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ChickenOfTomorrow posted:
I love seeing people's collections! There's no reason this thread can't have a little pen porn every once in a while. Show off what you have, talk about 'em if you want even!
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# ? Sep 18, 2013 01:26 |
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# ? May 11, 2024 15:48 |
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Syringe filling just seems wrong. It's like one of those things where you put so much effort into doing something and say "hang on, it should be simpler than this". It's a pen, it shouldn't require all these extra accessories to do it right, unless you're using the syringe to just fill the whole pen body. Not a rational complaint, but still... ChickenOfTomorrow posted:Buy some ink-NIX, it's great at removing ink stains. We used to have a similar problem in my industry with cleaning hands and they came out with the really powerful cleaner that worked wonders called MEK, and all the old timers started getting kidney and liver problems from the solvents being absorbed through their skin. I'd personally be cautious of any "wonder solvent" that works great on organic compounds, especially the ones that don't say how they work. I would stay away from that product (and any others like it) unless they are very clear about what the ingredients are and the ingredients are well studied. Captain Postal fucked around with this message at 01:41 on Sep 18, 2013 |
# ? Sep 18, 2013 01:37 |
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Captain Postal posted:We used to have a similar problem in my industry with cleaning hands and they came out with the really powerful cleaner that worked wonders called MEK, and all the old timers started getting kidney and liver problems from the solvents being absorbed through their skin. MEK is not uncommon in the vintage FP world, either since it can be used to mend cracks in, erm, either celluloid or acrylic, I can't recall right now. Got me a bottle in my little "home fixin' kit" next to the shellac and brass shims. Note to self: don't drink alcohol after using MEK, yer liver's not that strong. Pictures coming shortly; turns out I've got 43 fountain pens on hand and about 1 gram of photographic talent.
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# ? Sep 18, 2013 03:47 |
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I used my Preppy with HoD in a patient's file for the first time today, and my Metro with Mysterious Blue for the chart note. Switched to R&K Fernambuk for class tomorrow, but ink tests showed it to be less hot pink than it seemed online. Is pen cleaning any different from filling and emptying the converter until water runs clear through?
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# ? Sep 18, 2013 04:28 |
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milpreve posted:Is pen cleaning any different from filling and emptying the converter until water runs clear through? The feed on a Metro should come out with a gentle tug, and running that under the faucet for a bit should get rid of a lot of trapped ink.
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# ? Sep 18, 2013 05:16 |
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All right! Here's part 1 of my little collection, along with labels so I can wax melodic about each one. Those of you who are on FPN or other FP boards may be able to work out who I am since I have a couple of 'one of a kind' pens. I politely request that you not go all Internet Detective on me since I'm quite boring. If you would like a better picture or more info about a pen, let me know and I'll see what I can do! Batch 1. This is a melange of "pens I'm likely to get rid of soon," "non-flexies," and "in use":
ChickenOfTomorrow fucked around with this message at 07:49 on Sep 18, 2013 |
# ? Sep 18, 2013 05:59 |
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Batch 2. Flexies.
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# ? Sep 18, 2013 06:33 |
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T-T-T-TRIPLE POST!!! Batch 3. More flexies.
And finally, some glamour shots:
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# ? Sep 18, 2013 06:53 |
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Captain Postal posted:Syringe filling just seems wrong. It's like one of those things where you put so much effort into doing something and say "hang on, it should be simpler than this". It's a pen, it shouldn't require all these extra accessories to do it right, unless you're using the syringe to just fill the whole pen body. Not a rational complaint, but still... I find syringe filling so much faster, easier, and cleaner than trying to draw ink through the nib. Usually end up with a bit of mixed ink for the first few paragraphs if you're lazy like I am and don't clean the nib between inks but you find some nice combinations that way. Plus syringes are cheap, mine cost a dollar from the local pharmacy.
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# ? Sep 18, 2013 07:03 |
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Just buy a box of disposable latex or nitrile gloves. I glove up when I'm filling my pens through the nib, wipe down the grip and then toss the tissue and the gloves. Fully filled, clean pen plus clean fingers.
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# ? Sep 18, 2013 07:47 |
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I have mainly used Noodler's inks, but have begun to branch out a bit into the Pilot/Namiki Iroshizuku inks, as I have acquired a few more pilot pens. Are there any of the Iroshizuku's that are well behaved enough to use on regular, cheap paper?
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# ? Sep 18, 2013 13:36 |
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wodan22 posted:I have mainly used Noodler's inks, but have begun to branch out a bit into the Pilot/Namiki Iroshizuku inks, as I have acquired a few more pilot pens. The brown/red colours tend to feather less on cheap paper, and conversely the blue-blacks feather more, in my experience.
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# ? Sep 18, 2013 13:55 |
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kim jong-illin posted:Just buy a box of disposable latex or nitrile gloves. I glove up when I'm filling my pens through the nib, wipe down the grip and then toss the tissue and the gloves. Fully filled, clean pen plus clean fingers. The vinyl gloves at hardware stores like Harbor Freight are cheaper than the medical-grade stuff that you find at Walmart. I've got a box that I initially bought for hand-dying yarn. I'm pretty hard on them since they mostly get used as disposable dish gloves, and I've never broken one, just in case anyone is worried about cheap gloves breaking easily.
