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pens. PENS. I got that Metropolitan on Friday with Iroshizuku Asa-gao and Tsuki-yo bottles, very speedy Amazon delivery. The metro writes great with the Asa-gao, pretty juicy nib with it! I also loaded up my Prera with this Montblanc black that has the West Germany label on it, ink on loan from a local goon who doesn't post that much these days anymore. It writes quite beautifully - odd for the Prera since I always thought the nib was a bit on the scratchy side, being a Japanese fine. Turns out, it can handle this 50+ year old ink like a champ!
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Oct 22, 2013 04:22
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| # ? May 10, 2024 16:11 |
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Can anyone post a picture of the Diamond 530 instruction leaflet, specifically the parts diagram? I need a replacement o-ring but I'm not sure how to describe it precisely. Thanks!
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Oct 22, 2013 13:45
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Hi guys I'm after some advice for a pen I bought recently and I wonder if its user error or the pen is supposed to be like that? It's a Pelikan M200 and in my opinion the nib is scratchy, especially compared to my previous pen, a £5 Parker Vector, and if uncapped for a brief moment it will dry out and be terrible at starting again. I also end up with ink on my fingers from the screw cap thread which is very frustrating when you're trying to convince someone to give fountain pens a go  So is this just how that series Pelikan is or should I be making use of the 3 year warranty? Here are some pictures of the pens and ink.  
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Oct 22, 2013 18:17
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DJT518T posted:Hi guys I'm after some advice for a pen I bought recently and I wonder if its user error or the pen is supposed to be like that? Definitely make use of the warranty. There is no way that pen should be doing stuff like that.
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Oct 22, 2013 18:20
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Vitamins posted:Definitely make use of the warranty. There is no way that pen should be doing stuff like that. Seconded. I got that pen for my mom for her birthday this year and it was smooth as butter and really well behaved.
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Oct 22, 2013 20:14
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Pilot launches its new assault on the low-price market and it's a doozy: http://www.pilot.co.jp/products/pen/fountain/fountain/kakuno/ The new Kakuno (basically "Write?" in Japanese) is a plastic-bodied pen with the same nib/tipping material as the Cocoon/Metropolitan. Its features are a hexagonal shape to prevent rolling, a triangular grip a la the Safari, and its ability to take standard cartridges AND both the CON-20 and the CON-50. Also, it has a cute face on the nib and it's TEN loving DOLLARS. Yes, ten dollars. For a Pilot-quality entry-level nib. Yes, it looks a bit goofy but it comes in grey if you are humorless and grey-hearted, it's aimed at kids and I don't think there's a pen at this price range that even comes close to scratching what Pilot's pulling off here.
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Oct 23, 2013 10:02
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That face on the nib is the best.
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Oct 23, 2013 10:35
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Before I even read the body of your post I got excited about that face!  I wish it came with a clip, but I'll have to get one of these anyway! Now I just gotta decide on a colour (grey can go gently caress itself).
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Oct 23, 2013 13:32
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cobalt impurity posted:Before I even read the body of your post I got excited about that face! It's pretty neat. Only thing I'm not happy about is the triangle grip -- I absolutely hate using those. I have a Plumix and a Lamy ABC and they are both put up because of the horrible grip. Maybe I'd buy that and one of the new Animal metros and switch the nibs out. 
Verdugo fucked around with this message at 16:02 on Oct 23, 2013 |
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Oct 23, 2013 16:00
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I have a Sailor "Clear Candy" which is their entry level pen for kids. It performs really well and Sailor are known for their nice nibs. I got one in Japan for about 9 USD but if you buy an imported one it's closer to $17. I never tried putting a converter in it so I don't know if it's possible.
