Pelikan Go!

The first fountain pen I fell in love with was the Pelikan Go! I began using one maybe 13 years ago or so during graduate school when I discovered that writing with a fountain pen was a lot easier on the fingers than using a ball point pen. Less pressure is needed and that's a good thing when one is doing a lot of writing.

The Pelikan Go! can still be found on eBay only now they sell for double what I paid. I believe that one can get picked up for somewhere in the mid in the mid $20s now. That still qualifies as a cheap pen, in my book.

The pen has a medium nib and refills from a bottle of ink by twisting the end of the pen (piston fill). It is a real pleasure to have a pen that doesn't need cartridges or converters. I wish more pens on the lower end would include that. Just put the nib in the bottle and twist. It is much easier than refilling a cartridge with a syringe or dealing with a converter.

My Pelikan Go lays down a medium line. I prefer a thicker line but I believe that fine nibs are available, too. Just remember that it is the German idea of "fine" rather than the Japanese. The nib glides smoothly on most paper, except for a few exceptions. I had a red ink once that did not do well in the pen. Still this was the pen that converted me to love fountain pens. It is a good dependable German made pen.