One of my favorite categories of stationery to review are entry level fountain pens. Not only do I love helping people discover their first fountain pen, I love using these inexpensive workhorses myself.
Why? Amount of money spent does not directly correlate to superior writing performance. If you have been in this hobby for any amount of time you know this, but for those just starting I think it is important to repeat. Heck, this is basic life advice that we all sometimes forget. It’s easy to assign the “more expensive=better” formula to anything, and that’s simply not the case.
In the case of the Diplomat Magnum fountain pen, the story starts with the price. At $23, the brand has positioned it as their entry level writer. That’s a good price for a good pen. The challenge for Diplomat is if it is a better choice than the huge amount of competition it the same price range.
In breaking down the Magnum, the first thing I noticed is the ultralight weight of the barrel. It is a standard length pen, checking in at 13.5 cm inches capped (12.5 uncapped,) but has a thinner than normal barrel diameter and grip section. The total weight of the Magnum is 19 grams, which places it well above the Kaweco Sport (9 grams) and Platinum Preppy (11 grams,) but if I didn’t look these numbers up I would have guessed it was much closer to the other two. That’s an effect of the narrower barrel I believe. Lightness aside, it feels good in the hand.
As with many entry level pens, your nib choices are limited. In this case, Fine or Medium, of which I went with the former. (Note: My mistake-they come in Extra Fine and Broad too!) It was smooth and had great flow out of the box, but it does skip on some of my faster vertical downstrokes. It’s not bad or repeatable, but it showed up enough to make me bring out the loupe to see if there was an issue. I didn’t seen any obvious baby’s bottom or misalignment, but I did smooth it a bit on 12000 grit sandpaper and that seemed to help.
Another nib comment: I find it soft for a #5 sized fine steel nib. As best as I could find online, these are Jowo nibs, and they have more give than I expected. That’s not real knock on the nib, other than making the fine line broader than you would expect. It is a good writer overall.
L to R: Lamy Safari, Platinum Preppy, Diplomat Magnum, Kaweco Sport.
The Diplomat Magnum is generally loved by everyone who has picked one up. I can’t disagree with that sentiment, but I can’t say it would be in my top five entry level fountain pens - maybe even the top ten. Off the top of my head (in no particular order) I’d go with:
Platinum Preppy
Pilot Metropolitan
Pilot Kakuno
Kaweco Perkeo
Kaweco Sport
TWSBI Swipe
TWSBI GO
Lamy Safari
All of these pens are under $30, with only the Sport ($24) and Safari ($29) more expensive than the Magnum. If I open up the over $30 price point, that brings in both the TWSBI ECO and Pilot Prera, which I believe are better as well. That’s ten pens right there that are easy choices, and I’m sure I’ve forgotten some.
None of this is a knock on the Magnum, but rather a state of the union in this price range. There are a ton of great pens! And I would certainly recommend the Magnum if you like the style and weight of the pen, especially over more particular pens like the Safari (a more extreme molded grip than the Magnum, which has three flat sides) and Sport (short length, half the weight.) Diplomat has leaned into the fun with the Magnum, too, as seen by the translucent orange barrel I chose to review, along with a range of other bright and subtle colors.
The Diplomat Magnum is a box-checker. Meaning, if it checks all of your boxes for what you like in a pen, then you will be happy with your purchase. If it doesn’t, then it is an easy pivot into other options in the same range.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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