Your Buyer's Guide To Good Fountain Pens
There's nothing more important than finding your perfect pen; the one that is made just for you. That is why we are here, to explore the best pens and what makes a pen good!
To begin with, we will jump into what fountain pens are, how they are made, and the materials and design that goes into a great fountain pen, as well as their rollerball and ballpoint pen siblings.
How Are Fountain Pens Made?
The process is called pen turning, and it's an art form.
Pen Turning
The process of pen turning creates the body of the fountain pen, but there is one element which is more important...
The Holy Grail of The Fountain Pen: The Pen Nib
If you ask any pen enthusiast about their nibs, they will get excited... maybe too excited. The fountain pen nib is a beautiful piece of design work and is the the mechanism by which ink is distributed onto your paper, notebook, or scrapbook. There is nothing more important than your fountain pen nib! Remember this.
When shopping for your pen, you should watch reviews and see photos of the writing of the instrument and examine the writing gear with a focus on the pen nib.
What's The Top Fountain Pen For Beginners?
Our favorite fountain pens for beginners, someone who has never wrote with a fountain pen, would be a Lamy Safari fountain pen or a Pilot Metropolitan fountain pen. They aren't the best pens in the world, but they are affordable and write smoothly!
What's The Top Writing Fountain Pen?
This is a controversial question! But I am glad you asked. Our top writing fountain pens include the Pilot Falcon fountain pen, the Pelikan 605m fountain pen, and the Pilot Vanishing Point fountain pen.
The Pilot Vanishing Point
The Pilot Vanishing point is a fascinating and fun pen! A good pen, one might even call it great. They are unique because they have a retractable nib that can go in and out as you please so you don't have to worry about capping your pen or writing instrument.
The Pilot Falcon Fountain Pen (Namiki Falcon)
The Pilot Falcon (also called Namiki Falcon) is a famous best fountain pen for a reason. It is considered by many artists to be the best fountain pen for drawing, writing, and calligraphy. If you are looking for a good fountain pen for calligraphy, this is a great option to review.
Regardless of which writing fountain pen you choose, you want to be confident it can handle longer writing sessions with smooth lines and (if you like to sketch) can draw as well. The market for these good fountain pens does have a high price tag, so there is a cost for that amazing ink flow.
Other good pens for writing are the TWSBI eco for it's durability and writing excellence. This is a favorite for the fountain pen community. They require low maintenance and everyone seems happy with them. They have great functionality making them a good entry level pen for beginners.
What Fountain Pen Has The Best Nib?
Now you're asking the real questions! This is highly debated. There are many contenders, many of who made the above top good fountain pens list, including fountain pen brands such as LAMY, Montegrappa, Montblanc, Visconti, Sailor, Waterman, Waldman, Namiki, Leonardo, Nahvalur / Narwhal, Pilot and many more. We appreciate a great nib and fountain pens that have peaked our interest include:
Not to mention, the top good fountain pens also come in a variety of types of nibs including flex nib fountain pens, calligraphy nibs, double broad nibs, architect nibs, music zoom nibs, and even ultra extra fine nibs! They also come in a variety of materials including stainless steel nibs, gold nibs (16k gold, 18k, gold, and even 24 karat gold!) and more. There are so many best pens and good fountain pens to choose from! Isn't it exciting?
You have a lot of shopping to do, my friend. Or, just pick out one of the best pens we chose above and get your order often within just a few days! You will find your favorite fountain pen before you know it!
What Fountain Pen Has The Best Filling Mechanism?
There are many fountain pen filling mechanisms to choose from for your new pen, and it's only a matter of time before you have your personal favorite. The filling system of your new pen is how you get the fountain pen ink to fill inside your pen. It's important, so let's see the common systems!
This is the simple one. They are disposable ink cartrideges that are purchased and inserted into your pen. You can find these with good and great pens alike such as the Lamy Safari, but we do have a recommendation to buy a separate ink converter too!
This is the most popular pen filling system, since it is refillable and eco-friendly! The ink converter is simple and will suck up your bottled fountain pen ink. These come with many of the options present on the above list, but you should check the product description to confirm.
You also have vacuum filler pens which suck up the fountain pen ink in a different way! These writing instruments are unique in the fountain pen world and provide a great writing experience. They can cost a pretty penny, but there are cheap / affordable price tags for these pens, especially on a sale or deal! You need at-least one vacuum fill fountain pen in your desk! Great fountain pens are hard to come by, you can't go wrong with this good fountain pen.
This is the most classic fountain pen filling mechanism the world has seen! This was on the original fountain pen designs and is a beautiful, simple way to collect ink from a bottle. Try grabbing a top piston filler pen to add to your desk collection. You can find these at very reasonable price points and price ranges. They are great gifts and one of our favorites here at Goldspot.
This is another fun mechanism that many unique quality writing instruments have to offer. Great fountain pens are hard to come by, you can't go wrong with this best writing instrument.
What's next for the best pens of 2023?
The year isn't over. In fact, it's just getting started. The fourth quarter is still ahead with many pen brands holding their best releases until the end of the year. Which pens will reign supreme at year's end? We will update this page with the latest and greatest discoveries in the pen world.
Pen brands like LAMY, Montblanc, Montegrappa, TWSBI, Pilot, Visconti, and Kaweco are release new top fountain pens all the time. Let's see what these good pen brands come up with this year!
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