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Edmond Dantes posted:I demand a review of Oxblood and Red Dragon when you get your hands on them, I ended up getting Tiananmen but Red Dragon may very well be the next one I get my hands on. I can try, but this is my first experience. It will likely be not much more than "Gee this one is pretty...oooo this one is pretty, too!"
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Sep 6, 2013 18:39
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I really liked the look of Private Reserve Black Cherry, but it dries to just brown rather than red-brown. It looks boss wet though, what's another good red-brown to try?
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Sep 6, 2013 18:46
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Edmond Dantes posted:I demand a review of Oxblood and Red Dragon when you get your hands on them, I ended up getting Tiananmen but Red Dragon may very well be the next one I get my hands on. I have Oxblood inked up somewhere, but it's in a pen with a pretty fine nib. I might have Red Dragon as well in a sample pack, I'd have to check. My designated "red" pen needs a new inking, so if the previous poster can't come through, there is a chance that I can
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Sep 6, 2013 19:23
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Got to play with a Lami Safari at a local stationary store, and I don't know if it was just me (probably) but it didn't flow well at all for me. Also they charge $25 for a metropolitan, so even with the super high shipping from goulet is a way better option.
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Sep 6, 2013 19:28
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Demon_Corsair posted:Got to play with a Lami Safari at a local stationary store, and I don't know if it was just me (probably) but it didn't flow well at all for me. What size nib? Even my EF flows well enough but sometimes if I write too fast it'll skip depending on the ink I'm using. I'll probably try a fine out if I get another one.
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Sep 6, 2013 19:32
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Edmond Dantes posted:I demand a review of Oxblood and Red Dragon when you get your hands on them, I ended up getting Tiananmen but Red Dragon may very well be the next one I get my hands on. I forgot about this. I absolutely love Oxblood. It's a gorgeous color, and a very similar shade to Tiananmen - only without the insane dry times I experienced when I was trying out my Tiananmen sample. Honestly my biggest problem with Oxblood is that it's such a perfect ink for my burgundy Metal Falcon that I really have trouble filling it with anything else.
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Sep 6, 2013 19:44
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GrAviTy84 posted:I can try, but this is my first experience. It will likely be not much more than "Gee this one is pretty...oooo this one is pretty, too!" Hah, same with me. Gouletpens sent me an email asking me to review my purchases, and I have no loving clue what to say about the inks, and "writes pretty" doesn't quite cut it. Duro posted:I have Oxblood inked up somewhere, but it's in a pen with a pretty fine nib. I might have Red Dragon as well in a sample pack, I'd have to check. My designated "red" pen needs a new inking, so if the previous poster can't come through, there is a chance that I can That'd be awesome, cheers. SnakesRevenge posted:I forgot about this. I absolutely love Oxblood. It's a gorgeous color, and a very similar shade to Tiananmen - only without the insane dry times I experienced when I was trying out my Tiananmen sample. Honestly my biggest problem with Oxblood is that it's such a perfect ink for my burgundy Metal Falcon that I really have trouble filling it with anything else. Huh, I didn't notice the drying time, to be honest. I'm used to letting ink dry as a general rule (technical drawing taught me that, you learn fast when you gently caress up 2 hours worth of work because you smudged something at the last minute). I did notice a bit of feathering (if that's how you call it when you write something and the ink kinda of seeps into the paper and "bleeds out"), but that's probably because I've been writing in crap paper (or very thin, like a moleskine)
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Sep 6, 2013 21:03
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Edmond Dantes posted:Hah, same with me. Gouletpens sent me an email asking me to review my purchases, and I have no loving clue what to say about the inks, and "writes pretty" doesn't quite cut it. Things to check for in an ink are drying time, how wet/dry it writes (which ties into how much it bleeds through or shows through), water resistance, lubrication (more lubricated inks can make a scratchy nib more tolerable), and saturation (less saturated = more shading, or the gradation between light and dark--actually a preferable quality for some, though it can make the ink look "splotchy"). Look at some ink reviews to see what kind of qualities people rate inks by.
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Sep 6, 2013 21:10
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Edmond Dantes posted:Hah, same with me. Gouletpens sent me an email asking me to review my purchases, and I have no loving clue what to say about the inks, and "writes pretty" doesn't quite cut it. I have been looking through a lot of reviews recently and they all have a discussion on the methodology they use for the review - what paper, pen, nib, and so forth are used. Brian Goulet's ink reviews aren't super duper comprehensive, but they give key information regarding the more universal factors of inks and are a good point to start if you wanted to get a really good perspective on what is going on with an ink, since everybody has some different setups based on pen/nib/paper.
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Sep 6, 2013 21:10
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I just stepped into a hell of a rabbit hole with that first purchase, didn't I?
