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zerox147o posted:So I have a 4 hour layover in Tokyo next week on my way back from a business trip. If I have any remaining room in my luggage that is not filled with tobacco and I can find someplace selling Iroshizuku inks I will grab a bunch of jars to post here without the cost-tripling shipping rates. I'll likely grab a few assorted colors for myself, and a few extra blues and blacks to post here unless there is a specific shade there is a high demand for. 45 minutes of walking around with my fountain pen asking every single shop at Narita has resulted in 1 shop selling pens but no ink and nothing else. Sorry handful of goons whose requests I wrote down  I think I'm just going to order a bottle of skin-kai when I get home anyway.
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Jun 16, 2013 02:24
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| # ? May 9, 2024 23:46 |
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Anyone have any experience using Noodler's bulletproof Catfish Black in a Lamy Safari? I've been using it for a few weeks now and my pen's suddenly gummed up. Washed it out with warm water and there was a hell of a lot of sediment in the bowl but it was still no better afterwards. Left the italic nib and the feed sitting in a bowl of alcohol to try and loosen up whatever's blocking it. The ink's labelled as being suitable for all pens and it's not the blue one that's known to dissolve Lamys. Previous ink in the pen was Pelikan Eidelstein and I washed it thoroughly before changing inks so I doubt it's a result of ink mixing.
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Jun 16, 2013 10:31
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kim jong-illin posted:Anyone have any experience using Noodler's bulletproof Catfish Black in a Lamy Safari? I use that combination frequently and have never had any problems.
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Jun 16, 2013 15:03
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kim jong-illin posted:Anyone have any experience using Noodler's bulletproof Catfish Black in a Lamy Safari? Did you try diluting out some ammonia and washing with that?
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Jun 16, 2013 19:12
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Yeah, a few drops of ammonia or dish soap in cold water is what you want. Some plastics/resins are damaged by alcohol, and casein (used in some vintage pens) actually dissolves in regular hot water, so it's best to just never take any chances.
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Jun 16, 2013 20:12
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I bought a Pilot Plumix as an inexpensive way to try out an italic nib as an everyday writer. I like writing with it, but I absolutely hate the cap. So I was really excited to learn that I can put the nib on my Metro, which I just finished doing. 
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Jun 17, 2013 17:56
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JP Money posted:Did you try diluting out some ammonia and washing with that? Strangelet Wave posted:Yeah, a few drops of ammonia or dish soap in cold water is what you want. Some plastics/resins are damaged by alcohol, and casein (used in some vintage pens) actually dissolves in regular hot water, so it's best to just never take any chances. Thanks for the advice! Will grab some ammonia and see if that fixes it.
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Jun 17, 2013 18:10
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Has anyone tried the new Goulet nibs? I grabbed a Fine chrome/gold one to replace the nib on my first generation TWSBI Vac 700. It looks really nice with the blue of the pen, and is smooth as butter, but I found it has more of the width of a medium. I've also noticed a bit of nib creep from the base of the nib. I'm currently using Bad Belted Kingfisher. Any thoughts on this? Are the nibs unusually wide, or is the fit of the nib not quite there and that explains the creep and excess ink flow?
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Jun 17, 2013 20:22
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I've been using one of the Fine, two-tone Goulet nibs, too. I did notice that the line width was wider than I was expecting from a Fine nib at least compared to one of the unflexed Noodler's nibs, which is the bulk of my prior experience. I had Blue Nose Bear in it which has been writing pretty wet (for me anyway) and when I replaced it with Diamine Oxblood (which seems like kind a of a dry/drier ink?), the lines got a little finer. Overall they were still a bit on the wider side though. From what I've heard, the company that manufactures the Goulet Nibs is Jowo, a German company, so they might be using a slightly larger base for their Fine if you're more used to really fine nibs like most Japanese pens and maybe TWISBIs use. e: I've got a little creep around the base of the nib too, but it doesn't bother me much. I have mine in an Ahab, by the way.
