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)
<-- 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.
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).
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.
+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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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!!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?).
I haven't been in the fountain pen world for a couple years, but it was typical for everything except the Japanese pens to have consistency issues. I wouldn't fault this on the OP's usage habits with his regards to TWSBI issues. I've heard they've gotten better, but again, haven't been buying for years at this point.
Namiki is the same as Pilot yes. The flex falcon's are notably scratchy, and it's a well known issue. The general cheap pens (i.e. the metropolitan and co) are amazing, both in consistency and performance. The Falcon nibs on their #15 pens (most famously the 823) don't have the scratchiness, but can have flow issues.
For anyone with a budding or casual interest in fountain pens, the Lamy Safari is the way to go. They're plentiful, inexpensive, rugged, and have plenty of nibs, cartridges, and refillable cartridges to experiment with. Just pick your color and start using it to figure out what you value in a pen.
Don't let the grip shape scare you off, you might like it more than you thought, but if not it won't ruin the value as an experimentation platform. Note that unlike a ballpoint you'll need to experiment to find the right combination of nibs, inks, and papers.
Also check out the unrelated free Handwriting Repair pdf so you don't feel ashamed and disappointed in yourself every time you use the pen. Plus it'll turn the flat shape of the nib into an advantage.
Edit: People seem to like the Pilots. I haven't tried them, but they seem to also be inexpensive and have good nib and ink options.
In my view, Lamy Safari is way overrated. Don't get me wrong, it's far from bad, a pretty consistent pen for the price. But the ink dries fast-ish if you don't use it, and especially, the cartridges are proprietary so you're tied to the brand's cartridges and ink colors (there's a piston converter, but converters, meh).
A Pilot Metropolitan is approximately the same price and at least in my view, it's better as it uses standard international cartridges. A TWSBI Eco is more expensive, but not by that much, and it's an absolute reliability monster.
> [the Pilot Metropolitan] uses standard international cartridges
I'm afraid not; Pilot cartridges are sui generis, and not compatible with either Lamy's own proprietary design or with "International Standard" cartridges.
That said, there's nothing wrong with proprietary cartridges per se, given that fountain pen cartridges in general are a pretty niche good. I like Pilot cartridges for being refillable and resealable, especially since Pilot makes a lot of really nice inks that only come in bottles, but unless you're anxious to do a lot of refilling that doesn't really count for much.
Agree on the Lamy Safari drying out very quickly; I use it about once a week, and it is always dried out at first use. I know Montblanc can be overpriced, but it's the only pen I have that writes immediately without skipping after a time, even if I haven't used it in a month.
My daily drivers are a Lamy 2000 with a TWSBI Eco in different color ink for highlighting/commenting; I also carry a Pilot 823 on me as a backup to the Lamy 2000 but I have never been able to get used to the vacuum mechanism.
In case you want to try something different, I have several Platinum Century #3776. They are much cheaper than the typical Mont Blanc and they can go unused even for several months without any issue. My favorite pen functionally speaking (not so much in terms of design, a bit too conservative for my taste).
No, the Eco can only be filled with a piston mechanism, and yes, you have a point. While I love piston fillers, it can be off-putting for a complete beginner, so maybe better as second pen than as first :) The Pilot Metropolitan is great as first pen, IMO.
I'd go one step further and suggest a Pilot disposable fountain pen. Their nibs are remarkably good, and you're only out around $2 if you dislike them.
And if you like them, well then, have fun with your new hobby!
I was giving away Pilot Varsity pens (a.k.a. V-pens) to people around the office that were interested. Amazon sells them in boxes of 10, and yes they have a surprisingly good nib for such an inexpensive pen. They also have decent capacity, as the thing is basically a non-refillable ink tank with a novel felt feed (similar to what markers use).
The next pen I recommend as a starter is usually the Pilot Metropolitan, or the TWSBI Eco for those who want to dive into bottled ink.
True, I actually did that myself when I impulse bought one at an art supply store since it was at the checkout counter. It's a great way to find out if you're interested in experimenting with pens, or if you just want a no-fuss tool and have a passing curiosity in fountain pens. Do this before getting a non-disposable.
