Fountain pens

Love fountain pens... kind of hard to get really good ones that are not super $$$

Omas, Caran'd Ache, Parker, or good used Fountain pens on ebay.

 

Pelikan, Omas are my 2 favorites. Also really like the Namiki Vanishing Point.

Truthfully, though, I've kind of given up on fountain pens. For the amount of handwriting I actually do (very little), a gel pen like the Pilot G2 does the trick. I bought a nice machined pen that fits the Pilot G2 refill from a place called Karas Kustoms. They also make a fountain pen, though I'm not sure how good it is.

 

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http://www.airlineintl.com/files/50/products_main5090.jpg

 

Just re-read the OP, and I guess I missed the budget part.


Here is a Lamy Studio on Amazon for $70.

Amazon.com : LAMY Studio Fountain Pen, Imperial Blue, Ex-Fine Nib (L67IBEF) : Office Products

If you are willing to go a little over your budget, I just did a quick search on Amazon, and the Lamy 2000 is listed for $129.

Amazon.com : Lamy 2000 Matte Black Fountain Pen, Extra Fine Nib, (L01EF) : Office Products

And here is a Pelikan M200 for $98

Amazon.com : Pelikan M200 Fountain Pen Black Fine (993915) : Office Products

You can't go wrong with either of those pens.

The Namiki Vanishing point is a great pen, and quite unique as it's actually a retractable fountain pen. Looks like $128 at Amazon.

Amazon.com : Pilot Vanishing Point Collection Retractable Fountain Pen, Matte Black Barrel, Blue Ink, Medium Nib (60581) : Pilot Namiki Vanishing Point Fountain Pen : Office Products

Finally, Karas Kustoms has a custom machined Fountain pen for $85. It's out of stock right now, unfortunately. I haven't used it, so can't say too much about it, but I have their Retrakt pen, which is nicely made.

Ink Fountain Pen - Pens

Hope this helps.

 

Good for you on trying to bring back the fountain pen! These days, I am exclusively writing with fountain pens, and I find that I need to force myself to actually write something on paper these days. I love the chance to write thank you notes and letters to people! My penmanship has classically been poor, but writing with a fountain makes it decent and fun anyway.
I use a Mont Blanc for my signature on any documents - it has a little bit wider of a nib so the ink flows faster - I sign my name very rapidly.
For general writing, I use a Ferrari fountain pen my wife bought for me off Amazon. It's this one, and it fits in your budget:
Amazon.com - Ferrari Daytona Fountain Pen -

Whenever I use it, people usually comment because it does make a statement. Also, I'm the guy who wrote the Amazon review. I've been able to source refill cartridges at my local Office Depot store.

I LOVE FOUNTAIN PENS! I'm going to Vegas in December, and might stop at a Mont Blanc boutique to buy another. But, at the same time, I'm going to have too many soon - currently I have 2. That seems to be working. I need to exercise the Ferrari pen each day, otherwise it skips. A lot. Have fun, and happy writing!

PS: Heading to the accountant now to sign some checks, so my MB Fountain Pen will join me.

 

That's a good question. I just have a standard Star Walker fountain pen, black lacquer with smoke-chrome rings and clip. It's actually quite light (I would say a bit too light). But that can easily be solved by moving up in price a bit, which is what I'm considering. I've been pleased with my MB Fountain Pen, it was a bit pricey but so is all of their stuff. I've used MB pens for YEARS AND YEARS, but they were always roller balls, so this time I decided to step up my game. Truth be told, I like the Ferrari pen more... It probably comes down to the width of the nib. The nib on the Ferrari pen is medium. My MB nib is wide, so better for signatures, but not ideal for my style of general penmanship.

 

There are several good pen brands out there. It just depends on what you are looking for. Here are a few I really like based on country

German brands: Pelikan, Lamy

Japanese: Pilot

US: Sheaffer

Italian: Omas, Aurora, Delta

There is even a Ferarri pen by Sheaffer. They come in red or black and now carbon fiber. I have one and love it. I like the look of the carbon fiber and wish I had now. It wasn't available when I got mine. I may have to go back and get me one.
Sheaffer Ferrari Collection Ballpoint Pens

 

I just sold about half my collection of MB writers sets along with a vintage Parker and still a dozen or so fountain pens of various makes and designs. Add to that the ball points and roller balls, I still a couple dozen left.
Set aside the fountain pens for minute. As to the others, if you really want one to write with, first try as many different fillers as you can to find the one you like best. Then find a pen it will work with to hold it. Think of it as making sure you like the engine, then pick the body. No matter how pretty the car is, if the engine isn't right, you won't drive it. I like rollers and gels the best as they are more like fountain pens, a broader line. Try Lamy, Parkers, visconti and if you aren't flying try Tombow with M or B refills.

on the fountain pen side, the one I use every day is the Pilot with the disappearing nib or Lamy. for steel nibbed pens, they are about as good as it gets.

