Correlating Cost and Quality

A Fountain Pen Adventure

Believe it or not “what pen are you carrying?” is a question I get asked all the time.

I think it’s because people know I change my everyday carry each week or so and know there will be a story. Alternatively it could be that I am otherwise boring and a conversation about a fountain pen is mildly more interesting than talking about the weather.

For the few weeks I’ve been rocking this Dollar 717i. It’s designed for schoolchildren in Pakistan -a nation with little renown for pen manufacturing- and as the brand name suggests it’s inexpensive. In the West these pens retail for around 70¢.

I love this pen. It’s a reliable little writer with a stiff steel nib, Iridium tipped. Comprised of inexpensive components it’s completely dissassemblable which equates to completely user-serviceable. That for me, qualifies it as a great everyday carry.

Why I love it of course is because kids in a poor country can afford it. Fountain pens were mandatory in Pakistani education institutions until fairly recently and still are in many. I love that a pen this good exists, to service that market, at a price point accessible enough that every kid gets to enjoy owning one.

And it’s a reminder for me that there is little correlation between cost and quality when it comes to fountain pens. And that when I reach into my collection to select one for the week ahead, the criteria is almost invariably subjective: this pen has a nice story, and I derive satisfaction from being reminded of it.

And for that matter, boring my friends with it.

-SRA. Auckland, 20/xi 2025.