[quantgenius]

This list is certainly not classic fountain pens. They are mostly machined pens made by small batch producers with generic nibs and two with somewhat "different" nibs I wouldn't normally suggest most people get. These are pretty good pens but not what I would get as a first pen.

Here are the pens I would suggest you consider if you don't know a lot about fountain pens. If you are a fountain pen collector, I'm mostly ignoring a number of European brands who make great pens but have nib quality control from hell which are fine if you know fountain pens and how to adjust nibs etc but not if you are a beginner.

Budget under 40 bucks:

1) Lamy Safari: The grip section is triangular to support the traditional writing grip. It's one of the choices middle schoolers are require to use in certain European countries. If you have a traditional grip and don't have huge hands you will likely like it. If you don't, stay away. Lamy sometimes has quality control issues on it's inexpensive nibs but not as many as other European brands in my experience.

2) Pilot Metropolitan: Pilot has a reputation of really good quality control on what are very high quality nibs. The 20 dollar Pilot Metropolitan is no exception. Amazing writing experience for the money. Probably the best steel nibs you can buy. Competitive with many pens that cost over 100 dollars.

3) TWSBI Eco: Piston filler pen so you don't need a cartridge or converter. The pen is a demonstrator so you can see how it works. Comes in lots of cute colors. Uses Jowo nibs so the nibs are pretty good. Not quite as good as Pilot nibs.

I suggest most people skip the next level up in price. You don't get much more for the money and you are probably better off saving for the next level up.

Next level up from that. You usually get gold nibs at this level.

1) Lamy 2000: In permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Design hasn't changed since the 1960s and is timeless. It's designed for people who know how to use fountain pens, the right amount of pressure, the right grip and who don't rotate the pen, the aforementioned kids in the European school who grew up on a Lamy ABC and then the Safari and so on. It's absolutely awesome but not recommended as your first fountain pen if you've never used one before. It's different from other pens so if you get it, I suggest you try it for a few weeks if you don't love it. I've known more than one person go from "I hate it" to "It's my favorite pen" as they learn how to use it. Absolutely beautiful and very understated pen. Amazing nibs that have a feel unlike any other. Slip cap so great for short notes.

2) Pilot Vanishing Point: Clicks to expose and hide the nib. No cap. So feels like a ball point. Nib is long and narrow so slightly bouncy. Really nice writing experience. There is clip near where your grip goes so some people won't like that. Very comfortable if you hold it with a traditional grip. Right up there with the Lamy 2000.

3) Platinum 3776: Really nice nib. Designed to give you feedback as you write so you have more control. It's very smooth but has feedback. Having the extra control is really nice if you write a lot of mathematical notation.

4) Sailor Pro Gear Slim or Sailor 1911 (not 1911L which is more expensive). Amazing nibs. The non slim versions are described below. These pens and nibs are a bit smaller, stiffer and very good but not as good as the large versions. Note that the Pro Gear Slim and Sailor 1911 (not 1911L), may be too small if you have large hands. Many of my female friends find these very comfortable. If you are all about the nib, Sailor probably makes the best nibs in the world today.

Another level up:

1) Pilot Custom 823. Vacuum Filler. Amazing nib. Used by Neil Gaiman and other famous authors who like writing the first draft of their novels with a fountain pen. Used by other famous people as a signature pen. These pens are wet, i.e. put out a lot of ink. If you haven't graduated to fountain pen friendly paper, get a fine nib or maybe skip it for one of the others.

2) Platinum President. Like the Platinum 3776. More refined nib. Slightly thicker grip. Often available very cheaply on Amazon. Not very wet so very serviceable on cheap paper with cheap paper friendly ink.

3) Sailor 1911L or Sailor Pro Gear (not the slim version). Note: The slim versions are also very good but not quite as good. Sailor is thought to make the best nibs in the world. Absolutely amazing writing experience. Writing with a Sailor nib feels sort of like writing with a pencil. It's very smooth but not glass like. There is just enough control. Probably my favorite nibs. Not very wet so great for cheap paper.

If you don't write on high quality paper, and I mean genuinely high quality paper, like Rhodia, Tomoe River, Clairefontaine etc. as opposed to overpriced junk like Moleskine, get a fine nib in anything but a Sailor or Platinum. You can get a medium nib Sailor or Platinum since their nibs run narrower.

You should also limit yourself to a cheap paper compatible ink. You could try Platinum dye-based Blue Black, Diamine Registrar's Blue Black, Sailor Kiwa Giro, Sailor Seiboku or Sailor Souboku etc. You could get also get Noodler's Black. However, Noodler's hand mixes inks and the quality control is off a lot of the time. Nathan Tardiff's (owner and sole employee of Noodler's) political statements may not be compatible with a lot of the crowd on HN either. If you go with Noodler's, get regular Noodler's Black, do not get X-Feather.

