For some beginners, even $60 is too much to spend on a pen. In this section, I'll offer mini-reviews in the land of the ultra-cheap pens. I'll stick to those priced $10 and under that are often available at places like Wal Mart. For these reviews, I will evaluate on the basis of four criteria: Price, Writing, and Ergonomics. Other than price, for each of the other categories, pens receive a rating of Excellent, Good, Fair, or Poor. The basis for the writing (W) ratings is the same as given in the What Pen to Buy section.

Ergonomics (E): Ergonics is an overall assessment of the feel and functionality of the pen. Some pens are better balanced or feel more comfortable in hand than do others. Some pens have design flaws that reduce the quality of the writing experience.

Excellent: A pen in this category should be well-balanced in the hand, comfortable to grip, and non-fatiguing to write with for extended periods. The accents and trim should be reasonably nice looking and should not degrade rapidly with time. A pen in this category will fool someone into thinking it's more expensive than it is.

Good: A pen in this category will be missing at most one of the elements above. Either it will look expensive, but have wiring feel problems or it will look cheap but feel good, or it will look and feel good but become shopworn fairly quickly.

Fair: A pen in this category will far short in more than one element compared to an excellent pen.

Poor: A pen in this category will have a significant design flaw and fall short of the excellent mark in multiple elements.

With that in mind, on to the reviews.

Sheaffer Cartridge Pen. P: $3; W: Good; E: Fair

This pen is a dying breed as it is being phased out by Sheaffer in favor of the Reaktor.  It is a thin pen, 8mm in diameter and its body is translucent plastic. It always feels fragile to me, but I've never broken one nor heard of this happening. What makes this pen worth considering is its medium nib (stay away from fine nib versions as they are awful). The nib is surprisingly smooth and carefree. However, there is still a hint of scratchiness that is often the case with low-end pens. The pen writes skip free with a nice wet line. The pen performs well on paper ranging from ultra-cheap to expensive.

Sheaffer No Nonsense Viewpoint. P: $10; W: Excellent; E: Good

Mostly, these pens are found in calligraphy sets, which run around $10, and come with three italic nibs. (Read more about what is an italic nib?) The model that I have, from Levenger, features a medium nib. The Viewpoint is a full 1 cm in diameter and this added girth makes for a more pleasant writing experience. It's made from reasonably heavy plastic, so it is a bit heavier than the other pens on this page. The version that I have writes very smoothly and nicely. No skips or start-up problems . Of the pens reviewed in this section, this one is easily the smoothest writer.

The calligraphy versions, on the other hand, are not as smooth. This is the price you typically pay for the line variation generated with an italic nib. In particular, on upstrokes using the thin edge of the nib, the feel is distinctly harsh.

As a fun aside, this is the pen used by Katherine Harris in signing the Florida vote certifications in the Bush-Gore election.

Parker Vector. P: $5 W: Fair; E: Fair

The Parker Vector is a light, thin pen that comes in a variety of finishes including a relatively attractive all-chrome "flighter" style. My model is a Wal Mart maroon one with chrome accents. Compared to the Sheaffer Cartridge pen, the chrome at the base of the pen and the solidity of the plastic body seem to suggest a higher quality writing instrument. But make no mistake, the non-descript stylings of this pen will cause no one to mistake it for heirloom quality. The nib lays down a wet line and is not especially smooth. This is exacerbated on lower quality paper where the writing quality is quite scratchy. Moreover, the lightness of the pen means that there is no absorption of the vibrations between the nib and paper. Overall, this makes for an unpleasant writing experience.

Parker Reflex. P: $6; W: Fair; E: Good

The Parker Reflex is more upscale than the Vector. The version I have is in a metallic purple color and comes with a rubberized gripping section. The pen itself is still made of lightweight plastic like the Vector, but is slightly thicker, imparting a more substantial feel to the writing experience. It's also a bit more stylish than the other pens in this section, with the exception of the No Nonsense. The business end of the pen is a nib which seems a lot like that in the Reflex. Again, the writing is very wet, but scratchy and not especially pleasant. Like the Vector, this effect is more pronounced on cheaper paper. In fact, the pen glides with aplomb on Clairefontaine paper, but is a disaster of scratchiness and feathering on cheapy Highmark legal pads.

Jim Stauffer offers the following:

I'd simply point out that the Parker Reflex FP is selling widely for as little as $5.99 here in PA and in MD, at drugstores (where the writing instruments are supplied by "rack merchants", at traditionally higher prices).  Thus, the Parker Reflex seems like a pretty "cost-effective" cheap thrill!
    Also, I had the problem of "hard starting", but washed the entire nib + section unit in soapy water and then plugged-in the cartridge before drying anything, and now it writes great.
    I also like the "neon indicating bands" in the cartridges, which really help show exactly how much ink remains (you kind of have to see these "striations" or "longitudinal bands" to see how nice it makes viewing the ink supply).  Way ahead of the "plain Jane" Sheaffer cartridges.
    In short, the Parker Reflex was such a cheap thrill even my "non-addicted" children and wife will be getting one for Easter!

Pilot Varsity. P: $2; W: Poor; E: Poor

Unlike the Sheaffer and Parker pens reviewed in this section, where a drop of hard metal is added to the tip of the nib to form the writing surface, with the Varsity, the steel nib is folded back upon itself to form a surface. This trick, which hearkens back to low-end Esterbrook nibs of the 30s and before, will produce a usable writing surface, but not a very good one. As a result, writing with the Varsity tends to be a very scratchy affair. Since the rest of the pen is made almost entirely of plastic, there is almost no heft to the pen at all, so the writer's hand feels every "pothole" in the writing "road." The overall effect is to make you wonder why you ever abandoned the ballpoint in the first place.

If, for some reason, you find a Varsity you like, you may be dismayed to find that it is disposable. There is, however, a trick to get multiple uses from one. If you pry off the cap from the bottom of the barrel end of the pen, you can add more ink to the body of the pen and thereby reuse it. Just make sure that you replace the cap securely or you'll have a huge mess on your hands.

A & W Marquis. P: $6

To be reviewed.

Bottom Line: The Sheaffer No Nonsense is the cream of the crop here, but only if you can find it in a non-italic flavor.

Less Accessible Cheap Thrills:

There are a number of other pens that fall in this category that can be had over the Internet, but not in the local Wal Mart. The include: Pelikan Pelicano, Lamy ABC, Waterman Kultur, Sheaffer School Pen, and various Hero pens. I'd welcome reviews anyone would wish to contribute on these pens.

Paper.

At the low end of the pricing scale of pens, the quality of the paper can make a big difference in the quality of the writing experience. In my experience, the absolute best paper is Clairefontaine. It is an amazingly smooth writing surface and make even scratchy pens write effortlessly. Moreover, the fiber of the paper is such that even very wet writing pens show minimal feathering on it. It's typically not available at places like Wal Mart or Staples, but can be had at good stationery stores as well as on the web from Pendemonium.

  Submit your own review -- email it to jmorgan@gmail.com