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Jun 17, 2013 21:17
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DurianGray posted:I've been using one of the Fine, two-tone Goulet nibs, too. I did notice that the line width was wider than I was expecting from a Fine nib at least compared to one of the unflexed Noodler's nibs, which is the bulk of my prior experience. I had Blue Nose Bear in it which has been writing pretty wet (for me anyway) and when I replaced it with Diamine Oxblood (which seems like kind a of a dry/drier ink?), the lines got a little finer. Overall they were still a bit on the wider side though. Jowo is what the TWSBIs now have. I'll play with some different inks then and see what happens. BSB tends towards a thicker/dryer experience so that will be interesting. Now that I'm watching the video, I'm seeing that the nibs are on the wetter side anyway so I should have gotten an EF then. Thanks for the info!
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Jun 17, 2013 21:25
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Hm, I was going to pull the trigger on a Safari and some ink because why not, but isellpens has literally none of the inks I was considering. Some aren't in stock, some don't appear to be products they carry. I think I might just grab a couple samples. I haven't put any thought into browns or purples, does anyone have a recommendation for one that they carry?
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Jun 17, 2013 22:58
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Meldonox posted:Hm, I was going to pull the trigger on a Safari and some ink because why not, but isellpens has literally none of the inks I was considering. Some aren't in stock, some don't appear to be products they carry. I think I might just grab a couple samples. I haven't put any thought into browns or purples, does anyone have a recommendation for one that they carry? I haven't used any purples or browns other than J. Herbin's Poussiére de lune (greyish violet) and café des îles (brown), but I like them a lot. They both look great on both yellow and white. The only issue I have is that cafe des iles is a bit dry, and is a bit of a hard-starter in most of my pens. Then again, drat near all my pens are Fs, so I'm sure it's fine on something less narrow/dry.
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Jun 18, 2013 02:57
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Jun 18, 2013 03:44
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OK, so my TWSBI Diamond 580 arrived yesterday, and here are my first impressions. I like it. I bought it from The Writing Desk in the UK, and it was shipped quickly, and then shipped on to me here in Qatar. Well packaged, simple graphical instructions, and a little tool for complete disassembly. I filled it immediately with some violet Winsor Newton Calligraphy ink, and the pen hated it. It dropped one in three downstrokes, and I was a bit disappointed, but I quickly (and simply) removed the ink reservoir, cleaned it through, and refilled it with Parker Quink (I know, I know, a temporary measure) and it's been fine since then. I went for the broad nib and I'm happy with the thickness of the line, but I might try a medium sometime. The blue line is from the Parker Jotter pictured below, as a reference.   The pen has a good weight, or heft, and I like the way that the ink colour will change the appearance of the pen - I'm looking forward to trying out some other colours this summer.  It's a bigger pen than I'm used to writing with - it's pictured here with my everyday Parker Jotter and Namiki VP. I think it'll sit on my desk, rather than be a pen I'll carry, but I'm very happy with it. 
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Jun 18, 2013 08:20
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Teach posted:I filled it immediately with some violet Winsor Newton Calligraphy ink, and the pen hated it. It dropped one in three downstrokes, and I was a bit disappointed, but I quickly (and simply) removed the ink reservoir, cleaned it through, and refilled it with Parker Quink (I know, I know, a temporary measure) and it's been fine since then. Calligraphy ink is bad for fountain pens, Quink is fine. Honestly there's nothing wrong with it, don't know why you're acting like it's stigmatized or something.
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Jun 18, 2013 15:03
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Solkanar512 posted:Jowo is what the TWSBIs now have. I'll play with some different inks then and see what happens. BSB tends towards a thicker/dryer experience so that will be interesting. Just a quick update, but BSB gives me the same line as BBK. These nibs are still awesome in my book, but know that they tend to run really wet.
