Luckily,
it doesn’t necessarily have to eat at your wallet! Inexpensive pens can help
someone try out fountain pens without breaking the bank. This top 5 list of
fountain pens under $30 are great for people testing the waters, gift giving,
and possibly taking the next step in your fountain pen journey.
Pilot Varsity $2
This
is a wonderful pen for any beginner who is curious about what fountain pens are.
This disposable fountain pen allows you to try out the fountain pen nib (the
part of the pen that touches the paper) without the hassle of cleaning and
caring for a pen when it is out of ink: you simply toss it when you’re done. This pen comes in a variety of colors and can
also be found in assorted packs of 7 pens for $10 for those who like to change
colors often.
Platinum Preppy $3
The
Platinum Preppy is only a dollar more than the Pilot Varsity. The advantage
this dollar spent brings is the added benefit of a cartridge converter (c/c). A cartridge converter is a filling system that
uses a plunger system to draw ink into a pen. Seeing a c/c system on a pen
means two things: you can either purchase cartridges that come prefilled with ink,
or you can purchase a converter and use any bottle of ink (fountain pen
friendly of course!) in your pen. This gives you the freedom to write with your
favorite ink, or switch out your inks often and try new colors.
One
downside to c/c systems is that they typically do not hold very much ink. Let’s
say you found your favorite ink and want to have a pen that always has the
color ready to go. With the limited capacity of the converter, you would have
to refill the pen too often to be practical. This pen offers a way around that.
This
pen has a second filling mechanism that is referred to as an eye dropper fill.
It is named this due to the eye dropper that is used in the process. Since some inks react with metal, eye
droppers cannot be used in all pens. Since this pen has no metal around the
barrel where the ink is held, it can be converted into an eye dropper. This
method allows the barrel of the pen to be used to hold the ink of the pen. Since
the entire barrel is being filled with ink, you will have a bigger capacity.
Pilot Metropolitan $10-15
The
Pilot Metropolitan is another c/c pen. This pen is a bit sturdier than the
other pens. It has a metal body instead of plastic so it is a more durable pen.
Since this pen has a metal body, it cannot be eyedropper converted. Along with
a durable build, this pen comes in a lot of finishes and colors with different
patterns. Shopping around for one will make the pen more personal to you.
The
Pilot Metropolitan is a work horse pen that will be ready to go whenever you
need it.
Kaweco Sport Classic $25
The
Kaweco Sport Classic is a great gift pen. This pen is a sleek pocket pen that
would be a great birthday present for someone you know who is into fountain
pens. It is also a c/c filling system that comes in a multitude of colors.
This
Sport Classic is small when capped to fit in the pocket and posts to the size
of a normal pen for writing, making it perfect for on the go.
TWSBI Eco $28
The
TWSBI Eco can be found for just under $30. The brand TWSBI is a company known
for making affordable, quality fountain pens. This pen is named Eco for its
great economical value.
Yet,
again with this new pen we are introducing a new filling system. This combines
the ease of a cartridge converter with the capacity of an eye dropper. This
filling system is called a piston filling system. Similar to a c/c system, it
uses a plunger called a piston to suck ink into the barrel of the pen. The
difference is that where a c/c system uses a separate tube to contain the ink
that comes apart from the pen, the piston system is built directly into the pen
and uses the barrel to contain the ink in the pen. The advantage to a c/c system
in this case is that it is easier to clean if you change inks a lot. The
advantage of a piston system is a closer capacity to an eye dropper without the
hassle of eye dropping a pen.
Another
detail about this pen is that it is a demonstrator. This means that you can see
through the pen and see the workings of the pen. You can see the piston in the
pen and watch how it works. On top of
this, the barrel is clear so you can see the color of ink in your pen and you
can watch the ink slosh around. It also provides a clear indicator of how much
ink is left in your pen.
Ultimately
there are a lot of pens on the market for people on a budget. Another way to
achieve this is to hunt and look for deals and specials. This does not have to
be an expensive hobby if you stick with quality pens for a good price.
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