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Oct 23, 2013 16:08
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RustedChrome posted:I have a Sailor "Clear Candy" which is their entry level pen for kids. It performs really well and Sailor are known for their nice nibs. I got one in Japan for about 9 USD but if you buy an imported one it's closer to $17. I never tried putting a converter in it so I don't know if it's possible. They do take the standard Sailor converter but they don't have a face on the nib edit - for content, both Pilot and Sailor mass production nibs are extremely high in quality. There was an interview a long time back, probably lost to the times, that asked the nibmeisters who finish the nibs at both factories their philosophies on how a nib should feel. The gist of it was that Sailor grinds and finishes its mass nibs to be very smooth, while Pilot's finishers prefer a hint of feedback on the nib. At the high end, Sailor hand makes some ridiculously good nibs in their own special lines, like the Naginatas and the unique double or triple layer nibs like the Cross Concord. Those nibs are, I think, possibly the absolute best modern nibs available on the market, but you will pay the price if you want one. Adding one of their handmade speciality nibs to a pen can easily dump, say, seven hundred dollars extra on the price. Kessel fucked around with this message at 16:28 on Oct 23, 2013 |
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Oct 23, 2013 16:22
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I have the AS Manhantanner cat pen that is a few releases prior to the Sailor Clear Candy and I use their standard converter in it, it's all the same plastic body shape. The release prior to the Clear Candy one was these nice primary colored bodies, with the Sailor symbol on the pen end cap similar to how MB stamps their pens.
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Oct 23, 2013 20:22
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Kessel posted:They do take the standard Sailor converter but they don't have a face on the nib They don't even have the anchor on the nib. It does come in a lot of varieties at least. If you want a pen that looks like a cow, the Clear Candy has you covered!  "milk", "strawberry milk" and "milk coffee" if you're interested.
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Oct 23, 2013 20:44
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Any pen shops in Chicago I need to visit while here on business?
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Oct 24, 2013 03:56
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So I'm considering treating myself to a fountain pen, as I haven't used one in years and kind of miss it. Most of my actual handwriting is in Japanese these days, so I'm looking at a reasonably small point. To that end I'm strongly considering the Pilot Prera Medium, which seems to be roughly similar in tip width to my long-standing pen of choice, the Pentel Energel 0.7. Looking at samples of the Fine and Medium versions, the Fine seems kind of excessive, given that I don't write that tiny. Plus it loses all of its expression. Is the Prera a decent pen to get in with? I like the look of the clear ones quite a bit. Also, as I'm used to the Pentel Energel black ink, which is black as black gets (and acid free/archival), it seems like I should probably get Noodlers Black if I'm looking for something similar in terms of color and durability? Everything looks so fun but I'm already treading dangerously close to my stationary fetish and don't want to get too crazy with the money outlay yet. 
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Oct 24, 2013 05:14
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Preras are great. You'll love it! For real true-black black, try Noodler's Dark Matter or Aurora Black. The Aurora is the "blackest" black FP ink I've seen.
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Oct 24, 2013 06:19
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ChickenOfTomorrow posted:Preras are great. You'll love it! Even darker than Heart of Darkness?
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Oct 24, 2013 14:30
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Solkanar512 posted:Even darker than Heart of Darkness? Darker or not I've got a bottle of Dark Matter to write my physics lecture notes with just because of the backstory. The stuff is Noodlers attempt to replicate a sample of the Government issued ink used by the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos.
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Oct 24, 2013 15:30
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Iron Chef Nex posted:Darker or not I've got a bottle of Dark Matter to write my physics lecture notes with just because of the backstory. The stuff is Noodlers attempt to replicate a sample of the Government issued ink used by the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos. Ok, that's just loving awesome.
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Oct 24, 2013 16:56
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With a backstory like that, it's a little disheartening that it isn't bulletproof. If you're going to go with a Noodler's ink and you want it to be durable, I'd go for Black or Heart of Darkness.
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Oct 24, 2013 17:16
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Solkanar512 posted:Even darker than Heart of Darkness? It's extremely black. I'ts also a completely neutral black too, with no red or green tones like a lot of blacks out there. Aurora only make blue and black inks, preferring to make two very good inks rather than a lot of possible mediocre ones, and it really shows.
