JetPens.com, based on San Jose, California, is a full-service online stationery and related item stores. They stock pens (rollerball, gel, etc.), pencils, multi-pens, dip pens, fountain pens, brush pens, paintbrushes, and all the accessories such as replacement parts, nibs, ink, and so on. They also stock paper, notebook, diary, planner, all sorts of covers, all sorts of refill pages. They have stamps, stickers, washi tapes, pen holders, pen bags... Basically, if it's related to something writing, they probably have it. Yes, they have wax seal stuff too. They have school / backpacks too, plus other things.
The prices are quite reasonable, and if you order $35 USD of stuff it's free shipping within the US.
I originally only saw them as a fountain pen and supplies vendor, but they sell a LOT more than that. This is their Pens menu:
Jetpens' Pens menu... It's that big and detailed!
As the menus indicated, they have full buying guides (linking to their own stuff, of course) on what is best for what purpose. They periodically update old ones and create new ones, as inventory refreshes every year.
They also have an extensive presence on Youtube.
If you are in the US, and interested in getting stationery related stuff (not just pens), check out Jetpens.com.
Previously, we mentioned sheening and shimmering fountain pen inks. But what other types of "special" inks are there? Noodler makes the most of these special inks, so I'll mention a bunch of them here:
Anti-feather ink -- ink designed specifically NOT to feather, even on horrible paper such as newsprint, very opposite of fast-drying. Noodler's version is called "X-feather".
Anti-freeze ink -- Noodler's makes a series of inks that will not freeze until -20 F that they call "Polar" series. Yes, the pen will still write with temperature below zero! However, it also feathers very heavily.
Colorfast ink -- ink that will not wash out, and highly resistant to solvents. These go by various names depending on the vendor. Noodler calls theirs "bulletproof". These inks are hated by forgers and check-washers, who relies on solvents that can dissolve the ink... So they can write in a different amount. Colorfast ink makes that very difficult if not impossible.
Fast-drying ink -- made to help left-handed writers in a left-to-right writing world, these inks are dry to touch after maybe 10 seconds, even on super-slow paper such as Rhodia paper.
Highlighter ink -- technically they are made to refill highlighters, but some of them are fountain pen compatible, such as Noodler's Electric Color, Dragon Catfish, or Year of the Golden Pig.
Invisible Ink -- these are only visible under UV light. Some can be mixed with regular ink, or use alone to send secret messages.
Iron-gall ink -- some of the earliest ink are iron-gall inks. They use a mixture of iron salts and tannic acid to create a purple-black or brown-black ink. However, these inks are acidic and not suitable for fountain pens. "Modern" iron-gall inks that are marked "safe for fountain pen use" are available, and they make marks that are extremely difficult to erase, as the ink penetrates into the paper deeply. Iron gall ink should NOT be left in a pen that's only infrequently used, even "modern" iron-gall ink. Also see "pigment-based ink".
Lubricated ink -- some fountain pens are known to be "dry"... they don't feed much ink to the paper, making writing a bit difficult. A lubricated ink can help these pens perform properly. Keep in mind that a "wet" pen (one that already feeds a lot of ink) will likely leak badly with lubricated ink. Also, some older pens with piston type fillers or converters can benefit from lubricated ink.
Pigment-based ink -- similar to colorfast ink, and iron-gall ink, pigment ink is almost impossible to erase. However, pigment-based ink uses carbon-based pigments, and has a similar drying/clogging problem like iron-gall ink. Either use the pen frequently, or use a different ink. Wash the pen out thoroughly first before loading new ink.
Security Ink -- another Noodler special, their "Warden" series ink is not only colorfast, it is laser resistant, and they are mixed with a slightly different formula PER BOTTLE, so they cannot be replicated. A forger cannot replicate your signature unless they also stole your specific bottle of Warden ink. Else a forensics expert can tell the difference between the ink used in the signatures even if they are the same brand and color.
So now you've heard about a couple of the special inks available on the market, esp. those from Noodler. I hope they sound interesting to you, and stay tuned for more fountain pen esoterica!
