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ChickenOfTomorrow posted:This is nonsense, FYI. Commercial iron galls are just fine in pens as long as you don't leave them unattended for 3+ weeks.
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Sep 25, 2013 04:00
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TopherCStone posted:Fair enough, I was just repeating what I was told when I started fountain penning. OK, coolio. Now, if you don't mind me  ing at you: Iron gall inks, because of their nature, are corrosive. Modern iron-galls have been engineered to hell and back to be minimally corrosive, but vintage and home-made irongalls lack that engineering. They could possibly be dangerous if left unattended and allowed to dry out, but the chances of a newcomer ending up with home-made or vintage iron-gall is hella low.
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Sep 25, 2013 04:31
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ChickenOfTomorrow posted:OK, coolio. Now, if you don't mind me Also, gold nibs won't corrode  However, homemade and vintage iron gall inks will clog feeds quite fast because they are not engineered to stay in solution.
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Sep 25, 2013 05:58
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Basically stop leaving your pens inked for months on end without using them~
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Sep 25, 2013 08:17
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Anybody know of any budget dip pens, preferably for calligraphy? I found a sweet pen shop that sells some  gold ink, but I'm told you can't load it into a standard pen(which makes sense).
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Sep 25, 2013 14:31
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duckfarts posted:Anybody know of any budget dip pens, preferably for calligraphy? I found a sweet pen shop that sells some How budget? I think J. Herbin glass pens are neat as heck, but they won't do if you're looking for flexy nibs. I think Sheaffer and Staedtler and a bunch of others offer very cheap calligraphy sets. Speedball offers ones in the sub  rangee: Look to get a box of Esterbrook "Assorted Drafting" nibs if you're really into it. You get a box of 144 of them in various types and sizes and then you just need to get a holder for them which should be simple
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Sep 25, 2013 15:51
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Kessel posted:Basically stop leaving your pens inked for months on end without using them~ I really need to stop inking pens. I have 5 inked right now I think...6 if you count the Preppy Eyedropper that's always inked with HoD. Also I might have a pen that needs to be cleaned still. I can usually manage 3 inked pens and cycle them, but 2 of the ones currently inked have scratchy nibs I don't like; the vintage Sheaffer and the stone mason pen made with a kit. Speaking of which anyone know of a good place to get a #5 nib that is either golden or two toned? Doesn't matter if it's just golden in color, as long as it writes well, I just want it to match the pen's existing trim.
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Sep 25, 2013 16:07
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E: nope, all sixes at the moment 
Welsper fucked around with this message at 16:28 on Sep 25, 2013 |
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Sep 25, 2013 16:19
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duckfarts posted:Anybody know of any budget dip pens, preferably for calligraphy? I found a sweet pen shop that sells some If you have a good artist's supply store near to you, most of them will sell an assortment of nibs for whatever purpose for cheap, along with a device to hold them.
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Sep 26, 2013 03:02
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Count me in as another claimed by this thread.  My only experience with these kind of pens so far has been with dip pens for a small calligraphy stint in an art class as a child, and then dip pens when learning how to write in Sütterlin in German classes. I picked up a cheap Sheaffer 1.0mm F as a throwaway to get back in the habit - just scribbling in my awful handwriting feels a lot better like this, even though the nib is kind of scratchy and hard to work with. Thank you goons, for finding me another addiction to feed. Though at least with this maybe I'll be able to write a little more legibly.
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Sep 26, 2013 03:09
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angerbot posted:If you have a good artist's supply store near to you, most of them will sell an assortment of nibs for whatever purpose for cheap, along with a device to hold them. Seconding this--this is how I got my calligraphy nibs and holder. I think they are Speedball and work well enough for the purpose. I'd be interested if anyone has suggestions for higher quality ones though...
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Sep 26, 2013 03:16
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Hey. Tell me about vintage pens. Estebrooks, Watermans, Schaeffers, whatever. The local Pen Posse has told me that if I want to look into flexy nibs and italics that vintage pens are ones not to sleep on. I'm looking for durable, easy to maintain, sub 70 bucks, flexy nib. Suggestions?
