Cheap vs. Expensive Fountain Pens: What Are the Differences?
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- čas přidán 31. 05. 2024
- Let's distinguish cheap from expensive fountain pens and find out how they differ based on cost: gentl.mn/cheap-vs-expensive-f...
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00:00 Cheap vs. Expensive Fountain Pens Introduction
Fountain pens can range in cost from under $5 to almost $100,000 and higher. How does one determine a reasonable price point? And what determines the differences between cheap and expensive fountain pens?
01:51 The Nib
The nib is a vitally important part of any fountain pen. The nib conveys ink onto the paper through capillary action, by which a liquid is propelled through the interaction between surface tension and adhesion.
Overall, nib size has an obvious aesthetic impact, but flexibility also impacts your ability to have lines of varying width. And nibs will also impact how favorably and cleanly the ink is spread onto the paper.
06:22 The Feed
The feed connects the nib to the ink reservoir. This is what allows ink to flow freely through the nib when it’s in contact with paper, but prevents ink from spilling out when you’re not using the pen. Basically, the ink flows into these channels through the capillary action that we mentioned previously.
When ink is flowing onto the paper, air from outside the pen is allowed to flow upward along the feed, bringing ink down from Ink storage.
When it comes to feeds then, construction is ultimately more important than material. A well-made plastic feed will function well enough for most writers’ needs, but an Ebonite feed represents a noticeable step up in quality that will definitely improve your writing experience.
09:23 The Body
The body of the pen is essentially just a container that holds all the components that actually make the pen function. Obviously, the body considerably impacts the appeal and aesthetics of the pen itself, but it also impacts the functionality of writing when it comes to balance and weight of the pen.
14:00 The Filling Mechanism
There are multiple ways to get ink into a pen, many of which come down to preference and personal taste.
Ultimately then, the filling mechanism is most important as it pertains to your convenience. Investing in a more expensive system will usually make the process easier for you and will also spare you the unpleasant cleanup associated with cheap and leaky pens.
16:50 The Ink
In a nutshell, cheap inks are kept cheap by cutting corners. Pigmentation is low, leading to runny, bland, and semi-transparent colors; cheap ink is poorly manufactured, so it can be sticky or prone to smudge on the page; and cheap ink will dry hard inside the pen, potentially gumming up the works
Expensive inks, on the other hand, will flow easily and lay neatly on the page; have good color fastness and endurance so they won’t fade with time, and come in various unique and memorable colors. Some of our favorite colors include rusty brown, sky blue, and dark green.
18:05 Conclusion
Now that you’ve learned the differences between cheap and expensive fountain pens, you’ll have the knowledge to determine which price point is best for you.
18:37 Outfit Rundown - Jak na to + styl
I think this video greatly exaggerates the difference between cheap & expensive pens. Cheap pens from reputable companies are quite good and can move to great by just spending a few bucks more. On the other hand, a lot of expensive pens are designed to appeal to collectors and do not work as well as one would expect.
A Preppy (less than $5) can work out of the box better than a $600 Pelikan
@@DrinkWater713 Bro my $4 Jinhao feels better than my Kaweco Al-Sport
This video is ridiculous. It is purely about pens as status signaling fashion accessory.
@@DrinkWater713 amen to that
@@winter9703 agreed!
Found extremely funny that when they mentioned flex they showed a Sailor nib. Which is gold but feels like writing with a nail.
Absolutely. It's gold but it is as stiff as the blade of a Samurai sword.
Brian Goulet of Goulet Pens said recently that no modern pen is truly flex. People mistake flex with bounce.
@@paulherman5822 a fellow Goulet pens fan? Man of culture i see
Stiffer than most steel nibs even.
The fountain pen videos Gentleman's Gazette has shows they don't really research much about them. Two I've seen in the past still say the myth of fountain pens "adjust to your style of writing, so don't lend them." Stopped happening when they started tipping pens. By Leroy Fairchild. When dip pens were still the only real way to write... I have antique pens that still write like new...
Seriously guys, there are so many great "cheap" fountain pens out there and there is so much generalisation and things not quite right with this video. You can do better.
I’m surprised they didn’t have Rafael do this one. He was the fp fan after all. I think they did fine with this video, but I’m happy any time fountain pens is the topic in a video. I like when they are dressed more gentlemanly, though.
Hmm, I'd tend to agree. Call me a Pleb, but I've been running Chef-O-Van food coloring diluted to my taste of saturation with terribly hard tap water through a Lamy Al Star 1.1mm and some Platinum Preppies for years. While I'm sure that a SF Namiki Falcon would be cool to have, and possibly more enjoyable to write with, my $30 setup has been serving me just fine in journals, notes, lists, letters, doodles, and thank-you cards.
For a lot of people, a sub-$50 (or even $10) pen can provide such a dramatic improvement in writing experience over ballpoint and rollerball, that they'd be perfectly happy if they never heard of ebonite or 21k nibs.
I get that this channel is shooting for a luxury brand, but the characterization of cheap pens is unfair, and probably ill-informed. In an ostensibly comprehensive primer, why not recommend people start with a Preppy to see if they like FPs in the first place before dropping the price of my first car on a Meisterstuck?
I think all they can do here is generalise. Of course there are some exceptions with cheaper pens, and likewise, some expensive fountain pens are ludicrously useless. But these videos are for beginners, so I think they did well in this video and didn't misrepresent anything
@@CetomimusGillii that is very well reasoned. Any fountain pen is better then what most people use. They just don’t know it, but a sub $5 varsity is enough to change peoples lives. I seriously don’t know why here in the states we use ballpoint, or even gel pens when fp is so much better. It’s the same with shaving. It’s way cheaper, and a better experience to get a double edge razor and blades then the over priced plastic razors that are overly abundant.
@@user-qi5jw2hg1c If all they did was generalize then there wouldn't be so many negative comments from experienced fountain pen users. Instead, what they did was claim that "you get what you pay for" without a very necessary, "but there comes a point where you're just paying for the brand name." A $3 bottle of Diamine Oxford Blue in a $5 Jinhao x450 will put ink on paper in a classy, gentlemanly way.
The weight won't damage your hands. The ink won't corrode the steel nib. The plastic feed will draw the ink to the page. Any adjustments and cleaning can be done quickly and easily in the comfort of your own home. Claims to the contrary are absolute bunk.
The only downside to the $8 setup I mentioned is for people who want flex or a stub nib, in which case there are plenty of youtube videos for people who want to alter a Jinhao pen or nibs to their needs. At less than $1 per nib, one can easily afford to really play around with options. If you're not the type to want to alter things, that's understandable... ...but is the $792 price spread between my Jinhao and an $800 Mont Blanc really worth that difference? And what if that $800 still isn't to your liking upon arrival?
The last thing that beginners should hear is "expensive = better" prior to learning how to properly match pen to ink to paper and how to use and maintain the pen. An $800 price tag won't save a person from their own ignorance any more than learning how to drive in a Ferrari will automatically make a person a safer driver.
The way you guys are saying people never gonna buy a cheap fountain pen ,i am using a jinhao x450 since 2015 it never leaked never hard started .
Look people buy pen within 10-30$ budget if you can maintain it it gonna last decades.
