Cheap VS Expensive Fountain Pens: Are Fancy Pens Worth the Price?

There are so many fountain pens out there at so many price points. How do you know what you buy will be good? Is it worth upgrading to a mid level fountain pen or an advanced pen? This is the kind of thing I discuss in this video. We'll talk about longevity/durability, writing experience, quality control, different types of pen body materials, and more. My hope is this video will help you decide whether you are fine sticking with entry level fountain pens or if you would benefit from upgrading to something more advanced.

PENS IN THIS VIDEO
Jinhao Shark (gray): $2-4
Diplomat Magnum (demo orange) $23
TWSBI Eco (transparent blue) $33
Gravitas Entry (rainbow Skittles) $82
Mythic Pens LX Aeschylus (the resin is from Conway Stewart) prices vary depending on model and material

CHAPTERS
What pens are made of 4:48
Workmanship and quality control 10:08
Nib quality 13:10
Is it worth upgrading to an expensive fountain pen? 22:30
Durability and longevity 23:40
Cartridges, converters, boxes, etc. 26:34

LINKS

[fountainpeninsanity]

A pen can serve different purposes. Some people buy a pen because they see it as a work of art. Some people buy a pen because they see it as a tool. Some people buy a pen because they see it as an experience. A unique pen often takes more resources to make (such as materials or time) and therefore costs more. A pen is only worth the money if it fulfills the purposes the buyer wishes it to have. I have seen many comments by people trying to belittle the looks and materials of some pens by calling them “swirly plastic” and saying that these aesthetics aren’t worth the cost, but of course they are worth the cost to some people, so why try to dictate to other people what they should value? Ok, that was a bit of a rant, but I’ve been bothered by some of those comments for a long time and didn’t think it would accomplish anything good to comment back to them. BTW, thank you for your letter and I will write back soon!

[DoodlesdaMariChannel]

loved the video! I'm sure the more expensive pens provide a great experience in terms of embellishing the collection, supporting smaller makers, and even better quality nibs. For me particularly, I tend to prefer the ones I wouldn't feel bad carrying around every day because using them anywhere is what brings me joy in the hobby, so I prefer the cheaper ones. By the way, my current pen case is one you reviewed in a previous video and I'm really happy with it, thanks for all the great content!

[wellyano]

I'm so new to fountain pens and still deciding if it's worth the $$$ to get into the hobby. I got myself 3 platinum preppies (ef, f and m) and some sample inks. Having lots of fun writing with them. They are so smooth and nice to write with that I don't think I want/need to go down the rabbit hole any further. Especially when expensive pens can have problems straight out of the box. It makes me really hesitant to spend real money. Should I? I don't know. Maybe I will but I'm not in any rush.

[glldvmi]

Thanks for the great content. My $3.00 Pilot Varsity always starts up, never hard starts, and consistently writes. Another YT pen personality said that there is a law of diminishing returns with fountain pens. After a certain level, all you're paying for are the materials used in the pen, marketing costs, and R&D costs. It won't outperform a Pilot Varsity.

[santiagomerinoacevedo]

Very nice and relaxing video. Many people can't see that they do not get what they pay for expensive pens. There are many inexpensive fp that are pretty fantastic. So you don't have to pay a large amount of money. I've got some high range fps and I'm writing with a Pilot Metro now.

[zebratroopfan]

I have several Sailor, Pilot and Visconti pens. They are nice but after a certain point you are dealing with law of diminishing returns. As others have mentioned my preppy and varsity write every single time. Some of the nicer pens I’m so afraid of damaging or losing that I end up not using them. I’ve had issues with both of my Visconti pens. That is crazy for the price point

[jamesaritchie]

First, have you tried spreading the tines on the Duragraph? More often than not, this is a much more common problem than baby's bottom, and much easier to fix. When comparing steel nib pens, the big difference is the materials used, and the whether the pen gives you what you want with feel, looks, and writing feel.

Writing experience keeps getting better and better up to five hundred dollars or so. Smooth nib and flow are largely meaningless, Any pen should give you a smooth nib and good flow. Even a good gel pen provides smooth writing and good flow.

But there is no comparison between cheap pens with steel nibs, and expensive pens with gold nibs for two reasons. One is simply the materials used, the build quality, the beauty of the pen, and the fact that a high-quality pen will last a lifetime and beyond. The other is that if you take the time to learn how to use a soft gold nib there is no going back. All these factors add to the writing experience, but none more so than a soft gold nib you know how to use. What makes no sense to me is buying a pen that has a gold nib that's as stiff as a nail.

[TheresaRobertsonLROL]

Thanks for the video. You can replace parts for your TWSBI. Just a few bucks (basically, you are paying to ship) and the parts come in 2 to 3 days. If you're interested, I'll provide the distributer’s email address.

[ameliabuns]

some expensive pens are just purely a name.
however most 100-200$ pilot pens are just.... unmatched. wow... but I'm talking about their gold nibs.
penider avatar was also surprisingly good but nowhere near the elite 95s I tried in F. so I decided to give up the coolness/looks for that nib. I'm waiting until the store has it in stock :)

[karlgozo]

lamy 2000 fine is probably the best pen i ever bought. bought from Amazon for just $100 :)

[khk]

Nice video! Personally, a pen's first purpose is to write well out of the box. In my own experience, my affordable Platinum Preppy medium steel nib has put to shame my expensive Visconti Homo Sapiens gold nib which never wrote well and I had to tune it with additional cost.