Unless you're in the fountain pen community, you would not know there are certain... "fancy fountain pen ink" and new ones developed all the time. Most people expect black ink and blue ink, but there are actually dozens of fountain pen companies all over the world, and they launch new color lines all the time. Some of them can get really fancy, such as sheening ink (shows different colors depending on how much ink you use), and shimmering ink (includes sparkles!)
SIDENOTE: Fountain pen ink are dye-based, not carbon-based (aka "India ink") If you use carbon-based ink in a fountain pen you'll clog it. Same with "calligraphic ink" unless it is specifically labelled as "fountain pen safe". Calligraphic ink are often not dye-based, but pigment-based, and if they dry inside a fountain pen, the pen is ruined as those will NOT wash out. The pen will be permanently clogged by paint pigments. Calligraphic dip pens, with no feed mechanism, are not affected this way. TL;DR-- ONLY use "fountain pen ink" in fountain pens.
There are other types of fountain pen ink, but they are more about ink's resistance to environmental challenges, like archival ink (no-fade), water resistant ink, quick-dry ink, and so on. How well they work also depends on what paper they are paired with. And that's another topic altogether.
Sheening Ink
Sheening ink with its unique dye formulation, forms different colors depending on its concentration. This type of ink is typically slow to dry, and requires a thick pen stroke (made by special fountain pens with stub nib or wider, a cotton swab, or a brush) to see the multitude of colors from a single ink. Sometimes, it's just different shades of the same color, but sometimes, it's distinct colors or mixes thereof. You usually need a fountain pen of at least a broad nib, if not wider, to see the sheening colors, but it is beautiful. Also, you need paper that's NOT that absorbent, because the ink cannot "pool" to create the sheen if it gets absorbed into the paper!
Shimmering Ink
Shimmering ink contains shimmer particles that reflect light, so once they get on paper the inked area will "sparkle" if you shift the paper a bit under the light. However, the particles are known to clog some pens, and requires shaking before use as those particles can "settle" to the bottom of the ink bottle. It is sometimes added to sheening ink so you have an ink that both sheens and shimmers. Similar to sheening ink, they do not dry quickly. And thus, they require paper that are not very absorbent.
Watch Brian Goulet of Goulet Pen show off his "top 10 sheening inks"... Keep in mind more than a few of these inks are also shimmering inks.
Conclusion
There are a lot of developments in fountain pen ink, and the best known ones, sheening and shimmering inks, can produce some stunning visuals with the right paper and pen. And they are relatively cheap compared to cost of a new pen, esp. high-end pens, and can add to your enjoyment.
Back on June 8th, I mentioned that I had placed an order for a used Sheaffer fountain pen on Mercari.
It never came. I was forced to cancel the order on the 12th, even though I had given the guy 2 weeks to ship the darn pen. Original order was placed on 2024/05/29. Took him 3 days to create the tracking number, and it NEVER came off "label created" status, which means the pen never got to the post office to be mailed/shipped.
He could have cancelled my order, if he can't find the pen. But he didn't. I have no choice but to get Mercari customer buyer support involved, and I got my refund, plus $5 credit for my troubles. Eh... okay, thanks. My first order EVER on Mercari, and it was a dud.
Probably should have ordered on eBay or Etsy instead.
Still, I kept looking. This time I set my bar a little lower, and I found a Sheaffer No Nonsense vintage (probably from the 1970s?). With the $5 credit, I'm paying less than $15 including shipping. It's not worth more than that, but those old pens are supposedly smooth. This one was listed as in good condition with an italic broad nib.
Sheaffer No Nonsense Fountain Pens, photo courtesy of https://www.peytonstreetpens.com/sheaffer-no-nonsense-fountain-pens-original-version-various-series-new-old-stock.html
Label's created, but that's easy. We'll see if it gets shipped on Monday. THAT will tell me if this seller is serious.
EDIT: USPS tracking says it'll be here by Friday 21-JUN-2024.
And that is one old pen, almost as old as I am. But you can find even older fountain pens for under $100 USD. With some proper maintenance and some parts, these fountain pens, unless they were loaded with corrosive ink and left to dry and clog, should last almost forever until they are physically damaged beyond repair. I've seen some fountain pens from the turn of 20th century (early 1900s) that can still be bought for about 100 - 200 USD. Rare, yes. They are probably worth a bit more than that if they survived this long and is in a decent condition. Could be over over 1000 if the right model or right provenance.