Gold nib pens are just a bit premium and luxurious my dad have one lamy 2000 , i used it it's not something that without an expensive pen you can't feel the fun of using fountain pen,
I also have several Jinhaos and they all write well and are fun to use - and they didn't break the bank. I also have a Lamy 2000 and it is a joy to write with. And then there are those in between - Conklin, Monteverde, etc. that are all terrific writers. I have 24 total pens and rotate through them for every writing task. It is very enjoyable.
I mix my own inks, have modified my nibs, created Frankenstein-pens transplanting nib units and innards between bodies, and spent far too much on some pens, and totally agree with you.
All that matters is if you enjoy it.
Would argue that for smooth writing modern flex you need a coated gold nib, but for other nib styles, the difference is fairly small. If you can afford it, then get one, but never stretch yourself for it, believing you MUST have one.
The same with the large nibs used in King of Pen and some others. You can feel a slight difference, and they look impressive, but unless large pens feel more comfortable for you, then there is not a need to splash out.
As a hobbyist collector, I have lost count of how many rages I have had during this video. The information is useful and correct on board levels, but the visuals are infuriating. Calling the Montegrappa Lord of the Rings a cheap pen is just one example, a $5000 pen is not a cheap pen.
I've regularly used fountain pens for over fifty years. Maybe sixty years. I've used everything from super cheap Parkers and Shaffers offered from drugstores hanging on a hook in the stationery department to the Montblanc Meisterstuck Diplomat. Some of them were filled with cartridges and others had a suction filling system. Some have had chrome plated mild steel nibs, others stainless nibs, and still others that were gold plated or with iridium tips. I have never worn out or had a nib fail because of corrosion because of the elements of the ink while using proper fountain pen ink. Using India ink will mess up a pen right quick, but the corrosion factor is minimal when using ink intended for a fountain pen.
What is important is the flexibility of the nib. A chrome plated and stainless nib can be just as flexible as a gold nib if it is designed to do so.. And, while a gold plated nib may wear more quickly than a steel nib, be aware that the tips of many expensive pens are not gold. They are iridium, which is a hard material.
The most important thing in choosing a pen is to find a pen that you find comfortable writing with if you are more interested in writing than pulling out an expensive pen from your pocket to impress others. A Montblanc Diplomat may look impressive, but writing with that log may not be comfortable because it' so big. On the other hand, a Lamy Safari looks cheap, but it may be easier to write with.
The things, whether cheap or expensive, last almost forever.
The products are spelled PARKER and SHEAFFER. Got to wonder if you have ever bothered to look.
Just keep in mind that a high price-point doesn't always mean a superior product. That Pilot Varsity/V Pen, for instance, is a great pen to use, even if it's not visually appealing. It can even be refilled, though it wasn't designed for that, which makes the process more difficult.
I got a good laugh at the Lord of the Rings pen being under the "cheap pens being garish to distract the user" part. That looked like a limited edition by Montegrappa, which goes for ~$4,500 when I write this. If it was meant more to show a pen better as a paperweight, I can agree with that. That pen barrel has so much going on that writing with it looks unpleasant.
Was about to say the same about the "Almost $100,000 pen." It's not. You can get the Montgrappa Dante Aligheri Paradiso over at Pen Boutique right now for $6,000.
Sometimes, these guys just don't get it.
I actually really like varsity pens. They were some of the first fountain pens I got, when I was first looking into getting into fountain pens. They are really great for what they do. I have a couple on hand around the house for quick note taking.
The ink section killed me with that. Expensive ink does not mean a better ink. Plenty of inexpensive high quality ink brands.
@@irule102 Quite. Look at Parker's Quink. $10 for 60ml, and it's easily the best "everyday" ink on the market. Waterman, Diamine and more are excellent and inexpensive. Not every ink has to be a Montblanc, J. Herbin, or Colorverse price to be good, vibrant, quality. (Edit: spelling.)
@@irule102 true.
I agree that expensive pens are generally higher quality and get the job done better than cheaper ones. My issue is with the misinformation in this video, particularly on nibs.
3:05 durability is never a problem, a soft nib should also be durable
3:10 some ss nibs do flex easily- the fpr ultraflex and the fpnibs full flex are two I can think of off the top of my head. These both flex more than most gold nibs (with the exception of vintage wet noodles)
3:28 except for calligraphy flex nibs made of spring steel or titanium, virtually all cheap nibs have tipping made of iridium alloy or similar hard metal
3:52 all nibs are likely to gum up if not cleaned, cheap pens not more so
4:35 corrosion is only really an issue if you are using iron gall inks
4:50 the gold nib shown is very rigid, like many gold nibs are. That being said, you can get really soft gold nibs
5:05 softness does not affect how hard you need to push down on the paper. A fountain pen should be able to write under its own weight
5:17 personalisation is mostly a myth. the nib material does not affect how a pen adapts to your writing style over time, but the tipping material does. A pen feels smoother at your writing angle because over years and decades you eventually get a flat spot in the tipping at your writing angle. Sharing your pen with a friend should not affect the smoothness at your writing angle, unless they write on sandpaper
This was all the misinformation in just the nibs section
The Pilot V-Pens are usually reliable easy writers, and all of Pilot's low-price pens are excellent reliably writing pens for any fountain pen beginner. There are also some extremely great cheap pens from China like the Jnhao 51A, which cost very little and just write reliably. Likewise, even very expensive fountain pens have hit-or-miss writing quality out of the box, and it is not uncommon at all to spend hundreds and still need to have the pen adjusted. Price does not equal quality a lot of the time in the world of fountain pens.
Not to mention, you can eye drop a varsity. They also make great pens for others to use when they need to borrow a pen.
LOL this video is so full of generalizations!! The only difference you can say for certain between cheap and expensive fountain pens is how much they cost. So many expensive fountain pens and inks don’t live up to their cost and so many cheap fountain pens and inks work perfectly, reliably, and pleasantly. There are good, quality fountain pens to suit every budget, like the Pilot Metropolitan at under $20.
I grew up with fountain pens. Our school desks had ink wells for our ink bottles. The pens could be refilled either with a lever or squeezable eye dropper method. The pens were ubiquitous and cheap, probably Parkers or Shaeffers and the inks were some generic brand, always navy blue. They usually leaked, causing one's middle finger to stain. To this day I still have a callous on my middle finger from using pens for both writing and drawing. Ball points were forbidden and a variety of punishments were available should we be caught using one, including a few strokes of a cane!
I have been using fountain pens again semi-regularly for about five or six years - a couple of cheap Shaeffers, one with the brand's blue ink and the other with black. They work well, the nibs are fine pointed and the ink flow is good. They have yet to leak! I can write and draw with them.
Pens are functional things firstly. To use an advertising analogy; no-one wants a pen, what they want is words on paper. That is, the benefit the product carries with it. If one wants a pen above all else, it's because a pen may carry status (the benefit).
For day-to-day writing, an averagely priced pen should do the trick, anything from $35 to $70.
If calligraphic quality is required then a dip pen holder is the best option, with interchangeable calligraphic nibs from a company like Speedball or Leonardt and inks from Winsor & Newton, Dr Ph Martins or Pelikan.
