Fountain Pen

[jkeithrussell]

What is a good kit to use for my first fountain pen? It will be for my own use, and mainly to learn how the kits work (and how to write with a fountain pen). Postable caps preferred.

 

[dennisg]

I like the Jr. Gents and Jr. Statesman fountain pen kits. There is a big following for the Baron which I plan to try when the Arizona Silhouette group buy takes place. I plan to try some of Lou's nibs as I'm lead to believe they are an improvement over the supplied nibs on these kits.

 

[Russianwolf]

The Baron and the Jr. Gent are very similar. The main difference being that the posting threads on the baron are enamel coated, while the jr. gent (other than the 10k) are matching metal plating.

Benefits to each are:

Baron and Sedona use the same Bushings and Tubes.
More plating options included less expensive Chrome.
Flattop (Baron) and Roundtop (Sedona) option.


Jr. Gent and Jr. Stateman and Jr. Retro use the same bushings and same tubes.
More upscale with the Stateman.

 

[wickford]

I've used a baron, and jr. gent, and ligero, all seem comparable to me. I prefer the smaller nibs on the Jrs. though.

However, I'd definitely suggest getting upgraded nibs from Lou. They definitely write better! I write very small and for me a medium pt. FP just didn't work. I was able to get extra fine SF nibs from Lou and they write like a dream!

You may also want to get better ink. I've been told that the ink that comes with them is junk. I also purchased some Private Reserve ink from Lou and it writes very nicely. Comes in lots of colors too...

Enjoy!

Jeff

 

[jkeithrussell]

Thanks for all of the info.

 

[jskeen]

I'll go against the grain here and suggest something different. For a first FP I would suggest a full size Gent. The larger nib and feed seem to write better out of the box a larger percentage of the time than the small ones in the jr gent/jr statesman/jr retro/jr emperor or baron/sedona (in my somewhat limited experience) The larger flared section is also more comfortable to many people (it is more similiar in shape and size to most commercial fountain pens)

I started out with the smaller jr size FP's at first, but once I got my first full size finished, haven't used the jr's much.

 

[Rudy Vey]

I think that the El Grande makes an excellent fountain pen. It is very light and that is what most experienced fountain pen writers are looking for. Maybe also the Statesman Jr or the Gent Retro - I sold a number of these last as well, but they are heavier than the El Grande (my favorite kit FP). For me the full sized Gents or Statesman are way too heavy.