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anyone out there well informed on higher quality fountain pens

TurtleDude

warrior of the wetlands
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a young lady i coach and whose parents are good friends, is approaching her 16th birthday and I asked her mother what would be a good present. Her mom suggested her daughter would love a fountain pen.

anyone out there up on this subject. I am looking at something say around 100 bucks give or take 50
 
a young lady i coach and whose parents are good friends, is approaching her 16th birthday and I asked her mother what would be a good present. Her mom suggested her daughter would love a fountain pen.

anyone out there up on this subject. I am looking at something say around 100 bucks give or take 50

Montblanc tends to be the more well known, and moderately reasonably priced quality fountain pens.....I only know this because my wife enjoys to write with and collect fountain and calligraphy pens.

Word of warning.....they can be pricey depending on the model, however, I did get my wifes first Montblanc fountain pen on e-bay as a set, and it still wasn't that cheap.

On the other extreme, some fountain pens will run tens of thousands of dollars...just FYI
 
Montblanc tends to be the more well known, and moderately reasonably priced quality fountain pens.....I only know this because my wife enjoys to write with and collect fountain and calligraphy pens.

Word of warning.....they can be pricey depending on the model, however, I did get my wifes first Montblanc fountain pen on e-bay as a set, and it still wasn't that cheap.

On the other extreme, some fountain pens will run tens of thousands of dollars...just FYI

thanks-I was once into shotguns. I shot at a pretty high level. in some cases, a 9K Beretta DT-11 is a better buy than say what I use-a basic Browning-the DT-11 will last longer and it is what my son shoots. However, you can spend 9K on a browning too but it has lots of fancy engraving. Mechanically, its no better than the 2 K version I won two state titles with. SO I understand paying for decoration vs function.
 
thanks-I was once into shotguns. I shot at a pretty high level. in some cases, a 9K Beretta DT-11 is a better buy than say what I use-a basic Browning-the DT-11 will last longer and it is what my son shoots. However, you can spend 9K on a browning too but it has lots of fancy engraving. Mechanically, its no better than the 2 K version I won two state titles with. SO I understand paying for decoration vs function.

The I would suggest you consider places like e-bay or etsy…..they are still expensive used, but my wife has never complained about the quality, and holds them rather dear.

I purchased her the used set, including fountain pen, ballpoint pen, and mechanical pencil nearly 15 years ago, and it was still several hundred dollars; but if this young lady knows anything about fountain pens, she wont be bothered....turning down a used Montblanc is like turning down a used Rolls Royce.
 
Mont Blanc has the name recognition; this “top ten” list refreshed pen makers Sheafer, Cross and Parker, in my mind. The last three are known to me as ballpoint pens. I remember grade school overseas had us using fountain pens with the primer pump handle on the barrel of the pen. We had to learn the correct pressure so as not to split the point and end up with double lines.

https://wiki.ezvid.com/best-fountain-pens
 
a young lady i coach and whose parents are good friends, is approaching her 16th birthday and I asked her mother what would be a good present. Her mom suggested her daughter would love a fountain pen.

anyone out there up on this subject. I am looking at something say around 100 bucks give or take 50

I'm not a fountain pen junkie; however, I have one I was given in the '80s. It's a Waterman Le Man and I'm quite pleased with it. It makes my penmanship look cool -- the letter strokes widen and narrow -- and it's immensely comfortable for me to use.

One thing to note is that because fountain pens are "all about" the nib and the grip, you many want to buy from a local-to-the-recipient seller so s/he can try different models before you buy them. Because nibs bend to the way one holds and uses the pen, sellers sometimes won't let one return or exchange them, but they have demo units one can use to get a good feel for any given model.

PS/ETA:
  • FWIW, I'd suggest a Faber-Castell Ambition, Pilot Vanishing Point or Lamy 2000.
 
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I have a Waterman fountain pen, but I haven't used it for a while. A bit too clumsy for regular use (at least for me), and the older I've gotten the less writing by hand I've done. It's essentially this one (I think) with mild design changes:

https://www.waterman.com/en/perspective/96-black-fountain-pen-gt-3501170830802.html



I do have a pretty thin Waterford roller-ball that was gifted to me, and I actually do use it quite regularly. I wouldn't be surprised if their fountain pens were of high quality. Ink is pricy. Can't see it on their website though....
 
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And now I've gone and gotten more ink for the Waterman. Easier to write with than I remember.
 
a young lady i coach and whose parents are good friends, is approaching her 16th birthday and I asked her mother what would be a good present. Her mom suggested her daughter would love a fountain pen.

anyone out there up on this subject. I am looking at something say around 100 bucks give or take 50
Find out which one John Parker used and get that one and professionally script his history of writing all of U S Grants orders during the CW
 
a young lady i coach and whose parents are good friends, is approaching her 16th birthday and I asked her mother what would be a good present. Her mom suggested her daughter would love a fountain pen.

anyone out there up on this subject. I am looking at something say around 100 bucks give or take 50

I've had a couple of the hundred dollar ones, and they are great.

This one, is the best one I've ever had.

https://www.amazon.com/Scribe-Sword...B071G94945&ascsubtag=4155876|google.com||||1|

She will need a converter, or just get cartridge refills.

But the nib is the important part, and this ones is excellent.

Has a lifetime damage warranty. It's a great deal.
 
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