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Sunday, January 8, 2012

Let me hear from you...

Next month, in mid-February, the Los Angeles Pen Show will be held. It's a wonderful event, drawing people from all over the world, and it's one of the largest pen shows in the US. I've been asked to make a presentation on Saturday (the weekend of February 16-19), and the topic I suggested is "Twenty Pens Under $200." More people are watching their money these days, but that's no reason to give up enjoying a good writing instrument. Some of the topics I'll cover will include what you will and won't get in a lower-priced pen, what to expect in performance and warranty, and which brands offer such pens. I'd love to hear from you regarding your favorite lower-priced pen. Tell me which ones you like and why, and I'll be sure to give you credit in my presentation. You may comment on this blog or email me directly. Thanks, and I hope to see you at the show

3 comments:

  1. 1 - Vintage Esterbrooks (of course)because the nibs are interchangeable

    2 - Noodler's Ahab

    3 - Namiki Vanishing Point - easy for a man to carry in his shirt pocket & really convenient to use

    4 - Platinum Preppy - for a $4 pen, these actually write really well. We give these away at our PCA Pens for Kids presentation

    5 - Edison Collier - nicely made pen, gorgeous colors...

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  2. My favourites are the Lamy Safari and Lamy Al-Star. They have a wonderfully thought-out, “cool” Bauhaus design with a very comfortable triangular gripping section,
    handy ink-vue window, smooth convertor, great steel nibs(I have a fine and a stub), vibrant colours (mine are red and gorgeous Ocean blue respectively) and a large useful clip.
    Together they cost less than $100; amazing pens for that price!

    Your Canadian friend, Allan Flagel

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  3. Namiki Falcon resin body is a great choice with an interesting nib. You might even have a little left to have John Mottishaw customize the nib and still get around the $200 mark.

    Pilot Custom 74. A gold nib at this price point is pretty impressive and it's hard to beat out-of-box performance on pens from Pilot-Namiki, Sailor and Platinum.

    Any number of vintage pens would be great as you'll be at a pen show with lots of great pens available. You can find some great classic Parker, Sheaffer, Wahl-Eversharp, Conklin and other great pens at this price point. If you're willing to European, some vintage Pelikans will go home with you under $200 as well, even the 100/100N models with the superb and highly underrated CN nibs in some cases. Might have to shop around a little bit on that last one. But 400/400N models will be under the $200 mark with some outstanding nibs available.

    Richard

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