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Jun 18, 2013 15:14
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How does the Diamond 580 handle writing if you rotate the pen a bit? I find my less-nice pens are less cooperative when I get sloppy and let my hand rotate a bit and don't write with exactly the bottom part of the nib. (e.g. my Parker Frontier, which I otherwise love)
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Jun 18, 2013 16:20
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Brightman posted:Calligraphy ink is bad for fountain pens, Quink is fine. Honestly there's nothing wrong with it, don't know why you're acting like it's stigmatized or something. Sorry - I come from wristwatch forums, and they can be quite snobby about everyday stuff. And Arcturas, it seems to be pretty forgiving. I've just tried it out with a few different angles, and it behaved itself well enough. At the moment, it likes a little extra pressure when starting a sentence, just to get the ink flowing, and it seems to be a little sensitive to the paper type. I don't know if this is the pen or me, or whether it'll wear in. I'll keep an eye on it!
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Jun 18, 2013 17:17
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Somehow it's taken me months to realize that I bought Noodler's Black and not HoD. After reading reviews it seems there's not much difference and the black is nearly as black (or even darker in some cases) as the HoD. Guess I saved a few bucks.
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Jun 18, 2013 17:20
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I've had my twsbi 580 for a little while now, The pen just doesn't feel very comfortable for me. The pen is awesome but I'm not sure I will be able to write notes every day with it. I was thinking about getting a safari? The Safari looks thinner and lighter then the twsbi. Any thoughts?
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Jun 18, 2013 19:50
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The Safari has a triangular grip which is both a curse and a blessing. It was annoying as poo poo when I first got it as I never learned to hold a pen(cil) properly (I'm left-handed). Eventually though I got used to it and it improved my technique immeasurably.
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Jun 18, 2013 19:55
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teethgrinder posted:The Safari has a triangular grip which is both a curse and a blessing. It was annoying as poo poo when I first got it as I never learned to hold a pen(cil) properly (I'm left-handed). Eventually though I got used to it and it improved my technique immeasurably. I'm a lefty also, maybe i'm holding it wrong. I know I'm an underwriter but maybe I need to look into proper form.
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Jun 18, 2013 21:31
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Okay, just spent too much money on a bottle of Iroshizuku. Thanks, fountain pen thread. Oh, and to the person who needs a nice purple ink, the Yamabudo is a nice deep magenta.
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Jun 18, 2013 22:14
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Any one else subscribe to Goulet pens ink drop? This month is hard, so far I've only figured out 1 and 3. I've got some good ideas for 5 but 2 and 4 have me stumped.
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Jun 19, 2013 01:43
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Nask26 posted:I've had my twsbi 580 for a little while now, The pen just doesn't feel very comfortable for me. The pen is awesome but I'm not sure I will be able to write notes every day with it. I was thinking about getting a safari? The Safari looks thinner and lighter then the twsbi. Any thoughts? Diamond 540 vs. Lamy Safari  If you're looking specifically for thin, a Pilot/Namiki Vanishing Point, Lamy CP1 or Lamy Logo might be what you're after. Welsper fucked around with this message at 01:53 on Jun 19, 2013 |
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Jun 19, 2013 01:48
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Will any Cross converter fit any Cross pen? I've got a pen that I've been using cartridges in, because it's several years old and I can't remember what type it is exactly other than it's a Cross, but I'd like to get a converter and some better ink for it.
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Jun 19, 2013 02:04
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Freckles posted:Will any Cross converter fit any Cross pen? I've got a pen that I've been using cartridges in, because it's several years old and I can't remember what type it is exactly other than it's a Cross, but I'd like to get a converter and some better ink for it.
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Jun 19, 2013 02:47
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iostream.h posted:No, I know for a fact that the converter for the Aventari(?) is different from some of the others at least. I have both, and the only difference is that one is threaded.
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Jun 19, 2013 03:14
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Speaking of fun, cheap pens, I continue to be thoroughly impressed by Platinum's disposable offerings. I picked up a Platinum Riviere PTR-200 at a Daiso's in Los Angeles, think Japanese dollar store, and had a blast writing with it. The cap snaps really tight so I've had this one lying around for a few months now and it still writes with no problem. Just a great thin, round grip pen that you won't feel bad about lending to your hamhanded coworker (because it's $1.50!).
