Fountain Pens - Page 11

Djzapz

Canada10681 Posts

May 01 2013 15:30 GMT

#201

Hopefully I won't have that problem with the Sonnet. Reviews are mixed it seems, with people thinking it's great and others having problems. Maybe some of them are defective or it's just a preferences thing.

Sadly I'm getting it today and I have no proper ink for it so I can't test it out =(

Edit: ... Let someone take the pen he almost broke in seconds... he pulled on the cap to take it off as he should, and when it came off, he instinctively brought his hands back together forcefully... He could easily have bent the nib. Ugh. Trust no one.

Jophess

United States95 Posts

May 03 2013 02:54 GMT

#202

I've always been somewhat interested in fountain pens, but never got around to buying one until a few months ago. I got a Lamy Safari EF with a converter and Noodler's Blue-Black ink. It's really nice, but eventually I got annoyed with the triangular grip and ended up getting a TWSBI 580 F when it came out at the beginning of April. The 580 is very nice and feels perfect in my hand.

Now I want more inks... If anybody is looking to try fountain pens and likes to buy things, be careful, lol.

Marimokkori

United States306 Posts

May 03 2013 03:43 GMT

#203

On May 02 2013 00:30 Djzapz wrote:
Hopefully I won't have that problem with the Sonnet. Reviews are mixed it seems, with people thinking it's great and others having problems. Maybe some of them are defective or it's just a preferences thing.

Sadly I'm getting it today and I have no proper ink for it so I can't test it out =(

Edit: ... Let someone take the pen he almost broke in seconds... he pulled on the cap to take it off as he should, and when it came off, he instinctively brought his hands back together forcefully... He could easily have bent the nib. Ugh. Trust no one.

Yeah, the general rule of thumb is - never - let someone borrow/use your fountain pen unless you know they're a fountain pen user. If you have a screw on cap, the average Joe will just yank on it trying to pull it off.

On May 01 2013 14:39 triangle wrote:

Show nested quote +

On May 01 2013 14:03 Bermuda wrote:

On April 29 2013 07:42 Adel wrote:

On April 28 2013 23:21 Bermuda wrote:
Not all fountain pens are luxury items. Most of the time, I use a standard bic like 99% of the people. But from time to time, I still use my parker. Simple, effective, relatively cheap. Nothing really fancy, but beats a bic anyday.

Got my first at 12. And buy one back when I was older. The feeling is really nice and it gets the job done flawlessly. I don't really see the need for one of those crazy montblanc or whatever.

The Parker Vector is fine as long as it's new. When you use it for a few months, it rapidly breaks apart even if you're being careful with it. The cap keeps having cracks or becomes loose and doesn't close the pen anymore, and the nib breaks easily too.
I bought like 4-5 Vectors in ... two and a half years? Three years ? That's 5x15€ = 75€ in three years for a standard plastic pen. I'm way happier with my Waterman Hemisphere Essential. It looks amazing in my opinion, writes much better than the Parker Vector, and is way, waaaay sturdier. Since I'm a College student, I spend a ton of time writing and I use my pen a lot, and yet, even now that I've owned it for a little over a year, it's still as good as new, there's been literally no wear.

As for the higher end fountain pens, you don't NEED one, just like nobody NEEDS a Ferrari. You just buy one if you can afford it because you like it and think it's worth the money you put in it

NB : fountain pens like mine can indiscriminately use ink cartridges or ink bottles

Yes, you are definitly right. I remember as a child / young teenager having all the problems you described with my parker. But, when it isn't new anymore the parker tends "to scratch" the paper a little, not breaking it or anything, just some sort of light scratching. And for some reasons I like the sensation.

I had other pens, including Waterman, and they never had that "slightly scratchy" feeling. They were too smooth for my taste. Now that I think about it after what you wrote, it's just probably the nib getting old and used. But I don't know, for whatever reason I like that feeling. ^^

Ugh I HATE that feeling. I need them to be as smooth as possible. :p

If your pen is scratchy, it will actually collect a decent amount of fibers from the paper that you don't really want in the nib - it can disrupt ink flow, etc. There are nibs that are smooth but provide feedback, which is typically described as being able to feel the paper through the pen as you write. You can also get a paper that isn't totally smooth to achieve the similar kind of feel. One such textured paper is J. Lalo Vergé de France.

Djzapz

Canada10681 Posts

May 03 2013 03:58 GMT

#204

On May 03 2013 12:43 Marimokkori wrote:

Show nested quote +

Tough, I don't think I know anybody who uses fountain pen. But yeah, lesson learned.

red_b

United States1267 Posts

May 03 2013 06:54 GMT

#205

I will let senior citizens use my pens; most of them have seen a Parker 51 before.

