Help me find a vintage pen that ftis me

[Wrathen]

So I'm still fairly new into the FP world, I have only been involved for 3-4 months now and I have to admit I'm smitten. My wife thinks I'm kind of crazy, but she doesn't begrudge my FPs and is happy I have found a hobby to enjoy.

I have a few modern FPs now and was hoping to try and find a vintage pen or two to try out. There are no pen stores that I can find within an 8hr radius of me so out of luck there and the next pen show that I could attend would be the Atlanta show in the first quarter (which is about 5'ish hours away).

I'll tell you what I have and what I have found I like and maybe someone can recommend something I can watch for on eBay, FPGeeks,or /r/Pen_Swap.

Pens I own:
Pilot Vanishing Point (ef) Binderized - maybe a bit too fine but writes smooth for as fine as it is. good weight wetness is pretty good could be wetter
TWSBI 580 (f & 1.1mm stub) - the fine is dry (I need to figure out how to adjust this) & the stub is nice and wet but WAY to thick of a line for my hand writing but I love the line variation
Lamy Safari (ef, f, & m) - the EF & F work well with my writing style the M might be a tad too thick a line the problem here is its a bit light weight for me and the grip doesnt work for me

I also have a Parker Vector (broad NIB maybe doesn't say) not sure if it counts as a vintage. The line is too thick for me but it does write nice and wet but the pen is too light and narrow. I have also had but got rid of a Esterbrook SJ with EF nib it was WAY to light and fairly narrow.

My wants:
I don't post my pens though I'm not against it. I find I like a slightly heavy pen in the 15-20g range though the heavier 30g vanishing point doesn't bother me but anything lighter than 14g/15g does. I also like a fairly fat round pen the 10mm of the TWSBI seems pretty good but 11mm/12mm wouldn't be an issue. I seem to like wetter writers in the EF/F and maybe M range. I havent tried out any flex pens yet. I loved the way the 1.1mm stub wrote even though it was too thick a line.

With that wall of text behind us can anyone recommend some pens that I could keep an eye out for. I would like to spend less than $50 per pen to start with till I know I like vintage pens.

PS I have always loved the look of Pelikan pens especially the red striped ones. I'm pretty sure these are out of my budget for now but I would love to own a Pelikan M400/M600 in Red Stripes

Thanks in advance,
-Phillip (aka Wrathen)

[pengeezer]

Hi Philip! Welcome to the fountain pen hobby!

As to vintage pens,if you're looking for something $50 or under,you might want to consider(what's known in the hobby) a third-tier pen. That
would be something with no name on the clip,or a name like Nassau,Banker,Lincoln,etc.(though I've yet to find a pen with the name "etc."
on it:) ). The reason is that most 2nd and 1st tier pens will cost more because of the notoriety of the brand name(Parker,Sheaffer,Montblanc,
etc.). Even $100 isn't enough for a 1st or 2nd tier pen needing restoration. If you find a 1st or 2nd tier pen for sale not needing restoration,
it will cost more than one needing restoration.

Bigger pens will always cost more than standard or ladie's/vest type pens.



John

[Wrathen]

Ya I might just have to wait till after the holidays then. I just thought there might be some good pens to be had at the lower end of the price scale. I dont mind waiting though.

[Neo]

Ya I might just have to wait till after the holidays then. I just thought there might be some good pens to be had at the lower end of the price scale. I dont mind waiting though.

Maybe reach out to Rick Krantz to see if has anything that works for you?

[Laura N]

Your best bet is going to be to wait for the Atlanta pen show. Look at and even try the pens yourself. There's really nothing more you need to do -- that's the best way to learn about vintage pens, unless you can meet with pen people in the meantime. I agree with sumgaikid that you probably will have to increase your price range. In the end you'll be happier more buying one fully restored $200 pen of the right size and nib for you, than taking a flyer on four sub-$50 pens that might need work.

Vintage pens do tend to be on the smaller size, and tend to be lighter. For example, the Parker 75 must be heavier than the plastic Parkers, but it's also quite thin. Parker and Sheaffer (and sub-brands) are among the good brands to consider.

[Wrathen]

Your best bet is going to be to wait for the Atlanta pen show. Look at and even try the pens yourself. There's really nothing more you need to do -- that's the best way to learn about vintage pens, unless you can meet with pen people in the meantime. I agree with sumgaikid that you probably will have to increase your price range. In the end you'll be happier more buying one fully restored $200 pen of the right size and nib for you, than taking a flyer on four sub-$50 pens that might need work.

Vintage pens do tend to be on the smaller size, and tend to be lighter. For example, the Parker 75 must be heavier than the plastic Parkers, but it's also quite thin. Parker and Sheaffer (and sub-brands) are among the good brands to consider.

