A Great Pen for $50-$90

[john.reiss]

Yeah Johnson I would recommend giving it a second try. It really is a great pen. The weird thing is, I am now considering selling a few of my pens because I know I won't use them now that I bought the Lamy.

 

Now it's up to 13 pages.....alright....

Edited February 11, 2007 by john.reiss

[Srehman]

Get the M200....

 

*holds up pendulum and repeats this hypnotically*

[ChickenGod]

Lamy 2000 Pelikan M200

 

WHICH ONE!!?!?!!? Maybe the Pelikan.. Its more in my price range...

[mike1]

"You cannot buy only one." This is a rule that must be followed! Enjoy whatever pen upon which you finally decide to purchase.

[Arkanabar]

I don't have the first two or three or four fountain pens I bought. The first one I kept was a Pelikan M200. After using several cartridge/converter pens, I concluded I preferred bottled ink vastly, and didn't want to have to fill every few pages. The local pen shop's most inexpensive bottle-fill only pen was a discontinued variant of the M200 on clearance.

 

Richard Binder sells the M200 too, and at a very good price, even when you add S/H and a steel nib -- better than most retailers, and certain to perform flawlessly out of the box.

 

On the other hand, it's really not quite as functional as my user-grade aero "51". (The difference in usability is VERY minor). My "51" was my Dad's pen, and my dad always sought out products that did what he needed them to do extremely well, and then at the lowest price. At the time he bought it, the "51" outperformed anything else on the market as a pure writer by leaps and bounds, and he bought the cheapest one available. He never sought anything to replace his "51" for over 30 years. (He tried Pentel Rolling Writers, but found them inadequate.)

 

Had he bought his pen when Sheaffer's PFM was out, he might have bought one of those instead ... but then again, he might have chosen the "51" anyway. Any PFM worth having NOW is going to be out of your price range.

 

I don't like Cross pens. It has nothing to do with aesthetics. It has to do with comfort. Cross pens are metal, and often slender. I like them lightweight, and wider where I grip than a Bic white round stic.

 

I checked out the Pelikan 250 and they look really nice... I still have a hard time deciding on nib size.... I'm stuck with choosing either the fine or medium size nib... I use 0.7mm lead with mechanical pencils... Does that help? -- ChickenGod

Yes, it does. Line width should correlate to writing size.

 

I have both gold and steel Pelikan nibs -- several of each, actually, all fine. In my experience, the gold nibs always wrote a little wider line than the steel nibs. I liked the F steel nib's line better. And I prefer a .5mm pencil to a .7mm pencil. Your Milage May Vary, however.

 

which one is better? The Cross Century II has a 23K gold nib IIRC... Wouldn't 23K gold be better than 14k?! -- ChickenGod

I think, if you read carefully (especially at http://www.cross.com ) you'll find the Centery II has a 23k gold PLATED nib.

 

But few of us consider solid gold to be good nib material. A good nib has some flexibility and corrosion resistance, and the top two materials for that are actually 14kt gold and stainless steel. Gold that is too pure (23kt certainly qualifies) is soft, not flexible. If you flex it, it won't flex back, and then your nib is messed up and must be sent off to somebody like Richard Binder, Ron Zorn, Dennis Lively, John Mottishaw, Dillo (a member here), or a shop like pendemonium.com or the Fountain Pen Hospital.

 

No affiliations, but I've learned from Binder and Lively, and done business with Dillo.

 

Ink: Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black. Waterman inks are lovely and reliable, unless they are exposed to water or sunlight. Alt: FPN Galileo Manuscript Brown. If you get a bad bottle (rare, but it happens) you can send it off to Mr. Tardif and he'll send you a good one.

 

Here's my final recommendation: Regardless of whether you'll buy it there or not, go to a bricks & mortar shop near you, and pick up and hold ALL the pens you're considering. Pretend to write with them. (Nobody wants to buy a pen that's had ink in it, so they won't let you put ink in it unless you've bought it.) Compare their size, weight, and balance. Do it both with the caps posted and unposted. Check to see how they fit in your pocket.