Oh, and one thing not mentioned in the video - a blotter! For both types of pens.
For almost 40 years I have been a lover of "Nice" pens. Nothing crazy expensive, mainly Waterman Ballpoint and Fountain styles. But now as I get older, I have a bad tremor that ruins whatever writing I am able to do. It sucks, so enjoy whatever you write with while you can. I am glad I was born at a time when good handwriting was a skill to be practiced and developed.
Often people will compliment me on my penmanship, but I have to admit it's just 50 years of getting sloppy!
Wow, your experience exactly mimics mine. At 74 I find it harder every day to write as well as I did yesterday.
I care less about cheap and expensive, and focus on good and bad. Of all the pens I own, my favorite is still the pilot prera
My latest favorite is a $25 noodlers Ahab. Loving the flex smooth writing!
So far, my Aero is my favourite nib that I own. But as a whole? My TWSBI classic is my favourite
Steel nibs can be just as good as gold or better
True. Depends if you have a good nibmeister.
yup, my pelikan m205 writes better than MB146
Agreed. A gold nib can be softer though, like the vintage wet noodles, but that doesn't objectively make them better
@@Hedgehog-plant i love the lamy 2000 but it has one of the stiffest nibs i own, i have a vintage pelikan 140 which is very soft, i have super stiff steel as well as super soft, thats what i love about fountain pens, all of them write different but wonderful in their own way
@@H.G.Halberd Glad you enjoy your pens! The two most different nibs I have are the stiff 1.5 italic on my Safari and the soft titanium nib on my Grifos that I smoothed out. Both write really well but very differently
Dude you are completely wrong about nibs. The diplomat Magnum, for example, has twice the flex of a sailor gold nib and it cost 10 times less.
As a lot of commenters have said more money doesn't mean better writing experience, a TWSBI 580 is a better writer than pens that cost double or triple it's price.
I love my 580 ALR prussian blue. Such a beautiful pen with Diamine Aurora Borealis ink in it and writes lovely with its EF nib.
I'm hoping some new colours will be along soon.
And i imagine my Ahab has a more flexible nib that his gold ones.
At the end of the day, a lot of it is just as much about the ability of the writer as it is about the pen, if not more. A writer with excellent control can make a Jinhao write beautifully, a writer with poor control will make the most expensive pen look like writing with a screwdriver.
@@5t4n5 I have the same colour, I just bought a stub to check it out.
The 580 is an excellent way to try new nibs and inks
@@deltaavatar6249 Yeah, the stubs look like a lot of fun to play with. Hopefully when the new colours come out there'll be at least one of them i really like and i'll get that with a stub.
What ink do you have in your 580?
I have a Parker Duofold White marble with grey and gold tip. Writes smoothly and nice. 25 years of ownership
Yeeesh. This is filled with outdated information, fallacies, and not a little snobbishness. Take the nib, for instance: modern gold nibs are every bit as stiff as stainless steel nibs. Perhaps you're confusing them with vintage nibs? They are also just as likely to have unpleasant levels of feedback.
I can't believe you tried to justify resin as somehow 'high end.' It's PMMA (Poly(methyl methacrylate)); a hard, brittle plastic. I believe it's injected moulded; not even turned. Montblanc has been duping customers for nearly a century with mystical hogwash. Even the design of the Meisterstück belongs to Sheaffer. They are one of many 'high end' pen makers who produce novelty paperweights for speculators. Are they high end, or just expensive?
Finally. Someone who sees right through this nonsense video. I'm mostly impressed with how long this video was and how little information it actually contained.
I really wish this channel would bring in experts as guests when they're discussing topics that are completely outside of their wheelhouse.
Yes! Someone who thinks like I do! Every time I hear "it's a copy of..." I get annoyed. Montblanc is definitely copying in the Meistersück line. Pistons originally from a Pelikan design, shape like the 1950s Sheaffer's. And the modern ones are like Harley Davidson. You're just paying for the brand, as there are plenty better today out there. Repairs take a long time, and may have misaligned parts because they randomly change parts for no apparent reason.
Portuguese fountain pen CZcamsr OdE had to send his 149 back because they used misaligned and poorly fitting parts that were changed without his consent. He has 2 videos about it on his channel.
And several other pieces of information in this video tells me that they either didn't do homework or they really don't know about fountain pens.
This! “Precious resin” = expensive plastic for dupes and snobs.
@@anotheryoutubeaccount5259 Not the first time they've said misinformation about fountain pens. About 5-6 errors in this one.
Corrosion of the older steel nibs was not due different quality of stainless steel, they were actually just steel. I have several 90+ year old Esterbrook pens, the original user of stainless steel nibs, and no corrosion.
Also, garish is also a hallmark of certain Italian brands that regularly sell in the thousands of dollars, not just cheap ones, and there's a current trend in some fairly garish design.
Also, even a high end pen can be wildly unbalanced. Form over function, the higher the price.
And I can get Diamine inks for around $13 shipped right to me. About the best price I've ever found recently. They've been making ink since 1864, and have a reputation for quality. No need to pay overinflated prices for ink.
I've been a fountain pen user for about 40 years. Want flex? Buy vintage. 1920s and older. Modern are nails in comparison. You want a gold nib? 14K has been a standard (outside of France) for a reason. Tipping makes a bigger difference than nib materials for smoothness. Does a pen "adjust to you?" Not really. If a 1912 Mabie Todd Swan C2 still writes like new...
And the quality of the ink matters more than price. The inks they described are not fountain pen inks, but drawing or art inks for a dip pen or brush...
This comment deserves more likes!
Despite their very low price, cheap fountain pens should not be overlooked. They can serve as useful intros to the wonderful world of fountain pens especially for beginners. As a rule of the thumb, not all cheap items are low-quality and not all expensive goods are of superior quality. Plus, expensive items are a big source of heartache if they are lost or broken-unless they can still be fixed or replaced without additional costs.
My beginner fountain pen was a montblanc 145 😂
@@AirplanesLuxury We don’t live in the same world then, mine was a TWSBI GO
I love fountain pens ❤ To me they perfectly represent the well educated, well rounded, well traveled gentleman. Someone classy, like Vincent Price, he’s my role model in life 🥰
Vincent Price, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. The dictionary definitions of gentlemen.
They also represent Vietnamese school children. And German ones as well.
@@adorabell4253 Hehe, yes, Indian students and Dutch students as well.
I got four fountain pens:
Waterman Hemisphere and Phileas.
Lamy Safari.
Pilot Kakuno.
My favorite is the cheapest one, the Kakuno.
So much incorrect “information” in this video. Cheap pens not always light. Steel nibs can get line variation (stub, etc). Montblanc “precious resin” = expensive plastic for dupes. Mostly even injection molded. Whereas som $30 pens made of beautiful turned resins. Many expensive pens are no better than moderately priced ones - it is just the brand marketing that makes them more expensive. Many “cheap” pens use piston filling systems or converters. Many “expensive “ pens also use converters. That’s just a few errors off the top of my head.
Funny, I just bought my Mont Blanc Meisterstück yesterday. Almost if you knew it. I am very satisfied and happy with it so far. Although almost 1000€ is a tough pill to swallow.
