Starter pen

Johnny Bravo

Johnny Bravo

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936
Hi,
I have just brought a Lamy Al star Bronze Fine Nib Fountain pen 027.
I hope it's a good starter pen without breaking the bank as I have not used a Fountain pen in years and that was terrible.
I really want to get my handwriting tidied up and get back into good old fashion letter writing.
Have I made a good choice or just wasted my money?
 
mfurie2540 said:
Hi,
I have just brought a Lamy Al star Bronze Fine Nib Fountain pen 027.
I hope it's a good starter pen without breaking the bank as I have not used a Fountain pen in years and that was terrible.
I really want to get my handwriting tidied up and get back into good old fashion letter writing.
Have I made a good choice or just wasted my money?
Click to expand...
Great choice! :)


Paul.
 
That's good to hear, I can't wait to try it out tomorrow.
You just can't beat receiving a handwritten letter as apposed to a text or email.
Can you tell me what the difference is between the Z24 and Z28 converters.
 
That's a very good choice of pen, and personally I feel that it's a little unfair for it to be seen as a "starter" pen. Rather, it's a well-made, robust, adaptable workaday pen, at an economical price, which is capable of consistently good results and, in my experience, has no innate vices or drawbacks.

Enjoy it, and I hope the handwriting "remediation" goes well.
 
In 2020, in my pharmacy it was chaos.
Too many things, all urgent and too many important.
The Eisenhower matrix was deadly funny.

My workflow is under Google ecosystem (Gmail, Keep, Task, Calendar).
So It's easy for me to be organized and ready just with my smartphone.
But planning and developing I find easier on paper.
That stage needs (for me) a slow approach.

For this I use 3 tools (Mind map, GTD method, Franklin planner) merged into a Bullet Jornal system.
Where I write with a simple but very efficient pen. Having a bonus with color codes.
Senza nome.jpgSenza nome1.jpg
https://us.bic.com/en_us/bic-gel-oc...ium-point-0-7mm-assorted-colors-12-count.html
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  • One 12-count pack of BIC Gelocity Quick Dry Gel Pens, Assorted colors
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  • Convenient retractable gel pen lets you deploy and retract tip with a simple click
Click to expand...
 
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Just a quick update, when I said starter pen I meant a pen that was high quality great reputation and didn't break the bank.
The pen I chose uses the same nib as it's £110 brothers but at a fraction of the price.
Just as we really because I didn't like the fine nib and ended up buying another pen but with the extra fine.
I love it and I really like the finger placement points as I try and tidy up my terrible handwriting.
Thank you all again for your input.
 
mfurie2540 said:
Just a quick update, when I said starter pen I meant a pen that was high quality great reputation and didn't break the bank.
The pen I chose uses the same nib as it's £110 brothers but at a fraction of the price.
Just as we really because I didn't like the fine nib and ended up buying another pen but with the extra fine.
I love it and I really like the finger placement points as I try and tidy up my terrible handwriting.
Thank you all again for your input.
Click to expand...
The sensible price of the Al-Star is very helpful if the original nib choice isn't quite right, and of course, it's always handy to have a spare pen "just in case". I expect you've already researched this, but the replacement, "swap-in" Lamy Z50 nib for the Al-Star and others is available in a range of widths and types, in black for about £7.20 or polished steel, for about £5.40, and a replacement nib and section for the Al-Star is about £10.50. It's also possible to upgrade the nib to a Z55 gold one for about £80, although that slightly runs against the concept of it being an economical pen.
I've bought and changed these nibs several times, mainly in order to switch to italic nibs, and it's an easy thing to do.
 
For a starter fountain pen I would recommend a Zebra disposable from Amazon or elsewhere. Although it might seem a strange choice at first, consider these four reasons.
They are dirt-cheap, and even cheaper if buying a few at once. Lots of colours available.
They don't dry out. You could leave it in a drawer for a year, pick it up and remove the cap, and it works straight away. If anyone is interested why, or how, then I shall explain why. Infrequent use is bad for pens usually.
They don't have to be disposable. I can refill them. Again, explanation given if interest shown.
They are quality writers, as you would expect from a Japanese manufacturer.
 
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Ebberman said:
Or this pen, with an EF nib - 0.38mm. Again, from Amazon. 8 pens for £7.99

View attachment 114846
Click to expand...


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.
 
I can't help but think that a ne'er-do-well or buzzardly crim would not know what a Mont Blanc was if it were shoved up his nose, but I can well imagine the solicitor might not want to take that chance! It's called putting yourself in harm's way.
Then again he probably parked his Porsche outside and has a luxury watch on.

On the infinitesimal chance that I change career to the legal profession I shall wear my Timex, get the bus to work and use a biro I stole* from Argos or Metro bank! I'm not risking some nefarious villain making off with my old (80s/90s?) Parker fountain pen!
;-D

* hypothetical use of past tense. No items of stationery were purloined or misappropriated in the imagination of this post.
 
hotmetal said:
I can't help but think that a ne'er-do-well or buzzardly crim would not know what a Mont Blanc was if it were shoved up his nose, but I can well imagine the solicitor might not want to take that chance! It's called putting yourself in harm's way.
Then again he probably parked his Porsche outside and has a luxury watch on.

On the infinitesimal chance that I change career to the legal profession I shall wear my Timex, get the bus to work and use a biro I stole from Argos or Metro bank! ;-D
Click to expand...
Thanks for the laugh :ROFLMAO:
 
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