Recommend A Fp For Heavy Useage

January 11, 2014

Until it was mentioned, I forgot this statement by the OP

The ballpoint pens make my fingers ache after a few pages. As I put a bit of pressure, often in the heat of the moment, the tip of fineliners get pushed back inside and they no longer work.

@Spiff

You will need to practice writing lighter with a FP, or you need to make sure your FP has a STIFF nib that will survive pressure, or stay with a roller ball gel pen. I would start practicing to wright lightly right now with a gel roller ball. A XtraFine or Fine nib will take less pressure before bending than a Medium, because there is less metal at the tip.

Until you can write lightly, I would absolutely NOT get an expensive FP, as you are likely to ruin an expensive nib.

Example: The nib for the Lamy 2000 will cost you $85 to replace.

January 11, 2014

I don't know if you're still reading this thread...

You mentioned that you dislike the Safari due to the thin, sharp grip. Lamy also makes the Nexx. Basically the same, but the grip is rubberized.

Personally, due to the school environment, I suggest getting something that you won't be overly distraught at losing.

January 11, 2014

May be you can buy a bunch of Noodler's ahab with non flew nibs and turn them into eyedroppers. I don't have any ahab so I am not sure if they are robust.

January 11, 2014

I don't know if you're still reading this thread...

You mentioned that you dislike the Safari due to the thin, sharp grip. Lamy also makes the Nexx. Basically the same, but the grip is rubberized.

Personally, due to the school environment, I suggest getting something that you won't be overly distraught at losing.

The Nexx grip is indeed considerably fatter, less prescriptive and more comfy than the Safari grip. Lightweight, too; a good pen for long writing sessions.

January 11, 2014

@Spiff
You will need to practice writing lighter with a FP, or you need to make sure your FP has a STIFF nib that will survive pressure, or stay with a roller ball gel pen. I would start practicing to wright lightly right now with a gel roller ball. A XtraFine or Fine nib will take less pressure before bending than a Medium, because there is less metal at the tip.
Until you can write lightly, I would absolutely NOT get an expensive FP, as you are likely to ruin an expensive nib.
Example: The nib for the Lamy 2000 will cost you $85 to replace.

Ugh, no one mention how much the replacement nib costs. Please. I'm still wincing at the fact that I dropped mine on a solid floor nib-first >.<

Anyway, I agree with the above. Fountain pen nibs, even the most rigid nails, will eventually deform if you subject them to pressure on a regular basis. I second the motion that you aim for something with a firm steel nib, preferably one that you can swap out if necessary. You needn't really go for a Lamy Safari if the grip section bothers you so much, there are a lot of other pens around that price range that work excellently.

A few "disposable" options come to mind: the Pilot Varsity/V-pen won't cause you any tears should you destroy or misplace it, and neither will a Platinum Preppy. The both are excellent writers, after a fashion, and have rather firm nibs.

The Ahab (or the Konrad, if you don't want a chunky pen) is a great writer, but the flexy nib might not be to your advantage; not only will that be much easier to spring, but the increased ink consumption will have you running low sooner than you might think. The pen makes for an excellent eyedropper-filler, though, so as above mentioned, you could just get a non-flex nib for it.

Best of luck!

Kevin

P.S.

What about the Lamy Studio? It's a bit pricey for a throwabout pen, but I think it fits the OP's needs quite well.

January 11, 2014

Just noticed the OP mentioned the Parker Sonnet didn't have enough ink capacity. So maybe s/he wouldn't be happy with the capacity of anything that used a standard cartridge or converter. Which limits the field a bit.

January 11, 2014

Re-reading the original post, maybe Spaceman Spliff should consider a mechanical pencil? Won't run dry when stop/starting; inexpensive to buy and feed. The 0.5 and maybe even 0.7 mm leads might break too easily under pressure, so I'd go for a 0.9 mm lead, which will, even without breakages, last a great deal longer. It's also smoother. pencil lead won't survive like FP ink on paper that's subject to much friction, but in notebooks that aren't subject to rubbing, as opposed to notes thrust into busy pockets, that might not be a problem.

