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Transcribed below.
While looking for cheap Chinese notebooks the other day, we came across what the package called a “calligraphy pen,” which was clearly an ordinary cartridge fountain pen. But it was a fountain pen that could be had for $1.25 plus tax at a local store. It came with two ink cartridges, enough to do a fair amount of writing.
But would it be any good?
Well, for less than a buck and a half, we could certainly afford to find out.
The answer so far is yes. Here it is writing in a cheap Chinese notebook (we seek out Chinese notebooks because Chinese paper almost always gets along well with liquid ink). The point is unexpectedly fine for a cheap pen: one expects cheaper pens to write a fatter line than this. Yet the ink flows well, and the point slides smoothly across the page. This dollar-store pen is a pleasure to write with.
So it is at least occasionally possible for American writers to walk into a store with a bit of pocket change and walk out with a good writing instrument.
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