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I got my Lamy 2000 for about $100 on eBay iso you can sometimes find a deal on what is my favorite, same for both of my Pilot Vanishing Points. Alternatively, the Platinum Curidas goes for about $50.
The market for no-screw pens above a certain price point gets pretty slim from what I know. I imagine it's because many, if not most, pens are made from resin at a certain level.
Good luck!
Seconding the Lamy 2000, been using it for a couple of years now. Great pen, writes excellent.
Thanks
Some follow up questions: Do you do most of your writing at a desk or on the go? Preference for something that looks like a fountain pen or something more "stealthy" to not attract a lot of attention? Does it need to be in the $100 range or are you open to somewhat cheaper suggestions? Have a preference for the body style, filling mechanism, etc?
Most of the time I write at a desk. I want something that looks like a fountain pen, simple not too pricey, nor showy. I have a lamy safari, but I'm not looking for something exactly like that. And the $ 100 dollars range, i can go a little bit over, or even a bit under it. And I've got no preference for any kind of filling mechanism.
@Alkaseltzer028 @coys25 How about a Majohn A2?
I was going to suggest an A1 which is my usual go to when I'm working in the hospital and need to write right away. The A2 may be a better choice if you want something light. Or a real pilot VP if you can find a deal. But really the Majohns are great and not too expensive, and you could see if you like the style before you commit to a pilot if you wanted.
If you like smaller pens something in the parker 51 family might be a good match? You might be able to pick up a vintage parker 51 for around that price. The vacumatic / aeromatic filling mechanisms allow for a ton of ink to be held in a pretty small pen. If you want something cheaper, there are lots of clones / homages. I have a wing sung 601 and 601 flighter that are both great pens and hold a ton of ink, and have the fun vacumatic filling mechanism.
I was looking through here to see if anybody was recommending a Pilot Vanishing Point or Majohn A1/A2.
Don't have time for a screw cap? How about no cap at all!?
The Vanishing Point is really handy. There is the full sized VP and the slightly smaller VP Decimo. The Majohn A1 / A2 pens are lower cost clones. I have a Decimo and find it can go quite a while without drying out. Longer than my snap cap pens. If you do a lot of writing, I'd suggest a fine nib, or even extra fine nib, to get more mileage per fill. Some people have trouble with the placement of the clip on the pen interfering with their grip. In general, if you use a tripod grip, the clip shouldn't be an issue. The Decimo sells around $160 USD, but you might be able to find a deal. The regular VP is a little more still. I haven't used an A1/A2, but they are less expensive alternatives that still seem to be well liked.
I didn't suggest the VP simple because of price. Pilot bumped up prices this year by a huge amount taking it well out of the OP's $100 budget. They also wanted something that looks like a fountain pen. I like my VP well enough but one of my dislikes is that it really doesn't look like a fountain pen. Capacity can also be an issue if using the included converter.
Yeah, that's why I was thinking Majohn (and also why I asked if OP wanted more of a stealth FP or not). I like it for my work because it's less obvious, but definitely varies by use case and preference.
Can they hold a lot of ink? I’m curious, because I have the pilot VP, and wish it held more ink. I would definitely get an A1 if it can hold more ink!
Mine came with both a converter and a refillable cartridge that has a bigger capacity and can be stoppered (you can buy more online).
This review has some good pictures:
It definitely holds more than the converter - maybe 0.7mL instead of 0.5 mL? - but of course won't compete with an eyedropper, vac filler, etc. I think you can also just buy the cartridges online and they may be VP compatible.
Thanks for the info! I write frequently throughout the day at my job, and I refill these cartridges every other day. So I ended up getting a TWSBI VAC 700R, and I generally last the week without worrying about a midday refill when I don’t have the time.
But these pens are so fun! I may get it for non-work related stuff.
