Cheap vs. Expensive Fountain Pens: What Are the Differences?

Fountain pens can range in forfeit from under $5 to scrutinizingly $100,000 and higher. How does one determine a reasonable price point? And what determines the differences between unseemly and expensive fountain pens? We’ll imbricate that today by going through all the variegated fountain pen parts step-by-step and explaining how they differ based on cost.

Here, we’ll widely categorize unseemly fountain pens as those under $20 and expensive fountain pens as those over $200, but these are loose categorizations. And don’t overlook the mid-range pens that sit in the middle of these two prices.

The Nib

Let’s start by distinguishing expensive fountain pen nibs from unseemly ones. The nib is a vitally important part of any fountain pen. The nib conveys ink onto the paper through capillary action, by which a liquid is propelled through the interaction between surface tension and adhesion.

Overall, nib size has an obvious stimulating impact, but flexibility moreover impacts your worthiness to have lines of varying widths. And nibs will moreover impact how favorably and cleanly the ink is spread onto the paper.

How does price stupefy this important functionality, then? Well, we’ll start by discussing unseemly nibs, which are scrutinizingly unchangingly made from stainless steel. Stainless steel is preferred by manufacturers considering it’s relatively unseemly and fairly durable. One speciality of a thorough nib comparison, though, is time between nib replacements, and, in the specimen of stainless steel nibs, their tautness can unquestionably be a problem.

The hardness of steel nibs ways that they don’t flex hands or, in some cases, at all. And as we’ve once mentioned, flexibility is what allows for variable line width when you’re writing.

Tthe likelihood of skipping or spills and moreover requires the writer to push lanugo on the paper with increasingly force, making writing increasingly uncomfortable over time. And really, pens that make writing less enjoyable seem pretty counterintuitive to us.

Cheap nibs are moreover increasingly likely to gum up if not cleaned, although occasional cleaning is required of all fountain pens regardless of price, and not doing so is one of the most worldwide beginner fountain pen mistakes.

Another consideration is the issue of corrosion. Historically, stainless steel was very prone to corrosion as chemical scarring from corrosive inks would compromise the functionality of stainless steel nibs. In turn, this would adversely stupefy ink flow, consistency, and clarity of strokes. Modern stainless steel is increasingly corrosion-resistant, but it still corrodes increasingly quickly overall than the materials from which expensive nibs are made.

Speaking of which, expensive nibs are usually made from gold or titanium, with gold stuff a popular nomination considering it is both corrosion-resistant and has the flexibility to indulge for variable line width, as well as springing when hands to the neutral position of the nib in between strokes. This softness will make the writing experience considerably increasingly pleasant as you won’t have to push lanugo very nonflexible on the paper, and ink will spritz out naturally and pleasingly.

Another hallmark of gold nibs or those made from similar materials is so-called “personalization.” This refers to the way that a gold nib will subtly wrench and conform to your hand and writing style over time through settling and microscopic wear. This wearing-in will make the pen finger plane increasingly well-appointed and natural, but will require a safecracking period if you buy second-hand pens and might moreover make you think twice well-nigh sharing your pen with others.

Match your gold-nibbed fountain pen with our Fort Belvedere gold-toned accessories!

Ultimately, the nib has the most uncontrived impact on the process of writing, and expensive nibs are worldly-wise to modernize the comfort, ease, and consistency of writing through their higher-quality materials and construction. Therefore, plane if circumstances hogtie you to use a cheaper pen, finding a unseemly pen with some increasingly expensive nib qualities, like gold-plating, a quality tip, and decent flex, will ensure a writing wits that doesn’t leave your hand zinged and your fingers feeling pinched and worn – if you’re using proper technique, that is.

The Feed

The feed connects the nib to the ink reservoir. This is what allows ink to spritz freely through the nib when it’s in contact with paper but prevents ink from spilling out when you’re not using the pen. It does this thanks to a ramified series of narrow channels. Basically, the ink flows into these channels through the capillary whoopee that we mentioned previously.

When ink is flowing onto the paper, air from outside the pen is unliable to spritz upward withal the feed, bringing ink lanugo from Ink storage. Unseemly fountain pens will scrutinizingly unchangingly have feeds made from plastic, which is preferred by manufacturers considering it’s unseemly to produce.

