Beginner Fountain Pens

Fountain pens to get you started - we've gathered some of the best fountain pens for beginners if you want to try using a fountain pen, but this will be your first. Many of them will be ideal for second or third too, or you may never need another!

But should you use a fountain pen? That's up to you, but there are plenty of good reasons why people love them so much - see our article on Why People Love Fountain Pens.

We cover quite a range of fountain pens here, perfect for starting out. At the lower end, there are disposable fountain pens, like the Pilot Vpen, making getting started just as easy as it would be with a simple disposable ballpoint pen. Some, even under £5, are actually refillable, like the Platinum Preppy, so you can buy more cartridges, and keep using them for a long time.

If you'd rather spend a little more to get a pen with a design you love, and you'll want to keep using and refilling for years, there are plenty of options there too - from £10 to £20 and upwards, there are some really good quality fountain pens that could last a lifetime. They'll use cartridges, and most have the option of adding a converter to use bottled ink, making them really economical to use - perfect for anyone who does a lot of writing.

At this point in the market, you're getting to fountain pens that really could last a lifetime. Despite its reasonable price, the Lamy Safari remains a favourite for many fountain pen fans for life. Or for something more pocketable, try the Kaweco Sport. And if you just want to be a bit different? We love the great value of the Kaco Retro, and the Sailor Tuzu is a bargain price for a Sailor fountain pen.

In general, even the cheapest fountain pens should write well. Once you get to the nicely made refillable pens, there's no reason to think their nibs won't be as good as much more expensive pens. You may want to upgrade at some point to something that looks and feels better to you, but if you're on a budget, don't worry that you're missing out - the Lamy Safari, for example, uses exactly the same nibs as pens costing five times as much, and the same applies to many other brands.