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What I'm looking for in a pen

Fine nib
Thicker body rather than a stick pen
NOT a demonstrator
Classic styling rather than modern. Definitely metal not plastic!
Sub $50
Don't care about filling mechanism


I like the look of the Pilot Prera, the Platimum Plaisir and the Otto F-Spirit, if that gives you an idea of where I'm coming from.
Any other suggestions I might look at?
 
I don't have too much experience with pens in that range that fit your criteria, esp. the metal part. I do have a Prera, though, and I've been very impressed with it. I bought it recently along with an Edison Collier. Between the two, the Prera sees more use. The Collier is quite comfortable to hold, but the nib is kind of scratchy, which means it doesn't get used as much. The nib on the Prera, on the other hand, is very smooth, finer, and even has a bit of springyness to it, which makes it write even nicer. It might be a bit on the small side if you're accustomed to larger sized pens that are more common now than with the older vintage pens. It also wouldn't fit your requirement of being made of metal, but I've been impressed at how sturdy it is and how well it's held up. My one complaint would be the relatively small ink supply.
 
I just got a Hero 592 lacquered metal body 22k GP fine nib. Its a pretty pen without too much bling and fit and finish are nice - no lacquer or plating where it doesn't belong, push cap is air tight. I'm waiting on ink I want to use in it so I haven't inked it up yet, but when I flushed it out it didn't splatter water and the nib felt smooth as any F nib I've used. The proof is in the inking though, so we'll see. But you could get a couple of those for under $50.
 
that's where I got mine pg.3, mine's the light blue 592. Reminded me of an old surf guitar my uncle had.
 
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I just got a Hero 592 lacquered metal body 22k GP fine nib. Its a pretty pen without too much bling and fit and finish are nice - no lacquer or plating where it doesn't belong, push cap is air tight. I'm waiting on ink I want to use in it so I haven't inked it up yet, but when I flushed it out it didn't splatter water and the nib felt smooth as any F nib I've used. The proof is in the inking though, so we'll see. But you could get a couple of those for under $50.

I had one for a while and liked it a lot. Very nice writing pen, and now I regret letting it go. Good luck with yours.
 
The Hero 100 / 1000 are both looking pretty good to me. Now I need to hit my sales quota before I get to splurge on anything this month :)
 
I am extremely fond of my "stick pen" in brass (CP-1) but I really would not count out plastic/hard rubber/acrylic pens! Heck, even mont blanc pens are acrylic. Most classic pens are hard rubber too. A good plastic pen will probably be more resilient to small drops and scratches too.
 
I am extremely fond of my "stick pen" in brass (CP-1) but I really would not count out plastic/hard rubber/acrylic pens! Heck, even mont blanc pens are acrylic. Most classic pens are hard rubber too. A good plastic pen will probably be more resilient to small drops and scratches too.

Yes, but Mont Blanc are made out of "precious resin" not that normal resin! :clown::clown:
 
Got sick of waiting so I raided my daughter's ink supply and loaded the 592 as well as 330 with Noodler's xfeather - Both wrote well. The 592 is pretty smooth for the nib which I'd rate closer to an XF than F but does have some scratch. Writing on cheap store brand printer paper it did well; no problems starting, splattering or any other weirdness. After playing around with it I set it aside cap on, nib up, for a couple hours and tried again and it wrote immediately no skipping. I should mention that I write with my left hand. There was some slight skipping when doing my signature on the J when signing big and fast as I am able, but I consider that largely user error as a cursive J left handed involves a sideways push. I had no skips in regular writing. My sister in-law, who was visiting, is right handed and wrote a couple pages without skipping at all. Her penmanship is much better than my own and her line was notably thicker than my own but still a fine line. All and all I wouldn't hesitate to get another hero pen.
 
Hold everything! The Pilot Prera is the pen for you. It's plastic, but it has great lines. I'm pretty sure that it is Pilot's homage to Pelikan. Thick enough to feel substantial in your hand. I have a clear/gray one with a medium nib and I love it. The price is right too.

If you want a metal pen that is reliable and actually less expensive than what you're looking for, try the Platinum Plaisir. Last I saw, Goulet's had them on sale. Get a Platinum converter too.
 
The Hero 100 / 1000 are both looking pretty good to me. Now I need to hit my sales quota before I get to splurge on anything this month :)

I've just started using a Hero 1000, and I've got to say it's a really nice pen for the money, a great value. It's a better pen than my Parker Frontier, which cost more when I got it in 1998! I had a good shopping experience with isellpens, ​too.
 

oc_in_fw

Fridays are Fishtastic!
Hey Chris, how about the Lamy Studio? It is a metallic pen, has a great heft, and being a Lamy, you can change nibs should your tastes ever change. Todd has the stainless version for the special price of $57, and the colored pens are $66. I just got mine (blue with medium nib) today- it writes very nicely.
http://isellpens.com/lamy.html
 
I've got the 330's and 616's and really like them, they're what lives on the family computer desk or gets crammed in a hip pocket to run an errand. My cheap Chinese pens work well and write properly when I need them to, and all of my cheap Chinese pens are Heroes. I wouldn't want them if I had to screw around in a checkout line trying to make it write. I always give them a good flushing with sudsy ammonia water followed by a good rinsing, I expect there to be machine oil in the feed and dust. My 330's are especially slow to dry afterwards so they splatter a little right after inking and feather for the first time but for me they settle down and will only splatter if I give them a pretty good shake after the water works out of the feed. If you remove the metal housing on the sac be careful when filling not to push the breather tube forward and dislodge the feed, its not a difficult fix if it happens but its a PITA if you do it while inking. I did that and I just use the press bar to fill now with no problems.

I am curious about the wing sung and would like to hear your impression of it.
 
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oc_in_fw

Fridays are Fishtastic!
I figure for $3, worst case I have something to PIF, best case I get a good pen!

I had three Chinese pens- two Fuliwens and Gui Guan. They all wrote nicely. I only have the GG now, PIF'ed the others because they were fine nibs. Other than that, they did a good job.
 
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