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The Best Beginner Fountain Pens

The Best Beginner Fountain Pens


How to Refill an Ink Cartridge With a Syringe

Writing by hand these days is an act of small rebellion—an analog alternative to the screens and keyboards that dominate our daily lives. Pens and pencils create a physical connection between us and our work that digital devices just can't duplicate. And nothing else evokes this elemental bond quite as well as a fountain pen.

Fountain pens may seem intimidating, but they're actually really easy to use. And you don't need to spend a lot of money to get a great one. In this guide, we'll explore the best affordable fountain pens that are particularly well-suited to beginners.

Top Choice: Pilot Metropolitan
Pilot Metropolitan
Since its bombshell debut in 2012, the Metropolitan has redefined the standard of what an entry-level fountain can offer. Featuring a high-quality metal body and a super-smooth nib, the Metropolitan looks, feels, and writes like a pen that should cost far more. Not only is it the pen we most often recommend to new fountain pen users, it is one of our favorite fountain pens, period.
Key Features:
  • High-quality metal body.
  • Over a dozen body colors and patterns to choose from.
  • 3 nib sizes—Fine, Medium, and Medium Italic. If you don’t know which one to pick, we recommend Medium for beginners. Pilot produces their nibs in-house, and even their most budget-friendly pens have remarkably smooth and consistent performance.
  • Uses Pilot’s proprietary ink cartridges—available in 8 standard colors.
  • Included converter for using the pen with any bottled fountain pen ink.

For a closely related, more youthful alternative, check out the Pilot Kakuno. It features a colorful plastic body and the same great fine and medium nibs that come with the Metropolitan. The smiley face printed on the Kakuno’s nib helps remind beginners which side of the nib should face up.

More Top Choices
Top Choice Under $5: Platinum Preppy
Platinum Preppy
If any fountain pen proves that you don’t need to spend a lot of money to get a great one, it’s the Preppy. While it may not have the stylish design and metal construction of the Metropolitan, the Preppy packs a real punch where it counts—the nib. Like Pilot, Platinum produces their nibs in-house, which lets them create remarkably smooth and consistent nibs at shockingly affordable prices. A Preppy nib would feel right at home in a much fancier, more expensive pen body.

The Preppy uses Platinum’s proprietary ink cartridges, including their popular waterproof Carbon Black cartridges. The Preppy can also use any bottled fountain pen ink with the help of a converter (sold separately) or an eyedropper conversion.

And if you end up deciding that fountain pens aren’t for you, there’s nothing to worry about. With a felt replacement tip, you can easily convert your Preppy into a marker or highlighter!

Zero Maintenance Choice: Pilot Varsity
Pilot Varsity
The Varsity (sold as the “VPen” outside of the US) is a disposable fountain pen that comes with the ink pre-installed and ready to write, making it a great choice for anyone who is curious about experiencing a fountain pen without the need for any setup or maintenance whatsoever.
Higher-End Choice: TWSBI ECO
TWSBI ECO
If you’re willing to spend a little bit more money to get a lot more pen, consider the TWSBI ECO. A Taiwanese manufacturer with decades of experience manufacturing pens for other companies, TWSBI (pronounced “twiz-bee”) has quickly earned a reputation with their own-brand pens for providing high-end features and eye-catching designs at budget-friendly prices.

The ECO, TWSBI’s most economical fountain pen, sports a high-capacity piston filling mechanism—a luxury typically reserved for pens with three-figure price tags. Thanks to this mechanism, the ECO can use bottled ink without a converter and holds about three times as much ink as a typical converter-filled pen. The ECO also has a stylish transparent body design that shows off its inner workings and lets you admire the ink sloshing around inside the pen. The ECO offers a full range of nib sizes from extra fine to broad, plus a 1.1 mm stub italic nib that gives your writing a calligraphic flair.

The ECO’s only downside is that because of its built-in piston mechanism, it can only use bottled ink, not cartridges.

Other Pens We Considered

The pens we recommended at the start of this article are the ones we’d feel safe recommending to just about anyone, but they’re far from the only ones worth considering. Here are some other great beginner-friendly pens that didn’t quite make our top recommendations, listed them from least expensive to most expensive.

Pilot Petit1
Sturdy and compact, the Petit1 is a great little fountain pen that can be easily tossed into a bag or backpack. There’s only one nib size and a limited selection of ink colors, but if you’re open to more adventurous filling methods you can refill a cartridge with bottled ink using a syringe or do an eyedropper conversion. The Petit1’s fiber wick feed makes it difficult to clean old ink out, however, so once you’ve started using one color it is time-consuming to change to a different color.
Monami Olika
With its cool design and range of color choices, the Olika can make a great beginner fountain pen. It works with a variety of ink cartridges and even the Lamy Z 27 converter, but like the Petit1 its fiber wick feed makes it time-consuming to clean thoroughly when changing between different ink colors.
Pelikan Twist
This funky fountain pen is sure to put a smile on your face whenever you use it. Despite its unusual design, it’s actually quite comfortable to hold whether you’re right- or left-handed. Its design certainly isn’t for everyone, though, and it only comes with one nib size option—hardly unheard of, but a bit disappointing at the Twist’s price point.
Kaweco Sport
The original pocket fountain pen with a history dating back over 100 years, the Sport is the perfect choice for anyone who wants a pen that can do double duty as a portable pocket pen and a full-size daily writer. The Sport’s secret lies in its unique proportions. Featuring a long cap and a short barrel, the Sport is a compact 4.25” long when capped yet nearly 5.5” long with the cap posted on the back of the pen.

