Hey everyone,
Sorry for the typical “requirements” post, but I’ve been searching for a fountain pen and still can’t find the right one. I’m hoping to get some recommendations!
I’m looking for a pen similar to my Parker Urban—perhaps a step up in quality. Here’s what I love about the Urban: the metal body feels great in hand, and the design is sleek yet understated. It’s been a reliable companion for over five years now, and I managed to snag it for just $5 or $10 during a clearance sale. Despite its quirks, it’s stuck with me while others have come and gone.
Now, this might sound like an ad, but it’s not! My relationship with this pen is a bit of a love-hate situation. It was plagued by ink skips and hard starts for years until I learned some nib-tuning techniques and sanded down the nib. Now, it writes beautifully, but it’s set a high bar that other pens haven’t met. I’ve given away several pens to friends and family because they just didn’t click with me (pun intended).
One major sticking point for me is the cap mechanism. Most pens I’ve tried have screw-on caps, which makes jotting down quick notes a bit of a hassle. What I’m really after is a pen with a click-on, snap-on, or bump-sealed cap—something with a satisfying seal that provides feedback when closed. Here’s a rundown of what I’ve tried so far:
- Majohn M800 Acrylic with Bock Nib: It should have been the holy grail in my budget, given the glowing reviews, and it does write well. But it lacks a certain something I can’t quite put my finger on. Also, it has a screw-on cap.
- Asvine V126: The screw-on cap was a drawback, and the vacuum filling mechanism kept breaking.
- Various Chinese Pens (Hongdian, etc.): These are well-regarded by the community, but they just didn’t feel right for me. Jinhao 82: The build quality was a bit too low for my taste.
- Jinhao X159: A great writer, but the screw-on cap meant I didn’t use it as much as I’d like.
- Jinhao Slip-On Cap Model: The slip-on cap was a plus, but I really want a cap that has a click, snap, or at least a bit of tactile feedback when it seals.
I’m willing to splurge up to $100 if it means getting a solid pen that fits my needs. But if there’s a well-built Chinese option for less, I’d be happy to snag it too.
Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for your help!
Consider the Lamy Al-Star. Specifically not the Safari, not that there’s anything wrong with the Safari, but the Al-Star has an aluminum body and cap and feels much nicer in the hand. $47.
Genuine ones have a press-on cap. If you got one with a screw-on cap, what you actually have is a counterfeit from Wish.
Lamy pens are nice in that the nibs are easily user interchangeable, so if you decide that whatever your pen came with doesn’t tickle your fancy you can just spend a couple of bucks on a different one. Various widths (“grades,” in Lamy parlance) are available, as well as italic and oblique nibs, and also fancy premium gold ones, and their flexible spring steel variant. Any Lamy nib will fit any Lamy pen, which either provides you flexibility or locks you into their ecosystem, depending how you look at it…
The Pilot Cavalier is another option I can recommend. It’s all metal, slim, well built, and comes with a snap-on cap. $58.
You raise some excellent points about the lamy eco-system. Though I’d have ignored Al-Star out of hand based on the looks, but I know that in-person things look much different than on web. I’ll try to find some local stores to see how it looks. Cavalier looks interesting but isn’t thicc or curvy enough for my tastes. Damn it! I again started fondling the hour glass figure of my parker while typing this. Something must be wrong with my brain.
The safari and Al star are both excellent pens, but I find them just a bit… pedestrian.
I own many of both of course!
A little basic, but a pilot metropolitan?
Okay wow, sometimes simpler is better. If I can find this in metallic smooth finish (don’t like matte) it’d be a serious contender. Thanks!
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I wish I could be objective and scientific about it. But maybe try to put my thoughts into words: build quality to me is the overall feel of the body of the pen. Looks wise, uniform reflections on the body indicating that it’s smoothly built. Smooth feeling in hand. Consistency in every operation. It also need to able to survive falls and being tossed around. So, body should be sturdy.
As for the nib, I can usually tune it to my liking so not too overly concerned about that. As long as it’s got some spring factor to it, it’s good enough for me.
The reason I don’t mention too much of this is that I am trying to keep an open mind. I don’t have any experience with high quality pens, just the usual chinese suspects, so maybe someone here has a better or more stricter definition of build quality in their mind.
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Bye Bye!
I’ve got a Sheaffer 300 white dot, and it’s my favourite daily driver. The cap is a solid click-on, the seal is tight, and the build quality is right up there.
I agree completely.
Sheaffer 300 white dot
I’d heard from here and there that Sheaffer’s build quality and QC went to shit a few years ago, so I’d ignored its offerings out of hand. But if build quality is good, and this looks very similar to parker, added to the top of the list. Thanks!
My spouse’s Hongdian Black Forest has a very satisfying cap. I’ve sat there uncapping and capping over and over just cause it feels so nice lol. I don’t normally like really hard nibs but it writes so nice I secretly covet it. Its also been super reliable.
If you don’t mind second hand (since they’re not made anymore), a Pelikan Level has the most enjoyable closing cap I’ve ever experienced. Albeit It’s a sightly unusual but unique looking pen.
Oh I was this close to making a purchase on the Hongdian, and I know the feeling. I have been secretly coveting my sister’s wooden fountain pen by Hongdian. Thing’s a beauty and writes like a dream!
Thinking through my own collection. The Jinhao 95 might be worth a try. It’s basically a metal version of the 82 but has a really nice capping feel. It’s kind of like the Pilot Explorer, where you press it on and you can feel that inner cap spring tensioning and then snaps closed. But the Jinhao is much more satisfying.
How is the overall build quality? I know that it’d be dirt cheap to acquire but I don’t like spending all that effort getting it, tuning the nib to my liking, and finally just gifting it to someone else lol. Though I am very intrigued by Chinese offerings for snap cap, I’ve been looking for them for some time to save some cash if possible but nothing good turned up yet.
I think it’s well worth it for the price. But I’m easy to please lol. It’s a metal pen with metal threads for where the grip section and barrel meet. The finial and trim pieces are pressed in, not threaded or glued. It feels solid but not bulky or heavy. And it uses the same nib as the 82 which is great in my opinion.
I’d say the one drawback I have is the grip is narrower side. So if you’re not comfortable with a grip that’s probably closer to a pencil then it may not be worth it for you.
Oh the black one looks gorgeous! Someone on reddit posted a similar looking pen on the post I made there. Hmmm…
Have you considered the majohn A1?
Full metal pilot capless clone for about £15.
It’s the definitive “quick notes” fountain pen.
Scroll back in this community and you will see some.