How is the vac700R? I've looked at it and it seems great, though I have heard people talk about durability issues / barrel cracking
I have an ECO I have carried for 5 years in my work bag, and it works just fine. It has never cracked or leaked. I have also never tried to disassemble it, just cleaned it by rinsing. several people have noted that the threads in the barrel have to be carefully realigned when you are piecing it all back together.
I also have the VAC700R and the Vac Mini, and have flown with them. I haven’t had any cracking issues, though I have owned both for less than a year. Again, I don’t take my pens apart, though they do get banged around in my bag all the time.
I have read about these cracking issues, too, so I don’t know if I’m just lucky, or if there is a bias because so many people have TWSBI pens so the failure rate might be low, yet still have more issues crop up than less popular pens.
Also, all of my pens state they are made in Taiwan, which I have heard means they tend to be of higher quality. But that’s just something I read on a forum.
I love the ink capacity, and I don’t usually unscrew to top unless I am writing for a long time. There’s usually enough ink stored in the job to write what I need; I will release it periodically, and that seems to be enough.
Hope this helps!
It does - thanks!!
It's only going to take cartridges, so IDK if that's "a lot" of ink, but how about a Platinum Curidas? Not everyone's favorite but the new gift set looks nice if you want a matte pen instead of a demonstrator.
I use mine for sketching, as I use platinum black cartridges (that I refill) and the light weight and width is nice for long sessions (I have big hands).
The real stumper to your inquiry is the lack of screw cap. For whatever reason lots of pens in that pricepoint are screwcaps. You could try a couple of cheaper slip cap options like a Platinum Prefounte, or Pilot Prera.
I write a lot and for my job I need a pen I can open and start writing right away. That's why I prefer the screwless cap. With a a screw cap you have to screw the cap back every time otherwise it will dry out very fast.
Lamy Studio (either LX or Brushed Steel finish).
https://www.gentlemanstationer.com/blog/2019/11/15/workhorse-pens-the-lamy-studio
Snap cap. Takes standard Lamy nibs (although the Lx version has a nicer stealth black PVD finish) so you can swap out nib sizes if you feel your needs change. Plus, when you want to upgrade you can get a gold nib for it.
Steel is $67 at Cult Pens https://cultpens.com/en-us/products/lamy-studio-fountain-pen-brushed-steel Lx is $102 https://cultpens.com/en-us/products/lamy-studio-lx-fountain-pen-all-black
I recommend either of these models out of the Studio range as they have a rubberized section. People have complained the chromed section on the other models can be slippery. If another model excites you though you can buy replacement sections with the rubber coating https://vanness1938.com/products/lamy-rubberized-grip-section-for-lamy-studio.
Otherwise, do consider the Faber-Castel E-Motion https://www.gentlemanstationer.com/blog/2018/4/24/workhorse-pens-faber-castell-e-motion-pure-black.
It is a heavy, although well balanced, pen which may not suit very long writing sessions and it is a screw cap, but if I recall from mine it is less than 1 turn to unscrew and almost as convenient as a snap cap, plus FC steel nibs are as nice if not nicer than many gold nibs out there. I have the pure black whcih you can get on Amazon for just over $100. $147 at Cult pens https://cultpens.com/en-us/products/faber-castell-e-motion-fountain-pen-pure-black?variant=43643035910387.
Both of these use cartridges or converters so they don't have the capacity of a piston filler but if you refill cartridges you can get plenty of pages from a fill.
What about an opus 88? Massive ink capacity, shutoff valve so pretty much never leaks, pretty sure they’re quite durable, standard JoWo nib Edit: whoops didn’t see you didn’t want screw cap - I use a pilot e95s daily which is fantastic but may not have the ink capacity you want
I miss when they sold fountain pens at Target
Lamy 2000 is a great pen that people either love or hate. So you will get many recommendations for it. Try it out first. I hate it, but respect people who like it. Try out a Ranga #3 pen with a Franklin Christoph nib.
The Lamy 2000 is a great choice as others have said. A slimmer, less heavy option might be the Parker Sonnet. Make sure you get a genuine one from a reputable dealer as knockoffs are everywhere.