But remember, the Sheaffer No Nonsense, already a cheap pen, is pushing 50 years old, and can be had for under $15 shipped.
There are some Esterbrooks from WW2 years (1940s) complete with a desk holder that can be bought now for $25 or so. Look on eBay.
As long as you hunt for it, you don't need to spend a lot of money collecting fountain pens, even ones that are older than you.
P.S. Pen is here ahead of schedule (on Jun 20th, 2024). I'll post an update in a day or two complete with writing samples.
Recently, Taylor Swift set the fountain pen world on fire by releasing her own fountain pen... only one, for the low-low price of only $15 USD as a part of her Tortured Poet Department Tour. It promptly sold out, and speculators are relisting them on eBay and other places for 3-10x the original price.
Screenshot of Taylor Swift Pen Listing on Her Own website
Keep in mind that At $15, this is cheaper than "cheaper mainstream" fountain pens such as Pilot Metropolitan or Lamy Safari, which usually retail in the $25-35 USD range. Only the beginner fountain pens like Pilot Kakuno or Platinum Preppy, the disposable fountain pens like Pilot Varsity or the Chinese branded Xpen or Aretza disposable fountain pens, and a good majority of Chinese fountain pens, are cheaper.
The question is, are Swifties (Taylor Swift fans) actually going to learn how to use fountain pens and write poems? Or are these pens just going to sit in a shelf, or worse, in a storage box until X years later? When you think about it, the Swifties will probably pay $150 instead of $15. And I applaud TS for pricing it at $15, but she really should have cut the max per order qty to 2 instead of 4 to discourage flipping.
Of course, you're really just buying a logo, since it's pretty obvious the pen's made in China for about $5 or less.
I mean, I wouldn't mind getting one for my own collection, but I am NOT paying 2x-5x retail.
The problem with fountain pens and related items is they tend to... multiply,, as you end up buying more and more of them even though you don't really need all of them. And the pens aren't exactly... cheap, unless you intentionally limit yourself to buy the lowest end of the market, i.e. Chinese (and sometimes, Indian) pens. And these are so generic, you may decry the lack of "quality". But is it really that lacking? And let's also discuss two alternative sources of fountain pens that are a bit better, but with their own set of risks and rewards.
There is another source of pens... used vintage pens on sale at eBay, Mercari, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and so on. Fountain pens lasts almost forever with some proper maintenance, unless they suffer catastrophic damage like broken barrel. Usually nibs or nib units can be replaced, and internal bits can also be replaced with rebuilt or replacement parts. Eyedropper conversion may also be possible (where with addition of O-ring, the entire interior of barrel is converted into an ink reservoir. The sellers can easily look up what similar items sold for, so you are unlikely to pick up something for a small fraction of its worth, However, you can pick up something vintage for not a lot of money. For example, I ordered a Schaeffer fountain pen, probably 20+ years old, with an Italic M nib, for about $25. We'll see when it gets here. Mercari will often sweeten the pot by giving you $5 credit for your first order. eBay often have coupons for certain market segments. Keep an eye out for them.
Buying Chinese for "Commodity" type pens
Chinese pens offer tremendous value with virtually no brand at all. It's all about the price. I picked up this set of 7 pens for less than $6 on Temu, and it contains a whole set of pens and nibs, preassembled, with nib sizes as follows: 0.5, 0.7, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0. And these aren't dip pens, but cartridge fillers with converter included. So what we have here is M, B, 1.0 stub, 1.5 stub, 2.0 stub, 2.5 rake, and 3.0 rake. While I doubt I'll get much of a chance to use the super-wides, I probably will ink up the 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 and try them.
Also, if you plan to share the hobby, you probably should buy some REALLY cheap Chinese fountain pens to give away. Recently Chinese markets are flooded with the retractable tip fountain pens with plastic barrels and if you buy 4, it's just $3.59 on Temu. And yes, it has ink. You would rather lose these than your $25 pen, or godforbid, $250 pen, right? I actually bought one of these before, in .38 nib, and it's actually VERY smooth writing pen.
I also picked up a glass dip pen for $1.99, just for funsies, and a desk pen holder for it also for $1.99. I have plenty of ink for the moment, that's mainly for show and funsies.
