Fountain Pen For College

[basakadakara]

Hello!

 

I am looking for a new or gently used fountain pen for college. My daily writer for the past six years has been a Pilot Vanishing Point. While I love the look and feel of the pen it can be too heavy for extended writing sessions and the ink capacity leaves much to be desired. I prefer a fine line and have been spoiled by the Vanishing Point. My price range is around $100.

 

Thanks for the help!

[OCArt]

I'd recommend a Parker 45 as it can be used with cartridges or a cartridge-converter. Easily available for US$25 or so. Otherwise a Parker 51 or a Hero 100 spring to mind. All are light weight, hooded nibs and comfortable for long writing sessions.

[shawndp]

If you are satisfied with Pilot, may I suggest a Pilot 92 - comes with a good selection of nibs and is piston fill for extra ink capacity. They are around CAD 155, so $120 USD.

[langere]

You can also get a used Pelikan 200 for about that price. Huge ink capacity. German nibs tend to be broader, so go for an EF or an F.

 

Another possibility is a TWSBI, also piston fillers. They also tend to have rather broad nibs, so again go for F or EF. And those you can get new for less than $100.

 

Of course, one way to not worry about ink capacity is to use cartridges. I highly recommend either the German Kaweco Sport - which you can have for around $30 or less than $100 for the metal version. You can also get a Retro 51 Tornado pen for less than $50. Both brands are very reliable and are virtually indestructible (except for the nib, of course).

 

Erick

[ac12]

+1 on the Parker 45.

I carried two of them through college.

When one ran out of ink, I would simply switch to the backup pen, and keep writing.

I used a Parker Fine nib, which would be similar to a Lamy/Pelikan ExtraFine nib.

 

A pair of TWSBI Eco with EF nib would also work.

But the EF nib may need a bit of work to make them write smooth.

[estie1948]

Personally, a couple of Esterbrook J's with 9550 (extra fine) nibs got me through all of my college and university days. I made it a habit to carry two to classes just in case, but it was unnecessary. Get into the habit of refilling the pen you will carry tomorrow the night before. It won't always need it after just one day of writing, but it won't hurt it and you won't run out of ink.

 

An Esterbrook J with a 9450 or 9550 (both extra fine) nib will cost you a great deal less than $100. In fact, you might be able to get two of them for $100 and have some money left over for ink.

 

-David (Estie).

[ac12]

Even the lowly Parker 21 and vector are good pens.

Best of all, if they are lost or damaged, you have not taken a $$$ financial hit.

[estie1948]

Even the lowly Parker 21 and vector are good pens.

Best of all, if they are lost or damaged, you have not taken a $$$ financial hit.

I've never owned or used a Parker Vector so I can't say about it. However, the Parker 21 is indeed a cheap workhorse. Good advice from ac12.

 

I mean if you aren't going to go with the Esterbrooks . . .

 

-David (Estie).

[T4TEXAS]

Many good recommendations here. Whatever you choose, I do suggest having two pens...just in case. Personally, I would avoid having only one of the higher end TWSBIs, because if you do get a crack you will be without until you receive the part or replacement. Two Ecos would be safe enough.

Edited September 19, 2016 by T4TEXAS

[Mastiff]

What about a decimo or fermo, especially if you are already used to the VP?

[mmg122]

Agree with David and Mastiff...

Esterbrook J...I went thru undergrad and grad school with two J's. Great pens with good ink capacity.

Pilot Decimo...just like your Pilot Vanishing Point but lighter weight.

Mary

[Buzz_130]

I imagine that you would want pens that are rugged, reliable, comfortable, inexpensive, and last throughout the day. I would add pens that have nails for nibs, fine nibs, and nibs with good flow that allows the use of drier inks (which will work better on poor paper).

 

Esteemed members have already given great vintage choices - Parker 45s, Parker 21s, Esterbrook Js.

 

I carry at least one Parker "51" with me at work. This week, I have two "51s" giving me company. One is loaded with Iroshizuku Asa Gao (that works ok on poor paper but is a great signature ink) and the other with Pilot Blue-Black, which works very well on poor paper.

 

Some of the older Sheaffers like the Balance are great writers and can be found for good prices. I usually only get two days of work out of one fill, but if I was going to make one my every-day user, then I'd fill up every night.

 

You should also consider the Lamy Safari with a finer nib. You'd meet all of the criteria above, but you'd have to get used to the feel of the triangle grip.

