this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2023
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Fountain Pens
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I was going to suggest an A1 which is my usual go to when I'm working in the hospital and need to write right away. The A2 may be a better choice if you want something light. Or a real pilot VP if you can find a deal. But really the Majohns are great and not too expensive, and you could see if you like the style before you commit to a pilot if you wanted.
If you like smaller pens something in the parker 51 family might be a good match? You might be able to pick up a vintage parker 51 for around that price. The vacumatic / aeromatic filling mechanisms allow for a ton of ink to be held in a pretty small pen. If you want something cheaper, there are lots of clones / homages. I have a wing sung 601 and 601 flighter that are both great pens and hold a ton of ink, and have the fun vacumatic filling mechanism.
I was looking through here to see if anybody was recommending a Pilot Vanishing Point or Majohn A1/A2.
Don't have time for a screw cap? How about no cap at all!?
The Vanishing Point is really handy. There is the full sized VP and the slightly smaller VP Decimo. The Majohn A1 / A2 pens are lower cost clones. I have a Decimo and find it can go quite a while without drying out. Longer than my snap cap pens. If you do a lot of writing, I'd suggest a fine nib, or even extra fine nib, to get more mileage per fill. Some people have trouble with the placement of the clip on the pen interfering with their grip. In general, if you use a tripod grip, the clip shouldn't be an issue. The Decimo sells around $160 USD, but you might be able to find a deal. The regular VP is a little more still. I haven't used an A1/A2, but they are less expensive alternatives that still seem to be well liked.
I didn't suggest the VP simple because of price. Pilot bumped up prices this year by a huge amount taking it well out of the OP's $100 budget. They also wanted something that looks like a fountain pen. I like my VP well enough but one of my dislikes is that it really doesn't look like a fountain pen. Capacity can also be an issue if using the included converter.
Yeah, that's why I was thinking Majohn (and also why I asked if OP wanted more of a stealth FP or not). I like it for my work because it's less obvious, but definitely varies by use case and preference.
Can they hold a lot of ink? I’m curious, because I have the pilot VP, and wish it held more ink. I would definitely get an A1 if it can hold more ink!
Mine came with both a converter and a refillable cartridge that has a bigger capacity and can be stoppered (you can buy more online).
This review has some good pictures:
It definitely holds more than the converter - maybe 0.7mL instead of 0.5 mL? - but of course won't compete with an eyedropper, vac filler, etc. I think you can also just buy the cartridges online and they may be VP compatible.
Thanks for the info! I write frequently throughout the day at my job, and I refill these cartridges every other day. So I ended up getting a TWSBI VAC 700R, and I generally last the week without worrying about a midday refill when I don’t have the time.
But these pens are so fun! I may get it for non-work related stuff.
How is the vac700R? I've looked at it and it seems great, though I have heard people talk about durability issues / barrel cracking
I have an ECO I have carried for 5 years in my work bag, and it works just fine. It has never cracked or leaked. I have also never tried to disassemble it, just cleaned it by rinsing. several people have noted that the threads in the barrel have to be carefully realigned when you are piecing it all back together.
I also have the VAC700R and the Vac Mini, and have flown with them. I haven’t had any cracking issues, though I have owned both for less than a year. Again, I don’t take my pens apart, though they do get banged around in my bag all the time.
I have read about these cracking issues, too, so I don’t know if I’m just lucky, or if there is a bias because so many people have TWSBI pens so the failure rate might be low, yet still have more issues crop up than less popular pens.
Also, all of my pens state they are made in Taiwan, which I have heard means they tend to be of higher quality. But that’s just something I read on a forum.
I love the ink capacity, and I don’t usually unscrew to top unless I am writing for a long time. There’s usually enough ink stored in the job to write what I need; I will release it periodically, and that seems to be enough.
Hope this helps!
It does - thanks!!