I have a lot of them. I still need a plum though.

bluegarfield

Singapore1128 Posts

May 03 2013 19:48 GMT

#206

i used to use fountain pen and would choose it over anything else always. The feeling when writing with a fountain pen is just simply amazing. well, i was using those all the way up to my high school days when i started spinning pens. it got out of control and i would splash ink everywhere i go. so now no fountain pens until i can control those itchy hands

this is definitely the downside of using fountain pen, especially because i tend to spin my pen a lot when thinking >"<

babylon

8765 Posts

May 04 2013 17:29 GMT

#207

So my Pilot Metropolitan got here!

It feels like a regular liquid ink pen but perhaps I am using really terribad paper.

Marimokkori

United States306 Posts

May 04 2013 17:35 GMT

#208

On May 05 2013 02:29 babylon wrote:
So my Pilot Metropolitan got here!

It feels like a regular liquid ink pen but perhaps I am using really terribad paper.

Keep in mind you should be able to use it with next to zero pressure without is skipping, which I can't do with any of my liquid ink rollerballs. What kind of paper/ink are you using? What size is the nib?

babylon

8765 Posts

May 04 2013 19:13 GMT

#209

It's a medium sized nib, which seems a little bit too broad for my tastes (but I have small handwriting). I'm just using regular ol' shitty notebook paper atm. Like the college-ruled stuff you buy at the store. The ink I'm using is just the one that comes in the box with the pen! :D

The pens I usually use: Pilot Precise V5 Extra-Fine, both the retractable and nonretractable. (The retractable feels smoother, though it takes more pressure to get good lines, while the nonretractable is more scratchy but takes less pressure to get good lines.)

I'll let the Pilot Metro. break in a bit more though before I cast judgment on it. I do like it. How long (i.e. how many pages) does an ink cartridge usually last?

EDIT: Noticing that the fountain pen does not bleed through (ghost through?) the other side of the paper as much as my liquid ink pens.

red_b

United States1267 Posts

May 04 2013 20:30 GMT

#210

the lines get smaller on less absorbent paper, e.g. Clairefontaine.

btw here is a picture of most of my current pens. I have a few more cheap ones (twsbi 540, noodler's etc). The 61 is the earlier capillary type, the P51 nibs are F, M, M stub and B stub.

[image loading]

Marimokkori

United States306 Posts

May 05 2013 06:34 GMT

#211

On May 05 2013 04:13 babylon wrote:
It's a medium sized nib, which seems a little bit too broad for my tastes (but I have small handwriting). I'm just using regular ol' shitty notebook paper atm. Like the college-ruled stuff you buy at the store. The ink I'm using is just the one that comes in the box with the pen! :D

The pens I usually use: Pilot Precise V5 Extra-Fine, both the retractable and nonretractable. (The retractable feels smoother, though it takes more pressure to get good lines, while the nonretractable is more scratchy but takes less pressure to get good lines.)

I'll let the Pilot Metro. break in a bit more though before I cast judgment on it. I do like it. How long (i.e. how many pages) does an ink cartridge usually last?

EDIT: Noticing that the fountain pen does not bleed through (ghost through?) the other side of the paper as much as my liquid ink pens.

I'd say play with a bit as you write with it too. Try holding the nib at slightly different angles, as using the correct angle makes a huge difference . As for how long the cartridge will last I can't say. I'm not sure how much ink the Pilot cartridges hold (if I had to guess, probably just under 1ml), and it will also depend on your writing style. If you write slowly, more ink will be pulled out of the nib to form each letter than if you write quickly. If the paper is really absorbent, it can pull out more ink also.

Bleed through is when ink is absorbed all the way through the paper and appears on the other side. Ghosting is just when you can see the ink on the other side that hasn't bleed all the way through. If you watch one of the Inkcyclopedia entries, he'll point out bleed through and ghosting. Though, I think he calls ghosting shade through.

On May 05 2013 05:30 red_b wrote:
the lines get smaller on less absorbent paper, e.g. Clairefontaine.

btw here is a picture of most of my current pens. I have a few more cheap ones (twsbi 540, noodler's etc). The 61 is the earlier capillary type, the P51 nibs are F, M, M stub and B stub.
+ Show Spoiler +

I don't have any vintage pens. I'm not really that interested in getting one, though that may change in the future. Are yours in good condition?

The most appealing vintage I've seen is probably a Snorkel. I wouldn't mind having one just for the filling mechanism.

