Hey everyone,
Sorry for the typical "requirements" post, but I’ve been searching for a fountain pen and still can’t find the right one. I’m hoping to get some recommendations!
I’m looking for a pen similar to my Parker Urban—perhaps a step up in quality. Here’s what I love about the Urban: the metal body feels great in hand, and the design is sleek yet understated. It’s been a reliable companion for over five years now, and I managed to snag it for just $5 or $10 during a clearance sale. Despite its quirks, it's stuck with me while others have come and gone.
Now, this might sound like an ad, but it's not! My relationship with this pen is a bit of a love-hate situation. It was plagued by ink skips and hard starts for years until I learned some nib-tuning techniques and sanded down the nib. Now, it writes beautifully, but it's set a high bar that other pens haven’t met. I’ve given away several pens to friends and family because they just didn’t click with me (pun intended).
One major sticking point for me is the cap mechanism. Most pens I’ve tried have screw-on caps, which makes jotting down quick notes a bit of a hassle. What I’m really after is a pen with a click-on, snap-on, or bump-sealed cap—something with a satisfying seal that provides feedback when closed. Here’s a rundown of what I’ve tried so far:
- Majohn M800 Acrylic with Bock Nib: It should have been the holy grail in my budget, given the glowing reviews, and it does write well. But it lacks a certain something I can’t quite put my finger on. Also, it has a screw-on cap.
- Asvine V126: The screw-on cap was a drawback, and the vacuum filling mechanism kept breaking.
- Various Chinese Pens (Hongdian, etc.): These are well-regarded by the community, but they just didn’t feel right for me. Jinhao 82: The build quality was a bit too low for my taste.
- Jinhao X159: A great writer, but the screw-on cap meant I didn’t use it as much as I’d like.
- Jinhao Slip-On Cap Model: The slip-on cap was a plus, but I really want a cap that has a click, snap, or at least a bit of tactile feedback when it seals.
I’m willing to splurge up to $100 if it means getting a solid pen that fits my needs. But if there’s a well-built Chinese option for less, I’d be happy to snag it too.
Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for your help!
Consider the Lamy Al-Star. Specifically not the Safari, not that there's anything wrong with the Safari, but the Al-Star has an aluminum body and cap and feels much nicer in the hand. $47.
Genuine ones have a press-on cap. If you got one with a screw-on cap, what you actually have is a counterfeit from Wish.
Lamy pens are nice in that the nibs are easily user interchangeable, so if you decide that whatever your pen came with doesn't tickle your fancy you can just spend a couple of bucks on a different one. Various widths ("grades," in Lamy parlance) are available, as well as italic and oblique nibs, and also fancy premium gold ones, and their flexible spring steel variant. Any Lamy nib will fit any Lamy pen, which either provides you flexibility or locks you into their ecosystem, depending how you look at it...
The Pilot Cavalier is another option I can recommend. It's all metal, slim, well built, and comes with a snap-on cap. $58.
The safari and Al star are both excellent pens, but I find them just a bit.... pedestrian.
I own many of both of course!
You raise some excellent points about the lamy eco-system. Though I'd have ignored Al-Star out of hand based on the looks, but I know that in-person things look much different than on web. I'll try to find some local stores to see how it looks. Cavalier looks interesting but isn't thicc or curvy enough for my tastes. Damn it! I again started fondling the hour glass figure of my parker while typing this. Something must be wrong with my brain.