I second the recommendation to try Pilot first, though I haven't used any of their recent disposables. Pilot nibs are just remarkably consistently good. As a starter I'd suggest the Pilot Metropolitan with a medium nib (as Asian nibs tend to be a little finer than European nibs with the same designation) although my personal favourite ‘cheap’ pen (that is, in the Lamy Safari price range) is the old-style Prera (in the US, from JetPens).
The problem I have with the Safari is that I don't write much and they dry out before I use them much. My Kaweco Sport lasts for ages, and I think it's to do with the fit of the screw top compared to the relatively loose clicking mechanism of the Safari cap.
I use a refillable cartridge on my pens and have dialed in about how much ink I should load at any given point in time based on my writing habits. It might help to play around with that.
I preferred the Pilot Metropolitan, with a Medium Nib (equivalent to Fine in Europe). It was my goto pen for a number of years, despite getting more expensive ones.
I saw the recommendation for the Lamy Safari in a lot of places. Just want to say I actually hated writing with it. Maybe I got a bad one, but I doubt it.
I've had a few Safaris and they're easily among my favorites, but personally it was common to get misaligned nibs with them, or extreme variation between two different nibs of the same grind (so I don't think the problem of "getting a bad one" is as unlikely as portrayed). The alignment problem occurs with all brands to one degree or another IME, and it's worth learning to make adjustments using a loupe or macro camera for anyone who's interested in the hobby.
There's also a widespread problem of counterfeit Lamy Safaris out there, which usually come in subtly different packaging and/or have subtly different markings on the pen body. These are widely considered to be inferior, and fairly common if ordering somewhere like Amazon.
This is fascinating to me, as someone naive to the hobby. Can you describe what you're looking for and what adjustments you'd make? Are there two halves of the nib that need to be at the right spacing and alignment for proper ink-wicking or something like that? Does that affect the smoothness of the interaction with the paper too?
I routinely work under a high-magnification dissecting scope to build experimental equipment for neuroscience, but I never considered that people would be doing this to optimized their writing instruments.
Pretty much all of what you wrote is a consideration, but everyone probably has their own preferences (and in some part it's affected by writing angle and penmanship habits). Certain nib styles are better suited to different ways of holding a pen. And there's a lot more to it, since different papers react in different ways to different nibs, and inks are another wide-ranging variable.
I think many people get drawn into the hobby for the endless pursuit of matching pens, papers, and inks, or trying to optimize for various characteristics across different combinations of the above. Of course a lot of people don't bother and just find one that works well enough and leave it at that.
I agree, I've had huge variation in the nibs as well. I did some research on how to polish the nibs a bit and was able to tune the ones that didn't perform as well.
Even the gold nib needed tuning. :(
You should be able to feel a _consistent_ feedback as you write with a proper nib. Two of the three nibs that I bought didn't perform out of the box. And a fine nib was too dry. I bought some brass spacers to separate the tins a bit.
I assume you mean the nib wrote scratchy. Honestly, troubleshooting that issue is something you have to be prepared for if you have a fountain pen. I haven't used enough of any nib to know if some of them have genuine design or quality control problems, or if the volume of reports online is due to people expecting a more plug-and-play experience.
Small independent retailers who live and die by satisfying their niche enthusiast customers? Yeah, they're fantastic, and they're generally passionate about what they sell.
It's extremely rare to get a nib that isn't tuned pretty much perfectly if you buy a brand new pen made by one of the Japanese big 3, Pilot, Platinum and Sailor from an actual fountain pen retailer (online or brick and mortar). I've never gotten a remotely bad nib from any of those nor have I heard of someone getting a remotely bad nib from one of them.
If you buy from eBay or used elsewhere or for that matter Amazon, you do sometimes get a bad nib because someone has tried to tune one of these nibs and botched it and then decided to try and sell the pen new.
A lot of times, with Pilots especially, if they're sold for the Japanese domestic market the tines are extremely tight and the pens write very dry, to the point of needing adjustment for writing in roman-derived script. I have a few nice Pilots and of the high end ones bought from Japan, a little bit of skipping or dryness was common out of the box.
Most nib complaints can probably be resolved with proper adjustment and maintenance. If people were doing that, I'd expect the complaints to be more focused on how the nibs defy their efforts, as opposed to how the nibs write poorly.
