First 100 Dollar Fountain Pen?

[LimLingYang]

Well, till now I have only been using two lamy safaris. Both XF, but one very smooth while the other is just alright, but I just gave away the good one to my brother as his starter fp as a gift.

So I guess its time for an upgrade. Any suggestions? Read alot about the good old Lamy 2000 but I'm curious to try something else too.

 

 

Ps: I tried a sheaffer imperial before, it feels really good, but searching online gave me a whole different types of sheaffers, which ones are good? Saw afew 550, 440, and 330 for sale. All NOS. Seems nice but I don't know if I would risk buying it online and end up hating it when I use it.

[Parcival]

If you like Lamy pens, i recommend Lamy Persona.

[Marko Kloos]

The Lamy 2000 is probably the best pen in terms of price/performance in that particular price bracket. For just a little over $100, you get a piston filler with a nearly indestructible body and a super-smooth gold nib. The other high-end Lamys are nice, too, but the 2000 is in its own class.

 

For $100 or so, I'd look first at a Lamy 2000, a Pelikan M205, or a Pilot Vanishing Point. All superb pens, and excellent value for the money. They're right in the sweet spot--you can spend a ton more money for a pen without getting a corresponding increase in quality or performance.

[watch_art]

I like the Lamy Studio the best of all the Lamys I've used so far. Even more than the 2000. The taper on the section of the 2000 is why I sold mine.

 

You could always get one custom made.

There's the Edison pens for around $150 at Goulet pens. There's Jebspens. You could get a Bexley in that price range.

Lots of good options better than a 2K in my opinion.

[hari317]

you can buy a nos sheaffer targa off ebay for around 110USD. The Lamy 2000 is excellent in its own right. my favorite sub 100 usd pen is the pilot custom 74, on a good day you can win a new one off ebay for 70usd.

[Brian C]

I am starting to feel, more and more, that if cc filler is fine, contacting penturners here on FPN is the way to go. They do great work at a great value.

[watch_art]

oh yeah! the Targa is amazing! Forgot about that one. The few I've played with have had some luscious nibs.

[LimLingYang]

I just googled targas, don't really like their shapes. Prefer the ovalish shapes than the cylinder types.

Like this.

http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae215/terimorris239/550_black_fine_set6.jpg

Hmm, checking on ebay, there are a crazy number of different types of sheaffers. I like the black and gold theme of the sheaffer 550 in the picture. Any other suggestions besides the Sheaffer 550? Similar shape would be nice with a gold nib.

Sheaffer 777 looks really good but the bling is too much for me to use at my uni....

http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae215/terimorris239/Imp777_med2.jpg

 

Ps:But I might end up with a lamy 2000 to be safe....my first "expensive" fp...don't really want to risk much.

Edited July 31, 2011 by LimLingYang

[rdh]

One of the best writing pens that I have is a Sheaffer Legacy. You can find the Legacy or the Legacy II for under $100. You can also find New Old Stock (NOS) ones available for a bit more. Mine has a black body with a gold cap, so you can find it in your preferred color scheme. The current model Legacy Heritage is quite a bit more expensive. By the way, the Legacy is an homage to the highly collectible Pen For Men (PFM). They are a lot more expensive. They also were the model for most of the Sheaffer line including the one you showed. One difference is the PFM and the Legacy are fatter than the others.

 

Dave

[LimLingYang]

Just checked ebay....the sheaffer legacy there is either out of my budget range or the width I want.(I want fine.) Hmm...though I think I would like it more cause I like thicker pens, guess it would probably be a lamy 2000 then...

 

Edit: Just found a website Peyton Street Pens.

http://www.peytonstreetpens.com/servlet/the-350/Sheaffer-LEGACY-1--dsh-/Detail

Wow. Looks so good...but they don't have fine ones for sale...

