Fountain Pen Shootout: Affordable Oversized Fountain Pens

[@lshin80]

Totally off topic, but I've noticed the shelves behind you have begun to bend under the weight of all that pen-related stuff. I suggest you to flip them over every year or so, so that they won't bend permanently. :)

[@colinmartin9797]

I have the wing sung 590, it's a genuinely nice feeling pen in the hand, and takes any #6 nib. I also have my first mont blanc 149 in the mail... so excited. The jinhao 159 is great if you are willing to superglue the little section piece when it inevitably pops out (glue is a permanent and easy fix) and prefer very heavy.

[@techtruth9077]

The Edison Collier is one of my favourites.

[@vickyesperanza8267]

I have my dads hands, so i love the larger pens! Thank you for this!

[@matthewbeddow3278]

Thank you Stephen . I have the 590 , like you i find it an enjoyable pen and you cannot go wrong at the price .

[@deanandreoli1975]

I love my Wingsung 590! I have a Fountain Pen Revolution 1.0mm stub nib in it. Cool video!

[@DibutilFtalat]

Wing Sung 590 rules! As long as you wash it in ultrasonic bath with chlorine cleaner upon arrival. Mine came with mildew smell and hazed surfaces. After the wash it shines with luster and is very pleasant to touch. Apparently, all plastic parts were hand-polished when manufactured!

[@raybeckon1235]

Jinhao 159 is a great oversized pen, budget friendly, yet not cheap looking.

[@Dalinar.Kholin]

There is another ASA pen you could check out- the ASA Azaadi (meaning 'Freedom'). A classic pen, inexpensive at around 50$ in India, and quite girthy, with a #6 nib. And the classic ASA Nauka is an interesting big pen too.

[@deloceanophoto]

At $5, I’m loving my Jinhao 159! I don’t have very expensive pens but have some quite nice ones around $100. The 159 holds its own with any of them.

[@NGMonocrom]

I have to be honest, I no longer recommend Monteverde fountain pens. I love their inks, I love my collection of fountain pens from them.... except the ones that are horribly unreliable. Lately the Q.C. on their fountain pens, especially the nibs and feeds, has gotten worse than Visconti. And that's saying something right there.

[@brunolalanne9106]

Not my experience : I have been using a Visconti (Kaleido Voyager) for 10 years without any issue (except that it does not like motorcycle but no fountain pen does 😊).

[@meh8982]

As another option, the Bexley Prometheus Design is over 15 cm in length and 12+ mm at the narrowest part of the grip. A big, girthy pen, excellent quality, and many models are under $90 on Ebay. Bexley makes some bigger pens as well.

[@shawnhampton8503]

Love me some oversized pens! Thank you!! Three recent editions are the ASA Heritage - modeled on the Namiki Emperor. The ASA Popsicle modeled on the Sailor King of Pen, and the Guider Zimbo not modeled on anyone. I love them all!! Also have the Ranga 5, and aim to get the Ranga Emperor.

[@paulmchugh1430]

I know it has been a while since you made this video, but I would like to recommend: Conklin All American - not as long as the Sequoia but definitely girthier. A similar model by Jinhao, called the Independence is well worth mentioning. Not affordable but large is the Montegrappa Otto Extra. A bit weighty but well worth consideration, if you have the money.

[@Shub99]

Large ebonite Pens from Ranga are very well made ...

[@283blood]

If you can find one Stephen, try a Rosetta Coronado. Slightly larger than the Kaiser, with rounded ends, very comfortable, and the broad is a very smooth writer from the box, and about $69.00 or so. Thanks for the review for us folks blessed with big mitts.

[@dyloak6450]

Longer, thicker, light pens are better for wrist/arm writting.

[@MrTeal888]

I noticed a preference for red pens :)

[@andrewbrendan1579]

Great topics, Dr. Brown! Thank you for talking pen sizes AND pen prices. My hands are 7 1/2 with rather long fingers so a large pen is the one for me.---Too I wanted to mention that I purchased on sale a Cross fountain pen (Christmas present to myself!) that is very attractive though on the small side. The cap doesn't stay posted, if that's the right terminology (write terminology?) so the pen barely fits my hand and I didn't expect that from a company as good as Cross. From time to time I watch your video about the Visconti Opera Master. I didn't know you could fall in love with a pen but I fell in love with the one. Wow! What a beautiful pen! What a pleasure it must be to have, and see, and use such an excellent pen.

[@davebellamy4867]

0:46 good cough etiquette demo for 2020 done in 2018!

[@Blitterbug]

Must admit I was expecting the Jinhao 159...

[@daaxab]

I came for that as well!

[@toffeebear7133]

@@daaxab Came for the same reason. He actually left out a bunch, he needs to look at the Indian fountain pen market.

[@jankafka7330]

@@toffeebear7133 The Indian pen in the shootout and the reference to other oversized Indian pens wasn't enough for you?

[@toffeebear7133]

@@jankafka7330 apparently not. I can't remember. But I'll stick with my original comment. Have to have the back of past me.