Scaramanga

Australia8090 Posts

May 05 2013 11:53 GMT

#212

I tried a fountain pen a while ago that my dad had, I liked it but it felt really scratchy while trying to use it. Are they all similar smoothness?

Firebolt145

Lalalaland34484 Posts

May 05 2013 11:53 GMT

#213

On May 05 2013 20:53 Scaramanga wrote:
I tried a fountain pen a while ago that my dad had, I liked it but it felt really scratchy while trying to use it. Are they all similar smoothness?

No. Different pens, different inks and even different paper can affect how scratchy/smooth a pen is. Perhaps you were just unlucky.

anatase

France532 Posts

May 05 2013 16:05 GMT

#214

The perception of fountain pen is funny if you compare both side of the atlantic.

In france, my home country, it is really common from the very first time you write at school till your last days of PhD and you will probably keep using a foutain pen if you never stopped.

While in Canada, where I am right now, my foutain pen is seen as something childish. Even though I consider my pen to be 1000x nobler that your ball pen or w/e

so I am happy to hang around with my pen.
Moreover, I used to have a Lamy (good german foutain pen).
But as I was volunteering for a Sociology summit, a attending professor lost his fountain. I went looking for it, found it and got it back to the sir, praising it for his pen since it was really beautiful. And the sir took it, smiled at me and told "it is not mine, it is yours." Obviously, it was his.
I don't know the professor's name but damn I was pleased, even more when I noticed the "plume" was 18 gold ct
Caran d'Ache

i'll post a pick when I have time.
Otherwise, I would recommend everyone to write with a really foutain pen.

About smoothness, Firebolt is right, but for all the Lamy's pen I tried, most of them are really smooth, much more than Parker's (at least it's easier to find)

Djzapz

Canada10681 Posts

May 05 2013 20:18 GMT

#215

I've been writing with my Parker Sonnet for a few days now and people were right, it takes a bit of time for it to get the ink flowing. At first it would skip a little, but now it writes great and I couldn't ask for more. I think it's really, really soft as well, although I can't say I've got much experience with them. It's definitely softer than my Nemosine Singularity (which is in another price range entirely but still). I should try out a Lamy someday.

wptlzkwjd

Canada1240 Posts

May 05 2013 21:42 GMT

#216

This is a pretty crazy question but does anyone have a Waterman Edson? Would love to see some pictures of it writing

Sanctimonius

United Kingdom861 Posts

May 06 2013 04:56 GMT

#217

Idle thought for the day - Just how much money would I have to have in order to seriously consider spending a grand on a pen.....

Still, t'would be nice to use one, simply to see what such conspicuous consumption might write like. I feel like it would glide like a greasy angel on ice.

Marimokkori

United States306 Posts

May 06 2013 05:44 GMT

#218

If you are having problems with a scratchy nib, might be worth checking out this video
+ Show Spoiler +

On May 06 2013 05:18 Djzapz wrote:
I've been writing with my Parker Sonnet for a few days now and people were right, it takes a bit of time for it to get the ink flowing. At first it would skip a little, but now it writes great and I couldn't ask for more. I think it's really, really soft as well, although I can't say I've got much experience with them. It's definitely softer than my Nemosine Singularity (which is in another price range entirely but still). I should try out a Lamy someday.

It helps with new pens to flush them thoroughly with water first, then allow them time to dry. During the manufacturing process residue and chemicals can get left on various parts of the pen that have the potential to disrupt ink flow. Not always necessary, but something to consider if a new pen has some slight flow issues.

If you got a gold nib on it, that's why it's softer. Gold is just a softer metal than steel (singularity nib material).

On May 06 2013 13:56 Sanctimonius wrote:
Idle thought for the day - Just how much money would I have to have in order to seriously consider spending a grand on a pen.....

Still, t'would be nice to use one, simply to see what such conspicuous consumption might write like. I feel like it would glide like a greasy angel on ice.

An interesting thought... I came up with a figure based on percentages. Amount I spent/available funds at the time. I'd need at least $200,000 in the bank before considering a $1,000 pen

Such conspicuous consumptions start to gain more value through art than performance. Limited edition pens also help push the price higher.

+ Show Spoiler +

$36,000

$1,400,000+ I think this one contains over 200 diamonds.

Djzapz

Canada10681 Posts

May 06 2013 20:02 GMT

#219

Pen worth 1.4million... you can't put ink in that x_x.

Sanctimonius

United Kingdom861 Posts

May 07 2013 00:16 GMT

#220

Ah, taste, the one thing money can't buy. Why is it often the more expensive something is the crappier it looks?

Course some of these pens are kind awesome. I like the lacquer-work ones personally, but that diamond studded one? Dang.

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