Little did I know that pens could be used for something much, much cooler than writing. Youtube was kind enough to introduce me to the world of pen spinning.
Diving headfirst into pens widely used for these feats, I got into modding. I made quite a large number of pens that have been broken or lost over the years, and only three remain, unfortunately. I remember an RSVP mod I made early on that I filled with water and some lava-lamp looking material which was probably the best looking pen I've ever made. I didn't venture into modding as far as some others once I came by a solid few that really satisfied my spinning needs.
I give you Firefly's LED G3 mod:
3 years went by while I sat in my classes flipping pens around, and after I graduated I no longer kept up the practice. After high school I basically did whatever I felt like except start college. Travel. Cross country USA road trip with friends. Two solo trips to Japan. A trip to England and Sweden (Dreamhack, baby!)
Today, I'm more or less an adult. College student. And I still have a very deep interest in pens. It has gone from nifty mods for pen spinning:
To more aesthetically pleasing (and actually intended for writing) fountain pens.
What is a fountain pen?
A fountain pen looks like this:
They do not have a ball at the tip which give ballpoints and rollerballs their name. They have no parts that move to bring ink to the paper. It's all done through capillary action.
These, just like ballpoints, come in a variety of sizes. Extra fine, fine, medium, broad (bold). Unlike ballpoints, they also come in a number of styles. Stub, Italic, Flex, Calligraphy, Oblique. (More on this later)
The feed and nib fit together, and are placed into the section. + Show Spoiler +
The section is essentially the pen grip.
This all gets attached to the pen body, which can house the ink in a number of ways depending on the pen.
Why fountain pens?
Well, if you want to be cheap - you can be. Fountain pens may seem expensive at first, but over time you will actually save money because bottled ink is insanely cheaper to use than buying refills or brand new ballpoint/gel pens. If you are a student and write a lot, a cheap fountain pen ($3) and a bottle of ink ($5-20) will start saving you money by the time a term is over.
They are impressive. If you walk into a meeting with a $840 (USD) Montblanc pen, everyone in the room notices. Montblanc Meisterstuck 149
Style. No pen is more stylish than a fountain pen - especially those demonstrators (clear body so you can see the inner workings). Yum + Show Spoiler [large image] +
Monteverde Artista Crystal - Inked. You can see the red ink in the converter, and the feed is clear also, so you can see red ink near the tip as well!
While my personal collection doesn't contain any pens quite at this price point, it is starting to get there. I personally think the pen pictured above, the artista crystal, is simply gorgeous, and it's a pen I really want to have. However, like most newcomers to fountain pens, I started at the cheap end.
Perhaps the most praised cheap pen is the Platinum Preppy ($3-4) This pen is ultra cheap - almost as cheap as a Pilot G2 gel rollerball. With bottled ink this pen will end up costing less than a single pack of 12 G2 gel pens. And you'll be a boss. (The Preppy can also be used as a highlighter, dry-erase marker, and rollerball with different tips)
However, the hunger didn't stop there. After trying the cheapest, lowest end pen - and actually enjoying it (no one can say the same for ballpoint pens - bic sticks are trash), I needed more.
The Ohto F-Lapa was my next purchase.
Ohto F-Lapa ($10 IIRC)
It looks classy and is still a relatively cheap pen. The notably increased smoothness of writing was worth the $10 buy. Not to mention it looks like a real pen and not some cheap plastic that is the Platinum Preppy.
But so much more exists in the fountain pen world. Enter nib styles.
Here is an example of what can be done with a flex nib:
. As you apply more pressure to flex nibs the tines (two segments at the tip of the nib) separate and allow you to generate a much thicker, wetter line. This also creates the color difference in the above example, even though it's all written with the same ink. Which brings me to the next benefit of using a fountain pen...
Ink. Not only is it cheaper, but you can get more than blue or black (or the occasional red/green.) If you can imagine a color, there probably exists a similar ink that you can use in your fountain pen.
Noodler's Ink is an American company with a relatively large selection of fountain pen inks. Here are some of the samples
There are hundreds more colors available produced by a number of companies. Platinum actually has a line of inks called mix-free because you can freely mix the colors together to make your own!
Like the pens themselves, ink can vary quite a bit in value based on quality. You can get a 30ml bottle of ink for about $6, up to and exceeding the very good inks from + Show Spoiler [Pilot's iroshizuku line ($28/50ml)] +
Today I purchased a Nemosine Singularity demonstrator ($15)
Not quite as nice as the previously shown Monteverde Artista Crystal, but I'm also not quite ready to spend $38 on one pen yet.
I encourage those of you who have not, to at least try a fountain pen for a while. I've used some more expensive pens in stores and they are simply wonderful. Being a college student, I'm just too poor to get the really nice pens. But a cheap pen and decent bottle of ink will save any poor student some money in the long run. They look amazing, they are very stylish, and write more smoothly than any tool you've ever used.
Those of you who do use fountain pens - what are your favorite pens and inks?
I would recommend to buy a pen that can use/comes with cartridges. They are simple to use , it's hard to make a mess with them, and you can avoid spending money on a bottle of ink in case you decide fountain pens are not for you. I'm going to compile a list of pens arranged by price which I think are good selections for first time users.
Platinum Preppy $3.30 Cheap. The best money can buy for less than $4. If you want to try bottled ink, you can get a Platinum converter for about $8.
Pilot Penmanship $8 Intended market is students learning to write. Has a triangular grip to help teach correct angle to hold the pen. Demonstrator version available. (As far as I know, converters do not fit in this pen)
-- Pilot Metropolitan $15 -- Comes in 3 colors, 3 styles for each color. This pen has made a name for itself in the market of cheap pens for being very good value, most bang for your buck kind of thing. If this pen is within your budget, definitely check it out. I think these come with a converter, might depend on who you buy from. I'd recommend this pen to anyone who is considering making fountain pens their tool of choice.
Ohto F-Lapa $16 Listed in part because it was my first pen in this price range. Fairly smooth. Classy look. However if the Pilot Metropolitan were available when I made the purchase, I would have gotten it instead. Anyone who has both would probably recommend the Metropolitan. The F-Lapa can use a converter purchased separately.
Lamy Safari $25 If you have more money you want to invest, the safari is probably the way to go. Solid pens, solid nibs, excellent value. You can use them with cartridges and converters. A lot of color options available. Triangular grip. Getting a safari also has the benefit of allowing you to try different nibs without buying a new pen. You can buy Lamy nibs separately ($10 I think) and swap them around, allowing you to find a size and style you like without buying six or seven different pens. And if you were really hoping for a demonstrator, the Lamy Vista is exactly the same - but clear, for just a few bucks more.
Pilot Prera $50 (Though I have seen it for about $35) Just a beautiful pen, solid colors or clear demonstrator version. Steel nibs. I don't own one (but want one), though I have been able to use a few of them, and they're a pretty solid pen. Cartridge and converter compatible. Some people say it's a great starter pen, to me it's just a little too expensive to really recommend to first time users - but it is very beginner friendly. I know you can remove the nib and replace them with similar (but not all) Pilot nibs. I assume you can also remove the feed for easy cleaning, but I'm not 100% on that. If you have the budget and want to make a truly serious go at fountain pens, check this one out.
Some tips on choosing a nib If you don't have a nearby store that sells fountain pens, get a medium nib and adjust if you like from there. If you do have a nearby store, they will have paper you can test the pens on. Peter Twydle suggests to write a lower case e as you normally would - if the hole in he e is filled with ink, get a finer nib.
I still have my fountain pen somewhere. I used to use it to do my homework while in school. However, I don't find it very "mobile", in the sense that carrying it in the pocket is unsafe and the ink bottle is required for heavy writing.
I have a fountain pen. It's like 11 inches long and if I use it too much it spays out white ink every where. Really annoying when it happens in the middle of class
Man I'm thrilled that this thread exists. I love fountain pens, and plan on getting another one once I start work over the summer (so I actually have money to buy something).
For pens I have a Cross Compact and a Parker Sonnet, and for ink I have black Quink (utterly awful crap), Pelikan brilliant green, and Waterman purple.
My next pen will probably be a Pilot/Namiki vanishing point. I love the idea of the convenience of a click-top fountain pen, and they are unbelievably smooth to write with when I tried one in a store.
cool thread. I owned a fountain pen or two but they were too cheap and didn't turn out to be my style. One just printed too thick; I know I prefer my mechanical pencils to be .5 and a pen would definitely have to be in the same area. The other one clogged or something and i have a start up problem after every time i cap it. If I get another one I'll definitely review this thread, the Nemosine Singularity demonstrator looks cool and I've always been a fan of clear/white/black colors.
i have a waterman pen that my dad gave me, but in general am a newbie to the category. i am a big pen fan for someone with relatively terrible handwriting!
On April 23 2013 15:51 Sufficiency wrote: I still have my fountain pen somewhere. I used to use it to do my homework while in school. However, I don't find it very "mobile", in the sense that carrying it in the pocket is unsafe and the ink bottle is required for heavy writing.
They are only unsafe if something is wrong with a pen or it's broken, which is true for most pens, fountain or not. Needing to take the bottle with you for heavy writing? Are you working on a handwritten novel? I've never had this experience. 1ml of ink goes a rather long way. The Noodler's Ahab pen can hold 6ml of ink, which is more than enough for writing until your hand hurts.
On April 23 2013 15:59 phiinix wrote: cool thread. I owned a fountain pen or two but they were too cheap and didn't turn out to be my style. One just printed too thick; I know I prefer my mechanical pencils to be .5 and a pen would definitely have to be in the same area. The other one clogged or something and i have a start up problem after every time i cap it. If I get another one I'll definitely review this thread, the Nemosine Singularity demonstrator looks cool and I've always been a fan of clear/white/black colors.
Stephen (The linked youtube channel) does a nice review of the pen on his channel + Show Spoiler +
He also compares it to the mentioned Artista Crystal + Show Spoiler +
On April 23 2013 15:53 Wojciech Zywny wrote: I have a fountain pen. It's like 11 inches long and if I use it too much it spays out white ink every where. Really annoying when it happens in the middle of class
I actually use a Pilot Decimo from the capless series. I have it with the extra fine nib and it's so good for taking notes on powerpoint slides I have to print for my class It's really expensive though. I've poked myself with the nib accidentally 2 times and it is sooo painful xD.
So with enough practice can it be as fast as a ballpoint pen, or something similar (basic and made for ease)? Ballpoint pens suck for the record.. im more of a felt tip guy heh heh
I haven't had a fountain pen in years, cursive is not my thing. I used to be pretty into pen-spinning and when i stopped and watched some videos of other people doing it to music, it seemed like a very feminine sort of performance art. It's fun if you're being competitive with it, but it really has no aesthetic appeal to me other than that. Sorry to sound negative, but my favourite pen is the sort that simply works&is reliable... ;__; otherwise, it's all computer documents for me.
On April 23 2013 16:05 FallDownMarigold wrote: So with enough practice can it be as fast as a ballpoint pen, or something similar (basic and made for ease)? Ballpoint pens suck for the record.. im more of a felt tip guy heh heh
Well they don't really take any practice to use at the same level as you do other types of pens. They are just tools, like ballpoints, etc. The skill is the same, except you can't rotate a fountain pen while you write, at least not much at all. After some time the nib will start to conform to your style of writing, the angle at which you hold it, etc. But it really takes 0 practice to use one.
If you want to write quickly, you need a pen with good ink flow that will keep up and a wet nib, most likely. A low ink flow pen will start to skip when you write too quickly with it.
I have a couple. I worked hard on my handwriting over the last year and got one as a gift for Christmas. It is a Cross something or other. I love using them, but lately I've found myself looking for damaged fountain pens at thrift stores and flea markets. I found a couple at a flea market one day and ordered a couple ink sacs and cleaned the pens up. They aren't anything special, but if you are into fountain pens it's a rewarding way to indulge your hobby.
I used a Pilot Petit fountain pen for my pre-university years and absolutely loved it. I have no idea how 'good' it was as a fountain pen but it was a joy to use for one who hadn't used fountain pens before. I have no idea where it is now and have been stuck using ballpoints etc for the last 4-5 years, I certainly would consider going back to fountain pens if I had the chance.
On April 23 2013 16:46 Chaggi wrote: I have a Mont Blanc one but I have no idea what in the world I'd use it for. Got it as a gift and used it once to forge some signatures.
What?
On a related note, I am too much of a "spreader" when it comes to pens to ever really invest in something nice. I consider it a personal success if I still have a pen by the end of my shift - and it does not even have to be the one I started out with for it to count. One day when I get my own, nice office and have become a professor and can keep it in a holder there I might find a use for the Montblanc I was given by my grandfather, but until then it is simply too much of a risk.
I like fountain pens and have my own, but I'm forced to switch to ball-points when I write a lot. I hold my pen almost vertically which would probably fuck up my fountain pen's point if I used it. Nothing like a dumb old bic to get the job done.
A girl recommended Lamy fountain pens to me, they make for a good "daily driver," not so expensive that they're irreplaceable if you lose one, but still a big step up in quality.
This is really neat, I love Team Liquid threads about things I never really thought about before. I never knew there was so much to a fountain pen. I might actually get a cheap one now just to try it out.
I clicked on this thread out of curiosity, and started to read through, I noticed the thumbnail for the "upsb tournament" and assumed it would be a drawing/cursive contest.... the fact that it was "pen spinning" seriously made me lough out loud. Professional pen spinning... professional cup stacking, whats next, professional, professional bubble gum blowers... Human beings are ridiculous!
On April 23 2013 16:46 Chaggi wrote: I have a Mont Blanc one but I have no idea what in the world I'd use it for. Got it as a gift and used it once to forge some signatures.
What?
On a related note, I am too much of a "spreader" when it comes to pens to ever really invest in something nice. I consider it a personal success if I still have a pen by the end of my shift - and it does not even have to be the one I started out with for it to count. One day when I get my own, nice office and have become a professor and can keep it in a holder there I might find a use for the Montblanc I was given by my grandfather, but until then it is simply too much of a risk.
Was for a project, boss wasn't there, so I signed off on stuff that needed to be done. No biggie.
On April 23 2013 17:03 SpeaKEaSY wrote: A girl recommended Lamy fountain pens to me, they make for a good "daily driver," not so expensive that they're irreplaceable if you lose one, but still a big step up in quality.
I'd highly recommend Lamy fountain pens. I currently own a Lamy Sarafi, which i believe to be their most popular model. They are fairly cheap at around £16 and they can be used with ink catridges which is very convenient. The only "downside" if there is one is that they don't look very much like a classic fountain pen. On the flip side they are available in a ton of colors if you like something funky.
I also have a Lamy 2000 which is one of Lamy's more expensive models at £175, but to be perfectly honest i don't think that it is notably better than my Lamy Safari. It's also very unconvenient to fill it because it uses a piston mechanism.
It's nice to see that other people at my age is into fountain pens aswell. Regardless of some of the downsides that is inevitable when using real ink, it really is much nicer to write with than a regular ballpoint where you almost have to drill the pen into the paper to make it write.
My favorite to use at the moment is my LAMY Joy Calligraphy, got it with 3 sized nibs and everything. It's really great, I wanted to learn writing the old hand styles, and they all used a flat "calligraphy" nib, so... I know one can use a flex nib to do it too, but it's not the same. And I've just been using their standard inc cartridges this far, might look into getting a refillable cartridge and a bottle of ink when they run out.
When I want my writing to look extra good, I bust out my Lamy cut-nib. Such good quality for the low price (I think I paid $25?) - I never use my A.G. Spalding one which cost about double!
Hooray for this thread and hooray for penmanship - a nearly lost art these days!
On April 23 2013 17:03 SpeaKEaSY wrote: A girl recommended Lamy fountain pens to me, they make for a good "daily driver," not so expensive that they're irreplaceable if you lose one, but still a big step up in quality.
I'd highly recommend Lamy fountain pens. I currently own a Lamy Sarafi, which i believe to be their most popular model. They are fairly cheap at around £16 and they can be used with ink catridges which is very convenient. The only "downside" if there is one is that they don't look very much like a classic fountain pen. On the flip side they are available in a ton of colors if you like something funky.
I also have a Lamy 2000 which is one of Lamy's more expensive models at £175, but to be perfectly honest i don't think that it is notably better than my Lamy Safari. It's also very unconvenient to fill it because it uses a piston mechanism.
It's nice to see that other people at my age is into fountain pens aswell. Regardless of some of the downsides that is inevitable when using real ink, it really is much nicer to write with than a regular ballpoint where you almost have to drill the pen into the paper to make it write.
I'm pretty conflicted about Lamy pens. I have a very broad Lamy Joy for calligraphy which works very well and a Lamy Logo Extra Fine which was so scratchy that I had to return it. Maybe the nib was just cut incorrectly though.
So if I wanted to buy a fountain pen from Amazon.co.uk, budget up to...£20 or so. What would your recommendations be? I don't really know what other criteria I should have. Probably a 'fine' nib? Hmm.
Wow that's amazing, I'm a college student and I have always only used foutain pens since i learnt how to write. Cheap ones with refills( the 0,75ml or 1,45ml ones) I never really paid attention to it because it was mandatory to write homeworks and tests with that ( and even to take notes untill 11 years old ) in my school. That's strange to discover so much about it even though I always used those pens.
But it's certainly way smoother than ballpoints because the pen is actually adapting to its owner handwritting (when people must adapt their handwritting to a ballpointer). That's why you often can't write properly with a foutain pen you borrowed from someone who used it for a while. For me it's really the best way to take notes because it doesn't put as much strains on your wrists and fingers as the other pens. I always thought this but that's fascinating to see there are some "precious" fountain pens. Maybe my next one will be with ink bottles instead of refills but it sound somewhat impractical. I've always used pens from the waterman brand though, the current one is metallic and it lasted for all my bachelor degree before i dropped it right on the nib. With a lack of originality I bought the exact same one to replace it.
On April 23 2013 17:03 SpeaKEaSY wrote: A girl recommended Lamy fountain pens to me, they make for a good "daily driver," not so expensive that they're irreplaceable if you lose one, but still a big step up in quality.
I'd highly recommend Lamy fountain pens. I currently own a Lamy Sarafi, which i believe to be their most popular model. They are fairly cheap at around £16 and they can be used with ink catridges which is very convenient. The only "downside" if there is one is that they don't look very much like a classic fountain pen. On the flip side they are available in a ton of colors if you like something funky.
I also have a Lamy 2000 which is one of Lamy's more expensive models at £175, but to be perfectly honest i don't think that it is notably better than my Lamy Safari. It's also very unconvenient to fill it because it uses a piston mechanism.
It's nice to see that other people at my age is into fountain pens aswell. Regardless of some of the downsides that is inevitable when using real ink, it really is much nicer to write with than a regular ballpoint where you almost have to drill the pen into the paper to make it write.
I'm pretty conflicted about Lamy pens. I have a very broad Lamy Joy for calligraphy which works very well and a Lamy Logo Extra Fine which was so scratchy that I had to return it. Maybe the nib was just cut incorrectly though.
It might be the extra fine nibs with Lamy. The extra fine on my old 2000 was a bit iffy too. Though that said, from what I understand, the 2000's nibs have very little relation to the other Lamys.
Incidentally, has anyone tried out Sailor's pens? I've read good things online, but never seen one here in Australia before.
I have always hated this ink leaking mess that are fountain pens. Ink blotches, ugly to correct, ink all over my fingers, ripping paper, pages needing ages to dry up... and they are way more expensive than decent ball-point pens. No thanks.
Is this an advertisement? Hell yes, people who know how overpriced Montblanc pens are (but fret not, as those who didn't have just been informed) will immediately recognize the self-important, vain pricks prancing around with their pen-sized ego booster. And you're talking about "class", hilarious.
Hah, so you hate this kind of pen. That's fine, but you don't have to assume everyone else who might use one does it for ego boosting or looking cool...lol. Maybe some people just enjoy the pen for whatever reason
On April 23 2013 18:22 Firebolt145 wrote: So if I wanted to buy a fountain pen from Amazon.co.uk, budget up to...£20 or so. What would your recommendations be? I don't really know what other criteria I should have. Probably a 'fine' nib? Hmm.
EDIT: Nib size is very personal and depends a lot on how big/small you want to write and the look you want it to have. but a new lamy nib is like 4 euros I think so if you want to try more sizes later on you can get others and change them.
This pen is ultra cheap - almost as cheap as a Pilot G2 gel rollerball. With bottled ink this pen will end up costing less than a single pack of 12 G2 gel pens
Interesting that you mention the G2. It is my pen of choice. Is it popular? I came by it by chance. I wouldn't buy a 12-pack of those pens though: you can get refills for around 1/2 - 2/3 the price of the pen.
I have a fountain pen as well - it was a graduation gift from my parents. I use it extremely rarely though.
Kinda funny, I actually just inherited my great grandmother's old waterman set for my birthday, been liking it so far!
Semi off-topic but I've recently started using a brush pen for writing kanji, it's a Kaimei hair brush pen and although the stock ink is a little weak it's been wonderful to write with.
On April 23 2013 18:22 Firebolt145 wrote: So if I wanted to buy a fountain pen from Amazon.co.uk, budget up to...£20 or so. What would your recommendations be? I don't really know what other criteria I should have. Probably a 'fine' nib? Hmm.
Lamy Sarafi is probably your best option. In terms of nibs it is a matter of taste. German nibs tend to be a little wider than Japanese, but i'd say that a medium nib would be a fine nib for an all-round pen. Also fine nibs can be a little scratchier even though i doubt that would be a problem with a Lamy Sarafi nib.
This pen is ultra cheap - almost as cheap as a Pilot G2 gel rollerball. With bottled ink this pen will end up costing less than a single pack of 12 G2 gel pens
Interesting that you mention the G2. It is my pen of choice. Is it popular? I came by it by chance. I wouldn't buy a 12-pack of those pens though: you can get refills for around 1/2 - 2/3 the price of the pen.
I have a fountain pen as well - it was a graduation gift from my parents. I use it extremely rarely though.
I have one of those pelikan pens. I love writing with it, althoguh i don't use it every day at the university for writing and stuff, simply because I am afraid of dropping i.e. scratching/breaking it. But I have to say, nothing is better then the 10€ parker fountain pen. Speed, feeling and durability is simply awesome :p
I like pens but I don't ever need to write anything other than checks every now and then. Getting a pen for the sake of having the pen would be just a waste of money.
On April 23 2013 23:05 fabiano wrote: I've 2 fountain pens I used to use to draw mangá. Haven't used them in 2 years though, but this thread re-sparkled the fire!
My father does a lot with fountain pens and watches, and I'm very fond of them too, I gotta say. I think a lot of them are SOO cool, and writing with them feels great. Though it is definitely a luxury thing.
This pen is ultra cheap - almost as cheap as a Pilot G2 gel rollerball. With bottled ink this pen will end up costing less than a single pack of 12 G2 gel pens
Interesting that you mention the G2. It is my pen of choice. Is it popular? I came by it by chance. I wouldn't buy a 12-pack of those pens though: you can get refills for around 1/2 - 2/3 the price of the pen.
I have a fountain pen as well - it was a graduation gift from my parents. I use it extremely rarely though.
The G2 is the probably the smoothest gel pen you can get for that price. Pilot claims it's the #1 selling pen in the USA. I use them for work, I'm a waiter, so I need a handful of cheap pens I don't care about in case people take them. The only complaint about them I really have is that the clips are frail and always break on me after a while. If you have problems with your bodies also, I'd take a look at the G2 Limited:
Same pen but with a metal body and clip that won't break so easily. I'm also a fan of the Zebra Sarasa clip, because the clip mechanism is awesome for someone like me who has to constantly place pens into a shirt pocket or apron. The Zebra airfit is probably my favorite gel pen for this reason. I use one as my main writing tool when I'm working.
Even if you only buy G2 refills, it's still more expensive per mL than a bottle of ink.
Here's an article about someone switching from Pilot's G2 pens to fountain pens with Noodler's ink.
Yesterday great joy arrived at my apartment door in the manifestation of two 3 ounce bottles of Noodler's black fountain pen ink.
Now I love fountain pens but I also love knowing that my written word could conceivably last for a thousand years and I don't trust normal fountain pen ink. For about the past year, I have used Pilot G2 rollerball ink. G2 is archival quality, acid free, water resistant, costs a dollar at just about any grocery store, drug store, or stationary store, and fits inside of my favorite Waterman Expert rollerball pen as well as Rotring, Sheaffer, and other fancy pens. For the last year I used this ink exclusively, but something was missing. Here's the problem:
Fountain pens are cool.
Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and Neil Stephenson all wrote novels with a fountain pen. The technology of a fountain pen hasn't changed much since Lewis Waterman invented the capillary feed system in his fountain pen in 1884. World leaders used a Waterman fountain pen to sign the treaty of Versallis, one of the most damaging documents ever written (many blame the treaty of Versallis for the rise of Nazi Germany).
Fountain pens are classy. They feel traditional and cultured. They write smoothly without a single moving part. But there is a problem, a hypocracy.
Fountain pen ink is almost always water-based ink and while much of it is acid free and safe for use on high quality paper for permanent work, it is far from waterproof. I tested this by writing with Waterman-brand fountain pen ink on one side of a sheet of paper and Pilot G2-based rollerball ink on the other. I boiled the page for five minutes and removed it. The G2 ink was fine. The Waterman ink was completely gone.
Fountain pens, however, require water-based ink or they gum up and quit working right. When I tried to put an acrylic acid-free waterproof ink into my Waterman Phileas fountain pen, it gummed up in a couple of days. Only washing it out and replacing it with water-based ink made it write well again.
All seemed lost. Fountain pen ink didn't meet the criteria for Mike Shea's permanent inking solution. The criteria includes the following:
Easy to acquire Inexpensive Acid free Black Water resistant Fade resistant in light exposure But then, after much digging on the web and some suggestions from people over at Moleskinerie and other sources, I heard of a new ink, a magical ink:
Noodler's fountain pen ink.
This ink, though water-based, becomes waterproof when it chemically bonds to the cellulose on paper. A variety of tests in the harshest of circumstances shows that Noodler's fountain pen ink on paper can survive water soaking, acetone, naphtha, bleach, ammonia, blue magic, industrial cleaners and chemical lifters. A quick query out to Usenet gave me back the ink's pH acidity level of 7.1. pHs of 7 and above are considered acid free.
So I ordered up two bottles from Fountain Pen Hospital at $12 for a 3 ounce bottle and last night it arrived. What did I find?
I loaded my three fountain pens full of the Noodler's ink including my Waterman Phileas fine tip, my Waterman Expert 2 fine tip, and my Lamy Safari medium tip. I wrote out a page of text using each of the three pens for one or two paragraphs. I cut it up, took one of the paragraphs, and soaked it in water for about 20 minutes. Its just fine. The ink is as strong as it was when I put it in.
I found something else as well. My Expert 2 fountain pen, my personal favorite pen, had a bit of a broad line when writing with Waterman ink. When I switched to Noodler's I found that the line the pen wrote was much narrower yet flowed as smooth as I could ask for. I wrote a couple pages of a story in my favorite Moleskine pocket plain notebook without any bleed through and the tip width is perfect. I couldn't ask for a better pen.
So I now have an ink both worthy of daily writing and traditional enough to let me enjoy writing strange tales of the macabre in my new leather-bound journal or my pocket Moleskines.
While the Pilot G2 is a fine pen for daily writing and especially air travel, where fountain pens have a tendency of exploding with greatly humorous results, I will write daily with my Waterman Expert 2 fountain pen with Noodler's ink. It is traditional, fun, archival, and water resistant.
I'd also like to point out that fountain pens don't really explode on planes (As Mike suggests). They only leak if they are not stored properly, and all it takes is some understanding of the pressure changes during a flight. Higher altitude = Lower atmospheric pressure. Air potentially trapped in a pen is still at the pressure of ground level - so it tries to escape the pen, pushing ink out in the process. But there are a number of ways around this. Store the pen nib up so any air in the pen is near the tip and can more freely escape. I believe there is a pen that allows you to empty the feed and channels without emptying the ink reservoir, though I can't remember the name.
Question : my writing is TERRIBLE. I learned how to write by myself as I missed the schoolyear when you learn how to do it and still went to the next class.
Does any of this help ? Having a nice pen, taking calligraphy classes...?
On April 24 2013 02:26 Kukaracha wrote: Always, you've caught my attention.
Question : my writing is TERRIBLE. I learned how to write by myself as I missed the schoolyear when you learn how to do it and still went to the next class.
Does any of this help ? Having a nice pen, taking calligraphy classes...?
Nice handwriting is a skill that comes with practice. Learning calligraphy might help, but if you are looking to just improve your everyday normal handwriting, then that's what you need to practice. My English handwriting looks decent because I've been writing it for a very long time. My Japanese, on the other hand, looks kind of childish regardless of what pen I use because I don't have nearly as much practice with it.
Montblanc pens look great but my handwriting looks like I have some sort of mental illness. It's one of those things I wish I could have, but really there's no point . I tried using a cheap fountain pen once and it went horribly, too.
Edit: I sincerely believe that my handwriting is unrecoverable, even if I trained
Palmer Method looks really interesting. My handwriting, if I say so myself, isn't bad by any means, but looking at a few images of Palmer Method handwriting makes me want to change a few of my letters. So far I've singled out my F's, R's and S's as letters I want to change. Already tried so briefly, goddamn it's hard to change old habits.
I mostly use pens for drawing so I primarily judge them for how good they are in that aspect, and fountain pens are probably the ones I find most annoying to use. They tend to bleed like hell unless your lines are as fast as when you're writing, which makes them really hard to use. Dip pens can be quite nice though, even though I've found the nibs to be a bit unreliable in durability. The control you can have over bleeding makes them quite nice, and the lines have a good quality about them with the varying thickness, as well as the solidness of the ink. Nothing beats a good 0.5 or smaller ballpoint though, I love the quick and thin lines you can make with one of those.
On April 23 2013 16:46 Chaggi wrote: I have a Mont Blanc one but I have no idea what in the world I'd use it for. Got it as a gift and used it once to forge some signatures.
On April 24 2013 06:14 Plexa wrote: I have not yet graduated from using pencils
I see no reason why you need to. Something about fountain pens seems very elitist to me. Guess I'll stick with my Bic Cristals and spend that money elsewhere.
This thread brought back some good school memories. An English teacher once forced everyone to write with a fountain pen in class. I got really fond of fountain pens, and bought a few nice ones for myself (all were the exact same model of pen, I liked them so much that I bought like 3 of them).
I can't remember what they were called, but they were really thick and nice to hold/write with, and had colorful designs on them.
My pens got the nickname "fat pen" from my classmates, which was often mentioned jokingly when I took it out and started writing with it
I have a preppy pen which my friend gave me for christmas. It's really a lot of fun to use... except it was too fragile, so I just keep it in my room for use. I prefer the RSVP ball point pens right now to the preppy pen, but still, fountain pens are awesome. :3
this is what i started to learn to write with and most of my school life i used a Füllfederhalter (or Füller) as they are called over here. In university ive been using mostly ball pens tho. I think my handwriting got worse when i stopped using fountain pens.
it's a shame that proper handwriting is dying out in favor of writing letters like in this text. not sure about other countries but here schools are shifting more and more to this type of letters and move away from ligatures ( I hope that's the right word)
Learning to write with a fountain pen is part of the curriculum in many (all?) german elementary schools. As such I've been using them a lot. Since I'm left-handed I always had to take care of not wiping over the line I'm writing so eventually I started using ballpoint pens, because their ink dries faster.
If there was something like that for fountain pens I'd switch over in an instant as they're much smoother to write with.
oh, this is something special? I thought everyone uses them in school, at least we did.
I still have a cheap one from Lamy with a very narrow tip for writing formulas. I find its easier on the hand to write with them compared to a normal pen. It also looks 10 times better.
Though, i dont understand why people buy pens for 200+ euro. We have a store in my small town that has like 100 of those insanely expensive pens. A Lamy pen is just fine for me.
When I was in school in China (1993-1999), everybody used fountain pens, because the teachers prohibited us from using ballpoints because they weren't as good for writing neatly (I can only guess this was held true all across China). The cheaper ones leaked like crazy, and I hated using them until my mom gave me a Parker, which I loved, and I think I still have it somewhere in my parents' house.
I've always wanted a proper fountain pen actually, thought about buying another Parker for old times' sake, or a Japanese one (because they make everything so damn amazing), but I really really really don't have a use for them.
A practice league level noob to fountain pans: a) are fountain pens bad for print? (vs cursive) My cursive is too illegible so I gave up using cursive to take notes during my university years to save time reviewing them on a later date. These days I mostly write or discuss things printing on a white board.
b) how durable are these pens? I am really afraid of leakage of any sort. The pen may not may not be left out in the cold where it is -15C or inside a car during summer that can go up to 35C (will the ink explode from the head from the heat?). Having my pen leak/poke through paper in the middle of a business meeting can be quite problematic.
c) how "fine" can these pens go? I use mostly extra fine ink-based ball pens (common one I use is the pilot v5 - though I got finer ones).
On April 24 2013 08:50 ain wrote: Learning to write with a fountain pen is part of the curriculum in many (all?) german elementary schools. As such I've been using them a lot. Since I'm left-handed I always had to take care of not wiping over the line I'm writing so eventually I started using ballpoint pens, because their ink dries faster.
If there was something like that for fountain pens I'd switch over in an instant as they're much smoother to write with.
Yeah fountain pens are awful for lefties... I wonder if there is any super-fast drying ink that might help.
On April 24 2013 08:50 ain wrote: Learning to write with a fountain pen is part of the curriculum in many (all?) german elementary schools. As such I've been using them a lot. Since I'm left-handed I always had to take care of not wiping over the line I'm writing so eventually I started using ballpoint pens, because their ink dries faster.
If there was something like that for fountain pens I'd switch over in an instant as they're much smoother to write with.
There are a number of inks that are advertised as "fast drying." Private Reserve Midnight Blue is one such ink. I think Noodler's Ink makes some as well.
If you want to try a few, many shops sell samples of ink, at usually less than $1. They typically come in a small vial. Search for "fast dry" inks at Goulet Pens - Samples are 2ml for $1.25.
