The $100.00 Fountain Pen Starter Kit

6 min readMar 21, 2023

One commonality I find between the mechanical keyboard community and the fountain pen community is that the “best” writing instrument is ultimately a subjective choice and comes down to personal preference — although there is no shortage of people who are willing to voice out that your personal preference is wrong.

The challenge for a newcomer, assuming they are interested in the hobby, is figuring out what their personal preferences are. For example, do they prefer an Extra Fine nib or a Broad nib? Are they fine gripping a Pilot Metropolitan or a Lamy Safari? Which type of paper do they like to write on? And so forth.

If you browse through the Internet, there’s no shortage of guides on “beginner starter pens” or “pens under $$$”. And while they are definitely a good start, it’s my opinion that for a beginner, it’s best to be exposed to as many options as possible. Sometimes reading about something is not enough: it’s better to experience it and discover what works — or doesn’t work. Hence the concept of a “Starter Kit”.

$100.00 or Less

As much as fountain pen enthusiast might complain that the hobby is a money sink, it’s relatively “affordable” compared to other hobbies. If you are into mechanical watches for example, a “budget” collection would be under the $2,000.00 price range — an amount that easily surpasses the annual minimum wage in my country.

But $100.00 is modestly achievable — and to some people, even a “disposable” amount — while still providing a variety of options to someone new to fountain pens.

The aim here is to provide a framework to introduce people to the hobby, rather than a “definitive” guide on what to purchase for them.

Also, pricing and general availability will vary from country to country. As someone who lives in the Philippines, the examples I provide below will be based on local retailers, but people are free to tweak the details so that it adapts to their country and/or personal aesthetics.

The Criteria

Fountain pen enthusiasts will know that there are three things that determine a quality writing experience:

The pen,
The ink,
The paper.

And under each item, there are various subcategories we might apply. For example, under ink, we might segregate it into dual shading inks, inks that sheen well, etc. Or for paper, how good they are when it comes to feathering, ghosting, bleedthrough, etc.

Below is my oversimplification of what to look for under each category.

Pens

Ideally, we want to provide newcomers a variety of pens (and where most of our budget will be spent).

At the very least, we want to expose them to a variety of nib sizes, so that they learn that nib size does have an impact on their writing.

Pens with different form factors is also recommended, so that they can figure out which one they prefer holding.

Another criteria personally is that a non-insignificant hurdle for people unfamiliar with fountain pens is the proper method of filling your pen with ink and the subsequent maintenance it entails. But at the same time, we also do not want to close out this option for them. So one quality I look for in these starter pens is that they can use cartridges and have the option to use a converter (preferably one already included).

Taking all those into consideration, here are the pens I would include in my Starter Kit:

TWSBI Swipe Broad Nib. P1499.00 ($27.25). (Please note the Asian version does not come with a traditional converter.)
Pilot Metroplitan Fine Nib. P999.00 ($18.16). (Please note the Asian version does not come with an ink cartridge.)
Pilot Metroplitan Medium Nib. P999.00 ($18.16). (Please note the Asian version does not come with an ink cartridge.)

I would also provide the recipient with instructions (whether written down explicitly or a link to a video) on how to load cartridges/ink into these pens, as I do not expect people to immediately know how considering the packaged documentation leaves much to be desired.

Inks

Personally, my goal here is to get newcomers to use the pen as soon as possible, so what specific ink to get isn’t a top priority for me. But it might be for you. So just include what ink catches your fancy or meets the budget.

Due to my pen choices above, I do need to purchase some proprietary Pilot ink cartridges:

Pilot Fountain Pen Ink Cartridge of 6. P65.00 ($1.20).
Pilot Iroshizuku Ink Cartridges of 6. P599.00 ($10.89).

Paper

I want to impress that paper has different qualities and make a noticeable difference when it comes to writing with fountain pens.

Here are some notebooks I would include:

Muji Ruled Craft Notebook A5. P55.00 ($1.00).
Rhodia Classic Stapled Notebook A5. P249.00 ($4.52).
Midori Notebook Light A5 English Caption Lined. P425.00 ($7.72).

Miscellaneous

For some, the presentation of the Starter Kit is a major selling point, so if you still have some budget, go ahead and splurge on a decent container for all the items above.

For me, I usually just throw everything into a bubble mailer or kraft envelope, so that I have the option to send it via a courier if needed.

Also, I want to emphasize that the recommendations above is a combination of several factors, which includes what’s available locally, my personal aesthetics, and the assumption that I know nothing about the recipient.

For example, if I know the recipient is very interested in inks and is meticulous when it comes to maintenance, I would easily swap out the pens on my list for something like a TWSBI Eco and ditch the cartridges for actual ink bottles.

The notebook choices are similarly based on the assumption that they will be used to jot down notes but if I know that the recipient is an artist, I might opt for the blank version of those notebooks.

The key here is that a specific pen or item is not a holistic approach in swaying people. I want to create an environment — within my budget — that showcases the possibilities and the factors that might shape how they approach the hobby. There are different types of fountain pen hobbyists: some are in it for the collection aspect, others are mesmerized by the myriad of inks available, while another might turn into a paper aficionado.

3 Sets for $100.00

Another way to approach this is to create three Starter Kits for $100.00. This is accomplished by going for cheaper (but still competent) fountain pens, and then purchasing the 3-pack notebooks and then splitting them into each set.

For example:

Platinum Prefounte Fountain Pen Fine Nib. P499.00 ($9.07). x3. P1497.00 ($27.21).
Platinum Prefounte Fountain Pen Medium Nib. P499.00 ($9.07). x3. P1497.00 ($27.21).
Midori Notebook Light A5 English Caption Lined. P425.00 ($7.72).
LAMY A5-size Booklet, 3s. P649.75 ($11.81).

At P4,068.75 ($73.95), that’s enough to create three Starter Kits to pique people’s curiosity.

Kraft envelope, a pair of Platinum Prefounte pens, a Rhodia notepad, a Livenotes notebook, and a Midori notebook. — My 3 starter kits.

Here’s a starter kit I assembled, and I was able to “splurge” on the paper because I was able to obtain the Rhodia notepad for P70.00 ($1.27) and the Livenotes notebook for P160.00 ($2.90):

Platinum Prefounte Fountain Pen Fine Nib.
Platinum Prefounte Fountain Pen Medium Nib. (The middle pack was replaced with a Platinum Preppy as the retailer ran out of Medium Nibs for the Prefounte.)
Rhodia Blank A5 notepad.
Livenotes Lined A5 notebook.
Midori Lined A5 notebook.

The notebooks I chose because it provides three different types of paper: Rhodia, Tomoe River Paper (old version), and Midori. The pair of Platinum Prefounte should enable them to experience the differences between Medium and Fine nibs.