Some pen questions

H

HairyMan

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Interested in giving a fountain pen a try for the first time since school.

A few questions:
Approx how long do cartridges last - ie how many A4 sheets would you get out of a standard short cartridge?

Ink converters - do you use these like refillable cartridges or do you leave them on the pen to refill?

When nibs are described as fine/med/broad etc approx. how wide are the lines made?
Are any widths better/worse than others for beginners? My writing tends to be quite small so I am thinking something towards the finer end might suit me better.

Recommendations for a reasonable pen for less than £20? Looking at past threads, Lamy safari seems very popular - any good alternatives in that budget or is that the one to go for?

Thanks
 
1. I've never really tested the lifespan of a standard cartridge, but bear in mind that some pens write drier than others, so will use ink more slowly, and nib widths will affect flow rate as well. It's a bit like asking "how far can I drive on 20 litres of petrol?" - a hybrid or small hatchback will get you further on a given amount of fuel than a supercar.

2. Converters remain in the pen until you clean it - submerge the pen to just above the top of the nib (so that the end of the grip section is in the ink) and operate the converter.

3. There's no standardisation of nib widths - typically a medium nib from a Japanese brand will equate to a fine on a European pen. Lamy nibs tend to be quite broad. Brian Goulet of Goulet Pens has samples of writing on his site with many different nib brands and grades which should give you an idea, but in general I'd suggest that, if your writing tends towards the smaller end of the spectrum that a fine or medium nib would be preferable.

4. In terms of a Lamy alternative, the Pilot MR is highly-rated.
 
As well as what Chris says, bear in mind Lamy don't take standard ink cartridges. Neither do Parkers. Their cartridges are still not exactly expensive but worth bearing in mind.
I have the Safari and it does write very nicely; less than £20 on cultpens.com and 5 cartridges for £1.50
 
NotTheStig said:
As well as what Chris says, bear in mind Lamy don't take standard ink cartridges. Neither do Parkers. Their cartridges are still not exactly expensive but worth bearing in mind.
I have the Safari and it does write very nicely; less than £20 on cultpens.com and 5 cartridges for £1.50
Click to expand...

I did not know that, however, I bought my first FP the other day, a Lamy Vista, followed very quickly with a Lamy Z24 convertor and a couple of Diamine inks, amber and majestic purple, from Cult Pens. Excellent service I ordered the converter and inks at 15:40 on Friday and the postie dropped them off the following morning, also because my order was more than a tenner, the delivery was free! Outstanding service, I will shop there again.

Scott
 
Having bought a couple of Chinese FPs complete with converters (under £4 delivered) and a Pilot 78G from HK (under £6 delivered) there are many usable pens in your £20 budget... And then there are the vintage ones :D, the NOS ones (like the Reform 1745)...

Ohto and Kaweco are two other brands to look at on Cultpens... Kaweco Sport Classic is quite pleasant to use...
 
Yes the Hero 616 is an excellent no frills cheapo pen. Mine writes beautifully. Only takes bottled ink though as bladder is built in. I paid £3.50 delivered (ebay)! The Baoer 100 is good; heavier with a metal barrel but I found the angle a little less forgiving and it's more expensive. Can use bottled ink or standard cartridge. Mine was about £10 with delivery (UK, ebay).
I have a couple of others on the way from China; a Lanbitou 3009 and a Hero 6131. From China via ebay you can get a pack of TEN Hero 616s for less than £8 delivered.!!!
Have also bought a cheap dip pen set off Amazon which arrived today but having less luck with that so far (scratchy, blotchy and inky fingernails). Practice makes perfect though.
 
Thanks for all your comments

chrisbell said:
1. I've never really tested the lifespan of a standard cartridge, but bear in mind that some pens write drier than others, so will use ink more slowly, and nib widths will affect flow rate as well. It's a bit like asking "how far can I drive on 20 litres of petrol?" - a hybrid or small hatchback will get you further on a given amount of fuel than a supercar.
Click to expand...

Fair enough. Question is really about the running cost of cartridges versus the mess with bottled ink. The short standard cartridges look tiny compared to what I remember using (but then, I was a lot smaller then too ...)

I am a little put off the Lamy pens because of the proprietary cartridges but then they are fairly cheap and ubiquitous. Adding a converter pushes the cost towards the top of the budget. Safari still looks a bit chunky though.


chrisbell said:
4. In terms of a Lamy alternative, the Pilot MR is highly-rated.
Click to expand...

Missed that one in my trawl through the online shops - quite a nice looking pen.

hunnymonster said:
Ohto and Kaweco are two other brands to look at on Cultpens... Kaweco Sport Classic is quite pleasant to use...
Click to expand...

Any particular recommendations from the ranges? Is the Kaweco Sport comfortable to use? Looks too short with out the lid but a bit fat with it.
 
The Kaweco Sport is very comfortable to use in my experience. Which one of the range is immaterial only the colour/transparency/material changes across the Sport range.

Ohto - the Tasche is one I have in my pocket pretty much all the time. I've also got a Rook from Japan (another compact pocket pen) and again pleasant in the hand. The other one in the range I've tried is the Fine (FF10N) - again pleasant in the hand nice nib...
 
hunnymonster said:
Ohto - the Tasche is one I have in my pocket pretty much all the time.
Click to expand...

+1 on the Tasche, though mine was very dry and scratchy when I first got it. After shimming the nib with 1 thou brass, realigning the tines and smoothing the nib on some 12,000 grit micromesh, it's much-improved, and, thanks to my decision to leave it drier than my normal preference, it's perfect for what I bought it for (signing documents and making notes on paper of variable quality where a wetter nib would be prone to feathering).
 
I received a flier with my Cult Pens order with a 10% discount code, XMAS2013 (all uppercase).
I have just placed another order for the Pilot MR, thanks Chris! ;) and some more inks. I really don't know why, as I don't really do much in the way of hand writing! I suppose it will only be a matter of time until I purchase one of the higher end pens because they look nice. :blush:

Scott.
 
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