I personally would've gone with a new old stock vintage model with the split ebonite feed. They are much better pens in my opinion
One thing that I don't like about Montblanc pens is have to send them back to to the company for maintenance when that time comes. Montblanc voids the warranty if someone other than their employee works on the pen. They don't have trained employees in my country.
My favourite fountain pen was a $10 medium Shaeffer I found at a bookstore. It gave me 20 plus years of great writing. Sadly it met with a hot watery fate. Haven’t found any pen as good since.
That sounds like my love affair with my Sheaffer No Nonsense pens. You can still find those 80s-era pens on used markets such as Etsy and eBay but it seems like India hoards them all.
In my experience vintage fountain pens are much better value for money than new ones. My current every day carry is a 90 year old Parker Duofold, reconditioned (polished and fitted with a new ink sac) by a reliable vendor.
Some of these comments are totally not true.. the comments that cartridges are “ hard “ to use, and the baloney about “cheap inks and pens” leak and are so dumb.. the myths you are stating are so not helpful to anyone..
And there's more...
I am a great fpuntain pen lover and collector. Can't live without fountain pens.
This video is spectacularly misleading
Well said! Not the first time about fountain pens, either. You'd think that they would do a little research...
The high price comes mainly from the brand name and of course the expensive metal - gold.
I use a Waterman Allure Graduate and a Lamy 2000. Satisfied. No need to go further up and waste money.
Those are great pens. I am a step or two lower then you, anything below $100 and very happy with most pens I purchase. I would like to get a gold nib pen some day, but I’m in no hurry.
I collect fountain pens from Jin Haos to Montblanc Limited Editions and the difference between them boils down to style preference and price. For utilitiy, a fountain pen with a steel nib works just as well as an 21k gold nib. In fact I've had steel nib TWSBI's that write so smoothly out of the box and gold nibbed Pelikans that were scratchy out of the box. From my expereince though, ebonite feeds do make a discernable difference as they make the ink flow more saturated and wetly compared to the plastic feeds. I'm looking forward to future videos with respect to cheap inks vs the expensive kind. Hopefully the ink video will go in depth into ink manufacturing.
My favorite Pen until today is the Faber-Castell Ambition Coconut. The Clip is real nice and not only bendy, but with a mechanism. Also, the Wood feels exceptional great.
Faber-Castell fountains are unrivalled in their price point. The smooth nibs are such a pleasure, and I must say, I don't think the writing experience is much better in their Graf range. That's probably testament to the high quality of their lower range pens. I'd recommend trying the e-motion
I was just pleased to learn that something called The Ambition Coconut exists.
i love the FC Coconut as well as the Ondoro Smoked Oak FP. FC steel nibs are sooooo smooth.
I one-time ruined a pen by using a rather pricey "artisan" ink. The ink contained a shellac-like compound! It hardened *EVERY* part of that pen.
Live and learn.
Those are for dip pens
Every ink they didn't like wasn't fountain pen ink. Lots of misinformation in every video they've made about fountain pens.
Only use fountain pen inks in fountain pens.
"Cheap pens are usually made of plastic." Well, so are all of Montblanc's Meisterstück series. The "prescious resin" they use is an acrylic compound marketed as perspex, dyed a very dark red (as near to black as you really can go.)
@@anotheryoutubeaccount5259 Yeah, I get that, but perspex isn't exactly expensive either. Two 12"x12" panels in clear is $9 US on Amazon right now. I don't think the colorization, injection molding, and finishing work brings it up that much.
Wait till these guys discover Nakayas. They'll call Montblancs cheap thereafter.
Currently using a £15 eBay auction Parker 25 in mint condition - best writer for everyday use ever. Bit finicky with the inks though, but 10/10 pen. Not bad for a "cheap" stainless nib lol. I also use a Namisu and Twsbi both in the midrange £100 mark, with better ink compatibility but still finicky depending on colours/pigments/paper.
Even a £5 pen will perform admirably these days - a lot of people swear by their Jinhao's, Lamy Safari's and more. Ultra expensive pens are really collectors pieces such as the $100k pen you illustrated.
Funny you should mention Parker 25. I normally write w/ Parker 51's (several), bought used at eBay to save wear and potential loss of the Parker 51 my father brought in 1952 from Korea (he was w/ the Greek expedition force), BUT, when I grade papers which means rougher usage, I use the Parker 25 from my student days (i.e. purchased new sometime in the late 1970's/early 1980's). The Parker 25 is a workhorse... I have also found many of the cheap Chinese pens (especially Jihnao) to be very good in absolute terms and excellent value (my Jinhao 500 at less than $10 writes much better than $50-80 Parker, Waterman, and Sheaffer pens which I have received as gifts in recent years).
In Europe they sell "junior" style for kids to practice. I bought two of them -- Pelikan -- when I worked in Switzerland at the local Innovazione. I lost them in a move when I returned to the states. I love those pens! I love journaling with fountain pens.
Oh, boy. Where to begin. You say that cheap pens use unreliable plastic feeds and then show a Pilot Varsity, which uses a fiber wick feed, and is known by the community to be one of the most reliable pens available. Serioulsy, I live in the desert southwest, and can pull one from my non-insulated garage after having been in there for literal years and it will immediately write with no priming.
Next you say that plastic feeds are unreliable in general, neglecting the *fact* that Montblanc uses them exclusively now, and if you bring in a vintage one for service, that vintage ebonite feed is getting replaced by default.
You also rail on inexpensive inks saying that they aren't archival quality, except unless *any* ink is specifically made to be archival, *it isn't*. Full stop. And drying in the pen? That happens with *any* ink when you don't use the pen for prolonged periods.
You also claim that plastic feeds are prone to dripping. I've been restoring vintage pens for years. In my experience, that dubious honor belongs to ebonite feeds (for which the picture you showed was of modern ones made by a 3rd party company that makes them for modern pens, but be aware that the use of them *will* void your warranty). The reason being they have significantly wider channels and much higher flow, to the point of being more flow than is needed. So yes, while you can heat set them to the nib, they will still be more prone to dripping than plastic feeds. Do I still keep vintage pens in my everyday rotation? Absolutely, I just keep aware of their limitations.
Above all, don't gatekeep. At the end of the day, a pen is a tool, nothing more. It is a tool for putting ink to page. That doesn't mean it can't be appreciated, but it also doesn't mean that we should be behaving in such a manner that holds tools that cost x amount of dollars to be akin to a religious experience. I find it rather ridiculous that you are attacking pens like the Lamy Safary and the Pilot Metropolitan; two pens that are both excellent quality and affordable, for literally no other reason than they are affordable. This is the definition of new money gatekeeping. Please, get over yourselves and go back to the positive content you used to do.
The pilot metro is my default go to pen for ink work and is a personal favorite. I put a converter on from Pilot because I dislike squeeze/dropper fillers (personal preference). She's a workhorse and a well behaved lady at that. A pen is a tool, and it's value comes not from a price tag, but from fitness for task and purpose. It's worth more to me than some 200 dollar pen because I can use it, get good consistent results when inking lines, and it has simple clean look I can use for work.
Also as Silk said... unless the ink was made to be archival and meet ISO/STM standards, it isn't archival grade no matter how much you spend.