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Sep 6, 2013 21:19
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Edmond Dantes posted:I just stepped into a hell of a rabbit hole with that first purchase, didn't I? Pretty much. If you don't have disposable income it might not be so bad, if you do though it might be a good idea to start looking for a decent quality pen chest. I'm quite thankful that the same thing didn't happen to me with the wet shaving thread. Granted I don't think a bunch of people in that thread have more than say 3 razors and a lot, like me, probably just have 1.
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Sep 6, 2013 21:38
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Edmond Dantes posted:I just stepped into a hell of a rabbit hole with that first purchase, didn't I? It's not that big a deal, really. If you're happy with what you have, then great. If and when you start acquiring more inks and have a better idea of what you like and what you don't, then those really specific reviews will help you to decide between two close candidates. As long as the color of the ink looks good, the rest doesn't matter quite so much.
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Sep 6, 2013 21:56
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Is it a terrible idea to stick some Noodlers HOD in an old India Ink bottle for pen-filling purposes, so long as I've washed out the bottle really, really well? I've got an ancient bottle I got at Walmart in middle school that seems like a much better depth for pen-filling than the big honking eyedropper bottle the HOD comes in.
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Sep 6, 2013 23:53
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Edmond Dantes posted:I just stepped into a hell of a rabbit hole with that first purchase, didn't I? I managed to pull up the reins after three pen purchases (Noodler Ahab, Pilot Metropolitan, Lamy Safari), four bottles of ink (but oh god I want to buy more inkkkkkksssss) and a few writing pads since I now have enough writing materials to last me about five years at the rate I use ink. So don't worry, you can still come under the influence of this beautiful, terrible, beautiful thread and still not have to refinance your house.
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Sep 7, 2013 00:28
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Edmond Dantes posted:I just stepped into a hell of a rabbit hole with that first purchase, didn't I? You're looking at reviews written by people so deep into the pit they can no longer see the sky. I wouldn't worry too much.
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Sep 7, 2013 02:03
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GabrielAisling posted:Is it a terrible idea to stick some Noodlers HOD in an old India Ink bottle for pen-filling purposes, so long as I've washed out the bottle really, really well? I've got an ancient bottle I got at Walmart in middle school that seems like a much better depth for pen-filling than the big honking eyedropper bottle the HOD comes in. You can use anything to store your ink as long as it's clean and airtight. When my HOD bottle was about 2/3 full it was getting hard to use so I put it in an empty Iroshizuku bottle I bought from Goulet's.
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Sep 7, 2013 02:58
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GrAviTy84 posted:I can try, but this is my first experience. It will likely be not much more than "Gee this one is pretty...oooo this one is pretty, too!" I feel you there. I must've ordered 30+ ink samples from Goulet, and honestly I think they're all great. I'd have no idea how to review any of them, otherwise I wouldn't be ordering so many samples in the first place.  All this ink talk going on is making me feel intimidated, even after I've blown probably almost $300 just because of this thread.
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Sep 7, 2013 03:31
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Everything Burrito posted:I have about 10 samples of various blue-blacks/dark blues (I do lean toward the more tealish/greenish ones) that I'm slowly working through. It'll probably be a while before I see all of them since I'm reusing a cartridge and getting a full fill each time so I can write with each one for a while and really get a feel for it. A little far back, but I look forward to hearing what goons have to say on Q'Ternity. An ultra quick drying blue-black is something that I ache for dearly. Also: Gentlemen, the time is nigh. Noodler's El Lawrence will soon be in stock once more. Soon all of my writing will be done in a dirty, used oil kinda color. Honestly, I have never been taken by an ink like I have been by El Lawrence, and it's not even that attractive. It also takes way too long to dry, but at least it doesn't feather on cheap paper too much.
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Sep 7, 2013 03:59
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Haha, with the rabbit hole bit I meant how you can just start digging and suddenly your knowledge goes from "Writes" and "writes a bit nicer" when trying out a fountain pen to talking (or at least kind of knowing) about ink materials and qualities, different nibs and what they do, and caring about the paper you write on. I'm quite happy with my (few) purchases so far, and I'm actually looking for more excuses to write since I never do it at work and only seldom at college (graphical design, it's all pens here), so ink is going to last me forever.
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Sep 7, 2013 04:53
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Lord Girlyman posted:Also: Gentlemen, the time is nigh. Noodler's El Lawrence will soon be in stock once more. Soon all of my writing will be done in a dirty, used oil kinda color. Oh wow, I've never seen that one. That's pretty slick. Shame I have tons of ink and not a whole hell of a lot of opportunity to write in a given day. But maybe not for long! I noticed I'm much better able to organize my thoughts at work with handwritten notes, plus I've looked into picking up a penpal or two to stay in practice with my old foreign language hobby, and a friend of mine is apparently very keen on writing letters. I figured I should probably correspond like proper, but I've put no thought into stationery or fancy notebooks since it's news to me that people still write letters or take notes on anything but fifty cent legal pads. Is there anything decent and inexpensive for letter writing? And how about a notebook/pad?
