Important Concepts

Nib

• Thing that touches the paper
• Comes in different sizes
  • Standard sizes
    • Extra Fine
    • Fine
    • Medium
    • Broad
  • Every brand's size is going to be slightly different
  • There are many, many different nib sizes that are not standard
  • Asian-made pens tend to make a thinner line for their size compared to European pens

Filling Mechanism

• Cartridge/Converter
  • You can use an ink cartridge or buy a separate piece of hardware called a converter to use bottled ink
  • Some pens use standard ink cartridges, some use brand-specific styles
    • You'll see the phrase "short/long international cartridge/converter"
  • There are different lengths that fit different pen lengths (short and long are the most common)
• Piston
  • Only can use bottled ink

Starter Pens

All of these pens won't break the bank and will provide a fantastic writing experience:

• Platinum Preppy
  • No cartridge or converter to my knowledge. One and done kind of thing
• Platinum Plasir
  • Cartridge/converter (sold separately)
• Lamy Safari
  • Cartridge/converter (sold separately)
• TWSBI Go
  • Piston filler, requires ink bottle
• TWSBI Eco
  • Piston filler, requires ink bottle
• Pilot Metropolitan
  • Cartridge/converter (converter included but it sucks)

Ink

• Stay away from...
  • Iron gall ink
  • Noodler's (bay-state blue is particularly bad)
  • Pigmented inks

Ink Brands I've Used

• Pilot / Namiki
• Pilot Iroshizoku
• Sailor
• Mont Blanc
• Akkerman
• Platinum