Ever thought about buying Indian?
If you want something with a bit more support, another source of pens that's slightly more premium with a good choice of nibs, but still very affordable, is Fountain Pen Revolution of Texas. They have a hook up with fountain pen factories in India so they can offer brand new fountain pens that don't look like generic Chinese pens, yet are affordable starting as low as $15, with some premium versions costing quite a bit more, of course. Their pens use either #5.5 or #6 nibs. And they can be fully disassembled for cleaning and some parts replaced if need be, esp. the nib and feed. I actually ordered 2 pens from them, with 2 extra nibs and feeds that's a bit different. The two Kanwrite pens are about $25-35 each with premium flex and omniflex nib. I've already received them and I need to ink them up and test them this weekend. Checking their catalog shows that they have some brand new but older model pens, such as the Darjeeling V1, that starts at $15.
In conclusion
Not all of us can afford to buy an Esterbrook Estee, a Pelikan M800, much less a Namiki Emperor. However, that should not stop you from enjoy the hobby. You can look for a sale, or you can simply shop the lower end of the market, and enjoy the different nibs and designs available on the lower end of the market.
NOTE: This is not an encyclopedia entry, so I can't list EVERY single nib available.
One of the more interesting aspects of fountain pen collecting is the wide nib variation available, and the existence of custom nibs, so you can truly customize the writing experience.
What is a Nib?
To put it plainly, the nib is how the ink, stored in your fountain pen's reservoir, gets down to the paper via the feed. It's the metal bit.
Most bits are exposed, but there are also integrated nibs (built into the barrel), recessed nibs, and even retractable nibs (Pilot's Vanishing Point is the most famous).
Some nibs are integrated into the feed, creating nib units, so you must replace them together. While other pens allow you to mix and match different nibs and feeds, as long as they fit together back into the barrel. The feed itself can be made of plastic or ebonite, which is a type of rubber.
Then we come to nib "sizes", "materials", and "tips" or "grinds".
Nib Sizes
The first fountain pens were hand-made, and only when industrial age came along that nibs are mass produced, and became standardized. However, each penmaker has their own designation for certain sizes, depending on the pen barrel size they offer. Bock nibs, for example, have a single digit number, like #6 nib, while JoWo nibs, have a 3 digit number.
A single penmaker can offer nibs in multiple sizes. Sailor, for example, offers 3 different nib sizes, one per product line, each of different material and tip design availability.
Generally speaking, the larger the nib, the more "flexible" it would be (see next section on material), and the more ink it can deliver, resulting in "wetter" and smoother writing experience. However, the material used will also matter.
Nib Materials
The nibs can be made of different materials. The earliest inks are corrosive, which means you can't use hard metals like steel. Instead, gold-laminated or gold-plated metals all the way up to gold alloys are used for their anti-corrosive properties, and that drives up costs. To increase hardness in the softer nibs, the tips of nibs are often made of iridium. But the high cost of iridium lead to it being replaced with cheaper metals since the 1950s. A common replacement is Rhodium. However, some pen makers still make iridium tipped pen nibs as a part of their premium line (with corresponding high prices).
NOTE: the color of the nib does NOT indicate the material of the nib. Nibs can plated with other metals to present as silver/steel, gold or even black. Some tips are two-toned.
The nib material affects the amount the nib tip flexes, which can be either a good or bad thing depending on your writing style. A rigid nib means your writing will exhibit the same width no matter which direction you write, while a flexible tip (or just "flex nib") means your writing will appear to be more ornate, more resemble older style dip pen output or calligraphic output, as because you can vary the line width by varying the pressure you exert on the tip, which then affects the amount of ink transferred to the paper. But exerting too much force on the can damage the tip.
NOTE: An "ideal" fountain pen should require ZERO effort to write... as you simply move the pen, the tip barely touching the paper, ink flow smoothly, and line was created effortlessly, no matter which way your pen stroke goes.
Nib Tip Designs
The nib tip design itself, the part that actually touches the paper, affects the final delivery of the ink, and thus have great effect on the final output. The "shape" of the contact patch (where tip touches the paper) affects the line being drawn, in both size and shape. And one can further change the contact patch by either changing the angle the pen is held, or use a non-round tip which will produce output that differ depending on the direction of motion. And this lead to a whole range of tip designs for different purposes.
