£40 Fountain Pen

[a.zy.lee]

I'm looking for a pen that costs around £40(price of converter included). I would prefer it to be a wet writer, or just not dry.

I'm considering the Faber-Castell Ambition, TWSBI 580, Parker Urban and Lamy Studio

Any thoughts or suggestions?

[usk15]

Sheaffer 100, Pilot MR, Pilot Prera, Diplomat Traveler, Lamy Studio

Edited February 7, 2014 by usk15

[Ambien]

Maybe a idea for the general use of the fountain pen too?

[rochester21]

...Or you could just spend 12 usd on a pilot 78G and increase the ink flow in order to make it a wet writer(tried it, with success).

 

Don`t know about the others, but typically pens have medium flow. Only german piston fillers seem to be wet writers in their original factory state.

Edited February 7, 2014 by rochester21

[migo984]

+1 for the Pilot Prera, especially the medium nib which is the perfect do-anything, daily nib. Not too fine, yet lays down a controlled and elegant line. And it's available for well under £40 (c. $28 + shipping) from Engeika. Brilliant value for money.

[Paul80]

Hi

 

How about one of these

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KG09-Kaigelu-316-Fountain-Pen-Century-stars-Tiger-Eye-Color-Celluloid-Pen-M-nib-/161099582823

 

£21.74 including shipping.

 

Mine is a very smooth wet writer

 

Paul

[Sasha Royale]

The least expensive one to fit your specifications would be the Pilot 78G, at 10 pounds.

Try one. It's a small risk.

[MBFan]

The least expensive one to fit your specifications would be the Pilot 78G, at 10 pounds.

Try one. It's a small risk.

 

You can get them for less than £5 on the bay.

[Mr. JW]

Mr. Pen has the Italix Parson's Essential for 39 quid (VAT included) and with a Schmidt converter. A nice pen and a good deal.

[Andyroo]

My Kaigelu 316 was an incredibly wet writer from the box, it liked to try and empty itself all over the page until I pulled the nib out and put it back in properly.

 

I'm going to fit an italic nib soon though.

 

Aside from the poor factory assembly it's a smashing pen for the money.

[sandy101]

Italix Parson's Essential £39.

[MarcS]

+1 parson's essential. mine's a wet medium--so wet that it is admired by a broad nib devotee friend-of-mine.

[theexpanciluser]

I got a parker urban as my first pen, and I am really unhappy for it. It would tire out my hand, because it is so heavy, and the nib wouldn't write in the beginning, so I would have to shake it up and scribble on a sheet of paper and then start writing. Very disappointed with modern Parker..

[andymcc]

The Parson's Essential is a great pen, I picked the wrong nib for mine though as at the time fine stub was the finest nib, now my Essential doesn't get much use and a new nib is £30

 

My TWSBI Mini has an EF nib that's a pretty wet write, the 1.5mm stub I no have on it is also a wet writer.

 

For £30 I've just picked up 4 vintage pens, a Parker Victory IV and 3 random lever fillers(a Welsh, Wearever & a Treasure) I've yet to find a vintage pen that's a dry writer and for £40 you'd get a chance to have a few pens which is always good

[Anirban4u]

+1 for sheaffer 100. Get an M

[a.lachlan]

If you're looking for a super lightweight pen with a fine nib, the Pilot Prera is a good pen to go for. The Lamy quite a nice pen but overall I think the TWSBI is a better pen, greater ink capacity, more comforable, smoother, and wetter. The main drawback for the Studio I think is most it grip section - the shape isn't for everyone and the polished finish can get slippery.

The Sheaffer 300 is just under that price and is also a very nice pen and is ideal if you like classic styling, it's built like a brick as well although is a little heavy as a result.

As others have suggested the Italix Parson's Essential is also an option, it's a very nice pen although it's styling isn't for everyone, but you are getting a very nice, well-built pen if you do like the look of it. Mine was a bit feedbacky but very smooth in a fine nib.

 

I'd avoid the Parker Urban however, I've heard very mixed reviews on that pen and to be honest there are just much nicer pens you could get instead. I've got the Sheaffer 100 as well and it's a very nice pen, the nib is one of the nicest I've ever owned (it's apparently the same as that on the Sheaffer 300 but mine were very different in terms of feel), but it may be a little too slim for your tastes and again like the Lamy Studio it has a polished grip section that can get a bit slippery and uncomfortable.

My experience with Faber-Castell hasn't been great - I have a Loom and it's a pretty nice pen, but I just can't get on with the nib and I've never been certain why, maybe it's just too smooth for me or something but whatever it is I struggle to write neatly with it. It may be because it's got quite a large nib and I generally prefer smaller nibs but then, the TWSBI also has a large nib and I get on with that just fine...

 

If you're buying from the UK I highly recommend CultPens unless you go for the TWSBI in which case I recommend TheWritingDesk - there are known to be TWSBIs that are just duds, but TheWritingDesk tests every pen before shipping so you'll know you're getting one that isn't and is in perfectly good order

[migo984]

Cultpens used to be competitive but is pretty expensive now for fountain pens IMO. Prera at £43?!

[a.lachlan]

Cultpens used to be competitive but is pretty expensive now for fountain pens IMO. Prera at £43?!

 

After looking them up on Amazon, I too am rather amazed :s

For most other pens I don't think they're too bad but that seeing a Prera go for £26 on Amazon has made me think...

[brunico]

Cultpens used to be competitive but is pretty expensive now for fountain pens IMO. Prera at £43?!

 

TWD had it for more than this when it was still listed, and Tiger Pens is still trying to shift them at... £59.99!

 

I don't think any of these places are trying to pull a fast one, and I'm guessing a lot of it is down to how much they buy from Pilot Europe and at what time.

 

Still, the Pilot Custom Heritage 92 is £149 at both Cult Pens and TWD, and the equivalent in dollars in the US. But only £70-£75 on Ebay.

 

I like my Prera, but I don't think it's worth the cost of two Al-Stars, and I like the look of the 92, but I don't think it's worth the cost of nearly four Twsbis.

 

 

After looking them up on Amazon, I too am rather amazed :s

For most other pens I don't think they're too bad but that seeing a Prera go for £26 on Amazon has made me think...

 

The Amazon sellers are based in Japan, not the UK. That's the difference.

Edited February 8, 2014 by brunico

[a.lachlan]

 

 

The Amazon sellers are based in Japan, not the UK. That's the difference.

 

Yeah I noticed that, just goes to show how much money you can save just by getting a product from the country where it's actually made