The pens are not as short as appears, although a little shorter than the Zebra.I am not really sure what I am looking at there Ebber, are they really short pens.
The question is often asked, 'I don't use a fountain pen, can you suggest something', I used to offer something new and cheap, plenty to chose from starting with the Pilot V pen at under £4, but so damn boring, there is nothing to do, nothing to clean or fiddle about with, although they can be refilled.
Another option may be to try and borrow something older, such as a Parker 45 or one of the cartridge Parkers from the 1990s, bullet proof and good to use and will still have a value when you have used it for 10 years, a value probably more than you paid for it today.
So a good starter pen may be a Parker 51, increased in value over the past 50 years and will probably continue to do so, a great pen to use and a gentleman's pen. I have heard that they are popular with solicitors who dont want to produce a Montblanc in front of someone who has just done some despicable crime and is now looking at an £800 Montblanc being held by his fee earning solicitor, it could be the last straw.
When I was young I paid half a week's wages for a S/S Parker with Italic nib, then bought a Sheaffer. Looking back, I was foolish with money. Now I know a bit more, the important things are: Does the nib write smoothly, does the pen dry out, and does it leak? The brand name no longer has a meaning since it's all made in China. The old Parkers are terrible because the rubber has perished. The new Parkers are cheap and nasty. The Parker 51? The new copies are better than the original, and converters are a blessing and easily replaced for £1.
With fountain pens, the antique ones are there only to show primitive functional design which has been superseded long ago.
A Montblanc is valueless to me, just overpriced bollocks.