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Sep 26, 2013 03:54
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aldantefax posted:Hey. Tell me about vintage pens. Estebrooks, Watermans, Schaeffers, whatever. The local Pen Posse has told me that if I want to look into flexy nibs and italics that vintage pens are ones not to sleep on. I'm looking for durable, easy to maintain, sub 70 bucks, flexy nib. Suggestions? Find an Esterbrook with a 9128 nib if you can. They're quite sought after and increasingly rather pricy but should still be within budget. As far as steel flex nibs go they're amazing, and much better than the Ahab I think.
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Sep 26, 2013 05:28
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In truth, most things seem better than flexy Noodlers, at least from my experience. My last Konrad came with a magical trick nib with tines that overlapped somewhat, so one was constantly ontop of the other. Additionally, it just dosn't flex that well to begin with, unless you take a dremel to it. At least it smelled pretty out of the box. Now that I've shat on Noodlers, I guess I'll praise them. I inked up a metropolitan with Zhivago a few days ago and am very happy with it. It seems to be fairly quick to dry with minimum feathering and bleed through. Colorwise it appears black in most circumstances, but a little bit of green can be seen around the edges of the line. This would be a great ink to use with a working flex pen 
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Sep 26, 2013 06:04
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http://www.inknouveau.com/2012/11/pilot-metropolitan.html At 8:45, he pulls out the nib and feed. I want to clean my pen, but I can't for the life of me get it out. Does Brian Goulet just make everything look easy? Any tips for removing this when it feels like it shouldn't come out? Edit: Tried gentle twisting, pulling, etc. my thumb hurts, but no looser. Googling isn't helpful, everyone else seems to have no trouble with it. I'll just refill this time and try again next time, maybe when someone else is home to try. And hope for magical secrets! milpreve fucked around with this message at 15:24 on Sep 26, 2013 |
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Sep 26, 2013 15:13
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milpreve posted:http://www.inknouveau.com/2012/11/pilot-metropolitan.html You can lay some tape across the top of the nib and pull it, that sometimes helps. They also sell those sticky rubber mat things you can put on your car dashboard, on some websites, specifically to get extra grip on the nib and pull it out more easily. So if you have like a rubber sheet or something you can use that for extra grip. Some nibs just stick in harder than others, so what some people may make look easy will probably not be that easy for most people.
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Sep 26, 2013 15:41
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aldantefax posted:Hey. Tell me about vintage pens. Estebrooks, Watermans, Schaeffers, whatever. The local Pen Posse has told me that if I want to look into flexy nibs and italics that vintage pens are ones not to sleep on. I'm looking for durable, easy to maintain, sub 70 bucks, flexy nib. Suggestions? I'm not into flex nibs so much but Esterbrooks are one of the great values in fountain pens. They're well-made and though they have their followers they aren't a "big" name so even their best stuff doesn't go for too much money (though sometimes the rarest nibs alone can cost more than a complete pen with a still good but less magical nib). I second this: breathstealer posted:Find an Esterbrook with a 9128 nib if you can. They're quite sought after and increasingly rather pricy but should still be within budget. As far as steel flex nibs go they're amazing, and much better than the Ahab I think.
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Sep 26, 2013 16:04
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Stuff finally arrived! Really should have bought a second CON-50 to use in the plumix. Oh well, converter can go in the plumix for now, and I can use the default bulb in the metropolitan. Loaded up some red black, and I'm kind of underwhelmed. I was expecting more black and less maroon. Trying to decide if I want to toss Baystate or bad blue heron in the plumix. Demon_Corsair fucked around with this message at 17:09 on Sep 26, 2013 |
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Sep 26, 2013 17:03
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So, I'm quite happy with my Lamy CP1, but I want to get another itallic pen; should I go for the Safari, or the Metropolitan and switch nibs with a Plumix? I was thinking the Safari, but I'm open tu suggestions. Thanks.
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Sep 26, 2013 19:39
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Edmond Dantes posted:So, I'm quite happy with my Lamy CP1, but I want to get another itallic pen; should I go for the Safari, or the Metropolitan and switch nibs with a Plumix? I was thinking the Safari, but I'm open tu suggestions. I prefer the Metro personally, but the Lamy will give you more width options for their stub nibs (the Plumix nib is ~1mm).