 

Preferences in size, weight, and balance are PERSONAL. Neither I nor anyone else can give you great recommendations of one very good pen over another very good pen, because things that appeal to me, or Richard Binder, or John Reiss, or Johnson, are not going to appeal to you, and vice versa. And no amount of advice can trump actual personal experience.

[Srehman]

Now those are words of wisdom...

 

... Too bad the B&M shop near me doesn't have many of the pens you all talk about!

[ChickenGod]

Too bad I don't have a B&M shop around me... Thanks for the great advice =]

[MYU]

CG - if you are feeling a bit cautious about spending much on your first pen, saunter on over to 'isellpens.com' and pick up a Duke pen. You can find a few VERY nice ones in the $9.99 to $30 range. It'll give you a good sense of what fountain pens are all about and then you can later decide if you want a pen made elsewhere (like Germany--home of Lamy and Pelikan).

[ChickenGod]

This will be my only pen!

[cvasara]

I seriously doubt if this will be your only pen, but assuming that is will be, have you factored in the cost of all your time through 13 pages?

 

I know, its 'fun' but still, there has to be some, some, ------ well, thats probably a topic for another 13 plus page thread

[alvarez57]

This will be my only pen!

I've been following your thread since you started it, not only have I enjoyed it, but learnt as well. Most, if not almost all of my pen shopping goes by Internet. I have developed a keen eye to the sort of pen I like, a medium-sized one for it does not cramp my hand; but I initially started going to a local pen shop and grabbing the pens and doing the motion of writing. That we all doubt that (perhaps) this will be your only pen is because once you start writing with one, it is such a different experience that will perhaps ignite your curiosity to try other pens, and again, you DON'T HAVE TO SPEND A FORTUNE in good pens!

[ChickenGod]

Lol! I will try to stick to my word.... TRY

[Metric]

Two new concepts to introduce to the thread:

 

1) Vintage fountain pens are a piece of history. I enjoy my Scheaffer balance military clip because it was made during WW2, and the design reflects the specific needs of the military during that time. I personally get a kick out of carrying around and using such an artifact for my daily work -- it fits my historical interests, etc. and it's a very slick pen in its own right. If you find some time period of interest to you in the 20th century -- a vintage pen can give you a great connection to it, and quite easily in your price range. Think about that.

 

2) Relatively inexpensive Chinese pens from e.g. isellpens.com can be a great intro to fountain pens -- but since you really only want ONE pen, think about this: When you finally decide on the one you REALLY want, you could give away your Chinese model and introduce someone else to fountain pens. Sort of passing on the torch of discovery... (and it's a nice excuse to quickly get into something cheap without limiting your choice for your "real" purchase)

 

Just a couple more random thoughts to add to the confusion...

[ChickenGod]

Happy Valentines Day!!! I am getting my pen real soon . I'll tell you guys when I receive it and how I feel about it . Thanks all who helped me! Happy Valentines Day!!!!!

[Srehman]

What pen did you end up ordering?

[ChickenGod]

The Pelikan M200 .

[duanshuncn]

The Parker 51 is better than the Cross Century II. And I think the Pelikan M250 is also a good choice.

 

Duan

Edited February 15, 2007 by duanshuncn

[metanomad]

QUOTE (ChickenGod @ Feb 14 2007, 07:10 PM)

The Pelikan M200 .

May I ask where you chose to get it from?

[ChickenGod]

Well, I haven't BOUGHT it yet... I'm waiting till the weekend.. I most likely will buy it from Richard =].

[alvarez57]

QUOTE (ChickenGod @ Feb 15 2007, 12:10 AM)

The Pelikan M200 .

Good choice!

 

My M200 with a gold nib I bought about 1-2 yrs later.

It doesn't show well here, but the cap is dark-chocolate.

Edited February 17, 2007 by alvarez57