The Best Beginner Fountain Pens

Here is my list of the best fountain pens for beginners -- people who are new to fountain pens. These are pens around $5 that are easy to use, reliable, and easy to find. I've done full reviews on them all, so click the links below.

The list (to buy):

To watch:
#fountainpens #fountainpen #writing

note: amazon links are affiliate links and I get commissions for purchases made through them. Any other affiliations or agreements will be noted in this space, if they exist.

[The_Yin_Tiger]

Not sure if you get this a lot, but your voice is very aesthetically pleasing.

[polksie]

Love my Pilot Petite 1. A great little pocket pen that works perfectly. Had mine for several years and still has no cracks or damage.

[gadgetstop]

Great video! The Platinum Preppy is my favorite, followed by the Pilot Petit 1.

[TrNdke]

Nice roundup, Sal!

I use the Zebra V-301 at work. Since I work in a warehouse, drops are a concern and the metal body gives me some peace of mind that a drop won't result in an inksplosion! It had some issues stock, but I've had good results after refilling the cartridge with some Noodler's and also with using an Ooly Fab cartridge in it (rebranded Monami Olika cartridge).

I really like the Pilot Petit1 as a pocket fountain pen. I keep one in my bag as a sign pen. Mine is an eyedropper conversion and it's super solid. I'm comfortable carrying it in a pocket or bag with no concern that it will leak. Unlike the Platinum Preppy, there's no need for an o-ring to make it an eyedropper and since it's more of an HDPE type plastic, it's not brittle, so no developing cracks around the threads over time. I have small hands, so it's tiny posted size doesn't bother me.

In general, I think Pilot does a great job with their cheap fountain pen nibs, probably due to their in-house manufacturing. I'm a big fan of the Pilot Metropolitan for it's smooth nib and brass body. Pilot offers really high value options in entry level fountain pens, imo.

[neilspector]

My favorite pen so far in a pseudo budget $30.00 USD is the Lamy Safari. Very reliable great writer use any ink you want with the converter.

[WhstlblwrBlastingEpsteinsILK]

Great video. I am going to order the JetPens bundle with most of these pens. It no longer includes the Petit, which has apparently been discontinued. I found it on ebay for a jacked up price. I love it so much, I am going to bite the bullet & grab it.

[hztolife]

Pilot Varsity is the most reliable and saturated.

[peterr.]

Thanks Sal, I was looking at the Olika and your review has dissuaded me from buying it.
Very useful review.

[pattymiller]

Great video Sal. Keep up the great work. Always look forward to watching your vids. I will be ordering a Preppy soon.

[American_Jeeper]

I was going to ask why you didn't include Sheaffer in the mix, but then I went to Sheaffer's website...holy crap, they're proud of their fountain pens! When I was in school in the 80's, I had a Sheaffer No-Nonsense, which was considered to be a cheapo pen, but it wrote decent enough. That same pen, which I think my mom paid $3 for in 1983, is going for $15 used on Etsy or eBay.

[SArthur]

One thing to note is that the varsity, fuente, olika and petit all have wick feeds, which means they won't be able to use any inks with particulates in them.

[rikoflishas]

I love the preppy, I have one, but I don’t find them in my town, probably platinum doesn’t export a lot to Mexico

[michaelreed]

I have bought a lot of pens from the advice found on your videos.
Perhaps you could give a bit more.
As previously mentioned, I have bought a lot of pens from your videos (30ish pens)
But I find myself asking, "what is next?"
I will list my top 4 that I have at my desk and perhaps you can advise me on what to look at next.
4. Is the Sarasa dry,
3. Is the Serasa SE ( I know they are supposed to be the same thing but they Feel different)
2.Is the Energel Alloy RT
1. Is the Zebra Tapli Clip 1.6


I THINK what I like most about this list is the smoothness of how they lay down ink. I THINK that is why the Tapli clip wins for me. It lays down more ink???
What do you advise?
After watching this video, I thought maybe the next thing to pursue was a medium point Platinum Preppy.
My original thought was explore the wide point pens. I would have sworn you did a best of wide point pens but I can't seem to find it.

ANY Suggestions would be appreciated.
Thank you for all the videos.

[alfifahmi]

Indeed, the Monami Olika is not a good pen. I've had 3 Olika pens and every single one has stopped working almost within a week of writing. The preppy on the other hand is just a joy to write and so fun to experiment with.

[Tauruz]

Great video! As always. Just a question about technique; can you please tell us what camera, lightning and audio you use for your videos?
Keep up the work!
/Regards from Sweden!

[vecchiaguardiastilografica]

Disposable fountain pens! Some producers are so naive, we refill all them but let's leave them their innocent ilusion

[alvinchan]

ironic how the cheaper the fp is, the more reliable it is. XD