Edited July 31, 2011 by LimLingYang

[rdh]

You just need to be patient. If you follow the classifieds on FPN, you will find that they come up fairly frequently, but you might have to wait a month or two. Also there are people who are constantly on the lookout for NOS pens (like Terri at Peyton Street) and every once in a while, they find a batch and the prices are really good. You can also keep an eye on eBay, too.

 

Dave

[hari317]

Any other suggestions besides the Sheaffer 550? Similar shape would be nice with a gold nib.

Sheaffer 777 looks really good but the bling is too much for me to use at my uni....

 

Have you looked at the Sheaffer 444XG at Teri's website(Peytonstreetpens)? it has a plain brushed steel body and a 14K gold nib.

 

http://www.peytonstreetpens.com/servlet/the-511/Sheaffer-444-XG-FOUNTAIN/Detail

Edited July 31, 2011 by hari317

[LimLingYang]

Saw it, I don't like the brushed steel texture.....

 

Btw, I'm wondering, I have several options actually:

Buy a 100+ dollar pen(New/NOS, I don't really want a second hand pen.)

or

Trade my mb rollerball(Mb boheme bleu rollerball,which was given to me, no box or papers but I never use it and in the end it dried up) with a fountain pen(since it is a trade probably a good condition second hand?).

or

Sell that mb and use the money to top up on my budget.(Best option?)

 

Anyone with any knowledge about mb boheme bleu rollerball? I have no idea what price should I sell it for or which pens to trade it for.

 

Edit: This pen, image taken from google search:

http://www.penboard.de/shop/pb/26036.jpg

Edited July 31, 2011 by LimLingYang

[Florida Blue]

A Montblanc Boheme rollerball would probably sell in the $175-$225 range in the classifieds section which should get you a nice fountain pen. All the new owner needs to do is buy a MB rollerball refill.

 

I 2nd the recommendation for Goulet Pen Company. They have great prices on Lamy pens and inks. I've bought Lamy bottled ink from them before.

Edited July 31, 2011 by Florida Blue

[RNHC]

If you get Lamy 2000, try to get it tested by the seller before s/he send it.

 

There are just as many posts and reviews of scratchy, crappy Lamy 2000 as there are posts of butter smooth Lamy 2000.

 

Despite Lamy 2000 being their flagship pen, Lamy QC is awful spotty.

[tonybelding]

Prefer the ovalish shapes than the cylinder types.

Like this.

http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae215/terimorris239/550_black_fine_set6.jpg

Hmm, checking on ebay, there are a crazy number of different types of sheaffers. I like the black and gold theme of the sheaffer 550 in the picture. Any other suggestions besides the Sheaffer 550? Similar shape would be nice with a gold nib.

 

The 550 has a gold nib. It's good. It is a small pen, though. It's very convenient to carry around, but the earlier Imperials were longer and less stubby-looking. I have both a 330 and a 550 here, and I actually prefer the firm, smooth, steel nib of the 330 over the semi-flex gold nib of the 550.

 

My favorites are the earlier touchdown-filling Imperial IV and VI. I have one of these, an Imperial VI, which is one of the nicest writing fountain pens of any kind that I've ever seen. These all had gold nibs. The rubber sac often needs replacement (due to age) before you can use these pens, though.

 

They were followed by the "Lifetime" Imperials (they actually have LIFETIME imprinted on the clip) which are cartridge-only. Converters won't fit, although you can modify the pen to accept them. I'm pretty sure these all had gold nibs too. They're good writers and are often found very cheaply on eBay, and they usually don't need any work beyond flushing out old ink residue.

 

After those you start getting into the 330, 440, 550, etc. Some of these models had steel nibs, some had gold. The barrel is slightly shorter and they also have a shorter clip (as shown in your photo). They accept cartridges or converters and are reliable, practical pens, but not quite as "sweet" as the earlier Imperials in my opinion.

 

If you still aren't sure about all the different models, here's a really good guide to sort them out: Sheaffer Imperial Family of Fountain Pens