Best Fountain Pen For Kids

[DBENJI88]

I know there is the varsity and the metropolitan, I'm not asking about the beginner pen. Something that has a section like the Lamy safari, or made for kids. My kids are showing interest in my fountain pens so I want to get them something for Christmas!

[AL01]

The Lamy ABC, the Pilot Kakuno (uses the same nib as the Metropolitan/Prera), or a Pilot Varsity.

 

(My first FP was a Varsity and my second was a VFM - I do not recommend the latter, though.)

[NinthSphere]

Pelikano or Pelikan Twist.

[OCArt]

+1 Both suggestions above are very good. My favorite is the Pelikano Jr.

[Notgatherox]

Herlitz Classic Tornado Twist - school pens in Germany.

 

Comes with a 'A' nib for learners.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/herlitz-llhalter-Tornado-Classic-Federbreite/dp/B000S5I02M

 

 

~Epic

[Shaggy]

Pilot Kakuno all day long.

[sandy101]

Faber Castell have a nice range of school pens. The nins are very good.

 

There's also the Pelikano and the Pelikan Future which might appeal.

 

Berol also have a fountain pen in their range too.

[nagasaki]

+1 Lamy ABC it's my favourite

[Mangrove Jack]

My daughter, a 12 year old, started showing interest in my fountain pens a year ago. I gave her my Platinum Plaisir. Now, over a year later, using it for most of her writing in school every day she loves the pen and enjoys using it. The pen has performed extremely well (which is something I cannot say about some of my more expensive pens), never gave trouble. She even pulled it out on an aircraft and started filling in forms and the pen did not leak.

 

The Plaisir comes in many colours, is inexpensive, made of Aluminium, is cartridge / converter and (having survived my daughter) is bullet proof. The section is fairly thick and un-tapered which makes it very easy to grip for kids.

Just my 2 cents.

Edited October 29, 2016 by Mangrove Jack

[Valkyrii]

These are sort of a mix of ideas. Some may be considered beginner, and others entry level. These are also merely my opinions and experiences.

 

First, not in the photo:

 

1. Pelikano, smooth steel medium NIB writer and uses international cartridges.

2. Itoya Blade, disposable fine point pen. A little scratchy and not refillable.

 

Pilot Varsity is also a disposable option and they offer a variety of colors if that is something you are interested in.

 

Now, to the photo:

 

1. Pilot Kakuno - probably my favorite on this list penny for penny. Economical, fun, smooth pilot medium steel NIB. Only downside IMHO is proprietary cartridges. However there are a lot of colors available online.

 

2. Nemosine Singularity - This $20 pen was a wonderful surprise. Solid smooth line from a steel medium NIB. Fun colors. Screw cap may be a little daunting for a younger writer.

 

3. Baoer Chinese pen - I can't help but mention Baoer. They are cheap, very cheap and for a steel NIB I love these. They are generally copies of something and I have found the finishes don't last. However they write so very very well for the money.

 

4. Platinum Preppy - great cheap choice. My issue with all Preppy's and Plaisir pens is that of the 10 or so I have, fine or medium NIB, they are a little scratchy. Medium is a bit more forgiving. What I love about these as a starter is the cap system. It is also why I keep a few handy. You can fill them and they rarely dry out. They are also proprietary ink cartridges, but they are accessible. They also take converters if you want to bridge into ink bottles.

 

5. Platinum Plaisir - aluminum version of the preppy. I carry 3 of these loaded with different colors for editing my work.

 

6. Pilot Prera - a much more expensive option on this list. Pricier than the Metropolitan, but for small hands a great pen. You can also get them as demonstrators which is fun to look at as the ink diminishes.

 

7. Rotring Artpen - I like these. It's kind of a guilty pleasure. I have a fine and a medium and both write very smoothly. They also accept international cartridges and the long body pays a little homage to desk pens of old.

 

I'm of the thought that you just can't hand anyone a pen and say write. Some people love the broad flow of ink from a medium or broad NIB while others may write small characters that lend themselves to a fine or extra fine NIB. Look at how the potential Fountain Pen Junkie writes and find something that lends itself to their writing style. They may possibly enjoy for years!

 

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b251/scotkane/IMG_6572_zpsrsullhar.jpg

 

I should add, I have several Lamy Safari's and Al-Stars. I left these off the list as the tri-shaped barrel seems to be hit or miss. I keep hoping I'll be able to use one for more than a few sentences, however I can't. After a page my hand is beyond sore from these grips. I wish so very much they would make one with a standard round grip. It would be amazing.

