What are your favorite cheap fountain pens?

[top pen]

Sometimes its nice to carry pens that don't cost very much as you don't feel as worried if it goes astray or you don't feel so bad if you drop the pen etc.

What are your favorite cheap pens? Also what price range do you define as cheap?

For me my two favorites are the Parker Frontier and Parker Jotter / 15 ranges and define cheap as sub £15. It will be interesting to know as I always like to add to my cheap bunch of pens

[AndyT]

Hero 616 (£10 for 10)
Baoer 388 (about £2)
Platignum Studio #5 (can be had for a fiver if you shop around)
Pilot Penmanship (£8)
Noodler's Nib Creaper (really pushing the boat out, this, at £12.50)

[RuiFromUK]

There are three that I enjoy using and mess around with:

1. Faber Castell school fountain pen

http://www.amazon.co.uk/School-Fountain-Pen-Cartridges-Nib/dp/B000WGWQ7C/ref=sr_1_51?s=officeproduct&ie=UTF8&qid=1403548063&sr=1-51&keywords=faber+castell+fountain+pen

2. Herlitz my.pen:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Herlitz-my-pen-M-Nib-Fountain-Pen/dp/B001R8D59C/ref=sr_1_2?s=officeproduct&ie=UTF8&qid=1403548202&sr=1-2&keywords=herlitz+my.pen

3. Pilot Plumix:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pilot-Pluminix-Fountain-Medium-Point/dp/B004KVZTHE/ref=sr_1_3?s=officeproduct&ie=UTF8&qid=1403548348&sr=1-3&keywords=pilot+pluminix

All have different colours and I listed them in no particular order. They all write well and can take some punishment to a certain level.

Please do not tell any of the fpGeeks that I meet with in London every month. They will think I have lost it altogether (and they are probably right).

[Polyhistor]

Normally, I would have said a Kaweco Sport, but as of today, there's also this lovely Reform P125 NOS that I got off of German eBay for a couple of bucks. Might add a second one or a 1745 or two some time. Plus, I just recently bought a Pilot 78g, which has since childhood days been a favorite. And it was still cheap even though I ordered it from the US.

In my case, cheap would be up to maybe 20€/±25$, quite the same as your price range.

[mhosea]

Though it took me quite awhile to adjust it properly, my Hero 9300 writes like an expensive pen.

I like my Sheaffer No-Nonsense and Parker 45's a lot better than nearly all cheap pens in current production that I've used.

[Alex2014]

Baoer 159

[migo984]

Pilot Prera - amazing quality pen for around £18 - £24 (ex-Hong Kong). Wonderful soft nibs and their Fine is a delight. Great fit in my notebook pen loops.

Reform 1745 - bought 4 for €24. 3 of the 4 have fabulous springy nibs. I use dedicated Reforms for specific troublesome inks.

Parker 45. Can pick up a great little Arrow in good condition for around £10 - 15. And if you're lucky it'll have a sweet 14k nib.

[inlovewithjournals]

Online College Pens - check them out at Goldspot.com: http://goldspot.com/Online_pens/College/ON-00667.html

[VertOlive]

1) Plumix
2) Hero 715
3) Lamy Safari [not so cheap, but it just feels so portable and informal...]

[Sailor Kenshin]

To me...cheap is sub-fifteen USA dollars. And for that kind of money, I do love the Hero 616, 359, and a few of their other plastic-bodied pens. Right now I'm testing a NOS Hero 'Youth' model.

Who could leave out the Preppy? I use them happily every day.

And the Pilot Petit. That's fun, to have a jar full of colorful sub-$5 pens.

I do have some Pilot 78Gs that come in at about $10. The $15 Pilot Met is just at the Cheap Redline, and while it's an excellent writer, I've been moving off of metal-bodied pens.

[Lady Onogaro]

1. Pilot Plumix
2. Sailor Clear Candy (great nibs).
3. Jinhao 159 (though I did buy a Goulet nib for it).
4. Pilot Kakuno.