Good sound advice. Think I will just hold off till the Atlanta show its not too long from now... and alot better than wasting time, energy and money on something I wont be happy with.

[pengeezer]

Your best bet is going to be to wait for the Atlanta pen show. Look at and even try the pens yourself. There's really nothing more you need to do -- that's the best way to learn about vintage pens, unless you can meet with pen people in the meantime. I agree with sumgaikid that you probably will have to increase your price range. In the end you'll be happier more buying one fully restored $200 pen of the right size and nib for you, than taking a flyer on four sub-$50 pens that might need work.

Vintage pens do tend to be on the smaller size, and tend to be lighter. For example, the Parker 75 must be heavier than the plastic Parkers, but it's also quite thin. Parker and Sheaffer (and sub-brands) are among the good brands to consider.


I have a Parker 75 in the barleycorn silver plate pattern,and yes,it's thin. But it's not much heavier than a plastic Parker.



John

[Laura N]

Your best bet is going to be to wait for the Atlanta pen show. Look at and even try the pens yourself. There's really nothing more you need to do -- that's the best way to learn about vintage pens, unless you can meet with pen people in the meantime. I agree with sumgaikid that you probably will have to increase your price range. In the end you'll be happier more buying one fully restored $200 pen of the right size and nib for you, than taking a flyer on four sub-$50 pens that might need work.

Vintage pens do tend to be on the smaller size, and tend to be lighter. For example, the Parker 75 must be heavier than the plastic Parkers, but it's also quite thin. Parker and Sheaffer (and sub-brands) are among the good brands to consider.


I have a Parker 75 in the barleycorn silver plate pattern,and yes,it's thin. But it's not much heavier than a plastic Parker.



John

Yes, I have one, too. That's what I was trying to say. Sorry if it ended up garbled, and thanks for fixing it. :)

[fountainpenkid]

Welcome to the forum!! If you plan on going to the Atlanta Pen Show, do a lot of searching, ask a lot of questions, and try a lot of pens. Btw, you CAN find great 1st tier vintage pens for less than $100.(I don't know why others think you can't)

[Cob]

Welcome to the forum!! If you plan on going to the Atlanta Pen Show, do a lot of searching, ask a lot of questions, and try a lot of pens. Btw, you CAN find great 1st tier vintage pens for less than $100.(I don't know why others think you can't)

Of course I cannot comment about the market in the USA, but here in England very nice Swans and Waterman's pens can be bought for less than the equivalent of $100 - say £60. Apart from these makes, I have bought several English Parker Duofolds for a lot less than that amount, then there are Kingswoods, Mentmores, National Security, Summit, Wyvern, Croxley, all fine pens usually available for moderate money - of course they usually need to be re-sacced and cleaned up etc.

Cob

[Bold2013]

Get in touch with Rick Krantz. I am using a smooth mechanically restored 51 for next to nothing thanks to him.

[fountainpenkid]

Get in touch with Rick Krantz. I am using a smooth mechanically restored 51 for next to nothing thanks to him.

Rick is a really generous person. He gave me a Parker V.S, my first vintage pen, a few years back...

[pengeezer]

Welcome to the forum!! If you plan on going to the Atlanta Pen Show, do a lot of searching, ask a lot of questions, and try a lot of pens. Btw, you CAN find great 1st tier vintage pens for less than $100.(I don't know why others think you can't)


Less than $100,perhaps. But if you reread what he was originally saying,he was trying to find a vintage pen as he
desired for less than $50.

OTOH,I just saw a youtube video last night in which a woman went to a Salvation Army thrift store and found and bought an Omas Arco
brown set(Paragon & Milord) in the original box for.........$5.

That's a sumgai!


John

[Hawk]

Parker 51's in working but not pristine shape are reasonable. Also, the cheaper brother, the Parker 21 is worth looking into. Both are reliable workhorses. The metal caps add a few grams of weight. If you find out that you don't like them, they are easy to resell. Personally, I really enjoy them. I can echo the previous posters that Rick Krantz is an excellent source for pens.

[Hawk]

I am not a huge fan of Sheaffer pens (even though I own a few of them), they are great pens. I hope some Sheaffer fans will add to the thread. Prices for some of them seem reasonable.
Flex nib fans need to comment on this. Not liking a broad nib would lead me to believe you should stay away from them for awhile, besides the nibs command a more premium price. They are neat to own but my handwriting doesn't give them the justice they deserve.
Esterbrook J are somewhat larger than the SJ you got rid of, look into them. Not much difference in weight but longer. A few points to consider, they are an inexpensive, a workhorse pen and there are many different nibs that are available which are simple to change.