[OrangeMango]

> I use a fountain pen

As an experiment in waste reduction and to see if it could end up less expensive as well, I started to use a fountain pen instead of my favorite Pilot Uni-Ball Deluxe pens.

I paid $45 for a pen, converter and 50mL of ink. At this point, I have definitely reduced waste but I'm not sure that it will end up being less expensive. The pen will need to last for ~4 years of daily writing to succeed and I don't know if it will.

[axaxs]

In fairness, I've only dipped my toes in with a few Jinhaos. They are pretty cheap. They aren't as nice writing as the really nice ones, but serviceable. They come with refillable reservoirs, and take international standard cartridges if you want.

[carapace]

FWIW, I got a decent fountain pen at Daiso for $5.

(Shout out for Uni-Ball Deluxe!)

[OrangeMango]

Does it have a refillable reservoir? If so, that's a great bargain if you like the way it writes!

Part of what spurred me to try this experiment is the feeling that the quality of the Uni-Ball lineup has been dropping, including the Deluxe. I still have some 10+ year old Uni-Balls (matte black plastic, not sure the real model name) that are better writers than recently purchased Deluxe modules. A true shame :(

[carapace]

> Does it have a refillable reservoir?

No, plastic cartridges, but you can get a refillable cartridge.

I was worried it would be crap, because who makes a good fountain pen for $5, right? But no, it's sturdy and serviceable. You wouldn't write wedding invitations with it, but for day to day handwriting it's fine. (Daiso is a Japanese "dollar store", and everything in there is about $1.50, so $5 is high-end there, eh?)

I know what you mean about Uni-Ball's quality. I had some of the old black ones from my dad (it was his favorite pen as well) and it does feel like the new silver ones aren't quite the same, eh?

https://uniballco.com/uni-products/deluxe/

It might be something as simple and subtle as weight of the plastic.