I have two. The first one was purchased as part of a box kit from Bespoke Post. That one is fantastic all-around. Then I misplaced it and purchased a second one from Amazon, apparently with a different nib. I prefer the Pilot disposables to that one.
Btw, just got a 3-pack of Pilot Varsity disposable fountain pens and it's pretty nice. It feels like a rolling ball with a nib, and that pen was my go to pen for a long time before the Pentel EnerGel replaced it.
A big problem with Safaris is they dry out quickly. There are many great pen varieties nowadays, none of which have this common fountain-pen shortcoming.
Safaris are suitable for people who write daily; others should look elsewhere.
A few years ago I bought a Pilot Metropolitan fountain pen. It's decent, but the ink evaporates really quickly.
Last year I bought an inexpensive Platinum Preppy and it doesn't have this problem at all. No idea why the Pilot is so bad or if I can fix it, but it basically makes the pen useless to me because I do not write daily. Even if I did use it daily, the disappearing ink means I'd have more maintenance to deal with than I really want.
The other thing many people don't think about is paper quality. Fountain pen ink really soaks through many types of paper. It took me a while, but I finally found a yellow legal pad brand that is great with a fountain pen. Mintra canary premium legal pads are inexpensive and nice to write on.
For newcomers: if you get a pen that seals properly (so it won’t dry out), consider getting a fast-drying ink; you won’t end up with streaks across the paper and on your hands. I found Lamy T52 acceptable.
Three I know about are the TWSBI Eco and Diamond, and Pilot’s disposable Vpen. They’ve already been mentioned elsewhere in this thread.
Beyond those, do research. Fountain pens drying out is a major problem that catches newcomers off-guard. When you can buy EnerGels for peanuts, fountain pen manufacturers really need to up their game to stay remotely competitive with other pen types. And many don’t.
You do need to cap fountain pens because the inks are water based.
If you need to take quick notes and drying out is a problem because the pens are uncapped and capped a lot, get a Lamy 2000, vintage (not new) Parker 51 or a Pilot Vanishing Point. The first two have slip caps and hooded nibs so cap and uncap really quickly and don't dry out due to the hooded nib. The Vanishing Point also has a hooded nib but you click it like a ballpoint pen to expose and hide the nib. Also don't use quick drying inks.
If drying out is a problem because you don't write frequently enough, there are two solutions. Solution 1: Buy a Platinum (Preppy for low end, or 3776 higher end). It has a really good cap. Both will take a long time to dry out. Or even better, write more frequently.
The Kaküno is a small pen, intended for the hands of children. But it is outstanding at that price point, and it uses the same cartridges/converters as the Metropolitan.
My kids have them and will use them until they outgrow them.
I have a number of fountain pens but the one I keep coming back to is the Pilot Kakuno, they are super cheap but they just feel so good in hand especially for sketching and drawing.
Pilot somehow pulls off miracles with their steel nibs. The Kakuno has the same nib as the Metropolitan or the Explorer, and they're great. Even better, the Kakuno can (just barely) fit the CON-70 converter for a nice big ink reservoir instead of the wee CON-40.
Granted, refilling cartridges with bottled ink and blunt syringes works really well, too.
Agreed, love the Lamy Safari. I got the Al Star to up-scale it a bit. And, then a gold-nib later. But, honestly, like the steel more!
I also tried the Pilot Metropolitan, for some reason this awful pen is recommended as an alternative to the Lamy. Doesn't even compare, got rid of it fairly quickly. The ridge along the grip was very uncomfortable for me.
The Lamy grips are pretty controversial too. It looks like there are a few other pens that use the same nib and feed as the Metro. Do any of them lack that ridge?
I collect fountain pens (and other types of pens) and paper/stationary. I have been writing extensively by hand for many many years. While it is not my overall favorite, I think it's important for folks to know that from a writing quality and feel perspective that modern low-cost pens are actually /very/ good, and are the way to go. The Platinum Preppy is every bit as good as the majority of classic fountain pens, and better than many, very few are better, and you can buy it for under $20 basically anywhere.
The most important thing for writing with a fountain pen and having a good experience is actually the INK, not the pen, because the ink determines the flow, forgiveness, and the time to dry (which prevents smudging). Additionally, paper has a huge influence. I'd recommend investing in good quality paper with cotton in their mix. If you don't want to spend a lot but get good quality mass-produced stationary, G. Lalo and Clairefontaine are both good brands to buy.