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Sep 7, 2013 05:50
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Lord Girlyman posted:A little far back, but I look forward to hearing what goons have to say on Q'Ternity. An ultra quick drying blue-black is something that I ache for dearly. I'll use that one next then and see if I can form some sort of useful opinion. For my own purposes I am really just looking at color, shading (because I write with a big ole fat italic nib and shading is fun), and if it behaves reasonably well on the various lovely papers I use at work.
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Sep 7, 2013 06:26
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Sorry to say but it bleeds and feathers pretty badly since it dries so quickly (quickly being under 2 seconds, from my experience - as soon as nib meets paper pretty much). It has zero shading too, it's more of a flat dark teal than a true blue-black. I mean if you're picking it up for the quick-dry property then it's excellent but for other reasons... stick with other inks.
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Sep 7, 2013 06:59
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cerious posted:Sorry to say but it bleeds and feathers pretty badly since it dries so quickly (quickly being under 2 seconds, from my experience - as soon as nib meets paper pretty much). It has zero shading too, it's more of a flat dark teal than a true blue-black. I mean if you're picking it up for the quick-dry property then it's excellent but for other reasons... stick with other inks. I guess that's not a total surprise, but it's still a little disappointing. Looks like the Goulets are going to have to take my money another way.
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Sep 7, 2013 11:48
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Ok, I need help. How the hell do you use these pens properly? Up until this morning I had just been using cheap Hilary notebooks and had no problem with ink flow. Bought a Rhodia book, and now I'm going over everything 2 or 3 times because the drat ink won't flow. Right now I'm just using one of the lovely disposable Pilot V-pens, but I have never had an issue with them until I switched to better paper. What the hell could I be doing wrong? E: Pushing sure helps even though I know that's a cardinal sin. Here is what is happening. 
Demon_Corsair fucked around with this message at 18:07 on Sep 7, 2013 |
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Sep 7, 2013 17:57
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With a cheapie steel nibbed pen I seriously doubt pushing a bit is going to hurt it. It's not a good habit if you get a really nice pen. By v-pen do you mean a Varsity? I have no idea in what world that pen wouldn't flow enough ink. It's like writing with a firehose when I use mine.
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Sep 7, 2013 18:23
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JP Money posted:With a cheapie steel nibbed pen I seriously doubt pushing a bit is going to hurt it. It's not a good habit if you get a really nice pen. I don't think they spew out ink quite like you describe, but it's the only fountain pens that I'm familiar with at the moment. Compared to the old gel-pens that I used to use, they're quite nice. I do want to know, however, what causes ink to gradually crawl up the clear plastic space where you hold the pen. Does something special happen when it goes all the way up?
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Sep 7, 2013 18:30
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You mean inside the pen? That's the feed. Ink flows in there from the reservoir up top. I used to turn my varsity over and write with the opposite side of the nib to write with a finer line and it worked fine. It flowed well then too. Did the other pens in the pack skip and hop like the one you're using?
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Sep 7, 2013 18:51
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JP Money posted:With a cheapie steel nibbed pen I seriously doubt pushing a bit is going to hurt it. It's not a good habit if you get a really nice pen. I'ts not a varsity, its just labeled as Vpen http://www.amazon.com/Pilot-Vpen-Disposable-Fountain-Pen/dp/B001ANX78I
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Sep 7, 2013 18:53
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Kheldragar posted:I don't think they spew out ink quite like you describe, but it's the only fountain pens that I'm familiar with at the moment. Compared to the old gel-pens that I used to use, they're quite nice. I do want to know, however, what causes ink to gradually crawl up the clear plastic space where you hold the pen. Does something special happen when it goes all the way up? The space where you hold the pen is the "section," which houses the "feed" (that little plastic or hard rubber widget with all the grooves and baffles on it). The feed draws ink from the reservoir through capillary action, and deposits the ink right underneath the nib. The nib then draws that ink up the slit in its center to the very tip of the point (again through capillary action), where it soaks into the paper as soon as you bring the point in contact. You want the ink to saturate all the way up the feed to the nib, so that the nib is provided with a sufficient amount of ink. (Some people are pedants and insist that the entire metal bit at the end of the pen is the "tip"—as in a "steel-tipped pen"—and that the "nib" is just the little ball of hardened metal at the end of the tip.)
