Comments on: A disposable fountain pen?

By: E-mac

E-mac — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:30:20 +0000

Does anyone know of any stores in the Los Angeles area that stock these? Best regards,
E

By: Tom Hall

Tom Hall — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:36:42 +0000

I tried the Varsity several years ago and didn’t like it. Based on these comments, though, I’ll have to revisit. It sounds like they have improved greatly.

So many pens, so little time.

Tom

By: ulyssesmsu

ulyssesmsu — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 17:21:16 +0000

I love the Pilot Varsity fountain pens. Sure, they’re not as elegant or as good as more expensive fountain pens. How could they be, when they cost only $2 or so? But for a very small price, you have a very good-quality fountain pen that works well, without having to pay a lot of money and without worrying about losing it. And it costs only $2, so if you misplace it or lose it, it’s not like you lost an expensive $50 [or more] pen.

I’ve used these pens for years and I highly recommend them.

By: Missive Maven

Missive Maven — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:30:01 +0000

I adore the Pilot Varsities! I refill mine regularly now, and with the option to put in any ink you like, and have a ginormous ink supply, I think they’re a fantastic bargain. I give them away regularly in an effort to hook others on fountain pens, but I also use them myself regularly, too.

By: mwschmeer

mwschmeer — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:41:27 +0000

You can refill these if you really want to. See:
http://goodpens.blogspot.com/2009/02/refilling-your-pilot-varsity-disposible.html

By: Kim

Kim — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:21:51 +0000

I have no issues using these on Rhodia pads! I use them every day at work on Rhodia pads. I have even eyedroppered new ink of my choice into them. I like that you can get the nice thin line with the back of the nib when necessary.

By: Pelikanyo

Pelikanyo — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:01:36 +0000

The Varsity uses premium Namiki inks.
IMHO, even high surface-tension inks like Aurora Black, or Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black, would feather on some of the papers used. My standard test paper is an Ampad Gold Fibre pad.

By: JonelB

JonelB — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:46:22 +0000

Good to know that the ink is a bit sub-par.
I’ve been thinking about trying these, but I can’t stand feathery bleedy ink. I have some International Long Cartridges with some reeeally cheap black in in them. I hate using the ink in them, but I usually drain it out and dry it overnight, or just use up the ink as fast as I can and refill it with Noodler’s Bulletproof Black, my standby.