I’ve previously touched on how we seem to be living in a new “golden age” of fountain pens. Pen companies - both new and old - are regularly releasing new models every few months or so, each more irresistible than the last. Sure, it may not be the best of times for the “legacy” companies such as Parker, Sheaffer, Waterman, etc., but the likes of Sailor, Pilot, Pelikan, Platinum, Lamy, and a host of relatively recent entrants have stepped it up.

That said, in the ten years or so I’ve been following this industry, there’s been a real void at the “low end” of the price spectrum. Other than two models from Pilot, the Metropolitan and the Kakuno, or the Nemosine Singularity, there just hasn’t been that much available at the sub-$20 price point - much less the $15 price point - and a lot of what was out there was ridiculously low quality. Sure, you can go with a Platinum Preppie, but it still sort of looks like a disposable pen. As vintage collectors are aware, even during the original fountain pen “golden era” from approximately 1920-1970, there was room in the market for so-called “third-tier” brands like Wearever, Majestic, etc. Some of these cheaper pens featured interesting materials, were quite nice looking, and sold for well under a dollar. (CENTS, people, imagine that!) Apparently there’s now a flourishing vintage Wearever collectors’ community.

Wing Sung pens have excellent nibs, in my experience. Most are paired with a transparent plastic feed.

Lately, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the resurgence of inexpensive pens being manufactured in China. Inspired by bloggers such as Frank Underwater and the Economical Penster, I made a few VERY inexpensive purchases off of Amazon and eBay. We’re talking five-pens-for-$13 kind of cheap. And you know what? The quality was more than acceptable - most of the pens I tried had very nice nibs, solid plastic construction, and some even featured piston fillers. (To be honest, the quality on many of these pens was better than pens I’ve reviewed in the $50-75 price bracket.) Cheap pens have their place. Not only do you not have to worry excessively about losing them on your desk at work, at a hotel when you’re traveling, or even in the car - you can use all those crazy permanent, shimmering, non-freezing, flammable, likely-radioactive, pen-dissolving inks that we all know you want to test out.

OK, Which Pens to Buy?

From left: Wing Sung 3010, Wing Sung 3001, Wing Sung 3008, Wing Sung 618, and Wing Sung 698.

I’ve discussed most of these pens in a previous post where I talked about how I was making more of an effort to test inks. It turns out I’ve found myself using these pens for much more than ink testing, and have carried a couple of the Wing Sung pens as daily writers. The 3001 model has become a favorite.

Wing Sung 3001. These are currently my preferred “cheap” pens. I purchased a five-pack, and every single pen wrote well without any adjustments. The colors look pretty nice too. I especially like the peach and smoke colored demonstrators. The filling system is cartridge-converter, but from what I can tell these don’t accept standard international cartridges. (I’ve heard Wing Sung pens accept Parker cartridges, but have not tried this myself.)
Wing Sung 3010. Along with the Wing Sung 3001, these are the super-inexpensive pens that I’ve been using the most as daily writer. Like the 3001, these pens feature extra-fine nibs and cartridge-converter filling systems. Because the 3010 has a “snap cap”, it might prove to be less durable over time, but then again, the plastic feels pretty thick.
Wing Sung 3008. The Wing Sung 3008 is a piston filling fountain pen that I originally purchased after using them at the DC Pen Show. Of the pens on this list, these are the ones that I’ve confined to “tester” status. They simply don’t feel as sturdy as others that I’ve used. The plastic feels a bit more flimsy and the blind cap on the piston is loose. That said, I’ve had no issues with them leaking or evaporating while they’ve been sitting on my desk, and the nibs are quite nice for a steel extra-fine.
Jinhao Shark Pen. For a pure coolness factor, you can’t beat the Shark Pen. While I don’t own any, I’ve written with them at pen shows and everyone I’ve talked to that bought a pack enjoys them.

A bit more money ($15-20) gets you into some very interesting pens such as the Moonman M2, the Wing Sung 601 Vacumatic, and the Wing Sung 618 and 698 piston fillers. Other people have had great success with the wide variety of acrylics and styles available from PenBBS (who also make popular inks). While I’ve used the Moonman and all of the Wing Sung piston fillers and vacumatics extensively, and they’re great, there’s something incredibly satisfying about writing with an excellent fountain pen that cost you $3. For that reason, if I had to recommend one super-inexpensive pen, the Wing Sung 3001 would take the prize.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

“Low-End” here refers to price, not quality - well, at least that’s what I hope for. Fortunately, there’s a bounty of lower-priced pens on the market right now, including many great options that you can find for less than $20. Today I’ll take a look at two pens I recently picked up for the first time: the Nemosine Singularity and the Monteverde Monza. The Singularity has been around for a while, developing what turns out to be a well-deserved cult following, but I can’t see Monteverde getting any traction with the Monza (much less their more expensive pens like the Giant Sequoia) unless they improve the quality control on their nibs.

Nemosine Singularity: A Solid Budget Option

My review of the Nemosine Singularity is pretty straightforward: at the $20 or less price point, it’s a great pen. For a while now I’ve heard about Nemosine’s stub nibs: how they are narrower than you’re typical stainless steel stock stub (this one is .6mm, my sweet spot for stubs/italics), and are relatively smooth writers. All true, and the pen itself seems well-built and should hold up fairly well for a sub-$20 plastic demonstrator.

