If anyone’s remotely interested in fountain pens, do a casual google and most people will recommend these two as good starter pens. Lamy Vista is a clear bodied sibling of the famous Lamy Safari - which as the name suggests, it’s so tough you can go on safaris with it. OK, I’m not saying that it can survive a little light nibble from a lion, but it can certainly hold up in a tightly packed handbag.

Waterman Phileas is a pricier one of these two and certainly looks the part - with sleek, black body, slightly plump and short. I bought this locally at a stationary shop in Hock Lee - retailing at RM200+.

The girl working there is kind enough to let me try tons of pens, but at the end I think she was a bit frustrated with me. *LOL* I can be a very picky customer. But hey, if I’m going to sink RM200 on a freakin’ pen, I want to try as many as possible! This isn’t a cheapo RM2 ballpoint Kilometrico pen, ok? :)

Lamy Vista

Kuching may have tons of selection when it comes to food, but I’ll say it compares miserably when it comes to pen selections. I have seen, during my hunt downtown that the Lamy Safari may be aplenty and one time I even saw Techno Graphic at Satok having a sale on these lovely pens, but they do not carry the Extra Fine nib, which is what I’m looking for. My handwriting is small and neat, and I dislike using broad pens so I specifically hunted for the extra fine one but knew it was futile.

So I got mine from Ebay at RM100+. This is a lot more to pay than the regular Lamy Safaris (and a little bit less than the finer styled Lamy Al-Star) but it’s worth it. I did see a few Lamy Vista here and there too locally but my money’s on the fact that the nib’s too broad. The smallest one you can get is probably Fine.

Lamy Safari/Vista/Al-Star nibs tends to run a little wider, so while it may say Fine, it writes more like a broad on other pens. As it is, when my Vista arrived today and I did a little test run, I found the nib just nice, though a little too broad. Just a little.

Disappointingly, my Lamy Vista did not come with a converter but instead came with a blue cartridge. Looks like I have to go to Hock Lee and buy one off that stationary shop again (I forgot its name… Eric something). For the uninitiated, most fountain pens come with either cartridge or converter, the latter allowing you to refill straight from an ink bottle. It’s cheaper that way in the long run, plus you can experiment with different funky fountain pen ink colors.

On first impression, the Lamy is really lightweight, casual looking and really fun to use (it’s transparent!). The nib is hard, but I never have any experience with softer nibs before so not much to comment on there. It comes with a handy-but-ugly clip on top, uncaps and caps back with ease and reassuring click. It’s slightly scratchy on paper - but really smooth. Ink flows up without pause or breaks and didn’t get much to get it started… a little shake the first time was all it takes.

Some people find the grip of the pen annoying, with straight columns instead of a perfectly round barrel, and I agree. I don’t grip my pen the conventional way and it can get a little tricky at times, what with the nib of the pen trying to find purchase on the paper and couple that with a slippery hand - it makes the pen slide back and forth in your hand.

Waterman Phileas

I have no idea why I purchased the Waterman Phileas as my first fountain pen, but I did. Especially when I know I don’t like broad nibs and the Hock Lee stationary shop only has it in Medium. Meh. Stupid Kuching again.

Anyway, I think I bought it solely because when I tested it, it’s sooooo bloody smooth, like buttah!! Gliding across the paper with nary a skip or scratch. Even the scratch is absent!

As you can see, it’s rather uncle/aunty looking, what with a black body and gold accents. Luckily, it looks a lot more understated than many other, pricier fountain pens out there.

Like I mentioned before, it’s really smooth when you write with it. Probably it’s due to the Medium nib, I don’t know. See the photo below for the line thickness comparison between Lamy Vista and Waterman Phileas.

I’d recently bought a Moleskine but I haven’t tried it out with these two pens yet. I’m waiting for a good opportunity while out to draw something in there first before sullying the rest of the pages with these pens. *LOL* I know lots of folks are concerned about whether it leaks through Moleskine paper, so I aim to find out.

Edit: I did try the Lamy Vista on my Moleskine plain notebook and though it didn’t bleed to the next page, I can’t use the reverse side of the paper. So it’s kinda like, right hand side only. I don’t know what to make of this. Even Staedtler Pigment Liners I used to draw on these pages showed up on the other side. Moleskine is just that… thin, I guess. Lovely, smooth creamy paper… but thin.

Overall, these two are great pens. The Lamy especially, is not really mind-boggling expensive, and it’s VERY forgiving so you won’t feel so much pain if you lose it. I know I will though. I always feel lousy when I lose something, cheap or not.

If you’re trying to decide between the two as a purchase for yourself or a gift for a friend (lucky friend!), consider these: Do you write small? Do you like narrow nibs? Do you grip your pen properly? If yes to all the above, get the Lamy. If you like/don’t mind broad nibs and love the smooth feeling when writing - get the Waterman. Or you can look for other good starter fountain pens out there and try them.

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