Best Beginner Fountain Pen

One of the biggest problems facing new writers is the question of which fountain pen to start with. There are so many different styles and types of fountain pens that it can quickly leave beginners feeling overwhelmed and confused when they begin to shop around.

We’ve scoured the fountain pen world and found the perfect range of fountain pens for beginners. If you’re new to using fountain pens, you’ll quickly fall in love with these pens.

The Best Beginner Fountain Pens (Our Review)

The Pilot Metropolitan

The Pilot Metropolitan comes in over a dozen different body colors and looks stylish in everyone. They have sleek, metal bodies that feel weighty and are thick enough for most new writers to master the craft of holding and writing with a fountain pen.

The Metropolitan range also uses a variety of converters, allowing you to experiment and explore to find the right ink to match your writing style.

Swapping out cartridges is straightforward and hassle-free, so you can spend more time writing and less time on maintenance.

There’s even a squeeze bladder and piston converter option for a more authentic experience. You can also use bottled ink with this type of filling system, opening up a plethora of inks to use.

This writing instrument has a stainless steel nib that writes surprisingly smoothly. This nib size is also perfect for newcomers. These nibs offer a great ink flow on paper, leaving clear, solid lines, and are one of the easiest nib sizes to master.

The best pen needs to be affordable. However, it should also deliver a smooth writing experience and look stylish to boot. The Pilot Metropolitan meets all of these criteria. It’s widely praised as a fantastic pen with an entry-level price point.

This pen looks stylish and comes with a solid weight and decent grip. It also produces clean lines, whether you’re using an extra-fine nib or fine-medium nib.

Pros

• Affordable
• Clean and solid lines
• Compatible with a variety of converters
• It looks stylish in different colors

Cons

• Scratchy feel
• Heavier than plastic pens

The Platinum Preppy

The Platinum Preppy fountain pen doesn’t come with our first entry’s stylish and sleek metal body. Yet, despite its inexpensive plastic body, it’s available in various colors and is easy to grip. So, not only is this pen fun and modern, but the easy grip makes it a great introduction to the world of fountain pens.

Platinum decided to include their waterproof Carbon Black cartridges with the Preppy. These cartridges are easy to swap out and will keep you writing for hours with a minimal amount of maintenance required.

However, if you are more of a traditionalist, you can use bottled fountain pen ink as long as you remember to get an eyedropper converter with it. This eyedropper converter is sold separately, so keep an eye out for that.

This fantastic writing instrument excels when it comes to the quality of the nib. Since Platinum manufactures all of their tips in-house, it means they can keep the pricing low and the quality high. We find that the Preppy has an excellent nib that would write better in a quality, heavier metal body.

This pen is affordable and offers a great writing experience. However, we were somewhat disappointed with the plastic body, which gives this pen a cheap feel.

Should you decide that these pens aren’t your forte, it’s simple to swap the tip out for a felt tip. With these tips, you can change your pen into a highlighter or marker.

See some other options in the best affordable fountain pen category in our roundup article.

Pros

• Very Affordable
• Fantastic metal nib
• Compatible with an eyedropper converter
• You can transform it into a highlighter or marker

Cons

• The body feels light and cheap
• Restricted to Platinum inks

The Pilot Varsity

Our next entry is also a plastic pen. The Pilot Varsity, or VPen as it’s known outside of the USA, is a simple yet modern plastic fountain pen. While the styling is pretty bland, it is stylish enough to satisfy most writers.

Unlike most fountain pens, this pen comes pre-filled with ink. The VPen is a disposable fountain pen. This has both benefits and drawbacks. It’s great for any newcomers just to pick up and start writing with it.

It’s also sold in packs of 5. So, if you run out of ink, just grab another one and continue to write. Unfortunately, part of the fun in owning a fountain pen is filling it back up with ink, cleaning it, and maintaining your writing instrument. With the Varsity, you cannot do that.

Despite probably being the cheapest pen on our list, it delivers a pretty great writing experience. Even if you’ve never picked up a fountain pen before today, this pen will quickly and effortlessly let you write and have fun while doing so.

This pen may not be a traditional one, but it sure makes it easy just to pick up and start writing with no maintenance involved. It’s a great choice for anyone that wants a pen that offers the best of the ballpoint and fountain pen world in one stylish package.

Pros

• Affordable
• Sold in packs of 5 pens
• No maintenance
• It offers a great writing experience

Cons

• Disposable
• Cheap plastic feel

The Lamy Safari

The Safari is made from durable, high-quality plastic. It’s available in more expensive metal options, but during testing, we found that these metal bodies can dent quite easily.

We also find that the plastic Safari pen has very bold styling. It’s available in a wide range of different colors. This styling, however, may not be for everybody, especially if you are more of a traditionalist. Yet, if you want a funky, colorful pen, the Safari from Lamy is perfect for you.

Since this is an incredibly popular pen, there are different converters available for it. With these converters, you can enjoy either a fast and easy ink replacement with a cartridge or a more venerable experience with one of the other converters.

While the Safari has unique and bold styling, even a whole range of converters to choose from, its writing experience isn’t as great as we would’ve liked to see. The pen’s body is small and triangular in shape. This makes holding it difficult and tiring if you have big hands.

The nib is also pretty broad, making ink flow fast, and this can lead to blotchy and messy writing if you don’t use a lighter touch.

The Safari is incredibly affordable and comes with German engineering and bold styling. However, it’s small in size and has a broad tip that requires a bit of taming to write truly well with this pen.

Pros

• Affordable
• Available in different colors
• Compatible with a variety of converters
• Easy to swap nibs

Cons

• Wet writer
• Triangular, small body

Conclusion

The pens that we tested offered new writers something different from the true-to-tradition Metropolitan to the new and modern disposable Varsity.

Here’s a pen for every style and type of writer. You’ll quickly fall in love with these venerable writing instruments. Your next step is to start building up your collection of fountain pens. Happy writing!

Beginner Fountain Pen FAQs

Which fountain pen is best for beginners?

We always tell new writers to invest in an affordable fountain pen. You may find that you don’t like the nuanced writing style of these instruments, and going with a cheap beginner pen will save you quite an investment.

Not only should your new pen be affordable, but it should offer you a writing experience that compliments your style. All of the pens listed here are considered great for beginners.

If you’re looking for a good fountain pen – why not look for some good ink at the same time? The best black fountain pen ink might be right around the corner!

Are fountain pens easy to use?

Fountain pens are easy to use, despite what most people think. When using a fountain pen, it’s important to remember that you don’t need to use a lot of pressure.

You’ll also find that writing with a fountain pen is easier on your hands and fingers. This means you can write for hours on end without feeling tired or cramping up.

Why is a fountain pen better than a ballpoint?

A fountain pen is better than a typical ballpoint pen because it’s more comfortable to write with. It also offers a smoother writing experience. You can also customize your pen with different nibs and inks, and ink colors.

Can I do calligraphy with a fountain pen?

Today, most fountain pens are great for faux and modern calligraphy. You’ll find that a fountain pen creates better, finer lines than brushes, ballpoint pens, or even fine point pens.
However, mastering calligraphy with a fountain pen takes quite a while. Yet, your writing experience will be a fun and rewarding one.

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