Interesting. I don't collect but i do calligraphy and use a fountain pen as my main instrument. I use a noodlers Ahab primarily because of a flexible nib. I used a Waterman for a long time till sometime I lent it to dropped it. I also have a Lamy gifted to me it. It's good but i prefer a narrower nib.
I concur with your point about the ink. I used to use private reserve but recently shifted to Waterman and I'm happy. I prefer the colour of the later. Another important thing is the paper. It needs a bit of a bite that produces a scratchy sound. Also, older paper that's exposed to humid environments tend to bleed the ink causing bad writing.
I've found that with regard to ink, there is no one size fits all solution. Some pens work with fast-flowing inks, other pens don't work as well. So there is some amount of trial and error that goes into pairing pen with ink.
This is very true, the pen, ink, and paper work together to form a system. They all have some effect on all of the variables such as flow, ease of movement, drying time, etc. For the most part modern ink are better in every aspect compared to classic inks.
I'm not sure I understand the difference between modern and classic inks. Is there a definition somewhere?
(I have 20-25 ink bottles of ink and by trial and error I've roughly figured out what ink works in what pen. I probably should know more about inks given that I write a lot, but I haven't made any systematic approach to figuring this out :-))
> I'm not sure I understand the difference between modern and classic inks. Is there a definition somewhere?
I'm not sure if there is an official definition. But what I mean by this, is that classic inks (like iron gall) were usually a combination of pigment and an acid as a carrier. Modern inks are usually alcohol or water carriers with nano-pigments or dyes, combined with surfactants which helps ensure the ink flows well without any issues across varied paper types.
Ink has moved forward rather significantly in modern times, but I am not a chemist so I can't really get into details. I've used (out of some desire for the archaic) some correct reproductions of classic inks like iron gall or other pigment inks and it is kind of nasty and clogs the nib of the pen, but leaves a very permanent mark on the paper that has a somewhat unique appearance. I know some people prefer something anachronistic, but I am a fan of modern ink for sure.
One data point i can contribute is calligraphic inks. Using normal fountain pen ink with a square nib dip pen will produce writing that will spread even when dry. The binding agent in the ink is designed for much smaller strokes.
Calligraphic ink (i use Windsor Newton) is quite different and forms something like a scale on the paper when dry holding everything in place. You can feel the texture of the writing when it's drym
Absolutely right about the paper. I use copier paper to write on, and a specific brand of it, because even between the brands of identical looking paper there are huge differences. Some branks seem to suck up the ink like blotting paper with more feathering than an explosion in a pillow factory, others are just too rough and feel horrible to write on. The ink also makes a big difference. Some inks just kinda suck, others work really well.
(Currently I'm running Platinum Blue-Black in a cheap Platinum Plaisir on 'Double A' brand copy paper. Parker Quink also works very well for me.)
One thing that hasn't been mentioned so far. We've seen comments that "race to the bottom" (Lamy Safari, Pilot Preppy, ...), or that aim for "timeless classics" (basically any gold nib - Sailor 1911, Pilot Falcon, ~$150+ pens).
There's a third way though. The "actual piece of history". In my opinion, no pen is better for this than a Parker 51. This for me is the embodiment (and a parent of) "the consumer fountain pen". Seen and used everywhere from 1940s to about 1960s. The best part - these can now be had for ~$100 and a good portion of them still works beautifully to this day. With minimal maintenance (cleaning, sometimes slight nib polishing to remove the flat spots that come from long time use by their previous owners) one can get a working Parker 51 for under $60.
The best part - these pens can go neck to neck with a lot of modern $150+ pieces. All the while most of these pens are older than majority of HN users. Heck, having a small collection myself, most of my Parker 51s are older than my parents.
Totally agree. Properly restored vintage pens are absolutely awesome. You don't have to go as high end as a vintage Parker 51. Try an Esterbrook. They were the BIC of their day and are amazing.
Very important warning regarding Parker 51s or any modern Parker. Do not buy the modern Parker 51!! The brand Parker is now owned by a company that is choosing to take advantage of people who remember the Parker brand and foisting total garbage on them.
