Advice On A New Pen In The 0-$100 Range

[Simulacrum]

Good info and thank you. Are you suggesting I should get a german 1950s flex nib ? How much is that and what kind of pen do they go in ?

 

Also, the prices you quoted may be great if you live in the US, but the cheaper prices you've quoted are pens that are not refurbished and have the harder nibs which I'm not really interested in. So take all the higher prices and add 23% exchange us to cad, then shipping and customs across the border and bam, your cheap esty is about $100 CAD after it's imported.

 

I'm not saying it's not possible to get any cheaper than that, but I searched for hours, and hours... no joke and when I thought I found a good price, it was with a nib that was not what I wanted, or there was no guarantee that it would be working. For $49 US - $60 CAD, The ad says 1940's...fern green.. -restored... 9668 nib.. then you scroll down and realize it's the old bait and switch - 2000 series nib, ... and I quote "The Fountain Pen looks good but I can not say if he writes I have not tried. The Fountain Pen is use, there are marks of scratches. You buy it in the state you see it in the photos."

 

All the seemingly legit pen fixer uppers who were selling, were not those cheap prices, and most didn't have buyouts so who knows how much it will actually be. (I am going to look though as I said, I am interested in trying one of these out if I can find something legit).

 

I just don't want to take the risk of paying for a pen to have it get here to find out the nibs are all bent or the feed is damaged, and I'm out $80 with a broke pen I have to fix or sell for way less than I paid for it.

 

I'm not trying to be difficult, I honestly appreciate the info. I am a bit frustrated though as I've been searching for hours and hours on many different sites. Most private pen sellers websites are awfully difficult to navigate, scroll down and down, and re load pages and pages, not organized in any way. --- I get it, they're pen people, not master web coders. Just saying it's a pain and is partly what's leaning me away from the whole vintage thing. I just don't have that kind of time.

 

The parker 51 looks super cool and is in the budget, but from my research, flex nibs are not a real possibility - according to fpn members quoting R. Binder.

[tvradio]

Pilot Custom 74 from Japan with 14K Soft Fine Medium nib can be had for under $100. it's a smooth, wet, responsive, pleasant writer that's hard to beat for that price.

 

Hmm, it's now $74.99 in black. Wow. Design is a little staid, but that's probably the cheapest way into a B or BB nib for a Pilot... and in gold too!

[senzen]

The Sailor with a Zoom nib sounds interesting, even more so on Tomoe River; I went with a Pro Gear with an M nib, it was something like $167USD via j-culture, but the prices via amazon (US) where very similar.

 

Remember the converter!

Edited January 26, 2018 by pseudo88

[Simulacrum]

The Sailor with a Zoom nib sounds interesting, even more so on Tomoe River; I went with a Pro Gear with an M nib, it was something like $167USD via j-culture, but the prices via amazon (US) where very similar.

 

Remember the converter!

Yes, the converter - for that price you would think they would include it - I guess some people may already have one but still...

[senzen]

Yes, the converter - for that price you would think they would include it - I guess some people may already have one but still...

 

No, it's silly, particularly when you buy a pen all the way from Japan.

[Simulacrum]

 

No, it's silly, particularly when you buy a pen all the way from Japan.

Agreed.

 

What converter does it take ? I'm having a hard time finding anything concrete. There seems to be a converter that fits the 'Slim' version. I believe that's different than the 'Standard' version ?

 

I think the 14-0500 is the one that fits most of the Sailor pens. Is this the correct one ?

Edited January 28, 2018 by Simulacrum

[Simulacrum]

So, I couldn't decide exactly, and ended up getting a few things:

 

They are my first Waterman Pens, and my first Vintage Fountain Pens

1. A Waterman- 'Skywriter' (loved the name - also contributed to me buying it.) 1930's Made in Canada, green marbled celluloid, lever filler. The 14k nib apparently writes Fine to Broad.

2. A Waterman Ideal No.32 Lever Filler, 1930's, Made in Canada. The 14k 'Waterman's Ideal England 2' Nib is described as having good flex and writes medium fine to double broad. The pen looks black, but could be a dark blue -it's hard to tell in the pictures, and I didn't ask

3. A Sailor Profit Standard 14k Zoom nib.

4. Got my wife a Pilot Metropolitan Pop (light blue) - Fine nib. -her first FP. (I have to get her into FP's so that she'll want me to buy more inks and stuff so she can use them too lol).