If you have been thinking about starting on your fountain pen journey you may have done an internet search and felt a little overwhelmed by all the terms and especially the price of some fountain pens. But buying a fountain pen does not need to be scary as writing with one is such a great experience it should be enjoyed by as many as possible.
Before you go spending a lot of money on a fountain pen I would suggest you start with a cheaper one. These are all great options as a starter pen, they are not over complicated and are nice and easy to use.
- Platinum Preppy, Plasir
- Jinhao Shark, 991
- TWSBI Go, Swipe, Eco
- Kaweco Perkeo, Skyline, Classic
- Online Slope
- Lamy Safari
- Sheaffer VFM
Cartridge or Converter?
Most pens will come with an ink cartridge supplied with the pen. If this is the case you can get to work straight away. If a cartridge is not supplied, it will have a converter which will need to be filled from a bottle of ink. This is where it does get interesting as the choice of available ink colours is endless! Small bottles of ink can be bought cheaply.
Choosing a nib size
Fountain pens generally come with a fine or medium nib, this would be the case in some of the less expensive pens. Others will give you the choice of nib size. Most people will write with a fine or medium so this would be a good place to start and once you get used to writing with a fountain pen you can gauge which nib width would be best suited to you.
Extra fine nibs are best suited for those with very small writing, fine and medium nibs are suitable for everyday writing for those with average sized writing. Broad or a 1.1mm stub nib are some of the broadest and are best for signing or greeting card writing.
So once you have your chosen pen just go for it!