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Sep 7, 2013 18:57
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I'm pretty sure that V-Pens are Varsity pens. I just found out that my Aunt has some sort of service where she gets stuff shipped to a place in the states and crosses the border to pick it up. It looks like I'll be making more purchases in the future, especially from Goulet.... My local stationery store here in Montreal has the craziest selection of paper I've ever seen, but their FP and Ink selection leaves a bit to be desired....
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Sep 7, 2013 18:59
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Possibly a stupid question, but which way is the nib facing when you write? The slit should be facing upward, toward the ceiling. I ask because I've had a few friends borrow my pens before to jot a quick note, and invariably they hold the pen with the nib upside-down. Pens can still write that way, but the ink flow will be reduced. It's a nice way to get a finer line for stuff like writing in the margins, but I could see it causing some issues as well.
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Sep 7, 2013 19:01
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Yeah, after looking at that pic that looks the same as a Varsity.
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Sep 7, 2013 19:01
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You probably have baby's bottom or your tines are too far apart. Review Richard Binder's Nib Primer for the basics; you can move on to his Nib Smoothing Workshop notes if you want to learn more about fixin' nib issues.
ChickenOfTomorrow fucked around with this message at 23:34 on Sep 7, 2013 |
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Sep 7, 2013 23:31
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JP Money posted:You mean inside the pen? That's the feed. Ink flows in there from the reservoir up top. They did during the beginning, but after a day or two of using them, they stopped during that and worked normally; I'm actually starting to run out of ink in them, and probably should go to buy more soon. I don't think I could go back to using regular pens anymore.  Strangelet Wave posted:The space where you hold the pen is the "section," which houses the "feed" (that little plastic or hard rubber widget with all the grooves and baffles on it). The feed draws ink from the reservoir through capillary action, and deposits the ink right underneath the nib. The nib then draws that ink up the slit in its center to the very tip of the point (again through capillary action), where it soaks into the paper as soon as you bring the point in contact. It's beginning to look like this where I think it's about halfway up there, but the pen only has about 10% to a quarter of its ink left. I'm guessing this is the type where when you run out, you have to buy a new pen rather than new ink. 
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Sep 8, 2013 14:37
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Strangelet Wave posted:You want the ink to saturate all the way up the feed to the nib, so that the nib is provided with a sufficient amount of ink. Actually the feed shouldn't be full of ink. The fins are supposed to hold ink burping out due to air expanding in the pen (e.g. when you take a cold pen into your hand). If they're completely full already, the pen may drip. Sufficient ink will always arrive at the nib through channels in the feed.
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Sep 8, 2013 15:10
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I CANNOT EJACULATE WITHOUT SEEING NATIVE AMERICANS BRUTALISED!
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I hate you all. By which I mean I read this entire thread in the last 24 hours and ordered a converted Preppy with a sample of HoD.  The OP was really informative, but a glossary would be useful. Not all of the lingo is obvious, like "demonstrator" seems to mean just a transparent/translucent pen? I tried to keep it simple with just the HoD and the Preppy, but I'm already plotting future purchases. I just need a positive balance in my bank account. 
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Sep 9, 2013 01:52
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milpreve posted:The OP was really informative, but a glossary would be useful. Not all of the lingo is obvious, like "demonstrator" seems to mean just a transparent/translucent pen? Yeah, basically: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonstrator_pen quote:Demonstrator pens were originally furnished by manufacturers to dealers, so that the features of their products could be shown to potential buyers.
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Sep 9, 2013 02:17
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milpreve posted:I hate you all. By which I mean I read this entire thread in the last 24 hours and ordered a converted Preppy with a sample of HoD. Welcome to the fold. Don't forget to put a couple dozen ink samples in with your next purchase.  milpreve posted:The OP was really informative, but a glossary would be useful. Not all of the lingo is obvious, like "demonstrator" seems to mean just a transparent/translucent pen? Great idea! There's one for the parts of a pen, but I guess there are a few more esoteric words that would be helpful to have there. Feel free to toss in ideas of what I should add, folks!
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Sep 9, 2013 02:45
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It would be nice, too, if someone could explain the differences between papers--what types of paper to look for when using a fountain pen, brands, etc. (My husband (Gravity84) just bought two Pilot Metros (see his earlier post)--one for him, one for me--and I'm at a bit of a loss at the sheer number of notebook options and don't know what is best).
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Sep 9, 2013 02:55
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You aren't locked into using "nice" paper with a fountain pen. Especially with inexpensive pens you don't have to go crazy buying super smooth heavyweight paper. Cheap paper like you find in generic notebooks will absorb ink quickly, spread out ("feather") and dry almost instantly. To note this difference quickly grab a sheet of A4 computer paper and notice it probably takes a few more seconds to dry and is much smoother when you write on it. E: You should spend some time on here: http://www.gouletpens.com/Fountain_of_Knowledge_s/1130.htm
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Sep 9, 2013 03:01
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