Choosing a Second Fountain Pen
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 6 авг 2024
- In this video I give you my utterly personal view on how to select a second fountain pen (assuming that you liked your first pen; if you didn't, you should buy a ballpoint pen, which you probably will like: you'll go to hell, but at least you do so with a pen you like ;-)).
Хобби
Love that video description! " you'll go to hell, but at least you do so with a pen you like ;-))." LOL
I always find it interesting when you mention those little psychology tidbits in your videos.
I can definitely feel myself falling into the pattern of slowly being willing to spend more and more. I started off with Jinhao pens. They were fun and quite nice for their price, but now I've moved to my trio of the Pilot Metropolitan, Lami Safari, and TWSBI Eco, all pens considered good, but affordable. And boy do I love them. A few years ago I would have thought that spending $30 on a singular pen would be ludicrous, but now I have the itch to buy pens beyond that price range.
I'm still a high school student, so that puts a cap on my spending, but someday I tell myself, I'll get a $100+ pen.
Regarding the description of this video, I must add that, if any of you guys go to hell because of your love for ballpoint pens, your punishment will be to write forever with a Visconti lava fountain pen, which is the only pen available in hell, simply because it has a resistance to heat of over 100°C. All other pens would miserably melt there... ;-)
Nice :-).
Lol, I have the Visconti Homo Sapien fountain pen. Must say that it is a wonderful pen. Sbrebrown is correct, once you start with one fountain pen it's hard to resist getting more.
And the paper would feather... badly
I have quite a big handwriting, but I write a lot and I find that medium and broad nibs are too wet for me. They're super smooth, yes, but I don't like having to refill my pen for every chapter I decide to write by hand. I went for a Lamy fine nib to fit on my Safari at some point, but it was still too wet for me and the notes I took in class, so now I'm really happy with all of those EF nibs I got :) Your videos (and the ones from The Pen Habit) have proven very useful to settle on a few less expensive fountain pens I could possibly put the #6 EF nibs on :)
ah dammit, now you've finally made me buy my first $100+ pen after weeks of watching these videos. I told myself when ordering i'm going to remain satisfied with this one (platinum 3776) and never spend additional money on pens in future. i am a little scared to 'wait and see' what happens
I'm sure you'll enjoy it :-).
Love you series, with respect to price per pen and not spending hundreds ....you comment..."wait and see" great intonation. I laughed out loud. Well done. And bravo on the series. Loving it.
All the pens in my collection have a specific purpose. Since I want to use them a lot, I don't have many, downsizing was one of the things I cared the most. The criteria is basically: 1) a flashy pen. Something very pretty. 2) A pen that has some meaning (my first pen for instance), 3) a practical pen, such as the Pilot Vanishing Point and 4) an EDC, something cheap but nice.
Thanks to that I trimmed my collection to 8, and I'm very pleased with my choices. Since they're few, they get used very often. And since each has a purpose, there's a category to every pen.
I hope it helps, but setting certain criteria of your own will help narrow the choice.
I agree!
I love the description of this video!
I certainly enjoy your videos, thanks. I think back to my first pen, way back, the Sheaffer NoNonsense, which took me from childhood through many years. My first "real" pen was the Frontier. My fifth pen was the Pelikan M250 with a medium 14k nib. A wonderful journey. I have tried to do research on pen brands and experience many different brands. Thanks again for you efforts.
It mainly is the tipping material, the "iridium" that does the actual writing. However, as with flutes, more expensive material DOES somewhat correspond to better workmanship, though not always. The smoothness of the nib is only affected by the nib tipping size and quality. I have a 18k EF Churchill. It writes like rock on rock, but my stainless steel Lamy Safari M in comparison glides across water.
Excellent insight from a man who knows fountain pens. Thanks Stephen!
Thank you!
Steve, another excellent video, as usual. I wonder if you could suggest a *cheap* pen that is *extremely* fine (hairline) that flexes a little so that a thicker (say 1mm) line can be produced when pressure is applied. There are some Chinese 'accounting pens' wit a 0.24mm nib, but I don;t know if they flex at all, Your review of the Parker Jotter raised my hopes, but it only seems available with a medium nib, which is way, way too fat, I'm the campion pen-loser, hence my interest in cheap pens!
Me a year ago: I'll only buy a £10 Platinum Plaisir and use that for years.
6 months ago: Ohh the Faber-Castell E-Motion in Dark Wood looks and feels amazing amazing, I'll have that... and a Loom in a different nib size.