Practically speaking, plastic can unquestionably function very well as a feed, provided that it is properly fitted into the pen. However, poorly-fitted plastic feeds can have disastrous consequences. Ink can stutter or overflow when writing or plane spill out when the pen isn’t in use.

Airflow defects can moreover have exactly the opposite problem and prevent ink from coming out plane when you want it to. As previously mentioned, though, these issues are usually caused by defects in manufacturing and not considering of the qualities of plastic inherently as a feed material. Accordingly, plastic feeds are now increasingly worldwide in middle and plane some higher-tier fountain pens.

When it comes to expensive fountain pens, feeds should be guaranteed to ensure proper ink flow, no matter what material they’re made from. But, for an improved writing experience, the weightier pens will use Ebonite feeds, which is a hardened vulcanized rubber that is semi-porous. These microscopic air pockets help to equalize the spritz of ink and air as they move respectively through the feed. This allows for increasingly resulting ink propulsion and a smoother writing experience.

Ebonite is moreover easy to shape and mold so that it can be fitted increasingly tightly into the soul of the pen. Establishing a firm seal will help to modernize ink transference and moreover lower the possibility of overflow or spills.

When it comes to feeds then, construction is ultimately increasingly important than material. A well-made plastic feed will function well unbearable for most writers’ needs, but an Ebonite feed represents a noticeable step up in quality that will definitely modernize your writing experience. So, not only will a unseemly fountain pen not have an Ebonite feed, but it might moreover have a poorly-fitted plastic feed, which will turn plane your weightier writing from tressy to messy.

The Body

The soul of the pen is substantially just a container that holds all the components that unquestionably make the pen function. Obviously, the soul considerably impacts the request and philosophy of the pen itself, but it moreover impacts the functionality of writing when it comes to the wastefulness and weight of the pen.

The majority of unseemly fountain pens are made from plastic considering they’re easy to make and unseemly to produce. Some unseemly fountain pens can moreover be made from wood or metal, but to alimony financing low, these will usually be low-quality varieties of each.

Stylistically, you can expect unseemly fountain pens to either towards plain and wearisome considering you can’t spend much on designers at this price point or garish and too rented considering the diamond is meant to distract from the low quality of the materials used.

At a unseemly price point then, a heavily decorated or modish pen soul is usually going to be concealing junior interior parts. To remoter save financing on materials, regardless of what they unquestionably are, a unseemly fountain pen is scrutinizingly unchangingly going to be very lightweight. This will make the pen finger worrisome in the hand and lead to an unbalanced writing wits overall. This is considering inadequate heft or poor balancing will misplace the way you grip the pen, leading your hand to wilt increasingly uncomfortable over time as you wield pressure in incorrect ways.

This lack of wastefulness is likely going to be the specimen whether or not you post the cap of the pen on its reverse, as the low-quality caps are moreover going to be made from these low-quality materials.

Speaking of the caps, these inexpensive pens are likely going to have clips that are either too rigid or too flexible – neither of which is helpful for storing your pen in your pocket. Meanwhile, expensive pens have usually been meticulously well-turned to ensure well-appointed writing over extended periods of time, and they’ll often come in variable hefts to suit your own particular writing style.

Expensive fountain pens are made from high-quality materials like resin, precious metals like gold or silver, or high-quality woods. Luxurious wood and precious metals probably don’t need much explaining, but I can hear you getting ready to ask, “Wait, isn’t resin just flipside type of plastic?” Well, yes, that’s correct. But, considering of how resin is manufactured, it’s both much increasingly durable and much increasingly visually interesting.

So, if you think “quality plastic” is an oxymoron, just compare the soul of these fountain pens, for example.

Indeed, many users unquestionably prefer resin to metal or wood considering it is slightly tacky, aiding grip; again, increasingly durable and doesn’t finger unprepossessed to the touch. Obviously, this is a matter of preference, but, again, with expensive fountain pens, regardless of whatever they’re unquestionably made of, you can rest unpreventable that the quality of these materials is going to be higher overall.

At a higher price point, manufacturers are increasingly likely to put a higher stratum of thought into their designs, producing persons and caps that are works of art in their own right. These can often be highly collectible and plane make perfect gifts, expressly if the soul is ornate with precious metals or plane gemstones.

One note here is that expensive fountain pens can quickly wilt expressly expensive. So, if a pen is so expensive that you don’t finger well-appointed delivering it or using it, you will then be left with a paperweight – albeit a increasingly expensive one. So, be sure to wastefulness any bling versus the practicality of using your fountain pen on a day-to-day basis.