Have a lower-mid range minimalist pen (around 25$), and you can tell the difference with a plastic 1-5$ one immediately and you do not need to break the bank. I've been keeping it for years and bought recharges as I have trouble drawing with plastic pens now.
Just the feel, the weight of the metal, the touch and dare I say the way the ink is spreading are different. No way I am getting back to bics...
Why does the speaker look stunned and running on glitchy power plug?
Fountain pens are generally extremely overpriced considering the manufacturing cost so at certain gap you pay for brand and not more quality. Gold nibs (fun fact: the actual cost of gold in them is about 10-20 dollars, depending on nib size) are not automatically more springy than steel nibs since some gold nibs are extremely stiff. And some steel nibs (like the ones used in Faber Castell Ambition) write smoother than the gold nibs I own.
I take a little issue with cheap plastic being light and unbalanced then showing a Lamy Safari. I love the balance of my Safari's so much I have a couple with gold nibs.
A real point about gold nibs vs steel should've been that gold nibs are generally smoother writers all things being equal.
Can you actually buy Safaris with gold nibs?
@@ryokan9120 Lamy uses the same nib and feed design on most of their lineup, you can swap nibs with some scotch tape to pull the nib off the feed and slide a new nib onto it. Lamy sells their nibs standalone which makes them a great candidate for having one pen with many nibs, Jinhao also now makes Lamy style nibs if you want to play with nib tuning or get a finer nib than Lamy offers as Lamy's EF is more like a F or if you get unlucky, a medium.
A pilot metropolitan will probably last longer and write as consistently as a Montblanc. IMO the difference between cheap and expensive pens is price.
Sweet spot for any hobby is the mid range, about $100 to $200 for FPs. You get super nice steel nibs or starter gold nibs here.
You can get by perfectly fine with 20 dollar pens too - case in point the Pilot Metropolitan
****This video is not for beginners, if you are a beginner check out Goulet Pens, Figboot on Pens, the Pen Habit, Hemingway Jones, etc.****
While I appreciate the time it took to make this video, it missed the mark. Fountain pens are more than cheap or expensive. Some of my favorite pens have “cheap” stainless nibs (diplomat aero, Lamy Studio…). Instead of basing the video off of cost, you should have based your video off of quality, and reputation. There’s a reason why Pilot, Lamy, Sailor, Platinum, etc. are successful. It’s because they have a great reputation and make amazing pens. You also briefly mentioned ink, you should’ve talked more about ink, paper too. An expensive pen is going to write like garbage if you don’t use the right ink or paper. The three have to compliment each other to work properly, they’re a team. It’s all is based off of personal preference at the end of the day and what makes you happy. One last thing, I’m going to respect someone more with a lamy safari who enjoys their pen vs someone with a Montblanc 149 who has it because it’s “expensive”.
This comment right here should be on top of the comments, right under the video itself. I appreciate Gentleman's Gazette taking the effort to make a FP video since I love FPs, but this video is so full of misinformation that it should have been pulled from CZcams by Gentleman's Gazette themselves. They clearly read the comments since they like all the appraising comments, but totally ignore all the comments pointing out all they got wrong. That is not gentlemanlike at all, to simply ingore all criticism is pathetic.
Dissing the Lamy Safari... no, it isn't an expensive pen, but it is a respected, reliable favorite around the world.
I own the "too busy" pen on the left at 10:17. I personally think it looks quite nice, although it's my first fountain pen and I'm sure my tastes will evolve and mature. I got it for $3 on Alibaba and although it isn't very flexible and sometimes gets ink on my hands, it's made me love fountain pens and I'll probably buy another it the ~$30 range.
Good for you! Enjoy your fp experience. If your up for suggestions I would recommend you take a look at twsbi pens there are several types either at or under $30 range. Twsbi swipe allows you several of the filling mechanisms, including cartridge and two other methods of converter. All for under $30. If you want to try your hand at a piston filling pen, then go with the twsbi eco. And if you want a pocket size pen, you could get the twsbi mini. Welcome the the fountain pen family!
It's virtually impossible to beat the Platinum Preppy for ~$5 a pop. You can buy a few with different nibs to see what you like. They use the same nibs in pens that sell for close to $50, because they're simply fantastic nibs with a glassy smooth feel to their writing. Just know that Japanese sizing is a size down from European, which I think Chinese pens typically tend towards, so a Japanese F is like a European EF.
Also you can even convert them to "eye-dropper" filling if you're up for a 10 minute project with a $5 o-ring, bringing their capacity up to the level of a TWSBI, in a much smaller package.
Then you can fill them with an ink syringe (which come with printer cartridge refill kits... And yes, though you'll find it's sacrilege to most, printer ink works fine with fountain pens. They're both designed to mark paper accurately through a tiny feed system.)
@@CetomimusGillii I got my daughter a preppy. She loves writing with it. I don’t know what it is about the preppy, but I don’t find it enjoyable to write with for some strange reason. I have nothing bad to say about the preppy, and it’s a great fp, just a personal preference thing.
I love that they showed a $5000 dollar Montegrappa Lord of the Rings when they talked about cheap garish pens.
hi, Great video , May I know what is the paper at 3:32 with blue borders??
Strongly disagree with many of the conclusions expressed in this video. You seem to be fountain pen novices who approach pens as fashion accessories rather than writing instruments, and unsurprisingly think that expense is the only relevant factor in quality of the writing experience. A Lamy Safari, which you consistently show as an flawed “inexpensive pen” is in reality a practical, bulletproof, unpretentious pen that writes wonderfully, a classic of 80s design that has stood the test of time. The Montblancs you consistently show as the example of desirable “expensive” pens are luxury items that have as much to do with displaying status as they do with writing. A $1000 Montblanc not really write better or is “more meticulously balanced” than a $150 Pilot or even a $50 Lamy. I own several Montblancs and while they are wonderful pens, I can’t honestly say they are better or even match Pilots or Sailor pens that cost nearly 1/10.
So focusing on “expensive” pens vs. “Inexpensive” pens really misses the point, is an unhelpful dichotomy after a point, and really indicates that you are only concerned with pens as a status symbol fashion itemz. I understand you guys arw into vintage style, but there are some aspects of the past that don’t deserve to be preserved - using pens as tokens of your status in society is one of them.
I kind of feel like this whole video was a "higher cost = better product" kind of thing. Not all gold nibs have softness to them. Plenty of gold nibs are hard and rigid like a nail. Not everyone likes a soft or bouncy feel when writing. You also say the best pens will use ebonite feeds, but most pens these days use plastic, even the high end ones. The Montblanc you keep showing, which I'm guessing is vintage, might have an ebonite feed but they use plastic feeds now and have for quite a while. The ink section is kind what got me the most. High cost ink is NOT a better product. At a certain point you are overpaying for ink that is "premium". Diamine is one of the least expensive brands and is one of the best brands for ink. Yes, of course cheaply made ink is out there but there are plenty of reputable, budget friendly brands. Expensive ink does not mean easier to write with and easier to read...
So Preston as we discussed the nib and the feed, where can one buy "better" parts? I dabble in pen making and I'd like to improve the write ability of the pens I make. This is because I find that the nibs that are provided in the kits I use are generally stainless steel, and the feeds are plastic. And to your other point regarding inks, I would enjoy seeing a video about the differences in ink quality.
