Following on from my last post, there are plenty of cheap pens that are not of the throwaway variety. A good example is the Reynolds pen I wrote about some time ago. For pictures and details just search on its name. It’s a well-made cartridge pen aimed at the school student market and it has a very good nib that lays down an excellent medium line with no skipping or hard starting. Doubtless a few years old (it came to me in a batch of rather better pens) it is nonetheless modern and suffers from that failing of the modern pen, the consumption of lots of plastic in the form of cartridges. This fault can be corrected by the purchase of a converter or, if you are so-minded, you can refill your cartridge, a messy process that doesn’t appeal to me.
Such pens are ideal to wean the young off the pernicious ballpoints – or would be, if they had any interest in writing. Two of my husband’s grandchildren sneer at the very idea. The third does correspond but so far she sticks to her nasty Bic. Her writing is undoubtedly improving with practice but think how much better it would be if she used a fountain pen!
Fountain pens are collectors’ items or a hobby to those of us who stubbornly persist in writing. The day of their everyday practicality has gone by. Not so in the Far East where manufacturers compete to produce sound pens at affordable prices and that’s where we can source these excellent pens for pocket-change (for those who still use money). Or we can buy vintage self-fillers with splendid gold nibs for the same money and not have to fiddle with converters and cartridges.
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Deb 💐 I watched a video of an Indian gentleman sitting at some kind of lathe that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the nineteenth century, turning the barrel and cap of what would end up as the ebonite ‘Treveni ‘ in brown ripple .
His speed and precision were quite amazing, and the politics of what he would have been paid to produce it compared to what I paid for one aside (!!) these pens are exceptional with regard to their quality , and given that it is hard rubber, and probably longevity!!
With its ordinary medium nib , which writes very smoothly and a converter ( if you get a good one !) , these pens definitely fit the category cheap AND good.
I’ve seen that video, Rob, and it is quite amazing. It’s good to see that such skilled handcraft has not yet gone out o the world.
My horrible handwriting is 90% attributable to BIC. As a personal preference, I only purchase modern pens if a converter is supported and available.
That’s a good rule, Danny. I, too, suffer from the long-time use of workplace Bics. I think at least a part of my arthritis is down to the angle and pressure required by those things.
I have a Parker 25 which was a school pen I believe, which I bought in a charity shop for £3, a good clean with cold water and a touch of nib cleaner and I have a nice writing pen that will outlive any bic. It even came with a convertor so any of my bottled inks will keep it writing.
That was a good buy, Martin!
Thank you for reminding me of the cheap modern pens. I must try a few for my protege and junior nibmeister, Odessa. Decimus and Eric send their love.
Good luck with that.
I have 4 Reynolds Pens and the FP’s are reasonable to write with, but the Cap & barrel of all four is made of a Rubber type material and they feel sticky to the touch and are little used….is there a remedy for the stickiness I wonder?
Sorry, I don’t know the answer to that problem. The Reynolds pen I have is made from ordinary plastic.