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# ? Sep 18, 2013 17:37 |
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I'm going to a pen posse in San Francisco this Sunday! I'm not sure what to expect other than maybe someone from this thread showing up. I'm going to eat a bunch of Chinese food.
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# ? Sep 19, 2013 04:33 |
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aldantefax posted:I'm going to a pen posse in San Francisco this Sunday! I'm not sure what to expect other than maybe someone from this thread showing up. I'm going to eat a bunch of Chinese food. It's funny. I don't live in San Fransisco (or anywhere close) and I am a member of that group on facebook. There are some nice pens featured there, especially the custom ones.
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# ? Sep 19, 2013 14:02 |
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Thanks to the former iteration of this thread I've been carrying fountain pens for over a year now. I love it but have a few questions. My apologies as I'm sure this has been covered but I'm a little stumped if some of these issues are "normal." I wear suits most days and match my pen because I have a very dull life. My collection is - Lamy Safari EF, Lamy Safari F, Lamy Al-Star F, Retro 1951 Tornado F, and a Parker 51 Aeromatic that was my great grandfathers. The two Lamy F pens work without a hitch. I'm still using pre-bought cartridges though because of an issue with the EF pen. I got a blunt syringe and some Private Reserve Ink and have attempted refilling the cartridge for the EF pen. I have so many drat issues getting that pen to run that I got a converter for it. Still, it's always jammed up. I've cleaned it, ran it under water, etc. Is it lovely ink or just the nature of an EF Lamy Safari? My Tornado is awesome and I have successfully syringe filled the cartridge a few times. But almost any day I use it I have to run it under some water to get it started. Normally pens are only used once a week due to their rotation. Is this little bit of motivation with water normal when pens aren't used daily? The Parker 51 Aeromatic of my great grandfather's is awesome but getting it started is way over my head. It's likely a second quarter 1948/1954 dated pen made in England. There might be some part mismatching. Getting it running is way the gently caress over my head and I don't want to hurt it. Anything of my great grandfather's is incredibly important to me. Any recommendations? drat you all for this (compared to other pens) expensive hobby.
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# ? Sep 19, 2013 16:09 |
My EF safari is fine when using various inks. You can try cleaning out the nib to make sure there isn't some buildup in there blocking ink flow. Someone mentioned brass sheets in here before for cleaning the nib out manually. I usually make up a solution of ammonia in water to clean out the old ink in mine and then flush water through after that. Should help break up ink that's sticking around.
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# ? Sep 19, 2013 16:11 |
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Also maybe swap nibs on one of the Fs with the EF. That will tell you if it's a nib issue or a pen issue. Nibs are cheap and if that's it and you can't get it fixed I'd just pick up another nib.
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# ? Sep 19, 2013 16:38 |
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Verdugo posted:It's funny. I don't live in San Fransisco (or anywhere close) and I am a member of that group on facebook. There are some nice pens featured there, especially the custom ones. Last time I went I sat near a dude talking about his custom Nakaya. He ordered a multiple-thousand-dollar pen, requests a kanji of his own name in maki-e, waits 6 months for it to be completed, and when he gets it the kanji is 5 degrees off from the center of the zogon when the pen is assembled. In his eyes the pen is ruined. ChickenOfTomorrow fucked around with this message at 01:37 on Sep 28, 2013 |
# ? Sep 19, 2013 17:49 |
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Tell him he should buy another one.
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# ? Sep 19, 2013 17:52 |
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Spoiler: The next one will be off by 355 degrees.
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# ? Sep 19, 2013 18:23 |
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aldantefax posted:I'm going to a pen posse in San Francisco this Sunday! I'm not sure what to expect other than maybe someone from this thread showing up. I'm going to eat a bunch of Chinese food. I'd love to come but for some strange reason I'm always busy the day that they pick. Maybe next time we can have a goon meet up e: Sweet pens, Chicken of Tomorrow!! jomiel fucked around with this message at 18:35 on Sep 19, 2013 |
# ? Sep 19, 2013 18:25 |
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ChickenOfTomorrow posted:Last time I went I sat near an ac-tor dude talking about his custom Nakaya for 45 minutes. He ordered a multiple-thousand-dollar pen, requests a kanji of his own name in maki-e, waits 6 months for it to be completed, and when he gets it the kanji is 5 degrees off from the center of the zogon when the pen is assembled. This is the worst thing ever and the pen is ruined. Maybe it's a good thing then. Most expensive pen I have right now is an Ahab
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# ? Sep 19, 2013 18:28 |
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Verdugo posted:Maybe it's a good thing then. Most expensive pen I have right now is an Ahab I got a compliment on my oh-so-expensive Metro. But one day I'm getting a Sailor, so...
