My Top 5 Starter Fountain Pens

Hello!
So, I have decided that I have graduated from newbie fountain pen lover to beginner...and yes I think there is a difference.
To celebrate, I have made 5 videos, each with 5 items about fountain pens.
And to keep up with the theme of 5, I am going to upload them one for the last 5 days of the year! So - are you wanting get into fountain pens? Start here with my top 5 starter fountain pens!

Happy Writing :)

[KenchanKrafts]

"It's a head of lettuce! ... which is depressing.." that cracked me up. Thanks for sharing your top 5. I love using my Lamy ALstars and Twsbis. I use these mainly for the shimmer inks because they are relatively cheap, but still look nice and hefty. I agree with some folks here, at some point, you may or may not like to use your cheaper starter pens anymore unless you have a wonderful experience with them. I think everyone's a bit different but If I could go back, I would not buy 4 Lamys because that was my very first FP and experience, and it was good, so I for some reason, thought Lamy was the only fountain pen out there. I was wrong. And while i did have great experience with them, I also love a gorgeous looking pen haha. It needs to catch my eye and make me want to write.

[bowtiejoe]

Very good list! Try the Kaweco in a double broad nib. It really shows off the ink, but one needs good paper or the feathering is atrocious.

I wonder eny most You Tubers use fine or extra fine nibs?

[EastLancashireJohn]

I use a Preppy with highlighter 'nib' and florescent ink cartridges.

[MummyBrown]

Howdy! Great list, but I have a couple of things to note about two pens on this list.

I started collecting fountain pens in 2013. My firsts: Noodler’s Konrad and a Lamy Safari. I still love my Safari and I think it’s one of the pens that is best for newbie fountain pens users. The converter is easy to maintain, it swaps out nibs easily (and cheaply) to help you decide what you might like best- in terms of nib sizes-before investing money on higher priced pens that don’t have that option. Replacement nibs for these are CHEAP. The quality control for Lamy is some of the best out there and they are very accommodating if you need customer service. The grip section, IMO, is super helpful to learning how to properly hold your fountain pen. As a regular flex and specialty nib user, if you don’t form good pen habits early, bad habits can be hard to break that then result in poor pen/ nib function. I see a lot of people complain about the grips on Lamy pens, then proceed to write incorrectly with their pens.

Each pen company and line all have pros and cons. As a purchaser, it’s imperative to research what you may be in the market for because it may not be up your alley. A lot of issues I hear online about certain pens are well known issues to that line, and aren’t issues to people that love them and are instead features.

That said, the Eco is a piston fill pen. I love piston fill pens today but they require maintenance that someone just starting out might not want to sign up for in their first purchase. The wrench situation, lubing the piston…all of that is a headache for ME as a years long collector. But, I am an established fountain pen lover so I know it’s not a “fountain pen headache, ” it’s a “TWSBI Eco headache.”

Kaweco pens, I dig them, but the nibs are a gamble. When you get a good one, it’s a wonderful pen. When you get a scratchy nib, it’ll throw you off the brand. It literally is a big gamble. I have 5 of them, and I’ve only had two come to me with great nibs out of the box. I tuned my troublesome nibs myself and I love my misfit nibs. I caution people getting this pen to get comfortable with tuning your own nib because this is a constant issue with this nib. This is the perfect example of doing your research before you go out and purchase.

My advice to new fountain pen users: research what you might be interested in before you buy it. What are its pros/ cons/ quirks? You’d be surprised how much info you can get from videos such as this one and other YouTubers on the ins and outs of the hobby. Set yourself up for success before you’re out $$$. You might be out $20 here or there, but don’t shoot yourself in the foot by losing $200 out the gate.

[darkchocolate]

Belly laugh @ "That's a head of lettuce". It's funny cause it's true!

[kathycullenstern]

The Preppy can be completely taken apart. The feed holds a lot of ink so it takes a little time to clean it. Letting it soak over night helps. I agree with your list although I had a Pilot Metropolitan before a Kakuno.

[chongliu]

My suggestion to any new pen lover for starter pen is this: you go find a pen that you like that costs at least 200 USD and use that as a reference. Then you go through all your starter pen options and ask yourself this question: will I still use this "starter pen", if after 3 month, I buy the 200 dollar "non-starter pen" ? If the answer is yes, then that is a valid option and if the answer is no, you should cross that from the list. The reason for this is that, you gonna eventually get the expensive ones, not only that, you gonna get multiple of different ones that you now think is too expensive for a pen. And the chances are, you gonna get so many of those pens and you will have to choose between that and your "starter pen" at that point each time you want to rotate pens. If you no longer gonna like your starter pens at that point you gonna wish you had just added a bit more money for that non-starter pen from the start. In short, go buy the one you want even though you think it is a bit expensive because you will eventually buy the expensive one. This is just true for this hobby I don't accept objections.

[littleoldemeartistry-marieehi]

I'm 4 for 5. I jumped over the Platinum Preppy to the Plaiser only for aesthetic reasons. For me, having a beginner pen that reinforced proper form with a tripod grip was a game changer. Lamy and the entry level Pelikano series with the finger indentations allowed me to use the nib the correct way. I had a devil of a time getting the hang of writing with fountain pens using rounded grip sections.

[AverageZoeBlogs]

Great list, thank you for sharing. I’ve heard the Pilot Metropolitan is a good starter pen but I can’t find it in the colour I want in the UK and the ones available seem overpriced in comparison to other countries. I’m keen to try an affordable Pilot.

[sunnymoondog]

Where did you get that clear preppy with almost no writing on it?

[pbnjezly]

The feed can be removed on this pen for cleaning. There are several videos on taking it apart and putting it back together

[drow]

Preppy is my favorite starter pen as well!

[warpo]

Grat list Ezra though, i think people should stay away from LAMY. They are overpriced junk. Cheap plastics, and un-serviceable which renders the pen useless. (do not buy fountain pens you can't clean properly) TWSBI all the way, you can't go wrong with any of them. Beautiful to hold, write with and service. KAWECO are good workhorses. PILOT also make workhorse fountain pens, very fine nibs. TWSBI VAC700R should be top of the list. absolute unit of a fountain pen.

[cerealnana]

I agree with your list, though I don't really like Lamy as they rub my finger callus. The preppy is a fantastic pen!