TANSTAAFL

Looking for a jewel of a fountain pen at a bargain basement price? Then get ready for a long hunt.

- RICHARD BINDER

The title of this disquisition is an acronym meaning "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch." Widely attributed to science-fiction author Robert A. Heinlein, this basic economic truth first appeared in print some 24 years before Heinlein cars to fountain pens.

One of my favorite pastimes is reading and occasionally contributing to a certain popular Facebook group that's named after an equally popular internet forum. And something I see there all too frequently is postings saying something like this: "I want a nice user-grade Waterman 52 with a super-flexible nib so I can do Copperplate. My budget is $50 to $60."

As a not-entirely-unknown internet-based pen person, I've also received over the years more than a few emails humbly entreating me to provide the writer with a pen of that sort at the same price level.

I'm not a mind reader. I can't tell what a particular individual might mean by "nice user grade." It could be something like this:

Or something like this:

Or anywhere in between.