I enjoy the detailing and scrollwork on the Nemosine nib, but that's personal preference. Some might find it "busy".

One of the Singularity’s key selling points is the wide range of available colors. I opted for the pink “Azalea” demonstrator, but the Singularity is also available in Aqua, Clear, Magenta, and Onyx. With the exception of the “Clear” and “Onyx” versions, these are brightly colored pens that manage to pull off pastel colors without seeming childish or cheap. The plastic feels thick and relatively durable, though I wouldn’t expect a $20 pen to last forever, and you may have issues with the threads or cap cracking over time. (I’ve not experienced this or heard an inordinate number of complaints, it’s just a general observation about how less-expensive pens seem to wear. This would apply to basically any plastic pen at this price point, and even TWSBI has not been able to avoid the issue with much higher-priced products.)

The Singularity fits nicely in my hand, posted or unposted, though the pen’s light weight lends itself more to posting. The black plastic section is slightly concave and comfortable, though if I had one gripe I’d like to see just a touch more length to avoid rubbing up against the threads.

No issues here. The Singularity sports one of the best inexpensive stub nibs that I've used, though it's actually a .6mm, not a .9mm. I may need to revisit and supplement my article on steel stub nibs at a later date. — No issues here. The Singularity sports one of the best inexpensive stub nibs that I've used, though it's actually a .6mm, not a .9mm. I may need to revisit and supplement my article on steel stub nibs at a later date.

If I had been deep into fountain pens as a college student, the Singularity would be up there with the Pilot Metropolitan and the Lamy Safari as a great student pen that would offer a serviceable writing experience without breaking the bank. The Monteverde Monza, on the other hand….

Monteverde Monza: Save Your Money

Monteverde has gone on a bit of a tear recently, releasing multiple new pens at various price points. The Monza is apparently Monteverde’s attempt to break into the “inexpensive plastic demonstrator” segment, and rather than develop an original design they’ve gone with what appears to be an “homage” to cigar-shaped pens like the Sailor 1911 Standard and the Montblanc 144/146. That said, the Monza looks nice, and I opted for the “Honey Amber” demonstrator. Other color options include “Gray Sky”, “Island Blue”, and “Crystal Clear”.

My frustration with the Monza started early. First of all, I went to ink it up and the converter didn’t fit in the pen. Based on what I’ve read online, some retailers advise to “push really hard” to seat the converter on the back of the feed, but I had no luck. Maybe I didn’t push hard enough, but I was already so skeptical of the quality that I didn’t want to risk shattering the feed (or even the section itself). That gives you some idea of how bad the fit was.

The Monteverde Monza features a clear feed, much like some of the old third-tier vintage fountain pens like Wearever. I do like the look because it shows you how the ink flows to the nib.

After tossing the converter aside, I ended up going with a cartridge (Kaweco Ruby), and spent a solid 10 minutes attempting to get ink to flow. The nib barely wrote out of the box. The culprit was a misaligned feed, inserted so poorly that it caused the tines to twist. In other words, what looked like a complete absence of quality control on the part of the manufacturer. This isn't an isolated incident with Monteverde nibs, and it's not limited to their lower-priced pens.)

Note: If I recall correctly, my Monza box came shrink-wrapped in plastic. If you like the look of this pen, and want to go ahead and buy one, be sure to request that your retailer open it up so they can check the nib, unless you’re comfortable doing adjustments yourself.

I frankly don’t understand how Monteverde can put so much effort into making their pens - packaging included - look pretty good, but apparently take no steps to make sure they actually write. I’d gladly pay $10-15 more for a pen if it meant the pen had been tested, though I’m not sure such a drastic price increase would be necessary, given that Nemosine can sell the Singularity for $3 more.

Why should Monteverde invest the time and resources into quality control? Because once I pulled, reset, and aligned the nib, the Monza is actually a very good writer. The stock medium steel nib is nothing to write home about in terms of line variation or character, but this one is very smooth, and the pen itself - once it was fixed - makes a great knockaround pen: one that I would have loved to have had as a student. Even now, it's one I'll keep around in my travel bag.

A nice writer, but after waaay too much effort on my part.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Of these two pens, the Nemosine Singularity is the clear winner and would get my recommendation. The relatively solid build and excellent stub nib for this price point makes it pretty much a no-brainer for someone looking for a colorful demonstrator in the beginner / “student pen” category, or simply anyone looking for an inexpensive fountain pen that they don't have to worry about losing or damaging.

The Monteverde Monza, on the other hand, has some potential but the quality control is far below what I’ve seen elsewhere at (or even below) this price point. The fact that I had to pull, reseat, and straighten the nib, in addition to the fact that the supplied converter didn’t fit the pen, drops this into the “yes, if you’re prepared to tinker with it” category along with the Noodler’s pens and $0.99 Chinese pens from eBay. I suspect, however, that most in this pen’s target audience would either return the pen or throw it away if they received it in the shape that I got this one.

You can purchase both pens from Pen Chalet. The Nemosine is currently priced at $19.99 and the Monza goes for $16 (both before any applicable coupon codes).

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. While I purchased these pens from Pen Chalet, I did receive a discount due to my sponsor/affiliate relationship.