If you want to see the output of these nib tips, go to GouletPens.s "Nib Nook" which contains sample output from most of the pens they've ever sold, all tips, and all nib materials, and put several pens side by side for comparison.
The tip designs are sometimes called nib grinds, as it is possible for "nibsmiths" to modify an existing tip into a custom grind (which we will discuss next section "Custom Nibs").
Generally speaking, the finer the tip, the less ink it delivers, and therefore the "drier" it will feel. Conversely, the wider the tip, the more ink it uses, and the smoother and wetter it feels.
Most tips you see and buy nowadays are round, and the most popular sizes of the round tips are named EF (extra fine), F (fine), M (medium), and B (bold or broad). But there is no standard definition of such. Generally speaking, a Japanese pen would have thinner lines than their their European counterparts, even if they have the same tip size label (F, for example), due to Japanese emphasis on smaller tighter and more complex characters, and generally Chinese pens lean the same way. Also keep in mind that the exact width of the line drawn will depend on the ink and paper combination as well.
Kaweco offers a "double broad", or "BB", which obviously, is even broader than broad, and relatively rare. Pilot has a "coarse" (C) nib which is roughly equivalent to double broad.
A somewhat less common tip design is called "stub", sometimes "italic". This tip is not round at the bottom, but it's actually flat, or more accurately, a rounded rectangle. This generally results it writing fat vertical lines, but thin horizontal lines, and may be available in multiple sizes, and sold as "calligraphic fountain pens", due to its ability to write a Gothic type script. They are often available in 1.0 or 1.1mm, 1.5mm, some may go as far as 1.9 / 2.0 mm. If you add a slant to the stub/italic tip, you turn the tip into an "oblique" tip. Lamy's "left-handed" (LH) nib is considered an oblique nib, making it one of the few "factory" oblique nib available.
An even less common nib is the "architect nib", also known as "Arab/Hebrew nib" due to it often used to write the cursive required in those languages. Very interestingly, Lamy calls their version the "cursive" nib, also nicknamed the "Hanzi" nib because it's labelled with the CJK character æ¼¢ implying that it's better for Asian writing, I guess? FWIW, architect nibs are really named after the blocky print style architects often use. And even these come in variations, as some are curved, so it's more forgiving, while others are optimized for a single holding angle and going off it means the pen will no longer write properly.
Another rare nib is the "fude nib", as it looks like a nib with a upward bent tip at the very end, as if it's broken. But it's that way because it can vary the line width DEPENDING ON the angle it's held at. Hold it steeper, and it will produce a thinner line, while holding it flatter to the paper, and and you get broad strokes. It is meant to emulate a Japanese brush pen. There are Chinese "art pens" that are very cheap with this nib.
Lamy has a special "beginner nib" called the "A" nib that's VERY round and spherical, and very easy to write with on their beginner fountain pens, the Lamy ABC series, designed for children, but it's also available for their Nexx and Pelikano lines as well, all of which fits below the popular Safari line.
Recently, some new interesting nibs came out of China: the "heartbeat nib", and the "long knife" nib. In most nibs, the dividing line that separates the nib into two tines is a straight line. But the heartbeat nib added two "heartbeats" to that. Long knife nib, aka "long blade nib", is marketed by Hongdian / Kaigelu brand of pens (same group of penmakers as Asvine). It is not clear whether long knife and long blade are the same nib, or are they referring to two different nib families. One Reddit post claims "long blade" is a Chinese take on the architect nib (see above), while "long knife" is a Chinese take on the naginata-togi nib (zoom + architect) which is explained below under custom nibs.
For those who find EF is not thin enough, Platinum has an UEF nib (ultra-extra fine) that is even thinner.
Sailor pens of Japan is probably best known for having some exotic tips for their nibs. In addition to the "standard" EF, F, M, and B, they also have MF (medium fine), Z (Zoom), and MS (Music). Thanks to Brian Goulet of GouletPens.com, we know that Music is a special stub nib optimized for steep angles that gives wide variations in line width depending on pressure, and was for a while used to write music notation on music sheets, while Zoom is a tip that varies its line width depending on the angle held, similar to a fude tip, but more versatile and smoother.