[@ArcticBanshee]

People think that only ppl with big hands like big pens... my issue is small hands but my grip is too strong to stay comfortable, even though I try to back off. Bigger pens help me with this. Thanks for this video!

[@AnzanHoshinRoshi]

Thank you, Stephen.

[@markknoblauch2128]

I love these shoot outs! Thanks, Stephen!

[@fountainpencollection]

I have a Wing Sung 590 and a Yangtze from the 80's which is essentially the same pen with small differences .

[@wayneclarkson375]

Mr brown thank you for the cheaper oversized pen review the only relatively cheap oversized pen i own is the Laban Mento. Thank you again.

[@aikanae1]

"I've gone down the rabbit hole ..." LOL. Yea, it's like that. Good vid.

[@peterhofmann8292]

Stephen, thanks for this review. Nice to know that there are options out there that are not so expensive. I would really have to handle one of these pens "live" to better understand the fit in my hand (ok except for the Wingsung). Thanks for taking the time to put this together.

[@HomeAbroad68]

hi stephen, i'm surprised you didn't include the wing sung 698 as a relatively large cheaper pen. have you tried any of the penbbs pens? they come in various models, the longest being the 267 at 18.5cm and the 308 +309 are both 14.5cm long, the price is good too ;). neil

[@garypostell5268]

Absolutely

[@Richard1855]

Stephen, thanks for this video and information just for your viewers, the Vintage HERO Wing Sung 590 fountain pen is still available on ebay. If I might be bold enough, couple of sellers in China(of course) are green.shine (60062) and bluestone004 (84420), both are the cheapest and selling at the same price. BTW I too own one and it is massive.

[@aquaswissblue]

What about the Conklin All-American?

[@viv_2489]

Guider Jumbo , Ranga oversized pens .... Some affordable choices..

[@garykarlin1777]

Jinhao x450 or 159 = $4-10 Add a $15 #6 nib Now you have a really nice $25-30 large pen

[@marka.200]

I got a 3 pack of X450 pens and can't complain about the price vs. quality ratio, and yes I can put nibs in them, but one thing I can't fix is two of the three won't post their caps at all. Not a deal breaker but prevents me from getting more of them.

[@colinmartin9797]

Those are all pretty pricey. The ranga 8c is under $40, the TWSBI vac700 is very long and medium thick for $80. The 590's aero filler is annoying, but you can pull off the metal part easily and just squeeze the sac easily.

[@MrGyges]

I love spending thousands of dollars ( it’s a hobby ), but now big pens, small prices, is my new fad. Thanks Mr B.

[@thadtheman3751]

Guider looks a bit like Grandmia's prototype Mont Blanc.

[@Pottymoon]

What was that cute little red pen that you flashed on and off and was too small for you please???

[@sbrebrown]

It's made by Mazzuoli, but I forget what model it is

[@Pottymoon]

@@sbrebrown Thank you!

[@AdrianMutu87]

Stephen's review of the 590 is his best ever. You should watch it. The pen is uncomfortable though, the section is short with very sharp threads and stinky ink sac.

[@kristycyw]

Have you tried the Jinhao 159? Quite big too. I have small hands and love pocket pens so it wasn’t quite my thing.

[@sbrebrown]

I have, that's a nice pen too

[@marka.200]

I guess I'm not a serious pen addict, these don't seem that affordable to me. I do own a $300 Montblanc but most of my other pens are under $50. Maybe having spent all that money on the Montblanc gave me sticker shock or something.

[@richardsims6016]

Dear Dr. Brown, Would you please rank the pens with regard to writing experience & ease of cleaning? I know the Opus 88 Coloro is s bit more expensive but is I am told a very good writer. Thank you

[@SevenDeMagnus]

Big, chunky fountain pens are the best.

[@brendlelau1048]

A lot of questions ! About heavy duty jinhao pens..vs montegrappa shoot out. Needed

[@nitina8564]

Looks like you missed the Jinhao 159. That pen is quite big and the price is just about 10-12 $

[@brendan5675]

Excellent review.

[@mijngena]

how would you evaluate the Edison Collier?

[@peterpuleo2904]

Does heat press treatment work on the 590? Mine dries after a paragraph or two.

[@Johan-vk5yd]

I own four of these Wing Sung 590. I pulled the feed out and scrubbed it with a toothbrush and a mild detergent when that happened to me. I believe the feed is from ebonite, hence machined, not molded, and residual cutting oils could create flow issues.

[@williamroberts2962]

Amazing review!

[@tomasgimenez3199]

The recurring remark about having big... hands is quite interesting for a shrink... .

[@Lucastrujillo59]

great video thank you

[@greyareaRK1]

We have the same hand size - handy.

[@massmike11]

You forgot one of the most affordable fat pens. The Pilican Pelikano Jr

[@speedeater1]

very nice! thanks!

[@muchasgracias6976]

Just looking at them, three of these are oversized fountain pens, and one seems to be a sex toy.