(edited: formatting and minor changes for clarity)

[blagie]

<-- This post is accurate, but I'd phrase it more strongly. Not all the listed pens in the original post are even "good." The Montblanc is mostly jewellery. It doesn't write as well as pens a fraction of the price, and you're mostly paying for the logo. I dismissed the post seeing it in the list. The Pilot Metropolitan this post mentions cost less than 1/10th the price, and writes a lot better.

I'll mention: Another way to go are $1-$5 fountain pens from China. You can get about a dozen for the cost of a single Pilot, or about a hundred for the cost of the Montblanc. The quality is mixed, but if you buy a few, you'll get a couple really good ones, a couple typical ones, and maybe a broken one. My better ones are every bit as good as the Pilot.

The nice thing is that at that price, if you lose one, it's not a tragedy.

And at that price point, you can also get a bent nib, a flexy nib, a wide nib, etc. just for fun.

If nothing else, it's a great way to start experimenting and seeing what you like before you buy a more expensive pen to see what you want.

[ahonhn]

I've been using a Platinum Plaisir as my daily driver for 5 years now. ( < $20) It uses the same nib as the ultracheap Platinum Preppy ( < $5 ) (of which I also have far more than I need).

[aarghh]

Great list.

One addition on the really cheap end - Pilot Prera - which comes with a wonderful calligraphy nib as well (CM). Also, the Pilot Vanishing Point is available with a calligraphy nib (I retrofitted mine of 20 years vintage with one, and it has been a great joy).

Mnemosyne notebooks are what I use. Comb bound, so can lie flat, and very good paper.

[danShumway]

+1 for the Twisbi Eco. I'm not a fountain pen expert but it's always served me well, and I love the piston filler and general maintainability. Great as a pen that gives a good writing experience but isn't so expensive that you're scared to carry it around with you or throw it in a bag. And the extra ink capacity means I can take the pen on short trips without bringing ink along with me.

[yumraj]

> Pilot Metropolitan

One thing I’d like to mention is the difference between Japanese Fine and European Fine, with Japanese being much finer.

I found Metropolitan Fine to be scratchy while love Lamy Safari Fine. I’ll recommend Metropolitan Medium to most people who are starting with fountain pens, or a Lamy Safari Fine.

[slowmovintarget]

Regarding Noodler's Ink: Most of his popular inks are fairly consistent. Noodler's Ink Black being by far the most popular. For black inks I prefer Heart of Darkness. It is a deeper, richer black, though it isn't as well-behaved on bad paper.

Noodler's Navy is also very good. (I have many bottles from this brand.)

But if you want a safe-in-any-pen, just works, generally great ink, I'd have to recommend Pilot Blue-Black in the 70ml bottle. The bottle has built-in ink well, so it ensures you get a good fill all the way through the life of the bottle. The ink is middle of the road for wetness (Pilot Iroshizuku inks are wet, this is in the middle, not dry like Robert Oster inks, for example).

[quantgenius]

While I love many Noodler's inks and have many bottles from him too, while this used to be the case, this hasn't been my experience recently. In my experience the inconsistency has if anything gotten worse recently. Worse, the bottle will sometimes contain ink that is different from the label.

I recently bought a bottle of Noodler's Navy to replace a bottle I actually emptied that was bought maybe 5-6 years ago. The ink inside the bottle was almost certainly Noodler's Aircorp Blue Black, which I also have.

In my experience, and based on anecdata from friends who also use fountain pens, Noodler's inconsistency and quality control issues have gotten MUCH worse in the past 2-3 years.

[pkd]

This is a good list but it has a massive jump in levels from $40 to $200+.

I would say that Platinum 3776 belongs in between these levels and not alongside the 2000 and Vanishing Point. Other entries on this level may include:

- Faber Castell Loom: Faber Castell steel nibs are absolutely buttery smooth. My favourite steel nibs and better than most gold nibs. The grip section is a bit slippery.

- Twsbi 580ALR: Beautiful colours, piston filler, good nibs, great value.

- Platinum Curidas: A capless pen like the Vanishing Point but in cheaper materials. Still a great option at a lower price since it's such a unique type.

- Pilot Custom 92: If you can source it from Japan. North American prices are crazy.

[onebike]

I came here to write something similar, so thank you. I would add a Pelikan M800 or M100 to the level-up list, though.

[quantgenius]

Love my Pelikans. But the M800 and M1000 retail for more than double the most expensive pen on my list. They are awesome but not necessarily a better writing experience than the pens on the list.

Still, they mostly didn't make the list because while Pelikans are awesome, their nib quality control isn't what one would hope it was. In addition, you don't really know what you are getting in terms of nib size. I've bought Pelikan extra fines that make a wider line than Pelikan mediums.

If you know how to tune nibs or you budget and extra 50 dollars for a nibmeister to get it the way you like, or you buy from a retail store where you try the pen out first and know what to look for great. I suspect most here will buy online and won't necessarily know what makes for a problematic nib and how they want it to work.

