Cheap fountain pens that don't suck at all.

A week or so back I impulse bought myself a Parker Urban Premium fountain pen. I have no idea why, except the deal was good, and I use a Urban premium ballpoint at work, and really like it.

I have to say I am impressed by this pen. It cost me all of $22 + postage, and the fit and finish are good, it looks nice. It writes smoothly, starts up as soon as the nib hits the paper, doesn't really skip. Seems like an absolute bargain for anybody wanting a beater fountain pen that they can carry and not worry about too much.

It also came with a convertor, so I can use it with my favourite bottled inks.




Does anybody else have any recommendations?

I'm pretty new to the nib world, but I would suggest the Pilot Metropolitan, Lamy Safari, Jinhao x450, or a bunch of various vintage pens that sell for cheap, but work great. I have a fairly limited experience with fountain pens, but I just wanted to give you a few suggestions until some of the other more knowledgeable members chime in.

Nice pen, David. I'm not sure I could handle that step-down to the section rubbing against my middle finger, though. I've heard they write great so I'm sure I'll try one someday.



One pen I really think of as a true bargain user pen is the Pilot 78G

I use the Hero 616 that come in 10 packs on E-bay. My father said he grew up using them when he was in school in the People's Republic of China and I use them for marking my undergrad students' papers (I reserve my Yard-o-Led for my personal correspondence) but I think I paid $40 for 30 of these pens (aerometric filled). Once in a while they may need tweaking but the deal is too good to mind! Plus, I give away 2 or 3 to my students each quarter as a 'farewell' at the end of term.

I may have to check out the Parker, too. Sometimes I like to take a disposable fountain pen out there in the field when I'm at a dig and don't mind if something gets dinged.

nemo said:

Nice pen, David. I'm not sure I could handle that step-down to the section rubbing against my middle finger, though. I've heard they write great so I'm sure I'll try one someday.



One pen I really think of as a true bargain user pen is the Pilot 78G

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Actually (and I just tried it again to confirm), my middle finger rests just below the step, on the plastic section. The thumb is on the step, and that is no issue.

The weight of the pen is pretty good, but I'm still deciding if I prefer it posted or unposted. I think unposted, because the cap is quite heavy.

I have tried an Urban in a store - I don't recall the "step" being particularly big or bothersome. Alas, that's my biggest gripe about my Metros . . .

My favorite cheap fountain pen is the LAMY Safari. It's cheap (Under $30). It's durable. I've dropped mine multiple times and I've had it about 12 years. It still writes like the day I got it.

Sheaffer NoNonsense (the classic one, not the Bic versions or current ***), Sheaffer VFM (great pen, but cart only, luckily enough it's international carts), Platinuim Plaisir, the aforementioned Pilots 78G and Metropolitan, Nemosine Fission (heavier) and Singularity (lighter). Also the upcoming TWSBI Eco looks like it will be a winner too, under $30.

If you like the Safari- which is vastly overpriced imo at like $35 or more retail- both Jinhao and Hero make clones, the 599 and Summer Colors respectively. I have used all three of those brands and I definitely think the Jinhao is the best of the bunch. And it's 1/6th of the price most of the time to boot!

Legion said:

A week or so back I impulse bought myself a Parker Urban Premium fountain pen. I have no idea why, except the deal was good, and I use a Urban premium ballpoint at work, and really like it.

I have to say I am impressed by this pen. It cost me all of $22 + postage, and the fit and finish are good, it looks nice. It writes smoothly, starts up as soon as the nib hits the paper, doesn't really skip. Seems like an absolute bargain for anybody wanting a beater fountain pen that they can carry and not worry about too much.

It also came with a convertor, so I can use it with my favourite bottled inks.

Does anybody else have any recommendations?

Click to expand...

Where did u get the parker urban premium for 22??
Goulet wants 63 for it.
I'd love to know where to pick one up at your price!!
Thanks.

At staples I picked up a cross aventura for 20$- I'm actually pretty happy with it! Was planning on giving it to my daughter who has shown an interest in FPs, but ended up keeping it.

The nib is unbelievably smooth

stoof2010 said:

Where did u get the parker urban premium for 22??
Goulet wants 63 for it.
I'd love to know where to pick one up at your price!!
Thanks.

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An local Australian ebay seller. Thats $22 Australian, so under $20 US? You see why I jumped on the deal. I probably should have bought two.

I recently bought a Fisher space pen off him for almost half what they sell for here as well.

stoof2010 said:

Where did u get the parker urban premium for 22??
Goulet wants 63 for it.
I'd love to know where to pick one up at your price!!
Thanks.

Click to expand...

Legion said:

An local Australian ebay seller. Thats $22 Australian, so under $20 US? You see why I jumped on the deal. I probably should have bought two.

I recently bought a Fisher space pen off him for almost half what they sell for here as well.

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Aaaand.... I just ordered another one. That is $16.81USD, plus a bit for postage. They normally cost $90 here.

Claudel Xerxes said:

I'm pretty new to the nib world, but I would suggest the Pilot Metropolitan, Lamy Safari, Jinhao x450, or a bunch of various vintage pens that sell for cheap, but work great. I have a fairly limited experience with fountain pens, but I just wanted to give you a few suggestions until some of the other more knowledgeable members chime in.

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+1 on the metropolitan

Pilot Varsity. Super inexpensive. But it works well for the price.

The Preppy. Hated it at first; months later, can't deny its functionality.

AA

crowsnest43 said:

Pilot Varsity. Super inexpensive. But it works well for the price.

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And it can be refilled with your choice if ink. It holds over 2 ml!!!

Nemosine Singularity, takes standard #6 nibs, cheap to experiment with different nib shapes and sizes. So far I prefer Nemosine 0.6mm stub. $15-20

I have a few Kaweco Sports that I like quite a lot. They're cheap-ish ($20+/- depending on where you get them) and they're little tanks that take a beating. They're excellent pocket pens, and it's easy to swap out nibs. I even have a nice Kaweco Ice Sport rollerball that takes international short cartridges that writes pretty well.

Corey said:

I have a few Kaweco Sports that I like quite a lot. They're cheap-ish ($20+/- depending on where you get them) and they're little tanks that take a beating. They're excellent pocket pens, and it's easy to swap out nibs. I even have a nice Kaweco Ice Sport rollerball that takes international short cartridges that writes pretty well.

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+1. And the medium nibs are very smooth!!! My fine isn't so much, but not bad. I have many!!

So I just ordered a Hero 60 Chinese fountain pen from Ebay. I actually got two of them (will give one as a gift) for a total of $14 including shipping. I have no idea if they will be good, but I thought they looked nice and was willing to give them a try. Has anyone ever had/tried/heard-of a Hero 60?