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__New User Thread__
Are you new to fountain pens, or trying to decide if fountain pens are for you? Reply here with your questions and our helpful members will do their best to answer!
#FPNewbie #FountainPens
in reply to Penfount • Pen Community

I've been fountain pen-curious but I've got no idea where to start. Is there a cost effective point of entry just to give it a try for fun?
in reply to Douglas

@Douglas @Penfount • Pen Community These are the pens I recommend to newcomers where price is a factor:
- Platinum Preppy (very cheap, well loved, but I have personally never used)
- LAMY Safari (reasonably priced, nigh indestructible, the EF nibs don't necessarily flow super well, but this isn't an issue with F and above)
- TWSBI Eco (holds a ton of ink, really smooth writer at a low price, can be prone to cracking, but has good customer support who typically will send out replacement parts for the cost of shipping)
- Pilot Metropolitan (nice looking pen, cheap, decent writer, but I'm not fond of the ink converter)
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

@me how do those pens do with air travel? Anything special I would need to do with them for rapid changes in pressure?
in reply to Douglas

@Douglas @Penfount • Pen Community To be honest, I've never taken them on a plane, so I'm not sure. I've only flown twice in my life (four times if you count the return trips).
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

@me all you're missing by not flying is being uncomfortable in a metal tube for several hours 🤪
in reply to Douglas

@douglasvb @me best bet is make sure the converter is full. Less air in the cartridge, less likely to leak. That said. Do expect a bit of ink in the cap.

Ive learned that whether flying, or diving two hours into the mountains, having a tissue or small cleaning rag on hand is a good idea.

in reply to Wojo

@polishdub @me thanks! That makes sense with minimizing error and being prepared for a little bit of leakage.
in reply to Douglas

@douglasvb @me ive done several flights. Your mileage will vary from time to time. And from pen to pen.
I never dared to uncap a pen in flight. Sometimes a pen will be a drop, next time could be more than several.

I guess i just dont want to promise you wont get a bit of a mess, but you wont likely have it bleeding all over the place.

in reply to Douglas

@douglasvb @me I’m writing a blog post on how to travel with pens so your question is a reminder for me to actually finish and post it
in reply to paradoxmo

@paradoxmo @Penfount • Pen Community Despite the fact that I don't generally fly, that sounds to be an interesting read. Do you have an RSS feed on your blog that I can subscribe to?

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