The writer to this columnist has a budding pen collector on is hands!  Jerry’s answer, by the way, was to suggest the Pilot Varsity disposables, which I agree write nicely, have a nice variety of colors, and bypass the risk of a ten year old with bottled ink. He also mentions Fahrney’s, as the writer is outside of Washington, D.C., but I’d suggest he might have also suggested bringing the daughter to the DC Fountain Pen Supershow!

Consider a less-expensive fountain pen

Dear Jerry:

My ten-year-old daughter, Mia, just discovered something called the “fountain pen.” Admittedly, my wife and I thought those were a total thing of the past. Except at museums, I had not seen one for many years at the time Mia recently mentioned this newly found interest.

In any case, Mia has her heart set on owning a fountain pen. Factoring in how expensive they are at the department stores I checked (not to mention Mia’s tendency to misplace things), I am reluctant about purchasing such an item. The leap from a 99-cent ballpoint pen to hundreds of dollars for a lovely fountain pen leaves me in an indecisive mindset. Adding the expense for a bottle of ink and the mess it can create when spilled, I just don’t know what to do.

http://www.fosters.com/article/20160320/ENTERTAINMENTLIFE/160329984