[discopig]

Noodler's pens, Serwex MB, Reform 1745, Esterbrook J series with most 9xxx nibs.

[Jonathan]

Sheaffer cartridge pens, in their various flavors -- from the "People's Pen" and its variously-capped antecedents through the "NoNonsense." (All of the USA-made versions). Can be had "cheaper than free" in lot sales on eBay, and are still reign supreme in durability and in the sincerity of their design....

[Kaputnik]

Where do I think "cheap" starts? For a modern pen, maybe it's a pen costing less than $30. For vintage, it would have to be based on original quality. If you pick up a Wearever and a Parker 51 for $2 each at a yard sale, you bought them both cheaply, but only the Wearever is a cheap pen.

I actually tend not to use my very cheapest pens that much, but there are a number that I still appreciate for their quality, and they get used now and then.

Pilot Varsity. I picked up a 7 pack of these a few years back for what worked out to about $2.50 per pen. Technically disposable, they can be re-inked, and I have a couple still filled with two difficult inks that I don't want to risk in a good pen. And they write surprisingly well, just a bit broader than I care for.

Pilot FP-78G, medium nib. I paid $14 for mine years ago; you might do better on eBay. I didn't get a pen that actually wrote better until I hit the $60 mark.

Waterman Kultur. Discontinued in the early 2000s, you should still be able to find one for under $30. I got one in the original unopened blister pack for $17 shipped.

Esterbrook J, SJ, and Dollar pens. From what information I can find, these were not the very cheapest in their time, but the prices were still the equivalent of less than $30. Buying old ones, I've found them for as little as $7.

[ac12]

new:
- Baoer 388, 7 for $25
- Pilot 78G, $12
- Lamy Joy, $30

used:
- Sheaffer 'school pen'
- Parker 45, $20+
- Esterbrook J series, $15+ (but you also have to replace the ink sack)

[pajaro]

Pilot Plumix
Waterman Kultur
Cross Solo
Kaigelu 356
Cross Coventry

The Solo and Kultur are inexpensive pens that are a pleasure to write with.
As far as the other cheap pens are concerned, the factories ramshackled them out the door, and it is possible to write with them, not necessarily pleasurably, but necessarily if necessity so dictates.

[Ian]

I love the Pilot Metropolitans. I love the metal construction, writing quality and price. Corrine at the Honolulu Pen Shop introduced them to me. I wrote a ton of postcards on the beach with them. The bottom gold one is an italic. I swapped its original nib with the Plumix. Three of the others are loaded with purple samples I ordered from Goulet. I wound up choosing Yama-budo.
http://fpgeeks.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=12430&d=1403740949

[vikramguliya]

Hero pen 501 will fit this categories

[I like mango pudding]

definitely the 78G

the 159 is also a good contender too, but you have to work over the nib to make it really good.

[gbryal]

I like most of these pens, and most of my pens are pretty cheap. Lately I was actually thinking my Baoer 388 should be an everyday carry; the few times I've jotted something with it I wanted to write more with it.

[Tony Rex]

Platinum Rivière PTR-200
3x Platinum black carts
$2 USD each at Daiso

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aQ69G8Wh9To/TDAg2jaE9mI/AAAAAAAAAWY/7OfigH_EvtA/s1600/IMG_2077-blog.jpg

[erpe]

the cheapest pen I consider "good" is a Hero 7022, the favorite cheap pen is a bit more Kaigelu 316 which is a bit more expensive than the KaWeCo sport which is my favorite (for compactness) for on the road. None of my pens is more than $120 so for some, my entire collection could be considered cheapish.

[johnus]

12568

Over all favorite has to be the Jinhao 599. Know it may be controversial, but for $2.50, shipped halfway around the world in a week or less, it's a nice writing pen.

[essp9]

Im also going to say Safari.
I have a couple of Lamy Pens, its nice to be using essentially the same nib on my run-around and home pens.