On April 24 2013 09:37 Cambium wrote: When I was in school in China (1993-1999), everybody used fountain pens, because the teachers prohibited us from using ballpoints because they weren't as good for writing neatly (I can only guess this was held true all across China). The cheaper ones leaked like crazy, and I hated using them until my mom gave me a Parker, which I loved, and I think I still have it somewhere in my parents' house.
I've always wanted a proper fountain pen actually, thought about buying another Parker for old times' sake, or a Japanese one (because they make everything so damn amazing), but I really really really don't have a use for them.
Cheap chinese pens don't have that great of a reputation from what I've read/watched. If you want a proper Japanese pen, a mid-range one that most really enjoy is the Pilot Prera. If you're in Tokyo check out some art supply stores in Shinjuku. There's one (can't remember the name) there that sells it for 2,800 yen IIRC. Otherwise http://www.stationeryart.com/index.php has them for $34. Both much cheaper (It retails at $70.)
On April 24 2013 06:14 Plexa wrote: I have not yet graduated from using pencils
I see no reason why you need to. Something about fountain pens seems very elitist to me. Guess I'll stick with my Bic Cristals and spend that money elsewhere.
If you do a lot of writing, the comfort factor alone would enough for me to switch to fountain pens. Those bic cristals take way more pressure to operate than any half decent fountain pen.
I'd say that the super expensive fountain pens seem a bit elitist... but super expensive ballpoints also exist.
On April 24 2013 06:14 Plexa wrote: I have not yet graduated from using pencils
I see no reason why you need to. Something about fountain pens seems very elitist to me. Guess I'll stick with my Bic Cristals and spend that money elsewhere.
Hmm maybe. I use my pen because it is extra fine and it allows me to fit notes into the lecture slides I print off 4 per page.
I wish I had a picture of my old hand made fountain pen a friend made for me a few years back. It was so nice after I ran out of ink for it and I was no longer near my friend to get more I put it in a glass case and had it sitting on my shelf as a conversation piece. Alas I did lose it in a relocation but it was a visually stunning cerulean marble and an etched silver pen hand made on a lathe and the etching was custom as well (through what means I do not know). The materials were a cool $180 alone.
He still makes pens to this day, I recently paid him a visit this past January and among other things took a look at his collection and workshop. I'll see if he can send me a picture of any fountain pens he has made right now.
In my country, kids in elementary school were forced to use fountain pen to learn how to write. I have never been a fan of it since my entire childhood is covered with inks on my uniforms. It is a nightmare i tell you.
Great OP! Loved reading and learning about a utensil I've taken for granted xD Unfortunately I use a three-finger grip (thumb, index, middle, with index and middle bent inwards) when I write, which makes my angle opposite of a regular hold, so I can't use fountain pens ):
On April 24 2013 10:21 autoexec wrote: Can anyone reccomend a quality demonstrator model for around 10$? I have never had one before and would like to try them out!
A quality demonstrator might start at $20 (Noodler's Ahab or Konrad, probably not ideal for beginners). Lamy Vista is the demonstrator version of the Lamy Safari, which comes in at about $30, much more suited to beginners, I think. Just checked the Vista on amazon. Currently $23.
I just ordered a Nemosine Singularity (photo in OP) yesterday, and I'll let you know how it is.
On April 24 2013 10:38 Jealous wrote: Great OP! Loved reading and learning about a utensil I've taken for granted xD Unfortunately I use a three-finger grip (thumb, index, middle, with index and middle bent inwards) when I write, which makes my angle opposite of a regular hold, so I can't use fountain pens ):
I'm curious to know what you mean by this... photo possible?
On April 24 2013 09:37 Cambium wrote: When I was in school in China (1993-1999), everybody used fountain pens, because the teachers prohibited us from using ballpoints because they weren't as good for writing neatly (I can only guess this was held true all across China). The cheaper ones leaked like crazy, and I hated using them until my mom gave me a Parker, which I loved, and I think I still have it somewhere in my parents' house.
I've always wanted a proper fountain pen actually, thought about buying another Parker for old times' sake, or a Japanese one (because they make everything so damn amazing), but I really really really don't have a use for them.
Cheap chinese pens don't have that great of a reputation from what I've read/watched. If you want a proper Japanese pen, a mid-range one that most really enjoy is the Pilot Prera. If you're in Tokyo check out some art supply stores in Shinjuku. There's one (can't remember the name) there that sells it for 2,800 yen IIRC. Otherwise http://www.stationeryart.com/index.php has them for $34. Both much cheaper (It retails at $70.)
I always think of fountain pens as one of those... buy one for life kind of things, so I'm thinking a little more expensive, like Nakaya. There are tons of art and supply stores in Shinjuku, I'm guessing you probably mean Tokyu Hands beside Takashimaya. I've checked out this very neat fountain pen store in Ginza called Ito-ya, and I was recommended Nakaya and Sailor (?) for Japanese brands.
Also the Tsutaya in Daikanyama has a decent selection as well.
Japan is an amazing place... for... well, just about everything
oh man we had to use this back in elementary school and it was pain in the ass for parents lol. Kids kept getting ink all over their white shirts and broke their pens in just a couple days. Quite a stupid idea but it forced us to write slower and get better handwriting.
On April 24 2013 09:37 Cambium wrote: When I was in school in China (1993-1999), everybody used fountain pens, because the teachers prohibited us from using ballpoints because they weren't as good for writing neatly (I can only guess this was held true all across China). The cheaper ones leaked like crazy, and I hated using them until my mom gave me a Parker, which I loved, and I think I still have it somewhere in my parents' house.
I've always wanted a proper fountain pen actually, thought about buying another Parker for old times' sake, or a Japanese one (because they make everything so damn amazing), but I really really really don't have a use for them.
Cheap chinese pens don't have that great of a reputation from what I've read/watched. If you want a proper Japanese pen, a mid-range one that most really enjoy is the Pilot Prera. If you're in Tokyo check out some art supply stores in Shinjuku. There's one (can't remember the name) there that sells it for 2,800 yen IIRC. Otherwise http://www.stationeryart.com/index.php has them for $34. Both much cheaper (It retails at $70.)
I always think of fountain pens as one of those... buy one for life kind of things, so I'm thinking a little more expensive, like Nakaya. There are tons of art and supply stores in Shinjuku, I'm guessing you probably mean Tokyu Hands beside Takashimaya. I've checked out this very neat fountain pen store in Ginza called Ito-ya, and I was recommended Nakaya and Sailor (?) for Japanese brands.
Also the Tsutaya in Daikanyama has a decent selection as well.
Japan is an amazing place... for... well, just about everything
I know it wasn't Tokyu Hands. I went with my girlfriend because she needed to get some things for school, I'll ask her what it was called.
Nakaya's are way out of my price range, and I don't have any experience with Sailor fountain pens, so I can't really help much there. Take a look at Nakaya's $40,000 pen. At that price I'd rather get a bic cristal and a car, might be enough left for a downpayment on a house, too lol
Yea, Nakaya is retardedly expensive, but like I said, if I were to just get one pen in my life, it *might* be worth the investment. Also, like I said, I really have no use for a fountain pen, and therefore making it hard to justify. I'd rather get a watch first lol.
My dad owns a MontBlanc. He got it from his father who got it himself from his father. It feels so nice to write with Top quality fountain pens are such a pleasure to write with !
Looks like the OP convinced me to try fountain pens. I've always wondered about them, but never really cared to do any research or look at them. This summer looks like the perfect opportunity to finally indulge and try some. I think I'll just start with the $3 one to start. No point in buying a crazy expensive pen if I won't even like it.
I always wanted a fountain pen (I take too much pride in my cursive) but never wanted to drop the money on a proper one. Then I moved to Bangladesh to work and ran across a nice fountain pen. Got it for less then 20$ CAD with a bottle of ink and I think it is actually a really good pen. I use that thing for everything now.
Part of me wants an old fashioned quill pen just for fun as well. Not for everyday but just cause I can.
On April 24 2013 11:02 Cambium wrote: Yea, Nakaya is retardedly expensive, but like I said, if I were to just get one pen in my life, it *might* be worth the investment. Also, like I said, I really have no use for a fountain pen, and therefore making it hard to justify. I'd rather get a watch first lol.
The name of the store was Sekaido
On April 24 2013 16:06 _BAR_ wrote: I always wanted a fountain pen (I take too much pride in my cursive) but never wanted to drop the money on a proper one. Then I moved to Bangladesh to work and ran across a nice fountain pen. Got it for less then 20$ CAD with a bottle of ink and I think it is actually a really good pen. I use that thing for everything now.
Part of me wants an old fashioned quill pen just for fun as well. Not for everyday but just cause I can.
Can you carry a fountain pen around in your pant pocket everyday? I currently have a crappy ball point that has been in my pocket for years and have been contemplating investing 20-30 dollars in an upgrade. Are fountain pens practical compared to a ball point for an everyday carry?
Yes, in my opinion they clearly are. I carry my yellow Lamy Safari in my pant pocket everyday for three years now. The two incidents with a few drops of ink in my pocket (not visible from the outside!) were due to my carelessness (beer induced), not because of the pen.
On April 24 2013 10:21 autoexec wrote: Can anyone reccomend a quality demonstrator model for around 10$? I have never had one before and would like to try them out!
A quality demonstrator might start at $20 (Noodler's Ahab or Konrad, probably not ideal for beginners). Lamy Vista is the demonstrator version of the Lamy Safari, which comes in at about $30, much more suited to beginners, I think. Just checked the Vista on amazon. Currently $23.
I just ordered a Nemosine Singularity (photo in OP) yesterday, and I'll let you know how it is.
On April 24 2013 10:38 Jealous wrote: Great OP! Loved reading and learning about a utensil I've taken for granted xD Unfortunately I use a three-finger grip (thumb, index, middle, with index and middle bent inwards) when I write, which makes my angle opposite of a regular hold, so I can't use fountain pens ):
I'm curious to know what you mean by this... photo possible?
I remember saving up for a nice Pelikan pen in college and even got a couple different nibs... but honestly, the $30 Lamy Safari is my go-to reliable workhorse. It's portable--I clip it to my jeans and have never had an ink incident; replaceable--I snapped my first one in half because I accidentally stepped on it; reliable--I've never had any problems with them in the four years I've used them, and most importantly, it writes smooth. Right now I own two of them, one textured the other not--I recommend the texture (feels more comfortable to me over long periods of writing).
Pens are neat and all but inks... Ink is like Pokemon--gotta try 'em all. [Personal fav: Noodler's 'Heart of Darkness']
I have 2 parker pen. The other one seems to have a little too much flaw. Both are brushed metal, 10$ stuff. I write very differently with those. actually notice how slower I am not writing in cursive. Its a bit tricky to write cursive as my mind is slow, like it starts to make the wrong letter from muscle memory.
Do fountain pens work with left-handed people? I've got the worst writing technique, and I drag my hand across the paper as I write. Often, if the ink isn't dry, I'll just end up smudging everything. G2 Pilots are the worst about smearing my writing.
On April 24 2013 23:24 Bwaaaa wrote: Can you carry a fountain pen around in your pant pocket everyday? I currently have a crappy ball point that has been in my pocket for years and have been contemplating investing 20-30 dollars in an upgrade. Are fountain pens practical compared to a ball point for an everyday carry?
Yes absolutely.
On April 25 2013 03:44 zachMEISTER wrote: Do fountain pens work with left-handed people? I've got the worst writing technique, and I drag my hand across the paper as I write. Often, if the ink isn't dry, I'll just end up smudging everything. G2 Pilots are the worst about smearing my writing.
You can buy pens with nibs designed for left handed writing, but if you drag your hand you'll still smear the ink unfortunately :/
On April 24 2013 10:21 autoexec wrote: Can anyone reccomend a quality demonstrator model for around 10$? I have never had one before and would like to try them out!
A quality demonstrator might start at $20 (Noodler's Ahab or Konrad, probably not ideal for beginners). Lamy Vista is the demonstrator version of the Lamy Safari, which comes in at about $30, much more suited to beginners, I think. Just checked the Vista on amazon. Currently $23.
I just ordered a Nemosine Singularity (photo in OP) yesterday, and I'll let you know how it is.
On April 24 2013 10:38 Jealous wrote: Great OP! Loved reading and learning about a utensil I've taken for granted xD Unfortunately I use a three-finger grip (thumb, index, middle, with index and middle bent inwards) when I write, which makes my angle opposite of a regular hold, so I can't use fountain pens ):
I'm curious to know what you mean by this... photo possible?
The tips of your index/middle go behind the pen opposite to your thumb? That looks like it would be hard to write with anything T_T
On April 25 2013 03:44 zachMEISTER wrote: Do fountain pens work with left-handed people? I've got the worst writing technique, and I drag my hand across the paper as I write. Often, if the ink isn't dry, I'll just end up smudging everything. G2 Pilots are the worst about smearing my writing.
Of course they work with lefties, but there are some complications depending on your writing style. I linked to a thread on FountainPenNetwork that discusses fast drying inks that lefties who drag through the writing can use. I'm not a lefty, so I can't really give much advice about it.
EDIT: Here's the mentioned thread, however FPN seems to be having some issues and the forums are down at the moment.
On April 24 2013 10:21 autoexec wrote: Can anyone reccomend a quality demonstrator model for around 10$? I have never had one before and would like to try them out!
A quality demonstrator might start at $20 (Noodler's Ahab or Konrad, probably not ideal for beginners). Lamy Vista is the demonstrator version of the Lamy Safari, which comes in at about $30, much more suited to beginners, I think. Just checked the Vista on amazon. Currently $23.
I just ordered a Nemosine Singularity (photo in OP) yesterday, and I'll let you know how it is.
On April 24 2013 10:38 Jealous wrote: Great OP! Loved reading and learning about a utensil I've taken for granted xD Unfortunately I use a three-finger grip (thumb, index, middle, with index and middle bent inwards) when I write, which makes my angle opposite of a regular hold, so I can't use fountain pens ):
I'm curious to know what you mean by this... photo possible?
Weird grip, I'm sure you can, write, since the tip of a normal nib is rounded but like... I assume a grip like that doesn't lend itself to use the fingers to write as much, which makes for a less flowing hand.... but... *shrugs*
On April 24 2013 23:24 Bwaaaa wrote: Can you carry a fountain pen around in your pant pocket everyday? I currently have a crappy ball point that has been in my pocket for years and have been contemplating investing 20-30 dollars in an upgrade. Are fountain pens practical compared to a ball point for an everyday carry?
This is the one that I have and you click the nib out like a normal ballpoint pen. It's really expensive even though you can get about half the price of that on eBay.
On April 24 2013 23:24 Bwaaaa wrote: Can you carry a fountain pen around in your pant pocket everyday? I currently have a crappy ball point that has been in my pocket for years and have been contemplating investing 20-30 dollars in an upgrade. Are fountain pens practical compared to a ball point for an everyday carry?
This is the one that I have and you click the nib out like a normal ballpoint pen. It's really expensive even though you can get about half the price of that on eBay.
On April 24 2013 23:24 Bwaaaa wrote: Can you carry a fountain pen around in your pant pocket everyday? I currently have a crappy ball point that has been in my pocket for years and have been contemplating investing 20-30 dollars in an upgrade. Are fountain pens practical compared to a ball point for an everyday carry?
This is the one that I have and you click the nib out like a normal ballpoint pen. It's really expensive even though you can get about half the price of that on eBay.
(The + on the top of the pen he talks about is mentioned in the youtube comments. Apparently it's so you can differentiate between the fountain pen and other types of pens with the same body/model)
On April 24 2013 10:21 autoexec wrote: Can anyone reccomend a quality demonstrator model for around 10$? I have never had one before and would like to try them out!
A quality demonstrator might start at $20 (Noodler's Ahab or Konrad, probably not ideal for beginners). Lamy Vista is the demonstrator version of the Lamy Safari, which comes in at about $30, much more suited to beginners, I think. Just checked the Vista on amazon. Currently $23.
I just ordered a Nemosine Singularity (photo in OP) yesterday, and I'll let you know how it is.
On April 24 2013 10:38 Jealous wrote: Great OP! Loved reading and learning about a utensil I've taken for granted xD Unfortunately I use a three-finger grip (thumb, index, middle, with index and middle bent inwards) when I write, which makes my angle opposite of a regular hold, so I can't use fountain pens ):
I'm curious to know what you mean by this... photo possible?
This thread made me pick up a Nemosine Singularity demonstrator with some ink, for the hell of it. My handwriting is terrible and I've never really used a fountain pen. Should be fun tho.
On April 24 2013 23:24 Bwaaaa wrote: Can you carry a fountain pen around in your pant pocket everyday? I currently have a crappy ball point that has been in my pocket for years and have been contemplating investing 20-30 dollars in an upgrade. Are fountain pens practical compared to a ball point for an everyday carry?
This is the one that I have and you click the nib out like a normal ballpoint pen. It's really expensive even though you can get about half the price of that on eBay.
(The + on the top of the pen he talks about is mentioned in the youtube comments. Apparently it's so you can differentiate between the fountain pen and other types of pens with the same body/model)
I do have trouble with triangle style pen grips so I have been looking at some other models.
I was dead set on getting a Parker urban from Amazon.com but to my dismay they cannot ship it to Australia.
Does anyone have a good website which gives I good price and can ship to Australia? The local shops have around a 300% mark-up on fountain pens for some stupid reason.
I am thinking of either getting the Parker Urban the Parker IM or the Faber Castell Loom. Does anyone have other pen suggestion that are similar and fall in my price range?
Lost my arm smoothness, but drawing with nib/fountain pens is so much fun ^^
This is just sick. Would love to see some more
On April 25 2013 17:30 Firebolt145 wrote:
On April 25 2013 17:25 wptlzkwjd wrote:
On April 24 2013 23:24 Bwaaaa wrote: Can you carry a fountain pen around in your pant pocket everyday? I currently have a crappy ball point that has been in my pocket for years and have been contemplating investing 20-30 dollars in an upgrade. Are fountain pens practical compared to a ball point for an everyday carry?
This is the one that I have and you click the nib out like a normal ballpoint pen. It's really expensive even though you can get about half the price of that on eBay.
(The + on the top of the pen he talks about is mentioned in the youtube comments. Apparently it's so you can differentiate between the fountain pen and other types of pens with the same body/model)
I do have trouble with triangle style pen grips so I have been looking at some other models.
I was dead set on getting a Parker urban from Amazon.com but to my dismay they cannot ship it to Australia.
Does anyone have a good website which gives I good price and can ship to Australia? The local shops have around a 300% mark-up on fountain pens for some stupid reason.
I am thinking of either getting the Parker Urban the Parker IM or the Faber Castell Loom. Does anyone have other pen suggestion that are similar and fall in my price range?
As for alternate websites to buy from, I have purchased from both JetPens and The Goulet Pen Company. And in my experience, they are excellent options. Though it seems neither of them carry the Parker Urban.
On April 24 2013 10:21 autoexec wrote: Can anyone reccomend a quality demonstrator model for around 10$? I have never had one before and would like to try them out!
A quality demonstrator might start at $20 (Noodler's Ahab or Konrad, probably not ideal for beginners). Lamy Vista is the demonstrator version of the Lamy Safari, which comes in at about $30, much more suited to beginners, I think. Just checked the Vista on amazon. Currently $23.
I just ordered a Nemosine Singularity (photo in OP) yesterday, and I'll let you know how it is.
On April 24 2013 10:38 Jealous wrote: Great OP! Loved reading and learning about a utensil I've taken for granted xD Unfortunately I use a three-finger grip (thumb, index, middle, with index and middle bent inwards) when I write, which makes my angle opposite of a regular hold, so I can't use fountain pens ):
I'm curious to know what you mean by this... photo possible?
Nice thread indeed. Personally i have verry bad memmorys about fountain pens wich where obligated here when i was in kids school (6-12 years) They can be a real mess and somehow i always spoiled ink over my hands,on my writing and my clothes. A ballpoint, although way less stylish is more practical. I wish i could write with fountain pens as they have alot more class but i simply cant and for me all class it radiates gets spoiled by the mess i make when using it to write
I was given an expensive Mont Blanc fountain pen by my grandfather as a college graduation present. I'm not certain how much the price tag is, but it's gold and black with a platinum inlay. It's a beautiful pen, so beautiful that I'm a bit worried about actually writing with it, so I mostly just keep it in its case as a collectible and for sentimental reasons.
Sorry for the poor quality photo - only have a camera on my phone. This is after the first filling with Parker Quink Black ink.
I purchased from Xfountainpens.com as a first time buyer from them -Free shipping to US on $15+ orders. -Honestly some of the best customer service I've seen in a while. They have a webchat available, and if a staff member is on they will message you and ask if you need help finding anything, etc. Very cool.
I really like it. I'm a fan of demonstrators, and for $15, I think this one is pretty nice. Converter included, it also came with a very unusual six cartridges compared to the standard one or two.
I'd show you some writing samples, but the only paper I have right now really sucks, and all my ink feathers on it like crazy, so there's really no point. I got a fine nib, and with the feathering it looks almost like a double broad.
It's the smoothest nib I've used in this price range, although I'm not sure how it compares to the Pilot Metropolitan. Considering that the Metropolitan doesn't have a demonstrator version, if that's what you want the Nemosine wins
He talks a bit about the box, the name of the company, Nemosine, and the Morse code found on the box. I've read that Nemosine is a pun for Mnemosyne, the Greek goddess of memory. And the Morse code on my box reads "memory"
On April 27 2013 03:51 maartendq wrote: Being left-handed and using a fountain pen is just a terrible idea.
No its not. Inks dry instantly and you don't run it anyway over the paper
Ink doesn't dry instantly, and left handed writers who drag there hand through the text they just wrote do have problems with smearing ink. There are inks available that dry very quickly and are more suitable for left handed writers. I've linked a few times in this thread to a thread on FountainPenNetwork that discusses which inks are good for lefties. (Their site is undergoing maintenance at the moment so it isn't available). The right pen can also make a difference. You want a nib that writes on the dry side (doesn't lay down as much ink) perhaps paired with an ink that dries quickly. There are a number of inks that are advertised as fast drying, probably not a bad place to start.
Got a Lamy Al-Star... Feels good. So I went ahead to get another Lamy Safari and Lamy Vista Clear Demonstrater.
I am not sure what ink is good... So just ordered some Pelikan and Sheaffer... What inks are good? I am hoping to try out more colors since I have a few pens/ nibs to switch around..
Well, that's probably only the case for those who didn't have to use a fountain pen in school. My hand position just won't make it possible to touch the non-dry ink... It's touching 3 lines higher and 15 cm away from the writing...
My other pen is giving a little bit too much ink and I'm writing numbers from 1 to 10, by that time it's dry up to number 4.
Parker's Quink (Washable blue).
Also cool stuff I notices, they have "ink reserves" now. Like a warning that you are running out... tap it a magically get more :D
On April 27 2013 04:43 lazyitachi wrote: Got a Lamy Al-Star... Feels good. So I went ahead to get another Lamy Safari and Lamy Vista Clear Demonstrater.
I am not sure what ink is good... So just ordered some Pelikan and Sheaffer... What inks are good? I am hoping to try out more colors since I have a few pens/ nibs to switch around..
If you can get your hands on some Pilot Iroshizuku you are good to go. Pelikan Edelstein is very good aswell. I use Pelikan Edelstein Topaz and i'm very satisfied.
Keep in mind that you need a converter in order to use bottled ink for those pens.
On April 27 2013 04:43 lazyitachi wrote: Got a Lamy Al-Star... Feels good. So I went ahead to get another Lamy Safari and Lamy Vista Clear Demonstrater.
I am not sure what ink is good... So just ordered some Pelikan and Sheaffer... What inks are good? I am hoping to try out more colors since I have a few pens/ nibs to switch around..
If you can get your hands on some Pilot Iroshizuku you are good to go. Pelikan Edelstein is very good aswell. I use Pelikan Edelstein Topaz and i'm very satisfied.
Keep in mind that you need a converter in order to use bottled ink for those pens.
Nice recommendations! I checked them out and the Pelikan ones seems quite good price. The Pilot one... omg... amazing color range though a bit pricy :p Watching the reviews on them inks now :D
Well I bought a packet of 20 cartridges of black ink for a couple pounds to keep me going while I get used to the pen. May just wait for my next 'more expensive' purchase, whenever that is, before starting with various inks and converters etc.
On April 27 2013 04:43 lazyitachi wrote: Got a Lamy Al-Star... Feels good. So I went ahead to get another Lamy Safari and Lamy Vista Clear Demonstrater.
I am not sure what ink is good... So just ordered some Pelikan and Sheaffer... What inks are good? I am hoping to try out more colors since I have a few pens/ nibs to switch around..
If you can get your hands on some Pilot Iroshizuku you are good to go. Pelikan Edelstein is very good aswell. I use Pelikan Edelstein Topaz and i'm very satisfied.
Keep in mind that you need a converter in order to use bottled ink for those pens.
Nice recommendations! I checked them out and the Pelikan ones seems quite good price. The Pilot one... omg... amazing color range though a bit pricy :p Watching the reviews on them inks now :D
Yeap.. i think the Lamy's comes with converters.
Iroshizuku are indeed quite pricy, especially if you live in Europe and have to ship them from Japan or USA. Also i am pretty sure that converter is sold separately. I didn't get one with my Lamy safari anyway.
On April 27 2013 04:51 0x64 wrote: Well, that's probably only the case for those who didn't have to use a fountain pen in school. My hand position just won't make it possible to touch the non-dry ink... It's touching 3 lines higher and 15 cm away from the writing...
My other pen is giving a little bit too much ink and I'm writing numbers from 1 to 10, by that time it's dry up to number 4.
Parker's Quink (Washable blue).
Also cool stuff I notices, they have "ink reserves" now. Like a warning that you are running out... tap it a magically get more :D
You could be right about that. Where I grew up we were forced to use pencils until about 5th grade. I knew a few lefties who would drag there hand through freshly laid text because it didn't really matter with a pencil and kids don't care about a little graphite on their hands.
I guess they turn in to adults who have trouble finding a good ink for fountain pens
On April 27 2013 04:43 lazyitachi wrote: Got a Lamy Al-Star... Feels good. So I went ahead to get another Lamy Safari and Lamy Vista Clear Demonstrater.
I am not sure what ink is good... So just ordered some Pelikan and Sheaffer... What inks are good? I am hoping to try out more colors since I have a few pens/ nibs to switch around..
If you can get your hands on some Pilot Iroshizuku you are good to go. Pelikan Edelstein is very good aswell. I use Pelikan Edelstein Topaz and i'm very satisfied.
Keep in mind that you need a converter in order to use bottled ink for those pens.
Lamy has a few different converters. The Z 24 converter is intended for the Safari/Vista/Al-Star. Though I think one of the other Lamy converters works as well, it just doesn't click into place like the Z24 does.
One ink I know a lot of people dislike is Parker Quink. I bought it simply because it's cheap. And I can see why it's disliked. Not a quality ink, but I didn't really expect much at that price.
I would recommend checking out Inkcyclopedia. Very extensive look at a decent number of inks, and the database is still growing.
Inspired by this little topic I tracked down a pretty cheapo fountain pen and started writing with it. My experiences have always been with a two-for present at Christmas - someone buys me two pens, one a crappy ball-point one a crappy fountain pen, and I've always been unimpressed with the fountains.
So I took this pen out and sat down, and started writing, fully expecting to hate it. I was just curious to see if I had missed something, or was mis-remembering from childhood. And...it was kinda perfect. It was a joy to write with. The ink was smooth, the nib didn't scratch or catch, and it was probably neater than my usual chicken-scratch. Might have to try getting myself a real fountain pen in the future. But for now, my cheapo one will be in pretty constant use.
Thanks, random fountain pen lovers! You have a convert.
I use these (sorry, taken with shitty phone camera): They are all cheap-ass, but they do their job perfectly, at least for someone as bad as me who only draws for fun.
On April 24 2013 23:24 Bwaaaa wrote: Can you carry a fountain pen around in your pant pocket everyday? I currently have a crappy ball point that has been in my pocket for years and have been contemplating investing 20-30 dollars in an upgrade. Are fountain pens practical compared to a ball point for an everyday carry?
This is the one that I have and you click the nib out like a normal ballpoint pen. It's really expensive even though you can get about half the price of that on eBay.
(The + on the top of the pen he talks about is mentioned in the youtube comments. Apparently it's so you can differentiate between the fountain pen and other types of pens with the same body/model)
If you walk into a meeting with a $840 (USD) Montblanc pen, everyone in the room notices.
I'm pretty sure they don't. I imagine the thought process of people in the room runs in veins like this
"man, I have not had enough coffee today"
"oh hey it's frank! hey frank!"
"kill.... killll.... can't let it show.... can't let them know how much I want to rip their bellies open and feed upon them. I am a stone, I am still. The hunter waits"
"oh, another email... better check that right now"
"Why isn't the guy who just walked in wearing any pants? Huh, guess he must have spent all his money on that biro he's holding out in front of him and couldn't afford them... strange world. Still haven't had enough coffee."
parody aside, I'm a fan of the fountain pen. Only cheap ones, though. I find a three dollar pen is generally way more reliable than a 30 dollar one for some reason.
None the pens the OP recommended for appeared there for first-timers. Do you have any cheap recommendation based on what this shop sell?
Ultra cheap Pilot VPen - I haven't used one, but I've heard a good amount of mixed reviews. Some like it, some don't. AFAIK there is no way to refill the ink in this pen.
Cheap Parker Reflex
Looks like a good number of pens on there are really over priced compared to most of the market. Parker IM for $40? Less than $30 everywhere else. Pilot Plumix is 3x as much as other vendors. I would try amazon, or see what shipping will be from companies like Jetpens or Goulet Pens.
Got into using fountain pens after living in Germany, seems like everyone in school over there uses fountain pens. I just use the standard LAMY Safari pen with medium tip. So good to write with, and i have the cartridge/tube system so when the old ink is finished, just unplug the old and put a new one in.
Ok so I have been looking around and found the pen I want on ebay for a decent price considering the shipping to Australia is free and I am also getting a converter so I can use third party ink bottles.
Now I have to decide on which Ink I want. I am pretty set on some type of blue-black but I am not sure which type I should get. I have been recommended Noodler's ink company and have been browsing through their range and have two favourites.
Their standard Blue Black and their 54th Massachusetts ink
I have been unable to find these inks with reasonable shipping to Australia any where so if you could recommend a site with good prices on the ink and shipping it would be appreciated.
Hey guys nice thread you got going on here. My father who is really into woodworking just starting making high quality fountain pens and opened up an estore. If you guys are looking for affordable one-of-a kind handmade craftsmanship, please check it out. He makes fountain and rollerball pens out of wood and acrylic. He uses fine exhibition grade rare woods and custom components.
I dont really know anything about these pens, but if anything I would really appreciate it if some of you afficianados would check out what he is doing and let me know if you have any comments or suggestions for him.
On April 27 2013 12:54 fuzzy_panda wrote: Got into using fountain pens after living in Germany, seems like everyone in school over there uses fountain pens. I just use the standard LAMY Safari pen with medium tip. So good to write with, and i have the cartridge/tube system so when the old ink is finished, just unplug the old and put a new one in.
Yeah, everyone here uses them in school. Writing looks so much better using them. And you can erase what you've written, which is also nice.
However, I write with my left hand, so I can't use them because I smear the ink all over the place.
I used to use them all the time, since in our country that's the only pen you're allowed to use in elementary school. They look so beautiful, but so inconvenient to use lol. I was so happy when I dont have to use them anymore in secondary, but still keep most of them for nostalgia sake. P/s: The thing I hate the most is ink lol. Elementary kid back then, wasnt old enough to appreciate the beauty of the pen, but refilling ink is so annoying and if u screw up, gg hands.
On April 27 2013 16:37 Capped wrote: Im sorry i have to say this.
Its a Pen O.o
I said something similar in the watch thread. Do not poke enthusiasts, lest you be crucified for your temerity.
I enjoyed using the non-refillable fountains that Pilot made for awhile, although I didn't like the potential for massive ink blots if/when I was writing and paused to think (leaving the nib in contact with the paper). Also, concerns with regards to pen orientation and carrying in pockets - then again, my ultra-micro uni-ball pen worries me as well, but not so much as an open ink reservoir would.
On April 27 2013 16:37 Capped wrote: Im sorry i have to say this.
Its a Pen O.o
Yep - just like Starcraft is only a game.
but...but...meh. I have no rebuttle.
Its nice you guys have an interest in something really.
To the pic above with the little arrow on the end, is it bad that as a child i used to find pens with those, rip them off and colelct them? I basically defaced a metric shitton of fountain pens for the arrows :D
I personally hold a love in my heart for a cheap-ass Biro, its not the common ones and i dont know the name of it, but ive held and stolen (from friends) a few of them in my time and oh god they are so good to write with as a lefty.
To be fair most fanatical enthusiasts have a pretty insufferable attitude that they are better people than others based merely on differing taste or attitude like "If you walk into a meeting with a $840 (USD) Montblanc pen, everyone in the room notices.". Really? Maybe in your head yes. You generally see it on fashion items like for example the threads here on fashion or watches, possibly the worse case I have ever seen, where people were posting the most expensive watches/clothes, from googled images, trying to encourage others to buy these same items, whilst blatantly not owning it themselves, with the most badly self justified reasons.
Anyhow, I owned several fountain pens starting from primary school, just cheap ones, it's a tool, nothing more, not a fashion statement.
On April 27 2013 22:11 Dangermousecatdog wrote: Anyhow, I owned several fountain pens starting from primary school, just cheap ones, it's a tool, nothing more, not a fashion statement.
I dunno. They could be a fashion statement, as much as anything else. It depends on the person observing. I don't notice pens, but then I don't notice watches or shoes either unless it's blatantly silly (someone wearing a watch of Flava Flav proportions, three piece suit with high heels or extreme contrasting color, or a genuine goose quill with pot of ink) - everyone has different things they will take notice of when seeing or meeting someone.
Pens are less silly than some others. And really, fountain pens are actually pretty cool - if practically a potential disaster when refilling.
I bought a Pilot Vpen today. I have tried for a little bit and nothing too special for now because I am used to press hard with a ballpoint pen. It will take some time to get used to it and to make a difference.
Edit: I just wanted to mention that I tried to buy a Parker reflex, but the shop did not have any in stock.