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Oct 24, 2013 17:18
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breathstealer posted:Can anyone post a picture of the Diamond 530 instruction leaflet, specifically the parts diagram? I need a replacement o-ring but I'm not sure how to describe it precisely. Thanks! yeah okay one sec 
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Oct 24, 2013 19:53
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I've never been much of a writer, but since I've started school I find myself wanting something decent to write with. I ordered a Pilot Metropolitan and a bottle of Noodler's Polar Blue (I love writing in blue). Any tips or tricks not in the OP I should know about?
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Oct 25, 2013 02:07
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Ah hell now I'm caught debating between the Prera M and the TWSBI 580 M. The 580 M nib seems marginally larger than the Prera M. Mostly I'm just worried about the Prera being too short and the modularity of the 580 is kind of attractive. The cap insert on the 580 is a bit more attractive, too, but the color accents of the clear Preras are nice. Looking at the writing samples from Goulet the Prera is a bit 'flatter' (is that the right word?), seems more even. The 580 has a bit more expression to it just due to ink flow I suppose. Don't suppose anybody who has written with either (or ideally, both) can comment on the smoothness? Scratchy pens of any variety drive me up the wall. Aaaa. Why did I ever open this thread? Edit: angerbeet you are a bad person. Thanks for the info about the nibs! twinight fucked around with this message at 04:26 on Oct 25, 2013 |
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Oct 25, 2013 03:22
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twinight posted:Ah hell now I'm caught debating between the Prera M and the TWSBI 580 M. The 580 M nib seems marginally larger than the Prera M. Mostly I'm just worried about the Prera being too short and the modularity of the 580 is kind of attractive. The cap insert on the 580 is a bit more attractive, too, but the color accents of the clear Preras are nice. If you're spending that much, get the 580. The nib on the Prera can be had via Pilot Metropolitan, which is 1/3 the price. The 580 also gives you the option of swapping out the nib unit easily if you feel like using a bold/fine/italic later.
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Oct 25, 2013 03:30
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I have a 540 B and it's plenty smooth for me. It's one of my favorite pens. The only nib I have that's smoother is a goulet B that I put on an ahab. My other nibs are mostly esterbrooks, preppies and an Ahab flex
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Oct 25, 2013 03:32
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Buy them both. Buy them all.
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Oct 25, 2013 03:42
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I had the original Prera and TWSBI. The Prera will have more nib feedback so if you want smooth writing the TWSBI is the better option. The Prera is pretty short even when posted, it's should be about the same length as the posted TWSBI mini, I believe. Prera is a converter/cartridge pen. And although the friction-fit cap is handy or quick writing, I find I would get ink inside the cap sometimes. I think Prera is a great and nice looking little pen but TWSBI is a better value being a piston filler. The weight of the TWSBI is also heavier and it's a bit fatter as well. I would take your current pens onto consideration to figure out what will work better in your hand. For example, I am thinking about selling my Lamy 2000 because it's too short and light unposted, but way too long and heavy at the back if posted. It's just not a comfortable writer for how I use it, so although it's a great pen that I got special ground into a nice thin cursive italic, I rarely reach for it.
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Oct 25, 2013 07:27
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I'm gonna be that guy and say I'm really not a fan of my TWSBI 540 at all. I personally find it a bit too big and heavy for any writing longer than a couple of lines at a time, even unposted, and while having a large ink capacity is good for some people, I like to change inks often so it really doesn't matter to me. I got the 1.1mm stock italic nib and it's horrible. I wouldn't describe it as smooth at all, it's got way too much feedback that just makes writing with it a chore after a while. Maybe it's an issue with the nib itself but I'm not that interested in trying to fix it, and it'll probably be the only pen so far I'll actually get rid of.