 

Buzz

[tragique]

IMO, if you like the VP and want to stick to something similar but much lighter, I'd check out the Pilot Decimo.

 

If you want something entirely different, I second the Esterbrook suggestions. Very rugged no-nonsense pen that will make a great EDC. I use one of mine with a 9450 nib (extra-stiff extra-fine) on it sometimes and it's perfect for note-taking.

[PAKMAN]

Personally if I was going to college the Lamy Safari would be my choice. Very durable for backpack or jeans pocket carry.

[Jjf1989]

I hate to sound like a broken record but the Parker 45 is a great choice. You can even pick up a flighter for well under budget. They're reliable and light and pretty cool looking.

And again, I'll second the Parker 51 for the same reasons. The nice thing about these pens is they're stealthy. I like to carry them because I don't always want to be known as "the pen guy."

[sandy101]

Parker 45 is a good choice.

 

I've been very impressed with the Cross Pens I have recently acquired. The Cross Century, or at the very least a Cross pen that can take a convertor, then you have a wider choice of inks.

 

The nibs are rather good - and they make reliable writers.

[Arkanabar]

Lightweight, fine point, and you love your VP? Try a few other Pilots, eg Prera, Metropolitan, Kakuno, 78G, CH92, CH91, Capless Decimo. Or perhaps a Platinum Century 3776, or Plaisir, or Cool.

[ac12]

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Personally if I was going to college the Lamy Safari would be my choice. Very durable for backpack or jeans pocket carry.

 

Backpack yes, jeans no.

I've seen too many people sit on stuff in their pocket and break them. And a pen would also leave a mess behind.

[KLscribbler]

I'll second the suggestions above on trying out the Decimo - very similar shape and hand-feel to the Vanishing Point, only lighter and a bit slimmer.

 

If you want more ink capacity, you could also check out the various Pilot models that accept the Con-70 converter - the most affordable ones are (I think?) the Custom 74 and Custom Heritage 91. The Con-70 holds approximately double the amount of ink of the piston-type Pilot converters (Con-40, Con-50). Nibs in extra-fine and fine are available. There are also "soft" versions of those nibs, if you like that sort of thing (more flexible, softer writing feel, though not meant for line variation per se).

 

As for vintage pens, I used a pair of Parker "Super 21"s ⁽¹⁾ that used to belong to my father through my school years. They are nice and very reliable writers, great as school pens. But, they do have one weakness - the plastic gets brittle with age. One of my old "Super 21"s actually did end up committing suicide-by-plastic-failure. I suppose it isn't fair to complain about a pen that broke after more than half a century of intensive use, but if you intend to get a "21" new and use it intensively, do bear this potential frailty in mind. Or better yet, get a "51" instead- the Lucite plastic on 51s ages more gracefully and isn't brittle.

 

⁽¹⁾note: if you do decide to get a Parker "21", I would recommend the "Super 21" over the conventional "21" that preceded it. Unlike the conventional/earlier "21", the "Super 21" actually has a similar tubular nib and collector unit as the "51". Consequently, it writes a bit more reliably and nicely than the conventional 21s. You could think of the "Super 21" as a 51 Special with a cheaper plastic body.

[gryphon1911]

I'd hate to lose a good pen, so I'd opt for something in the less expensive end.

 

Consider:

 

• Pilot Varsity - super cheap, no need to worry about swapping out ink, disposable, decent nib, good writers for the few bucks they each cost.
• Pilot Metropiltan - for $15USD, you can have one or two of those and a box of cartidges. The metal bodies will put up with a ton of abuse.
• Platinum Preppy - super cheap and I would use them with cartidges. I personally prefer the Platinum nibs over the Pilot nibs. You've also got multiple fin nib sizes the 03 and 05
• Platinum Plaisir - same nib system as the preppy with all the same benefits as above, but you get a meta l body and cap. I use one at work all the time. The Platinum black ink that comes in the cartridges combined with the fine nib works well on cheap paper you are most likely to encounter.
• Lamy Safari/Vista/Al-Star - Safari and Vista are plastic, Al Star is metal - buy you can work with cartridges here as well. I personally prefer the Lamy nibs over the Pilot and the Platinum offerings mentioned above.

I know this is a complete different direction than where you currently are, but I separate my "work" pens from my "play" pens. I'd just hate to have one of my Bexley or Lamy 2000's forgotten, lost or stolen at work, so I don't use them there. College for me was worse...always losing pens or people borrowing them and not returning.