There's several companies online that sell ebonite feeds. Bock and Jowo, though they're almost generic nibs (used by many pen makers, even some that cost hundreds of dollars like "Warranted" gold nibs were used as replacement or to "dress up" budget pens) have both steel and gold options, though there's really not a lot of difference in the way they write. Bock you can sometimes get bounce from even steel, Jowo are generally similar to a vintage Manifold nib. (Very stiff.) There was also a guy that talked his jeweler into making one. True vintage flex in a new nib. (Nothing modern compares.)
We need more hobby pen makers (the ones that sell on Etsy, or through Kickstarter) to use Bock or Jowo nibs.
So many times we see great pen designs, but with bad nibs that you cannot replace.
I spent three hours last week searching through Etsy and EBay, wanting to support a small business, and could not find a single design that I liked that had jowo or bock nibs.
Ebonite feeds are great (and often needed) in modern flex pens, but not sure how much difference you would see (if any) in a fine, medium, or bold nib pen.
If you are charging a lot for a pen, then nothing wrong with putting an ebonite feed in, but if the cost is on the lower end, then maybe not worth it.
As for inks, unless you are using a 1.1 stub or above, or a flex, then most inks are much of a muchness.
I have many wonderful inks that have shimmer, shine, sheen, or colour variance if you splash them, but for any line under 1.1m stub (maybe 1.0 bold), you will not see any of this.
Even then most of the effect is not seen if not writing on a paper like Tomoe River, and to a much lesser extent Rhodia.
I have about 40 inks from about £4 to £60.
Apart from some special effects on wider lines, or splashed ink, you could not tell the difference with most of it, apart from the main black I use (heart of darkness).
For non special effect ink, a blue is a blue is a blue.
Inks are often advertised by showing ink swatches, large swathes of ink washed over an area. They look wonderful with the colour variances, or sheen, but you will hardly ever see this with normal writing with M or below.
If you want to have a look at some interesting inks, look up KWZ Sheen Machine 2, and Jacques Herbin emerald 1670 emerald of Chivor.
There are some inks by known ink producers like Diamine, which are fairly transparent by design, but most of their other inks have strong vibrant or intense colours.
Again, dropping some ink on a swatch, and dripping water on to it, will show differences, but in real life situations there is not much difference.
I was reluctant to try a fountain pen because my hands are very spastic. Now I think that I will try some of Raphael’s inexpensive fountain pen suggestions. Thanks, Preston. Another fine video, by the way.
When I was in high school we used cheap disposables, and oddly enough they wrote quite well. Quality of paper probably matters more than quality of pen... used to be you could buy paper designed for free-flowing ink.
I found a waterman as a kid and it still works (albeit i need better ink for a nicer flow it seems) however, after a few fountain pens, i relented and bought a cheap yet vintage pen stand/ ink well, some vintage writing nibs, a holder and ink, all in for about £20 and love it, using a dip pen really accentuates the fountain pen feeling, really want to use a quill soon.
I have 2 mid-range fountain pens which are both amazing but, being only 20 and having a proper full time job for the first time since the pandemic ‘ended’ I’ve been able to maintain both pens happily on a low/minimal income with support from my parents (they mainly bought inks as and when I needed them if I had no pocket or birthday money).
I’ve got a Parker fountain pen (£12-£13) which has been fuelled by Parker brand quink cartridges since I was 13 and, the second is a Jinhao X450 (£15-£25) and I used standard universal ink cartridges. Before those who jump to any conclusion that the Parker pen is so cheap that’s because it’s from the low-end of the Parker fountain pen range; higher range pens can cost upwards of £100.
I envy your access to Diamine inks! Their 30mL bottles are 7USD where I live. CultPens is a godsend.
Good luck with your proper full time job! I hope you and your employer take good care of each other and that you're able to treat yourself to the occasional Ancient Copper or Majestic Blue.
Great to see fellow young people (I'm also in my 20s, been collecting pens since 14) using and loving fountain pens!
Me and my preppy watched this while taking notes. Vintage set of Pelikan 120, Parker 45, Inoxcrom 77, Sheaffer School pen, and a Scrikss fountain pens enjoying their retirement. High quailty material does not always mean comfort and fun.
May I ask what (beautiful) dark green ink are you using at 17:35?
I get similar results from Kaweco's Palm Green. I am not convinced that Palm Green is being used at 17:35 but at least you have something similar to try.
I have a Montblanc fountain pen and love it to bits. Any chance I get to write I do with my Montblanc. Highly recommend getting one.
You’ll write more and love doing it.
Glad you love your Mont Blanc, I’ve heard mixed reviews, and wonder if it has to do with too high expectations, from over hyped marketing, and high price point, or if there’s something else at play. I would LOVE to try one some day, but I’m at the intermediate level. Between $20-$100.
Montblanc pens are amazing and great to write with. Smooth and very high quality. I have never had any issues with them. Highly recommended!
@@chrisblanc663 Hi Chris, not shy of your budget you may get lucky and be able to find a vintage MB :)
For a great pen at a cheap price I would recommend definitely getting a Parker Frontier -they are increasingly hard to get, but are Indian made and very pleasant to write with. The Noodlers Ahab is a perfect flexible nib at a cheap price.
Also, if you haven't written with Noodlers Apache Sunset ink you simply haven't lived old boy.
Thumbs up for the Ahab! Consider purchasing a Fountain Pen Revolution Ultra Flex nib with its matching ebonite feed to further increase the flex! Sadly, I really don't like the looks of the Ahab's Cardinal of Darkness material, but that's a personal preference. It is a very satisfying writing experience. What color did you choose?
Fun fact: Noodler's Apache Sunset is now called "Southwest Sunset". Anderson and Goulet pens both dropped the Noodler's brand when it became apparent that Noodler's had some antisemitic imagery on some of their inks. Noodler's discontinued or changed several of their ink names and artwork in order to get some business back, but Andersons still won't stock the brand. Apache Sunset and Navajo Turquoise both received a rebranding thanks to the fact that American Native tribe names are considered protected words, similar to a trademark. It's akin to if someone took your picture, printed it on a t-shirt, and wrote "just say no to abortion!" on the shirt. They may have the legal right to take your picture in a public place but they can't use your face to promote their product or message without your approval. So even though those ink names weren't considered offensive, Noodler's thought it prudent to change the name to something that won't get them in further hot water.
Apache Sunset and Noodler's Black were the first two inks I ever bought. I rarely use either of them these days but they'll always have a special place in my heart. It was Sunset, especially, that helped open the fountain pen Pandora's Box for me, although in retrospect I think I would have preferred a 1oz bottle.
@@twitch7515 So I looked up why he's supposedly 'antisemetic' . Honestly, I'm part Jewish and I think the whole thing is flagrant BS. He depicted Ben Bernanke as a devil on an ink bottle. Bernanke was rightly criticized for not seeing and taking the correct steps to avoid the financial meltdown of 2008 and the “Great Recession” that followed. Then, policies under Bernanke only massively prolonged the recession.
