There is obviously not enough fountain pen news to justify a yearly thread. However, the previous thread on this topic is from 2013 and there have been TEUTONIC SHIFTS in the fountain pen world in the last three years! This isn’t your father’s fountain pen, let me tell you!
Okay, so I lied. This is totally your father's pen. The fountain pen is 1000 years old and there hasn’t been a ton of innovation in the past 100 or so years. It reminds me a bit of first person shooters.
Topical humor!
Anyway, the one thing that has actually changed is that fountain pens have made something of a comeback. If people are bothering to write by hand, it seems more and more people prefer to do so with a really nice pen. Fountain pen sales on Amazon are twice as high as in 2011 and four times as high as in 2010. I’d like to think my efforts in 2013 played a role here - we moved some pens on GAF. Pay me, Amazon.
The other thing that has changed since the old thread is my own knowledge of the fountain pen world. The old thread focused on the cheapest, largely disposable, fountain pens for beginners. I now have different advice for beginners. The long version is “buy a Pilot Metropolitan.” The short version is the same. We can talk about pricier pens, too, but if you want to try things out, spend $15 for a Metro and don’t look back.
So why write with a fountain pen? Two words: sex appeal. When I am holding a fountain pen, Mrs. Bagels looks at me in a way that suggests something less than complete revulsion and deep regret. It feels good. It's the exact opposite of the look I got when she found out I post on GAF.
I do actually get asked about my pens quite a bit by ladies (for real!) when I am writing in a Starbucks, at the library, or a strip club - you know, places where people write. The ladies in question are invariably 85 and have thick German accents, but it still counts.
There are also a few real reasons to use fountain pens!
The late, great David Bowie using a fountain pen in the Lazarus video. If Bowie did it, it's cool, alright? RIP
Fountain pens write very smoothly and require very little pressure. I got into pens after breaking my right hand at 18, and finding that I’d have to start college with minimal ability to write. I’m a heavy-handed writer and the injury left me with arthritis in my finger. The ease with which a fountain pen glides over paper means I can write for far longer without pain or hand fatigue. It just feels good in general!
Fountain pen nibs come in several different styles, giving you more control over how your writing will look. I practice calligraphy as a hobby and one key to Gothic or Blackletter forms is using a broad nib to give dramatic line variation. You can get some of the same effect by using italic, stub, or calligraphy fountain pen nibs. These give variation not only in line width but also in the amount of ink laid down. The result is more visually interesting writing.
In terms of producing distinctive writing, the other main advantage of a fountain pen is that it opens up the entire world of amazing inks. You could either write in boring blue ink from a Bic Crystal, or use J. Herbin 1670 Anniversary Emerald of Chivor and WRITE WITH THE VERY FABRIC OF THE UNIVERSE.
The Pilot Metropolitan: The Best Value in Fountain Pens or possibly anything
Update: the Metropolitan comes with a "plate converter," which is a pitiful little squeeze bulb thing. It sucks. If you want to use bottled ink (a converter "converts" a cartridge pen to accept bottled ink), grab a Pilot con-50, or you can rinse out the ink cartridge the pen comes with and refill it with a blunt syringe. Goulet pens sells packs of syringes if you don't have any around from injecting your diabetic cat with insulin.
If you’d like to try using a fountain pen, the Pilot Metropolitan is the place to start. Pilot is a Japanese manufacturer that makes everything from the $3 disposable V-pen or Varsity to $1000 objects d’art. The Metropolitan is an absolute triumph of manufacturing, offering a smooth, reliable nib and a nice brass body for under $15. This is a pen that you can start with and will continue to return to even if you buy pricier pens. Pilot products have many interchangeable parts, including some nib and most ink converters. The Metropolitan is a great pen to fiddle around with, toss in a bag, or loan out to a friend. Worst comes to worst, you are out $15 and your court costs for stabbing your friend. We've all been there.
