Help me choose my first fountain pen!

[garrinfraze]

Hey guys! My name is Garrin and I am new to fountain pens. My obsession with the beauty and sleekness of fountain pens through my obsession with watches, which I got into without researching first and bought some... Erm... less than great watches that have been horrible to try and sell. I don't want to make that same mistake with pens, so I have done some research, and would like to ask for a wee bit of help from some experts. I have found two pens that I really like that are close to my price range (<$40 US) and would like to hear some input from you guys about them and possibly some suggestions for other pens in my price range. The first is the Pilot Metropolitan and the second is the Lamy Safari.

I am looking at the fine nib versions of both of these, seeing as I have extremely small handwriting and it wouldn't be a great idea for me to have thick lines in my writing.

Another question I had was what type of ink would you reccomend I check out? I am really interested in colors that are very different from what I may see at school. For example bronze, or gold. Maybe a coppery red. Any reccomendations would be great!


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[jar]

Welcome home. Pull up a stump and set a spell. Those are two nice pens.

[Anne]

Welcome Garrin! I don't think you will regret purchasing those two pens. Maybe look into TWSBI and possibly an Extra Fine nib?
There are Sooo many choices and brands of ink to choose from. Diamine inks are nice/reasonably priced, and as far as goldish inks are concerned, the only one that I can think of now is from KWZ - a lot of people like that brand but I have yet to try them.
Good Luck and Have Fun with it all :)

[Waski_the_Squirrel]

When I read your thread title and had not read your entry, the two pens which popped into my head are the exact two you cited.

Of the two, I prefer the Lamy Safari. It looks good, it works well, it's rugged, and it writes well. Now, admittedly, this is all true of the Pilot Metropolitan, but I still prefer the Safari. Of course, if you don't like the grip on the Safari, your decision is made. Also, the Pilot fine will be somewhat finer than that of the Safari. If you watch prices, maybe you can get one of each? My main objection to the Pilot is that I don't care for the feel of the pen in my hand, but I can't quantify why...and I own a lot of Pilots.

As for an ink: from your list, one that I love is Noodler's Antietam. It qualifies as a coppery red. Diamine Ancient Copper is a similar color, though I have had nib crusting issues with it. Another fun one is KWZ IG Gold. It is an iron gall ink that goes on fairly yellow and then changes to a darker gold. Another bronze ink would be Noodler's Rome Burning. That's a fun ink because it has a nice color, and a fun bonus is that you can wash off the page under the faucet and be left with violet writing.

[bjmoose]

Hello & welcome. I have a Pilot Metropolitan with an EF nib, which I like a lot. Never tried the Safari, but a lot of folks like those pens....

[KKay]

I like the Pilot Prera or the Faber-Castell Loom. I've never used the two you mentioned. Sorry I cannot help you more.

[DaveT]

Garrin, Hello and welcome from Indiana!

When you are ready to stray from cartridge/converter pens take a look at Twsbi pens.

[gbryal]

I've never tried to sell a pen, but I think the Lamys even go up in value if they are in good condition and in a seasonal color that goes away.

These days I'd personally recommend you go for the TWSBI Eco in Extra Fine. Especially since if you want to go to gold nibs later on you can: http://www.fpnibs.com/en/72-eco

The Eco is $28.99 from TWSBI, and is a piston filler. It doesn't have a prescriptive triangle grip like the Safari (which I don't mind, but many people dislike).

Every Pilot I have from a Metropolitan to a Custom Heritage 912 is well-made. They seem to have the same quality standards throughout all of their manufacturing. If you want to go slightly fancier on a Pilot you can get a Prera for under $40.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Hey guys! My name is Garrin and I am new to fountain pens. My obsession with the beauty and sleekness of fountain pens through my obsession with watches, which I got into without researching first and bought some... Erm... less than great watches that have been horrible to try and sell. I don't want to make that same mistake with pens, so I have done some research, and would like to ask for a wee bit of help from some experts. I have found two pens that I really like that are close to my price range (<$40 US) and would like to hear some input from you guys about them and possibly some suggestions for other pens in my price range. The first is the Pilot Metropolitan and the second is the Lamy Safari.

I am looking at the fine nib versions of both of these, seeing as I have extremely small handwriting and it wouldn't be a great idea for me to have thick lines in my writing.

Another question I had was what type of ink would you reccomend I check out? I am really interested in colors that are very different from what I may see at school. For example bronze, or gold. Maybe a coppery red. Any reccomendations would be great!


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If Lamy Copper Orange ink is still available, it's a nice tawny hue and very well-behaved.

[TropicalPenGal]

Welcome to the wonderful world of fountain pens! Both those pens are very popular, I'm sure you know. I've owned several Safaris in the past but I don't ever use them, because the writing experience with me isn't great...they are too broad for me, even in an F nib. I think Pilot is a great value, but my suggestion is to look at the Prera, in an F nib, which is finer than the Lamy's fine. It was my gateway pen several years ago, and I now have 5 of them, and they still make it into my regular rotation because they're pretty, write like a dream, and I love the way the cap clicks on. They'll run $25 - $35 (try Amazon) and to me are much nicer than the Metropolitan. They are not large pens, but are quite well made. YMMV though...

[bamapendude]

I have the pens you mention and more. I really like my Lamy however lately the Metropolitain has been my daily writer and pocket carry pen. Its really growing on me. Dont overlook a Jinhao pen the can be purchased for a couple bucks then spend $15-20 on a replacement fine or ef nib from Goulet Pens or other vendor and you may be shocked on how nice a pen you may have.

[Wahl]

Hi Garrin, :welcome:

[Frank]

:welcome:

[WmEdwards]

Hi Garrin:

I would suggest that you try and borrow and write with a demonstrator Lamy in a pen store, if possible. You will either love or loath the grip on that pen. The Pilot is a nice well made pen. I would look at Noodlers for good value "starter" inks, although you will be doing a lot of converter filling if you write a lot. 😀 The TWISBI pens are another good value in an inexpensive pen as you get a piston fill. Welcome to the world of finer writing.

[VertOlive]

Welcome! Which pen did you decide to go with?