Pilot actually has two more very rare tips called "posting" (P) and "waverly" (W), which are variations on their F (fine) tips. Posting nib has an upturned tip that if you apply slight pressure, you get a VERY thin line, and thus, is used on very thin paper to reduce feathering, while Waverly is a combination of "fude" and "oblique" tips, more suitable for lefties. However, they are only available on the Custom Heritage 912.
Sailor has an ultra-premium "naginata" line of 23K tips reserved for their top-of-the-line pens and not available separately. They come in the following variations: "naginata togi", "naginata emperor", "naginata fude de mannen", "naginata concord", "naginata cross point", naginata cross music, and naginata cross concord. The most famous and known of the naginata nibs are probably naginata-togi tips, which are sometimes abbreviated as NAG tips, but are also known as kodachi nibs. It is physically composed of multiple LAYER of tips. Kyuseido call their own version of this tip Sankakusen (triangle grind) as naginata togi has been trademarked by Sailor.
Custom Nibs
Most nibsmiths are subtractive artists. They can take a large nib, and grind away bits, creating a new tip that's smaller. But a few nibsmiths are also additive... and they can ADD bits to the tip to create new tip designs. Nagahara, who worked for Sailor, was the first, and many of the aforementioned naginata cross nibs are in fact, "stacked nibs" (multiple layers of nibs combined into a single nib).
One of the best contemporary stacked nib nibsmiths is Ralph of Regalia Writing Labs. And his experimental nibs are either insane or ingenious, probably both. He had a custom experimental triple-stack tip (made by welding 3 separate nibs together!), each of which is cut into 3 separate tines, so you see NINE tines in a 3x3 grid... which he called Ninth Symphony. And he has many experimental nibs that are even more elaborate.
There are other custom stacked nibs that can be used both right side up and upside down, or unique combination of angles that produce very interesting variations.
While these ultra-premium naginata-tipped pens from Sailor can cost you THOUSANDS of dollars each, a relatively simple architect grind can be done in less than an hour at a pen show, and typically cost less than $100, with the pen owner supplying the nib. Needless to say, this will completely void any warranty thereof.
White-label Nibs and Nib Units
Nib makers are a lot fewer nowadays, and may penmakers simply buy nibs from other makers. Some of the more famous nib makes are BOCK nibs from Peter Bock AG, JoWo, and Schmidt, all of whom are in Germany (and Lamy, of course) , but others that sell nibs and nib units to penmakers includes Kanwrite and Magna Carta of India.
Indeed, some of the more famous pens you buy may be using a "white-label" nib from these makers. Visconti used almost exclusively BOCK nibs. I read somewhere they try to bring it back in-house with the new gold nibs, but they have to ask Bock for help with quality control.
Japanese and Chinese penmakers tend to make their own nibs.
In Conclusion
That covers 99% of stuff you need to know about nibs, well, maybe except how to adjust them if they don't feed properly. I think GouletPens and Goldspot pens have videos on that, and if you're in New York, Fountain Pen Hospital can adjust them for you. Or wait for the annual pen show to come to a city near you. Usually multiple nibsmiths will be attending, so book some time and let them take a look if you want a pen working right.
If you have questions about fountain pen nibs, comment below and maybe I'll add them to the list.
Not quite sure how it happened, but I got food poisoning after getting out of the hospital on Tuesday. I suspect it's on Friday, when I was out walking about and picked up some snacks and dimsum, probably the snack, a mix of peanuts, edamame, and dried bait fish. My stomach started spasming couple hours later, threw up 2-3 times, ended up with NO food for 24 hours. Basically subsisted on candy and chocolate. What's worse somehow EVERY ache on my body came back, and since I can't keep any food down, no medicine would go down either. Tried taking Acetaminophen, came right back out an hour later. So it's double or triple the suffering. I count it as lesser blessing I didn't shat in my bed, but it was close.
On the other hand, the edema (fluid retention) in my calf is mostly gone. There's still some around my feet and ankles, but those would go down with time, I suspect.
It's now Sunday morning, and the symptoms from the food poisoning have mostly subsided. Got some oatmeal flavored with a bit of maple syrup. I think I'll do with half a cup for now.
