[stantheman]

Originally Posted by alpha1

Off late I am observing that getting fine nibs is extremely difficult - there seems to be a market preference for broad nibs.
Is this what others are also experiencing?

Yes, I have noticed that as well. Strangely this I have seen from mass market to class. Though I have recently picked up a Jinhao (copy of Lamy Safari) which has an extremely fine nib (and at the cost of almost offending Lamy fans), it writes as well as Lamy. I am really sold on this one. It buttery smooth and costs less than a MacDonald's meal.

Originally Posted by Eddy

I've never been a fan of heavy pens. I make do with whatever I have handy, as long as it is not a ball pen. Any gel/pilot pen goes.

I remember the Camlin Premier which someone had gifted me during my school years, almost dropped it few times while writing due to weight.

BTW, here is a part of my humble collection.



Left to right,

Jinhao (My daily driver)
Sheafer Quasi Imperiale with steel nib
waterman Hemisphere
Parker Vacumatic

[adi.mariner]

The 7th International Pen Festival is being held at Siddhi Lawns in Pune on 21-22 October 2023.

[Gennex]

Searching for this thread. As a beginner I started using fountain pens 5 years ago, on and off. Stated with Pierre cardin, broke couple of nibs and stopped using. Again my curiosity kicked in for the fountain pens. Started again with a desi Sulekha and Beena pens, cost you a couple of hundreds, their medium nibs are good. Cello signature pen is okay. Camlin trinity is a work horse for me , it never disappoints. Gold leaf Jinhao (let's call it a Lamy for a man on budget) with its fine tip does a good job of writing. Should I buy a few more??? It makes me worry that many might not be used and will rot in a corner.

[Autodoc]

Originally Posted by Gennex

Searching for this thread. As a beginner I started using fountain pens 5 years ago, on and off. Stated with Pierre cardin, broke couple of nibs and stopped using. Again my curiosity kicked in for the fountain pens. Started again with a desi Sulekha and Beena pens, cost you a couple of hundreds, their medium nibs are good. Cello signature pen is okay. Camlin trinity is a work horse for me , it never disappoints. Gold leaf Jinhao (let's call it a Lamy for a man on budget) with its fine tip does a good job of writing. Should I buy a few more??? It makes me worry that many might not be used and will rot in a corner.

If you’ve developed the habit, if you’re able to use it on a regular basis and most importantly, if you enjoy using it; please go ahead and get more when your budget permits. It’s a beautiful long road with which can bring you immense joy. Each pen has a character of its own and you can have so many different permutations and combinations of inks and nibs.

If you’re on a budget you could try the following pens

Parker frontier series
Parker vector series
Pilot metropolitan animal series

Eventually move onto Lamy Safaris, Monteverde, TWSBI Eco and so on. There’s no limit TBH

[adi.mariner]

For all Punekars, there is a Fountain Pen exhibition from 04 to 06 October at One Place on FC Road.

[tchsvy]

I have always had a soft spot for pens. When I was a kid I collected up to 100 pens, all unique but not expensive, silver pens (made by a goldsmith, nonetheless), wooden pens, pens with lights, etc. Unique, funky and everything in between. I lost the bag with the pens in it. I was kind of heartbroken, so I stopped collecting. But I always had an interest in pens. I recently got a few fountain pens and am enjoying them. Started with a Parker and Pelikan inks, then added the Hero (Wilson) pen for the sake of nostalgia. Recently been to the Deccan pen stores here in Hyderabad, got myself a Sulekha and a Lamy Safari knock off along with a couple of ink bottles from Sulekha. These were all good looking pens and the performance was okay. But last week I got a Platinum Preppy and started appreciating the quality it brings to the table. I was reading a blog and someone compared pens to watches and wrote that the Lamy AL-star is like the Seiko of the watch world while the Pilot V-Pen (Varsity in the States) is like the G-Shock, this analogy hit home and I added these two pens to my wish list, along with a few inks from the Krishna RC series, particularly the Moonview and the Poyka.