Edited October 29, 2016 by Valkyrii

[TSherbs]

My wife, a grade 3 teacher in the US, hands out Pilot Varsities to her students. The colors are saturated, the nibs have large balls of tipping so they write from various angles, and the caps have the colors on them. All good for kids that age.

[PAKMAN]

Lamy ABC

[AL01]

My wife, a grade 3 teacher in the US, hands out Pilot Varsities to her students. The colors are saturated, the nibs have large balls of tipping so they write from various angles, and the caps have the colors on them. All good for kids that age.

I think the Varsity would make for a great first experience for kids. I was quite young when I used the Varsity and through it and through the VFM I learned to properly maintain Fountain Pens so they can outlive me....

I'd say avoid paying more than 20$ for your kids first and/or second FP.

[DBENJI88]

My daughter, a 12 year old, started showing interest in my fountain pens a year ago. I gave her my Platinum Plaisir. Now, over a year later, using it for most of her writing in school every day she loves the pen and enjoys using it. The pen has performed extremely well (which is something I cannot say about some of my more expensive pens), never gave trouble. She even pulled it out on an aircraft and started filling in forms and the pen did not leak.

 

The Plaisir comes in many colours, is inexpensive, made of Aluminium, is cartridge / converter and (having survived my daughter) is bullet proof. The section is fairly thick and un-tapered which makes it very easy to grip for kids.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Mangrove Jack thank you I'm gonna check these out!

[DBENJI88]

These are sort of a mix of ideas. Some may be considered beginner, and others entry level. These are also merely my opinions and experiences.

 

First, not in the photo:

 

1. Pelikano, smooth steel medium NIB writer and uses international cartridges.

2. Itoya Blade, disposable fine point pen. A little scratchy and not refillable.

 

Pilot Varsity is also a disposable option and they offer a variety of colors if that is something you are interested in.

 

Now, to the photo:

 

1. Pilot Kakuno - probably my favorite on this list penny for penny. Economical, fun, smooth pilot medium steel NIB. Only downside IMHO is proprietary cartridges. However there are a lot of colors available online.

 

2. Nemosine Singularity - This $20 pen was a wonderful surprise. Solid smooth line from a steel medium NIB. Fun colors. Screw cap may be a little daunting for a younger writer.

 

3. Baoer Chinese pen - I can't help but mention Baoer. They are cheap, very cheap and for a steel NIB I love these. They are generally copies of something and I have found the finishes don't last. However they write so very very well for the money.

 

4. Platinum Preppy - great cheap choice. My issue with all Preppy's and Plaisir pens is that of the 10 or so I have, fine or medium NIB, they are a little scratchy. Medium is a bit more forgiving. What I love about these as a starter is the cap system. It is also why I keep a few handy. You can fill them and they rarely dry out. They are also proprietary ink cartridges, but they are accessible. They also take converters if you want to bridge into ink bottles.

 

5. Platinum Plaisir - aluminum version of the preppy. I carry 3 of these loaded with different colors for editing my work.

 

6. Pilot Prera - a much more expensive option on this list. Pricier than the Metropolitan, but for small hands a great pen. You can also get them as demonstrators which is fun to look at as the ink diminishes.

 

7. Rotring Artpen - I like these. It's kind of a guilty pleasure. I have a fine and a medium and both write very smoothly. They also accept international cartridges and the long body pays a little homage to desk pens of old.

 

I'm of the thought that you just can't hand anyone a pen and say write. Some people love the broad flow of ink from a medium or broad NIB while others may write small characters that lend themselves to a fine or extra fine NIB. Look at how the potential Fountain Pen Junkie writes and find something that lends itself to their writing style. They may possibly enjoy for years!

 

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b251/scotkane/IMG_6572_zpsrsullhar.jpg

 

I should add, I have several Lamy Safari's and Al-Stars. I left these off the list as the tri-shaped barrel seems to be hit or miss. I keep hoping I'll be able to use one for more than a few sentences, however I can't. After a page my hand is beyond sore from these grips. I wish so very much they would make one with a standard round grip. It would be amazing.

 

Vapour in thank you for the extensive list! I have a lot of great ideas which is more then I had yesterday. Thank you!

[DBENJI88]

Thank you everyone for responding to my question really appreciate it, and I know my kids are gonna love this Christmas! Thank you all!

