Cheap fountain with flexy nib?

Hi, I am looking for an affordable (sub-$50) fountain pen with a soft
nib.

My current Lamy Safari nib is steel and kinda scratchy at times. I
tried my co-worker's Pelikan and it was great. I used to have a
Waterman Phileas with a gold (plated?) nib, and in both Fine and Medium
I liked it a lot. Though my personal paper is very nice, often times I
must write on copy paper (slides from presentations, others' notes,
etc).

I've read that any nib material can be made soft, so I'm up for
whatever.

Any suggestions? My style tends toward the minimalist, but I'll take
any ideas.

bryanska wrote:
Hi, I am looking for an affordable (sub-$50) fountain pen with a soft
nib.

There's a listing in the Fountain Pen Network's "Marketplace" right now,
under "FS: 4 cheap plastic pens, they all work - REDUCED":

"Left to right [there's a photo].
Red Pen has no markings at all. Cork plunger. Clip shows some wear. Screw
cap.
Two middle pens are marked Made in China. Plunger. Some surface marks. Never
inked.
Last pen, yellow and blue. Gold fine nib w/some flex. Cartridge. Snap cap.

$14.99 I pay postage."

Brian
--

Brian Ketterling wrote:
"...$14.99 I pay postage."

I should add that I'm not the seller -- I just spotted it.

Brian
--

On Fri, 19 Jan 2007 10:28:35 -0600, bryanska wrote
(in article .com):

Hi, I am looking for an affordable (sub-$50) fountain pen with a soft
nib.

My current Lamy Safari nib is steel and kinda scratchy at times. I
tried my co-worker's Pelikan and it was great. I used to have a
Waterman Phileas with a gold (plated?) nib, and in both Fine and Medium
I liked it a lot. Though my personal paper is very nice, often times I
must write on copy paper (slides from presentations, others' notes,
etc).

I've read that any nib material can be made soft, so I'm up for
whatever.

Any suggestions? My style tends toward the minimalist, but I'll take
any ideas.

How about a good, used Esterbrook? There are lots of them out there, (and
lots of never used ones as well.)

Every one I have had my hands on has been in very good shape, about the only
thing I have seen needed on any of them was a new sac, or maybe they were
missing the screw-in nib unit, both of which are easily found at decent
prices. Add ink and start writing.

Nibs are replaceable and easily found at very reasonable prices, in lots of
variations, 33 of them. The nibs may be steel but I have found them to be a
great user pen. I own 2, one is a 1930's "Dollar Pen," (used but looks brand
new) and the other is a later "J," (nearly as nice as the first, just used a
bit harder, I should find a brand new pen looking as good.)

I also have 3 of the nib units, all are fine, but each is different. One is
pretty flexible, the 9000 series nibs are really nice, though the 1000 series
are quite usable as well. Plenty of pens, as well as nibs are available on
eBay and lots of other places. (Check out garage sales, I found one of mine
that way.)

I am not an Esterbrook collector, but I love the 2 I own. I doubt I have more
than $60 invested in those 3 nibs and 2 pens plus new sacs in both. (I got
one of the pens and a nib when I won an auction, I think it was tossed in to
sort of "fill out" the auction.) I would probably never looked at an
Esterbrook, but having used these I sure won't ever sneer at one again.

Try one if you get the chance, and check out the available nibs, especially
the 9000 series. Or better yet, buy one and have fun, I have bought new pens
at higher prices and had less pen.

--
Harry F. Leopold
aa #2076
AA/Vet #4
The Prints of Darkness
(remove gene to email)

A baseball bat, with the words "Clue Stick" impressed into the wood. Anyone
smacked upside the head with it will have a useful personal epiphany, and a
blinding headache. A sheet of paper accompanying the bat indicates that other
models are also available, such as the "Ugly Stick." - Warehouse 23

"bryanska" writes:

Hi, I am looking for an affordable (sub-$50) fountain pen with a soft
nib.

You can take almost any fountain pen and send it to one of these places:

http://www.richardspens.com/

http://www.nibs.com/

But you'd better ask first, what kind of pens can be made flexible.
Maybe Waterman Philéas would be good choice.

I've read that any nib material can be made soft, so I'm up for
whatever.

Yes, it is possible. See that pic in the end of this page:

http://www.pentrace.net/penbase/Data...?id=458&tname=


--
Juhapekka "naula" Tolvanen * http colon slash slash iki dot fi slash juhtolv
"Yhtälailla säälittävä olen niin kuin muutkin, yksinäinen jos et tuu ja jos
sä sitten tuutkin, olen sulle kohtelias, mutta vain sen verran, että saan
sut sänkyyni tämän yhden kerran. Tilaa jo se taksi." Zen Café

OK, can anyone recommend a NEW pen that will be flexy, straight out of
the box, for less than $50?

bryanska wrote:
OK, can anyone recommend a NEW pen that will be flexy, straight out of
the box, for less than $50?


Nope, can't be done. NEW pens with flexy nibs don't exist. There are
some "soft" nibs some people consider flexy, but IMO this view is
not well informed. Besides I don't think any of these "soft" nibs,
e.g., the Falcon, are under $50.

OMAS is reportedly working on a modern version of a true flexible
nib, but I haven't heard anything about it in some time. And I'll
bet dollars to donuts that the cost will be over $50.

HTH,
Mark Z.

"mz" wrote in message
...
bryanska wrote:
OK, can anyone recommend a NEW pen that will be flexy, straight
out of
the box, for less than $50?


Nope, can't be done. NEW pens with flexy nibs don't exist. There are
some "soft" nibs some people consider flexy, but IMO this view is
not well informed. Besides I don't think any of these "soft" nibs,
e.g., the Falcon, are under $50.

OMAS is reportedly working on a modern version of a true flexible
nib, but I haven't heard anything about it in some time. And I'll
bet dollars to donuts that the cost will be over $50.

HTH,
Mark Z.

The closest I have found to "flexible" is my Namiki (vanishing nib)
variety. I'm not certain if the advertise this attribute but perhaps
should. (?)
-LarryW