I love my Esterbrooks, I was gifted a green model J many years ago, and I use it frequently at home. I recently purchased an SJ from an antiques market, and revived it with a new ink sac ($20 all in), this pen now lives on my desk at work. I prefer their lighter weight to the Pilot Metropolitans.
If one doesn't mind jumping through a hoop or two regarding shipping, vintage Montblancs are just about as cheap from Japan as the 51 is in the US, and sometimes cheaper. The 12/14/32/220/etc are smaller than the flagship Meisterstucks, but they're also about 1/10 the price and really quite nice quality. Recently I've paid 30-50$ per pen to develop a little collection; the 220 was most expensive at 70$.
Piston fillers that are still going strong after decades, minimal maintenance, pleasant gold nibs.
I'd agree. This article was not at all what I assumed it would be about: it is primarily a listing of boutique manufacturer pens that are entirely modern and not at all classic in mentality. They fit the standard "limited edition, barrel-design-focused, standard section and cartridge+converter, generic nib" product design and business model that I think is intrinsically linked to the move of fountain pens to being marketed as mostly status items.
There are great, actually classic pens, and being from a time when they were meant to be used, they can be far more interesting. Parker 51s are ubiquitous and reliable, and vacuum fillers in general seem significantly better than modern cartridge and converter pens. For mid century technically-interesting pens, I'm fond of Sheaffer snorkel fillers, where the pen can be quickly refilled without the nib ever touching ink and changing the line thickness or becoming messy. Even earlier, Waterman and other pens with fine, flexible nibs offer nib styles that range from very difficult to impossible to get in modern pens.
This “article” is total “churnalism”, just marketing bunk with absolutely no content. Obviously I am aware what Wallpaper* is, which is mainly a conduit to help people spend their money as fast as possible like Brewster’s Millions, but this article on HN is surely misdirected.
Agreed. Most of those listings aren't even close to being classics.
For example, The Monoc Nib is very new. It didn't exist a few scant months ago. While I hope Ian Schon succeeds and it does become considered a classic, a single-piece titanium nib unit that encloses an Ultem feed is not a typical fountain pen design. (Very cool, just not classic yet... give it 20 years).
The Montblanc, and maybe the Conway Stewart may be the only classic brands there.
I have a lot of fountain pens, some very high end, some cheap garbage. The TWSBI Echo is my favourite pen to write with. The nib is dreamy. Pare that with J.Herbin ink and it's the best writing experience I've ever had.
TWSBI leans towards the thicker side for me personally, but it's a great workhorse pen for anyone who uses fountain pens daily on real writing tasks. TWSBI Eco's ink reservoir size and ease-of-use is simply unrivalled among competitors in the same price range.
Lamy Safari has been my go-to for years, but for anyone starting out I recommend the TWSBI Eco. Only downside imo is inability to easily swap out nibs in a TWSBI.
For the affordable gold nibs, "Lamy 2000" is generally the biggest competitor to Pilot Capless / Vanishing point. Same price, very similar nib quality, different esthetics / use case.
For the cheap, the aliexpress classics "Jinhao x750" is another gateway drug. It's under $10 and gives an almost infinite ability for tinkering further down the line when the fountain pen bug bites (#6 size nibs that are easy to find / replace and standard cartridge / converter size for easy ink availability).
Another option are dip pens. They do not offer the same writing time as a regular fountain pen, but they are easier to clean and so let you experiment with exotic inks (such as those with particulate in them).
I'm particularly fond of glass dip pens, as they offer a steady flow and you can get 2-3 lines of text out before you need to re-dip. They're also absurdly easy to clean, as they don't have any "pinch" points which can hide ink from you. On the flip side, they basically have one "width", which is about a 0.8mm line for mine. It's also glass, with everything that entails.
I've been using fountain pens to write for about 35 years now, and I have pens that range from about $30 to about $500. At any given time I have about 2-3 pens either on my desk or in my backpack.
The best value for money I've seen are the TWSBI pens. As writing instruments they are often more reliable than most of the pens I have that are more expensive. The production quality tends to be surprisingly consistent for a low cost pen. I have about 6-7 of these and I have only had one fail on me and that was because it got banged up in my backpack. These are good workhorses for people who take a lot of notes with generous size ink reservoirs.