Those makie pens are really just amazing art. Some cost $40,000 (yes, forty-thousand)Here's a video that shows how they are made:
On April 27 2013 22:11 Dangermousecatdog wrote: To be fair most fanatical enthusiasts have a pretty insufferable attitude that they are better people than others based merely on differing taste or attitude like "If you walk into a meeting with a $840 (USD) Montblanc pen, everyone in the room notices.". Really? Maybe in your head yes. You generally see it on fashion items like for example the threads here on fashion or watches, possibly the worse case I have ever seen, where people were posting the most expensive watches/clothes, from googled images, trying to encourage others to buy these same items, whilst blatantly not owning it themselves, with the most badly self justified reasons.
Anyhow, I owned several fountain pens starting from primary school, just cheap ones, it's a tool, nothing more, not a fashion statement.
Why does everyone take that so literally? Of course not everyone is going to notice wtf. It's like a Rolex watch. Not everyone will recognize it, but when someone knows what it is, they know the prestige that comes with it, just like Montblanc pens. The only things I was trying to get across were 1. They're expensive. 2. They are very widely considered the kings of fountain pens. Rolls Royce, Brioni, etc.
In Stockholm there are two stores (that I know of) that carries a wider selection of fountain pens. One is catering mostly to people who like good pens to write with. The other one caters to people who sees pens as a status symbol. I think this absolutely sums up the state of the fountain pens today. And both things are valid for people... Personally I like quality stuff, more so than status symbol stuff. Other people prefer things that are more pretty and have a high status attached to them. *shrugs*
I didn't use more than 1 cheap pen per year of college/university, and never had to buy any. If your cost issue is with pens for a post-secondary education, you're doing something totally wrong. I fail to see hoe a near infinite supply of free pens is more expensive than buying at least one x$ inkwell and a x$ pen.
Aside from that, fountain pens use up more time due to constantly having to re-dip the pen, which is inefficient.
Fountain pens are generally for artists and hipsters; they aren't particularly practical.
On April 28 2013 17:17 Xapti wrote: I didn't use more than 1 cheap pen per year of college/university, and never had to buy any. If your cost issue is with pens for a post-secondary education, you're doing something totally wrong. I fail to see hoe a near infinite supply of free pens is more expensive than buying at least one x$ inkwell and a x$ pen.
Aside from that, fountain pens use up more time due to constantly having to re-dip the pen, which is inefficient.
Fountain pens are generally for artists and hipsters; they aren't particularly practical.
?? You use ink cartridge... You are in wrong thread. You are talking about non-fountain ink pen.
On April 28 2013 17:17 Xapti wrote: I didn't use more than 1 cheap pen per year of college/university, and never had to buy any. If your cost issue is with pens for a post-secondary education, you're doing something totally wrong. I fail to see hoe a near infinite supply of free pens is more expensive than buying at least one x$ inkwell and a x$ pen.
Aside from that, fountain pens use up more time due to constantly having to re-dip the pen, which is inefficient.
Fountain pens are generally for artists and hipsters; they aren't particularly practical.
Dip pens are the ones you have to constantly re-dip. Fountain pens generally last a good week of note taking before you have to refill or change cartridges. Also this thread is merely suggesting an alternative to using roller gel pens. For you to suggest using a free ballpoint pen in this thread is like suggesting someone to use a library computer in a laptop enthusiast thread.
?? You use ink cartridge... You are in wrong thread. You are talking about non-fountain ink pen.
Well, wikipedia reads : "Some pens employ removable reservoirs in the form of pre-filled ink cartridges" (obvious link) EDIT: oh well yes, he was talking about other pen. Still you can have ink cartridges in a fountain pen. They have the same nibs, which is the whole point of a fountain pen I believe
I've been using fountain pens since I was 7 I think. My elementary school teachers used to strongly recommend me not to use it, as my writing was atrocious at that time, but nowadays I can't write correctly with a ball pen. I think it helps building a nice writing as it forces you to be rigorous in the way you hold it and the positioning of your hand.
I write quite a lot though so I burn through cartridges quite quickly. I already used something like a hundred ones this year (~75mL)
On April 28 2013 17:17 Xapti wrote: I didn't use more than 1 cheap pen per year of college/university, and never had to buy any. If your cost issue is with pens for a post-secondary education, you're doing something totally wrong. I fail to see hoe a near infinite supply of free pens is more expensive than buying at least one x$ inkwell and a x$ pen.
Aside from that, fountain pens use up more time due to constantly having to re-dip the pen, which is inefficient.
Fountain pens are generally for artists and hipsters; they aren't particularly practical.
Honestly I understand where you're coming from, but for a writing tool that I'm going to be using for several hours each day, I prefer quality. The difference between writing with a generic rollerball(and reduction in hand strain from a shaft that actually has some radius along with not having to press very hard(or basically at all for a fountain pen)) is massive. Same concept with both pencils and pens. I have a mechanical pencil that cost something like $3.00, but over 2 years of university, I have never had it jam, or lock up on me. Compared with the shitty $2 per dozen ones I used in highschool, absolutely massive difference.
It's absolutely possible to get through university using crappy bic pens. Probably would cost less as well. But for me, as well as a bunch of other people here, we'd gladly pay an order of magnitude more for a single re-usable high quality tool that makes life so much easier and more enjoyable. I'm fine with using a crappy pen for just filling out some forms or signing something, but when I take 10-15 pages of notes every day of class, I'd much rather be using my good quality writing utensils.
On April 28 2013 17:17 Xapti wrote: I didn't use more than 1 cheap pen per year of college/university, and never had to buy any. If your cost issue is with pens for a post-secondary education, you're doing something totally wrong. I fail to see hoe a near infinite supply of free pens is more expensive than buying at least one x$ inkwell and a x$ pen.
Aside from that, fountain pens use up more time due to constantly having to re-dip the pen, which is inefficient.
Fountain pens are generally for artists and hipsters; they aren't particularly practical.
Having a pen that glides across paper instead of you having to press on the paper reduces hand strain a considerable amount. I remember using my father's pens and how the writing experience was so much better than a free ball point.
On April 28 2013 17:17 Xapti wrote: I didn't use more than 1 cheap pen per year of college/university, and never had to buy any. If your cost issue is with pens for a post-secondary education, you're doing something totally wrong. I fail to see hoe a near infinite supply of free pens is more expensive than buying at least one x$ inkwell and a x$ pen.
Aside from that, fountain pens use up more time due to constantly having to re-dip the pen, which is inefficient.
Fountain pens are generally for artists and hipsters; they aren't particularly practical.
Honestly I understand where you're coming from, but for a writing tool that I'm going to be using for several hours each day, I prefer quality. The difference between writing with a generic rollerball(and reduction in hand strain from a shaft that actually has some radius along with not having to press very hard(or basically at all for a fountain pen)) is massive. Same concept with both pencils and pens. I have a mechanical pencil that cost something like $3.00, but over 2 years of university, I have never had it jam, or lock up on me. Compared with the shitty $2 per dozen ones I used in highschool, absolutely massive difference.
It's absolutely possible to get through university using crappy bic pens. Probably would cost less as well. But for me, as well as a bunch of other people here, we'd gladly pay an order of magnitude more for a single re-usable high quality tool that makes life so much easier and more enjoyable. I'm fine with using a crappy pen for just filling out some forms or signing something, but when I take 10-15 pages of notes every day of class, I'd much rather be using my good quality writing utensils.
i would use fountain pens if it wasn't so annyoing to refill them and they wouldn't break so easy. I used them when i was younger 10 untill i was 16 or 17. But in my school career i broke at least 20? maybe more of these fountain pens. I like to to put a lot of pressure on a pen or else my handwriting is awful, if you do that with a ~20$ fountain pen the tip will break at some point. Also the cap broke countless times and i had an ink accident at least once every month.
It maybe works if you work in an office or at home but for school or university it is just not comfortable to use it, that is probably the reason why 99% of people in university use 99ct crappy ball pens.
I didn't realize fountain pens required such elaborate explanations. I've always loved classy luxury items (beautiful watches, fountain pens, ...) as an exterior display of taste and style, and, if you aren't crazy rich, it also shows that you value style over wasting money on crap.
I use a Waterman Hemisphere Essential (black w/ 23K gold trims) with large Florida Blue ink cartridges. You can see for yourself here : http://www.waterman.com/en/style/pens/product/hemisphere_essential (the third one, not the Matt Black, the regular Black w/ gold). Looks amazing, very classy. I love it and the nib writes thinly, making it more readable and cleaner. I use it when I'm attending classes and have to write stuff or when I'm doing a handwritten assignment. But when I'm doing physics/chem/math exercises, I use a regular ballpoint pen, I find it more practical and I can throw it against my wall when I've been trying to solve the same problem for 20 mns without success and it's making me angry
Forgot to mention : this very beautiful and manly fountain pen + 8 large cartridges + 2 erasers cost me 85€ (about 110 bucks I think)
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.
On April 28 2013 17:17 Xapti wrote: I didn't use more than 1 cheap pen per year of college/university, and never had to buy any. If your cost issue is with pens for a post-secondary education, you're doing something totally wrong. I fail to see hoe a near infinite supply of free pens is more expensive than buying at least one x$ inkwell and a x$ pen.
Aside from that, fountain pens use up more time due to constantly having to re-dip the pen, which is inefficient.
Fountain pens are generally for artists and hipsters; they aren't particularly practical.
You're possibly thinking of something that is NOT a fountain pen.
That was a little condescending considering you know basically nothing about what we're talking about.
Also, who the fuck are you to care how efficient we are in our writing? Sometimes efficiency is secondary to other things like personal enjoyment. With fountain pens that isn't the case, but seriously, can you be less of a jackass when you express your subjective opinions? Don't fucking come into a thread where people are having a good time discussing things that they like and try to shit all over them. It really gets me when people like you come into a thread knowing nothing just to talk shit to everyone. Like, if you even got the type of pen right I would be okay, but you clearly have no idea what you're talking about.
On April 29 2013 04:14 ZERG_RUSSIAN wrote: Also, who the fuck are you to care how efficient we are in our writing? Sometimes efficiency is secondary to other things like personal enjoyment. With fountain pens that isn't the case, but seriously, can you be less of a jackass when you express your subjective opinions? Don't fucking come into a thread whe[...]
He made a mistake and expressed a silly opinion. Let's not go crazy
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.
I had some issues with my parker. Like the cap got a crack in it and the ink cartridges would shake loose and stuff. Granted I was never kind to it :x It did see me through a year of school though and I wrote an insane amount with it.
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. + Show Spoiler +
Well no one NEEDS a Montblanc, but a lot of fountain pen users WANT one. I would probably go for a different high end brand, but there still wouldn't be a need for the pen I would spend a few hundred dollars on.
My dream pen would be one from the Nippon Art Origami collection by Pilot/Namiki.
Makie artwork, Pilot prices it at $750.
On April 28 2013 17:06 Zandar wrote: Damn
I thought I finally found someone with the same hobby
I bought my girlfriends dad a Waterman a little over a year ago. It wasn't until this year I finally got my own pen.
I was going to go for a Waterman, I like their look, and the one that I had used was quite smooth.
After hours of research, my girlfriend suggested that I go for the Namiki Vanishing Point pen. I looked around for a while and checked countless reviews that suggested to go with that Namiki. So I did.
I ended up getting the traditional matte black edition, fine tip. I love it. Absolutely amazing. The weight is great, the feel of the pen itself is wonderful. It rights really well and does not have any leakage issues. However, the backside of the nib is stained (noticeably so) and looks like it might leak - but it does not.
Personally I prefer a medium nib, the thickness just appeals to me more. However, that being said, I love the fine tip on this Namiki.
If you are a first time buyer, OP's suggestions are fine if you do not want to spend too much - but you get what you pay for. Those pens will leak, and will not be nearly as smooth a writing experience as a quality made pen. The Namiki I bought was the first fountain pen I ever owned myself, but having tried others, I knew what I wanted. I would suggest the Namiki. I think it is wonderful.
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
On April 28 2013 17:17 Xapti wrote: I didn't use more than 1 cheap pen per year of college/university, and never had to buy any. If your cost issue is with pens for a post-secondary education, you're doing something totally wrong. I fail to see hoe a near infinite supply of free pens is more expensive than buying at least one x$ inkwell and a x$ pen.
Aside from that, fountain pens use up more time due to constantly having to re-dip the pen, which is inefficient.
Fountain pens are generally for artists and hipsters; they aren't particularly practical.
Honestly I understand where you're coming from, but for a writing tool that I'm going to be using for several hours each day, I prefer quality. The difference between writing with a generic rollerball(and reduction in hand strain from a shaft that actually has some radius along with not having to press very hard(or basically at all for a fountain pen)) is massive. Same concept with both pencils and pens. I have a mechanical pencil that cost something like $3.00, but over 2 years of university, I have never had it jam, or lock up on me. Compared with the shitty $2 per dozen ones I used in highschool, absolutely massive difference.
It's absolutely possible to get through university using crappy bic pens. Probably would cost less as well. But for me, as well as a bunch of other people here, we'd gladly pay an order of magnitude more for a single re-usable high quality tool that makes life so much easier and more enjoyable. I'm fine with using a crappy pen for just filling out some forms or signing something, but when I take 10-15 pages of notes every day of class, I'd much rather be using my good quality writing utensils.
i would use fountain pens if it wasn't so annyoing to refill them and they wouldn't break so easy. I used them when i was younger 10 untill i was 16 or 17. But in my school career i broke at least 20? maybe more of these fountain pens. I like to to put a lot of pressure on a pen or else my handwriting is awful, if you do that with a ~20$ fountain pen the tip will break at some point. Also the cap broke countless times and i had an ink accident at least once every month.
It maybe works if you work in an office or at home but for school or university it is just not comfortable to use it, that is probably the reason why 99% of people in university use 99ct crappy ball pens.
Yeah well, pressing so hard is clearly why fountain pens aren't for you. One of the benefits of using a fountain pen is that you don't have to press hard at all, some pens just glide along the paper laying a beautiful line of ink with no pressure. Pressing too firmly results in what happened to you, broken pens. If you can't adjust to a lighter amount of pressure then fountain pens just won't work out, but if you can adjust, then your hands won't get as tired from writing.
Many students DO use them for school for that very reason, including myself. Note taking just doesn't tire me out like it did when I used ballpoints. Sorry to say, but you're wrong about why students don't use them. They are actually more comfortable for many people once they learn to adjust.
And they can be as convenient as a bic round stick if you want them to be. Refilling them can be as simple as refilling a ballpoint/gel rollerball/etc - unscrew the body, take the empty ink tube out, put a full one in, screw the body back on. Done. And believe it or not, there are a lot of people that enjoy the act of filling their pens from bottled ink, especially those who enjoy history. To them it's simply a pleasurable experience.
On April 29 2013 07:40 fams wrote: I bought my girlfriends dad a Waterman a little over a year ago. It wasn't until this year I finally got my own pen.
I was going to go for a Waterman, I like their look, and the one that I had used was quite smooth.
After hours of research, my girlfriend suggested that I go for the Namiki Vanishing Point pen. I looked around for a while and checked countless reviews that suggested to go with that Namiki. So I did.
I ended up getting the traditional matte black edition, fine tip. I love it. Absolutely amazing. The weight is great, the feel of the pen itself is wonderful. It rights really well and does not have any leakage issues. However, the backside of the nib is stained (noticeably so) and looks like it might leak - but it does not.
Personally I prefer a medium nib, the thickness just appeals to me more. However, that being said, I love the fine tip on this Namiki.
If you are a first time buyer, OP's suggestions are fine if you do not want to spend too much - but you get what you pay for. Those pens will leak, and will not be nearly as smooth a writing experience as a quality made pen. The Namiki I bought was the first fountain pen I ever owned myself, but having tried others, I knew what I wanted. I would suggest the Namiki. I think it is wonderful.
I don't like the idea of recommending the Vanishing Point. While it is a very nice pen, it poses some issues for beginners and those who have never used a fountain pen. The most obvious being the price point. Why would someone want to try a fountain pen for the first time when it's going to cost them almost $150 when they can just get their tried and true ballpoint/rollerball for $3?
The mechanisms in the Vanishing Point are more complicated and require more research/knowledge than a standard cartridge/converter fountain pen. ie, taking the pen apart you might not realize that you have to be careful about not letting the click mechanism fly away and potentially using it. It's perhaps also a good idea to not fill the pen as a standard converter would be filled because you can get ink stuck inside the nib housing unit which will either drip out when you click the pen open or dry up if you don't remove it, which is something a beginner may not think of.
Many people would argue that there a lot of "quality made pens" on the cheap end. Take the metropolitan, I know people who prefer their metropolitan over pens that cost four times as much, and it's only $15.
I'm not saying that you should never get the Pilot Vanishing Point, because it really is an awesome pen. The retractable mechanism is very well done and that convenience is quite appealing. I simply don't think it's a good choice for beginners.
On April 28 2013 17:17 Xapti wrote: I didn't use more than 1 cheap pen per year of college/university, and never had to buy any. If your cost issue is with pens for a post-secondary education, you're doing something totally wrong. I fail to see hoe a near infinite supply of free pens is more expensive than buying at least one x$ inkwell and a x$ pen.
Aside from that, fountain pens use up more time due to constantly having to re-dip the pen, which is inefficient.
Fountain pens are generally for artists and hipsters; they aren't particularly practical.
Honestly I understand where you're coming from, but for a writing tool that I'm going to be using for several hours each day, I prefer quality. The difference between writing with a generic rollerball(and reduction in hand strain from a shaft that actually has some radius along with not having to press very hard(or basically at all for a fountain pen)) is massive. Same concept with both pencils and pens. I have a mechanical pencil that cost something like $3.00, but over 2 years of university, I have never had it jam, or lock up on me. Compared with the shitty $2 per dozen ones I used in highschool, absolutely massive difference.
It's absolutely possible to get through university using crappy bic pens. Probably would cost less as well. But for me, as well as a bunch of other people here, we'd gladly pay an order of magnitude more for a single re-usable high quality tool that makes life so much easier and more enjoyable. I'm fine with using a crappy pen for just filling out some forms or signing something, but when I take 10-15 pages of notes every day of class, I'd much rather be using my good quality writing utensils.
i would use fountain pens if it wasn't so annyoing to refill them and they wouldn't break so easy. I used them when i was younger 10 untill i was 16 or 17. But in my school career i broke at least 20? maybe more of these fountain pens. I like to to put a lot of pressure on a pen or else my handwriting is awful, if you do that with a ~20$ fountain pen the tip will break at some point. Also the cap broke countless times and i had an ink accident at least once every month.
It maybe works if you work in an office or at home but for school or university it is just not comfortable to use it, that is probably the reason why 99% of people in university use 99ct crappy ball pens.
Yeah well, pressing so hard is clearly why fountain pens aren't for you. One of the benefits of using a fountain pen is that you don't have to press hard at all, some pens just glide along the paper laying a beautiful line of ink with no pressure. Pressing too firmly results in what happened to you, broken pens. If you can't adjust to a lighter amount of pressure then fountain pens just won't work out, but if you can adjust, then your hands won't get as tired from writing.
Many students DO use them for school for that very reason, including myself. Note taking just doesn't tire me out like it did when I used ballpoints. Sorry to say, but you're wrong about why students don't use them. They are actually more comfortable for many people once they learn to adjust.
And they can be as convenient as a bic round stick if you want them to be. Refilling them can be as simple as refilling a ballpoint/gel rollerball/etc - unscrew the body, take the empty ink tube out, put a full one in, screw the body back on. Done. And believe it or not, there are a lot of people that enjoy the act of filling their pens from bottled ink, especially those who enjoy history. To them it's simply a pleasurable experience.
On April 29 2013 07:40 fams wrote: I bought my girlfriends dad a Waterman a little over a year ago. It wasn't until this year I finally got my own pen.
I was going to go for a Waterman, I like their look, and the one that I had used was quite smooth.
After hours of research, my girlfriend suggested that I go for the Namiki Vanishing Point pen. I looked around for a while and checked countless reviews that suggested to go with that Namiki. So I did.
I ended up getting the traditional matte black edition, fine tip. I love it. Absolutely amazing. The weight is great, the feel of the pen itself is wonderful. It rights really well and does not have any leakage issues. However, the backside of the nib is stained (noticeably so) and looks like it might leak - but it does not.
Personally I prefer a medium nib, the thickness just appeals to me more. However, that being said, I love the fine tip on this Namiki.
If you are a first time buyer, OP's suggestions are fine if you do not want to spend too much - but you get what you pay for. Those pens will leak, and will not be nearly as smooth a writing experience as a quality made pen. The Namiki I bought was the first fountain pen I ever owned myself, but having tried others, I knew what I wanted. I would suggest the Namiki. I think it is wonderful.
I don't like the idea of recommending the Vanishing Point. While it is a very nice pen, it poses some issues for beginners and those who have never used a fountain pen. The most obvious being the price point. Why would someone want to try a fountain pen for the first time when it's going to cost them almost $150 when they can just get their tried and true ballpoint/rollerball for $3?
The mechanisms in the Vanishing Point are more complicated and require more research/knowledge than a standard cartridge/converter fountain pen. ie, taking the pen apart you might not realize that you have to be careful about not letting the click mechanism fly away and potentially using it. It's perhaps also a good idea to not fill the pen as a standard converter would be filled because you can get ink stuck inside the nib housing unit which will either drip out when you click the pen open or dry up if you don't remove it, which is something a beginner may not think of.
Many people would argue that there a lot of "quality made pens" on the cheap end. Take the metropolitan, I know people who prefer their metropolitan over pens that cost four times as much, and it's only $15.
I'm not saying that you should never get the Pilot Vanishing Point, because it really is an awesome pen. The retractable mechanism is very well done and that convenience is quite appealing. I simply don't think it's a good choice for beginners.
Yeah I understand what you are saying. But truth be told, if you are seriously considering getting a fountain pen for more than simply the novelty of having one, then you want something that you know is tried and true.
If you are just testing it out and want to see if you like it - yes, do not buy it. It is expensive. But if you are a writer and you love working with pens rather than a keyboard, and the idea of a fountain pen fascinates you, I do not see any reason to forgo a little expense. In the long run, the quality will last.
Also, as far as it being complicated - I only half agree. I just use the cartridges and they are really simple to figure out.
This is going to be quick because I'm incredibly tired and I need to sleep very badly.
I ordered a semi-cheap fountain fountain pen to see if I can manage to figure out a viable writing technique with it before moving on to something nice. If it works out, I'm thinking of buying some higher end pen that'd both look good (and hopefully last me many years) and write well. I'd mostly use it to write exams and take some notes and whatnot. I'm looking at the black Parker Sonnet with golden trim which seems to be going for $85 from amazon. I know I'm getting ahead of myself and I don't intend to order anything before making sure I actually like the feel of a fountain pen... sometimes I get these mild OCD phases ^^.
Anyhow, does anyone have any opinions about this pen in particular? Are there others in that price range I should look at? I haven't really found pen which look better to me, so if it writes well, I'll be happy enough
On April 29 2013 15:06 Mordanis wrote: Because of this thread I bought a fountain pen to take my physics and logic finals with. Thanks for the topic ^^
wow... first timer and already using it in an exam? That's bravery.
I ma save the fountain pen for casual writing first :3 Use em gel pens for my coming exam cos i m a pussy.. hehe
On April 29 2013 15:05 Djzapz wrote: This is going to be quick because I'm incredibly tired and I need to sleep very badly.
I ordered a semi-cheap fountain fountain pen to see if I can manage to figure out a viable writing technique with it before moving on to something nice. If it works out, I'm thinking of buying some higher end pen that'd both look good (and hopefully last me many years) and write well. I'd mostly use it to write exams and take some notes and whatnot. I'm looking at the black Parker Sonnet with golden trim which seems to be going for $85 from amazon. I know I'm getting ahead of myself and I don't intend to order anything before making sure I actually like the feel of a fountain pen... sometimes I get these mild OCD phases ^^.
Anyhow, does anyone have any opinions about this pen in particular? Are there others in that price range I should look at? I haven't really found pen which look better to me, so if it writes well, I'll be happy enough
Cheers
I have that exact pen, posted pics a few pages back. The inkflow is a bit slow in the beginning, straight out of the box that is, but after some usage it works very well. The Waterman Expert II is said to have better inital inkflow and but has been reported to have leakage in some cases, but there should be a warranty if that where to occur. Overall they cost about the same and perform about the same (from what reviews I've read), I chose the Parker because I like the design more. From what I understand most people seem to think the Lamy 2000 is the best pen in terms of performance of the three, but it is also a bit higher priced and its design is kinda bland.
On April 28 2013 17:17 Xapti wrote: I didn't use more than 1 cheap pen per year of college/university, and never had to buy any. If your cost issue is with pens for a post-secondary education, you're doing something totally wrong. I fail to see hoe a near infinite supply of free pens is more expensive than buying at least one x$ inkwell and a x$ pen.
Aside from that, fountain pens use up more time due to constantly having to re-dip the pen, which is inefficient.
Fountain pens are generally for artists and hipsters; they aren't particularly practical.
Honestly I understand where you're coming from, but for a writing tool that I'm going to be using for several hours each day, I prefer quality. The difference between writing with a generic rollerball(and reduction in hand strain from a shaft that actually has some radius along with not having to press very hard(or basically at all for a fountain pen)) is massive. Same concept with both pencils and pens. I have a mechanical pencil that cost something like $3.00, but over 2 years of university, I have never had it jam, or lock up on me. Compared with the shitty $2 per dozen ones I used in highschool, absolutely massive difference.
It's absolutely possible to get through university using crappy bic pens. Probably would cost less as well. But for me, as well as a bunch of other people here, we'd gladly pay an order of magnitude more for a single re-usable high quality tool that makes life so much easier and more enjoyable. I'm fine with using a crappy pen for just filling out some forms or signing something, but when I take 10-15 pages of notes every day of class, I'd much rather be using my good quality writing utensils.
i would use fountain pens if it wasn't so annyoing to refill them and they wouldn't break so easy. I used them when i was younger 10 untill i was 16 or 17. But in my school career i broke at least 20? maybe more of these fountain pens. I like to to put a lot of pressure on a pen or else my handwriting is awful, if you do that with a ~20$ fountain pen the tip will break at some point. Also the cap broke countless times and i had an ink accident at least once every month.
It maybe works if you work in an office or at home but for school or university it is just not comfortable to use it, that is probably the reason why 99% of people in university use 99ct crappy ball pens.
Yeah well, pressing so hard is clearly why fountain pens aren't for you. One of the benefits of using a fountain pen is that you don't have to press hard at all, some pens just glide along the paper laying a beautiful line of ink with no pressure. Pressing too firmly results in what happened to you, broken pens. If you can't adjust to a lighter amount of pressure then fountain pens just won't work out, but if you can adjust, then your hands won't get as tired from writing.
Many students DO use them for school for that very reason, including myself. Note taking just doesn't tire me out like it did when I used ballpoints. Sorry to say, but you're wrong about why students don't use them. They are actually more comfortable for many people once they learn to adjust.
And they can be as convenient as a bic round stick if you want them to be. Refilling them can be as simple as refilling a ballpoint/gel rollerball/etc - unscrew the body, take the empty ink tube out, put a full one in, screw the body back on. Done. And believe it or not, there are a lot of people that enjoy the act of filling their pens from bottled ink, especially those who enjoy history. To them it's simply a pleasurable experience.
On April 29 2013 07:40 fams wrote: I bought my girlfriends dad a Waterman a little over a year ago. It wasn't until this year I finally got my own pen.
I was going to go for a Waterman, I like their look, and the one that I had used was quite smooth.
After hours of research, my girlfriend suggested that I go for the Namiki Vanishing Point pen. I looked around for a while and checked countless reviews that suggested to go with that Namiki. So I did.
I ended up getting the traditional matte black edition, fine tip. I love it. Absolutely amazing. The weight is great, the feel of the pen itself is wonderful. It rights really well and does not have any leakage issues. However, the backside of the nib is stained (noticeably so) and looks like it might leak - but it does not.
Personally I prefer a medium nib, the thickness just appeals to me more. However, that being said, I love the fine tip on this Namiki.
If you are a first time buyer, OP's suggestions are fine if you do not want to spend too much - but you get what you pay for. Those pens will leak, and will not be nearly as smooth a writing experience as a quality made pen. The Namiki I bought was the first fountain pen I ever owned myself, but having tried others, I knew what I wanted. I would suggest the Namiki. I think it is wonderful.
I don't like the idea of recommending the Vanishing Point. While it is a very nice pen, it poses some issues for beginners and those who have never used a fountain pen. The most obvious being the price point. Why would someone want to try a fountain pen for the first time when it's going to cost them almost $150 when they can just get their tried and true ballpoint/rollerball for $3?
The mechanisms in the Vanishing Point are more complicated and require more research/knowledge than a standard cartridge/converter fountain pen. ie, taking the pen apart you might not realize that you have to be careful about not letting the click mechanism fly away and potentially using it. It's perhaps also a good idea to not fill the pen as a standard converter would be filled because you can get ink stuck inside the nib housing unit which will either drip out when you click the pen open or dry up if you don't remove it, which is something a beginner may not think of.
Many people would argue that there a lot of "quality made pens" on the cheap end. Take the metropolitan, I know people who prefer their metropolitan over pens that cost four times as much, and it's only $15.
I'm not saying that you should never get the Pilot Vanishing Point, because it really is an awesome pen. The retractable mechanism is very well done and that convenience is quite appealing. I simply don't think it's a good choice for beginners.
Yeah I understand what you are saying. But truth be told, if you are seriously considering getting a fountain pen for more than simply the novelty of having one, then you want something that you know is tried and true.
If you are just testing it out and want to see if you like it - yes, do not buy it. It is expensive. But if you are a writer and you love working with pens rather than a keyboard, and the idea of a fountain pen fascinates you, I do not see any reason to forgo a little expense. In the long run, the quality will last.
Also, as far as it being complicated - I only half agree. I just use the cartridges and they are really simple to figure out.
Well I hope you enjoy your bottled ink experience whenever you choose to make the venture.
On April 25 2013 03:31 WoundedKite wrote: Ink is like Pokemon--gotta try 'em all.
On April 29 2013 15:06 Mordanis wrote: Because of this thread I bought a fountain pen to take my physics and logic finals with. Thanks for the topic ^^
For a physics final? Good luck! On my physics final next week I'll be using a Pilot Frixion.
On April 29 2013 15:05 Djzapz wrote: This is going to be quick because I'm incredibly tired and I need to sleep very badly.
I ordered a semi-cheap fountain fountain pen to see if I can manage to figure out a viable writing technique with it before moving on to something nice. If it works out, I'm thinking of buying some higher end pen that'd both look good (and hopefully last me many years) and write well. I'd mostly use it to write exams and take some notes and whatnot. I'm looking at the black Parker Sonnet with golden trim which seems to be going for $85 from amazon. I know I'm getting ahead of myself and I don't intend to order anything before making sure I actually like the feel of a fountain pen... sometimes I get these mild OCD phases ^^.
Anyhow, does anyone have any opinions about this pen in particular? Are there others in that price range I should look at? I haven't really found pen which look better to me, so if it writes well, I'll be happy enough
Cheers
I have that exact pen, posted pics a few pages back. The inkflow is a bit slow in the beginning, straight out of the box that is, but after some usage it works very well. The Waterman Expert II is said to have better inital inkflow and but has been reported to have leakage in some cases, but there should be a warranty if that where to occur. Overall they cost about the same and perform about the same (from what reviews I've read), I chose the Parker because I like the design more. From what I understand most people seem to think the Lamy 2000 is the best pen in terms of performance of the three, but it is also a bit higher priced and its design is kinda bland.
Thanks for the info, it looks absolutely amazing. Also the Waterman Expert II is very much to my liking, but it's $50 more where I can find it. The gold/stainless nib is beautiful too.
The Lamy 2000 doesn't look bad but it's not the kind of look I'm going for. It's the kind of thing I'd like to take outside though, for taking notes or something. Anywho thank you!!
On April 29 2013 23:21 Marimokkori wrote: For a physics final? Good luck! On my physics final next week I'll be using a Pilot Frixion.
I've used a pilot Frixion, slightly different model though. If you're not familiar with them, I would consider bringing two to the exam they seem to run out fast.
Edit: Got my Nemosine Singularity: I'm sold as ****. I ended up ordering this:
On April 29 2013 15:06 Mordanis wrote: Because of this thread I bought a fountain pen to take my physics and logic finals with. Thanks for the topic ^^
wow... first timer and already using it in an exam? That's bravery.
I ma save the fountain pen for casual writing first :3 Use em gel pens for my coming exam cos i m a pussy.. hehe
I'll have like 8 days of practice, it ain't no thang :D
Because style points count more than actual points, right? right?
On April 29 2013 15:05 Djzapz wrote: This is going to be quick because I'm incredibly tired and I need to sleep very badly.
I ordered a semi-cheap fountain fountain pen to see if I can manage to figure out a viable writing technique with it before moving on to something nice. If it works out, I'm thinking of buying some higher end pen that'd both look good (and hopefully last me many years) and write well. I'd mostly use it to write exams and take some notes and whatnot. I'm looking at the black Parker Sonnet with golden trim which seems to be going for $85 from amazon. I know I'm getting ahead of myself and I don't intend to order anything before making sure I actually like the feel of a fountain pen... sometimes I get these mild OCD phases ^^.
Anyhow, does anyone have any opinions about this pen in particular? Are there others in that price range I should look at? I haven't really found pen which look better to me, so if it writes well, I'll be happy enough
Cheers
I have that exact pen, posted pics a few pages back. The inkflow is a bit slow in the beginning, straight out of the box that is, but after some usage it works very well. The Waterman Expert II is said to have better inital inkflow and but has been reported to have leakage in some cases, but there should be a warranty if that where to occur. Overall they cost about the same and perform about the same (from what reviews I've read), I chose the Parker because I like the design more. From what I understand most people seem to think the Lamy 2000 is the best pen in terms of performance of the three, but it is also a bit higher priced and its design is kinda bland.
Thanks for the info, it looks absolutely amazing. Also the Waterman Expert II is very much to my liking, but it's $50 more where I can find it. The gold/stainless nib is beautiful too.
The Lamy 2000 doesn't look bad but it's not the kind of look I'm going for. It's the kind of thing I'd like to take outside though, for taking notes or something. Anywho thank you!!