The Sport comes in a wide range of colors and materials, but the plastic Sport pens—the Classic, Chess, Ice, and Skyline—are by far the most affordable. Other models are made from materials like aluminum, brass, steel, and even carbon fiber. They’re incredibly striking, but they’re also too expensive to recommend as beginner fountain pens.

The Sport features high-quality steel nibs sourced from German nib maker Peter Bock AG. Bock nibs are very highly regarded in the fountain pen world, but we’ve found that the ones used in the Sport can sometimes have skipping issues—particularly the medium and broader nibs.

Lamy Safari
An iconic product of the 80s, the Safari was the king of beginner fountain pens until the Pilot Metropolitan came along. It’s still an overwhelmingly popular choice, though, and it’s easy to see why. Made of high-quality ABS plastic—the same stuff LEGO bricks are made of—Safaris are virtually indestructible. Their design still looks futuristic nearly 40 years down the road, and they’re super-collectible thanks to their wide and constantly evolving selection of body colors. And not only do they come in a full range of nib sizes, their nibs are easy to swap out on the fly!

Besides having to compete with the Metropolitan, the Safari only has a few downsides. Its bold styling isn’t for everyone, and its uniquely shaped grip section can be a pain for anyone who doesn’t hold their pen with a traditional grip. Lamy nibs also tend to be a bit broad, even by Western standards, so those who prefer very fine nibs may be better off looking elsewhere.

Why Use a Fountain Pen?

Now that we’ve listed our top choices for beginner-friendly fountain pens, let’s step back and talk about the benefits of using a fountain pen. Here are our top four.

1) Smooth, Comfortable Writing

Fountain pens don't need nearly as much pressure to write as a gel or ballpoint pen, which means that you don't need to grip them or press them into the page nearly as hard. Not only does this make for a delightfully smooth writing experience, it significantly reduces the amount of hand strain and fatigue you'll experience during long writing and note-taking sessions.

2) Choice

Fountain pens offer virtually unlimited combinations of body styles, tip sizes, and ink colors, letting you personalize your writing experience far more than an ordinary ball pen.

3) Environmental Friendliness

Using a fountain pen creates a lot less trash than using a disposable ball pen, especially if you opt for bottled ink instead of cartridges.

4) Investment

In our daily lives, we’re surrounded with cheap, disposable, utilitarian products. They get the job done, but they don’t delight or inspire. When you invest in something made to last, be it a fountain pen, a mechanical keyboard, or a nice pair of headphones, you’re rewarded with daily dividends of simple pleasure. But more importantly, you get something that is yours—in a way that cheap disposable goods can never quite be. Every time you sit down and uncap your fountain pen, you perform a tiny ritual that over time infuses the pen with the accumulated significance of all the hopes, fears, and inspirations you’ve used it to express.

How Fountain Pens Work
How Fountain Pens Work
You don’t have to understand how fountain pens work in order to use them, but it helps to know the basics in case you need to troubleshoot a problem or make a choice between two pens that you like. If you’d like to learn more, our guide to How Fountain Pens Work covers the essentials in a straightforward, beginner-friendly format.
Compare These Pens

Would you like to see more side-by-side comparisons of our favorite beginner-friendly fountain pens? Check them out in our comparison tool!

How We Approach Research and Testing

Our writers draw on their personal expertise, consult our in-house subject matter experts, and do extensive research to make our guides as accurate and comprehensive as possible. We then test every finding that makes it through the research stage. Only the techniques and tools whose performance we personally confirm make it into our guides as recommendations.

Final Thoughts

These fountain pens are great for beginners, but that doesn't mean that they are beginner-level quality. Even if you choose to branch out in the future and try a more advanced fountain pen with specialized features like a gold nib, exotic body materials, or a special filling system, any of these pens would still have a solid place in your writing arsenal. With respectful treatment and a bit of regular cleaning, they will serve you well for many years.

For more information on how to choose a fountain pen, take a look at our guide. If you're interested in seeing what higher-end fountain pens have to offer, check out our guides to Next Level Fountain Pens, Luxury European Fountain Pens, and Luxury Japanese Fountain Pens For an in-depth look at the various kinds of nibs and how they can change your writing experience, take a look at our guide to Choosing a Fountain Pen Nib. And once you've picked out your perfect fountain pen, make sure grab some fountain pen friendly paper and notebooks for the best writing experience possible.

PenNib SizesStandout FeatureFilling SystemPrice
Pilot MetropolitanFine, Medium, Medium ItalicHigh-quality metal bodyCartridge/converter$$
Pilot KakunoExtra Fine, Fine, MediumSmiley face reminds users which side of the nib faces upCartridge/converter$$
Platinum PreppyExtra Fine, Fine, MediumHigh-quality nib; "Slip Seal" cap mechanismCartridge/converter$
Pilot VarsityMediumZero maintenanceDisposable$
TWSBI ECOExtra Fine, Fine, Medium, Broad, 1.1 mm ItalicHigh-capacity filling mechanismPiston$$$
Pilot Petit1FineCompact size; eyedropper convertibleCartridge/converter$
Monami OlikaFineLarge range of color choicesCartridge/converter$
Pelikan TwistMediumComfortable gripCartridge/converter$$
Kaweco SportExtra Fine, Fine, Medium, Broad, Double BroadCompact size; huge variety of modelsCartridge/converter$$ - $$$
Lamy SafariExtra Fine, Fine, Medium, BroadHigh-quality ABS plastic bodyCartridge/converter$$$
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If you're just starting out with fountain pens, we recommend our Fountain Pen Starter Kits! They're curated sets of products that will give you a taste of the pleasure of writing with fountain pens, including samples of our favorite inks and fountain pen friendly paper to help you get going.