Emergency $20: Ohto F-Spirit Fountain Pen.

I was once told by a very wise man that there are a few items that I (as a man) will need to have.

#1. An AMEX card

#2 A Tuxedo (owned not rented)

Solid advice. There might have been a third item,  but I took care of 1 and 2 so the 3rd was probably a Mercedes or something that I blocked out.  However,  I added to the list: I almost always carry an emergency $20 bill on me or in my car. It rarely gets used,  it is more of a safety blanket.  I will drive around looking for an ATM rather than break into the emergency Mr. Andrew Jackson. I found myself last week stumbling out of my hotel in San Francisco for a cup of coffee and BOOM,  I was standing right next to Maido.  Which is one of my favorite brick and mortar pen stores.  (Ok,  so I might have booked my hotel close to them on purpose, but anyhoo.)

I had some non-emergency money on me and  picked up some of the usual suspects,  then I took a look over at the disposable fountain pens that were above the really expensive fountain pen case and this hit me like a Venti Red Eye (black please)

Somehow, and I would need to check the security camera to be sure,  the 4 year old emergency $20 was on the counter and this pen was in my hand  and I muttered something about a national crisis. 

You see,  I sort of have a soft spot in my heart for sub $20 fountain pens.  I have been burned on this before. It's true,  an overly wet fake Hero can put a bad taste in your mouth.  But in this case... I regret nothing!

 Black and Silver with a fine point. (they make a gold version also)  It is just a classic in my opinion.

 I mean really...It should have a bad clip,  a steel tip or something.  But it doesn't.  It has a sweet little ball clip and that right there is iridium my friends.

The cap pops on with a satisfying pop and to be honest...if you handed me this pen  and asked how much I would pay for it... I would have said over $20...easy.

I don't always spend less than $20  on a fountain pen,  but when I do, I get giddy like a little girl with a new pony.

Oh, hey,  standard International short refills makes this easy.  It holds an extra cartridge in the back of the pen, but I noticed that it tends to rattle and that bugs me, so I don't keep it in there.

There is a  little bleeding on the Moleskine here so ignore that...If you don't find yourself slightly hungover and stumbling through the streets of San Fran...my good friends over at Jetpens sell this.  What's awesome?  You will still have a little change left over after you bust through your emergency $20.  It's only $16.50 here.

Who is this pen good for? (other than me?)  Anyone.  From the newest of fp newbs up through the crazy fountain pen junkies,  they can all find a place for this in their collection.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Seth