The Filling Mechanism

The filling mechanism is our next component. There are multiple ways to get ink into a pen, many of which come lanugo to preference and personal taste. We imbricate them all in our unstipulated fountain pen guide, but there are definitely some well-spoken dividing lines when it comes to unseemly versus expensive fountain pens.

To reduce the number of moving parts, unseemly fountain pens will scrutinizingly unchangingly use cartridges. Poorly made ink cartridges often have poor ink spritz and can leak, and plane expensive cartridges can be difficult to transpiration unless they’re empty, meaning it isn’t unchangingly easy to transpiration the verisimilitude of ink in your pen.

Of course, cartridges are moreover very convenient, but this convenience comes with both a monetary and an environmental cost. Cartridges produce a considerable value of waste, and plane recyclable cartridges still contribute to the use of energy through the recycling process.

Cartridges can moreover be expensive to buy, expressly if your pen only takes proprietary cartridges as opposed to standardized models. And some unseemly fountain pens aren’t plane refillable at all, meaning that when the ink runs out, you just have to throw the unshortened pen away.

To think well-nigh it flipside way then, eventually, all of the money that you’ll throw yonder on “throwaway pens” could be put to largest use by ownership a increasingly expensive pen with a refilling mechanism that works well.

As we mentioned already, expensive fountain pens, for the sake of convenience, can moreover take cartridges. These are less likely to leak or adversely stupefy ink flow, but they are still expensive.

As such, you’re moreover likely to see systems that yank ink through the nib into the reservoir. A twisting or pulling piston mechanism is most worldwide today. But, in the early 20th century, you were increasingly likely to see levers. And some pens moreover have convertible systems, meaning that they can yank ink or take cartridges. Systems like these are favored by many enthusiasts as they can well-to-do the ink from the pen to transpiration colors, and flushing can moreover make cleaning the pen easier.

Ultimately, then, the filling mechanism is most important as it pertains to your convenience. Investing in a increasingly expensive system will usually make the process easier for you and will moreover spare you the unpleasant wind-up associated with unseemly and leaky pens.

The Ink

Very transiently here, we’d like to conclude by highlighting the differences between unseemly and expensive inks. In a nutshell, unseemly inks are kept unseemly by wearing corners. Pigmentation is low, leading to runny, bland, and semi-transparent colors; unseemly ink is poorly manufactured, so it can be sticky or prone to smudge on the page; and unseemly ink will dry nonflexible inside the pen, potentially gumming up the works.

Expensive inks, on the other hand, will spritz hands and lay neatly on the page; have good verisimilitude fastness and endurance so they won’t fade with time, and come in various unique and memorable colors. Some of our favorite colors include rusty brown, sky blue, and visionless green.

Not only will expensive inks be easier for you to write with, but they’ll moreover be easier for your correspondent to read and increasingly visually-stimulating

Conclusion

Now that you’ve learned the differences between unseemly and expensive fountain pens, you’ll have the knowledge to determine which price point is weightier for you. So, whether you’re interested in perusing our selection of budget fountain pens, looking into an expensive Montblanc, or, again, thinking that mid-range options might be best, we hope that this post proved to be a fountain of knowledge.

Are you a fan of fountain pens, too? What price point do you think is worth it? Let us know in the comments!

Outfit Rundown

Today, I’m wearing a unstudied outfit, good for sitting virtually the house and writing with some fountain pens. The inside element is my thoroughbred orange V-neck sweater from Hawes & Curtis, which is worn over a undecorous and white striped shirt from Charles Tyrwhitt.

The shirt has French cuffs, but I’ve got them configured in a barrel-style today to fit largest under the sleeves of my sweater, and, as such, I’m wearing simple woebegone cufflinks that aren’t meant to be seen.

My trousers are in a plain brown shade that has a reddish undertone to go withal with the orange in the sweater, and my shoes are moccasin-style loafers in brown suede from Velasca.

And rounding out today’s outfit are my two-toned, shadow-striped socks from Fort Belvedere in brown and light blue.

To go withal with the unstudied nature of the outfit, I’ve moreover left product out of my hair and let my beard grow a bit. And, of course, for the socks I’m wearing today and a wide variety of other archetype men’s accessories, you can take a squint at the Fort Belvedere shop.