The fact Bernake was Jewish doesnt put him above criticism or make insulting him an anti Jewish statement. Its simply criticism of someone you don't like. As for Natives using their ink? My wife in Native and loves Apache Sunset. Honestly the total nonsense of the PC brigade just makes me want to use Noodlers ink more.
I do love fountain pens; not sure they make me well rounded. I attribute that to oaf. Thanks for the video.
preston what you think for Hawes and Curtis quality ?
I recently read an article (I forget where) which asserted that modern, high-priced pens (such as the Mont Blanc) have weight added in order to make them feel more substantial, which may suggest quality, but that this extra weight can prove tiring; quite the opposite of what you suggest.
Montblanc have many models to suit different people's needs as mentioned by Preston in the video...
Some people like the extra weight, but most fp followers quickly learn that weight is only one component, and not the end-all-be-all of a good pen.
Well, I have a pilot V, just starting to dive into penmanship so... Yep... Perfect price for starters.
This, from a linguistic language-learning perspective: with the same rate of speed when speaking to others, relaxing and softly linking words with a slow, flowing "gait" (in phrases and short sentences) is easier on the listener's/listeners' ears and comprehension than even a slow, disconnected, lightly staccato delivery.
I use the Pilot cheapo one at work for light tasks and meetings, and it works great for that. I don't carry it in my pocket though! Use a waterman at home only for my journal. Can't afford more than that!
Use a fountain pen for meetings. 🖋 (especially with prospective clients)
Change my mind : Best pen is Pilot V5 Black
Best pen for you may easily be that one. The best one for me is a cheap super-fine nib refillable one from Asia. I don't like to use black ink nor the stereotype blue hue, I prefer a dark blue ink. If I want to goof around with fancy inks or even write in coffee I have a cheap glass nib dip pen for that.
I use an italic nib with a cartridge which I refill with a syringe with ink from an inker and I keep an extra cartridge inside the handle of the pen (a technique developed in 3rd grade) XD
Not a bad idea. What pen do you use?
How much could a high quality replacement nib cost?
I like this channel I differ on some of this. Goulet sells some good untipped italic nibs. Montblanc uses plastic feeds.
Fountain Pen Revolution has a Gold Super Flex nib that is rather revolutionary in my opinion. It does require some expertise and patience.
Light weight can be preferable to some.
I enjoy my Montblanc 149 but am not going to use it for writing a heartfelt letter. I will use a dip pen or a my Guider Zimbo with the aforementioned gold FPR nib.
I realize I might seem pedantic, but Copperplate script is one of my hobbies.
Agreed. Plus steel nibs and gold nibs have the same tipping and nib material doesn't affect how the pen "adapts" to your writing style. The adapting is just the slow creation of a flat spot in the nib over decades, and it won't be affected if you share the pen (unless your friend writes on sandpaper haha). Plus gold and steel nibs are in theory equally smooth (as the tipping material is the same) but gold nibs have higher quality control in general
My pen price range is between $50 and $100, only precious metal would get me to pay more. My fav is a sterling silver ball pen by Tiffany. I think I paid around $300 for it, got my name engraved on it. Like a watch, it should elevate your mood and class.
What difference does it make if it's precious metal or plastic?
@@DrinkWater713, one makes you feel good about yourself and totally compensates for your personal shortcomings-the other does not. ^^
this gentleman's gazette seems to be about how to be a rich snob and throw money at everything
@@anotheryoutubeaccount5259 they're basically saying anything that isn't a montblanc is too cheap and inferior. Which is total BS.
Yes there is but I love all types of fountains pens ,some brand makes great pens at affordable and expensive pens under their product line.
Strangely enough, I've been using very cheap Jinhao ink for a few years, and I've never had any issues with my nib clogging up, and it writes buttery smooth. I haven't tried MontBlanc ink so I cannot comment on a comparison, but what I can say is regardless of the price of the ink, if you leave your pen unused for a few weeks the feed will get clogged/dried up and it needs to be washed in warm water to get the ink flowing. I also have several cheap Jinhao 159's and I've never had issues with rusting nibs.
Plenty of cheap pens in the world with ebonite feeds, plenty of expensive ones without them.
Sorry to say that the most uncomfortable pen in my collection is a Waterman Edson, Limited Edition. It is heavy enough to make your hand sore unless you only use it for signing checks, although you probably use autopay and rarely write or print checks. Nevertheless, this fountain pen is a work of art.
$20 is a reasonable price. Anything more that that is for people who wish to flex.
😂. I see what you did there.
@@bobbyread 👌
PS for the closest to the writer Howard Philips Lovecrafts setup, go for a Waterman Allure in jet black with Diamine Aurora Borealis ink.
There are plenty of good cheap fountain pens. I grew up using no-name ones sold for 10 yuan at the corner store that work just as well as my dad's more expensive ones of well-respected brands. The trouble is finding them, these days. I luckily stumbled on Wordsworth & Black, whose pens are only around $25, but they write better than anything else I've ever used. I definitely recommend trying out a couple models. My favourite is the Primori.
I also have a Primori, and it feels and writes so much better than a $300 Parker pen.
I also have a Primori, and it feels and writes so much better than a $300 Parker pen.
Nowadays, there are good-quality Korean-made cheap fountain pens that work just as well as the other more expensive fountain pens from Parker, Montblanc, Dunhill, Namiki, Cross, Montegrappa, Aurora, Visconti and so on.
What are these Korean brands?
I think that it would have been vastly more useful had you named the Korean brands, rather than the expensive brands everyone knows about...
@@CristiNeagu I don't know what country of origin these brands come from but the cheapo brands with decent reputation are Jinhao, Hong Dian/Asvine, Majohn, & possibly Dryden Designs.
Jinhao specifically makes surprisingly good knockoffs of a lot of famous pens.
And of course there's TWSBI, which produces mostly low to low-mid range pens that many people love.
The amount of puns in the videos was insane
I recently won an ebay auction for my favourite childhood fountain pen which was mid-range with gold plating. I remember it cost around 20 USD in the late 80s or early 90s but being an unusual and discontinued brand nobody else bid so I got it for around 5 USD plus shipping. Still in perfect condition with no rust I am very careful when using it as I know how hard it would be to replace as they don't come up for sale very often in that condition. So not very valuable in financial terms but extremely special to me and will hopefully last my lifetime. Treated myself to a new bottle of Parker Quink to celebrate.
Probably should have talked to folks who actually use fountain pens. There is so much misinformation in this video that it makes me want to cry.
Would love to see a business card episode (a bit like American Psycho) where materials, thickness, colour subtlties, raised lettering and maybe even watermarks were discussed. Just so we know what a tasteful thickness is...
Which pen is at 15:31 of the video?
it looks like some sort of Sheaffer with their iconic inlaid nibs, like the PFM. I don't know the exact model though.
It's a Waterman carene :) they've lovely inlaid nibs and no visible feed. 14k gold nibs. That version is slightly more expensive but the resin versions are the same quality :)
@@user-qi5jw2hg1c yep, I think you are right 👍
There's so many projections and assumptions in this video it's quite hilarious.