[@fangk.7367]

I've got smaller hands but I like huge pens. Small pens cramp my hands

[@Johan-vk5yd]

I have big hands, and I like nimble pens. 🙂

[@Sams911]

It always fascinates me what peoples' idea of "expensive" is... I mean I remember when I thought spending $120 on a pen was "expensive" .. I've since collected several montblanc and ST Dupont pens that cost in excess of $1000 and in two cases $2500+ .. Yes, I have a friend who's knock around pen is a $12,000 Montblanc and has a collection with some $25K pens.. What is "expensive"?

[@jisa39]

What about that Jumbo fountain pen you had?

[@joshuanorris5860]

Woahhh hold on. I want to know more about how you made the pen more wet by making the feed passage bigger!? If it was possible to make some of my pens more wet i might do that..!! I wish my kaweco sport was a bit more juicy.

[@joshuanorris5860]

Im looking and i may have found a video you made about just that! Great! (Thank god you make good use of the playlist function!)

[@lez7767]

After watching your previous review on the WingSung I bought one then I bought another. They are brilliant pens mine had some discolouration on the guilded work but they were advertised on ebay as vintage pens. Both wrote out of the box with feedback which I like and you can swap the nibs. Thanks for the info about removing the breather tube I'll do that. So thanks again for another shootout. BTW do you hear from Prof Dangleberry these days maybe you should do a Skype with him ? ? ? Thanks Stephen your ACE....As always Best wishes to all pen people LeZc @@

[@thadtheman3751]

It's not the size, it's what you do with it.

[@senthilkumarr7987]

Ok good bro 👏👏👏

[@vancouveropenbsd985]

So, @sbrebrown, you like big pens and you cannot lie?

[@khoocheepeng]

i don't understand this; if you pay a fountain pen for 2 thousand euro, and use it every day for fifty years , how much per day? expensive ?

[@perfectman3077]

khoo chee peng 2000 / (50 x 365.25) = 0.1095 -> $0.11 per day. Not too bad.

[@JenniferNeedsAHandle]

I had to stop what I was doing so that I could measure my hands. Slightly over 6 inches. Yes, you have big hands.

[@raggsj38]

I did the same thing! Mine are about 5 3/4. Somehow I doubt these pens would work for me, lol! (Still enjoyed the video!)

[@islaymmm]

Saw your comment and I had to do that lol. Mine are about 7 inches, still smaller than his!

[@genepowers7886]

I also paused the video and measured mine ~ 7.5 inches. Pen lovers do some weird stuff.

[@andrewbrendan1579]

Same here! 7 1/2-inch hands. Bring on them big pens!

[@saints51]

Stephen: I think you'll like this piece of chant, the Sanctus from Mass XI. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bqCrZqRvhMRnZqM The Creaper I got last week has great flex. Thanks to your great review, I bought one. Writes better than I do.

[@sbrebrown]

Very nice!

[@ronshaw80]

Another very low cost option is the Pilot Metropolitan. Slightly smaller than these (138mm closed) but not by much.

[@jupiteriana.]

Ron Shaw The Metropolitan isn't an oversized pen, is smaller than the Safari

[@axeonutube]

Very good review. Enjoyable, like always. Oh, yeah... thanks for not doing THAT again.

[@rbmarcus]

Nice video. Though, I think you should have included the Veggie Pen in this shootout as well.

[@13noman1]

I know you have large hands but that FPR makes your hands look tiny! I like a large pen but to me at least, that's excessive.

[@jupiteriana.]

The Lamy Safari looks tiny

[@Shub99]

Please don't do that ... Ever ... Again 😳😉😂😂😂

[@jasonmillar2953]

Have you ever used a pen that you thought was too big? (Also, that Guider Super Zimbo is the ugliest pen I have ever seen. It looks like the tumescent larva of some monstrous insect.)

[@sbrebrown]

The Super Zimbo is definitely bigger than I'd like

[@abubakarjariwala]

Have a look at gama acrylic demonstrator pen... Its good acrylic pens bro

[@fbales]

What no links for the Pens? Not even a list of the pens? C’mon, I’m fairly new to the pen hobby, and I don’t always hear the name correctly (my fault), and I can’t really read your writing (your fault). It was the 2nd one I didn’t get. Is it Laban Kiser? I’ve searched several varying spellings of the name and haven’t been able to find it. On the upside, I really do enjoy your videos, and always give you a 👍, even on this one.

[@sbrebrown]

Kaiser.

[@chrislj2890]

I believe that Indian pen was mentioned in the Kama Sutra. 👳🏽 Hmmm, I wonder if this will elicit another Puritan response? 🤔

[@sherinzadakhudukhel6342]

Your review very important and informative but some time your overacting loses effectiveness.

[@sbrebrown]

Well, fortunately these videos are not acting classes.

[@markdbenson75]

sherin zada I actually enjoy Stephen’s videos precisely because of his sense of humour and because he keeps the fun in this hobby.