On April 29 2013 23:21 Marimokkori wrote: For a physics final? Good luck! On my physics final next week I'll be using a Pilot Frixion.
I've used a pilot Frixion, slightly different model though. If you're not familiar with them, I would consider bringing two to the exam they seem to run out fast.
Edit: Got my Nemosine Singularity: I'm sold as ****. I ended up ordering this:+ Show Spoiler +
I really like my singularity also, except that the plastic feels a little cheap when capping/uncapping the pen. I'm probably going to get the Monteverde Artista Crystal pretty soon. That clear feed is just irresistible. I prefer F/EF nibs, and the Artista Crystal only comes in M, so that's a bummer, but the style is totally worth it.
As for the Frixions, I don't really like the color of line they put down, but hey, it's really easy to erase. They did a very nice job with the intended function of that ink.
On April 29 2013 15:05 Djzapz wrote: This is going to be quick because I'm incredibly tired and I need to sleep very badly.
I ordered a semi-cheap fountain fountain pen to see if I can manage to figure out a viable writing technique with it before moving on to something nice. If it works out, I'm thinking of buying some higher end pen that'd both look good (and hopefully last me many years) and write well. I'd mostly use it to write exams and take some notes and whatnot. I'm looking at the black Parker Sonnet with golden trim which seems to be going for $85 from amazon. I know I'm getting ahead of myself and I don't intend to order anything before making sure I actually like the feel of a fountain pen... sometimes I get these mild OCD phases ^^.
Anyhow, does anyone have any opinions about this pen in particular? Are there others in that price range I should look at? I haven't really found pen which look better to me, so if it writes well, I'll be happy enough
Cheers
I have that exact pen, posted pics a few pages back. The inkflow is a bit slow in the beginning, straight out of the box that is, but after some usage it works very well. The Waterman Expert II is said to have better inital inkflow and but has been reported to have leakage in some cases, but there should be a warranty if that where to occur. Overall they cost about the same and perform about the same (from what reviews I've read), I chose the Parker because I like the design more. From what I understand most people seem to think the Lamy 2000 is the best pen in terms of performance of the three, but it is also a bit higher priced and its design is kinda bland.
Thanks for the info, it looks absolutely amazing. Also the Waterman Expert II is very much to my liking, but it's $50 more where I can find it. The gold/stainless nib is beautiful too.
The Lamy 2000 doesn't look bad but it's not the kind of look I'm going for. It's the kind of thing I'd like to take outside though, for taking notes or something. Anywho thank you!!
On April 29 2013 23:21 Marimokkori wrote: For a physics final? Good luck! On my physics final next week I'll be using a Pilot Frixion.
I've used a pilot Frixion, slightly different model though. If you're not familiar with them, I would consider bringing two to the exam they seem to run out fast.
Edit: Got my Nemosine Singularity: I'm sold as ****. I ended up ordering this:+ Show Spoiler +
I really like my singularity also, except that the plastic feels a little cheap when capping/uncapping the pen. I'm probably going to get the Monteverde Artista Crystal pretty soon. That clear feed is just irresistible. I prefer F/EF nibs, and the Artista Crystal only comes in M, so that's a bummer, but the style is totally worth it.
As for the Frixions, I don't really like the color of line they put down, but hey, it's really easy to erase. They did a very nice job with the intended function of that ink.
The clear feed actually is really nice :D. But yeah frixions suck but I use them to write exams so once it's turned in it's no longer my problem
On April 29 2013 15:05 Djzapz wrote: This is going to be quick because I'm incredibly tired and I need to sleep very badly.
I ordered a semi-cheap fountain fountain pen to see if I can manage to figure out a viable writing technique with it before moving on to something nice. If it works out, I'm thinking of buying some higher end pen that'd both look good (and hopefully last me many years) and write well. I'd mostly use it to write exams and take some notes and whatnot. I'm looking at the black Parker Sonnet with golden trim which seems to be going for $85 from amazon. I know I'm getting ahead of myself and I don't intend to order anything before making sure I actually like the feel of a fountain pen... sometimes I get these mild OCD phases ^^.
Anyhow, does anyone have any opinions about this pen in particular? Are there others in that price range I should look at? I haven't really found pen which look better to me, so if it writes well, I'll be happy enough
Cheers
Why not check out the Pilot Metropolitan. its pretty much the absolute best bang for your buck out there?
Further up, (and somewhat more exotic) are TWSBI's, they tend to be demonstrator type fountain pens.
I'm partial to Sailor Pens, but those are higher in price (North of $125 usually), and I have a vintage Parkers, tbh not a huge fan of their new stuff. You could check out Cross Pens, they have a more "modern" aesthetic, and I think they use Pelikan nibs (fantastic reputable manufacturer of Nibs, but their pricing has gotten stupid lately). Sheaffer (and the Waterman Carene, also more expensive) have that old fashioned inlaid nib, very pretty. For a more modern aesthetic, there is the Lamy 2000, but that's also more expensive
Hope that helps some. I love collecting fountain pens. I enjoy their permanence, but the big draw is all the funky inks you get to use.
On April 29 2013 15:05 Djzapz wrote: This is going to be quick because I'm incredibly tired and I need to sleep very badly.
I ordered a semi-cheap fountain fountain pen to see if I can manage to figure out a viable writing technique with it before moving on to something nice. If it works out, I'm thinking of buying some higher end pen that'd both look good (and hopefully last me many years) and write well. I'd mostly use it to write exams and take some notes and whatnot. I'm looking at the black Parker Sonnet with golden trim which seems to be going for $85 from amazon. I know I'm getting ahead of myself and I don't intend to order anything before making sure I actually like the feel of a fountain pen... sometimes I get these mild OCD phases ^^.
Anyhow, does anyone have any opinions about this pen in particular? Are there others in that price range I should look at? I haven't really found pen which look better to me, so if it writes well, I'll be happy enough
Cheers
Why not check out the Pilot Metropolitan. its pretty much the absolute best bang for your buck out there?
Further up, (and somewhat more exotic) are TWSBI's, they tend to be demonstrator type fountain pens.
I'm partial to Sailor Pens, but those are higher in price (North of $125 usually), and I have a vintage Parkers, tbh not a huge fan of their new stuff. You could check out Cross Pens, they have a more "modern" aesthetic, and I think they use Pelikan nibs (fantastic reputable manufacturer of Nibs, but their pricing has gotten stupid lately). Sheaffer (and the Waterman Carene, also more expensive) have that old fashioned inlaid nib, very pretty. For a more modern aesthetic, there is the Lamy 2000, but that's also more expensive
Hope that helps some. I love collecting fountain pens. I enjoy their permanence, but the big draw is all the funky inks you get to use.
I might pick up a few myself. The Pilot Metropolitan looks pretty good and it's the kinda thing I might end up using as my "casual" pen. The Parker is a bit fancy to bring to school... on the other hand, if I'm going to have something that cool, might as well use it.
On April 29 2013 15:05 Djzapz wrote: This is going to be quick because I'm incredibly tired and I need to sleep very badly.
I ordered a semi-cheap fountain fountain pen to see if I can manage to figure out a viable writing technique with it before moving on to something nice. If it works out, I'm thinking of buying some higher end pen that'd both look good (and hopefully last me many years) and write well. I'd mostly use it to write exams and take some notes and whatnot. I'm looking at the black Parker Sonnet with golden trim which seems to be going for $85 from amazon. I know I'm getting ahead of myself and I don't intend to order anything before making sure I actually like the feel of a fountain pen... sometimes I get these mild OCD phases ^^.
Anyhow, does anyone have any opinions about this pen in particular? Are there others in that price range I should look at? I haven't really found pen which look better to me, so if it writes well, I'll be happy enough
Cheers
Why not check out the Pilot Metropolitan. its pretty much the absolute best bang for your buck out there?
Further up, (and somewhat more exotic) are TWSBI's, they tend to be demonstrator type fountain pens.
I'm partial to Sailor Pens, but those are higher in price (North of $125 usually), and I have a vintage Parkers, tbh not a huge fan of their new stuff. You could check out Cross Pens, they have a more "modern" aesthetic, and I think they use Pelikan nibs (fantastic reputable manufacturer of Nibs, but their pricing has gotten stupid lately). Sheaffer (and the Waterman Carene, also more expensive) have that old fashioned inlaid nib, very pretty. For a more modern aesthetic, there is the Lamy 2000, but that's also more expensive
Hope that helps some. I love collecting fountain pens. I enjoy their permanence, but the big draw is all the funky inks you get to use.
TWSBI Diamonds are really cool pens. If you check them out, you may like to know that The Vac 700 is coming out in a mini version. TWSBI has released information that they have it in the works.
Left: Vac 700. Right: Concept design for the Vac Mini + Show Spoiler +
The Vac 700 holds a very generous amount of ink thanks to the nifty filling mechanism, so depending on how many classes you need to take notes in, that could be beneficial. + Show Spoiler [Video Review by Goulet] +
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. ^^
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
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Tough, I don't think I know anybody who uses fountain pen. But yeah, lesson learned.
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 >"<
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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.
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.
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.
So I too was inspired by the OP and rushed out to spend some disposable income trying these pens out. Though I could've amazon primed a 5 dollar pilot, I ended up settling on a 5 dollar Schaefer pen from a local hobby store and have found that it is nothing but trouble. Every time, literally every time I uncap it it takes forever to start. Often I have to manually place a drop to several drops of water on the nib to start the flow. The writing action is very uneven and words flow will often go in and out mid word. I always immediately cap the pen after use to ward against drying.
I'm obviously new to fountain pens and probably could use practice writing with it, but I'm convinced my experience isn't solely due to my newbishness. Would you guys suggest I clean the head of my pen perhaps? Also, I've read several basic introductions on how to write with a pen, but are there any good video demonstrations you all would suggest? And finally, is there any way to salvage the two cartridges of ink that came with the pen if I decide to get a Lamy safari?
I really do like the feel of the pen (when it works) and love the end product. It's definitely more rewarding when journaling and dungeon-mastering (sending a player a note from an NPC with elegant script is so much more effective), but this pen is making me tear my eyeballs out.
On May 08 2013 01:35 Kronen wrote: So I too was inspired by the OP and rushed out to spend some disposable income trying these pens out. Though I could've amazon primed a 5 dollar pilot, I ended up settling on a 5 dollar Schaefer pen from a local hobby store and have found that it is nothing but trouble. Every time, literally every time I uncap it it takes forever to start. Often I have to manually place a drop to several drops of water on the nib to start the flow. The writing action is very uneven and words flow will often go in and out mid word. I always immediately cap the pen after use to ward against drying.
I'm obviously new to fountain pens and probably could use practice writing with it, but I'm convinced my experience isn't solely due to my newbishness. Would you guys suggest I clean the head of my pen perhaps? Also, I've read several basic introductions on how to write with a pen, but are there any good video demonstrations you all would suggest? And finally, is there any way to salvage the two cartridges of ink that came with the pen if I decide to get a Lamy safari?
I really do like the feel of the pen (when it works) and love the end product. It's definitely more rewarding when journaling and dungeon-mastering (sending a player a note from an NPC with elegant script is so much more effective), but this pen is making me tear my eyeballs out.
What model is the pen? It sounds like something is wrong with the pen, which unfortunately can happen sometimes.
Some possible culprits: Tines are out of alignment/bent Channel too narrow on the feed The pen doesn't care for the ink you're using. (Though it sounds like you're using cartridges that came with the pen, so unlikely this) Residue left on the channel, etc from manufacturing
I would recommend first to thoroughly flush the pen with water. Hold it under a faucet, or let it soak. Some people like to use a bulb syringe to flush their pens as it takes less time. Make sure there is no ink left in the pen - water coming out of it should be totally clear/clean. Pop a cartridge back in and a) let it sit nib down for a few minutes so the feed gets saturated with ink, or b) very gently squeeze the cartridge until you see ink coming out of the feed (do not over do it, you can spray ink everywhere and break the cartridge if you are too forceful) and try writing.
Some videos
Startup issues
Extensive cleaning
If this doesn't yield any results, then you can look for some videos on adjusting the nib wetness, or perhaps try a different pen/ink. You can also return to the hobby store and let them know that something is up with the pen. They might give you a new one since it's cheaper, and while you are at the store ask if you can try writing with it to make sure everything's OK.
In one of my calligraphy books it said to place the nib in boiling water and then rub it clean due to some oils or whatnot that the manufacturers put on them. I've never done this though...... so can't vouch for how accurate it is.
The pen I purchased is the most basic entry level Schaeffer calligraphy pen.. I didn't realize that the calligraphy nib was the reason the down stroke and cross stroke look different. I actually very much enjoy this difference and the italic look it gives.
At any rate, I flushed the nib fully and reseated the cartridge/back section. Initially I noted no difference. Using the tips in the first video you linked (thank you!! ) to get the ink flowing and I can get the ink flowing but with the same instances of inconsistency. In a moment of clarity, I noted that the angle of the nib actually greatly affects the flow. The resources I used to judge how to write (1, 2) said to hold the pen at a near 45 deg angle. This pen writes much more consistently when I hold it near vertical to the paper beneath. Is this characteristic of calligraphy style pens?
EDIT: After playing with it for some more time, the flow is still inconsistent after extended periods of time, but still flows better at sharper angles (80-90deg). 45 degrees doesn't write well at all.
On May 08 2013 09:43 Kronen wrote: Thanks so much for the help guys!~
The pen I purchased is the most basic entry level Schaeffer calligraphy pen.. I didn't realize that the calligraphy nib was the reason the down stroke and cross stroke look different. I actually very much enjoy this difference and the italic look it gives.
At any rate, I flushed the nib fully and reseated the cartridge/back section. Initially I noted no difference. Using the tips in the first video you linked (thank you!! ) to get the ink flowing and I can get the ink flowing but with the same instances of inconsistency. In a moment of clarity, I noted that the angle of the nib actually greatly affects the flow. The resources I used to judge how to write (1, 2) said to hold the pen at a near 45 deg angle. This pen writes much more consistently when I hold it near vertical to the paper beneath. Is this characteristic of calligraphy style pens?
EDIT: After playing with it for some more time, the flow is still inconsistent after extended periods of time, but still flows better at sharper angles (80-90deg). 45 degrees doesn't write well at all.
The angle does not refer to the space between the paper and shaft of the pen. It's the angle of the pen to the paper from a top-down view. For an italic nib, you want the flat tip to meet the page at roughly a 45 degree angle. Hopefully my bad drawing will help illustrate this. This is what's meant by holding it at 45 degrees: + Show Spoiler +
Italic nibs (sometimes called calligraphy nibs) have a flat tip instead of a round one as I drew in the photo. This is what creates the line variation and gives wider down strokes. You need to make sure that the entire flat edge of the nib is touching the paper when you write. If you rotate the pen so that this is no longer the case, it will stop working.
This is what I meant by holding it vertical (though I usually have to hold it at least this high): + Show Spoiler +
The following angles (that I find more comfortable) lend themselves to limited or no flow at all. + Show Spoiler +
Sorry if I was unclear. Is this normal for all fountain pens?
EDIT: it's funny that my chinese wife detailed for my the style of chinese calligraphy that holds the pen vertical and it does write some more consistency though being incredibly inefficient.
On May 08 2013 11:07 Kronen wrote: This is what I meant by holding it vertical (though I usually have to hold it at least this high): + Show Spoiler +
The following angles (that I find more comfortable) lend themselves to limited or no flow at all. + Show Spoiler +
Sorry if I was unclear. Is this normal for all fountain pens?
in that type of angle mine is more shallow, about 20-30 degrees when I write with a calligraphic nib. With normal nibs you can write at any angle up to 90 degrees since the tip is completely rounded.
Do you have problems with ink flow only when you push or is it when you drag it too?
You should not have flow problems at the more comfortable angles for you. On my italic (Pilot Plumix) I get consistent flow from the most shallow angle possible, to past 90 degrees where I'm writing with the "wrong side" of the nib.
It sounds to me that 1, you aren't holding the flat edge of the nib flush to the paper, or 2, something is wrong with the pen.
On May 08 2013 11:11 salle wrote: in that type of angle mine is more shallow, about 20-30 degrees when I write with a calligraphic nib. With normal nibs you can write at any angle up to 90 degrees since the tip is completely rounded.
Do you have problems with ink flow only when you push or is it when you drag it too?
Honestly, the more I write on it and benchmark the problems, the more examples of inconsistency I experience. (Waiting to hear your response to my PM re: push and drag) I'm having flow issues sporadically at all angles. I'm thinking of doing the full cleaning detailed in the video before throwing in the towel. On the plus side, this extended experimentation/hemming and hawing has my wife ready to buy me a Safari.
On May 08 2013 11:20 Marimokkori wrote: It sounds to me that 1, you aren't holding the flat edge of the nib flush to the paper, or 2, something is wrong with the pen.
Yea, I'm thinking that something is just wrong. I attempted to gauge the consistency of the pen at the different angles and it's just inconsistent across the board. The flat edge is flush to the paper most definitely. I'll get back to you if anything changes after the full cleaning, but I don't anticipate a big change.
Well after reading this thread I was inspired to try a fountain pen so I ordered the Lamy Safari F. I had no clue about the width of the nib, but i read that F on the Lamy was fairly wide. I'll update with my noob opinion once it arrives!
Hey guys! Thanks for he help previously! After the cleaning the shitty sheaffer pen still had inconsistencies, but my Lamy vista arrived and writes like a charm. Very very happy with that purchase.
On May 08 2013 11:07 Kronen wrote: This is what I meant by holding it vertical (though I usually have to hold it at least this high): + Show Spoiler +
The following angles (that I find more comfortable) lend themselves to limited or no flow at all. + Show Spoiler +
Sorry if I was unclear. Is this normal for all fountain pens?
EDIT: it's funny that my chinese wife detailed for my the style of chinese calligraphy that holds the pen vertical and it does write some more consistency though being incredibly inefficient.
Isn't Chinese Calligraphy done using horsetail brushes?
On May 08 2013 09:43 Kronen wrote: Thanks so much for the help guys!~
The pen I purchased is the most basic entry level Schaeffer calligraphy pen.. I didn't realize that the calligraphy nib was the reason the down stroke and cross stroke look different. I actually very much enjoy this difference and the italic look it gives.
I think a significant issue with fountain pens is that they are very sensitive to manufacturing tolerances and material quality. A $5 pen may never perform exceptionally well. The ~$28 Lamy Safari is one of the more commonly recommended inexpensive fountain pens, and the Lamy 2000 is probably near the high end of performance (at a price of about $135.) Above that you are pretty much just paying for style and/or gold/platinum content.
Me, I wound up getting a Cross C-series gel pen (also about $135), which feels fantastic, writes perfectly, requires no maintenance, and won't leak on airplanes. But, I'm not a purist.
On May 08 2013 09:43 Kronen wrote: Thanks so much for the help guys!~
The pen I purchased is the most basic entry level Schaeffer calligraphy pen.. I didn't realize that the calligraphy nib was the reason the down stroke and cross stroke look different. I actually very much enjoy this difference and the italic look it gives.
I think a significant issue with fountain pens is that they are very sensitive to manufacturing tolerances and material quality. A $5 pen may never perform exceptionally well. The ~$28 Lamy Safari is one of the more commonly recommended inexpensive fountain pens, and the Lamy 2000 is probably near the high end of performance (at a price of about $135.) Above that you are pretty much just paying for style and/or gold/platinum content.
Me, I wound up getting a Cross C-series gel pen (also about $135), which feels fantastic, writes perfectly, requires no maintenance, and won't leak on airplanes. But, I'm not a purist.
The only pen I'm thinking about getting in that range is the Namiki Falcon.
No way I'd ever spend that much on a gel pen It is a nice looking pen though! The most expensive gel I have is a Zebra Airfit that I use for work because the spring clips on them are awesome when you have to constantly remove/replace the pen in a shirt pocket. Dr. Grips are probably the most popular gel pens that I know of. Are they like the Lamy Safari of gel pens?
On May 10 2013 12:13 Kronen wrote: Hey guys! Thanks for he help previously! After the cleaning the shitty sheaffer pen still had inconsistencies, but my Lamy vista arrived and writes like a charm. Very very happy with that purchase.
Glad you got something you like! What kind of nib did you get?
I too am a shameless consumer and bought my first fountain pen after reading this thread. A Lamy Safari to be precise. I just recieved it today and already love it. It writes smoothly and is quite fun to use. It came with some standard black ink, and I bought some sky blue colour ink too and ended up using that first. The blue ink looks quite nice and is unusual for me to use because it's a light playful colour and I usually stick to darker shades but it's a nice change.
I went with a medium nib, and although it's fine for my normal writing size I just ordered a fine because of the fact that I write a little bit slower with it so more ink is laid down on the page. I think the fine will be better for note writing as I write quite a lot of them for school. Overall I'm very pleased and have taken to the pen very quickly. My next order of business is to get a converter then some crazy ass coloured inks from Noodlers and I'll be set .
I've tried using these a few times, and have run across one problem, I'm left handed. Being a lefty seems to not translate well writing English with a fountain pen. If anyone has experience or tips on how to make my writing flow better writing with one of these as a lefty, I'd love to hear your advice! (I'm a complete noob @ these, so it could just be ignorance leading me astray).
On May 11 2013 01:13 Mortal wrote: I've tried using these a few times, and have run across one problem, I'm left handed. Being a lefty seems to not translate well writing English with a fountain pen. If anyone has experience or tips on how to make my writing flow better writing with one of these as a lefty, I'd love to hear your advice! (I'm a complete noob @ these, so it could just be ignorance leading me astray).
Alright I received the Lami Safari. So far so good. Two things though. 1) The fine nib seems a little bit too narrow for my taste. I'll switch up to a medium for the next pen. 2) The nib is a bit scratchy.
On May 12 2013 12:37 Marimokkori wrote: It may still be slightly scratchy even if the tines are aligned correctly. You can smooth it out a bit yourself.
Currently I have the Al-Star, Lamy Safari and Vista in Fine, Medium and Broad nibs. Also ordered the Iroshizuku Tsuki Yo last week in addition to Pelikan Edelstein Sapphire and Diamine Graphite. Very excited and hope to get them soon.
The Monteverde looks very nice.
Signed up for the Goulet Ink Drop club.. So very excited about that!!! Samples are shipping from US
On May 12 2013 12:37 Marimokkori wrote: It may still be slightly scratchy even if the tines are aligned correctly. You can smooth it out a bit yourself.
On May 13 2013 00:23 lazyitachi wrote: Currently I have the Al-Star, Lamy Safari and Vista in Fine, Medium and Broad nibs. Also ordered the Iroshizuku Tsuki Yo last week in addition to Pelikan Edelstein Sapphire and Diamine Graphite. Very excited and hope to get them soon.
The Monteverde looks very nice.
Signed up for the Goulet Ink Drop club.. So very excited about that!!! Samples are shipping from US
I'm going crazy with this but I've picked up -Parker Quink black -Lamy T52 black -Waterman Serenity Blue -Pelikan 4001 brilliant green -Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo -Iroshizuku Fuyu-gaki -Iroshizuku Chiku-rin
Also I have a Pilot Metropolitan coming. Inks' gonna have to go somewhere!
On May 13 2013 03:27 lazyitachi wrote: Lol.. That's a lot of pickup.. Damn.. you rich bastard.. lots of Iroshizuku.. nice colors as well.. Gotta catch em all :p
I am very scared of doing the same... will make moving and storing a bigger hassle than it is now
Hoping to find people to exchange ink samples. I know FP network has one for US.. In the mean time will make do with the Goulet sampling
Yeah let's just say I wasn't very reasonable with it. My justification is that my "desk ornaments" were various figurines and I felt like updating it for a different look. And of course I've been having a good time with the pens :D
On May 13 2013 03:27 lazyitachi wrote: Lol.. That's a lot of pickup.. Damn.. you rich bastard.. lots of Iroshizuku.. nice colors as well.. Gotta catch em all :p
I am very scared of doing the same... will make moving and storing a bigger hassle than it is now
Hoping to find people to exchange ink samples. I know FP network has one for US.. In the mean time will make do with the Goulet sampling
AFAIK a lot of pen/ink lovers try to sell their surplus ink to avoid packaging/handling while moving.
On May 13 2013 00:23 lazyitachi wrote: Currently I have the Al-Star, Lamy Safari and Vista in Fine, Medium and Broad nibs. Also ordered the Iroshizuku Tsuki Yo last week in addition to Pelikan Edelstein Sapphire and Diamine Graphite. Very excited and hope to get them soon.
The Monteverde looks very nice.
Signed up for the Goulet Ink Drop club.. So very excited about that!!! Samples are shipping from US
Let me know how the Ink Drop club is. I was curious about it but didn't really want to go for it without knowing anything.
While on the topic of ink, since I know there are some super fountain pen noobies who got into them because of this thread...
Try not to store your ink in direct sunlight. Use a cabinet or desk drawer, something like that. Fountain pen inks are water based and don't do very well spending an extended duration in sunlight.
I ordered a Pilot Metropolitan and loved it, very smooth writing and felt much better than a rollerball. Forgot to get any ink with it, so I'm out! I've got some cartridges coming tomorrow and it'll be nice to use it for summer class now. Thanks for the recommendation OP
Excited to get my De Atramentis Mint Turquoise, De Atramentis Ocher Yellow, Noodler's 54th Massachusetts, Rohrer & Klingner Alt-Bordeaux, Rohrer & Klingner Alt-Goldgrun. Maybe I can do some ink sampling/ swabbing if I can overcome my laziness.
They are 2ml each.. so very little left to do actual writing after the sampling.
Quick bump: I got my Pilot Metropolitan and it's pretty darn good for the price. For $15 I didn't expect to get a fairly heavy pen with a nice box, but I did, and I like heavy. Also, it's about as scratchy as my Nemosine singularity, which means it's soft enough to be comfortable although not very soft.
My only complaint is the "squeeze" converter is not transparent so there's really no way to know how much ink is left in the pen. There's no way to know if the converter filled up properly in the first place. That said, it does seem to be able to hold a fair bit of ink.
On May 14 2013 10:38 Djzapz wrote: Quick bump: I got my Pilot Metropolitan and it's pretty darn good for the price. For $15 I didn't expect to get a fairly heavy pen with a nice box, but I did, and I like heavy. Also, it's about as scratchy as my Nemosine singularity, which means it's soft enough to be comfortable although not very soft.
My only complaint is the "squeeze" converter is not transparent so there's really no way to know how much ink is left in the pen. There's no way to know if the converter filled up properly in the first place. That said, it does seem to be able to hold a fair bit of ink.
You can look into getting a different converter. The squeeze filler you have I think is called the CON-20. The CON-50 and CON-70 pilot converters are piston types that are clear plastic.
The CON-70 is the largest and may not fit, so be sure to do a little research first if you want to get one.
-- My shipment of pens went out today. Should be here by the end of the week! I'm excited to try out Noodler's flex nibs.
Wow, those videos with the guy using the pen to write stuff... I'd love to be able to write like that.
I can see the price tag being fairly inexpensive (even the $150+ ones) if you're a writer by trade or ambition. A pen like that could motivate you to sit and write every day!
On May 14 2013 10:38 Djzapz wrote: Quick bump: I got my Pilot Metropolitan and it's pretty darn good for the price. For $15 I didn't expect to get a fairly heavy pen with a nice box, but I did, and I like heavy. Also, it's about as scratchy as my Nemosine singularity, which means it's soft enough to be comfortable although not very soft.
My only complaint is the "squeeze" converter is not transparent so there's really no way to know how much ink is left in the pen. There's no way to know if the converter filled up properly in the first place. That said, it does seem to be able to hold a fair bit of ink.
You can look into getting a different converter. The squeeze filler you have I think is called the CON-20. The CON-50 and CON-70 pilot converters are piston types that are clear plastic.
The CON-70 is the largest and may not fit, so be sure to do a little research first if you want to get one.
-- My shipment of pens went out today. Should be here by the end of the week! I'm excited to try out Noodler's flex nibs.
Yeah I actually thought about picking up the CON-50 (hadn't heard about the CON-70) but I'm looking at $8 shipped from Hong-Kong, which seems a bit expensive for a plastic tube and a gasket. Ordering it alone is not super viable. I'll just use the stock converter at least for now, maybe it'll grow on me.
On May 14 2013 10:38 Djzapz wrote: Quick bump: I got my Pilot Metropolitan and it's pretty darn good for the price. For $15 I didn't expect to get a fairly heavy pen with a nice box, but I did, and I like heavy. Also, it's about as scratchy as my Nemosine singularity, which means it's soft enough to be comfortable although not very soft.
My only complaint is the "squeeze" converter is not transparent so there's really no way to know how much ink is left in the pen. There's no way to know if the converter filled up properly in the first place. That said, it does seem to be able to hold a fair bit of ink.
You can look into getting a different converter. The squeeze filler you have I think is called the CON-20. The CON-50 and CON-70 pilot converters are piston types that are clear plastic.
The CON-70 is the largest and may not fit, so be sure to do a little research first if you want to get one.
-- My shipment of pens went out today. Should be here by the end of the week! I'm excited to try out Noodler's flex nibs.
Yeah I actually thought about picking up the CON-50 (hadn't heard about the CON-70) but I'm looking at $8 shipped from Hong-Kong, which seems a bit expensive for a plastic tube and a gasket. Ordering it alone is not super viable. I'll just use the stock converter at least for now, maybe it'll grow on me.
Edit: I believe the CON-70 is not compatible.
I have the CON-50 for my Decimo and it is an absolute waste of money. However, this might be due to the nature of the Decimo (it's a clickable fountain pen) which might change the pressure inside the compartment making ink spill all over the place. I have resorted to just using the default squeeze converter =/.
Btw I saw that you were buying a lot of different inks. Do you just have the one pen or do you already have several others? Because you will have quite the time washing your Metropolitan out everytime you change inks xD (I found it bothersome just to clean-up after my CON-50 exploded ink everywhere).
On May 14 2013 10:38 Djzapz wrote: Quick bump: I got my Pilot Metropolitan and it's pretty darn good for the price. For $15 I didn't expect to get a fairly heavy pen with a nice box, but I did, and I like heavy. Also, it's about as scratchy as my Nemosine singularity, which means it's soft enough to be comfortable although not very soft.
My only complaint is the "squeeze" converter is not transparent so there's really no way to know how much ink is left in the pen. There's no way to know if the converter filled up properly in the first place. That said, it does seem to be able to hold a fair bit of ink.
You can look into getting a different converter. The squeeze filler you have I think is called the CON-20. The CON-50 and CON-70 pilot converters are piston types that are clear plastic.
The CON-70 is the largest and may not fit, so be sure to do a little research first if you want to get one.
-- My shipment of pens went out today. Should be here by the end of the week! I'm excited to try out Noodler's flex nibs.
Yeah I actually thought about picking up the CON-50 (hadn't heard about the CON-70) but I'm looking at $8 shipped from Hong-Kong, which seems a bit expensive for a plastic tube and a gasket. Ordering it alone is not super viable. I'll just use the stock converter at least for now, maybe it'll grow on me.
Edit: I believe the CON-70 is not compatible.
I have the CON-50 for my Decimo and it is an absolute waste of money. However, this might be due to the nature of the Decimo (it's a clickable fountain pen) which might change the pressure inside the compartment making ink spill all over the place. I have resorted to just using the default squeeze converter =/.
Btw I saw that you were buying a lot of different inks. Do you just have the one pen or do you already have several others? Because you will have quite the time washing your Metropolitan out everytime you change inks xD (I found it bothersome just to clean-up after my CON-50 exploded ink everywhere).
I have a Nemosine Singularity and a Parker Sonnet also, but I don't plan to switch out inks too often.
Thanks for the heads up though, I'll just put up with the squeeze converter. It's not too bad, just a bit inconvenient.
I just got a Lamy Safari with a converter and I have to say its far nicer to write with. Any tips for taking care of the pen? I was told wash it every three months by flushing cold water through it a few times and letting it air dry, is that about all I need to do?
On May 15 2013 00:10 Scaramanga wrote: I just got a Lamy Safari with a converter and I have to say its far nicer to write with. Any tips for taking care of the pen? I was told wash it every three months by flushing cold water through it a few times and letting it air dry, is that about all I need to do?
That depends on how much you write with it. There's a video within the last few pages on extensive cleaning you might want to watch.
If you use the same ink, you don't have to wash it with every fill. But you should rinse it out more than once every 3 months. Same ink, rinsing it as you describe is probably a good idea about every 3-4 fills.
If you want to change ink, you need to thoroughly clean the pen every time you decide to use a different ink. The reaction of the two inks mixing inside the pen can clog it and prevent your pen from working, so the previous must be flushed out completely.
I want to get a fountain pen because they look fancy and you can write all kinds of different ways with them. Then I realized I cant write for crap anyway and I would just have all of this really odd looking varying colors in my writing.
I am jealous of you people with the ability to hand-write properly.
On May 15 2013 16:11 TheRabidDeer wrote: I want to get a fountain pen because they look fancy and you can write all kinds of different ways with them. Then I realized I cant write for crap anyway and I would just have all of this really odd looking varying colors in my writing.
I am jealous of you people with the ability to hand-write properly.
I got my gosu handwriting from engineering classes. One of my professors demanded everything be presented perfectly. For example, we write in. for inches and in(^)2 for square inches. If the . was left off the in. or added with in(^)2, you would lose a quarter of a point. When the entire homework is 10~ problems and the max score is 10/10, you can see how much a quarter of a point is in relation to the entire work.
I had to draw a lot of free-body diagrams over and over and over, showing which direction the force was pulling or pushing on the rigid body. A lot of our professors actually demanded that we use rulers and protractors and stencils for circles and ellipses. That took far too long to draw things; it would literally increase homework time by 80%-120%. So I learned to draw nearly perfect lines by hand without a ruler. Of course you can tell a ruler wasn't used, but the line is so perfect no one cares.
Of course my writing got better at the same time. Being able to control the length and angle of the line is really something I take for granted these days. If I had a fountain pen I might be writing some interesting things.
On May 15 2013 16:11 TheRabidDeer wrote: I want to get a fountain pen because they look fancy and you can write all kinds of different ways with them. Then I realized I cant write for crap anyway and I would just have all of this really odd looking varying colors in my writing.
I am jealous of you people with the ability to hand-write properly.
