Intro to Fountain Pens

[Tinker]

I got out of modern pens, primarily because almost all of them over, say, £200 can be stunningly poor value for money, particularly in terms of their materials. It's also a world of bullshit. So:

'resin' = plastic
'precious resin' = plastic
no definition of the material = plastic
'plastic' = the cheapest plastic you've ever seen or felt

'gold' [carat unstated] = gold-plated
'gold highlights' = gold-plated
'metal' (type unstated) = monkey metal

celluloid = 'It may be celluloid, but don't bet on it'
Japanese celluloid = Chinese celluloid, folded (so you can see the lengthwise join if you look) and not drilled
'Italian celluloid'= Chinese celluloid (because the last Italian factory has burnt down)
'converter' = a cheap (i.e. pennies wholesale) plastic pump, made in China, that is common to many pen brands
'ebonite' = hard rubber

'b&p' = in a cheap plastic box with meaningless papers
'maki-e' = transfer/screen-printed to look like 'maki-e'
'urushi' = painted ... well, once or twice, anyway.

And so on.

[Tinker]

I got out of vintage pens, primarily because they're often a nuisance. Beautiful, usually very well-made, visually intriguing, echoes of a lost world, usually inexpensive and so on, but, also often, unreliable, poor fillers and, amazingly, poor writers. And they leak.

These things said, they make many modern pens look like junk.

[Tinker]

The only pens I have left now that I use are:

A hybrid of my own composition. A 'rosso verde' Tibaldi celluloid cap & body and silver parts by the Belgian company Mercury. (The cap band was made by the lost-wax process, I think, and is of a very high standard.) The nib on mine is a Conway Stewart with no breather hole. The converter is Pelikan. Price? I can't remember, but it's irreplaceable, because the basic pen is 5 of a one-off run of 80 and there won't be any more Tibaldi celluloid, anyway.





A Dunhill AD2000. Actually made by Namiki. a.k.a. Pilot, who have a long-standing relationship with Dunhill. Silver parts and an 18ct nib. The barrel band is numbered to the individual pen.

[Tinker]

If I were going to buy a fountain pen tomorrow, I'd look for a Pilot 'Bamboo'.

[Tinker]

And one I forgot, which I shouldn't, because it's in my briefcase all the time.

A Reform 1745.
A piston-filler.
Made for German schoolchildren.
They were US$5 when I bought mine a decade ago. I paid $5 more for a 'smoothed' nib. It's a very good pen.
There are plenty on eBay

[Dr.f]

If I were going to buy a fountain pen tomorrow, I'd look for a Pilot 'Bamboo'.

Any idea where to buy one of these ?

[bonzo697]

^ I don't believe they make them any more, so you'd have to look for a second hand one or try one of the Japanese eBay sellers.

[gamingdave]

My CultPens order arrived, and I must say I am very impressed. The TWSBI mini is a delight in the hand, and the nib flows like silk, and that's just on a cheap notepad, not started on the Rhodia yet!

I also got the TWSBI filling bottle which makes things very mess free, and loads of different Diamine inks. Looking forward to doing some proper writing, though I really need to develop a proper pen grip as my crab claw holding gives me cramp after writing half a page.

I could easily see myself buying more pens in the future!

[Tinker]

Any idea where to buy one of these ?

I'd put a Wanted To Buy on Pentrace and Fountain Pen Network.

p.s. It is actually a version of the Dunhill AD2000

[Dr.f]

I'd put a Wanted To Buy on Pentrace and Fountain Pen Network.

p.s. It is actually a version of the Dunhill AD2000

Thanks for that.

[aldfort]

I got out of modern pens, primarily because almost all of them over, say, £200 can be stunningly poor value for money, particularly in terms of their materials. It's also a world of bullshit.

As a WIS I am amazed you can say this when there are so many expensive watches out there with bog standard ETA internals.
Shame Cilla is banned or he would explain Veblen to you (again!!!!).

[Tinker]

As a WIS I am amazed you can say this when there are so many expensive watches out there with bog standard ETA internals ...

There's nothing wrong with ETA movements. They're well-made, reasonably-priced and have a first-class track record.

The fact that people are willing to pay high-end money for what are perceived to be low-end movements is a matter of ignorance, not quality.

Actually, double ignorance.

[Tinker]

The essential problem with pens, however, is not usually their quality of manufacture, but the materials from which they're made.

OK, gold is gold and a good nib is worth its materials and the skill to make the machine that stamps it out.

Beyond this, however, the plastics that compose the rest of the pen are cheap & cheerful. Cheap because they're inexpensive & cheerful because they're sold at humungous mark-ups.

[Neil.C]

I've been a pen collector almost as long as a WIS, so a long time.

Like watches I prefer vintage so I usually use a Parker 51 and always buy them if I come across them at flea markets etc although the Juniors and even the Lady model can be a good cheaper buy for people used to using a thin biro.

Old Conway Stewarts and USA Sheaffers are always a decent bet for quality although TBH most vintage pens are better quality than new.

For new decent quality at a moderate price pens I would look no further than Pelikan personally.