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Jun 19, 2013 03:30
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Nask26 posted:I've had my twsbi 580 for a little while now, The pen just doesn't feel very comfortable for me. The pen is awesome but I'm not sure I will be able to write notes every day with it. I was thinking about getting a safari? The Safari looks thinner and lighter then the twsbi. Any thoughts? It's really an issue of how the weight is distributed on the TWSBI. I've found it's far too unwieldy for daily writing and I perform better with smaller pens, even without cap and with the cap added but the metal clip removed. Have you tried Japanese cigar pens? I'd say look on Engeika for a Pilot Custom 74 or start with a Pilot 78G to see if you like that size better.
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Jun 19, 2013 03:41
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Solkanar512 posted:I have both, and the only difference is that one is threaded. As far as purple inks go, I think it's a Goulet exclusive but Noodler's Purple Heart is just absolutely beautiful. Dark enough to pass on official documents but purple enough to make me happy.
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Jun 19, 2013 04:39
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Strangelet Wave, you have the most beautiful handwriting.  I'm jealous - I gave up on cursive many years ago in favour of ugly, stilted (but legible!) printing. I do a ton of writing at work though, so I bought a couple of fountain pens recently to both improve my writing and see if they were more comfortable to use than disposable ballpoints. First I bought a Lamy Safari, but the other week I was at a local market and found an penmaker with some awesome looking resin pens. It was AU$80 for a fountain pen, twice as much as the Lamy, but definitely worth it. The Lamy felt very scratchy, but this pen glides across the page...  ... though it hasn't done much to improve my writing yet.  I also got a free ballpoint with it! 
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Jun 19, 2013 05:15
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Hobologist posted:Oh, and to the person who needs a nice purple ink, the Yamabudo is a nice deep magenta. I just had to check this thread before I placed my sample order. Welp. How does the weight of the 580 compare to the Safari? I'm finding that while I like how sharp the Metropolitan looks, I much prefer the weight of the Safari in my (admittedly small) hands, so the Metropolitan isn't seeing as much use.
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Jun 19, 2013 09:24
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Depends if you post your pens or not. 580 isn't designed to be posted, so although it's longer capped, it'd be a bit shorter in your hand unposted. If you prefer to post, the similar weight would be TWSBI mini, which I like a lot. Instead of using ammonia to clean your pens, I've been using the JB pen flush that Goulet carries. I bought it on a whim but it does really clean the ink off even after I think the pen has been adequately cleaned!
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Jun 19, 2013 16:52
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so, my pen got here, and I guess I thought it would come with some sort of documentation. if I unscrew the nib from the body, the back end of the thing attached to the nib screws and I can see what appears to be a reservoir for ink, but if I compress the whole thing, dip it into ink and then start "unscrewing" it, it doesn't pull ink up into it. 
delpheye fucked around with this message at 19:58 on Jun 19, 2013 |
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Jun 19, 2013 19:53
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delpheye posted:so, my pen got here, and I guess I thought it would come with some sort of documentation. Dip it all the way in until the ink is past the entire nib and touching the grip part, or else you'll just be drawing in air.
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Jun 19, 2013 19:57
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Yeah, make sure that the nib is completely submerged. One thing that I'll do is fill it, flush it out and fill it again, all while keeping it submerged. Sometimes you'll draw up air from the feed and that helps to flush it out by saturating the feed before you do the final fill.
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Jun 19, 2013 20:04
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genius. it's perfect.
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Jun 19, 2013 20:04
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Pulled the trigger on a Lamy 2000 today, excited to get my hands on it and see what the fuss is about. I also bought a bottle of Noodler's Heart of Darkness, which should be a good match-up. Do many of you have Jinhao pens? I bought an X450 on ebay which showed up the other day. Writing with the pen is just fine, but the cap is so crazy tight - to the point where I literally struggle to get it off the pen. Is this a common thing at all?
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Jun 20, 2013 03:44
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So, I just found my dad's fountain pen on the floor of my car and uh, he's been out of country for a couple months. It looks like it still has ink in it and I'm wondering if it's broken forever from sitting around in a car with nearly a full reservoir of ink or if it'll be okay if I let it soak in water for a while?
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Jun 20, 2013 21:17
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