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.
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Buying Used Vintage Pens
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.
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