Inexpensive, with a big comfy grip: Pentel Twist-Erase £5.39 available for 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9 mm leads (review here).

Pocket safe, heavier, with a grip that is far more comfortable than you might imagine: Pentel Graphgear 1000 £12.49 available for 0.9 mm lead and a whole load of smaller sizes (review here).

Available in 0.9mm only, the Platinum Press Man MPS-200 £2.99 has a cushioned lead mechanism to make writing smoother and further protect lead from breaking, and it's pocket safe. Slimmer in the grip, which is achieved by means of circular grooves in the plastic body. I can't find a review, but I'm sore tempted myself.

No affiliation with this seller, other than as an occasional customer.

......

If an FP really is the only answer, the only FP in my possession which has never, ever, ever dried out or failed to make the required mark on paper, never missed the first downstroke after a pause, is a Pelikan M250. I don't know whether this "runs in the family", so to speak, or it's been sheer dumb luck. But I wouldn't allow anybody with a heavy hand to use it, as replacement nibs will cost £20 or so.

I did think maybe one of the bigger Esterbrooks, with a new sac and a manifold nib, built for writing carbon copies, though perfectly comfortable for ordinary use. The nib units are easily swapped out if they come to any harm.

January 12, 2014

All things considered, an Estie sounds like the perfect fit for the OP. Just be careful that it doesn't come with one of the shorthand or flex nibs, haha. Also, as someone who primarily used mechanical pencils before getting into fountain pens, I can attest to their being great for taking down notes (again, you need to be careful not to subject them to much friction). Also, there are a lot of mech pencils out that can take a serious beating and still write well. The lead inside the pens might break, but that's another story

No idea about the Pelikan, as I don't own any of those (well, I don't own an Estie either, but that's splitting hairs). I've heard that buying new probably isn't the best idea, as a lot of Pelikans ship with nibs that don't write very well OOTB; you'll almost certainly have to to a bit of tweaking, maybe even smoothening. to get a good writing experience. Then again, you might luck out.

Kevin

January 12, 2014

I would concur with some of the others: Parker 45 is a beast! (especially with the gold nib)

But personal favorite (from one student to another ;-) ) :

The Parker 61:

durable & reliable: Yes: I have 2 (one fine, one medium), and I have once dropped the fine one, point down on a permanent carpet (we call it tapis plain?, I hope that's the correct translation), It stuck upright. Not a hint of trouble, still going strong. Has no moving parts that can break.
Yes, the osmosis system needs to be flushed once every so often and you can't switch inks easily, but for a working pen, that shouldn't be a problem.
comfortable: good ink flow and smooth flow of the nib on the paper. Yes, oh yes.
good sized ink cartridge: It'll last you through the day, and when you need to reload: just pop it in an inktpot, do something else for a minute, take it back out, wipe, done.
affordable: Can be had ridiculously cheap for such an originally expensive pen.
classy : Yes, very.
I hope Richard doesn't mind me linking to his (by the way fantastic) site: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=ref/profiles/61.htm Pick a colour. And look out for the rainbow caps (those are beautiful!)
misc: It works even on newsprint. Nuff said.

January 12, 2014

I would recommend a Noodler's pen.

And I wouldn't recommend a Noodler's pen.

Noodler's pens often require a lot of tinkering, and they railroad a lot if flexed. They're cheaply made and (IMO) they smell like dog poop.

However, when not used flexed they write quite well, and they're only $15, and they come in a range of colours. They hold a decent amount of ink and the Ahab and the Konrad are quite comfortable (the Creaper is quite small though).

So if you're willing to fiddle, and learn to lighten your touch, a Noodler's pen will work fine. And it won't be a huge loss if you lose it.

Joe