I got my gosu handwriting from engineering classes. One of my professors demanded everything be presented perfectly. For example, we write in. for inches and in(^)2 for square inches. If the . was left off the in. or added with in(^)2, you would lose a quarter of a point. When the entire homework is 10~ problems and the max score is 10/10, you can see how much a quarter of a point is in relation to the entire work.
I had to draw a lot of free-body diagrams over and over and over, showing which direction the force was pulling or pushing on the rigid body. A lot of our professors actually demanded that we use rulers and protractors and stencils for circles and ellipses. That took far too long to draw things; it would literally increase homework time by 80%-120%. So I learned to draw nearly perfect lines by hand without a ruler. Of course you can tell a ruler wasn't used, but the line is so perfect no one cares.
Of course my writing got better at the same time. Being able to control the length and angle of the line is really something I take for granted these days. If I had a fountain pen I might be writing some interesting things.
When filling a pen does it matter if you leave the converter attached to the feed or if you take out the converter and fill it directly from the bottle?
These stores should really thank the OP for making this thread. I too was inspired and purchased 2 Lamy pens, 1 vista, 1 black. Its coming in the mail right now, but I'm super excited. Judging by the people's reaction in this thread to this specific pen, I don't think I'll have any problems with it at all! Thanks OP!!
On May 16 2013 02:07 ZerONine09 wrote: When filling a pen does it matter if you leave the converter attached to the feed or if you take out the converter and fill it directly from the bottle?
You generally just leave the converter attached to the feed and nib, plunge the nib into the ink and suck the ink up. You can check on youtube, people do it.
On May 15 2013 16:11 TheRabidDeer wrote: I want to get a fountain pen because they look fancy and you can write all kinds of different ways with them. Then I realized I cant write for crap anyway and I would just have all of this really odd looking varying colors in my writing.
I am jealous of you people with the ability to hand-write properly.
Nah, you don't need super nice handwriting (although your writing certainly looks better of course). My handwriting is shit and I still get the color gradation when writing with a fountain pen.
On May 16 2013 02:07 ZerONine09 wrote: When filling a pen does it matter if you leave the converter attached to the feed or if you take out the converter and fill it directly from the bottle?
I've tried a few times using the converter attached to the nib, and the converter itself, and have concluded that filling using the converter itself is better:
1.) Minimize ink waste - wiping off a drop of ink on the tip of the converter is easier than wiping off part of the section + the entire nib that you just dipped in the ink.
2.) Easier cleanup - you don't get ink on the section, nib, or the feed of a pen. A quarter of a single piece of toilet paper is sufficient to clean up the converter after filling it with ink, you need like five pieces of TP to clean up after a nib fill.
3.) The minimum fill height for the bottled ink is the size of your nib if you want to fill it up through that. If the ink level is any lower, you're going to get air bubbles in your converter, which means you either push them out and refill again (with fewer but still some air bubbles, repeat until satisfied), or end up with half a fill. Using a converter, you just need like one mm depth of ink to fill up.
On May 16 2013 02:39 Djzapz wrote: You generally just leave the converter attached to the feed and nib, plunge the nib into the ink and suck the ink up. You can check on youtube, people do it.
Yeah I saw videos of people doing both. I always did the nib into ink method.
On May 16 2013 03:13 Phael wrote: I've tried a few times using the converter attached to the nib, and the converter itself, and have concluded that filling using the converter itself is better:
1.) Minimize ink waste - wiping off a drop of ink on the tip of the converter is easier than wiping off part of the section + the entire nib that you just dipped in the ink.
2.) Easier cleanup - you don't get ink on the section, nib, or the feed of a pen. A quarter of a single piece of toilet paper is sufficient to clean up the converter after filling it with ink, you need like five pieces of TP to clean up after a nib fill.
3.) The minimum fill height for the bottled ink is the size of your nib if you want to fill it up through that. If the ink level is any lower, you're going to get air bubbles in your converter, which means you either push them out and refill again (with fewer but still some air bubbles, repeat until satisfied), or end up with half a fill. Using a converter, you just need like one mm depth of ink to fill up.
That makes sense with the clean up. I'll test the other method the next time
This thread has convinced me to get a fountain pen and work on my handwriting.
The Lamy Al-Star seems like a great pen, and it's great that it has all these options for nibs, but unfortunately I find the design to be terrible looking. Any suggestion for a good pen under 40$, or is Lamy king at that pricepoint?
The parker IM in chrome is more up my alley in terms of design, but I'm hearing a lot of negative comments about quality control and the general performance of the pen...
On May 16 2013 10:02 Skarjak wrote: This thread has convinced me to get a fountain pen and work on my handwriting.
The Lamy Al-Star seems like a great pen, and it's great that it has all these options for nibs, but unfortunately I find the design to be terrible looking. Any suggestion for a good pen under 40$, or is Lamy king at that pricepoint?
The parker IM in chrome is more up my alley in terms of design, but I'm hearing a lot of negative comments about quality control and the general performance of the pen...
Check out the Kaweco Sport, might be more appealing to you.
Pilot Prera's are available for $34 from http://www.stationeryart.com/ - I have never purchased from them, can't comment on service.
From reading many reviews, they seem to be 80-110% the performance of their counterparts (lets be honest, a lot of them are copycats of popular western pens), at 1-10% of the price - or less (See: Montblanc 149 vs Jinhao 159).
On May 16 2013 02:07 ZerONine09 wrote: When filling a pen does it matter if you leave the converter attached to the feed or if you take out the converter and fill it directly from the bottle?
Depending on how much ink you have left, there's a time where you have to use the converter by itself =/
From reading many reviews, they seem to be 80-110% the performance of their counterparts (lets be honest, a lot of them are copycats of popular western pens), at 1-10% of the price - or less (See: Montblanc 149 vs Jinhao 159).
Except these pens have the worst quality control of all time. I've heard of people getting a pen that literally falls apart when they take it out of the box.
It is possible to get them for 99cents + shipping, but it's probably worth it to just get a Metropolitan instead of taking the risk of getting a truly horrible pen.
From reading many reviews, they seem to be 80-110% the performance of their counterparts (lets be honest, a lot of them are copycats of popular western pens), at 1-10% of the price - or less (See: Montblanc 149 vs Jinhao 159).
Except these pens have the worst quality control of all time. I've heard of people getting a pen that literally falls apart when they take it out of the box.
It is possible to get them for 99cents + shipping, but it's probably worth it to just get a Metropolitan instead of taking the risk of getting a truly horrible pen.
Get 10 Chinese hunks of trash and one of them is going to work. And if not, just frankenstein it up and take the working parts.
For luxury pens, it can obviously be worth it if you want a cheap but nice looking, pseudo-luxurious pen that WRITES which is the point of a pen. That's why I'm not against buying Chinese counterfeit products. But you'll typically find some flaws to the product... fake gold nib, cheap gold plating that flakes off, cheap uneven laser engravings, cheaper overall materials (paint that'll fall apart after a few months, etc.).
They're not made to last, they're made so you'll hopefully be happy with them for a little bit. But if you want something for the long run, counterfeit products are rarely it. That said, I'm sure some of them are pretty close to the original, durable and functional... I wouldn't take the gamble unless it's really cheap, personally.
I myself ordered 2 cheap "Romus" piston fountain pens for $6 shipped each straight from India just for the hell of it. I don't expect them to last, but sometimes they can be surprising for the short run. Edit: I know those are not counterfeit but they're cheap junk regardless
On May 16 2013 23:43 Djzapz wrote: Get 10 Chinese hunks of trash and one of them is going to work. And if not, just frankenstein it up and take the working parts.
Only thing is, most people who bother to use fountain pens do so for the experience as much as the functionality. I think that approach gives up the experience of using a high quality pen.
On May 16 2013 23:43 Djzapz wrote: Get 10 Chinese hunks of trash and one of them is going to work. And if not, just frankenstein it up and take the working parts.
Only thing is, most people who bother to use fountain pens do so for the experience as much as the functionality. I think that approach gives up the experience of using a high quality pen.
Frankly so far though, my Pilot Metropolitan is the most disappointing to the point that it's essentially unusable, so even the "safe" models can disappoint. I've tried 3 different types of ink and the freaking thing just won't flow well. And I've been cleaning it out thoroughly! It doesn't just skip, it stops writing altogether and I have to fight with to get ink in the nib. I find myself having to push on it to write (not very hard but more than I usually would), and even that is inconsistent.
On May 17 2013 00:20 Djzapz wrote: Frankly so far though, my Pilot Metropolitan is the most disappointing to the point that it's essentially unusable, so even the "safe" models can disappoint. I've tried 3 different types of ink and the freaking thing just won't flow well. And I've been cleaning it out thoroughly! It doesn't just skip, it stops writing altogether and I have to fight with to get ink in the nib. I find myself having to push on it to write (not very hard but more than I usually would), and even that is inconsistent.
I've heard good things about the Lamy Safari, which at $28 is about twice the price of the Pilot Metropolitan, but still not too expensive. Might be worth a shot. Worst complaint I've seen is that it's a little scratchy with a fine point.
On May 17 2013 00:20 Djzapz wrote: Frankly so far though, my Pilot Metropolitan is the most disappointing to the point that it's essentially unusable, so even the "safe" models can disappoint. I've tried 3 different types of ink and the freaking thing just won't flow well. And I've been cleaning it out thoroughly! It doesn't just skip, it stops writing altogether and I have to fight with to get ink in the nib. I find myself having to push on it to write (not very hard but more than I usually would), and even that is inconsistent.
I've heard good things about the Lamy Safari, which at $28 is about twice the price of the Pilot Metropolitan, but still not too expensive. Might be worth a shot. Worst complaint I've seen is that it's a little scratchy with a fine point.
Well right now I have a Parker Sonnet and a Nemosine Singularity, both of which have been extremely dependable so far. I'd like a Lamy Safari because I've heard good things, but I don't like how it looks, and it's a bit too large.
On May 17 2013 00:20 Djzapz wrote: Frankly so far though, my Pilot Metropolitan is the most disappointing to the point that it's essentially unusable, so even the "safe" models can disappoint. I've tried 3 different types of ink and the freaking thing just won't flow well. And I've been cleaning it out thoroughly! It doesn't just skip, it stops writing altogether and I have to fight with to get ink in the nib. I find myself having to push on it to write (not very hard but more than I usually would), and even that is inconsistent.
I've heard good things about the Lamy Safari, which at $28 is about twice the price of the Pilot Metropolitan, but still not too expensive. Might be worth a shot. Worst complaint I've seen is that it's a little scratchy with a fine point.
it might be twice the price, but half the price of the safari comes from the high quality nib, $13, which is the important part. It's a great pen and it works well. I only wrote with lamy ink as of now and I have some Noodlers on order. I have no doubt it will write just as well.
From reading many reviews, they seem to be 80-110% the performance of their counterparts (lets be honest, a lot of them are copycats of popular western pens), at 1-10% of the price - or less (See: Montblanc 149 vs Jinhao 159).
Except these pens have the worst quality control of all time. I've heard of people getting a pen that literally falls apart when they take it out of the box.
It is possible to get them for 99cents + shipping, but it's probably worth it to just get a Metropolitan instead of taking the risk of getting a truly horrible pen.
Sure, the QA of some Chinese manufacturers are a little wanting, but there are lemons for every brand, and the Chinese manufacturers have really been turning their QA image around. Just check out a couple of comparison reviews from this guy who crafts pens himself:
The Parker, even though it's a bottom of the range pen, due to its high retail price would be expected to be much higher quality than the Chinese look-alikes. Well. What can I say? The Sonnet and K356 are basically identical when considering build quality. The only differentiation between them is design quality. The PS has better design quality in that the user has been considered in that provision has been made for different nibs. That's it.
This pen is of near-luxury quality, at a school pen price. Amazing.
Both these pens are fractionly less pleasant to use than the Sonnet
I considered a Safari, but it just looks so ugly. I've written through half a notebook so far with various fountain pens and I don't find the quality of writing to be significantly better or worse than a normal roller ball, so basically it just comes down to feel and image, and there is no way to compete with the Chinese manufacturers if you want an elegant pen that can still write for the price ($15 for this one):
So I learned a valuable lesson: don't leave a fountain pen in a hot car for a week. Mine is currently drying out after a thorough cleaning, as there was ink everywhere. Also a waste of ink ;D
My pens and ink arrived today! I'm very happy, and rather sad about it at the same time. Some of my coworkers wanted to see them, how they worked, etc. So I filled them up with the Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo I had also ordered and did a little bit of writing. In the process of it all, the bottle of ink got knocked over. So I'm out a whole bottle of Iroshizuku, except for the two pens I had just filled.
I don't work for anybody obviously but I just want to say that jetpens is very classy. I got a defective product and they're definitely making it right!
On May 17 2013 06:17 Djzapz wrote: I don't work for anybody obviously but I just want to say that jetpens is very classy. I got a defective product and they're definitely making it right!
Yeah, Jetpens is awesome. I get almost all my stuff from them. You can even submit recommendations on products for them to start carrying.
I was thinking about telling them what happened with the ink in case they would be willing to send another bottle =\
On May 17 2013 06:17 Djzapz wrote: I don't work for anybody obviously but I just want to say that jetpens is very classy. I got a defective product and they're definitely making it right!
Yeah, Jetpens is awesome. I get almost all my stuff from them. You can even submit recommendations on products for them to start carrying.
I was thinking about telling them what happened with the ink in case they would be willing to send another bottle =\
Yikes...and I get annoyed when I have to wipe the ink off my pen after refilling it because it's a waste xD (we have the same ink btw).
On May 17 2013 06:17 Djzapz wrote: I don't work for anybody obviously but I just want to say that jetpens is very classy. I got a defective product and they're definitely making it right!
Yeah, Jetpens is awesome. I get almost all my stuff from them. You can even submit recommendations on products for them to start carrying.
I was thinking about telling them what happened with the ink in case they would be willing to send another bottle =\
Yikes...and I get annoyed when I have to wipe the ink off my pen after refilling it because it's a waste xD (we have the same ink btw).
It's a really tiny amount even if fills a surprising amount of towel paper or whatever. But yeah I'm that way too... still 50ml of ink will last you for years unless you write like crazy.
Hey all, I'm looking to grab a second pen to supplement my Lamy Vista (which I love!) and my express purpose behind this pen is to get a pen that will be fun and interesting to write with while providing variation of sorts. I love my Lamy but the script always looks exactly the same. The fun/expressive pen will be on my nightstand for journaling and other around the house pursuits, while the Lamy will travel with me and be a work pen.
My gut feeling is to go with a Komrad as it just looks fricking sweet and definitely is a pen that will reward learning its ins-and-outs. I'm also contemplating going with an other Lamy but with a calligraphy nib as I do enjoy that calligraphy look. I appreciate any feedback!
What causes the wider downstroke on the examples I've seen of the Komrad? Is is a calligraphy-like nib? Sorry for the nooby questions!
What causes the wider downstroke on the examples I've seen of the Komrad? Is is a calligraphy-like nib? Sorry for the nooby questions!
The Konrad has a flex nib, so when you use even slightly more pressure the nib's tines spread apart leaving a wider line (You can do this so some extent with most nibs, but flex nibs give much more variation). A calligraphy/italic nib have flat tips that give line variation depending on how you write with it.
What causes the wider downstroke on the examples I've seen of the Komrad? Is is a calligraphy-like nib? Sorry for the nooby questions!
The Konrad has a flex nib, so when you use even slightly more pressure the nib's tines spread apart leaving a wider line (You can do this so some extent with most nibs, but flex nibs give much more variation). A calligraphy/italic nib have flat tips that give line variation depending on how you write with it.
Ty sir for the clarification. On most examples, the above and also the page 1 example, it looks like the downstrokes on the flex nibs are wider than the cross strokes even without the flex-nib actuation. The first page example is a bit more obvious as the color is noticeably different from the heavy pressure to the lesser pressure. The above example is a bit different though, but vary characteristic and cool. I'm leaning towards the Konrad as it looks really interesting, and the only thing holding me back is the interchangability/versatility of the Lamy nibs. The Konrad will probably be a cheaper option on the whole as well...
Edit: I am a bit hesitant as I'm doing more research. The extensive tutorials on YouTube and elsewhere to customize the flow of the pen seem a bit daunting for a newbie like myself... it seems a good portion of people get the pen and are upset with the leakiness of the flow and send it back because they don't customize it.
Re-edit: After watching the videos, it seems that the initial cleaning and re-setting is roughly the same difficulty as the repairs I attempted on my busted Shaeffer, so that's a bit less daunting.
What causes the wider downstroke on the examples I've seen of the Komrad? Is is a calligraphy-like nib? Sorry for the nooby questions!
The Konrad has a flex nib, so when you use even slightly more pressure the nib's tines spread apart leaving a wider line (You can do this so some extent with most nibs, but flex nibs give much more variation). A calligraphy/italic nib have flat tips that give line variation depending on how you write with it.
Ty sir for the clarification. On most examples, the above and also the page 1 example, it looks like the downstrokes on the flex nibs are wider than the cross strokes even without the flex-nib actuation. The first page example is a bit more obvious as the color is noticeably different from the heavy pressure to the lesser pressure. The above example is a bit different though, but vary characteristic and cool. I'm leaning towards the Konrad as it looks really interesting, and the only thing holding me back is the interchangability/versatility of the Lamy nibs. The Konrad will probably be a cheaper option on the whole as well...
Hmm, I don't seem to get any line variation with no pressure on my Konrad. The thickness is comparable to a 0.05mm Ohto Graphic Liner and looks consistent throughout. It's not difficult to maintain, and adding flex also doesn't take a huge amount of force. If you're interested in a sample of writing with no pressure let me know.
Flex pens will railroad if you try to write too broadly too quickly. When you flex the nib to a large line it obviously lays more ink on the paper, but that doesn't magically increase the ink flow to an amount than can keep up at regular speeds. You'll have to slow down significantly if you want to really push the flex.
Some things to say about the Noodler's Konrad: The nib and feed unit are identical to the Noodler's Ahab, so check that design out as well, you may like it more. The Ahab can also be used as an eyedropper that holds 6ml of ink - freaking massive ink capacity. Seriously insane amount of ink.
I have read a lot of complaints about these pens not working 100% out of the box. They often require some tuning, usually very minute. My first fill out of the box was with Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo ink. I stored it nib up and had a hard start, so I then stored it nib down to keep the feed saturated - and the entire ink storage leaked out of the pen. I had to reset the nib/feed to a better position to solve this.
EDIT: I think it's worth adding that I'm very satisfied with my Konrad. Losing the initial fill of ink was a bummer, but I love the line variation and the extra fine line produced with no pressure is very much to my liking. Most who have success with the Noodler's flex pens seem to like them so much that they buy more of the same pen just because.
EDIT: I think it's worth adding that I'm very satisfied with my Konrad. Losing the initial fill of ink was a bummer, but I love the line variation and the extra fine line produced with no pressure is very much to my liking. Most who have success with the Noodler's flex pens seem to like them so much that they buy more of the same pen just because.
Ty for your thoughts sir! (I abridged the quote for brevity's sake) I'm leaning towards the Konrad but could be swayed towards the Ahab solely due to the completely clear demonstrator being available on that model.
I know basically any inks will work for my fine-nibbed Safari and work well. What inks would you suggest for a Konrad (particularly inks that would demonstrate shading)? Also, I'm interested in the performance of quick dry inks. Am I correct in assuming there's no reason to think that flex pens would perform differently/poorly with faster drying inks? When it comes to getting ink I'm probably going to grab a smattering of samples from Goulet and see what I enjoy using.
EDIT: those trial sizes are incredibly small and relatively expensive... Thinking I'll grab a safe standard blue-blue/black ink that shades nicely and go for samples when I'm done using the standard.
EDIT: I think it's worth adding that I'm very satisfied with my Konrad. Losing the initial fill of ink was a bummer, but I love the line variation and the extra fine line produced with no pressure is very much to my liking. Most who have success with the Noodler's flex pens seem to like them so much that they buy more of the same pen just because.
Ty for your thoughts sir! (I abridged the quote for brevity's sake) I'm leaning towards the Konrad but could be swayed towards the Ahab solely due to the completely clear demonstrator being available on that model.
I know basically any inks will work for my fine-nibbed Safari and work well. What inks would you suggest for a Konrad (particularly inks that would demonstrate shading)? Also, I'm interested in the performance of quick dry inks. Am I correct in assuming there's no reason to think that flex pens would perform differently/poorly with faster drying inks? When it comes to getting ink I'm probably going to grab a smattering of samples from Goulet and see what I enjoy using.
EDIT: those trial sizes are incredibly small and relatively expensive... Thinking I'll grab a safe standard blue-blue/black ink that shades nicely and go for samples when I'm done using the standard.
The Konrad has a clear demo version also. - Which is apparently out of stock on Goulet's site with no ETA.
I'm not sure if fast drying inks will do well with a lot of flex. I haven't tried any, but it's possible that they will railroad very easily. Because the nib tines spread apart, the ink needs to be able to fill the gap - and some inks just don't do that very well, resulting in heavy railroading.
As far as shading goes, I think Noodler's Apache Sunset is considered one of the best shaders. I wouldn't know what to recommend for blue/black inks when it comes to shading.
Uuuuugh.... My Lamy squirmed out of my hands as I was beginning to write and fell nib-first on tile... Eeekk... The nib was bent back at a substantial angle and one of the nibs was pushed up and over the other. After removing the nib however, I was able to get out my soft rawhide mallet and straighten it out. Put some ink in it, and it writes! Not nearly as smoothly and evenly as before, but it writes. The sweet spot is much much smaller and requires more angle attention, but it should be ok.
On May 23 2013 06:52 Kronen wrote: Uuuuugh.... My Lamy squirmed out of my hands as I was beginning to write and fell nib-first on tile... Eeekk... The nib was bent back at a substantial angle and one of the nibs was pushed up and over the other. After removing the nib however, I was able to get out my soft rawhide mallet and straighten it out. Put some ink in it, and it writes! Not nearly as smoothly and evenly as before, but it writes. The sweet spot is much much smaller and requires more angle attention, but it should be ok.
You should just go ahead and buy a new nib, Lamy's are like $6 or something. No point in having a quality pen that "should be ok". It stops being a quality pen when it's demoted to "should be ok"
On May 23 2013 06:52 Kronen wrote: Uuuuugh.... My Lamy squirmed out of my hands as I was beginning to write and fell nib-first on tile... Eeekk... The nib was bent back at a substantial angle and one of the nibs was pushed up and over the other. After removing the nib however, I was able to get out my soft rawhide mallet and straighten it out. Put some ink in it, and it writes! Not nearly as smoothly and evenly as before, but it writes. The sweet spot is much much smaller and requires more angle attention, but it should be ok.
You should just go ahead and buy a new nib, Lamy's are like $6 or something. No point in having a quality pen that "should be ok". It stops being a quality pen when it's demoted to "should be ok"
At 6 I'll pick it up, but 16.50 minimum right now gives me a bit of pause. I just purchased a Konrad and my first installation of ink... so my disposable entertainment income has been requisitioned. I'll get what I can out of this nib and when a sale pops up I'll jump at it.
Ironically, the cheapest purchasing option for the nib is to order it from the UK off Amazon and wait 18-32 business days for it to arrive.
Just ordered an edison beaumont in black onyx flake with 1.1mm italic nib, noodler's ahab, pilot iroshizuku kon-peki, diamine havasu turquoise. I already have a lamy safari, and namiki falcon. Good to see that TL has the same hobbies as I do, pens and starcraft.
On May 23 2013 06:52 Kronen wrote: Uuuuugh.... My Lamy squirmed out of my hands as I was beginning to write and fell nib-first on tile... Eeekk... The nib was bent back at a substantial angle and one of the nibs was pushed up and over the other. After removing the nib however, I was able to get out my soft rawhide mallet and straighten it out. Put some ink in it, and it writes! Not nearly as smoothly and evenly as before, but it writes. The sweet spot is much much smaller and requires more angle attention, but it should be ok.
You should just go ahead and buy a new nib, Lamy's are like $6 or something. No point in having a quality pen that "should be ok". It stops being a quality pen when it's demoted to "should be ok"
At 6 I'll pick it up, but 16.50 minimum right now gives me a bit of pause. I just purchased a Konrad and my first installation of ink... so my disposable entertainment income has been requisitioned. I'll get what I can out of this nib and when a sale pops up I'll jump at it.
Ironically, the cheapest purchasing option for the nib is to order it from the UK off Amazon and wait 18-32 business days for it to arrive.
Y'know, I write in mini-notepads a lot. Maybe I should get one of these. A cheaper, non-scratchy one would be nice, but I'd like a metal nib. Any recommendations? I think $30 would be on the high end. $20 or less would be perfect.
Edit: sorry, came back and didn't re-read OP for recommendations. I'll look at Lamy and Ohto to start.
On May 23 2013 08:03 hp.Shell wrote: Y'know, I write in mini-notepads a lot. Maybe I should get one of these. A cheaper, non-scratchy one would be nice, but I'd like a metal nib. Any recommendations? I think $30 would be on the high end. $20 or less would be perfect.
Edit: sorry, came back and didn't re-read OP for recommendations. I'll look at Lamy and Ohto to start.
Lamy Vista for 22,06 all inclusive with prime (except for the converter ) right now on amazon! With a deal like that I was considering just buying another pen for 22 rather than a little nib for 16...
On May 23 2013 08:03 hp.Shell wrote: Y'know, I write in mini-notepads a lot. Maybe I should get one of these. A cheaper, non-scratchy one would be nice, but I'd like a metal nib. Any recommendations? I think $30 would be on the high end. $20 or less would be perfect.
Edit: sorry, came back and didn't re-read OP for recommendations. I'll look at Lamy and Ohto to start.
All nibs are metal. Most are stainless steel with some kind of tipping material for the very tip, typically rhodium.
Why do you use mini-notepads a lot? Keep in mind that cheap paper doesn't do so well with a lot of fountain pens/inks. They bleed and feather a lot more with fountain pens than they do with ballpoints. Simply due to fountain pen ink being water based, and ballpoints having a very thick pasty ink.
Getting a fountain pen could turn into getting some better paper. Which if you're interested in a fountain pen you should get decent paper anyway just to have a better experience
Hm, I never even considered the pen leading to better quality paper. Good observation. Still haven't decided which pen to start off with.
I use mini-notepads because the small page width (3" maybe?) tends to be perfect for writing quick one-line brain-images. I find myself writing lists of short items a lot. Wider paper means more white space. E.g., "go to hardware store," "do laundry," "learn kanji," "look for hand puppets."
Some of mine are terrible on cheap paper. The ink that came with my Pilot Petit1 is probably the worst. Feathers like mad. The rest only feather a bit and have significant ghosting, all enough to make me want to use better paper.
Noodler's X-feather is probably a good ink to use on cheap paper, as it's designed to have no feathering.
I would try this but as I use block writing (all captials) for the purpose of drafting and have never broken the habit I think it would be a waste to try one of these? Or am I mistaken and these would work just fine for block as well?
Also, these look incredible, I'd be tempted to just collect them because they look professional.
On May 23 2013 22:56 Marimokkori wrote: Some of mine are terrible on cheap paper. The ink that came with my Pilot Petit1 is probably the worst. Feathers like mad. The rest only feather a bit and have significant ghosting, all enough to make me want to use better paper.
Noodler's X-feather is probably a good ink to use on cheap paper, as it's designed to have no feathering.
This is a bit random but speaking of feathering... Put the tip of a wet fountain pen with wet ink on paper towel and look at it go! It's beautiful.
Anywho I use Parker Quink and lamy T52 with medium/fine nibs and I don't get any feathering on a ridiculously cheap notepad. Maybe my cheap paper is not that cheap, but it's literally the least expensive thing I could find.
I took some pictures to show the difference that paper can make. Some inks perform better on cheap paper than others. The pen is a TWSBI 580 (fine nib) with Noodler's Blue-Black. Sadly, no good paper to compare with.
Link because the pictures are huge: http://imgur.com/a/6ZuME Note that it's not just feathering differences. The ink looks different shades of blue, and the line is much thicker on some with equal pressure.
On May 24 2013 00:18 eTcetRa wrote: I would try this but as I use block writing (all captials) for the purpose of drafting and have never broken the habit I think it would be a waste to try one of these? Or am I mistaken and these would work just fine for block as well?
Also, these look incredible, I'd be tempted to just collect them because they look professional.
I write in all caps, as do many other fountain pen users. Fountain pens are just a different tool for the same job. Some people might think an italic nib looks better with cursive than it does with all caps, some might not. Point being all caps writing is no reason to skip trying out a nice pen.
I took a bunch of photos to illustrate my point on feathering. Cheap paper vs Rhodia Dot pad.
On the cheapo crap, my Pilot Petit1 Fine looks as thick as the Monterverde Medium nib. A Japanese fine ( Asian nibs are finer than western nibs) looking comparable to an American medium? Not good. I didn't take photos of the back, but everything has ghosting. Bleedthrough occurs with flex and the pilot ink in the petit1.
On the Dot pad you can actually see the difference in line width, and even with max flex on the konrad, there is no visible feathering. Ghosting is visible when light is allowed to pass through the paper, and no bleedthrough whatsoever.
Sorry for the shit camera, but you can still see what I'm talking about.
Is there a large difference between ink qualities? I had a blue black from Parker and wasn't overly happy with how it dried, got some lamy black ink and not only does it look better dry but it writes a fair bit smoother as well.
On May 25 2013 16:58 Scaramanga wrote: Is there a large difference between ink qualities? I had a blue black from Parker and wasn't overly happy with how it dried, got some lamy black ink and not only does it look better dry but it writes a fair bit smoother as well.
I don't know how "large" it gets in terms of quality but I know there's a difference. I have some Waterman Serenity blue which just didn't flow with one of my pens, and now the Lamy T52 flows great. And my parker quink works just fine in another pen.
There's also something about saturation and whatnot, sometimes there's too much or too little. And some types of inks use solids when most use dye. Iron gall for instance is said to make your ink more "permanent" but it can damage your pen if you aren't careful.
On May 25 2013 16:58 Scaramanga wrote: Is there a large difference between ink qualities? I had a blue black from Parker and wasn't overly happy with how it dried, got some lamy black ink and not only does it look better dry but it writes a fair bit smoother as well.
I don't know how "large" it gets in terms of quality but I know there's a difference. I have some Waterman Serenity blue which just didn't flow with one of my pens, and now the Lamy T52 flows great. And my parker quink works just fine in another pen.
There's also something about saturation and whatnot, sometimes there's too much or too little. And some types of inks use solids when most use dye. Iron gall for instance is said to make your ink more "permanent" but it can damage your pen if you aren't careful.
A lot of times it can depend on what you want from the ink. Noodler's X-feather doesn't have any shading, while Noodler's Apache Sunset is well known for it's very large amounts of shading. They are both good inks, but they were designed for different things.
On May 26 2013 00:23 Fenrax wrote: LOl I just noticed if you add an "i" to the title it is Fountain Penis.
Quality post right here, lol.
An excellent example of how to get to 5000 posts imho...
I've been doing a good deal of research on this subject, but wanted to query you all too. Would anyone here have any suggestions for a good, relatively cheap journal that works well with fountain pens? I have some minor qualifications though... I'd prefer to not have paper that takes forever and a year to dry, but also would work well with Noodler's ink and the relatively wet Noodler's flex nib. Liberty's Elysium is the ink (which is beautiful incidentally!) and is somewhat water resistant, but otherwise just standard. It's not bulletproof or x-feathery. People swear by Rhodia and the larger exaclair company's line of materials, but I was wondering what the TL gurus have to say on the matter.
P.S. it's nice to see some of you guys in my other favorite threads. Grats to Mari for doing the C25K. After reading the running thread last September, I started that program and am still getting some good base building in. After running a 5k in June I think I'm going to start training for 10ks and up. (I'm very very slow though... so not competitively) Hang in there and enjoy that process!
On May 26 2013 00:23 Fenrax wrote: LOl I just noticed if you add an "i" to the title it is Fountain Penis.
Quality post right here, lol.
An excellent example of how to get to 5000 posts imho...
I've been doing a good deal of research on this subject, but wanted to query you all too. Would anyone here have any suggestions for a good, relatively cheap journal that works well with fountain pens? I have some minor qualifications though... I'd prefer to not have paper that takes forever and a year to dry, but also would work well with Noodler's ink and the relatively wet Noodler's flex nib. Liberty's Elysium is the ink (which is beautiful incidentally!) and is somewhat water resistant, but otherwise just standard. It's not bulletproof or x-feathery. People swear by Rhodia and the larger exaclair company's line of materials, but I was wondering what the TL gurus have to say on the matter.
P.S. it's nice to see some of you guys in my other favorite threads. Grats to Mari for doing the C25K. After reading the running thread last September, I started that program and am still getting some good base building in. After running a 5k in June I think I'm going to start training for 10ks and up. (I'm very very slow though... so not competitively) Hang in there and enjoy that process!
Any cheap chinese pen is fine. Go on eBay and search up student fountain pen and you'll get a ton of results at like $3 with free shipping. IMO, a fine nib is definitely the best to get if you're using a cheap journal. A medium sized nib might leak through the paper or "feather" plus a fine nib would be quicker to dry as well. These sellers are usually really nice. Once I had one arrive with a bend cap (the pen still worked). I simply e-mailed the seller asking for an exchange. They sent me two extra pens instead and told me to keep the one with the broken cap so basically I got 3 working pens for $3 bucks.
I use Pilot's Tsyuki-yo (sp?). It dries really fast from my Pilot Decimo Extra-Fine but it also costs like $28.
I just searched up on eBay and this one likes nice if you're into cute pens lol.
It's funny to see that in terms of performance, the $4-10 pens are sometimes not all that far away from the very high end ones. Of course in terms of durability, they'll be lacking, but they're cheap enough that you probably won't mind too much when the finish fades or whatever. They can be a bit more scratchy as well, but there are tricks to fix it up, and anyway a bit of scratchiness is not too bad.
As for the Iroshizuku ink, it's Tsuki-yo. I've had it for a bit but I haven't gotten around to using it. Well actually, it's so expensive and the bottle looks so cool, I don't want to use it x_x. I would suggest buying cheaper ink for a beginner. People seem to appreciate Lamy which goes for around $7.50 a bottle +shipping.