The Metropolitan comes in fine or medium nib (Japanese nibs tend to run smaller than European nibs, so the medium is closer to a European fine), in body types ranging from staid solid black, gold, or silver, to the funky, colorful Retro Pop line.
I own several Metros, most of which now have italic nibs. The Pilot Plumix is a $6 cheap-looking pen that (somewhat miraculously) comes with an italic nib. You can pop the nib out of a Plumix and stick it on a Metropolitan for a nicer overall experience. I call this the Pilot Pletropolitix.
I don't actually call it that.
There are a few other places to start, or to move to next after a Pilot Metropolitan. Taiwan-based TWSBI (pronounced “twizzby”
produces OEM parts for other manufacturers. In recent years, they have also developed their own line of wonderful mid-range pens. They offer excellent steel nibs in many sizes, most of the pens are demonstrators, meaning they are clear so you can see the ink inside, and the pens have huge internal ink reservoirs. The main TWSBI pens cost $50-70. Last year the company introduced the Eco model. The name is short for “economical,” and not "Ecco Domani," the manufacturers of cheap Pinot Grigio. These pens share the same excellent nibs and ink feeds of their more expensive stablemates, but have more plastic parts (like the cap) and have an overall cheaper look. You can get an Eco with a white or black cap, in the full range of F, M, B, 1.1 stub and 1.5 stub nibs. TWSBI’s nibs run larger than Pilot nibs. I usually write with an M, but I like the TWSBI F. The 1.1 stub nib is wonderful, if you want the line width variation. It is quite broad. I have one pen in 1.5 stub, which is fun for dramatic lettering, but is too broad for everyday writing.
The Lamy Safari has long been the go-to recommendation for new fountain pen users, and is still a great choice for the beginner. The basic $30 Safari has a polycarbonate body, reliable steel nib in several sizes (XF, F, M, B, italic of various sizes - 1.1mm is the most practical for everyday writing), and a funky kinda art deco design. Lamy is a German manufacturer (Germany and Japan are fountain pen strongholds), so the nib sizes tend to run a little larger. I own three Safaris (one is an “Al-Star,” with an aluminum body over plastic) and vastly prefer the F nib.
Kaweco is another German manufacturer, best known for their pocket-size pens. The cheapest Kaweco Sport pens have plastic bodies and cost around $30. The same pen with a brass or unique steel body can run $100. A range of nib sizes are available, including italic nibs if you buy a Kaweco calligraphy set. It’s on my wishlist. The Kaweco pocket pens feature an unusually long cap that, when posted (which is what it is called when you put the cap on the back of the pen), extends the pen body to full length. When screwed closed, the Kaweco Sport is protected against ink leaking into a pocket, bag, or coffin.
The Pilot Kakuno is another excellent Pilot pen for under $15. The Kakuno is marketed in Japan as a pen for students, so it has a chunky, kid-friendly design and, most importantly, smiley faces on their nibs. These are lightweight plastic pens, if you find the Metropolitan too heavy (brass is pretty weighty). Fine and Medium smiley nibs are available.
You're five minutes into "fountain pen and chill" when he gives you this look...
Finally, the Sailor Clear Candy is another Japanese pen from a well-known manufacturer (that also makes very expensive high-end pens that I lust after), available for around $17. Only a fine nib is available and this is a finer nib than a Pilot F. This is perhaps the best choice if you are looking for a very fine line. The ink cartridges for the Clear Candy line come in really cool colors that shade beautifully.
My Sailor pen has a little anchor on it, which makes me feel nautical as balls.
If you are looking for something in a different price category (things get *really* good between $100-200, there are a few more nice options in the $30-100 range, and you can go super cheap with disposble pens or pens from Chinese manufacturer JinHao), just ask! Pen-GAF is a surprisingly large (and not surprisingly attractive) community!
If you pick up a fountain pen, the next step is to find a cool ink. Different inks can perform very differently, changing the writing experience in a pen (the three factors here are nib, ink, and paper). Bottles of ink tend to cost $10-30, for what is generally more ink than you would ever want to drink (this is how I measure liquids). My advice is to start with the recommended ink cartridges for your pen before branching out. Ink cartridges can be rinsed and refilled with a syringe or you can buy converters for a few bucks.