3 months ago: Well those Jinhao 159s are so cheap and I can always put other #6 nibs on them, I'll have a couple of those.
2 months ago: How have I gone for so long without seeing the Delta Dolcevita?! I must own this.
Very recognizable :-).
This is a really great and informative video, thanks! I can't place your accent, though. To an American it sounds like an English accent, but there's something else buried in the background... German, Austrian, maybe? I thought you were British until I tried to work out what part of Britain you were from. Sorry, I'm a dialect nerd (as well as a fountain pen nerd).
I love accents, so I'll gladly oblige. I have a British father but I'm Dutch born, so my accent is British with a twist of Dutch :-).
Hey Stephen looking for a new pen. I like big pens like the delta dolcevita oversize but it is out of my buget any ideas?
I would like to get a fine nib to write as small as possible? Whats the smoothes one you've experienced so far?
My friend, which pen is that in your hand?
I have THE EXACT SAME PEN but in navy blue.
I believe it's some model of Caran d'Ache, yes?
Also, if you haven't already, would you please, PLEASE do a review on it?
Thank you!
As a fairly new convert to the fountain pen society, one of the refreshing things is our diversity. Who cares what the reason, part of the deal I think is simply the fun of this most lovely thing which we can use, own and play with. For myself, so far it has been the fun of playing with the Noodler Flex pens, getting them to work as I want. I w,ill get what I can afford, fancy and tickles my fancy. That will work for me. Love to all, except Biro users of coarse.
one review i read talked about a skipping and leaking 149. Since they are similar, have you notices and flow issues or leaking.
Hm, now you've convinced me to diversify my collection! I had been contemplating another Edison pen, but now I think I'll shift my focus to different brands. Sailor, perhaps... :)
When picking/researching a pen online, be careful: the info found is more often than not misleading. Too big, too small, too light, too heavy, etc. Try the pen you're interested in at a B&M where you can see the pens side by side. For example, when comparing pics of a diminutive Sheaffer 100 and a Conway Stewart Churchill, you'd probably say that the Churchill is heftier, but in reality the Churchill is SO MUCH lighter.
Stephen, I enjoyed your video on getting a second pen. I saw a Merlin pen for sale and it looked petty nice. I believe it is a Dutch brand and since you are in the Netherlands I though you may know something about that brand. They are not very common in America. Can you tell me something about them?
Thank you.
I decide which pen I want to buy next based on your reviews lol. I hear the words nice smooth nib and relatively inexpensive and I immediately jump on Amazon lol. Good thoughts.
Do you think that the lamy al-star is better than the safari?
Is the difference simply that the al-star has a aluminium body and the safari plastic?
I have the safari and i am planning to get a al-star
I need help, is the montblanc 146 a big leap from a urban or would a lamy 2k be better?
Interesting idea for a video....Nicely done! I suspect many people have a cheaper, "workhorse"/"knockabout" fountain and a second fountain pen that is "fancier"/"dressier". I think it's important to have *at least* one fountain pen that one can potentially lose without crying inconsolably about it :)
I have an Al-Star and my friend has a Safari Vista (clear). I've found his Safari is much more durable than my Al-Star as it is made from plastic/polycabonate instead of aluminium. The finish of the Al-Star in my opinion will get dinged up/damaged more over time than the Safari. However, the metal/aluminium feel is pretty awesome. I'd recommend the purchase though! (I personally got the Al-Star as my first pen then upgraded to the Lamy 2000!)
As an ultimate pen I would suggest the Pilot Custom 823 (or the Custom 74 for something cheaper with an identical nib).
I own a lot of pens (M1000, Lamy 2000, Homo Sapiens, all the TWSBIs, Falcon, Graf von Faber, etc) and the Pilot Custom 823 is so good that it annoys me that I bought it because I almost never want to use another pen every again.
Of course, just because I've found my grail pen, it doesn't stop me from trying to find something even better.
Exactly. Maybe one to loan when someone says might (or more likely here in USA "can") I borrow your pen?
Me too. Thinking about the Lamy Studio, stainless steel, $68 from Goulet. Or maybe that Pelikan 400NN from Rick Propas, $185. Or hey both. 2nd and 3rd.
+Callum Blair The wing sung 590?
wow i just started using fountain pen, i gotta say i didn't know others felt so much about pens.
