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Penfount • Pen Community

__New User Thread__
Are you new to fountain pens, or trying to decide if fountain pens are for you? Reply here with your questions and our helpful members will do their best to answer!

Mar 06, 2025, 12:00 AM·Public·Mastodon scheduler
3boosts·4favorites
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Douglas

@penfount I've been fountain pen-curious but I've got no idea where to start. Is there a cost effective point of entry just to give it a try for fun?

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Jonathan Lamothe
@douglasvb @penfount These are the pens I recommend to newcomers where price is a factor:
- Platinum Preppy (very cheap, well loved, but I have personally never used)
- LAMY Safari (reasonably priced, nigh indestructible, the EF nibs don't necessarily flow super well, but this isn't an issue with F and above)
- TWSBI Eco (holds a ton of ink, really smooth writer at a low price, can be prone to cracking, but has good customer support who typically will send out replacement parts for the cost of shipping)
- Pilot Metropolitan (nice looking pen, cheap, decent writer, but I'm not fond of the ink converter)
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Douglas

@me @penfount how do those pens do with air travel? Anything special I would need to do with them for rapid changes in pressure?

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Jonathan Lamothe
@douglasvb @penfount To be honest, I've never taken them on a plane, so I'm not sure. I've only flown twice in my life (four times if you count the return trips).
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Douglas

@me @penfount all you're missing by not flying is being uncomfortable in a metal tube for several hours 🤪

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Jonathan Lamothe
@douglasvb @penfount ...and having many dollars suddenly leave my bank account...
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Wojo

@douglasvb @me @penfount best bet is make sure the converter is full. Less air in the cartridge, less likely to leak. That said. Do expect a bit of ink in the cap.

Ive learned that whether flying, or diving two hours into the mountains, having a tissue or small cleaning rag on hand is a good idea.

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Douglas

@polishdub @me @penfount thanks! That makes sense with minimizing error and being prepared for a little bit of leakage.

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Wojo

@douglasvb @me @penfount ive done several flights. Your mileage will vary from time to time. And from pen to pen.
I never dared to uncap a pen in flight. Sometimes a pen will be a drop, next time could be more than several.

I guess i just dont want to promise you wont get a bit of a mess, but you wont likely have it bleeding all over the place.

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paradoxmo

@douglasvb @me @penfount I’m writing a blog post on how to travel with pens so your question is a reminder for me to actually finish and post it

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Jonathan Lamothe
@paradoxmo @penfount Despite the fact that I don't generally fly, that sounds to be an interesting read. Do you have an RSS feed on your blog that I can subscribe to?
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paradoxmo

@douglasvb in addition to the pens others suggested, I can recommend:

1) Pilot Varsity— disposable fountain pen that comes already inked. Great to use to figure out whether you get along with fountain pens

2) Pilot Lightive— a very well sealing, light pen. Like the Metropolitan, but with better potential ink capacity and a better seal, and plastic instead of metal

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