The least reliable pens I own are usually in the $150-$200 range. A lot of these pens either have problems with inconsistent manufacturing or they are fragile or in some way. A lot of these manufacturers have considerably more expensive versions, but the uneven manufacturing quality means I would only consider buying these in a store so I can have them serviced/adjusted/fixed or return them if they can't justify the price tag.
I'm not really into expensive pens since I don't collect them to collect: I use them. Pens that aren't good writing instruments are of no use to me.
A surprise for me is a Mont Blanc pen I've had for 15 or so years. I got it as a gift and I had never even considered buying a Mont Blanc since it is a luxury brand. Mont Blanc fountain pens are overpriced, but at least the pen I has performed without a hitch for 15 years.
The best pen I own is a nondescript black fountain pen with a nib that has a really rough looking surface finish. It has no visible brand, which has made it hard to figure out what it is. I think it was made by a company that has since gone under. The nib works well for me and it has performed perfectly for about a decade.
I tend to buy Leuchtturm 1917 A5 notebooks since these work well with almost all of my pen/ink combinations plus they are a nice size and have stiff covers. I tried Moleskine, but they're just not very good notebooks. The paper is too flimsy for fountain pens.
For most of my life I hated fountain pens. It turns out that was because the ones I tried were cheap, bad, and/or broken.
I gave them one more shot. Again, a lot of them I did not like, but the Platinum Preppy was excellent. I wanted to get another one with a finer tip, but they were out of stock.
In the meantime I tried some others, and found the Lamy to be just as good, if not better. Just for the sake of convenience I went all in on Lamy and have no regrets. Wish I could have had pens like these back in the day when I was writing more and typing less.
For “pointed pen”, I love my Pilot Falcon. It’s got the most “flex” of any modern fountain pen I own - I own way, way too many fountain pens. I haven’t inventoried them in a couple of years, but I had >200 at the time.
I write everyday with a Waterman Expert. They're a little expensive (usually less than EUR100) but nothing compared to Montblanc, and very pleasant and resilient.
At some point I designed a blotter holder made of a plaque of stainless steel and a sheet of plexiglass, and hand-made blotter paper. I thought it was quite elegant [0] but I couldn't sell more than a couple of them, and now the inventory lingers in my garage ;-(
I own a Pilot birdie which is extremely small but beautiful fountain pen. It resembles a tiny stainless steel rod. It was part of the "Birdie" collection which came also with a ball pen and mechanical pencil. Unfortunately as all good things they don't seem to manufacture them anymore. I started using it some time ago because I'm tired to buy plastic pens, also the its stroke is much better than anything else I've used so far. Fountain pens are a world.
For a article on classic pens I miss something from Kaweco or Lamy as entry level, for example, or some of the classic pens from japanese brands like Pilot or Sailor.
I got into fountain pens for a while. One big problem with them is that you really need paper that's designed for them. A lot of common paper ends up wicking out the ink way too fast.
But they are still pretty cool writing implements. It's easy to change the nibs in them so I would recommend trying out a few different sizes and styles to find one that suits you. It's a fun experience even if ballpoint pens are overall more practical.
I always got on fine with laser printer paper. But it was never really a hobby – my school required them at one point and at another my parents thought it would help my handwriting. If you have a bunch of school kids made to use fountain pens, they aren’t going to be fussing about paper quality; they’ll just use what they have and be fine with it. I think you don’t really need certain types of paper. People just like throwing money at the bits of their hobby that are easy to throw money at.
In my experience, most laser printer papers feather heavily with fountain pen ink. I buy the Target brand ones, and they handle FP ink decently well.
But yes - you definitely need paper that handles the ink well. Most notebooks sold in regular American stores do not. If your city has a Kinokuniya[1] store, likely most stationery sold there will handle it well as fountain pens are still used a lot in Japan.
I ended up getting a Japanese notebook for that reason. I think the one I got may still have been a step up in quality from what's standard there, but it was a leap up from the generic US notebook I had been trying to use.
If you're a new or aspiring pen user, let me recommend you get a screw-top -- they won't pop open accidentally as you learn where you like to stash your pen. This was the cause of more than a few ink incidents for me when I was getting used to carrying a pen!
I am glad to see Schon DSGN there. I got myself a brass "Pocket Six" a few years ago and it is amazing. I use it daily. It is small and write like a dream. The owner now makes his own nib, which looks amazing. Highly recommended.