My brother brought back a riviere ptr-200 from japan and i gotta say i fell in love with fountain pens so i went and bought PILOT VARSITY FOUNTAIN PEN when the riviere blew up. Currently waiting on getting the varsity to test it out. Its cheap but starter pen, we shall see how much ill spend in the future definitely not 100 dollars because not many of us are rich lol.
So true And his are far and away the best. Not have seen his video you cite on least to most expensive-- would you have the name, keywords, URL, any clue as to how I might find it?
Didn't know you're a research psychologist! Any articles I might know about?
I think if I have a focus at all, it may be calligraphy pens. I just like them the most. That said, I have maybe three calligraphy pens and one brush pen (kuretake) which I got for both painting and arabic calligraphy. The others (good grief, there are others!) are normal use pens. However, next jetpens purchase will include one or two kaweco calligraphy nibs to switch around on that particular "normal use" pen.
Thanks for all you information. The video quality and content quality are a bit of balance.
I'm just a week into fountain pens and I can't purchase a 2nd. I took 2 off the bat: Faber Castell Ambition (F), cause I like the brand and their reviews; and Sheaffer No Nonsense (M) to have something to experiment with. Both 2nd hand of a Montblanc dealer.
My wife will get a lx for her birthday, and if I stay enthusiastic I might go for the 2000.
Pelikan M800/1000 makes my mouth water, but is waaaaaaay out of reach.
As for you community question: since I am a professional musician, I might go for a music nib collection.
Very solid advise for the newly acquainted.
I bought a Cross and I HATE it! It's too wet and the nib is scratchy. I came across your Ahab review and you convinced me that it was the one for me. I LOVE IT!! Now I'm getting a third and it's another entry level pen. I've got a Safari coming in the mail. What can I say? I'm hooked.....
I'm glad my videos have been useful for you.
i never knew you were a psychologist. you remind me more of a business man, but nice. i just argued with someone online who was trying to diss on psychology (leave it to someone who read a book or two on freud's nonsense lol). I wrote my master's paper on the psychology of terrorism and fanatics with fountain pens lol. of course then i typed it up.
Also, I didn't like my first couple of fountain pens much: one was a rotring EF sketch pen and a bitter disappointment. It leaked constantly, and was horribly scratchy. I replaced the nib with a 1.1 and have been much happier, though I can't draw with it. The other was a pelikano junior and it also leaked everywhere, though it had quite a flexy nib. That one I just threw away in disgust after the mess it made.
My Nooder's Konrad arrived today! Have not filled it yet. I think my next will be a Pelikan 400NN.
Because I'm thinking of getting a parker sonnet with a gold plated nib for 160 Singapore dollars(is that a reasonable price, too?) sorry I'm bombarding you with questions.
"Wait and see.". You got that wright. I started in february with a Parker urban for 30 euro. In july I bought a Pelikan m200(Cognac) for 120 euro. And a few day's ago I bought a Pelikan Souveran M800 for 470 euro. I promised myself that I won't buy any more pens until next summer. But I regret nothing. I just love the Pelikans.
Welcome to the club!
sbrebrown I failed my promise. As I bought a Pelikan M1000 in march. 3 month's before summer. (Still regretting nothing.) But will buy only inks for a while.
Piston pens make up most of my favorite pens including the MB 149, Dolcevita Oro Piston, and Sheaffer Snorkel.
Visconti's pens are very appealing to the eye ;)
Do you want a pen that is pretentious or discrete? Do you care that others will know you have an expensive fountain pen or will you be content using a premium pen that will remain a best kept secret even in plain view?
Answering these questions will help you decide between the Montblanc 146 and Lamy 2K.
Nice I'm gonna get my first pen very soon well a real pen I'll have forever and it is one you recommend so thank you and these are great thank you I'm totally gonna save my money for more pens
I'm glad my videos have been useful for you.
My first pen was the plastic Parker Vector. I was quite happy with it but now I want something better.What would you suggest?
+Lipsa M A Lamy Safari?
Thanks. 😃
What was your second pen?
Is stainless steel as good as gold? Dr. Brown just told us that gold plated stainless steel was smoother. Is it? Or do we like gold nibs more because they are ... gold?
I bought a lamy safari for my first pen, Its very good, but I was looking for something slightly better, preferably not completely plastic (it depends on the pen really). Price range £50 ish, any recommendations of brands or pens? I just like the appeal of branching out, maybe getting something different.
Check out the Italix pens from Mrpen.co.uk
sbrebrown I've been toying with the idea of TWSBI pens, it kind of contradicts my previous statement about plastic, is the cracking issue as common as it seems? And would it be too quick to buy a piston filler? It seems slightly risky to me personally.