I have a collection of reasonably affordable pens, and a Mont Blanc Meisterstuck (sic?). I recently ordered a bottle of Noodler’s Bay State Blue ink from JetPens that came with a free “Charlie” pen. First I cannot say enough about how awesome the ink is. I write with the pen daily, including multi-page essays, and I am in love with this pen/ink combo. I tend to write very small, so quality paper is a must, but even with quality paper the nibs on my Waterman, Schaefer, Lamy, Pelikan, and Yafa are all too wide for the size of my writing. I had good luck for a while with a Monteverdi Monza 3, but it started skipping and leaking. I have a Parker Jotter fountain pen that works flawlessly, and seems to never dry or clog, but it is just a little broader than the Noodler’s “Charlie.”
Oh man, be careful with that ink man. BSB will stain everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. It is a very lovely color for sure, just be aware that whatever you happen to spill it on, it will never come out.
@@josh1216 thank you for the warning. Yes, I have been made aware of the staining, but I try to make it habit to treat all my inks that way.
@@josh1216 This is why many person give BSB it's own pen. A pen that is always BSB, and staining doesn't matter. A Charlie or a Preppy is a good pen to start BSB in.
Now we just need cheap vs. expensive hats. Perhaps also explain some varients like melon and when it's appropriate to wear which
I think they have that one on their playlist. I definitely remember watching a couple videos about hats.
Currently rocking a Lamy CP1 and a Kaweco Liliput Stainless Steel model, both EF nib :)
Inks should be explored. If you're going to follow this road, I strongly encourage Gentleman's Gazette to also explore proper paper for fountain pen use. The best pen and ink with poor quality paper makes for terrible writing experiences.
I'd also recommend exploring other writing tools outside of fountain pens. Proper writing, like dressing well, requires intentionality. A proper examination of all the tools at a gentleman's disposal will keep him from being disarmed should he be parted from his fountain pen.
Your absolutely right
I agree about the paper. Though they need to actually do research on the inks. They apparently don't know the difference between dip pen inks and fountain pen inks, based on this video.
@@paulherman5822 I can't recall if they discussed water-based inks in a previous video, but that's an important point. Destroying a Montblanc with dip-pen ink is not my idea of a good time.
@@ReticentSparrow I think this is the first, other than Raphael saying he uses a green ink from Montblanc. This time they said a lot of misinformation about inks. Every example of a "cheap ink" was actually not fountain pen ink. And the "information" on corrosive older inks was false as well. Plain steel nibs (not stainless steel) did corrode before Esterbrook started people using stainless steel, and it was corrosion because of water, not the acidic nature. And vintage pens with latex sacs did fine with "acidic" iron gall ink. But the alkaline inks currently from predominantly Japan have melted some latex sacs. No homework was done to research any of their claims, apparently.
@@paulherman5822 I've heard mixed reports on the aggressiveness of modern iron gall inks: some claim only gold nibs avoid corrosion from them, while others claim it's stainless steel nibs. I couldn't say either way.
I do know water invites life, so inks are a chemical mixture of water, dye, and biocides. Even respected companies, like J. Herbin, have experienced trouble there.
While I am surprised at the mistakes made here, I'd consider it more ignorance than willful misleading. When you don't know what you don't know, it's easy to misspeak, and previous videos like their one on Fred Astaire are quite in-depth.
In the green ink section, it looked like they used a screenshot from the Goulet Pen Company, perhaps from one of their ink sample sets. They may not have everything under the sun, but they are a treasure trove of fountain pen, paper, and ink information, especially for anyone just starting out. But since Goulet does not carry Montblanc products, perhaps Gentleman's Gazette would be in a unique place to provide more information regarding them. Given Raphael's enjoyment of Montblanc products, that would seem only natural to pursue.
I would love for you to review the Kindle Scribe with premium pen for writing with electronic ink in fountain pen mode. Maybe this new technology will restore the lost art of penmanship.
Gentlemens Gazette, where are your suits gone!?
Sadly, price point isn't an indicator necessarily of ease of use... I love my Lamy fountain pens, it's a great entry point FP and nibs can be changed out fairly easily. I love chinese FP also, I'm a huge Hongdian fan, and the Jinhaos also do their job well and can easily be gifted to a FP starter....and working in an office where pen theft is a real thing, I only feel comfortable leaving Jinhaos out. Inks.... I'd rather just watch out if inks are dry or wet writers. Waterman inks are cheap and for me the most reliable, easy to use and elegant looking inks at that price point out there. Inks made for fountain pens are more of an issue depending on the paper one uses, some papers are better than others and def worth testing out with different paper/notebook brands.
Can you make other videos about cuban cigars? For those who enjoy them, cigars are a great gentlemen activity
never underestimate a inexpensive Parker I have a Parker jotter i bought as a High school student back in 1995 and i have carried and used every day sense. It even survived the heat of battle without issues or leaking.
I’ve decide to improve my penmanship.
I am chagrined by my handwriting which looks like a 12 year old’s.
At 12:39 he shows a Waterman carene, which has a metal barrel with Lacquer
When I was in my 20's someone in my office had a Montblanc ballpoint pen on their desk. I used it to write something down and accidentally slipped it into my pocket. I couldn't remember who I had taken it from, but I didn't think it mattered, because we had plenty of free pens in the office. When it ran out of ink, I threw it in trash. I only found out months later that Montblancs are kind of expensive...
😢
This gentleman is the reason I don't lend my pens (fountain) to anyone nor leave them unattended.
@@mbrambhatt Wouldn't say I was any gentleman at the time. But at least I made restitution years later to the pen spirits by gifting some high quality nibs to a budding young calligrapher.
The lamy is my EDC
it is a great fountain pen. So many colors to choose from, even some collectors editions.
Tbh I do not feel like the Lamy Safari is a cheap pen. Some people want lighter writing instruments, there are convertres available and lamy even gives you the option of nib swapping. Costs more then 4x the pen, but you can have a Lamy Safari with a Gold Nib.
Amazing video! Thanks for sharing!
Cheers from Brazil!
Just bought 2x $5k pens, no idea how to use them, not sure if I will. Maybe decoration, maybe useful. Lol.
Decent video though explaining whatever it is that I bought.
PILOT Iroshizuku Bottled Fountain Pen Ink, Asa-Gao, Morning Glory (Dark Blue) 50ml Bottle (69203), Vivid Purplish Blue ..... Trust me, this is THE ink. As an alternative: Levenger Bottled Ink, Amethyst (PR0220 AME) which has a really nice bottle that makes it easy to refill piston a fountain pen.
My city series Pelikans (Piccadilly Circus, Grand Place, etc...) were by your definition "mid range" when I purchased them 7 years ago for ~$150 and are now way more pricey. My take is that there is nothing better about them, they write about like a cheap fountain pen. They are, however, a nice investment since there are folks willing to pay so much for them. There is simply no inherent benefit to them. I still use a Waterman Paris, the first fountain pen I bought on eBay for $40 about 25 years ago, and it's just fine for a life time of writing. I had one of my Pelikans' cap break for no apparent reason. I'm not impressed. Just to be clear, I've been using fountain pens since the 3rd grade in Kempen, Niederrhein, in 1955 when my mother gave me her old fountain pen, manufacture unknown. It worked fine but had a leak so I had a perpetually blue middle finger in my early years. The etui always had ink marks.