Edited October 30, 2016 by DBENJI88

[Arkanabar]

Pens others have suggested:

• Lamy ABC. It has a wooden barrel and a nib designed to withstand a schoolchild's heavy and unskilled hand. You can buy Lamy's interchangeable nibs for under $20, which the ABC can take. It also has a rubber cover over the grip, which I would expect to draw ink in via capillary action, and then release it on fingers later. I'd also expect the rubber to absorb ink and become discolored. Additionally, the cap cannot be posted.
• Pilot Kakuno. Clipless, has a hexagonal grip section. As far as I can tell, ALL of Pilot's low end steel-nibbed pens use essentially the same feed/nib unit, and use Pilot's proprietary cartridge and converters. One exception might be the MR version of the Metropolitan, which I believe is marketed only in Europe, and uses international standard c/c.
• Pilot Prera. I own one of these, a demonstrator with a CM (Italic/stub) nib. It's a small pen, to be sure. I find it to be an excellent writer. They are much cheaper on Amazon.
• Pelikano and Pelikan Twist. Don't have either of these, but they're international c/c school pens. My Pelikan M200 is my favorite pen, so my impression of Pelikan is pretty good. I believe these both have rubberized grips, something I find horrible. The Twist also is clipless and has a triangular cross-section.
• Platinum Plaisir and Preppy. I have two Plaisirs, and the Preppy nib/section unit is interchangeable. I think they're an excellent first pen. They will write on the first stroke if you leave them in a drawer for months.
• Nemosine Singularity. I have one of these, with the 0.6mm stub. The design flaw is that the cap screws onto the section, which screws into the barrel; thus, it is possible to unscrew the section from the barrel when you're trying to unscrew the cap, particularly if you cap it pretty tightly. And the cap lip is cracked in several places, probably from dropping it.
• Baoer. I have a 388 flighter, which is a Parker Sonnet clone. It started out despicably dry. I used arm-writing to press insanely hard for a quarter of a converter-fill, and now it's a perfectly good pen.
• Rotring Artpen. These have a taper, like a dip pen holder or desk pen, so you cannot post the cap, and accept international c/c. They are offered with a variety of calligraphy nibs.

Additional suggestions:

• Pilot Plumix. This appears to have the same CM stub nib as my Prera. It's clipless and cannot post. It uses the Pilot proprietary cartridge.
• Sailor HighAce Neo. I've seen this one on jetpens. It's slim and lightweight, and probably one of the cheapest Sailors you can hope to find.
• Online College. An inexpensive, German-made international c/c pen that I've seen at Goldspot. They come with a huge variety of graphics. If ever there was a pen with worse SEO, I can't imagine it.
• Rosetta Explorer. This is a black ABS pen with a medium nib, found at ipenstore for only $10. It's an international c/c pen with an ink view slot similar to the Safari and Al-Star. I haven't seen any reviews here yet, but the reviews on Amazon are pretty good.
• Lamy Safari. The ABS body is very tough. It takes Lamy's interchangeable nibs. The triangular grip isn't for everyone. You can get a Jinhao 599 to try the grip out without spending as much; I have a 599 that developed some leaks and was clearly more cheaply constructed than the Lamy Safari.
• Lamy Nexx. It has a rubberized, triangular grip and can take Lamy's interchangeable nibs. I hate triangular grips.
• Hero 616. My wife bought me a ten-pack of these. Every one that has been put to use has done well. It's very lightweight, has a very fine point, and is bottle-fill only. It's a clone of the Parker "51". One I'd bought used did fall apart without too much use.

[katanankes]

My little one enjoys her Kakuno.

[Olya]

Teachers in Germany always recommend the Lamy kids pens (ABC, Safari/Vista/Al-Star, Nexx) or the Pelikan kids pens (esp the Pelikano). Those are best, as they force the right grip. I'd go with the Pelikan(o), as they take international standard carts and those can be had super cheap by no name brands and you can have so many colours as well (eg Diamine), and finding those is much easier than proprietary, at least in Europe.

[Mister5]

I gave my daughter a Lamy ABC and it's a great little pen. I'm tempted to steal candy from a baby and take the "A" nib from that and put it on my Safari. It would be a little better if it posted. That way the cap won't get lost

 

I also got a bunch of Jinhao 559 ( or whatever model they have that looks very much like Safari) just to pacify my son who wanted a fountain pen. He's not quite ready for it, but a blue cheap fountain pen made him happy. It can write though, and you can use std intl carts in it, and it comes with converters. I'm just happy that I didn't spend more than I needed to considering he doesn't use it, and if the dog decides it's a chew toy I won't lose any sleep.