I've also seen a conklin duragraph which seems to have attracted me. Any more standout pens which are slightly cheaper? Any standout pen from a certain brand? I'm trying to think of other pens which make a statement, monteverde possibly but I haven't looked in too much detail. Any others?
Thanks for the help, and a great suggestion previously, but to me it's slightly pricey for now, but a great design and the hand crafted element is very attractive. Thanks once again, sorry for such a long comment.
(FYI, I'm looking for a pen for sixth form, post 16 essentially, so I'd probably do lots of writing for quite a while).
+TheKlanMan TWSBIs are fine too.
sbrebrown Sorry for the spam, but I must admit I initially overlooked the Italix brand, except now I'm stuck. I can't decide between the Parson's Essential or the Caprain's commision.
Both look very nice, but which is better. Is the captains commision better quality with the metal threads and cap? Which one would you recommend or is it just personal preference? I'm leaning towards the blue Parson's, but the lid on the Captain's Commision really has caught my eye.
Once again, sorry for the spam, but it has been very helpful.
+TheKlanMan It's really personal preference
That's a shame... I'd love to get my hands on your collection! ;o)
Are they? Would like to see Stephen do a test on that.
i really want a heavier bigger pen, with a gold nib, i like my jinhao but the nib slips a bit and it's not that soft what you suggest? i have a jinhao x750
A Pelikan M1000?
that might be a bit above my price range.
I already own a Parker frontier gt gold nib I want to bit a lamy safari shall I buy it
Bingo! Oftentimes, it's one of those "ballpoint users" who isn't used to using a fountain pen ;)
What is a Biro user?
I started with A PARKER IM.
Shall i jump to PARKER SONNET?
Ok, so what about real gold nibs? Do they make a lot of difference?. Because from what I've saw, real gold nibs look like they write smoother.
awesome video =] , i started with a safari, then i bought monteverde, and now i just got a 540. My next pen: montblanc 149 lol just kidding i cant afford that lol.
This is perhaps your best one.
Ahh, subtle insult:) Now I get it:)
WingSung 698 lucky gold. Piston filler with 14k solid gold nib, transparent body. Nice pen for 45$
Fanatics with Fountain Pens! That is us.
Personally, I will advise you fountain pen users to carefully make decisions. Scrutinise very pen you are eyeing and see which one is best. Please heed my advice because I have done a lit of major impulse buys and although they are good buys, the pen I always wanted was not that, so you'll just end up spending a lot I think...
sbrebrown The material the pen is made out of may also be a factor in buying a second or even first pen!
Second? I've gone to 5!
And within a couple of months!
1:14 "I will not show you any pens.."
1:46 ....A PEN!!!
Had to point that out
I am not gonna pay more than 100 bucks for a pen - biggest lie ever
WHICH PEN I CAN BUY BE CAUSE MY BUDJET IS
$ 200
Sometimes it gets annoying to see people who only get popular, high dollar pens, and then act like everyone else is inferior. I mean, a pen is definitely a personal thing, and if everyone should use the same pen, then everyone would have the same hands, and write the same way. The fact that people don't do things identically is why pens can be different. Otherwise, there'd only be one pen, and that'd be pretty bogus.
just like cars.... a pen can be a status symbol too. so if you paid top dollar for that pen... it's a status symbol for you.
Minecraft OFP857 wise words from a Minecrafter (no offense just put it out there)
What if you're a kid that doesn't have a big budget, but still would like a nice, high-quality pen?
Stick to the large brands like Waterman.
thanks :)
Gold is a very soft metal. Pure gold is so soft you can score it with your fingernail.
Ok thanks, I think I will just buy a gold plated one.
I bought several pens recommended by friends then I found out that they are all too light for me :(
Get this Jinhao J35 Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl Pen. Heaviest pen I've ever used.
sbrebrown LOL, so shinny...
Yay for cognitive psychology and fountain pens! I'm studying it in college now.
WHICH IS THE RAREST PEN IN THE WORLD
probably a danitrio or nakaya
JUSTIN J just buy a Maki-e Bic there you go just sprinkle some gold on top and you're done! Rarest pen in the world!
LOL
sometimes he does not know what he is talking about. gold plating a stainless steel nib will do absolutely nothing but change the appearance. It won't get softer, and the gold is never what touches the paper.
Are you a PhD who does research?
I'm working on a PhD.
That's awesome! The best of luck on your thesis!
Thank you!