extremely addictive. You've gotten some good advice from the previous posts, so the only thing I will add is that ink cartridges are a rip off. They are handy in a pinch, but don't forget that you can re-fill & re-use them.

Most cartridges cost between $0.50 - $1.00 a piece and they only have roughly one ml in them. Bottles on the other hand, typically have around 50 ml & cost roughly $10. In other words, the price that you paid for the ink in 10 cartridges would buy you 5 ink bottles. Obviously those are estimates, but you see my point.

Inky Brain