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# ? Sep 19, 2013 19:31 |
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GrAviTy84 posted:Speaking of cheap pens. I bought one of these a few days ago. Will trip report when it comes. I was bored and it was $4, so I figured why not. It's a bit scratchy and the ink bubbles at the nib (not so much that it gets in the way), but it's ok for a cheap pen. Filled with Noodler's Bulletproof Black, standard piston converter. Here it is alongside a couple of my other pens, a TWSBI 580 and Lamy Safari, both F. And a writing check with my horrible handwriting:
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# ? Sep 19, 2013 21:32 |
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wodan22 posted:Are there any of the Iroshizuku's that are well behaved enough to use on regular, cheap paper? Oddly enough, I just popped into this thread to report that I just this afternoon found a bottle of Pilot IroShizuku Yama-Guri, which is a deep brown, and to my eyes, much darker than the swatch in the pic below. Tomorrow, I'll run it over the cheapest paper I can find and let you know.
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# ? Sep 20, 2013 17:07 |
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Those Iroshizuku bottles are pure sex.
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# ? Sep 20, 2013 18:23 |
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Any suggestions for a good slim pen? I'm thinking about moving up from my safari at some point but a lot of the suggested ones look too fat for my tiny rear end hands
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# ? Sep 21, 2013 06:31 |
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Xun posted:Any suggestions for a good slim pen? I'm thinking about moving up from my safari at some point but a lot of the suggested ones look too fat for my tiny rear end hands Probably can't get much slimmer than the Lamy CP1 or Logo, which are barely thicker than the converter itself. I don't like the balance of my CP1 when posted, though, since the cap is all metal and only posts about a centimeter, which makes the pen really long and back-heavy. Otherwise, it's perfectly fine.
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# ? Sep 21, 2013 06:38 |
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# ? Sep 21, 2013 09:57 |
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Xun posted:Any suggestions for a good slim pen? I'm thinking about moving up from my safari at some point but a lot of the suggested ones look too fat for my tiny rear end hands Sailor Chalana?
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# ? Sep 21, 2013 10:33 |
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Xun posted:Any suggestions for a good slim pen? I'm thinking about moving up from my safari at some point but a lot of the suggested ones look too fat for my tiny rear end hands A Pilot Capless Decimo might be suitable. It's a smaller/thinner version of the Pilot Vanishing point and uses the same nib units.
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# ? Sep 21, 2013 10:46 |
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Xun posted:Any suggestions for a good slim pen? I'm thinking about moving up from my safari at some point but a lot of the suggested ones look too fat for my tiny rear end hands As for vintage stuff, the Sheaffer Targa is pretty drat slim, and the Sheaffer Targa Slim is even thinner than that, not to mention a bit cheaper.
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# ? Sep 21, 2013 12:23 |
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Xun posted:Any suggestions for a good slim pen? I'm thinking about moving up from my safari at some point but a lot of the suggested ones look too fat for my tiny rear end hands
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# ? Sep 21, 2013 13:51 |
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The Lamy CP1 is small, thin but quite hefty for its size. I'm loving it so far.
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# ? Sep 21, 2013 17:14 |
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Meldonox posted:Diamine Ancient Copper is also worth trying out. One of my favorites for sure. My TWISBI 580 F came in and I bought this ink, it's great - a nice copper color, flows well, dries quick and there's no feathering using it in my moleskine notebook. The 580 feels a lot nicer in my hand than my Safari, very happy with it. The pen looks like it's filled with blood though
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# ? Sep 21, 2013 18:25 |
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I know that you have all broken Question about the Lamy bottles' blotting paper. What do you use it for? Is it to wipe off your nib after filling? milpreve fucked around with this message at 19:18 on Sep 21, 2013 |
# ? Sep 21, 2013 19:15 |
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Just back from my first transatlantic flight with real pens. I took two -- TWSBI Diamond Mini (filled with Iroshizuku Tsukushi) and Pelikan M205 (Diamine Sherwood Green). Can't have too many diminutive piston fillers! Filled them both right up before setting out, to avoid problems with pressure changes, and they didn't even get any ink in the caps. I filled out my customs declaration with the TWSBI, which worked beautifully at altitude. So that's one more situation where the biro is redundant. Soricidus fucked around with this message at 23:20 on Sep 21, 2013 |
# ? Sep 21, 2013 23:16 |
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milpreve posted:Question about the Lamy bottles' blotting paper. What do you use it for? Is it to wipe off your nib after filling? Exactly. It's not really proper blotting paper, it's more like absorbent nib wiping sheets for after a fill. If you want proper blotting paper in usable size sheets, J. Herbin make some, and Richard Binder throws a promotional blotter (complete with cheesecake art) in with every purchase. Alternatively, ask TCC - I bet they know where to get quality blotter. Edit: Pen Posse tomorrow. It's a 1hr+ schlep for me to attend so I don't go to every meet, but I gather there'll be a newbie at this one.
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# ? Sep 22, 2013 00:43 |
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# ? May 11, 2024 15:48 |
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Just ordered a bottle of Iroshizuku Fuyu-Syogun, should be interesting to see how this compares to the Noodle's inks that made up 90% of my collection.
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# ? Sep 22, 2013 01:56 |