Speaking only for myself, it took a few months of regular writing.
Like (perhaps) others, I had been forced to use them in grade school -- we were told that "it would improve our handwriting". It laid a foundation for fluency in cursive, but my actual handwriting was terrible.
However, when I came back to fountain pens (after a couple of decades), it was relatively easy to improve my script to where I'm happy with it. Having the "cursive" foundation probably helped a ton.
You can improve just by learning the right technique (how to hold the pen, how to write by moving the arm rather than the wrist) and learning the proper letter shapes. That won't take more than a couple of hours, and from then on you just get practice by applying what you learnt whenever you have to write something down.
I have improved my handwriting. It took a few months of consistent journaling with a fountain pen to find the "font" that worked for me. Now, I have different writing styles depending on how much time I can take. I use a broad nib for quick note taking because I don't have time to make it look "good", and a fine flex nib for when I'm journaling which I use to flourish things a bit.
I bought a Pilot Vanishing Point on a whim just assuming I'd love it. (No wait, it was after some HN thread around five years ago, I think.) Anyway, it's so amazing that I've never considered another fountain pen.
The vanishing point (I have many many of these, including vintage ones!) has relatively low ink flow compared to some of their other pens. Generally, the amount of ink laid out and smoothness can vary quite a bit from pen to pen. The physical writing experience varies a lot, but if you're happy with it and don't want to spend more money on pens you're perfectly fine staying on the vanishing point. The convenience is hard to beat as well!
What advantages do fountain pens still have over modern gel ballpoints? I like the whole experience of fountain pens, how nice they look and the 'old-school' aspect, but sadly I don't feel they are practical any more.
The advantages are all minor—mostly it's an aesthetic preference rather than a practical one. But there are a few small things:
- The mechanism of a fountain pen relies on capillary action and gravity rather than the mechanical rolling action of a ballpoint. This means you don't have to press the point down into the paper almost at all in order to write. This reduces writing fatigue, and can even make writing possible for folks with carpal tunnel or other sources of wrist pain (like healing wrist fractures or other issues).
- Cursive was developed before ballpoints were common. This means that there's a bunch of subtle ways that most western cursive systems are optimized for the low-friction, gliding style of writing with a fixed tip and liquid ink rather than the constant pressure style of writing needed for ballpoints. It's actually less work and strain with a ballpoint NOT to join all your letters together. With a pen that uses liquid ink, it suddenly makes sense why not picking the point up from the page saves effort.
- Fountain pens (can) use less disposable plastic than ballpoints, especially if you're a heavy journaler. A glass bottle of liquid ink will last months or years and there's no plastic inserts or disposable tips to be thrown away. So if you care about that sort of thing, a little bit less waste is an objective advantage.
- Bottles of ink are cheaper per page written than most ballpoint refills. But, this is an invisible benefit to most because depending on how far you get into the hobby you'll inevitably end up spending much more on pens and paper than you would've ever spent on ballpoint refills.
- The ink choices are way more diverse and interesting with fountain pens than with ballpoints. There's many color options available, and some inks have special properties, like drying with fun reflective spots wherever the ink pools or containing microscopic glitter particles to make your writing sparkly.
- Fountain pens, depending on the specific design, are better suited for certain styles of calligraphy than most ballpoint pens are.
But most people who get into fountain pens and ink do so because of aesthetics, not anything objectively superior.
Generally agreed on all points, they're pens that feel good to write with and have little aesthetic joys to them that make writing more enjoyable. I like unscrewing the top of a pen. It's a little spark of joy. But it's mostly aesthetic and is likely fairly subjective.
> It's actually less work and strain with a ballpoint NOT to join all your letters together.
This to me is the biggest observable, practical difference that comes out of the capillary system of the pen. Anecdotally, my handwriting improved quite a bit when I started using a fountain pen.
Traditionally, you are supposed to write with less pressure and even hold the pen with less pressure. Once you teach yourself to do this, it is much less tiring than writing with a ball point pen. I write a lot. It's how I think. I'm orders of magnitude better at thinking when I use a pen and paper to jot and doodle than when I do not.
