Recommend your favorite pen $21 or less

[inkyletters]

Preferably a fine/ Asian medium writer. Chinese eBay pens very welcome
To be added to my collection of "school" pens for my everyday bag. Planning to have a higher end pen to live in my desk, always inked in black.
But I want ALL the colors avaliable to me when takin notes, ergo I need ALL the pens

[inkyletters]

Bonus points if it's under $13!

[Paul-H]

Hi

You cannot go wrong with almost any Jinhao Pen but their x450, x750 and 159 are stand-out pens for me and all of them should be well within your budget. Actually for $21 you might even come close to getting all 3 of them

Paul

[erpe]

There will be a lot of Chinese pens coming already so to balance a bit: KaWeCo sport classic

[Cookies]

The Pilot Metropolitan can't be beat. The Nemosine Singularity is also a good option. And the Ohto f-lapa/spirit would fit your requirements. Nice smooth nibs on those.

The Pilot Penmanship and Plumix are my favorite under $21 pens, but the nibs don't fit your requirement.

[Dreck]

Noodler's Konrad.

Hands down my best $20 pen purchase to date.

[Jeph]

Hero 616 (Parker 45 clone) maybe? Of course I just snagged another real 45 for less than a Hero but that is always a crap shoot.

[krazyklod]

You can always scrap the budget and go vintage! My daily is a Parker Vac with a couple of scrapes but it was fairly cheap and has a flex nib.

That being said, Noodler's and Hero are always a great bet.

[ardgedee]

You can get a pack of 10 Hero 616 pens for $15 including shipping -- sometimes less -- if you search around Ebay and Aliexpress for a little while.

Hero's manufacturing is inconsistent at best, but at a $1.50 a pop, it doesn't matter if a couple are clinkers. Use them to practice your pen tuning skills.

My every day carry often includes Pelikans and vintage Watermans, but usually includes at least one Hero 616 as well. They can't be beat for the price.

[ac12]

Pilot: Metropolitan ($15), 78G ($12)

Baoer: 388 (7 for $25), 801 (6 for $20)
- The Baoer 388 needed nib adjusting to get a decent ink flow.
- Both of these are available in a Chinese M, but the M on the 801 is finer than the M of the 388.
- The low price of the multi-pen package sets make good pens to use as gifts or give-aways.

I am looking at a couple more Chinese pens to add to my "office pen" list.

[Kaputnik]

You can always scrap the budget and go vintage! My daily is a Parker Vac with a couple of scrapes but it was fairly cheap and has a flex nib…

Or look for budget vintage pens. Pick up a bunch of Esterbrook Js, LJs, and SJs for as little as possible, buy a few #16 sacs, some shellac, and a little talc, and have fun.

[Lady Onogaro]

Pilot Kakuno in F point. You can get a Sailor Clear Candy for $10.00 plus shipping at Nanami Paper.

[AndyT]

Being frugal and sensible about it, I'll go along with the Hero 616 and Baoer 388 as mentioned above. Side bet on the Jinhao 15 which could easily be mistaken for a Waterman Serenité at distances over 50 yards. But my favourite pen at under $21 would be the Noodler's Nib Creaper.

[welch]

Ebay Parker 45. You can swap out any part you don't like.

A black Esterbrook full J just sold for $25 on EBay. Esties are always great: your choice of about two dozen nibs. Easy to replace the sac if you get a dead one. Esterbrooks are some of the most durable pens ever made.

[VertOlive]

I vote Pilot Plumix! 9$, a little more for a convertor. Love the italic nib on mine! It's an entertaining shape to boot, sort of like a small squid.

[redmanca]

I'm fairly new, but I have two safaris that I got for around $23 from amazon, which is pretty close.

I also have a Pilot Parallel, which isn't super practical for ordinary writing, but is a super pen for $10.

[Wile E Coyote]

Pilot Varsity 7 Pack; $18.46.

[Paul-H]

Also the Keigelue 316 can be had for around $21,if you go for the box less option and that pen is very hard to beat at that price.

Paul

[Sailor Kenshin]

And now the Hero 359 at about $15....and the Jinhao 599 direct from China for $6.

Both resemble the Safari, both write well, and now the Hero comes with nibs from xf to m.

[inkyletters]

I currently have 5 preppies, 2 hero 529, 2 generic paper chase for target international cartridge style ones (desperately want more of these!), and now I have a red f hero 359 on the way.
I'm thinking about a keigelu, more 359's, jinhao x750 in shimmering sands, and a pilot metropolitan f when they come out in may.
I have an aversion to gold hardware on my pens (not sure why) and I'm considering the singularity and a noodlers of some sort.
Thanks so much for the responses, I'm having great fun adding to the list saved on my computer. I love that people share my obsession here.