[eternityforest]

I like this list a lot! But I'd also add that a lot of the cheap knockoff "gas station knife" kind of pens write just fine.

I suspect a lot of FP users are in it for the same reason as me. I'm not writing tens of pages a week, I use them for occasionally taking a few notes, in a really pretentious way just to be extra, partly as a protest against the trend of not having any hobbies besides eating and scrolling. It's like a living history project every time you use one!

My penmanship is already terrible, I don't expect to dance over the page effortlessly, I'd need probably years of practice to not need to constantly think about each movement, no matter what the pen is.

So to me, choosing a $10 pen by what looks cool is totally valid as long as there's enough reviews to be mostly sure it won't leak or just not work at all or something.

Even low end ones provide a lot of value if you just want to write without anything too 21st century ruining the low tech aesthetic, and it only costs $15 or so to get into.

Just be sure to get a modern pressurized pen as a backup if you don't spring for the nice fountain!!

[sn41]

I am a fan of fountain pens, but do not have a lot of cash to splurge on experimentation. This detailed comment is a great resource.

[axiomdata316]

This is a great list. Just to piggyback on the Pilot Vanishing Point. I originally wasn't interested in getting one because I was put off with the clip being on the "wrong" end of the pen. I wound up purchasing the Mahjohn A1 which is basically a Chinese replica of the Pilot Vanishing Point. (I guess the patent expired after 50 years) It's my new favorite pen. Even with a steel nib it writes very smoothly. Because it's almost identical you can interchange the cartridges and pin nib inserts.

I'm very tempted to buy the actual Pilot Vanishing Point insert and swap it so I have a 18k nib.

Originally released in 1963 it really is a really cool piece of engineering. Highly recommend the Pilot Vanishing Point or the Chinese replica as a daily writer.

[yeahboats]

Forgot to post my comment this morning so I'll post under here.

Another recommendation for the Mahjohn (or Moonman) A1. I have always adored the Pilot Vanishing Point but couldn't bring myself to spend 160 dollars on a pen, especially when most of my time is spent typing on a computer. So I found out about the Moonman A1 and I enjoyed writing with it so much that I ordered another. Feels great with some iroshizuku ink (I suppose this is my splurge) and Luechtterm 1917 notebook paper, which I only mention since ink/paper seems to have an impact on writing experience.

The pen also comes in a clipless version for those that want to avoid the clip.

[TimButterfield]

The Pilot Custom 823 (amber demonstrator) is my favorite pen. I love the way it writes, the quantity of ink it holds, and that the screw down piston knob also blocks ink flow so it doesn't dry out. I have the Sailor 1911 and Pro Gear also, but prefer the Realo piston fill for the larger ink capacity. I enjoy the Rhodia paper also.

[ubermonkey]

Quality post right here. Absolutely no notes.

My daily driver for nearly 20 years was a Vanishing Point. They write REALLY well, feel smooth, and the cartridge ink is entirely acceptable -- which was important to me when I was traveling often for work.

These days I alternate between a TWSBI, a couple VPs, a Safari, and a nicer Aurora my sister gave me for Christmas.

[mcguire]

I haven't been keeping up; does TWSBI still have quality problems with their plastic? The last I heard, there were a lot of reports of parts breaking. TWSBI was always good about replacing the parts, but I heard too many stories about someone's second or third replacement cap breaking.

[quantgenius]

I haven't had any trouble with TWSBI's bought in the last 2-3 years. Besides they have a crazy good lifetime warranty. I've had a pen stepped on, emailed them and told them so and they shipped a replacement barrel to me for shipping cost. Ditto a replacement wrench that I lost.

[mpalczewski]

I would not reccomend TWSBI for beginners, I find that the nibs are way to finicky. I needed to tune mine a bit before it wrote well. Pilot and Lamy are great out of the box.

[quantgenius]

I haven't had this experience with TWSBI. They used to have somewhat more finicky nibs before they switched to using Jowo nibs. I've found the nibs on TWSBI pens to generally be pretty well adjusted Jowo nibs. They aren't the same level of quality control as Japanese brands but are probably better than any European brand.

Plus they have a really good lifetime warranty. If your nib has issues, call them. They will probably send you a replacement.

[bborud]

Funny, I've had the opposite experience. That might be down to things like hand size, how you hold the pen etc.

I've had 3-4 Lamy pens and they have all ended up wither being given away or thrown in the bin because the nibs tend to be either dry or scratchy for me. I think I have only one regular Pilot pen and it works well for me. (I did try a flex nib Namiki Falcon, and that just didn't work at all for me. Namiki/Pilot are the same company, right?).

[adamquek]

My daily driver is my Platinum Century (3776). The lavender colour just makes me feel like using it more.

[selykg]

I love my Custom 823. I have several Pilot pens, they're all superb.