 

Now that the writing aficionados are all here...can anyone give some advice on how to learn handwriting (again)? Since I'm out of school, I haven't written any longer texts by hand anymore, only formulas, and my writing has really gone down the drain. When I have to write more than a few words, the height of the letters words and the spacing becomes irregular, and writing feels awfully cramped.
All I could find on the internet were excercises for teaching small kids how to write, but not how to brush up on it... the best I could find was stuf like "improve your writing by... writing", but I'd love to have some sort of curriculum with exercises. Just like Mrs. Bühl taught me in elementary school.

 

My penmanship is horrible! If I write cursive, it is almost illegible. If I do have to write something out, I tend to print and even then, it can be hard to decipher. My guess, is go back to the rudimentary elements of writing and write out each letter, or just take your time and write slowly.

I do enjoy writing with fountain pens and have a small collection, but I'm kind of retired and have no need to write things except via e-mail. If I do write things, I use a cheap Pilot rollerball or gel pen. It is much handier for me as I don't really have an office anymore.

 

I don't mess with the style of writing even now that I'm writing almost exclusively with fountain pens. My penmanship has historically been poor, but you know what? That's me. I'm ok with that. I print in all capital letters like they teach engineers to do (as I am one) in technical / schematic writing. I don't recall any cursive, and I'd probably go too fast.

 

I write exclusively in Fountain pens. I have a bunch of Lamy Safaris with different nib sizes, a Vanishing Pilot (my primary), a Pelikan Ductus, and a couple of Pelikan M800's with Richard Binder nibs.

I re-learned cursive 5 or 6 years ago overseas. I wrote my wife a letter every day while deployed and wanted to make them "heirloom" quality. So, Clairfontaine or G. Lalo paper, nice ink (I prefer J. Herbin and Noodler's), and fine writing instruments. Over time, going slowly, I developed nice penmanship.

I write handwritten thank you notes to all the customers of my business, and people appreciate the personal touch.

I purchase everything from http://www.gouletpens.com/. Brian Goulet is a great guy.

 

looking at my desk-there lie a Lamy ftn pen, Lamy rollerball (Senna) model, Pilot vanishing rotring 600 pencil. Unfortunately, none of have helped my penmanship. I keep thinking the right instrument will make all difference.

 

Glad you found something to start with.
I've been going through the cleaning process as ALL of my fountain pens decided to start skipping at the same time, relegating me to a Mont Blanc Starwalker Roller Ball. It too was low on ink (because I don't often use it, so it sits and gets neglected I guess) so I had to put a rollerball refill in. It'll do for now - actually, anybody would be lucky to use such an instrument! I feel a little bit sad because it's not a fountain. But oh well, I digress.

What method do you guys use for CLEANING your fountains? I'm talking about cartridge type fountains, not inkwell dippers. The Mont Blanc method is simply placing the nib under running water until, I presume, the water runs clear, with the nib facing down towards the drain, and "washing" both the top and bottom sides of the nib. I've done this, and now the ink is flowing again, but it has clearly been "watered down" in that the ink intensity is a bit light. I'm guessing that'll self-correct as the water dries and the ink remains???

In the past, I've completely disassembled the pen and run the tip piece (nib and cartridge receiver) under water until the water runs clear. It works faultlessly, but there are a few drawbacks:
1.) It takes FOREVER to dry. So, I'll do this on a Friday and leave the pens at the office, and return to them on Monday to find them mostly dry inside.
2.) If you've just put in a new refill, that refill will likely (as has been my experience) dry out and be unusable while your pen nib assembly is drying.

So, the method where the pen stays in one piece, and you just rinse the nib, is preferred (at least by me) in that it doesn't suffer these two drawbacks. Hopefully, the ink intensity will return soon. My Mont Blanc fountain is fighting to present the right color right now - it has streaks of darker and lighter ink so it might resolve itself sooner than my other Ferrari fountain pen.

Thoughts? Tips? Tricks? Related to cleaning, of course!
Thanks!

 

To dry them faster, I wrap the nibs in toilet paper and gently set them tip down somewhere. The water drains out and is absorbed by the paper. I'll swap the paper once, and they are typically dry in a few hours (unlike the day or so for air drying).

Nib rinsing, for the reason you state, can get into the feed of the nib and you won't really get pure ink again until that water is totally gone. You can do a quick rinse followed by toilet paper or a paper towel to soak up water for 15 minutes or so and that works better.

Honestly, I only clean my pens if I haven't used them in a long time (rare) or if I am switching colors.

 

Cool, thanks. I am already seeing a return to normal ink intensity (or at least very close), just a few hours after writing my post and rinsing my nibs. The Mont Blanc nib is having a harder time divesting itself of the water in the system than my Ferrari fountain pen...

 

Yeah, there's something special about writing with a fountain pen, if you have the taste to appreciate it. I'll give one of my pens to someone else to write with (who isn't into fine writing) and it will be met with frustration and exacerbation. But, if you know how to write with these pens and you enjoy the writing experience, then more power to you!

I love writing with fountain pens, and wish I had more opportunities to write. I don't dread having to fill out forms anymore.