😂😂😂😂❤

lol I’m thinking of getting a second mortgage 😂

😂😂😂😂✒️🖊😭😭

Change your banker.

I AGREE WITH YOUR BANKER. Wen one puts LAMY, as a German pen, and I just bought 20 CLONES, for less than 10 bucks, and they work better than my 10 dollar ones. Buy cheap pens.😊

Thank you!

You're right, but some of the ECO's do cost in that range, like the indigo blue with bronze trim or the transparent black with rose gold trim. Most, however, are indeed priced in the $30-40 range. Either way, they represent great value and generally write very well.

My experience with the platinum preppy was that they are not durable - I had 2 of them crack at the barrel threading. One could buy the platinum plaisir to overcome this issue - it's basically a preppy with a metal body and not very costly.

good list. completely agree about the perkeo > safari

Parkeo is the better of the two, and probably the best starter fountn pen, along with pilot metro/explorer!

Under 200? You can get an E95S for 100, and its nib really is fantastic.

Diplomat Aero - yes! A beautiful pen! Never lets me down 😊🤩

If Kaweco would make a piston filler I would probably (grudginly) bite, because I love the look of the pen. As a rule I will not buy anything that is designed to accept a cartridge. That also helps me not fret over limited edition/pretty urushi and maki-e pens. 😅

I avoid any use of the word "cheap" in any form when talking about Pelikan. They are less overpriced than MB.

Yess! My absolute favourite brand. Despite not liking the nib appearance of the N 7, the N7 and the N8 in fine nibs are my best writers. Only my lamy 2000 in ef and my montblanc 146 vintage rival them.

Yep, I 2nd the Asvine 126, just got the brass and clear FP, it’s smooth as budda!

Got the same with fine nip and the nip is black 😍😍😍 totally worth it!

Thanks for the tip about the Asvine V126. How far off the Pilot 823 experience would you say it is (if you've had that one to cf.). Cheers!

@@NicholasPaulFranks Listen, I can understand the difference between a gold and a steel nib with my eyes closed. For me writing with a gold nib is totally different experience but that doesnt mean its the same for everyone. Custom s 823 gold nib is just incredible so the writing experience between this and the asvine definitely has some differences, althought the asvine feels better in the hand and the materials also feel more sturdy. You cant go wrong with the custom 823, the nib is just superb, its my favourite pen but that doesnt mean I dont enjoy writing with the asvine. I would recomment this, if you can afford the custom 823 then just go for it, if you cant, the asvine is a great choice for the 35€ and you ll come close with the vac system. I was so surprised with the asvine that I always curry it in my 3 pen case. Be aware though that other folks had some problems with it out of the box, like baby s bottoms or some glue sticks in the section. Althought I wouldt let that changes stop me from buying it, especially the baby bottoms unfortunatrly is very common even with the gold nibs. I got both asvine and 823 in Medium

🤡 twisbi is disposable chinesium Preppy is only preppy if you have the money get the real deal. Pilot is godtier. Lamy another shittier watch with retarded designs crappy ergonomics.

I prefer inexpensive Chinese/Japanese EF & F nib pens but have some western EF's as well as a few F's and even an occasional M. I discovered too late the Pilot 78G B nib was a F stub and have been trying to locate a couple of those. Platinum's Preppy & Plaisir, Jinhao 911, Pilot 78G and its Chinese clones are some of my favourite writers. Stationery i wanted to recommend is Staples 2 pack "Eco" brand 5" x 8" sugarcane "Bagasse" fountain pen friendly, thin paper. It's smooth-surfaced sheets with minimal sizing is my goto for testing any new pens, inks and nibs. They're a joy to write on and usually neither bleed through nor show through occur. They don't clog my Asian F & EF nibs with gummy sizing as i find happens when using Rhodia brand papers. French exercise books by Clairfontaine in addition to notebooks by Apica, Fabriano & Oasis offer relatively inexpensive alternatives too.

Absolutely agree with you there. I've been using a Hemisphere for about 3 years now (daily use). No nib bends, no weird ink blocks. I just wished more videos on KZfaq featured Waterman fountain pens. I dont understand why they dont but they're great pens!

Need your input. Should i start with a 743 (what nib btw?) Or the sailor? Funny that i've shortlisted the two on what to buy...

@@wat5513 Sailor nibs are fairly stiff. If you want some bounce in the nib, go for the 743 with a soft fine or soft medium nib.

@@wat5513 the FA nib on the 743 is fantastic …. ❤️

There is. But there shoudn't be. They crack A LOT

@@DrinkWater713 I apparently misunderstood what was said in the vid. My apologies! Regarding your comment. There was a period where there were issues with their molds or whatever. I myself still have my first tsbi and its cracked. But even then it wasnt that widespread and now i dont even hear of it anymore. I myself havent encountered it appart from my first twsbi. I find the price to performance rario to be unmatched even swapped out my kaweco sport brons premium nip out for a twsbi eco nib.

@@RedouaneSebbar You know it's a Jowo nib, right?

@@DrinkWater713 i know but its not that black and white. A lot of companies order from bock and jowo and modify them afterwards. I have a two other pens with jowo nibs and the dont feel at all like eachother let alone the twsbi nib. Montegrappa and esterbrook for instance also use jowo nibs.