Stef

[I like mango pudding]

Platinum Rivière PTR-200
3x Platinum black carts
$2 USD each at Daiso

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aQ69G8Wh9To/TDAg2jaE9mI/AAAAAAAAAWY/7OfigH_EvtA/s1600/IMG_2077-blog.jpg

I have the Riviere white model, and it's a good writer, but only after stubbing it to a 1.5mm We don't have the other models shown in your pic. I'd love to get those too just to see how they perform.

[bec11mort]

Not really a cheap pen, but my Lamy Safari is my go-to when I think there's a chance I might lose or damage a pen. Other than that my Kaweco Sport is probably my favorite sub-$30 pen.

[inkyletters]

Platinum Rivière PTR-200
3x Platinum black carts
$2 USD each at Daiso

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aQ69G8Wh9To/TDAg2jaE9mI/AAAAAAAAAWY/7OfigH_EvtA/s1600/IMG_2077-blog.jpg

Where is this daiso you speak of? Something tells me it isn't conus....

[I like mango pudding]

Daiso is a Japanese format dollar store. In Japan these compete with the 100yen stores, which is essentiall 1 dollar (or thereabouts). Most items at Daiso, however; are $2.00 but their product line is much better and many items come from Japan, not China. Daiso also carries items more than $2.00, some up to $20 or more, but the vast majority of their items are $2.00. Daiso is in North America and is usually the size of a mid sized department store. Here in Vancouver, we have a two-floor Daiso of approximately 50,000 square feet.

[inkyletters]

Daiso is a Japanese format dollar store. In Japan these compete with the 100yen stores, which is essentiall 1 dollar (or thereabouts). Most items at Daiso, however; are $2.00 but their product line is much better and many items come from Japan, not China. Daiso also carries items more than $2.00, some up to $20 or more, but the vast majority of their items are $2.00. Daiso is in North America and is usually the size of a mid sized department store. Here in Vancouver, we have a two-floor Daiso of approximately 50,000 square feet.
I am so absolutely jealous. I need to go to Canada so I can buy the store out of FPs. Or Japan. I'm not picky about what fp loving country I visit, just the knowledge I will need another suitcase to tote back my ink, paper, and pens I will accquire.

[Sailor Kenshin]

You can find Daiso items on fleabay and Amazon. But it's not the same as seeing and HOLDING them!

[RayCornett]

Cheap to me for a good FP is $50 or less.
My favorite of the cheapest of the cheaps are the big 3 in the Jinhao world. The x750, x450, and the 159 MB 149 clone. I also love my Baoer 701. I am more likely to take these out of the house than the others.

[AtomicLeo]

For me under $10 is cheap, comparable to a nice rollerball like the Retro 51 or Parker Jotter.

Hero 616 Jumbo or Doctor size. It's identical to the Parker51 size and if you get one with a decent or good nib, writes incredibly well. I threw one in a purchase of a Pilot Metal Falcon. Haven't used the Falcon in years, but the Hero 616 has been a daily writer at work ever since.

Preppy Platinum. Surprisingly soft nib and a great eye dropper that doesn't burp when the ink level drops.

Any Jinhao pen. I own a couple and they are great writers, although the caps do tend to spin in place, but for less than $10 they are hard to beat.

[AtomicLeo]

Over all favorite has to be the Jinhao 599. Know it may be controversial, but for $2.50, shipped halfway around the world in a week or less, it's a nice writing pen.

Is that a hooded nib?

[ardgedee]

Daiso is a Japanese format dollar store. In Japan these compete with the 100yen stores, which is essentiall 1 dollar (or thereabouts). Most items at Daiso, however; are $2.00 but their product line is much better and many items come from Japan, not China. Daiso also carries items more than $2.00, some up to $20 or more, but the vast majority of their items are $2.00. Daiso is in North America and is usually the size of a mid sized department store. Here in Vancouver, we have a two-floor Daiso of approximately 50,000 square feet.

