Best Pens For Under $30

[NewPenMan]

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/5444/dscf2747s.jpg

 

http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/8648/dscf2749py.jpg

 

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/8527/dscf2750l.jpg

 

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/2601/dscf2751u.jpg

 

 

Jinhao 159

 

man, that is seriously a thing of beauty! what is it and where can I get one? and do I need to offer up a kidney for it?

 

penman

[lemanfan]

 

man, that is seriously a thing of beauty! what is it and where can I get one? and do I need to offer up a kidney for it?

 

 

I got mine of ebay, for less than $10 including shipping from China to Europe. No big love for me though. Yet.

[drgoretex]

Kaigelu 316 (eBay). It's a Parker Duofold Centennial knockoff, reviewed here:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/204770-kaigelu-316-grey-amber/

 

You can pick one up for $22 shipped, and this is a pen that feels and writes like it's worth $200 (give or take a hundred...). Great pen for a great price.

 

Ken

[NewPenMan]

 

man, that is seriously a thing of beauty! what is it and where can I get one? and do I need to offer up a kidney for it?

 

 

I got mine of ebay, for less than $10 including shipping from China to Europe. No big love for me though. Yet.

 

and what is that pen? I can't really make out whatever it says on the nib...

 

thank you!

 

penman

[NewPenMan]

the Pilot 78G...where can we buy this?

 

I google it up and see lots of hits, but none (aside from ebay) where you can BUY one.

 

I was hoping maybe staples of office depot, but I'm gettin' nothin in the way of a source to buy one.

 

any advice?

[lemanfan]

and what is that pen? I can't really make out whatever it says on the nib...

 

thank you!

 

penman

 

It's a Jinhao 159. If you search the forums, you'll find reviews.

[lemanfan]

the Pilot 78G...where can we buy this?

 

I google it up and see lots of hits, but none (aside from ebay) where you can BUY one.

 

I was hoping maybe staples of office depot, but I'm gettin' nothin in the way of a source to buy one.

 

any advice?

 

I got mine of ebay... worked for me.

 

But if you're US based, http://www.isellpens.com/ seems like a good source. For both the Jinhao and the Pilot.

[NewPenMan]

and what is that pen? I can't really make out whatever it says on the nib...

 

thank you!

 

penman

 

It's a Jinhao 159. If you search the forums, you'll find reviews.

 

 

thank you. I greatly admire the craftsmanship evident in those photos...

 

 

pm

[NewPenMan]

the Pilot 78G...where can we buy this?

 

I google it up and see lots of hits, but none (aside from ebay) where you can BUY one.

 

I was hoping maybe staples of office depot, but I'm gettin' nothin in the way of a source to buy one.

 

any advice?

 

I got mine of ebay... worked for me.

 

But if you're US based, http://www.isellpens.com/ seems like a good source. For both the Jinhao and the Pilot.

 

hey thank you for that info! this is such an excellent topic, I had no CLUE there were so many great pens for little money.

 

pm

[NewPenMan]

 

man, that is seriously a thing of beauty! what is it and where can I get one? and do I need to offer up a kidney for it?

 

 

No big love for me though. Yet.

 

 

why so? are you not (yet) impressed with the way it writes? the feel?

 

pm

[derevaun]

the Pilot 78G...where can we buy this?

 

I google it up and see lots of hits, but none (aside from ebay) where you can BUY one.

 

I was hoping maybe staples of office depot, but I'm gettin' nothin in the way of a source to buy one.

 

any advice?

 

Looks like they're presently in stock at stationeryart.com; their prices are about the best I've seen, and I haven't gotten a fake 78g from them yet. In the US, there's jstationery.com, but isellpens.com appears to have them on sale for close to the same price.

 

I doubt they'd be at any brick-and-mortar shop in the US, since they're apparently not made for the US market.

[tomgartin]

PokyDady is a good source for the 78G on ebay. It's usually a $10 buy-it-now with free shipping, includes both a squeeze converter and an ink cartridge.

[lemanfan]

why so? are you not (yet) impressed with the way it writes? the feel?

 

"All of the above".

 

You have to consider that it's a very cheap pen, that means that the probability of differences between two pens is higher - the price does not allow for a very strict quality control.

 

Some pens I have immediately gave me the "WOW, impressive!" feeling. A Montblanc modified by Mike Matsuyama. The Parson's Essential Italix from Mr Pen. Even a Jinhao X450 in the same price range as the Jinhao 159. But not the actual 159.

 

Removing the cap gives a bit of a cheap feeling for me, the threads are not perfect. It's a bit short unposted and unbalanced posted. My pen does not write that good.

 

On the other hand, as I said, the Jinhao X450 that I've got instead fulfils that for me. It's really nice and I keep coming back to it. But I suspect that if someone else would buy a X450 and a 159, their impressions could be reversed for the reason I mentioned above.

 

As for the Pilot 78G's that many people recommend, I agree that they're great for the price but they're also small, light and have a very plastic feeling.

 

If I were to recommend someone new to fountain pens what to get, and their hands are not too big, I'd hands down recommend the Italix pen mentioned above. I have two pens and three nib sections (fine italic, medium italic and non-italic medium) and they all write great! The only bad things about that pen is that it's very unbalanced when posted and that there's no fine non-italic nib available yet. Oh, and it's a bit more expensive than the Chinese ones, but still cheaper than most pens discussed on this forum.