​​@@DrinkWater713 Sorry for entering the discussion, but just out of pure curiosity: why are JoWo nibs considered "bad" quality? Just a genuine question, because I am new to fountain pens. Many people seem to hate JoWo nibs, whereas a few others seem to stand by them and very strongly. I wonder what is the background behind the two opposite opinions

those are all like $800, not everyone has that buget

@@sporkconsumer9051 fair enough, but you can find them used for a much better price than that. Grail pens for sure!

Almost no one has the money to buy those pens, much less blindy buy them.

@@DrinkWater713 fair enough! I was just adding them to the list as they are stunning pens and I dont think (my opinion you see) anyone would be dissapointed with these choices either. That’s all… happy penning..

@@DrinkWater713 fair enough! However the momento zero is around $150 USD or less…. Pending on the sales you find.

Montblanc Mystery Black in a vintage 90s bottle :)

Thanks! Was the ink old and likely evaporated to make it so black, or was only the bottle old? I have and use Montblanc Mystery Black and it doesn’t look as black. Or is it just the magic of video?

Gave my 78g+ away. The pen is too skinny. Hurts my hand if I use it for more than 5 minutes at a time. Unless you have small hands, don't buy this pen!

Its more expensive gold!! I've got both and the 21k nib seems just as stiff as the 14k one so I wouldnt bother paying extra for 21k. I only got it as it was the only one you could get on shikiori pens. It may be softer on a much larger nib like the king of pens nib.

I'm new to fountain pens, but I can tell you that gold is a very, very, VERY soft metal. If you had a pure gold ring, it would not be round, because the softness of the metal with body heat alone would make it pliable. That's why the karat system is there for gold, because gold jewelry is made from an alloy. The higher the karat number, the higher the gold content. My assumption for a fountain pen nib having a higher gold content would be that it's "softer".

Pelikans are in a different breed imo to be honest...they all write well, but they don't have that "blind buy" consistency you get with the others

Lots of inexpensive pens are decent and better than decent. Have you tried Jinhao 100 Century? Very well made, attractive materials, nib size choices. I have had good experiences with Noodlers Inks pens, many of which are ebonite, have piston fill and ink view windows. Affordable Indian-made pens from Fountain Pen Revolution are available from several makers, some of which still do individual turning.

What's the "individual turning" please? Thank you for all the information@@judyjacobs5827

I have a large number of Montblanc pens, old and new, and haven't experienced any differences in the writing or performance of them or issues with customer services when sending pens in for refurb/tuning. I'm not saying there can't possibly be duds or bad experiences, but blanket statements aren't accurate either.

Them being bought out by a business conglomerate is not a blanket statement, and neither is their stance on their pens being considered a luxury good first and foremost before considering it a pen. The number of bad experience the fountain pen community has shared and my warning of them is not a blanket statement either, it is merely a deterrent to think twice about them. Overpriced is certainly a "blanket statement" though, but I fail to think of it that was as it is objectively true. Glad you had good experiences with them, but I for one will not give them my business. Snob Blanc is just a shell of their former selves. Their quality is also subpar, when you compare the quality of the product, ethical behaviors and attitude of the company compared to the original company. Mont Blanc is literally owned by a different company now, and operate differently. Idk in what world you live in, but learn what a blanket statement is before making such an accusation. @@leann848

@@Soyokaze404-yc1dt First, Montbalnc has always been considered a luxury pen brand - this isn't new since being bought out, so let's leave that nonsense behind. Your blanket statement is that you said the quality is subpar, so we can also leave your little lesson on definitions in the trash as well. You clearly don't like Montblanc - fine, that's certainly your opinion and you fly that banner all you want. My issue is that you also clearly have a bias, and a condescending one at that (snob Blanc and I can't take you seriously if). However from the two comments I've read, your estimation is based off a Reddit thread? Zero first-hand experience and a clear distaste for even considering a pen by the brand, so how do you know the quality is subpar? Yes, yes, anecdotes from Reddit. Before you shout "J'accuse" at me, maybe you should consider that someone was providing you with their own firsthand experience in response to what you wrote as - god forbid - a different opinion than yours. Oh, the horror!

@@Soyokaze404-yc1dt Many pen companies are not owned by the original owners. Montblanc has kept with tradition of pen making though, so not sure I get the, "different company now." People can say a lot of things about MB, but what they do well, they do extremely well. I've read a lot of the issues as well on posts from Reddit to FPN to KZfaq. Many posts deal with what seems to be baby's bottom, but that could be easily fixed. One of my MB had baby's bottom, but I smoothed it out just by writing. Did you consider that perhaps all these people might not have had the experience and understood how to address the problem? The second point is the person making this video has been making videos and that too of high end pens for a good many of years. I would take his thoughts on pens most certainly over many here on KZfaq or anywhere else. He does know what he is talking about. Third, it seemed you came looking for a fight. Using language like, "I can't take you seriously," and ", Snob Blanc," will not endear you to any favorable outcomes, especially since you seem to lack the experience of Montblanc, and perhaps fountain pens in general, because Montblanc is one word not two. If you don't like Montblanc then you don't, but you could have put it in a more charismatic way.