When looking for bottled inks to try, $30 can be a big investment for something you hate. There are companies that offer cheap ink samples (Goulet pens sell them for $1-3 and also offers a subscription service which is a lot of fun), or you can ask around here or a local shops. The fountain pen community online is almost comically friendly and welcoming. Places like fountain pen forum have tons of news and reviews, and you can find people willing to trade or sell nibs, inks, pens, etc.
I think the gold standard for ink is the Pilot Iroshizuku line. They perform flawlessly, the colors are gorgeous, they shade in wonderful, subtle ways. Bottles are about $30, so if you’re going to pick a nice blue, say (and who does not need a go-to blue ink?), it really pays to try samples of a few of the different blues they offer. Kon-peki is a personal favorite, but they have a nice range of options.
Diamine is an English manufacturer that produces nice, mid-priced inks. Sailor’s seasonal colors are lovely (Yama-dori is an amazing turquoise with red shading, only recently offered year-round). Kaweco’s inks tend to be nice solid colors. The standard Pilot ink cartridges ("Pilot Mixable Colours") are also nice solid colors. The red ink is a bit thinner than the other colors.
J. Herbin is the oldest ink producer in the world and their inks are pretty amazing. The 1670 Anniversary line, which contain actual gold (one of the inks contains iron), are the inks people always request calligraphy in from me. They are really amazing. Stormy Grey is a complex grey - the effect is like sunlight coming through storm clouds. Blue Ocean is a bit like sunlight glinting off the ocean. If you try only one ink, 2015's Emerald of Chivor - blue, with red sheen, and gold particles - will blow your mind.
The only other consideration is paper. A very fine-nibbed fountain pen may write okay on office paper, or the greasy napkins you have been using, but one key problem with fountain pens is that they bleed, feather, ghost, beaver, and generally look shitty on bad paper (I made up one of those terms. Guess which one!). There are a lot of choices for nice paper. I recommend French Rhodia paper, available in notebooks and pads, blank, lined, graph, or dot ruled. A pad sells for around $10. For writing letters (and a handwritten letter, in cool ink, makes a huge impression), premium Rhodia R paper is even nicer. It costs maybe a buck or two more. Another quick recommendation is for super thin, super slick Tomoe River paper, as found in the Hobonichi Techo. You can also get it loose-leaf, or in notebooks.
I'll update this post with links to individual products. For now, here are some places to find these pens (Amazon is an obvious choice. Some pens, like the Pilot Prera, are much cheaper from resellers in Japan via Amazon than they are via actual US stores. There have been some recent articles about pricing in the UK, where Pilot pens are pricier and the selection is more limited. Finding a Kakuno in the UK is apparently rough.):
Jetpens - the wonderfully addictive place for Japanese pens and office supplies.
Goulet Pens - really nice people offering some lovely things you won't anywhere else. Of particular interest is the incredible range of ink samples they stock. Sign up for Ink Drop for monthly ink samples! It's awesome.
Massdrop - (if you sign up through my link, I get free stuff) - the writing community is very active. Pilot Metropolitans, Vanishing Points, J. Herbin inks, Rhodia pads, Pilot Parallel Pens, Kaweco Sports, Lamy Safaris - check Massdrop every few days for a month and you can find good deals on some of the most popular pens.
Pen Chalet - they run lots of sales and carry some pens I don't see in other places.
Cult Pens - popular UK/European retailer. Really large selection.
Franklin-Christoph - Higher-end US manufacturer. The cheapest pen is about $100, and is amazing. They have an incredible nib selection and you can get them custom-adjusted by a master nib maker. They also manufacture their own paper from sugar cane. Their pads and notebooks are classy as fuck. You'll be saying holy shitballs.
If you need help choosing a starter pen, I own all of the pens I recommended, so I can tell you how they compare. If you have questions, ask away!