As for pens, I've ordered a "Kaigelu 356", there are some on ebay for $6.50 shipped, and they're very well rated, and they also look good. It seems very promising. It's an imitation of the Parker Sonnet, but performs nearly as well for a twelfth of the price or less. Jinhao also has some nice offerings if you prefer thicker pens, like the Jinhao X450.
On May 30 2013 01:12 Djzapz wrote: It's funny to see that in terms of performance, the $4-10 pens are sometimes not all that far away from the very high end ones. Of course in terms of durability, they'll be lacking, but they're cheap enough that you probably won't mind too much when the finish fades or whatever. They can be a bit more scratchy as well, but there are tricks to fix it up, and anyway a bit of scratchiness is not too bad.
As for the Iroshizuku ink, it's Tsuki-yo. I've had it for a bit but I haven't gotten around to using it. Well actually, it's so expensive and the bottle looks so cool, I don't want to use it x_x. I would suggest buying cheaper ink for a beginner. People seem to appreciate Lamy which goes for around $7.50 a bottle +shipping.
As for pens, I've ordered a "Kaigelu 356", there are some on ebay for $6.50 shipped, and they're very well rated, and they also look good. It seems very promising. It's an imitation of the Parker Sonnet, but performs nearly as well for a twelfth of the price or less. Jinhao also has some nice offerings if you prefer thicker pens, like the Jinhao X450.
Yeah I agree. The only real problem I have with the cheap pens is that the decorations on the outside is usually worn out quite fast. However, I have never had a nib or any part of the pen that you actually need to write with break on me. I've had crushed pen bodies and obviously broken lids but everything else is still good xD.
I think the amount of ink is fine so far. I've used it for just over a year writing notes in every class I have (mostly biochemistry and math courses) and I've only used about 1/3 of the bottle (with an extra-fine point pen). I'm very careful on how I refill my pens though and definitely leave as much ink as I can in the bottles after wiping the nib.
I also agree that buying a lot of cheap pens is probably better than buying a single really expensive one if you're a beginner. I bought a Decimo simply because it was the only clicker fountain pen I knew of and so I don't have to re-cap it every time I use it in a lab.
I could just be unlucky here, but how well do your guys' pens write after you leave them sitting, uncapped, for at least a minute?
I've got around ten pens and all but one have drying issues. Meaning, that after I leave it uncapped, and don't write with it for a bit - even one minute - the next stroke I make with the pen lays down no ink. Better nibs start working ~2 seconds after I press, bad ones take 30 seconds or more for the ink to start flowing again. I do have a single pen that (not sure how) manages to never dry up on me, and writes on the first stroke after sitting uncapped for an hour, which I feel must be an anomaly.
On May 31 2013 08:41 Phael wrote: I could just be unlucky here, but how well do your guys' pens write after you leave them sitting, uncapped, for at least a minute?
I've got around ten pens and all but one have drying issues. Meaning, that after I leave it uncapped, and don't write with it for a bit - even one minute - the next stroke I make with the pen lays down no ink. Better nibs start working ~2 seconds after I press, bad ones take 30 seconds or more for the ink to start flowing again. I do have a single pen that (not sure how) manages to never dry up on me, and writes on the first stroke after sitting uncapped for an hour, which I feel must be an anomaly.
This is normal, some pens will be more resistant than other I guess, and some inks will be more resistant also. There may be other factors like ambient temperature and whatnot... I'm no "expert" so you should Google this, but I suspect it could also have something to do with the feed. I suspect "wet" pens typically have a better time writing after being left out.
My Parker Sonnet and Nemosine Singularity do much better than my Pilot Metropolitan
On May 31 2013 08:41 Phael wrote: I could just be unlucky here, but how well do your guys' pens write after you leave them sitting, uncapped, for at least a minute?
I've got around ten pens and all but one have drying issues. Meaning, that after I leave it uncapped, and don't write with it for a bit - even one minute - the next stroke I make with the pen lays down no ink. Better nibs start working ~2 seconds after I press, bad ones take 30 seconds or more for the ink to start flowing again. I do have a single pen that (not sure how) manages to never dry up on me, and writes on the first stroke after sitting uncapped for an hour, which I feel must be an anomaly.
They all dry out after a few seconds if you don't write with them. If you don't like having to re-cap your pens because you're always getting distracted, there are cap-less fountain pens that you can look up. Pilot has a few (Decimo, Vanishing Point, Fermo) and I think Lamy has one (Lamy Dialog 3). There are probably more but those are the ones that I know of. I use the Decimo and it's really good for not having it dry out but it does make the "clicky" sound that you get with ballpoint pens. They are all extremely expensive though ($100+ USD).
On May 31 2013 08:41 Phael wrote: I could just be unlucky here, but how well do your guys' pens write after you leave them sitting, uncapped, for at least a minute?
I've got around ten pens and all but one have drying issues. Meaning, that after I leave it uncapped, and don't write with it for a bit - even one minute - the next stroke I make with the pen lays down no ink. Better nibs start working ~2 seconds after I press, bad ones take 30 seconds or more for the ink to start flowing again. I do have a single pen that (not sure how) manages to never dry up on me, and writes on the first stroke after sitting uncapped for an hour, which I feel must be an anomaly.
They all dry out after a few seconds if you don't write with them. If you don't like having to re-cap your pens because you're always getting distracted, there are cap-less fountain pens that you can look up. Pilot has a few (Decimo, Vanishing Point, Fermo) and I think Lamy has one (Lamy 2000). There are probably more but those are the ones that I know of. I use the Decimo and it's really good for not having it dry out but it does make the "clicky" sound that you get with ballpoint pens. They are all extremely expensive though ($100+ USD).
Lamy 2000 isn't it, but they might have one. But yeah, most fountain pens will dry out in that amount of time of being uncapped. 1min is quite some time to just stop writing without recapping the pen.
I would love to have a capless fountain pen. Might have to consider the Vanishing Point. I also really want a Namiki Falcon. Decisions, decisions.
My Noodler's Konrad seems to hard start quite often. I think there's a more serious problem with the feed than I originally thought. It leaked again when left stored nib down for ~2 days. The ink I'm thinking somehow breaks the surface tension around the feed and just pours out after being nib down for extended periods. I'm not sure if this is related to the hard starts or not, but I'm going to try the "hot water" method of adjusting the feed to see if I can make an improvement.
On May 26 2013 00:23 Fenrax wrote: LOl I just noticed if you add an "i" to the title it is Fountain Penis.
Quality post right here, lol.
An excellent example of how to get to 5000 posts imho...
I've been doing a good deal of research on this subject, but wanted to query you all too. Would anyone here have any suggestions for a good, relatively cheap journal that works well with fountain pens? I have some minor qualifications though... I'd prefer to not have paper that takes forever and a year to dry, but also would work well with Noodler's ink and the relatively wet Noodler's flex nib. Liberty's Elysium is the ink (which is beautiful incidentally!) and is somewhat water resistant, but otherwise just standard. It's not bulletproof or x-feathery. People swear by Rhodia and the larger exaclair company's line of materials, but I was wondering what the TL gurus have to say on the matter.
P.S. it's nice to see some of you guys in my other favorite threads. Grats to Mari for doing the C25K. After reading the running thread last September, I started that program and am still getting some good base building in. After running a 5k in June I think I'm going to start training for 10ks and up. (I'm very very slow though... so not competitively) Hang in there and enjoy that process!
Any cheap chinese pen is fine. Go on eBay and search up student fountain pen and you'll get a ton of results at like $3 with free shipping. IMO, a fine nib is definitely the best to get if you're using a cheap journal. A medium sized nib might leak through the paper or "feather" plus a fine nib would be quicker to dry as well. These sellers are usually really nice. Once I had one arrive with a bend cap (the pen still worked). I simply e-mailed the seller asking for an exchange. They sent me two extra pens instead and told me to keep the one with the broken cap so basically I got 3 working pens for $3 bucks.
I use Pilot's Tsyuki-yo (sp?). It dries really fast from my Pilot Decimo Extra-Fine but it also costs like $28.
I just searched up on eBay and this one likes nice if you're into cute pens lol.
I have the same question as the guy you quoted, it's actually related to paper. I think you quoted the wrong post. Can anyone answer his question? Been thinking about a Rhodia but I wanted something less pricey to start.
On May 26 2013 00:23 Fenrax wrote: LOl I just noticed if you add an "i" to the title it is Fountain Penis.
Quality post right here, lol.
An excellent example of how to get to 5000 posts imho...
I've been doing a good deal of research on this subject, but wanted to query you all too. Would anyone here have any suggestions for a good, relatively cheap journal that works well with fountain pens? I have some minor qualifications though... I'd prefer to not have paper that takes forever and a year to dry, but also would work well with Noodler's ink and the relatively wet Noodler's flex nib. Liberty's Elysium is the ink (which is beautiful incidentally!) and is somewhat water resistant, but otherwise just standard. It's not bulletproof or x-feathery. People swear by Rhodia and the larger exaclair company's line of materials, but I was wondering what the TL gurus have to say on the matter.
P.S. it's nice to see some of you guys in my other favorite threads. Grats to Mari for doing the C25K. After reading the running thread last September, I started that program and am still getting some good base building in. After running a 5k in June I think I'm going to start training for 10ks and up. (I'm very very slow though... so not competitively) Hang in there and enjoy that process!
Any cheap chinese pen is fine. Go on eBay and search up student fountain pen and you'll get a ton of results at like $3 with free shipping. IMO, a fine nib is definitely the best to get if you're using a cheap journal. A medium sized nib might leak through the paper or "feather" plus a fine nib would be quicker to dry as well. These sellers are usually really nice. Once I had one arrive with a bend cap (the pen still worked). I simply e-mailed the seller asking for an exchange. They sent me two extra pens instead and told me to keep the one with the broken cap so basically I got 3 working pens for $3 bucks.
I use Pilot's Tsyuki-yo (sp?). It dries really fast from my Pilot Decimo Extra-Fine but it also costs like $28.
I just searched up on eBay and this one likes nice if you're into cute pens lol.
I have the same question as the guy you quoted, it's actually related to paper. I think you quoted the wrong post. Can anyone answer his question? Been thinking about a Rhodia but I wanted something less pricey to start.
I would say frankly don't get suckered into the idea that you absolutely need high quality paper, at least not right off the bat. Just try cheap paper or mid-range printing paper, they sell giant wads for a couple of bucks and if you don't like it, well everybody needs printing paper sooner or later.
I've used 3 pads of cheap, generic garbage that I happened to have and 2 of them work pretty great, one pad that I got from my uni actually doesn't do too well with "wet" pens. Unfortunately, I don't know of decent paper under Rhodia's pricepoint for fountain pens, but maybe someone else will be able to clear that up for you if you really want to try it out. In fact, I'd like to know.
The thing that makes suggesting a journal to him difficult is that he wants a wet flex pen that doesn't take much time to dry. Wet flex pens simply take a little more time to dry than what may be acceptable.
Liberty's Elysium to my understanding does quite well on cheaper paper, even with a lot of ink. It doesn't really feather much, but it might bleed through some on very cheap papers.
Journals that are around $15-20 tend to have pretty good paper in them in my experience. Pick one up from a bookstore or Walmart. If you want something with a reputation you can try Moleskine, Clairfontaine, Apica, Midori, Leuchtturm1917. I'm sure these will all do well.
The only issue I can see arising is drying time. For that you can use blotting paper to absorb excess ink when you need to turn the page or close the journal.
I purchased a Lamy safari after being inspired by this thread, and I wonder if anyone is familiar with the black Lamy cartridge ink. The blue one included with the pencil isn't very saturated and the end of each stroke is significantly darker than the rest of the stroke. I don't quite like the look of it, i would prefer if the entire stroke had more or less the same colour. Is the black ink more or less black throughout the entire stroke? Or do I need to buy a converter and bottled ink to get a uniform stroke?
On June 01 2013 04:46 shaippen wrote: I purchased a Lamy safari after being inspired by this thread, and I wonder if anyone is familiar with the black Lamy cartridge ink. The blue one included with the pencil isn't very saturated and the end of each stroke is significantly darker than the rest of the stroke. I don't quite like the look of it, i would prefer if the entire stroke had more or less the same colour. Is the black ink more or less black throughout the entire stroke? Or do I need to buy a converter and bottled ink to get a uniform stroke?
I think blues are harder to saturate than blacks. I've had this issue with Waterman's serenity blue, but no issue with Parker Quink black and Lamy's black.
On May 26 2013 00:23 Fenrax wrote: LOl I just noticed if you add an "i" to the title it is Fountain Penis.
Quality post right here, lol.
An excellent example of how to get to 5000 posts imho...
I've been doing a good deal of research on this subject, but wanted to query you all too. Would anyone here have any suggestions for a good, relatively cheap journal that works well with fountain pens? I have some minor qualifications though... I'd prefer to not have paper that takes forever and a year to dry, but also would work well with Noodler's ink and the relatively wet Noodler's flex nib. Liberty's Elysium is the ink (which is beautiful incidentally!) and is somewhat water resistant, but otherwise just standard. It's not bulletproof or x-feathery. People swear by Rhodia and the larger exaclair company's line of materials, but I was wondering what the TL gurus have to say on the matter.
P.S. it's nice to see some of you guys in my other favorite threads. Grats to Mari for doing the C25K. After reading the running thread last September, I started that program and am still getting some good base building in. After running a 5k in June I think I'm going to start training for 10ks and up. (I'm very very slow though... so not competitively) Hang in there and enjoy that process!
Any cheap chinese pen is fine. Go on eBay and search up student fountain pen and you'll get a ton of results at like $3 with free shipping. IMO, a fine nib is definitely the best to get if you're using a cheap journal. A medium sized nib might leak through the paper or "feather" plus a fine nib would be quicker to dry as well. These sellers are usually really nice. Once I had one arrive with a bend cap (the pen still worked). I simply e-mailed the seller asking for an exchange. They sent me two extra pens instead and told me to keep the one with the broken cap so basically I got 3 working pens for $3 bucks.
I use Pilot's Tsyuki-yo (sp?). It dries really fast from my Pilot Decimo Extra-Fine but it also costs like $28.
I just searched up on eBay and this one likes nice if you're into cute pens lol.
I have the same question as the guy you quoted, it's actually related to paper. I think you quoted the wrong post. Can anyone answer his question? Been thinking about a Rhodia but I wanted something less pricey to start.
I would say frankly don't get suckered into the idea that you absolutely need high quality paper, at least not right off the bat. Just try cheap paper or mid-range printing paper, they sell giant wads for a couple of bucks and if you don't like it, well everybody needs printing paper sooner or later.
I've used 3 pads of cheap, generic garbage that I happened to have and 2 of them work pretty great, one pad that I got from my uni actually doesn't do too well with "wet" pens. Unfortunately, I don't know of decent paper under Rhodia's pricepoint for fountain pens, but maybe someone else will be able to clear that up for you if you really want to try it out. In fact, I'd like to know.
He is completely right. And sorry I did quote the wrong post lol, must've been reading something else at the time.
I bought a sketchbook from Wal-mart for like $5 CAD and has 100 sheets and it is incredibly absorbent to any amount of ink I use and I've tested it with fountain pens and nib (with about the same flex as wet noodles) pens and there is absolutely no feathering. So definitely don't think only high quality expensive paper will do the trick. In case you were wondering, it is a Studio Pro by Hilroy "Sketch Book" 100 sheets, 50lb paper. I got it on a back-to-school sale so that might have been why it was so cheap...
@Marimokkori Yeah you're right. I just re-checked. I meant to say the Lamy Dialog 3 is cap-less. Here's a pic:
Also @Marimokkori, you can pull out the nib and feed from your noodler's konrad and adjust it so that it doesn't leak.
On May 26 2013 00:23 Fenrax wrote: LOl I just noticed if you add an "i" to the title it is Fountain Penis.
Quality post right here, lol.
An excellent example of how to get to 5000 posts imho...
I've been doing a good deal of research on this subject, but wanted to query you all too. Would anyone here have any suggestions for a good, relatively cheap journal that works well with fountain pens? I have some minor qualifications though... I'd prefer to not have paper that takes forever and a year to dry, but also would work well with Noodler's ink and the relatively wet Noodler's flex nib. Liberty's Elysium is the ink (which is beautiful incidentally!) and is somewhat water resistant, but otherwise just standard. It's not bulletproof or x-feathery. People swear by Rhodia and the larger exaclair company's line of materials, but I was wondering what the TL gurus have to say on the matter.
P.S. it's nice to see some of you guys in my other favorite threads. Grats to Mari for doing the C25K. After reading the running thread last September, I started that program and am still getting some good base building in. After running a 5k in June I think I'm going to start training for 10ks and up. (I'm very very slow though... so not competitively) Hang in there and enjoy that process!
Any cheap chinese pen is fine. Go on eBay and search up student fountain pen and you'll get a ton of results at like $3 with free shipping. IMO, a fine nib is definitely the best to get if you're using a cheap journal. A medium sized nib might leak through the paper or "feather" plus a fine nib would be quicker to dry as well. These sellers are usually really nice. Once I had one arrive with a bend cap (the pen still worked). I simply e-mailed the seller asking for an exchange. They sent me two extra pens instead and told me to keep the one with the broken cap so basically I got 3 working pens for $3 bucks.
I use Pilot's Tsyuki-yo (sp?). It dries really fast from my Pilot Decimo Extra-Fine but it also costs like $28.
I just searched up on eBay and this one likes nice if you're into cute pens lol.
I have the same question as the guy you quoted, it's actually related to paper. I think you quoted the wrong post. Can anyone answer his question? Been thinking about a Rhodia but I wanted something less pricey to start.
I would say frankly don't get suckered into the idea that you absolutely need high quality paper, at least not right off the bat. Just try cheap paper or mid-range printing paper, they sell giant wads for a couple of bucks and if you don't like it, well everybody needs printing paper sooner or later.
I've used 3 pads of cheap, generic garbage that I happened to have and 2 of them work pretty great, one pad that I got from my uni actually doesn't do too well with "wet" pens. Unfortunately, I don't know of decent paper under Rhodia's pricepoint for fountain pens, but maybe someone else will be able to clear that up for you if you really want to try it out. In fact, I'd like to know.
He is completely right. And sorry I did quote the wrong post lol, must've been reading something else at the time.
I bought a sketchbook from Wal-mart for like $5 CAD and has 100 sheets and it is incredibly absorbent to any amount of ink I use and I've tested it with fountain pens and nib (with about the same flex as wet noodles) pens and there is absolutely no feathering. So definitely don't think only high quality expensive paper will do the trick. In case you were wondering, it is a Studio Pro by Hilroy "Sketch Book" 100 sheets, 50lb paper. I got it on a back-to-school sale so that might have been why it was so cheap...
@Marimokkori Yeah you're right. I just re-checked. I meant to say the Lamy Dialog 3 is cap-less. Here's a pic: + Show Spoiler +
Also @Marimokkori, you can pull out the nib and feed from your noodler's konrad and adjust it so that it doesn't leak.
I already readjusted the nib/feed on it, not sure what else I could do with simply adjusting to prevent the leaking.
Cheap paper here doesn't even show it's weight it's so bad. The lightest marked paper I've found where I live is 80 or 90lb which is typically at least $10-15 USD. Any journals I've seen that aren't high end are also never marked with their paper weight.
EDIT: As for the blue saturation level - the end of the stroke being darker than the rest is commonplace for all inks that have some amount of shading. It's due to the fact that as you write the paper "pulls" more ink out of the pen, and as you begin to lift the pen from the page that extra ink doesn't get sucked back into the pen, it gets drawn to the paper, leaving the end of the stroke slightly more saturated.
This won't be as prominent with most black inks. Noodler's X-Feather is a very solid black that does not falter and it will solve your problem. If you are set on a blue ink, you'll have to look for one that has very little shading potential.
On May 26 2013 00:23 Fenrax wrote: LOl I just noticed if you add an "i" to the title it is Fountain Penis.
Quality post right here, lol.
An excellent example of how to get to 5000 posts imho...
I've been doing a good deal of research on this subject, but wanted to query you all too. Would anyone here have any suggestions for a good, relatively cheap journal that works well with fountain pens? I have some minor qualifications though... I'd prefer to not have paper that takes forever and a year to dry, but also would work well with Noodler's ink and the relatively wet Noodler's flex nib. Liberty's Elysium is the ink (which is beautiful incidentally!) and is somewhat water resistant, but otherwise just standard. It's not bulletproof or x-feathery. People swear by Rhodia and the larger exaclair company's line of materials, but I was wondering what the TL gurus have to say on the matter.
P.S. it's nice to see some of you guys in my other favorite threads. Grats to Mari for doing the C25K. After reading the running thread last September, I started that program and am still getting some good base building in. After running a 5k in June I think I'm going to start training for 10ks and up. (I'm very very slow though... so not competitively) Hang in there and enjoy that process!
Any cheap chinese pen is fine. Go on eBay and search up student fountain pen and you'll get a ton of results at like $3 with free shipping. IMO, a fine nib is definitely the best to get if you're using a cheap journal. A medium sized nib might leak through the paper or "feather" plus a fine nib would be quicker to dry as well. These sellers are usually really nice. Once I had one arrive with a bend cap (the pen still worked). I simply e-mailed the seller asking for an exchange. They sent me two extra pens instead and told me to keep the one with the broken cap so basically I got 3 working pens for $3 bucks.
I use Pilot's Tsyuki-yo (sp?). It dries really fast from my Pilot Decimo Extra-Fine but it also costs like $28.
I just searched up on eBay and this one likes nice if you're into cute pens lol.
I have the same question as the guy you quoted, it's actually related to paper. I think you quoted the wrong post. Can anyone answer his question? Been thinking about a Rhodia but I wanted something less pricey to start.
I would say frankly don't get suckered into the idea that you absolutely need high quality paper, at least not right off the bat. Just try cheap paper or mid-range printing paper, they sell giant wads for a couple of bucks and if you don't like it, well everybody needs printing paper sooner or later.
I've used 3 pads of cheap, generic garbage that I happened to have and 2 of them work pretty great, one pad that I got from my uni actually doesn't do too well with "wet" pens. Unfortunately, I don't know of decent paper under Rhodia's pricepoint for fountain pens, but maybe someone else will be able to clear that up for you if you really want to try it out. In fact, I'd like to know.
He is completely right. And sorry I did quote the wrong post lol, must've been reading something else at the time.
I bought a sketchbook from Wal-mart for like $5 CAD and has 100 sheets and it is incredibly absorbent to any amount of ink I use and I've tested it with fountain pens and nib (with about the same flex as wet noodles) pens and there is absolutely no feathering. So definitely don't think only high quality expensive paper will do the trick. In case you were wondering, it is a Studio Pro by Hilroy "Sketch Book" 100 sheets, 50lb paper. I got it on a back-to-school sale so that might have been why it was so cheap...
@Marimokkori Yeah you're right. I just re-checked. I meant to say the Lamy Dialog 3 is cap-less. Here's a pic: + Show Spoiler +
Also @Marimokkori, you can pull out the nib and feed from your noodler's konrad and adjust it so that it doesn't leak.
I already readjusted the nib/feed on it, not sure what else I could do with simply adjusting to prevent the leaking.
Cheap paper here doesn't even show it's weight it's so bad. The lightest marked paper I've found where I live is 80 or 90lb which is typically at least $10-15 USD. Any journals I've seen that aren't high end are also never marked with their paper weight.
EDIT: As for the blue saturation level - the end of the stroke being darker than the rest is commonplace for all inks that have some amount of shading. It's due to the fact that as you write the paper "pulls" more ink out of the pen, and as you begin to lift the pen from the page that extra ink doesn't get sucked back into the pen, it gets drawn to the paper, leaving the end of the stroke slightly more saturated.
This won't be as prominent with most black inks. Noodler's X-Feather is a very solid black that does not falter and it will solve your problem. If you are set on a blue ink, you'll have to look for one that has very little shading potential.
I looked up the significance of the paper weights. Apparently 50lbs is around printing paper quality which is weird because the paper in my sketchbook doesn't feather at all but the paper I use for printing (which feels and looks exactly like the one in the sketchbook) feathers slightly but definitely noticeable.
On June 01 2013 04:46 shaippen wrote: I purchased a Lamy safari after being inspired by this thread, and I wonder if anyone is familiar with the black Lamy cartridge ink. The blue one included with the pencil isn't very saturated and the end of each stroke is significantly darker than the rest of the stroke. I don't quite like the look of it, i would prefer if the entire stroke had more or less the same colour. Is the black ink more or less black throughout the entire stroke? Or do I need to buy a converter and bottled ink to get a uniform stroke?
What Marimokkori said is definitely correct. If you want to fix this problem, you might want to try a finer pen nib. A Japanese extra-fine nib would definitely fix this problem. However, if the blue is too dark, a thinner line might not bring out the color as much lol.
Lamy, while being a reputable European pen maker, tend to make their nib sizes bigger than what a Japanese pen maker might define them to be. I think an European fine nib is around a Japanese fine-medium.
On June 01 2013 13:19 Marimokkori wrote: As for the blue saturation level - the end of the stroke being darker than the rest is commonplace for all inks that have some amount of shading. It's due to the fact that as you write the paper "pulls" more ink out of the pen, and as you begin to lift the pen from the page that extra ink doesn't get sucked back into the pen, it gets drawn to the paper, leaving the end of the stroke slightly more saturated.
This won't be as prominent with most black inks. Noodler's X-Feather is a very solid black that does not falter and it will solve your problem. If you are set on a blue ink, you'll have to look for one that has very little shading potential.
I actually prefer black ink, but a blue cartridge is included with the pen, and had this small issue as i tried it out. I was wondering if the Lamy black ink would behave the same or if it was more saturated. I will try out a lamy black cartridge, see how it writes and then decide whether I want to get a converter or not.
On June 01 2013 14:01 wptlzkwjd wrote: What Marimokkori said is definitely correct. If you want to fix this problem, you might want to try a finer pen nib. A Japanese extra-fine nib would definitely fix this problem. However, if the blue is too dark, a thinner line might not bring out the color as much lol.
Lamy, while being a reputable European pen maker, tend to make their nib sizes bigger than what a Japanese pen maker might define them to be. I think an European fine nib is around a Japanese fine-medium.
I am unfortunately not interested in a finer nib. I got my safari with a fine nib, and am actually considering trying a broader nib, since I heard they can be just slightly wetter.
On June 01 2013 00:11 Marimokkori wrote: The thing that makes suggesting a journal to him difficult is that he wants a wet flex pen that doesn't take much time to dry. Wet flex pens simply take a little more time to dry than what may be acceptable.
Liberty's Elysium to my understanding does quite well on cheaper paper, even with a lot of ink. It doesn't really feather much, but it might bleed through some on very cheap papers.
Journals that are around $15-20 tend to have pretty good paper in them in my experience. Pick one up from a bookstore or Walmart. If you want something with a reputation you can try Moleskine, Clairfontaine, Apica, Midori, Leuchtturm1917. I'm sure these will all do well.
The only issue I can see arising is drying time. For that you can use blotting paper to absorb excess ink when you need to turn the page or close the journal.
Thanks for the suggestions! The libertys Elysium is doing well on cheap paper, but when the Konrad goes full bore I get very significant bleedthrough on super cheap paper (to the tune of up to three sheets :-/). I like the idea of using blotting paper very much if I do indeed need drying time. To test this, I'm going to use the jetpens free shipping you suggested previously to pick up 2 Lamy nibs and a couple of small Rhodia and marimakori (spelling) notepad examples, before investing in the bigger journals. Thanks again!
Sorry you're having all the trouble with the Konrad too... Mine is performing relatively consistently. I store it horizontally and it occasionally will have a hard start, but not with trackable frequency.
I got my Noodler's Aircorp Blue from Twsbi all the way from CA to SEA. The cap fractured on the way but luckily it only broke once I tried opening it..
On June 04 2013 10:24 lazyitachi wrote: I got my Noodler's Aircorp Blue from Twsbi all the way from CA to SEA. The cap fractured on the way but luckily it only broke once I tried opening it..
condolences to the dead ink...
I'm told Noodler's bottles are a little fragile, which let Jetpens to stop carrying them, unfortunately. Apparently the guy who runs the Noodler's ink company is a turbo-republican who likes to reduces costs by cutting corners in order to offer ink at a fair price.
On June 04 2013 10:24 lazyitachi wrote: I got my Noodler's Aircorp Blue from Twsbi all the way from CA to SEA. The cap fractured on the way but luckily it only broke once I tried opening it..
condolences to the dead ink...
I'm told Noodler's bottles are a little fragile, which let Jetpens to stop carrying them, unfortunately. Apparently the guy who runs the Noodler's ink company is a turbo-republican who likes to reduces costs by cutting corners in order to offer ink at a fair price.
IFAIK Jetpens has never carried Noobler's ink. They only just recently started carrying the Konrad. You can usually still look at products they don't have anymore, Like the Apple Green Lamy Safari. I've ordered a few bottle's from Goulet Pens and never
had an issue. From where did you order your ink? Doesn't look like they did much to protect the bottles
On June 04 2013 10:24 lazyitachi wrote: I got my Noodler's Aircorp Blue from Twsbi all the way from CA to SEA. The cap fractured on the way but luckily it only broke once I tried opening it..
condolences to the dead ink...
I'm told Noodler's bottles are a little fragile, which let Jetpens to stop carrying them, unfortunately. Apparently the guy who runs the Noodler's ink company is a turbo-republican who likes to reduces costs by cutting corners in order to offer ink at a fair price.
IFAIK Jetpens has never carried Noobler's ink. They only just recently started carrying the Konrad. You can usually still look at products they don't have anymore, Like the Apple Green Lamy Safari. I've ordered a few bottle's from Goulet Pens and never
had an issue. From where did you order your ink? Doesn't look like they did much to protect the bottles
JetPens did stock Noodler's ink but stopped carrying it. They posted a statement on FPN explaining that they don't want to have employees dealing with shards of glass.
I bought the bottles from a little shop on ebay. The bottles shipped from Japan for $24 each whereas they retail here for $28+shipping. But yeah the packaging was definitely insufficient. No bubble wrap at all, and while the retail box is fairly solid, couriers tend to be abusive.
I've contacted the seller, he's a very pleasant guy from Japan, he hand-writes notes in his packages to thank for the purchase which is uh... cute, I guess. It's just a shame because he's quite clearly new at ebay and he's already going to have to suck up a fairly important loss.
On June 04 2013 18:03 lazyitachi wrote: From Japan, is it by any chance Engeika??? Just bought Iroshizuku and a pen from him. :S
No, it looks like engeika has made quite a few sales and has good reviews so I wouldn't worry.
The guy I bought from is pretty new to ebay, his packaging was insufficient and he inverted the destination and origin addresses on the package (he wrote his address in the middle and mine at the top left). Japan post actually put a sticker on the package indicating the mistake.
Edit: The seller handed me a full refund and then some for the broken bottle, so that's nice.
On June 04 2013 18:03 lazyitachi wrote: From Japan, is it by any chance Engeika??? Just bought Iroshizuku and a pen from him. :S
No, it looks like engeika has made quite a few sales and has good reviews so I wouldn't worry.
The guy I bought from is pretty new to ebay, his packaging was insufficient and he inverted the destination and origin addresses on the package (he wrote his address in the middle and mine at the top left). Japan post actually put a sticker on the package indicating the mistake.
Edit: The seller handed me a full refund and then some for the broken bottle, so that's nice.
engeika and pisuke2005 are really good pen sellers. I've bought stuff from both of them and they have good prices and great package material. I actually ordered my Decimo from pisuke2005 and he sent me a giant package with bubble wrap for a pen that was already in a box = =;; I looked like an idiot un-wrapping it in the food court lmfao. They're both from Japan and I always get their stuff faster than from the U.S somehow.
On June 04 2013 18:03 lazyitachi wrote: From Japan, is it by any chance Engeika??? Just bought Iroshizuku and a pen from him. :S
No, it looks like engeika has made quite a few sales and has good reviews so I wouldn't worry.
The guy I bought from is pretty new to ebay, his packaging was insufficient and he inverted the destination and origin addresses on the package (he wrote his address in the middle and mine at the top left). Japan post actually put a sticker on the package indicating the mistake.
Edit: The seller handed me a full refund and then some for the broken bottle, so that's nice.
engeika and pisuke2005 are really good pen sellers. I've bought stuff from both of them and they have good prices and great package material. I actually ordered my Decimo from pisuke2005 and he sent me a giant package with bubble wrap for a pen that was already in a box = =;; I looked like an idiot un-wrapping it in the food court lmfao. They're both from Japan and I always get their stuff faster than from the U.S somehow.
Better too much packaging than not enough IMO. Strangely I've had surprisingly bad luck with inks. When I received BOTH my Parker AND Lamy ink bottles, both from different retailers, they were outside of their flimsy little boxes, hanging loose in the bubble-padded envelope.
On June 04 2013 18:03 lazyitachi wrote: From Japan, is it by any chance Engeika??? Just bought Iroshizuku and a pen from him. :S
No, it looks like engeika has made quite a few sales and has good reviews so I wouldn't worry.
The guy I bought from is pretty new to ebay, his packaging was insufficient and he inverted the destination and origin addresses on the package (he wrote his address in the middle and mine at the top left). Japan post actually put a sticker on the package indicating the mistake.
Edit: The seller handed me a full refund and then some for the broken bottle, so that's nice.
engeika and pisuke2005 are really good pen sellers. I've bought stuff from both of them and they have good prices and great package material. I actually ordered my Decimo from pisuke2005 and he sent me a giant package with bubble wrap for a pen that was already in a box = =;; I looked like an idiot un-wrapping it in the food court lmfao. They're both from Japan and I always get their stuff faster than from the U.S somehow.
Better too much packaging than not enough IMO. Strangely I've had surprisingly bad luck with inks. When I received BOTH my Parker AND Lamy ink bottles, both from different retailers, they were outside of their flimsy little boxes, hanging loose in the bubble-padded envelope.
Yikes lol. I've only ever bought ink from JetPens and their packaging was really good.
On June 01 2013 04:46 shaippen wrote: I purchased a Lamy safari after being inspired by this thread, and I wonder if anyone is familiar with the black Lamy cartridge ink. The blue one included with the pencil isn't very saturated and the end of each stroke is significantly darker than the rest of the stroke. I don't quite like the look of it, i would prefer if the entire stroke had more or less the same colour. Is the black ink more or less black throughout the entire stroke? Or do I need to buy a converter and bottled ink to get a uniform stroke?