Now some fountain pen talk.
One of the major criticisms for Chinese fountain pens is that they are very often... "homages" of western pens, or they are of very low quality with horrible tips. Part of it is they are often cheap as dirt compared to Western pens. You can often find full metal Chinese fountain pens for less than $5 on Chinese sites on Aliexpress, Temu, and so on. The cheapest fountain pens outside of China you'll find are disposable fountain pens like Pilot Varsity. Next step up you're looking at Platinum Preppy, at about $6-7, which is, of course, plastic. Basically, you're not going to find anything more "high-class" with metal body until you hit the $20-25 range, such as the Pilot Metropolitan, or Lamy AL-Star (which is very lightweight aluminum and costs $40-60 unless you shop around, and looks exactly like its cheaper cousin, the resin-based Lamy Safari, which is 30-40)
As I said, you can get a very nice full metal WEIGHTY Chinese fountain pen, directly from China, for a pittance. I bought the Hero A11 for under $5 off Temu, and it writes pretty darn well, if you ask me, even compared to the favorites like Lamy. It comes with its own piston filler, not sure if it's a converter or not, I didn't try to disassemble it yet. Just filled it with ink and started writing.
I got a couple more pens in my next shipment from Temu, so stay tuned. One's a Jinhou "porcelain art" special, then one with what looks like a fude nib, and finally a retractable nib pen, which was apparently all the rage in China. The Jinhou is about $8, and the other are about $2 each. We shall see if they are garbage or not next week.
My Aliexpress order is finally here... Only took them 8 days.
Anyway, adding another fountain pen and and 2 bottles of ink to my collection, which currently consists of:
* Crappy Lamy Safari CLONE from Temu (with included black cart ink, at least 5 if not 10) (about $1.00)
* Jinhou X850 from Temu, black, about $1.50
* Platinum Preppy in see-through blue from Amazon (about $6?) currently MIA (whole pen case is missing, just need to find it)
* Hero A11 "Black Forest" (new)
* Lamy Safari in Black with Black trim (genuine from Lamy store) (new)
As for ink, I currently have:
* Banmi Dragon
* Banmi Dolphin
* Generic black cartridge (for the Safari clone)
* Noodler's Blue (was for the Preppy?)
* Karkos Black
* Karkos Blue
* A couple genuine Lamy T10 carts for the Safari, forgot which color(s).
Ah, but I have the additional stuff coming in from Temu...
* A Jinhou 950 "Blue and White Porcelain" pen for $7.29
* A generic 0.7mm fountain pen with an "art tip" (fude nib?) for $1.59
* 20 more 3.4mm ink carts for $1.19
* 2 generic 3.4mm converters for $2.39 (converts fountain pens to use bottled ink instead of carts)
* A "retractable tip fountain pen 0.38 mm nib" for $1.59
And one more item from Amazon...
* Platinum Preppy M nib black (I bought a converter from LONG time ago for the blue one, which is MIA)
Now I just need a converter for my Lamy Safari... :) Which is like $5 on Jetpens. I am also eyeing one of their closeout limited edition Safaris for $30... But that'll have to wait when I *do* have money.
Don't have much in terms of paper, but I did buy a Rhodia A5 notebook at my local stationery store (Patrick and Co) for funsies. It was like $8. Most of my current fountain pen writing was in a diary I bought off Temu, nice paper, but it has a little bit of bleed through.
This hobby can add up, but if you do a bit of bargain hunting on Temu and such, you'll get a LOT MORE for your money. I am of course NOT saying that these fountain pens are comparable to Japanese (Platinum, Pilot, Sailor), German (Lamy, etc.), muchless Italian (Visconti) craftsmanship, but they are also 1/10 or 1/100th the cost. Platinum Preppy can be had for $6, but is plastic-y. You need to go up to something like Metropolitan to look less plastic-y. Lamy Safari is also plastic-y and starts at $30 (discounted) or $37 (official store), and you need Lamy AL or Lamy 2000 to get to metal body which costs significantly more. Visconti pens STARTS at $120 and goes up to THOUSANDS of bucks.
That Hero A11 full metal black cost me less than $5. I think it was $4.25 or so on Aliexpress.
I think I've wrote enough. Now I need some breakfast.
