Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette! Have you ever wondered why people write with a
fountain pen? Are you stunned by prices of new Mont Blanc fountain pens? or are you just
for overwhelmed by the thousand of pens on the market? If so, this is the video for you.Today
we'll discuss five awesome beginner fountain pens that won't break the bank.
Even though it might seem differently fountain pens need not be intimidating expensive or
maintenance intensive you can really find a lot of fountain pens that are inexpensive
the problem is some are bad and some are good. In the u.s. most adults never get acquainted
with fountain pens unless they intentionally seek them out in Germany where I grew up it's
part of the school curriculum so I first wrote with fountain pens when I was 5 years old
Over time, I've used many different fountain pens, expensive and inexpensive ones. Today,
I'll highlight the 5 best value pens that won't break the bank. It's particularly good
if you don't know if a fountain pen is right for you so we focus on low price, easy maintenance,
easy writing, and overall, a good experience at a minimal investment.
First, a bit of Fountain Pen Terminology Just like with any hobby, there's a lingo
in the fountain pen world that you need to understand so you can distinguish between
the different pens.
The first important and probably the most important part is the nib. The nib is this
little metal piece at the tip of a fountain pen that you write with on a piece of paper.
Basically, a fountain pen uses capillary action as well as gravity to get the ink from the
inside of the pen through the nib onto the paper.
Right below the nib, you can find the ink feed which helps the capillary action and
to get the ink onto the paper. Unlike ballpoint or rollerball pens, nibs come in different
widths. The finest ones are EF which means extra fine then there's F for fine. The most
common nib is M for medium. If you want a broader nib, you get a B, an even wider is
a BB nib, and if you want it really broad which is usually only used for signatures,
you get a 3b nib. Sometimes, you can also find oblique nibs which means they're angled
at the tip and that would, for example, be an OB which is an oblique broad nib. When
you start for the first time, I suggest you maybe go with a medium nib, a fine or an extra
fine nib, because they're easiest to learn with and later on, you can upgrade and invest
in more pens with broader nibs.
Another term that;s important is the so called converter. Unlike a ballpoint pen, most fountain
pens don't come pre-loaded with ink and you can either get cartridges but they're more
expensive on a per-use cost and instead, you can use a converter so you can choose from
any kind of ink you want and you can just fill the ink into it. Usually, they cost anywhere
from one to five dollars but you'll save money over time compared to a cartridge which is
usually a one-time use.
Another popular way for fountain pens is the so called piston filler. This one doesn't
have a cartridge and you simply turn the knob at the end of the fountain pen to basically
suck ink in or push it back out. Normally, you find this kind of mechanism in more expensive
fountain pens. Personally, I am a big fan of the piston fillers or the converters because
down the line, they're less expensive than cartridges and they're also less hard on the
environment because you have less waste.
Now that you know the basics, lets talk about the 5 best Beginner Fountain Pens
The first really greatly expensive fountain pen is the Pilot metropolitan which retails
at around $15. It was introduced in 2012 and it was universally praised as a really good
fountain pen especially at the price point. It comes in a nice gift box, has a nice weight,
very clean lines, and you can even choose between different nib widths which is not
something you often find in this price range. It uses proprietary cartridges
and converters but when you buy a new one, it comes with a converter where you just have
to squeeze and let go which sucks up the ink into the fountain pen. Personally, I think
it's a very good pen that comes in different finishes so you can personalize it to your
taste. The nib is made out of steel, made in Japan, and I think for what it is, it is
really good, it's not harsh, it is definitely a pen that we recommend to anyone who just
wants to start out and who's not sure if he wants to invest hundreds of dollars into a
fountain pen.
now the second pen is the Pilot Varsity also known as Vpen which is really inexpensive
it only costs about $2. Usually, it's sold in a five pack for ten dollars and it has
a nib, it looks pretty cheap like a typical rollerball and it is all plastic. It's considered
a disposable fountain pen that you can't refill once the ink is all gone. Now if you look
at YouTube, you may find people who have actually hacked that and were able to refill it. That
being said, the plastic is so cheap that over time, it will probably break anyway, so if
you think that you might use the pen for a longer time, I suggest going with the Metropolitan
over the Varsity. The good part about it is that it has a great nib, consistency, and
it's not scratchy.
pen number three and four are the Chinese Jinhao X 450 and X 750 both of These pens
cost approximately $5 each and most people are shocked by how low the prices are and
how valuable it seems in comparison. If you want a huge bang for the buck, Jinhao is definitely
worth a look. Unlike the pilot Metropolitan, the Jinhao pens are larger and the 450 is
also a lot heavier. Now if you write a lot, that can tire out your hand more quickly but
if you just use it for signatures, it's really nice to have a certain weight. The nib of
the X 450 looks pretty similar to a Montblanc nib, however, it's just gold-plated and not
made out of solid gold. Right out of the plastic bag, it even comes with an ink converter which
is rather nice and unexpected in that price segment. Overall, it doesn't look like a high-end
fountain pen, at the same time, it doesn't look like a five-dollar pen either.
On the other hand, the X 750 has kind of a brushed stainless steel look in platinum color
the nib is likewise in the same color. It has a nice lid that clicks on and seems quite
tight even though over time, I don't quite think it will stand the test of time. The
name engraving on it looks rather cheap but at the end of the day, it is a cheap fountain
pen. In my opinion, it's very similar to the x450. It's just lighter in weight and frankly,
if you want to try them out, you get both for just about 10 bucks which is really inexpensive.
last but not least the most expensive pen in our lineup is the Lamy Safari It's made
in Germany in Heidelberg which is very close to my home state and when I was in third grade,
this is the fountain pen I used. Because of its sleek design and look, you can even see
sometimes people today wearing it with their bespoke suits which I find quite ironic because
it was a school pen that I used. For the same reason, I just can't get myself to use that
pen today because it always makes me feel like a little school pupil.
The standard version of the Safari is made out of plastic. You can also find different
versions of metals such as aluminum but in my experience, they dent very easily and scratch
so they don't look very well. Going with the original plastic version is just fine. The
styling is definitely the most industrial one but it's very comfortable in your hand
and it's very easy to grip for small hands as well as medium hands. If you have really
large hands, I find the Lamy Safari is not quite the right pen for you. Lamy was quite
smart and they introduced the proprietary ink cartridges which are much larger than
regular ones but also more expensive.
They also have ink converters but you have to buy them separately and they are not part
of the package as for the Jinhao. Unlike the other pens in our line up, the Lamy Safari
has a convenient ink window so you can see if the pen is dried in or if you simply ran
out of ink. The Lamy Safari nib is smooth right out of the box and it comes in different
nib widths as well. It's also easy to exchange the nibs in different widths and because it
is such a popular pen, it comes in many different colors and patterns and varieties. The Lamy
Safari is most expensive of the bunch and cost between $20-$25 dollars depending on
where you buy.
If I had to choose just one fountain pen out of the five, it would probably be the Pilot
Metropolitan in a F or fine nib because medium is something that you find in a lot of nibs
so fine is a little different. It also has an ink flow that it's not as strong so you
can basically write on it with any paper without risking it to bleed and it also has a heavier
weight than the Lamy Safari and to me, it's a more professional looking pen and it doesn't
have that schoolboy image.
All the Pens mentioned here can be used by right-handed and left-handed people but it's
really a personal preference and so I suggest you go out and try them out, you can even
buy two or three different ones to see which ones you like more and then write it up for
a little bit. If you really fall in love with them, you'll probably want to invest in a
more expensive piece that has nicer materials and a nicer nib because that way, it remains
a good investment.