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Sep 26, 2013 19:59
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SnakesRevenge posted:I prefer the Metro personally, but the Lamy will give you more width options for their stub nibs (the Plumix nib is ~1mm). Ah, ok. I have the 1.1 on the CP1 so it would be about the same, as a few folks in the thread mentioned the 1.5 is a bit wide for everyday writing. But then I saw the new Metropolitan models, and now I kinda want this one:   All models here: http://www.inknouveau.com/2013/09/new-animal-print-pilot-metropolitan.html /edit: They're already listed over at gouletpens, but as "out of stock". Availability: Expected to arrive in October/November 2013. Edmond Dantes fucked around with this message at 20:09 on Sep 26, 2013 |
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Sep 26, 2013 20:03
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How do you get the existing bulb filler off of a metropolitan to get the con-50 on it? Does it just pull out?
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Sep 26, 2013 20:54
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Demon_Corsair posted:How do you get the existing bulb filler off of a metropolitan to get the con-50 on it? Does it just pull out? It should just be a friction fit.
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Sep 26, 2013 21:23
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Speaking of that squeeze bulb filler, is it normal for the filler to leak a little bit into the body of the pen? I've been carrying my Metro around as an everyday pen so it does get knocked around a little bit even though I'm careful (but no leaks on the nib end, so that's good at least!) I did take the bulb out at some point to clean it when I switched inks. Is it possible I just didn't push it back in firmly enough? It didn't leak with the previous ink I had in it and the wear-and-tear was the same as far as me carrying it around. I probably should have spent the extra couple bucks for a con-50 but I'm cheap even when it comes to "luxury" hobbies.
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Sep 26, 2013 22:11
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Edmond Dantes posted:Ah, ok. I have the 1.1 on the CP1 so it would be about the same, as a few folks in the thread mentioned the 1.5 is a bit wide for everyday writing. I really wish that Blue one had the normal zig-zag print on it instead of the animal stuff.
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Sep 26, 2013 22:36
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DurianGray posted:Speaking of that squeeze bulb filler, is it normal for the filler to leak a little bit into the body of the pen? You mean when you unscrew the body from the section, you have ink "free," sloshing in the bottom? Or ink creeping out of the seam between section and body? No, that's not normal.
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Sep 27, 2013 01:14
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Solkanar512 posted:I really wish that Blue one had the normal zig-zag print on it instead of the animal stuff. They're discontinuing the dot and zig-zag patterns. Makes me glad my first fountain pen is the gold zig-zag Metropolitan.I may pick up that python pattern, though. If only it were available in gold like the lizard one.
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Sep 27, 2013 12:19
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Yoshi Jjang posted:They're discontinuing the dot and zig-zag patterns. Same here. I may pick up the Lizard, but cover the animal print section with a very thin strip of real leather.
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Sep 27, 2013 13:40
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This is kind of a stupid question, and I fear I already know the answer, but here goes: I've always been under the impression that one of the cardinal rules of fountain pens is "don't press down hard", as the ink flow is due to capillary action not pressing down, and pressing down could damage the nib. In my line of work, I often have to deal with Bills of Lading, receipts, and other documents where you have kind of like carbon paper (not sure if it is technically "carbon paper", but it's paper where you have multiple copies attached to each other and you have to press down as you are writing so that whatever you write on the top copy gets transferred to all the other copies). I always keep a spare ballpoint or rollerball handy for filling these out, but if there anyway I can use a FP for this without hurting my pens? Or, is there a FP or type of FP for this?
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Sep 27, 2013 14:01
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wodan22 posted:This is kind of a stupid question, and I fear I already know the answer, but here goes: You can indeed use a fountain pen for carbon/whatever paper, in fact a lot of companies made pens with nibs specifically for this! You need an extremely stiff nib, often referred to as a "nail", called a Manifold nib by some companies, and you can press down pretty hard with them without damaging the nib. Sheaffer Triumph nibs are very stiff and are perfect for carbon paper, and I believe Esterbrook made manifold nibs though I can't recall the nib number off the top of my head. To be honest, if you got a really cheap pen that you didn't care about massively then you can get away with pressing down as many modern nibs as they are a lot less flexy than they used to be in the past.
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Sep 27, 2013 14:18
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Vitamins posted:You can indeed use a fountain pen for carbon/whatever paper, in fact a lot of companies made pens with nibs specifically for this! My main work pens are TWSBI 580, TWSBI VAC700, and Pilot Metro, all with the factory nibs. None of them are "flex nibs", but do you think they are stiff enough that it would be ok?
