I’m a journalist. I write a lot. Right now I use a kaweco perkeo all black fountain pen. But I want to upgrade. I’m looking for a light weight no screw fountain pen in a higher price class. It has to be durable, can take a lot on ink, an edc and around the 100 dollar mark. What do you guys recommend?
I miss when they sold fountain pens at Target
Some follow up questions: Do you do most of your writing at a desk or on the go? Preference for something that looks like a fountain pen or something more “stealthy” to not attract a lot of attention? Does it need to be in the $100 range or are you open to somewhat cheaper suggestions? Have a preference for the body style, filling mechanism, etc?
Most of the time I write at a desk. I want something that looks like a fountain pen, simple not too pricey, nor showy. I have a lamy safari, but I’m not looking for something exactly like that. And the $ 100 dollars range, i can go a little bit over, or even a bit under it. And I’ve got no preference for any kind of filling mechanism.
@Alkaseltzer028 @coys25 How about a Majohn A2?
I was going to suggest an A1 which is my usual go to when I’m working in the hospital and need to write right away. The A2 may be a better choice if you want something light. Or a real pilot VP if you can find a deal. But really the Majohns are great and not too expensive, and you could see if you like the style before you commit to a pilot if you wanted.
If you like smaller pens something in the parker 51 family might be a good match? You might be able to pick up a vintage parker 51 for around that price. The vacumatic / aeromatic filling mechanisms allow for a ton of ink to be held in a pretty small pen. If you want something cheaper, there are lots of clones / homages. I have a wing sung 601 and 601 flighter that are both great pens and hold a ton of ink, and have the fun vacumatic filling mechanism.
I got my Lamy 2000 for about $100 on eBay iso you can sometimes find a deal on what is my favorite, same for both of my Pilot Vanishing Points. Alternatively, the Platinum Curidas goes for about $50.
The market for no-screw pens above a certain price point gets pretty slim from what I know. I imagine it’s because many, if not most, pens are made from resin at a certain level.
Good luck!
It’s only going to take cartridges, so IDK if that’s “a lot” of ink, but how about a Platinum Curidas? Not everyone’s favorite but the new gift set looks nice if you want a matte pen instead of a demonstrator.
I use mine for sketching, as I use platinum black cartridges (that I refill) and the light weight and width is nice for long sessions (I have big hands).
The real stumper to your inquiry is the lack of screw cap. For whatever reason lots of pens in that pricepoint are screwcaps. You could try a couple of cheaper slip cap options like a Platinum Prefounte, or Pilot Prera.
Lamy Studio (either LX or Brushed Steel finish).
https://www.gentlemanstationer.com/blog/2019/11/15/workhorse-pens-the-lamy-studio
Snap cap. Takes standard Lamy nibs (although the Lx version has a nicer stealth black PVD finish) so you can swap out nib sizes if you feel your needs change. Plus, when you want to upgrade you can get a gold nib for it.
Steel is $67 at Cult Pens https://cultpens.com/en-us/products/lamy-studio-fountain-pen-brushed-steel Lx is $102 https://cultpens.com/en-us/products/lamy-studio-lx-fountain-pen-all-black
I recommend either of these models out of the Studio range as they have a rubberized section. People have complained the chromed section on the other models can be slippery. If another model excites you though you can buy replacement sections with the rubber coating https://vanness1938.com/products/lamy-rubberized-grip-section-for-lamy-studio.
Otherwise, do consider the Faber-Castel E-Motion https://www.gentlemanstationer.com/blog/2018/4/24/workhorse-pens-faber-castell-e-motion-pure-black.
It is a heavy, although well balanced, pen which may not suit very long writing sessions and it is a screw cap, but if I recall from mine it is less than 1 turn to unscrew and almost as convenient as a snap cap, plus FC steel nibs are as nice if not nicer than many gold nibs out there. I have the pure black whcih you can get on Amazon for just over $100. $147 at Cult pens https://cultpens.com/en-us/products/faber-castell-e-motion-fountain-pen-pure-black?variant=43643035910387.
Both of these use cartridges or converters so they don’t have the capacity of a piston filler but if you refill cartridges you can get plenty of pages from a fill.
