Kaweco Sport

I'll check out the Decimo! And maybe I should just size up my Vanishing Point nib. I've had it for a few years and it's just too scratchy. I have a few other fun (relatively) cheap fountain pens I like: brass Kaweko Sport, Muji fountain pen, other random finds. However, the downside of fountain pens if that if you don't use them, you end up with a bunch of clogged nibs.

I love Safaris too, but unfortunately I handwrite very seldom and the Safaris tend to dry out quite quickly in my experience. I've got the Kaweco Sport, which sends to last much longer, probably because of its tight screw-top seal.

I’m a fountain pen user (helped me tremendously with RSI), but the Pilot VP is my daily driver for note taking — it’s retractable. Other frequently used pens: Kaweco Sport (Brass) as a pocket pen and a Pilot Custom 823 for letters / sit down writing.

The problem I have with the Safari is that I don't write much and they dry out before I use them much. My Kaweco Sport lasts for ages, and I think it's to do with the fit of the screw top compared to the relatively loose clicking mechanism of the Safari cap.

Sorry I don’t check comments often — here’s my go to pens: - pocket pen: Kaweco brass sport . It’s built like a tank, and develops a unique patina. - daily workhorse: Pilot VP . Great solid pen. The retractable nib is so darn convenient that it’s my go to for anything where I may be intermittently taking notes (e.g. meetings) - fancy pen for home: Pilot 823 . I got a quite good deal on it, as it’s more than I’m comfortable spending, but it’s one of the best writing pens out there and the vac filler is fun. But it doesn’t leave my desk. - recent pen: Moonman A1 . This is a “knockoff” of the Pilot VP, which had its patents expire. Quality is maybe 90% of the Pilot, but I paid <$25 shipped on AliExpress. Trying it out as a note taking pen since I’m a little over protective of my VP. I also have a TWSBI Eco and a Lamy Safari. I use the eco for basically callouts (circling/adding comments in red) when I review meeting notes. The Safari isn’t really for me… maybe the nib never meshed with my handwriting but I’ve always had issues; however, a lot of folks give it a ton of praise.

The "extremely expensive pens" focus is particularly frustrating because I have gotten the impression that the modern fountain pen market is more about producing limited-edition goods for collection and conspicuous consumption rather than excellent pens : the actual nib, feed, and entire function as a pen seems to be less important than the appearance of the barrel. Most high-end fountain pens seem to have the same style of usually-too-bold, extremely stiff nib, and the same style of feed and reservoir. Any specialist nib makers with flex nibs seem to just be making the same traditional nibs that have always been available. I primarily use vintage fountain pens not because I would be averse to using modern ones, but because they have better options available. Pens from over a hundred years ago somehow have far better flex nibs than modern pens, despite, as you point out, the many technological advances in flexible materials. And I'm not aware of any modern manufacturers making filling mechanisms like, say, a snorkel filler. Even my 1970s Kaweco Sport has a hooded, semi-flex nib; modern Kawecos have the same generic stiff nib on a standard feed that every other modern pen has (they are apparently actually just a purchased brand name of a cosmetics company now). Surely we could do far better? Yet it seems like no manufacturer is really trying to innovate on the actual pen part of fountain pens at all.

Oooo! Happy to answer. CHEAP: Lamy Safari. They come in plastic or in slightly more expensive aluminum (the Al version may have a different name, but it's the same size & shape and uses the same nib insert). These are gonna be $20-30 US, depending on your vendor. They are undoubtedly not as smooth to write with as my nicer pens, but they punch WAY above their weight, and deserve a spot in your rota -- especially clipped into a notebook you carry with you instead of something nicer. ALSO INEXPENSIVE: Kaweco Sport. These are super compact when closed, so they fit into a pocket better than a conventional pen, and (like the Lamy) write better than their low-end price would suggest ($27 at Jet Pens; they also make them in brass for $90). STEPPING UP A LITTLE: At $50-60, you can get one of the current "hot" affordable pens from TWSBI.com. They're pretty great; I have a 580 that I keep inked. You'll feel the difference between these and the lower-end pens. Be aware these are also a larger pen diameter-wise, and are thus sometimes less popular with small-handed people. TWSBI is also traditionally bottle-fill only -- no cartridges -- which puts some folks off. Don't be one of those; buy some bottled ink! You can get more variety that way. Plus, TWSBI pens in particular have enormous ink reservoirs -- I can write 2x or 3x as long with mine than I can with any of my other pens. OK NOW YOU GET TO SERIOUS PENS: I had a good dot-com boom, and bought some spendy pens, but what replaced them…

I got back into fountain pens recently, and one of the slightly humbling things about it is having to re-learn to write. It had been so long since I wrote much beyond "Happy Christmas, lots of love" and my name, that my writing, which wasn't great to start with, had become an almost unreadable scrawl. The first pen I bought was a Kaweco Sport and I really enjoy writing with it. For nostalgia's sake I then bought a Lamy Safari (they were all the rage at school), but found that, unlike the Kaweco Sport, it dried out pretty quickly because I still don't write that much. After reading through this I've just bought the clear TWSBI Eco-T Fountain Pen - one downside of the Sport is that its small size means that you don't get much ink in one fill (I prefer to use piston fillers to reduce the plastic waste of disposable cartridges).

Someone already mentioned the Lamy Safari which I think is a great starter pen but the Pilot Metropolitan, Kaweco sport, and TWSBI Eco are all great. I think the last one is kind of ugly but I have one and it writes well.

The Decimo is a great form factor, it's also just about the most inconspicuous fountain pen possible so you won't get weird looks from people who've never seen a fountain pen before. That said I have one as well as a Custom 74, both in EF, and somehow I like the 74 a lot more in that size. The Decimo nib seems finer and is noticeably softer (18k vs 14k), and I'd prefer it with a medium nib for maximum smoothness. I think it also dries out a little bit, something that I've never had with the Custom 74. On the other end of the spectrum I have to recommend the Lamy Safari and Kaweco Sport for their utilitarian design and timeless aesthetics.

The award for utilitarian and timeless has to go to the Lamy 2000. The Safari is very good as a starter (though I'm partial to the Pilot Metropolitan or TWSBI Eco for starters). I don't have experience with the Kaweco Sport, though I hear only good things.