Generally the initial stroke for me is a little thicker but for the rest of my writings until I pause again its fine, I've got black ink which leaves it less noticeable.
On June 08 2013 05:47 Djzapz wrote: I'm crazy :> + Show Spoiler +
(4 of them are $5 pens)
Where did you get these from? I'm looking to buy a bunch of cheap chinese knockoffs to hold me over for a while!
I'll go from top to bottom:
1- Parker Sonnet, not cheap, Amazon 2- Jinhao X450, $5, ebay (so far, very impressed by it) 3- Pilot Metropolitan, $15, jetpens 4- Nemosine Singularity, $15, xfountainpens 5- Jinhao 500, $5, ebay 6- Baoer 388, $5, ebay (stay away from it, it's garbage) 7- Kaigelu 356, $5, ebay (haven't used it yet but it seems promising)
All the ebay pens are shipped from China and have taken 2-3 weeks to get here. So far, I can only recommend the X450, but it's a big, heavy pen, and the finish looks like it can fall apart easily. The Kaigelu 356 looks great, build quality is very nice. I have yet to write with it but if I'm to believe the reviews, it's probably not bad at all. And again, avoid the Baoer 388 even though it looks nice.
On June 08 2013 09:51 wptlzkwjd wrote: You can buy the Parker Sonnet on eBay for about 20 bucks cheaper than Amazon.
Parker Sonnets are apparently some of the most counterfeit fountain pens on the market, though. So be careful. There are some stainless steel chrome trim ones for $70 from Greece which is not much less than what I paid for my red one with gold trim and nib.
On June 08 2013 09:51 wptlzkwjd wrote: You can buy the Parker Sonnet on eBay for about 20 bucks cheaper than Amazon.
Parker Sonnets are apparently some of the most counterfeit fountain pens on the market, though. So be careful. There are some stainless steel chrome trim ones for $70 from Greece which is not much less than what I paid for my red one with gold trim and nib.
That's true. I suppose when you're planning to spend some serious money you might as well get the best version possible.
Pilot Metropolitan's great. I've been using it more, and I've no complaints about it yet. Well, except that it came in fine, but my handwriting is tiny, and I have horrible paper so it looks worse than it really should, but it feels great in my opinion.
On June 01 2013 00:11 Marimokkori wrote: The thing that makes suggesting a journal to him difficult is that he wants a wet flex pen that doesn't take much time to dry. Wet flex pens simply take a little more time to dry than what may be acceptable.
Liberty's Elysium to my understanding does quite well on cheaper paper, even with a lot of ink. It doesn't really feather much, but it might bleed through some on very cheap papers.
Journals that are around $15-20 tend to have pretty good paper in them in my experience. Pick one up from a bookstore or Walmart. If you want something with a reputation you can try Moleskine, Clairfontaine, Apica, Midori, Leuchtturm1917. I'm sure these will all do well.
The only issue I can see arising is drying time. For that you can use blotting paper to absorb excess ink when you need to turn the page or close the journal.
Moleskines aren't very good for fountain pens, as I've found, they tend to feel very rough when writing and the paper catches sometimes, which doesn't happen on regular paper. I've been thinking about Elysium or one of the other brands mentioned.
Played around with an old Parker (M), and bought a Lamy Safari (F), was pretty disappointed with both as the flow was poor (particularly surprised on the Parker since it was M, and it was better before, but cleaning didn't do the trick)
I just bought this guy (blue and fine): My first Japanese fountain pen (German and Chinese in the past), and it's fantastic. It's so nice, in fact, I'm already thinking about buying a 14K nib. Fine writes with just a tad too much resistance for me, so I'm thinking about buying a medium nib next time.
On June 15 2013 09:14 SilentCrono wrote: What's a good, cheap fountain pen?
If you can scrape off $15, I would go for the Nemosine Singularity, mine has been extremely dependable. If you want even cheaper, you can always pick up a cheap Chinese thingy or ebay for $5-7. In that case, I'd suggest the Kaigelu 356 or a Jinhao X450, from my limited experience.
Then you can just get some cheap fountain pen ink.
On June 15 2013 08:09 dizzy101 wrote: I dropped a fountainpen on hard floor, and it doesn't write the same ever since. Are these things so fragile or can it easily be fixed?
The nib can be fragile, and fixing probably depends on the nib material. I've done some tinkering with tines, but only stainless nibs (I would send gold nibs to a professional, too expensive to risk screwing it up).
On June 15 2013 09:14 SilentCrono wrote: What's a good, cheap fountain pen?
On June 15 2013 08:09 dizzy101 wrote: I dropped a fountainpen on hard floor, and it doesn't write the same ever since. Are these things so fragile or can it easily be fixed?
The nib can be fragile, and fixing probably depends on the nib material. I've done some tinkering with tines, but only stainless nibs (I would send gold nibs to a professional, too expensive to risk screwing it up).
4.5oz of anti-feathering ink (means it works even on shit paper) and it comes with a free plantinum preppy, ready to fill. I've filled up a quarter of a notebook with 2mL of ink and 4.5oz =~ 133 mL. This makes it cheaper than almost any other pen.
I've been using a Lamy Safari ($20) for ages now and I love it. Now I'm addicted and just spent $150 more on various pens, inks and papers that I want to experiment with :D
4.5oz of anti-feathering ink (means it works even on shit paper) and it comes with a free plantinum preppy, ready to fill. I've filled up a quarter of a notebook with 2mL of ink and 4.5oz =~ 133 mL. This makes it cheaper than almost any other pen.
I've been using a Lamy Safari ($20) for ages now and I love it. Now I'm addicted and just spent $150 more on various pens, inks and papers that I want to experiment with :D
That's how it goes! I'm really want to get an Apple Green Safari from 2012. The Neon Yellow this year doesn't do it for me.
It's really fun to write with. Pardon the camera shake and the bad focus, I was holding my POS phone in one hand and tried to write with the other.
Sweet man! Did you convert that to an eyedropper?
No, I could easily do that but I've heard that converting this one to an eyedropper makes it gush ink when it's down under a third. The converter-type thing does contain a MASSIVE amount of ink anyway, so I'm satisfied with it
I'm gravitating towards more flexible nibs as I try to pick up cursive writing. My Sailor 1911M is nice, but it kind of feels like writing with a nail, and the lack of line variation is somewhat disappointing.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to pick up a Pilot Custom 823 within the next month
I've had this montblanc Meisterstück for quite some time, I really enjoy the way it writes although I am still getting used to it. I have very sloppy handwriting
On July 11 2013 03:43 hifriend wrote: Fountain pen + good penmanship is so fucking sexy, I could watch this stuff all day. Makes me wish my hands didn't suck.
I went to the store and played around with a pilot custom 74 with soft nib today, and it was really difficult to use actually. Using a flex nib, I'd imagine, takes a lot of skill, and you'd really need to get to know your pen really well.
Wasn't there a saying about how you should never lend three things to others, and fountain pen being one of them?
My dad got himself a Waterman Edson, which cost him about 1k. I was happy to try it out once, but I don't know that much about fountain pens, so I can't really judge it. He told me there is some kind of pressure compensator in it that allows for the same handwriting at any altitude.
I actually like technical gadgets like that, but I don't see myself using that pen more often than twice a year. Maybe spending a lot of cash on a computer keyboard isn't a bad idea?
I don't know why you would want to insist on writing with a fountain pen on a plane (or under water??) haha, so if that's the sole reason, it'd be kind of funny.
I'm sure high-end pens from well-known makers are all amazing writers regardless of the altitude thing. And also, this is probably more like a status thing than anything else I mean, the top-tier pens are absolutely massive. Unless you've got giant hands, there's no way you can use them to write extensively.
If I still maintain my interest in fountain pens, I'd probably eventually move to a Sailor KOP, Nakaya or a Pelikan m1000... ('top tier' whatever that means)
I do love the way fountain pens write. I actually seem to be able to write nicer with one. They are hard to find around here though. I had a good one that has gone missing. I do see what the OP meant about how they can actually be cost effective over time. This is something for me to keep in mind. Maybe I will hunt online for some. I could order a couple at a time. I would love to see how much of my writing for college and work I could do with these.
On July 12 2013 09:21 kmpisces wrote: I do love the way fountain pens write. I actually seem to be able to write nicer with one. They are hard to find around here though. I had a good one that has gone missing. I do see what the OP meant about how they can actually be cost effective over time. This is something for me to keep in mind. Maybe I will hunt online for some. I could order a couple at a time. I would love to see how much of my writing for college and work I could do with these.
Unless you go with the cheapest pens, it's going to be a lot more expensive than buying roller pens (see below lol), which are almost always free if you are in college (career fair or random events) or have a job.
Try spending at least $20 and buy them used (ebay). Even then, it's not going to be that great...
On July 11 2013 01:22 Cambium wrote: I'm gravitating towards more flexible nibs as I try to pick up cursive writing. My Sailor 1911M is nice, but it kind of feels like writing with a nail, and the lack of line variation is somewhat disappointing.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to pick up a Pilot Custom 823 within the next month
I bought this, and a bottle of iroshizuku ink, this is going to be really fun. $220 together, not too bad.
Blue Lamy Safari for 18 bucks on Amazon!! I just picked up another!! wooohoo!
Also, my Noodler's Konrad was damaged by the short clearance of the cap and Noodler's hasn't returned any correspondence about replacing the nib.... I would suggest not purchasing from them. This process has been very frustrating.
On August 21 2013 08:53 Kronen wrote: Blue Lamy Safari for 18 bucks on Amazon!! I just picked up another!! wooohoo!
Also, my Noodler's Konrad was damaged by the short clearance of the cap and Noodler's hasn't returned any correspondence about replacing the nib.... I would suggest not purchasing from them. This process has been very frustrating.
Noodler's is literally just Nathan Tardiff - nice (if somewhat eccentric) guy, but he's only one person, so its unlikely he'll be able to respond to your e-mail. You can slot in any size 6 nib into the Konrad, alternatively, if they're not too badly bent, some tweezers and sandpaper can fix up your nib in no time (I've dropped my Konrad in the sink nib first and was able to save them). Where'd you buy it from? It might be easier to talk with the distributor.
Noodler's QC for their pens isn't always the greatest, but they're a lot of fun if you're into DIY FP's and are terrified about breaking a vintage FP. I guess kinda like a higonokami.
I have tried a bunch of cheaper pens, many people seem to think that cheaper pens can be just as good as expensive ones, and although most of the cheap Chinese pens are adequate, they've all got some small problems that make them sometimes a little bit unreliable. I can only rely on the better pens, like the Pilot Metropolitan and Nemosine singularity. They're only $15 but they're reliable.
Contrary to what I had read though, none of the cheaper pens, even the Pilot and Nemosine, come close to the Parker Sonnet in terms of smoothness though. It's an entirely different categories. Some of the knockoffs do okay but they're not quite there.
Still loving my monteverde. It's the one pictured in the OP, was given it as a present from the 'rents before I went to college. I use it to do pretty much everything that isn't in one specific notebook or on my computer. I fucking love this pen . I might see about working my way to buying a low-level Waterman or Nakaya by the time i've graduated.
On August 25 2013 23:59 Djzapz wrote: I have tried a bunch of cheaper pens, many people seem to think that cheaper pens can be just as good as expensive ones, and although most of the cheap Chinese pens are adequate, they've all got some small problems that make them sometimes a little bit unreliable. I can only rely on the better pens, like the Pilot Metropolitan and Nemosine singularity. They're only $15 but they're reliable.
Contrary to what I had read though, none of the cheaper pens, even the Pilot and Nemosine, come close to the Parker Sonnet in terms of smoothness though. It's an entirely different categories. Some of the knockoffs do okay but they're not quite there.
My experience with Lamy Safari has been poor. I have one in Fine nib, and it wrote horrible in the beginning. So I flushed it with water, and adjusted the flow slightly with my thumbs, and wrote pages after pages with it, and it did get better. There is still a very unpleasant scratchiness with upstrokes, so I gave up on it altogether.
Sonnet is a solid pen. In general, I think Parker makes some amazing pens at low prices (e.g. Sonnet, Urban and Vector). If you were in Japan however, you'd be able to find 14K gold nib pens from Pilot, Sailor and Platinum at around $60 new, and they are then again on a complete different plane, as they'd retail for $150-$200 in the States.
On August 26 2013 00:17 docvoc wrote: Still loving my monteverde. It's the one pictured in the OP, was given it as a present from the 'rents before I went to college. I use it to do pretty much everything that isn't in one specific notebook or on my computer. I fucking love this pen . I might see about working my way to buying a low-level Waterman or Nakaya by the time i've graduated.
Waterman and Nakaya aren't even close in terms of price points (Nakaya is probably 4-5x the cost of a Waterman). Also, Nakayas are really small pens.
The difference between my Sonnet and everything else kind of makes me wonder what the more expensive ones are like. Maybe someday I'll pick up something in the $500 range to celebrate something like getting my master's degree or whatever. Not sure what's actually good and durable though.
It's kind of hard to make a suggestion when you don't know what's good though, as there are so many options out there, and I'd really avoid getting a $500 pen just for the sake of getting one without knowing what your preferences are first.
I'd say the most common ones around that price range would be Pelikan M800 and Montblanc 146. But then there are just so many other choices like Italian and Japanese pens that are just so different and impossible to compare.
I have a few 'expensive' pens, and I like all of them:
- Pelikan M800 is probably my favourite pen. A heavy pen with a super smooth nib, albeit a little boring. - Pilot 823 has a fine nib that is a little springy, and the filler system (vacuum) takes in a huge amount of ink. I probably write the most with this pen. - OMAS Ogiva I just bought sort of combines the two above.
It's kind of an expensive hobby, but it's really fun to try and experiment all sorts of pens (mostly nibs and filling mechanism for me) from various manufacturers.
Money isn't really an issue tbh, I tend to be rather frugal in my everyday life so I can make some crazy purchases from time to time without it really mattering too much. And I can't imagine I would dislike a well-reviewed pen.
My initial reaction purely from the looks and shape of the pens is that the Pelikan M800 and the Montblanc 146 (as well as most Montblanc pens) are a bit too thick for my liking. Am I wrong to think the Pilot 823 is a bit narrower? I don't have small hands really but I prefer narrower pens. My Sonnet is pretty much perfect for me for everyday writing.
Also, the 823 seems a bit more reasonable at $250 so it's definitely worth looking into. I'll say though that if at all possible, I would prefer a metal barrel and cap over resin. I prefer its weight and general feel. I'm not too familiar with the materials that are used in higher end pens though.
Pretty much all resin, otherwise really expensive. I don't own any so I don't know. There is also wood and celloid.
823 is actually a really big pen, so probably not something you are looking for as sonnet is pretty small. I'd say a pelikan 215 with a m400 nib (metal body with gold nib) might be good given what you are looking for. The cap is purely decorative unless you post. I don't have a metal cap, so I don't know how well they post, but I'm guessing it'd be rear heavy.
I would still recommend trying larger pens, because I thought 1911M was a good size for me, then I gradually moved bigger and bigger, and I'm thinking about getting an oversized pen just for kicks.
Montblanc 144 is a small-medium pen, but that's cartridge if you care.
I should go to a jewelry store thing to get my hand on some of those bigger Montblanc pens to see if I like it. Fact is I haven't really tried. As for posting, it doesn't matter at all to me. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. If it made the pen rear heavy, I just wouldn't post and I'd be fine with it.
I checked and it looks like the Montblanc 144 is no longer being produced. The 145 kind of replaces it and it looks pretty damn awesome... As much as I like the overall elegance of the piston filling system, converters are convenient to me. They certainly hold less ink but I like to be able to check the ink level. It also allows me to clean the pen more thoroughly (I feel).
Anyway I'm not getting anything anytime soon, I'm finishing my masters in a year, maybe a bit more if I keep being slow with my thesis. My only problem is that I wouldn't know where to look to ensure that I get an authentic one!
I wanted to ask what people generally think of the Brand of Faber-Castell. They seem to have this stealth looking pen which looks oh-so freakin cool!!!
On August 25 2013 23:59 Djzapz wrote: I have tried a bunch of cheaper pens, many people seem to think that cheaper pens can be just as good as expensive ones, and although most of the cheap Chinese pens are adequate, they've all got some small problems that make them sometimes a little bit unreliable. I can only rely on the better pens, like the Pilot Metropolitan and Nemosine singularity. They're only $15 but they're reliable.
Contrary to what I had read though, none of the cheaper pens, even the Pilot and Nemosine, come close to the Parker Sonnet in terms of smoothness though. It's an entirely different categories. Some of the knockoffs do okay but they're not quite there.
My experience with Lamy Safari has been poor. I have one in Fine nib, and it wrote horrible in the beginning. So I flushed it with water, and adjusted the flow slightly with my thumbs, and wrote pages after pages with it, and it did get better. There is still a very unpleasant scratchiness with upstrokes, so I gave up on it altogether.
Sonnet is a solid pen. In general, I think Parker makes some amazing pens at low prices (e.g. Sonnet, Urban and Vector). If you were in Japan however, you'd be able to find 14K gold nib pens from Pilot, Sailor and Platinum at around $60 new, and they are then again on a complete different plane, as they'd retail for $150-$200 in the States.
On August 26 2013 00:17 docvoc wrote: Still loving my monteverde. It's the one pictured in the OP, was given it as a present from the 'rents before I went to college. I use it to do pretty much everything that isn't in one specific notebook or on my computer. I fucking love this pen . I might see about working my way to buying a low-level Waterman or Nakaya by the time i've graduated.
Waterman and Nakaya aren't even close in terms of price points (Nakaya is probably 4-5x the cost of a Waterman). Also, Nakayas are really small pens.
I did some research after the post and found out just that, though I still can't help but love the way Nakaya pens look. Of course there are other really nice pen makers, and I'll probably have to wait a good 20 years before I could even think of buying a pen like that.
I bought a Lamy 2000 EF which I use exclusively for uni (except exams where I use a mechanical pencil). Absolutely love it, bit like a mechanical keyboard in that I didn't "need" it but I definitely don't regret getting it. The sweetspot is ridiculously small though, had it for a while and still can't naturally just hit it and stay there.
On March 18 2014 20:32 vyyye wrote: I bought a Lamy 2000 EF which I use exclusively for uni (except exams where I use a mechanical pencil). Absolutely love it, bit like a mechanical keyboard in that I didn't "need" it but I definitely don't regret getting it. The sweetspot is ridiculously small though, had it for a while and still can't naturally just hit it and stay there.
You got the fountain pen then? I was thinking about getting the ballpoint pen since its so cheap and the modell very clean and discreet. I recently got the Waterman Expert and I'm very satisfied, having tried both it and the Parker Sonnet I now fell like the Waterman Expert is the better pen.
On August 25 2013 23:59 Djzapz wrote: I have tried a bunch of cheaper pens, many people seem to think that cheaper pens can be just as good as expensive ones, and although most of the cheap Chinese pens are adequate, they've all got some small problems that make them sometimes a little bit unreliable. I can only rely on the better pens, like the Pilot Metropolitan and Nemosine singularity. They're only $15 but they're reliable.
Contrary to what I had read though, none of the cheaper pens, even the Pilot and Nemosine, come close to the Parker Sonnet in terms of smoothness though. It's an entirely different categories. Some of the knockoffs do okay but they're not quite there.
My experience with Lamy Safari has been poor. I have one in Fine nib, and it wrote horrible in the beginning. So I flushed it with water, and adjusted the flow slightly with my thumbs, and wrote pages after pages with it, and it did get better. There is still a very unpleasant scratchiness with upstrokes, so I gave up on it altogether.
Sonnet is a solid pen. In general, I think Parker makes some amazing pens at low prices (e.g. Sonnet, Urban and Vector). If you were in Japan however, you'd be able to find 14K gold nib pens from Pilot, Sailor and Platinum at around $60 new, and they are then again on a complete different plane, as they'd retail for $150-$200 in the States.
On August 26 2013 00:17 docvoc wrote: Still loving my monteverde. It's the one pictured in the OP, was given it as a present from the 'rents before I went to college. I use it to do pretty much everything that isn't in one specific notebook or on my computer. I fucking love this pen . I might see about working my way to buying a low-level Waterman or Nakaya by the time i've graduated.
Waterman and Nakaya aren't even close in terms of price points (Nakaya is probably 4-5x the cost of a Waterman). Also, Nakayas are really small pens.
I did some research after the post and found out just that, though I still can't help but love the way Nakaya pens look. Of course there are other really nice pen makers, and I'll probably have to wait a good 20 years before I could even think of buying a pen like that.
I love the Nakaya designs also, but have trouble dishing out the money for it. Still haven't gotten around to buying a falcon, but I'm in love with it.
On March 11 2014 04:08 Jonsoload wrote: I wanted to ask what people generally think of the Brand of Faber-Castell. They seem to have this stealth looking pen which looks oh-so freakin cool!!!
From the things I've read it's generally held in high regard. Check this out
On August 26 2013 00:26 electronic voyeur wrote: Fuck. I really thogught the title was Fountain Penis
User was warned for this post
I don't even know how lol
On topic, I was forced to use fountain Pen in 2 years of my primary school and I have used quite a few and imo while it looks incredibly good, the quality of the paper is just as important as the pen and ink itself.
On some surface it just doesn't really sink in and if you write fast like I do, you can leave such a mess.
Also do you guys like cartiage or ink bottle based pen? I personally haven't found any difference but my friend used to say ink bottle based is better
On March 22 2014 14:45 GreenHorizons wrote: I feel like fountain pens are more of a right handers thing?
I like many lefties drag my hand when I write so ink usually mains a black hand and smeared pages
The ink company "Noodler's" makes some really fast drying ink to help with that. I've found that it's very effective, although I'm not a lefty.
Here's a video where the owner of Noodler's shows the ink, not without some violence against the ink and paper and some polarizing political commentary about central banks and currency manipulation... Not to mention the outrageously shaky hands...
That being said, I'm finishing my M.A. soon and I'm thinking of picking up something nice. I thought Montblanc because well, it's Montblanc, but I've heard a couple of complaints about their quality control in recent years. I'm told that the resin they use for the body of the pen now tends to crack after a while. Diplomat and Waterman have some nice ones too. Not sure what I'll end up picking up, if anything.
On August 26 2013 00:26 electronic voyeur wrote: Fuck. I really thogught the title was Fountain Penis
User was warned for this post
I don't even know how lol
On topic, I was forced to use fountain Pen in 2 years of my primary school and I have used quite a few and imo while it looks incredibly good, the quality of the paper is just as important as the pen and ink itself.
On some surface it just doesn't really sink in and if you write fast like I do, you can leave such a mess.
Also do you guys like cartiage or ink bottle based pen? I personally haven't found any difference but my friend used to say ink bottle based is better
TBH it doesn't matter if you use cartridge or converter. You can refill the cartridges with bottled ink and reuse them. Not as convenient/cool as filling a converter or piston fill pen, but you still have the option of bottled ink.
The draw towards bottled ink isn't necessarily that the ink is better but the variety and options available goes from a few dozen to hundreds. You can probably find any color you want in bottled ink with a little searching - not the case with cartridges.
The paper matters less with certain inks. For example Noodler's X-feather does pretty well on anything except maybe ultra cheap crap you'll find in a school notebook.
Posting here cause I'm not sure where else to find info aha. I recently got a Pilot Metropolitan and I managed to bend the nib already. Anywhere I can purchase a replacement nib?
On May 04 2014 16:52 Demoninja wrote: Posting here cause I'm not sure where else to find info aha. I recently got a Pilot Metropolitan and I managed to bend the nib already. Anywhere I can purchase a replacement nib?
I'd just buy another one, for parts and spares, look on ebay, like everything else.
Not sure how much money you'd save after shipping and all the work.
Just purchased a clear TWSBI Vac 700. Had some initial reservations based on online reviews that stated the nib was rather dry, but then found a few reviews that were very happy with the replacement nib TWSBI started using a couple months after release. Should arrive by Tuesday!
On August 26 2013 00:26 electronic voyeur wrote: Fuck. I really thogught the title was Fountain Penis
User was warned for this post
They're not the only ones.
But now that I'm here, this is pretty cool. My handwriting is too ass to justify having a nice pen, haha. But I think it's fantastic how awesome it looks when someone with nice handwriting writes with a fountain pen. I'm a rollerball-pleb ;_;
On May 11 2014 03:45 tshi wrote:. My handwriting is too ass to justify having a nice pen, haha.
I thought the same thing before I got a fountain pen. My handwriting still sucks honestly, but I find the writing experience to be much more satisfying. Feeling the nib floating on the top of the paper is just completely different then shoving a metal ball into the thread weave. No more hand cramps for me :-)
On May 11 2014 03:45 tshi wrote:. My handwriting is too ass to justify having a nice pen, haha.
I thought the same thing before I got a fountain pen. My handwriting still sucks honestly, but I find the writing experience to be much more satisfying. Feeling the nib floating on the top of the paper is just completely different then shoving a metal ball into the thread weave. No more hand cramps for me :-)
I love this part about using fountain pens the most, you really learn to write with a very light hand with a fountain pen
On May 11 2014 06:42 Firebolt145 wrote: A nice pen also motivates you to work on your handwriting a little!
I've been using some Lamy black ink for the last couple weeks in my demonstrator and I've noticed that it leaves a lot of residue on the walls. Most pictures of demonstrators I've seen don't seem to have this. Is this an ink specific issue, and if so can anyone recommend any nice blacks?
On May 29 2014 20:00 Firebolt145 wrote: I've been using some Lamy black ink for the last couple weeks in my demonstrator and I've noticed that it leaves a lot of residue on the walls. Most pictures of demonstrators I've seen don't seem to have this. Is this an ink specific issue, and if so can anyone recommend any nice blacks?
Which demonstrator is this? I've found that some converters seem to be made out of plastic which will take in some of the ink's color. I guess you might say the plastic is porous?
I use lamy black in most of my pens and I haven't had that issue, at least not consistently.
So far, Lamy's black is my favorite, and it's cheap.
On May 29 2014 23:34 Firebolt145 wrote: I have the TWSBI Vac 700.
Oh yes that... Yes that might be worse with Lamy but it goes away right? I was thinking about the staining I got with some converters. I'd try Parker Quink's black ink, I don't think it does that, although I'd have to check and I don't have that particular pen. I think different plastics behave differently with ink.
On May 30 2014 00:43 Firebolt145 wrote: Yeah I can wash it between refills etc. I was just hoping it'd be cleaner, sorta like this pic:
In my experience that doesn't really happen unless you leave it nib down for a while (and not too long or it might bleed out ). Lamy's ink will gunk up the converter or the inside of the pen though because it drips down particularly slowly. I'd say that most black inks will behave better than the Lamy in that regard.
I made a post on FPN and contacted some local shop owners and they said that Lamy's Black is known for having this property, so I purchased another different black which should hopefully arrive early next week.
I guess this is not the kind of pen I should have if I can't prevent myself of doing penspining when I have something on my hand, right ? Because they look so cool but I don't want to be full of ink after 10min of using it.
So I'm working as a delivery driver this summer, and tonight I dropped my only ballpoint pen right before I had to give some guy his pizza, but I had my Pilot Metro right there, so I hand that to him so he can sign his credit slip. After trying for a few seconds to write with the pen upside down he said to me "Hey buddy, your pen sucks". It took a lot of restraint to meekly tell him to have "the silver side facing up", and not tell him that this is probably the best pen he's ever touched :D
On June 03 2014 16:40 Mordanis wrote: So I'm working as a delivery driver this summer, and tonight I dropped my only ballpoint pen right before I had to give some guy his pizza, but I had my Pilot Metro right there, so I hand that to him so he can sign his credit slip. After trying for a few seconds to write with the pen upside down he said to me "Hey buddy, your pen sucks". It took a lot of restraint to meekly tell him to have "the silver side facing up", and not tell him that this is probably the best pen he's ever touched :D
Sounds like some pizza guy's pen that doesn't even write good to me.
On June 03 2014 11:44 Faust852 wrote: I guess this is not the kind of pen I should have if I can't prevent myself of doing penspining when I have something on my hand, right ? Because they look so cool but I don't want to be full of ink after 10min of using it.
I was a chronic penspinner before purchasing a fountain pen a year ago, and still am whenever I'm not using a fountain pen. If you just tell your brain 'you are NOT spinning this pen' it usually listens.
Besides, they don't really splash ink around when you spin them; the fear is that spinning them increases the chance of dropping them.
I just love fountain pens ..., people find it old fashion to carry a fountain pen but i just love carrying a fountain pen as it is old fashion but is a classic more than that !!
My most recent purchase. It came with a bottle of Sheaffer black, so I've been trying that out, but I love Noodler's X-feather so much it's hard to appreciate other blacks. This one is great on nice paper, and the nib is super smooth.
And some inks are just notorious for staining pens. There's a Noodler's shade of blue that I've seen people soak there pens in to stain them on purpose. Can't remember which blue specifically though.
Giving a fountain to people for a few secs when they need to write something down is my way of trolling everyone. The bemused looks I get along with the "omg that looks really expsneive" comments are priceless (it's just a Black Lamy Safari).
I do love that pen though. Scared of spending actual dollars because I'll almost definately drop / leave it behind somewhere.
Hm, weird. Here, in elementary school, a fountain pen was mandatory and I think it still is. In gammar school, most people used one as well. After that though, pretty much everyone switched to standard pens. I still use mine though, looks a lot cleaner and nicer than a pen.
My most recent purchase. It came with a bottle of Sheaffer black, so I've been trying that out, but I love Noodler's X-feather so much it's hard to appreciate other blacks. This one is great on nice paper, and the nib is super smooth.
And some inks are just notorious for staining pens. There's a Noodler's shade of blue that I've seen people soak there pens in to stain them on purpose. Can't remember which blue specifically though.
Falcon is a modern take on a 'semi-flex' (definition for this varies, and wars have been waged over difference between maxi-flex, flex and semi-flex). Unless you strongly prefer a cartridge converter pen, I'd just go with a restored vintage (something like Pelikan 140, 400 or 400nn) that'd offer more bang for the buck.
I've got a metal falcon that I haven't touched since I started using vintage.
Fountain pens are the one of the best invention for me , It's so brilliantly engineered and it's style,design and so much more , I love Fountain Pens !!
Well, the Pilot Falcon seems to have quality control issues as well, I've been told that you barely even get any flex with a fine point. But then again vintage pens are hard to get into for beginners, especially without some knowledge beforehand about what to look out for. Maybe a Justus 95 reground by Mr Mottishaw would be a better though costlier alternative? For me I love Japanese fountain pens, my Sailor KOP blows everything else I have out of the water. I also love and keep a MB reground into a flexible stub in regular rotation.
Can someone enlighten me, what is it that makes fountain pens so much superior to ballpoint pens for example? Fountain pens are used just about never or anywhere in finland (dont know about super high officials, but even then I doubt it).
I've read some pages here in this thread and it got me intrigued, but why would I REALLY buy one? The crafting and style doesn't matter much to me, though they are superior in that aspect. It really isn't cheaper. Max 15 bucks for a decent ballpoint pen vs a passable fountain pen + ink. Regardless, we are not talking about big bucks here.
How exactly is it better to write with? What I see in this thread is many complaints about messy refills, dripping ink everywhere and stabbing you if you ever place it somewhere carelessly.
A good pen writes softer and because it needs less pressure to write, it´s easier on the wrists. Though there a quite soft ball-points so I think it comes down to an appreciation of the tool.
If you're diligent and don't lose it, you will spend less money on fountain pens vs. similar quality ballpoints. If you're an eco nut, you'll use less plastic and resources using your fountain pen versus any other pen type.
But really it all comes down to writing experience. If you like the feel of a fountain pen, there's no comparison. I write with a Lamy Safari (not particularly high-end) and the floating feel of the pen is just remarkable when compared to any mid-tier readily available pens.
I don't think fountain pens are ever cheaper, easier, faster or more convenient. The softer point really isn't an argument either, imo. The only reason I can find is that you can write much more beautiful letters with them! So it's a niche, which is fine by me. Reason enough:
On August 06 2014 20:20 Ahzz wrote: Can someone enlighten me, what is it that makes fountain pens so much superior to ballpoint pens for example? Fountain pens are used just about never or anywhere in finland (dont know about super high officials, but even then I doubt it).
I've read some pages here in this thread and it got me intrigued, but why would I REALLY buy one? The crafting and style doesn't matter much to me, though they are superior in that aspect. It really isn't cheaper. Max 15 bucks for a decent ballpoint pen vs a passable fountain pen + ink. Regardless, we are not talking about big bucks here.
How exactly is it better to write with? What I see in this thread is many complaints about messy refills, dripping ink everywhere and stabbing you if you ever place it somewhere carelessly.
Just a few points
Fountain pen uses capillary action, whereby ink is drawn to the page, and this requires a lot less force, this is what people usually mean when they say it's easier to write with
Ink colours are countless, you can find any colour you can imagine, with various cool properties (washable vs nonwashable, 'invisible ink', etc.)
Width of the tip are numerous, from very fine to very broad, and there are things like obliques, stubs and italic, which offer line variations when you write, which I've never seen in ballpoints.
Nibs can be flexible, see above, again, line variations are cool.
Foutain pens are more expensive, and therefore more money had been invested into the physical design, generally speaking, a fountain pen is more comfortable to use than a ballpoint
On August 06 2014 20:20 Ahzz wrote: Can someone enlighten me, what is it that makes fountain pens so much superior to ballpoint pens for example? Fountain pens are used just about never or anywhere in finland (dont know about super high officials, but even then I doubt it).
I've read some pages here in this thread and it got me intrigued, but why would I REALLY buy one? The crafting and style doesn't matter much to me, though they are superior in that aspect. It really isn't cheaper. Max 15 bucks for a decent ballpoint pen vs a passable fountain pen + ink. Regardless, we are not talking about big bucks here.
How exactly is it better to write with? What I see in this thread is many complaints about messy refills, dripping ink everywhere and stabbing you if you ever place it somewhere carelessly.