I also find that writing to take notes is much better than notes taken electronically. You can't write fast enough to transcribe. So you are forced to pay attention, process the information, compress it into nuggets (that may only make sense to you) and write those down. The notes aren't the point. The process means you retain more and understand better. If I wanted a transcription (which is certainly easier with electronic methods), I'd simply record.
I injured my wrist and hand a few years ago and simply would not be able to write as much as I do if I had to use a ball point pen.
Give fountain pens another try. A lot of the things that make them "impractical" is only an issue with bottom of the barrel, cheap pens.
IMO the biggest advantage isn't really anything objectively measurable. Yes, You can come up with things like smoothness, lack of resistance (my personal first reason to switch), sustainability, but ultimately IMO You end up with "it just feels nice".
To me, the main motivation to use them these days is that it simply feels good to use them. After spending some time tinkering / cleaning / nib polishing, fountain pens give me the same sort of pleasure that one gets from any other good tool - a well sharpened knife that just fits into Your hand, a good screw driver, a nicely worn in shoe, a well maintained / fitted bike... The list goes on. It becomes a sort of a self-sustaining feedback loop. The more You use one, the more You "want" to use one.
The biggest advantage fountain pens have is physics.
Ink flow in a fountain pen is via capillary action (touch nib to paper, ink flows), as opposed to a ballpoint pen where you have to apply a small constant amount of downward force for the ball to have enough friction against the paper for the ball to roll. This might not seem like a big deal, but if you're writing a lot, it means that your wrist & hand will get much more fatigued with a ballpoint over time.
Put another way, ballpoints have absolute advantage over fountain pens, except for "sitting down and writing a lot."
If you're not a writer or artist, you might not find much practical advantage of a fountain pen over a gel pen; I might even advise against them. However if you do frequently write and/or draw, you'll find the customization to be unmatched: you can experiment until you find the exact writing feel you prefer, adjusted by ink, nibs, paper types, etc.
Since I found my match in fountain pens, I've found it impossible to go back to anything else. The small amount of maintenance (refilling and occasionally cleaning) is thoroughly outweighed by the tactile sensation of a writing/drawing instrument perfectly tuned to my preference. But I'm an amateur artist, so finding a well-matched tool is very important to me.
There is much more variety to the physical shape of fountain pens, in just about every measurable dimension. Then, part of the process is to develop a sense of how each pen feels and to discover the one that feels best to _YOU_. It's very personal. It sort of behaves as a tailored suit.
I should mention that the ink can also influence the feel of the pen. There is also that to discover.
>What advantages do fountain pens still have over modern gel ballpoints?
Bragging points, perhaps: Aside from the hipster cred (see also: straight razors and pricey shaving products) there is the fact that you have the disposable income to drop hundreds of dollars on this tech. Otherwise there are modern ways to write that I think are superior, and the wide use of other tech suggests that the vast majority have moved on.
Hard to say if this is objective or not, but here goes…
I find that I write faster with a good, reliable fountain pen (like a Sailor) than I do with a ballpoint, gel, rollerball, or anything else I’ve tried. It’s my go-to for fast note taking.
On the other hand, there are a lot of cool and fancy fountain pens that are net slower to write with due to unreliability.
I'm left-handed and the basic Platinum Preppy and the blue ink that comes with it by default work great for me. My hand brushes over the text but the ink dries so fast it's not a problem. Some fancier pens with flexible nib that gives more control over line width really need that you don't push against the grain and are impossible to write with left hand.
There are many left-handed fountain pen users. For extensive discussion of pens, inks, and writing techniques, search for left-handed|lefty at site:www.fountainpennetwork.com.
It mostly seems like they suck for us lefties and the articles about how to use them are just attempts to sell more fountain pens to lefties. The main point of superiority for fountain pens is if you are the person selling fountain pens.
A lot of ballpoints absolutely suck for lefties too, but you can get good ballpoints that work perfect for left handed writing for 30x-100x less than the fountain pens in the article. And not have to jump through hoops or go through any hassle to get them to work.
They missed a lot of excellent pens, and included some boutique makers - including a couple who, from the photos, use very cheap nibs while charging a premium price.
I have a Montblanc I got in the 80s. Still a pleasure to use. Great investment.
For those seeking something more affordable, the Kaweco Sport is a great pen, great price, well worth the money, and a real pleasure. Ink cartridges are cheap, too.
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)