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Sep 27, 2013 14:52
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wodan22 posted:My main work pens are TWSBI 580, TWSBI VAC700, and Pilot Metro, all with the factory nibs. None of them are "flex nibs", but do you think they are stiff enough that it would be ok? I'll be honest, I've not used any of those pens, though I do have a 1.5mm TWSBI 540 and I wouldn't think that's stiff enough to use without damaging the nib. If you don't press down hard enough to splay the tines of the nib out too far then you'll be fine, you just have to be very aware that if you push it too much you'll most likely wreck your nib. It depends entirely on how much force you have to apply to get a copy out. I don't want to say "yes you can definitely use those pens for carbon paper" because I don't want to be wrong and have you hurt your pens, though if you're careful they should be fine. Though I will say I have used fountain pens for carbon paper and had no ill effects to the nib, ymmv.
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Sep 27, 2013 15:07
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Vitamins posted:Though I will say I have used fountain pens for carbon paper and had no ill effects to the nib, ymmv. I have done this as well, although I didn't realize it was carbon paper. My Metro could handle one copy, though in the future I'll use the ballpoint I keep for patients to use, since they keep the original and we need to see the serial number clearly on our copy. If you have some spare, test out writing normally and see if it's enough to transfer. Or get a rollerball fountain pen!
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Sep 27, 2013 15:22
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Vitamins posted:I'll be honest, I've not used any of those pens, though I do have a 1.5mm TWSBI 540 and I wouldn't think that's stiff enough to use without damaging the nib. I totally understand. You make a really good point about not giving the green light to try that with pens that you don't personally use-in retrospect, I should probably not have asked about those specific pens. Mea Culpa. Thanks for the great advise, though! I was unaware that there were extra stiff nibs for which this was ok. In the meantime, I think I will lump it up and just continue to use the ball points for carbon paper (it is mainly just having to sign it) and using FP's for everything else.
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Sep 27, 2013 15:25
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ChickenOfTomorrow posted:You mean when you unscrew the body from the section, you have ink "free," sloshing in the bottom? Or ink creeping out of the seam between section and body? No, that's not normal. Not quite that dramatic, it was mostly just sort of creeping up around the converter and there were some splashes of it on the metal and rubber. Not really any that was sloshing around in the body or actually leaking out of the pen (I only discovered it when I opened the body up). I did push it down harder afterwards and it doesn't seem to have leaked at all since; I keep checking it and it seems fine now.
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Sep 27, 2013 16:04
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wodan22 posted:I totally understand. You make a really good point about not giving the green light to try that with pens that you don't personally use-in retrospect, I should probably not have asked about those specific pens. Mea Culpa. A hero 616 or 329 with a hodded nib should work, it's cheap and very very stiff. My TWSBI 530 (so, same nib as the 540) is a pen I'd consider somewhat too soft for pressing down hard, its nib is relatively soft for a modern steel nib.
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Sep 27, 2013 17:46
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Has anyone had the chance to try out both Diamine Syrah and Noodler's Tiananmen? I was trying to decide between Ancient Copper and Syrah, but after watching a video review for Syrah, it looks like it's quite similar to Tiananmen (which I already have), only a wee bit darker, which would make it a bit silly.
Edmond Dantes fucked around with this message at 18:57 on Sep 27, 2013 |
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Sep 27, 2013 18:55
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blowfish posted:A hero 616 or 329 with a hodded nib should work, it's cheap and very very stiff.
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Sep 27, 2013 19:15
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Edmond Dantes posted:Ah, ok. I have the 1.1 on the CP1 so it would be about the same, as a few folks in the thread mentioned the 1.5 is a bit wide for everyday writing.  I just wish some of these came in different combos. I'd love the python pattern with the body colour of the lizard pen.
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Sep 28, 2013 01:19
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Edmond Dantes posted:Has anyone had the chance to try out both Diamine Syrah and Noodler's Tiananmen? I was trying to decide between Ancient Copper and Syrah, but after watching a video review for Syrah, it looks like it's quite similar to Tiananmen (which I already have), only a wee bit darker, which would make it a bit silly. I'm pretty sure I have samples of both of these. I'll try to get something together tomorrow afternoon if I do.
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Sep 28, 2013 02:57
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