There are a few Daiso shops in the US (http://www.daiso-sangyo.co.jp/shop/index.php?prc=overseas&sid=1), all on the west coast. There also is (or was, when I last visited 4 years ago) a Daiso look-alike in Vancouver's Chinatown that was about as good.

There's also this Daiso online shop (http://www.daisojapan.com) that sells within the US, although quantities for nearly everything are in bulk. Minimum quantities of 10 for notebooks or pens, for example. The Daiso notebook I got in Seoul a couple years ago proved to be fountain pen-friendly AND featured a pleasant sentiment expressed in not-quite-accurate English on the cover. Pretty nice for approx. US$1.30. (Daisos are all over Seoul; we ended up expatriating a ridiculous quantity of clothes washing bags because Daiso's were better quality and cheaper than we could do in the States).

[johnus]

To AtomicLeo: Is that a hooded nib?
Yes it is. On eBay some of the 599 are sold as 2014. Confusing because some show the hooded nib and some don't. I find the looks of the Hooded 599 to be preferable to the unhooded.

[BikerBabe]

Pelikan Pelikano. I got a good bunch of them at a flea market for like 2 USD a pen, and I love their flex nibs and overall feel.

[chiaroscuro]

— Wingsung 3203 with calligraphy (Zoom) nib, but the medium nib is nice too
— Pilot Metropolitan

[jacksterp]

Pilot 78G - simply can't beat this pen for the price.

[Austin_Malone]

Gosh! I love bargain pens. I've been using them almost exclusively for less than a year now.
Pilot Metropolitan is great
Jinhao 159, the other's caps loosen over time
Hero 616 Jumbo or Doctor the regular is crap.
Lamy Safari/Al-Star although many will not consider this cheap (Remember Visconti Homo Sapiens)
Noodler's Ahab, don't care what people say, it is a flex pen, the tines flex
Wearever Pacemaker, a very soft nib got it for $7.50, actually flex. Vintage but a goody.

[Sailor Kenshin]

These days 'pacemaker' means something different, lol.

[snedwos]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/11/ze8uzyru.jpg

I wonder where Fpr got their design cues for the guru...

Both of these pens are very good writers, incidentally.

$50 plus restoration, and $0.01 as part of a combo deal.

[reprieve]

Pilot Petit, Varsity, Prera, Metropolitan
Platinum Preppy, Plaisir
Kaweco Sport
Lamy Al-Star, Logo, CP-1
Cross Aventura
TWSBI 580, Mini

[penstaking]

In my pen catalog I have nothing 20 € or less. For me about 40 € would be the cheapest (reasonable) price to pay for a lower-end (but still well-made) fountain pen, but these are hard to find in the styles I like. (Most of my collection is in the unreasonable price range.) But I've learned: nothing good is cheap. One receives equal to what one disburses. 75 - 200 € is a normal price range; above 350 € the pen must have something unique or of value to make it worth the investment.

My least expensive pen, my (old) Parker 45, was about 25 - 30 € back when ('99). Attached is a pic with writing sample using Stipula Ebony ink.

[bullshark]

The pilot Plumix, I have it in every color.
It's a cheap pen, it's ugly, doesn't write all that well, ink flow is terrible, it scream to be converted as an eyedropper but you can't because of a small hole in the pen body, only uses proprietary cartridges...but I love it, the combination of paper feedback, creature comfort, weight distribution and even the unreliable ink flow give a style to my otherwise bland handwriting that I love.

[Hawk]

My pick for a modern pen would be the Parker IM with a converter. A little older pen is my Parker 21 with a black section and a green barrel (from two different pens I had laying around for many years). From my grade school era of writing with a fountain pen, the Esterbrook J, which I have a few laying around. I help a locksmith so the pens could get into trouble being outside of an office environment. On occasion, I bring some of my nicer pens to work....