Just a few points
Fountain pen uses capillary action, whereby ink is drawn to the page, and this requires a lot less force, this is what people usually mean when they say it's easier to write with
Ink colours are countless, you can find any colour you can imagine, with various cool properties (washable vs nonwashable, 'invisible ink', etc.)
Width of the tip are numerous, from very fine to very broad, and there are things like obliques, stubs and italic, which offer line variations when you write, which I've never seen in ballpoints.
Nibs can be flexible, see above, again, line variations are cool.
Foutain pens are more expensive, and therefore more money had been invested into the physical design, generally speaking, a fountain pen is more comfortable to use than a ballpoint
In general, there are lots of reasons to use a fountain pen, but the one I didn't see here is that it is almost like a status symbol. Even the cheap ones are like a stick-shift car and the expensive ones are like having a nice watch. They have a vintage-ness and a coolness factor to them in my opinion.
I had a fountain pen in college but now I've found that I never write anything on paper any more. I just talk to my phone and it makes a note that I can access digitally from almost anywhere.
On August 07 2014 00:53 xes wrote: I had a fountain pen in college but now I've found that I never write anything on paper any more. I just talk to my phone and it makes a note that I can access digitally from almost anywhere.
Or I'm writing emails.
Or forum posts. The status symbol reason, while very present, is the one I dislike the most. Pay money for stuff that offers better usability or more features, having a expensive fountain pen because it's expensive is just stupid (just like with watches).
On August 06 2014 23:51 aseq wrote: I don't think fountain pens are ever cheaper, easier, faster or more convenient. The softer point really isn't an argument either, imo. The only reason I can find is that you can write much more beautiful letters with them! So it's a niche, which is fine by me.
Lol ok
If you try writing a lot with a ballpoint pen your hand will hurt. It's really less tiring to write with a real pen.
Of course, writing is an unneccessary niche today. (jk, I just spent the whole day doing math with my safari)
About the pressure of ball points, just look at the paper below the one you're writing on in a pad when you use a ball point vs when you write with a nib, the nib flows over the paper creating no bevel of the paper below. This means that you need to push harder with a ball point, which means you need to use more force from your wrist to the fingers you grip the pen with, creating more strain while you write. The strain is not as noticeable in terms of ache or stress unless you write a shit tonne during a day. However this also makes it harder to let your hand flow better over the page, the less strain you have on your muscles the better precision you will have when writing. So less pressure means it becomes prettier. And this is the biggest reason I use a nib (or fountain pen since I rarely use dip pens) is because I like to put more effort into my writing and my "hand" so it looks better, and if I put a little bit more effort into it when I write I gain practice and I will improve. And paying more money for a pen, and using a more technically challenging one (either a soft nib or an italic flat nib) helps me doing that.
Also there's some really cheap disposable fountain pens, and some really cheap cartridge ones as well. For me a fountain pen is not an accessory, it's not to show of status or wealth, mostly because I abhor the sort of show-offieness of wealth with items that too many people seem to want to do, to me that just tells me someone is shallow and has weird priorities. I do enjoy seeing skill, so if someone has a really expensive pen but has it because it helps them write like a god I'm fine with that.
Jesus Christ, how much physical writing do you guys do everyday? I think that unless you are writing essays/script or doing a load of math exercises, the choice of the writing utensil would most likely not give you carpal tunnel.
On August 07 2014 02:09 Zinnwaldite wrote: If i didn't have the handwriting of a monkey, i might want to get one of these,, they sure are classy..
Many say that their handwriting improves with a real pen.
On August 07 2014 02:04 Xiphos wrote: Jesus Christ, how much physical writing do you guys do everyday? I think that unless you are writing essays/script or doing a load of math exercises, the choice of the writing utensil would most likely not give you carpal tunnel.
Doesn't matter how much you write, after getting a real pen you will want to write more. It's like mechanical keyboards. Expensive, rare, seemingly meaningless to most people.. but so worth the extra money and so wonderful to use.
On August 07 2014 02:04 Xiphos wrote: Jesus Christ, how much physical writing do you guys do everyday? I think that unless you are writing essays/script or doing a load of math exercises, the choice of the writing utensil would most likely not give you carpal tunnel.
To a lot of people, spending $20 or even $100 for a better writing experience is just not a big deal... A small price for a small improvement on life.
hey guys, sorry for the random bump, but i'm currently shopping for graduation gifts for some of my friends. one of them has just received a waterman perspective from his sister, which i think is his first pen.
i was looking to get an appropriate ink for him to use along with it? something fairly versatile and not too out-there. he'll probably use it mostly at home for fancier uses or at hospital when writing in records (so something that dries fast and doesn't smudge/fade might be good). thanks!
why is this fountain pen such a big deal? when I was in China I had several, each of them worth about... 1 dollar each it was the norm, everyone had one and it's a pain in the ass to refill it and we had accidents of spilled ink I fail to see why this is such a "fancy" item when it is such a commodity
but just fyi since I've used them for so long. Do get the blue/blue-black ink over the black ink. The black inks tend to cog unless it is made of high quality.
meh might as well list several quirks of these things:
1) If you leave them out they dry and becomes cogged. soak in hot water 2) you can write it backwards for a thinner stroke, in fact, rotate the pen and experiment with different angles for diff thickness 3) do not ever fling it as you would a ball-pt pen, it will spill ink all over 4) the ink is slightly sweet-ish if you were to ever taste it, i have on several occasions trying to uncog a pen 5) if the pen is leaking, i.e. a huge bead of ink starts to form by the ink intake, unscrew the back side to equalize pressure 6) some prefer to put the pen cap on the back of the pen when using the pen. it makes the pen heavier to wield, and it may scratch the paint on the pen body. so do so with some caution 7) ink bleeds on paper more easily than oil-based content of a cheap ball-pen. make sure you have a higher density paper unless you like tie-dye shirts look
On December 25 2014 15:17 opterown wrote: hey guys, sorry for the random bump, but i'm currently shopping for graduation gifts for some of my friends. one of them has just received a waterman perspective from his sister, which i think is his first pen.
i was looking to get an appropriate ink for him to use along with it? something fairly versatile and not too out-there. he'll probably use it mostly at home for fancier uses or at hospital when writing in records (so something that dries fast and doesn't smudge/fade might be good). thanks!
If he's writing in hospital records you may be restricted in what colours you can buy him. In the UK for example doctors are only allowed to write in black in notes. I don't know what it's like in Australia but I wouldn't be surprised if they have similar rules.
As far as comforts are concerned, the softer touch and such... I think it's all bullshit.
I used to write a lot with fountain pen back in the days. Essays of 800 words in Chinese. At the end your hand do hurt if you write for that much. In the end I think it's a matter of how to hold and use the pen that matters on your hand fatigue. I've been using uni-ball for a long time now, and I think there is little to no difference on the level of fatigue.
All in all, honestly speaking, from 10+ years of using these things since elementary school, unless you are into calligraphy (which is a big deal in China and there are dedicated fountain-pen calligraphy along side the traditional brush calligraphy), I would settle with a good ball-point pen. The only thing a fountain pen has it going for is the ability to vary the thickness of the strokes, which is crucial if you want to make good looking symbols and glyph. In terms of ease of gliding, a good, nice flowing uniball feels exactly the same, except lacking the abilities to vary the stroke thickness.
and if you are using it as a luxury / once-in-awhile item, it is the most horrible thing ever. It needs to be used constantly to make sure it is well moisturized and not dried out. If you are not using it for a week, you want to expel the extra inks and wash it so it doesn't cog. also, unless you use it a lot, the pen-tip will be slightly uneven. It doesn't matter what quality of fountain pen you buy, a good fountain pen becomes good with repeated use and age, so the tip is grinded smooth from rubbing against the paper. If you use it only once in awhile the pen will not become compliant to the point of maximum comfort.
in conclusion I would recommend it for those who intend to actually use it on a regular basis. it is a huge hassle to maintain, and a bigger hassle if you use it sparingly.
On December 25 2014 15:17 opterown wrote: hey guys, sorry for the random bump, but i'm currently shopping for graduation gifts for some of my friends. one of them has just received a waterman perspective from his sister, which i think is his first pen.
i was looking to get an appropriate ink for him to use along with it? something fairly versatile and not too out-there. he'll probably use it mostly at home for fancier uses or at hospital when writing in records (so something that dries fast and doesn't smudge/fade might be good). thanks!
If he's writing in hospital records you may be restricted in what colours you can buy him. In the UK for example doctors are only allowed to write in black in notes. I don't know what it's like in Australia but I wouldn't be surprised if they have similar rules.
there are inks that starts off blue and as it ages it becomes black (or rather a very deep blue). I think it might be acceptable(?)
alrite i'm done posting here haha!! all these talk is making me nostalgic
On December 25 2014 19:14 evanthebouncy! wrote: why is this fountain pen such a big deal? when I was in China I had several, each of them worth about... 1 dollar each it was the norm, everyone had one and it's a pain in the ass to refill it and we had accidents of spilled ink I fail to see why this is such a "fancy" item when it is such a commodity
but just fyi since I've used them for so long. Do get the blue/blue-black ink over the black ink. The black inks tend to cog unless it is made of high quality.
meh might as well list several quirks of these things:
1) If you leave them out they dry and becomes cogged. soak in hot water 2) you can write it backwards for a thinner stroke, in fact, rotate the pen and experiment with different angles for diff thickness 3) do not ever fling it as you would a ball-pt pen, it will spill ink all over 4) the ink is slightly sweet-ish if you were to ever taste it, i have on several occasions trying to uncog a pen 5) if the pen is leaking, i.e. a huge bead of ink starts to form by the ink intake, unscrew the back side to equalize pressure 6) some prefer to put the pen cap on the back of the pen when using the pen. it makes the pen heavier to wield, and it may scratch the paint on the pen body. so do so with some caution 7) ink bleeds on paper more easily than oil-based content of a cheap ball-pen. make sure you have a higher density paper unless you like tie-dye shirts look
Just because 1 dollar fountain pens are plentiful in China doesn't mean the higher quality ones aren't valuable. There are millions of cheap-ass cars out there but every Ferrari or Lamborghini is still special. Inks being quite messy is true, and that's one of the reasons ballpoint pens have taken over the world, but for some people that's some of the allure of fountain pens.
1 - yeah, you can clean them up with slightly soapy water as well. Shouldn't have to do this too often, maybe once a month or each time you are changing to a different ink. 2 - varies from nib to nib. Flex nibs are obviously amazing for this. 3/4 - uh 5 - What do you mean by this? If the pen is leaking beads of ink, the pressure difference is in the ink cartridge, so unscrewing the back won't really help much. And if it isn't a cartridge pen then it's probably going to be even harder to deal with this. 6 - Yeah, this is called posting, and varies heavily from pen to pen. My Lamy Safari posts really well but none of my TWSBI's do. Scratching the paint sounds like a lower quality pen problem. 7 - Definitely true. You might not like how a pen feels, then try it on different paper, and suddenly it feels different yet again. High quality notebooks and paper are much nicer to use.
@5: I've seen the cartridge based pen. I was referring to the pen where you actually have a jar of ink and you have to suck the ink through the front of the pen. Sometime it happens so that the temperature is cold, and when you grip the pen it heats the air inside and it compress the ink sac.
Man I realize I'm sounding like some old dude dissuading bunch of hipster kids from going retro. I'm sorry.
On December 25 2014 19:30 evanthebouncy! wrote: As far as comforts are concerned, the softer touch and such... I think it's all bullshit.
I used to write a lot with fountain pen back in the days. Essays of 800 words in Chinese. At the end your hand do hurt if you write for that much. In the end I think it's a matter of how to hold and use the pen that matters on your hand fatigue. I've been using uni-ball for a long time now, and I think there is little to no difference on the level of fatigue.
All in all, honestly speaking, from 10+ years of using these things since elementary school, unless you are into calligraphy (which is a big deal in China and there are dedicated fountain-pen calligraphy along side the traditional brush calligraphy), I would settle with a good ball-point pen. The only thing a fountain pen has it going for is the ability to vary the thickness of the strokes, which is crucial if you want to make good looking symbols and glyph. In terms of ease of gliding, a good, nice flowing uniball feels exactly the same, except lacking the abilities to vary the stroke thickness.
and if you are using it as a luxury / once-in-awhile item, it is the most horrible thing ever. It needs to be used constantly to make sure it is well moisturized and not dried out. If you are not using it for a week, you want to expel the extra inks and wash it so it doesn't cog. also, unless you use it a lot, the pen-tip will be slightly uneven. It doesn't matter what quality of fountain pen you buy, a good fountain pen becomes good with repeated use and age, so the tip is grinded smooth from rubbing against the paper. If you use it only once in awhile the pen will not become compliant to the point of maximum comfort.
in conclusion I would recommend it for those who intend to actually use it on a regular basis. it is a huge hassle to maintain, and a bigger hassle if you use it sparingly.
I appreciate you're sharing your thoughts but given you started your previous post saying that your fountain pens were all one dollar ones I wonder whether you've just had a long experience with cheap shitty fountain pens. Modern pens do not need you to use it constantly; I can leave some of my pens partially inked for weeks and then use them and they'd start up normally.
With the nib taking time to be grinded, yes that's true, but most good fountain pens start off very smooth from the start.
There's no denying that a ball point pen is easier, cheaper, and cleaner to use than a fountain pen. But after using fountain pens for a few years there's no way I would go back to ball points.
On December 25 2014 19:43 evanthebouncy! wrote: @5: I've seen the cartridge based pen. I was referring to the pen where you actually have a jar of ink and you have to suck the ink through the front of the pen. Sometime it happens so that the temperature is cold, and when you grip the pen it heats the air inside and it compress the ink sac.
Man I realize I'm sounding like some old dude dissuading bunch of hipster kids from going retro. I'm sorry.
Oh I get what you mean, but that shouldn't be a problem in modern pens any more.
I'm absolutely in love with beautifully designed pens, and no other purchase would make me happier than getting my hands on a good gold-trimmed Sheaffer fountain pen.
On December 25 2014 19:30 evanthebouncy! wrote: As far as comforts are concerned, the softer touch and such... I think it's all bullshit.
I used to write a lot with fountain pen back in the days. Essays of 800 words in Chinese. At the end your hand do hurt if you write for that much. In the end I think it's a matter of how to hold and use the pen that matters on your hand fatigue. I've been using uni-ball for a long time now, and I think there is little to no difference on the level of fatigue.
All in all, honestly speaking, from 10+ years of using these things since elementary school, unless you are into calligraphy (which is a big deal in China and there are dedicated fountain-pen calligraphy along side the traditional brush calligraphy), I would settle with a good ball-point pen. The only thing a fountain pen has it going for is the ability to vary the thickness of the strokes, which is crucial if you want to make good looking symbols and glyph. In terms of ease of gliding, a good, nice flowing uniball feels exactly the same, except lacking the abilities to vary the stroke thickness.
and if you are using it as a luxury / once-in-awhile item, it is the most horrible thing ever. It needs to be used constantly to make sure it is well moisturized and not dried out. If you are not using it for a week, you want to expel the extra inks and wash it so it doesn't cog. also, unless you use it a lot, the pen-tip will be slightly uneven. It doesn't matter what quality of fountain pen you buy, a good fountain pen becomes good with repeated use and age, so the tip is grinded smooth from rubbing against the paper. If you use it only once in awhile the pen will not become compliant to the point of maximum comfort.
in conclusion I would recommend it for those who intend to actually use it on a regular basis. it is a huge hassle to maintain, and a bigger hassle if you use it sparingly.
I appreciate you're sharing your thoughts but given you started your previous post saying that your fountain pens were all one dollar ones I wonder whether you've just had a long experience with cheap shitty fountain pens. Modern pens do not need you to use it constantly; I can leave some of my pens partially inked for weeks and then use them and they'd start up normally.
With the nib taking time to be grinded, yes that's true, but most good fountain pens start off very smooth from the start.
There's no denying that a ball point pen is easier, cheaper, and cleaner to use than a fountain pen. But after using fountain pens for a few years there's no way I would go back to ball points.
The good fountain pen probably feels really good to use. I wouldn't know since I was too poor haha, back then the "show off" pen is the ball-pen with a spring in it lol. Although a good fountain pen, no matter how good you make it, will bear the hallmarks of its mechanics and limitations. I think the point I was trying to make is if you get a fountain pen you should be intending to use it frequently rather than buying it as a novelty and using it only once in awhile. I want to emphasize infrequent use of such a pen is not worth the money and the effort. If you do buy a good pen and use it frequently, by all means go for it. Good penmanship is such a losing art nowadays, but it is as important as able to dress well imo.
On December 25 2014 15:17 opterown wrote: hey guys, sorry for the random bump, but i'm currently shopping for graduation gifts for some of my friends. one of them has just received a waterman perspective from his sister, which i think is his first pen.
i was looking to get an appropriate ink for him to use along with it? something fairly versatile and not too out-there. he'll probably use it mostly at home for fancier uses or at hospital when writing in records (so something that dries fast and doesn't smudge/fade might be good). thanks!
If he's writing in hospital records you may be restricted in what colours you can buy him. In the UK for example doctors are only allowed to write in black in notes. I don't know what it's like in Australia but I wouldn't be surprised if they have similar rules.
yup technically it's just black afaik here but I've definitely seen some blue pens used haha. i think i settled on noodler's black and 54th mass, a blue-black colour. so much stuff available!
I've not had the chance to try Noodler's Black since they stopped exporting to the UK (I thought they stopped exporting from the US entirely actually) but I've heard good things about it and it's quite commonly recommended, so should be a good choice.
On December 25 2014 15:17 opterown wrote: hey guys, sorry for the random bump, but i'm currently shopping for graduation gifts for some of my friends. one of them has just received a waterman perspective from his sister, which i think is his first pen.
i was looking to get an appropriate ink for him to use along with it? something fairly versatile and not too out-there. he'll probably use it mostly at home for fancier uses or at hospital when writing in records (so something that dries fast and doesn't smudge/fade might be good). thanks!
If he's writing in hospital records you may be restricted in what colours you can buy him. In the UK for example doctors are only allowed to write in black in notes. I don't know what it's like in Australia but I wouldn't be surprised if they have similar rules.
yup technically it's just black afaik here but I've definitely seen some blue pens used haha. i think i settled on noodler's black and 54th mass, a blue-black colour. so much stuff available!
Assuming you mean bulletproof black, it dries really slowly, I think theyve got a quick drying version called xfeather.
I'm not a big fan of Noodlers ink, and its packaging looks really cheap as well. I would go with Sailor kiwaguro if you want to give him black ink, it's very black and it's also permanent, and it dries much faster, basically all around better than Noodlers.
Black ink in general is pretty boring, if he doesn't care about water resistance, try iroshizuku line, great colors and beautiful bottles as well.
On December 25 2014 19:30 evanthebouncy! wrote: As far as comforts are concerned, the softer touch and such... I think it's all bullshit.
I used to write a lot with fountain pen back in the days. Essays of 800 words in Chinese. At the end your hand do hurt if you write for that much. In the end I think it's a matter of how to hold and use the pen that matters on your hand fatigue. I've been using uni-ball for a long time now, and I think there is little to no difference on the level of fatigue.
All in all, honestly speaking, from 10+ years of using these things since elementary school, unless you are into calligraphy (which is a big deal in China and there are dedicated fountain-pen calligraphy along side the traditional brush calligraphy), I would settle with a good ball-point pen. The only thing a fountain pen has it going for is the ability to vary the thickness of the strokes, which is crucial if you want to make good looking symbols and glyph. In terms of ease of gliding, a good, nice flowing uniball feels exactly the same, except lacking the abilities to vary the stroke thickness.
and if you are using it as a luxury / once-in-awhile item, it is the most horrible thing ever. It needs to be used constantly to make sure it is well moisturized and not dried out. If you are not using it for a week, you want to expel the extra inks and wash it so it doesn't cog. also, unless you use it a lot, the pen-tip will be slightly uneven. It doesn't matter what quality of fountain pen you buy, a good fountain pen becomes good with repeated use and age, so the tip is grinded smooth from rubbing against the paper. If you use it only once in awhile the pen will not become compliant to the point of maximum comfort.
in conclusion I would recommend it for those who intend to actually use it on a regular basis. it is a huge hassle to maintain, and a bigger hassle if you use it sparingly.
I also used fountain pens growing up in China, and the $1 pens (hero 616) were just awful, and they really gave fountain pens a bad image. When I bought my first $100 fountain pen (sailor progear), it was really a life changing experience, and I would never go back to using ballpoints. The other 'wow' pens that followed were Parker 51 and pelikan m800.
Good fountain pens really aren't that fussy. I rotate between five pens, about one a day per week, and they never dry out. Cheap pens dry out because they have crappy caps, and good pens can sit in a desk for weeks without problems.
It might be a bit hard to see why it's called the stargazer from the photos, but it has a very subtle sparkle that could remind you of the night sky. It came with a pilot con-50 converter, also cartridge compatible.
Sorry for the red glow, it's from the light on my keyboard.
It's actually the first pen I've owned with a gold nib (14k) and I'm really excited to try it out!
I've recently rediscovered how much more I enjoy using pen and paper. Been poking around looking at fountain pens, since I can't seem to find my old favorite ballpoint anywhere. Tried out a Safari at a stationery store and loved it. I think it had a medium nib, but I was told that a fine nib is a bit better for starting out. It's pricey, but I bit the bullet and grabbed a Safari on sale at Amazon, should be here in two days. A bit concerned about how long the ink will last me, but I suppose that's the benefit of bulk refill kits.
My girlfriend got me a Lamy AL-star for my birthday. It's really nice a bit heavier than a safari (due to aluminium rather than plastic) but that extra weight isn't bad... (although I find the weight with pen and cap a bit much for writing anything long)
Fountain Pens are rather common here in Germany, at least in school it is usually expected that each student has one. However, they tend to be only of the variety that uses ink cartridges to fill them. Since i haven't seen any mention of this in the thread, and a lot of talk about ink bottles, i am wondering if this is just a German thing, or if it is a thing restricted to the lower quality pens one would use in school?
Both, even some of the more expensive pens come with cartridges because of the convenience, but they also have fillable cartridges if you wish to buy one of those (which I at least have, because I do.)
Oh jesus Christ, I've spent $30 on a fucking pen. What am I doing with myself?
Most of the lower end pens do have cartridges, but some nicer ones do as well. There are refillable cartridges like Salle alluded to. If they aren't offered by the manufacturer, you can almost always get them third party it seems.
On July 08 2015 00:24 peanuts wrote: Oh jesus Christ, I've spent $30 on a fucking pen. What am I doing with myself?
Most of the lower end pens do have cartridges, but some nicer ones do as well. There are refillable cartridges like Salle alluded to. If they aren't offered by the manufacturer, you can almost always get them third party it seems.
That's fine. $30 is a good amount for a pen too if you're starting out. No so cheap it'll be crap but not so expensive the money's wasted. Did you check some guide on what to buy (and what did you get )?
I spent ~20$ on my first pen about 4 years ago, and its still around. Your lamy should be no different, and if you can resist the urge to get 4 bottles of ink and another few pens, you might actually save money in the long term.
On July 08 2015 00:24 peanuts wrote: Oh jesus Christ, I've spent $30 on a fucking pen. What am I doing with myself?
Most of the lower end pens do have cartridges, but some nicer ones do as well. There are refillable cartridges like Salle alluded to. If they aren't offered by the manufacturer, you can almost always get them third party it seems.
That's fine. $30 is a good amount for a pen too if you're starting out. No so cheap it'll be crap but not so expensive the money's wasted. Did you check some guide on what to buy (and what did you get )?
Lamy Safari. Solid construction, better weight than the Preppies. I checked the Reddit guide and the TL guide and it seemed to be a logical starting point.
Holy shit, this is so much better than any ballpoint.
Still trying to learn the optimal pressure/angle to write with, but when I hit it, it feels perfect. Feels like a brush, perfect translation of movement to the page.
On July 11 2015 02:06 peanuts wrote: Holy shit, this is so much better than any ballpoint.
Still trying to learn the optimal pressure/angle to write with, but when I hit it, it feels perfect. Feels like a brush, perfect translation of movement to the page.
It would be even softer if you used it on fancy Clairefontaine paper (which I assume you are not using). But when you get to that, it gets really expensive .
Still I have a few Rhodia/Clairefontaine/Moleskin notebooks that I use to keep track of stuff and I also have some cheap notebooks and sometimes with the cheap paper I can really feel the pen catching ever so slightly in the paper fibers. And even when it doesn't, the more expensive paper is just softer. Love it.
Anyhow I recently picked up a Platinum 3776, not bad. I made the mistake of taking a "fine", which apparently is the equivalent of an European extra fine... A bit disappointed to be honest, it's a bit too fine for my liking and while it's not "scratchy" it's a bit too rough for my liking due to the size.
I still prefer my Parker Sonnet and my Lamy Safari for writing
If it needs to be waterproof I would recommend De Atramentis Archive Ink. It's what I use at work, I've had no problems with it drying up and clogging etc, though I basically do use my pen heavily every weekday.
The preppy is very cheap but is also a decent starter.
In terms of starters, I'd recommend preppy if you only want to spent a couple dollars, or a Lamy Safari if you're spending ~20-30 dollars. M200 is like $75 so that's probably the one you'd buy next.
FP's are really getting a HUGE resurgence in the past 3-4 years. Hundreds of new inks, new pen makers. The only downside is for vintage collectors, some vintage pens like parker 51's, vacumatics and waterman 52's are absolutely abhorrently expensive now.
My collection of FP's and inks is getting kind of extreme. I recently bought my first "grail pen", the $700 Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze Age in Extra Fine. The nib is 23k palladium and very soft (not really a flex nib but it will give a lot of line variation) and the body is made of crushed and stabalized basaltic lava rock from Mt Etna in Italy.
Also into classics like parker vacumatics with the stacked celluloid and a semiflex nib, and a scheaffer statesman with the rube goldberg snorkel filler and palladium silver nib in absolute needlepoint
I'm even having a prewar japanese eyedropper restored soon. My mom pulled it off of a sunken japanese battleship in the 1970's, and it's still in usable condition, after 30 years underwater and another 40 in a box.
For newbies, I usually carry 4 or 5 platinum preppies converted to eyedropper and filled with some kind of exciting ink. If they express interest in my pen, I just toss them one for free. About $3 each, $0.05 of ink and a $0.12 o ring, it's hardly any skin off my back, and has converted several people into users.
I usually recommend people buy the pilot metro first since it's only $12 that comes with a cartridge, a converter for bottled ink, and a really tough, well designed body. I don't love the grip section, so if someone is willing to spend about $16 and is really down with the idea of bottled ink, I actually point people to a chinese pen now, the piston-fill Wing Sung 698. It even has identical nib/feed to pilot's steel lines, so a pilot plumix 1.0 stub or a pilot M, F, or EF (from the $5 penmanship, another great entry level pen that comes with a cartridge) will all swap right in. I have a lot of pens, and I find something captivating about the little 698. It only has one flaw in my eyes, the cap doesn't post on the back. But you can see the ink sloshing around, it holds a TON, isn't prone to drying out, and is overall just really nice to hold and use. Get it on ebay for about $16.
If someone is willing to spend $40, the faber castell loom is pretty much a perfect writing instrument. You have to spend an extra $5 on a converter, but it takes bottled ink, short or long standard cartridges, is perfectly weighted, with an amazing sprung clip, and the nib is nothing short of a work of art. it blows every other steel nib I've ever used out of the water. it's got this delightful, deliberate feedback, like perfectly tuned suspension on a sports car, not too harsh, but you feel the texture of the paper. Nothing else I own writes like it. It doesn't flex whatsoever, but it's incredible, and for normal writing, it's the yardstick I use. It only has one drawback, it's a little weird looking. Get a colored cap (I like blue) and toss some matching ink into it.
Skip the lamy safari. it's a good pen but just doesn't stack up anymore for the price. If you like the style, get the al-star, which is aluminum and more in line with the asking price. But these days, fountain pens are simply of a much higher quality, and the lamy Z50 steel nib (the nib that the studio, safari, al-star, joy, CP1, logo and LX use) is just not as good as it used to seem. Particularly with the EF and F nibs, their quality control is getting rather lax.
If you want a pen in the $28-30 range, the pen that kills the lamy in every way (cheaper, better made, better writing, more solid, takes a standard #5 nib so you can have anything from an EF to 1.1 stub from them or up to an oblique double broad from knox on amazon) is the TWSBI Eco. Piston fill, fantastic build quality. I still prefer the $16 Wing Sung 698, but TWSBI is an established brand with incredible products. I have a VAC700R that I like so much, I spent $150 on a custom flexible gold nib for it. for the vac and 580/classic pens, they even make custom ink bottles to fill them from.
As for the first step into gold nibs, if you only have $35-45, you can get a platinum PTL5000A or Pilot Seremo on amazon, which both write with honest-to-god gold nibs. Boring looking pens with tiny nibs (they obviously have to save money when they're giving you a real gold nib) both are fairly soft and slightly toothy.
If you have $65-75, Amazon will sell you a Platinum 3776 Century. I like the soft fine, since platinum's other nibs are hard as nails, kind of defeating the point of gold. It uses platinum-proprietary converters and cartridges, and is made from a pretty nice plastic. The Cap has an inner seal that is designed to keep the nib wet for over a year without use. The pilot Custom 74 and 91 are both good too, but just not as pretty.
As for a first bottle of ink, I recommend sailor Yama-Dori, a dark green turquoise that, on decent paper, will sheen to a vivid red. I also like Noodlers black swan in australian roses, a semi-waterproof/archival ink that is a dark, dusky purple/red that shades like mad. noodlers Apache Sunset is one of the most vivid shading inks in existance, changing colors from yellow to orange-red.
If you want to look into vintage pens, check out Nathaniel Cerf at Thepenmarket. He completely restores vintage pens, documents ANY flaws meticulously, and sells them at pretty outrageous prices. He doesn't deal in the super expensive stuff like flexy waterman 52's or parker vacumatics, but I got a completely restored (and this pen takes like 40 minutes just to take apart) 1950's scheaffer statesman snorkel for $85 in like-new condition, a well loved but perfect writing scheaffer Craftsman from the 1940's with an awesome gold nib for $45, and a rare American Pencil Co. Venus with a gold nib for $35.
Inks are a whole other can of worms. I have about 90 inks now. Sailor inks are pretty much all perfect. Some inks really suck on cheap paper, and pretty much none are as well behaved as Sailor. Sailor inks also have the benefit of most having a heavy sheen and/or shading on good paper. Noodlers also makes a ton of cool colors with interesting effects. warden inks are immune to any and all known forms of counterfeit, including lasers (his standard bulletproof inks are immune to all but lasers) his inks can be archival (never fade) freeze resistant (polar) resistant to feathering (x feather) copies of WW2 air-mail inks, he even got a bottle of ink that was verified as being from Los Alamos during the manhatten project (they used a very specific black) and reverse engineered it completely, called dark matter. He also sells the highest contrast ink currently made, Baystate Blue, which you should just dedicate a pen to, because it stains clear plastic and will literally coagulate any normal inks it touches.
When you get a 4.5oz bottle of noodlers ink, you get one of his "charlie" pens for free. These are amazing little eyedropper fillers that he created and gives away as a response to the 2015 paris attacks. When you get one, pull the nib/feed straight out, wash them with soapy water, and return them. Then dip the nib/feed in boiling water for ~15 seconds and then tightly squeeze the two together for 30-40 seconds. The feed is ebonite, a vulcanized rubber, and must be heat set to prevent it burping ink. But the charlie is a spectacular little writer.
Other good inks are shimmering inks that have pearlescent effects. get a bottle of J. Herbin 1670 Emerald of Chivor and enjoy.
Once you're familiar with pens, I highly recommend the noodlers ahab and konrad. You can swap any #6 nib into them, replacing the flex nib for a stub, extra fine, whatever. The Ahab is a little more versatile, you can use the piston converter, eyedropper convert it, or use noodlers 308 refillable cartridges. The konrad is slimmer and uses a simple piston mechanism.
For a cheap "wet noodle" flex pen, buy a box of Zebra comic G dip pen nibs and a noodlers ahab/konrad. Take pliers and BARELY squeeze the ass end of the nib and it should fit right onto the feed. Same as the charlie pen, dip it in hot water and squeeze together, and you have a nib that puts a $500 waterman wet noodle to shame. You just have to pull the nib and keep it separate from the pen if you plan on leaving it for more than a few days without use, since it's a super springy carbon steel, it will rust.
Once you decide you want to use an FP, get some proper paper. Rhodia, Clairefontaine, tomoe river, mnemosyne are the most common. Rhodia and clairefontaine are the two easy to find ones, with rhodia a little more textured and clairefontaine a little smoother. You also have line options more than lines and graph. Dot grid, french ruled, blank. Good paper keeps the ink from penetrating into and through the other side, letting you write double sided. It seems a little pricey dropping $8 on a single notebook, but once you just feel your hand on the page you'll understand.
Good paper is where inks with sheen and shading really show up. Copy paper, moleskine, and cheap mead notebooks simply absorb the ink, which does make it super fast drying (moleskine is kind of ideal for lefties, and I also suggest noodlers bernake blue and black since they're made to dry near-instantly. Also stick with finer nibs.) but feathers out and kills any depth of color. If you need to write on cheap copy paper, I again recommend sailor inks since they tend to resist penetrating and feathering, and stick with extra fine nibs. I have two lamy 2000's, one F and one EF, the EF is just for work since I'm a medic and can't choose the paper that my patient charts are printed on.
If you're new to fountain pens, the place I recommend most for advice (they're happy to help you decide) and education is Goulet Pens.
Heh, the Homo Sapiens is my grail pen too. Maybe in a year or so. I currently use a Pilot VP since it's the most practical for my work compared to constant capping/uncapping.
Sadly I'm very limited in the ink department to black and waterproof inks, and for obvious reasons I'd prefer something as low-risk as possible in that department. As such I've avoided all the iron based inks and have gone for the de Atramentis' blacks.
EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/use6ZqF.jpg)
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It's really expensive though. I've poked myself with the nib accidentally 2 times and it is sooo painful xD.![[image loading]](http://static1.jetpens.com/images/a/000/005/5942.jpg)
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. I tried using a cheap fountain pen once and it went horribly, too.
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I'm very happy with it so far.![[image loading]](http://oi43.tinypic.com/2j31g2d.jpg)
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