 

I'm considering trying a different nib on the 159, I've seen mentions of Knox K35 as a suitable replacement. We'll see if I ever get to it. Selling the 159 on the used market seems a bit futile, since the shipping from my corner of the world to other countries would be almost equal to what other people could pay for a new pen from China.

Edited October 4, 2012 by lemanfan

[DistinctionJewelry]

Since it's not mentioned here yet, I LOVE my $16.50 (JetPens) Ohto Rook. I have the Dude too and love it, but had to spend about three hours getting it to write properly. The Rook was smooth and perfect right out of the box, and I adore the little beast.

 

My mom has a Safari and I've written with it. It writes well, but to me the design is uninspired and clunky. Personal opinion. I love the way Ohto actually puts some effort into the aesthetics of their designs.

 

I'm getting about 6 under-thirty pens from isellpens which should be here soon; I may have more to say after that.

[paultyler_82]

I've found a few that, of these, I've tried all of them now and plan on adding at least one of each of these to my collection. Most are Chinese, but as an enthusiast should know what the common problems are in a pen, any problems encountered in these should be relatively easy to take care of.

 

Jinhao X450 and 163

Baoer 3018

Duke M03

Hero 616 and 329

Kaigelu 316 (looks quite a bit like a Duofold, without the price tag)

Crocodile 168 and 215 (rather unique pens, isellpens doesn't carry these)

Picasso 916 and 907

Haolilai 801F

Nemosine Singularity (I really want three of these: Cardinal, Ivory and Blue Marble)

Pilot 78G

Platinum Plaisir

Kaweco Ice/Classic Sport

 

Have not yet tried any of the Noodlers pens though I quite like the way they look and I do think I may have to have one of each of them as well, including the rollerball.

Edited October 5, 2012 by paultyler_82

[FreshlyMintedCowgirl]

Hi Snowie,

The obvious answer is the Lamy Safari - they're everywhere, come in a variety of colors and you can swap nibs easily and on the cheap.

The Pilot 78G, available in f thru b for roughly 10.00 USD on ebay.

Esterbrook J, if you are looking for vintage.

I've been on an Indian fountain pen kick in the last while. Kevin from Fountain Pen Revolution is a member here and he's got a variety of dirt cheap pens. If you want to tinker around, great place to start. Hope this helps.

 

Dan in Montreal,

 

Wow you weren't kidding about Fountain Pen Revolution! I had trouble picking out just a couple to start with. And he has eye droppers with *flex nibs*! Hallelujah! I thought I'd have to get something very old to get both those characteristics. (I tried Noodlers Ahab, didn't like it.) I would also have been interested in one of his restored Indian pens, had they not already been sold out. I just ordered a "mid-range" Camlin for $12 (reallly?!, sweet!), and a Guider hand-made ebonite pen for $34, and a couple of extra nibs - I love that you can switch them. I know they have to come all the way from India so it will take some time, so I'll just have to relish the anticipation.

 

As an aside, have you tried his inks? (I know, wrong forum.)

 

Cheers!

[FreshlyMintedCowgirl]

Is there a difference between the al-star and safari, other than price and body material?

I think because the Kaweco is so short, you need to get a non-standard cartidge for it, and I don't know if they make a converter. (I don't have one so someone correct me if I'm wrong.) I know some people convert the Kaweco Classic Sport into an eye-dropper for this reason. You can't do that with a metal-bodied Kaweco though, it needs to be plastic.

[FreshlyMintedCowgirl]

So many great suggestions, I need to add to my wish list.

 

My gateway-drug type of fountain pen is Esterbrook. I have two and I love them so much, they are what started me looking to see what else is in the world of fountain pens, and ultimately, to this website. If you get one, and you don't like how it writes, just get a new nib, you can swap it out yourself. And the nibs aren't just EF, F, M, B. There are a few *dozen* different nibs, so there's a nib for everyone's taste. Don't tell my husband that I like my Esties better than the $300 Aurora he gave me as a gift.

 

I concur with the recommendation of the Lamy Safari. Very reliable and pleasant. Just be aware that the nibs run a little large. If you like a medium, in the Lamy you'd probably prefer their F. Along with the Esterbrooks, I always keep my Safari inked. The medium puts down enough ink that you can see the shading in inks that have this characteristic. The converter seats well.

 

I've heard great things about Platinum Preppy. Super cheap, $4, and you can switch it into an eyedropper too. Also with a good reputation is the Pilot Penmanship, around $10 I think. While ubiquitous in Japan (children use them to learn how to write), they are not easy to find in the US. Jetpens sells them. These last two pens I mention by hearsay, I don't have them yet myself.

[Snowie]

You guys are awesome, or dangerous depending on your viewpoint. I now have a list of pens that I want to purchase. I had no idea that there were so many choices under $40 and now there's going to be a TWSI too, I'm doomed. :roflmho:

 

I have two SJs that I love, and a couple of preppies that I want to convert. Plus a couple dudes and al-stars. I'll just need to get more ink. :ltcapd:

[paultyler_82]

You guys are awesome, or dangerous depending on your viewpoint. I now have a list of pens that I want to purchase. I had no idea that there were so many choices under $40 and now there's going to be a TWSI too, I'm doomed. :roflmho:

 

I have two SJs that I love, and a couple of preppies that I want to convert. Plus a couple dudes and al-stars. I'll just need to get more ink. :ltcapd:

 

There's also the Pilot Plumix... but it's an odd tempered little pen with an unusual nib for it's price range. On the plus side, you can probably find one at Staples, that's where I found mine.