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Oct 25, 2013 09:21
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So, I found myself in The Hague this week, on business. And somehow (I can't even remember how I found it) I found out about a pen shop called P W Akkerman - click. So I had to pop in. It's over 100 years old, and it's just a lovely shop. I had a great time talking to the sale assistant, and he talked me through some of the pens that they had. I was tempted by some of the Pelikan models, and the Akkerman LE Parker Duofold in orange (lovely, lovely). In he end I wandered out with just a couple of bottles of ink! The smaller bottle is 60ml of Platinum Pigment Ink, and drat it's blue. (16 Euros, something like that.) I've no idea how it'll look after running through a pen onto the page, but... drat.  The bigger bottle is Akkerman's own ink - there's some good information in the link I posted. It's a big bottle, at 150ml, but the reseviour and marble in the neck means that you can hold some of the ink in the neck to fill your pens, without having to lower the pen 6" into the bottle! I ended up with "Shocking Blue" - will report back in a week or so when I'm back with my pens! Again, about 16 Euros.  Oh, I also bought a couple of pads of Rhodia paper, as I'm sick of bleeding on cheap paper. And I've only used a little so far, but it's lovely!
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Oct 25, 2013 15:01
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twinight posted:Ah hell now I'm caught debating between the Prera M and the TWSBI 580 M. The 580 M nib seems marginally larger than the Prera M. Mostly I'm just worried about the Prera being too short and the modularity of the 580 is kind of attractive. The cap insert on the 580 is a bit more attractive, too, but the color accents of the clear Preras are nice. hella  cominThe TWSBI 540 and 700 are definitely on the larger range of modern pens that aren't special edition Montblancs, etc (I've seen a few where the pen bodies are twice as thick) - however, it's meant for larger hands and totally not meant to be posted. The metal band with the TWSBI engraving on it adds a ton of weight, so when posted it becomes extremely back heavy. Works fine for the Mini, but not the bigger pens. I have a TWSBI 530/mini with an M nib and the 700 with an M nib (both of them are the old style ones, I think). They both seem to write just fine for me, but I did have a bit of a time fiddling with the 700 before it got really decent ink flow. The 540 has a F nib, which has the same type of characteristics as the above. I can't say whether or not that impacts the newer nibs! The Prera posts fine but does get a bit of ink in the cap. Since I've used both the 540 (which is the predecessor to the 580) and a Prera with an F nib, I would recommend the TWSBI (if you want a more comparable size, try the Prera vs. the TWSBI mini, which has threads so you can screw the cap on the back to post). It's probably been covered already but TWSBI is all about self-serviceability, so you have more leeway to do goofy stuff with it like switch out the nib (someone in the local Pen Posse appears to have switched out a TWSBI nib for a Wahl Eversharp flex nib - going to have to ask him about that tomorrow). Threaded caps mean that the thing won't suddenly fly off if agitated, a problem I have had with the Prera (dropped mine a couple of times as a result, but still writes fine). The older TWSBI nibs (bock?) can feel a bit on the drier side, so if you write with a light hand then you may find that they do not put out as much ink, or any at all! Someone mentioned the Prera M nib is the exact same as the Metropolitan nib (which only comes in M), and that puts out a very solid line without any shading (tried with Pilot Iroshizuku Asa-Gao ink in the Metropolitan, Fuyu-Syogun ink in the Prera F). I can post some writing samples when I get back. Also - time to go pick up this Eversharp Symphony! 
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Oct 25, 2013 16:56
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The Akkerman ink bottles are amazing and I hear their ink is good - there was a group buy I followed but it fell through because of the cost of shipping. Which i a pity because I really wanted one.
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Oct 25, 2013 19:01
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I'm debating on picking up a Goulet 1.1 Stub for my Konrad, after using the stub nib on my wife's Pilot Metro [that we stole from an old plumix]. Do their stubs write big and wet like their other nibs?
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Oct 25, 2013 19:29
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Teach posted:The bigger bottle is Akkerman's own ink - there's some good information in the link I posted. It's a big bottle, at 150ml, but the reseviour and marble in the neck means that you can hold some of the ink in the neck to fill your pens, without having to lower the pen 6" into the bottle! I ended up with "Shocking Blue" - will report back in a week or so when I'm back with my pens! Again, about 16 Euros. God drat, it's a Ramune ink bottle 
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Oct 25, 2013 19:31
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404notfound posted:God drat, it's a Ramune ink bottle You tip it upside down and it fills the little chamber in the top, then you turn it right-side up and the marble blocks the ink from leaving, so you have a little inkwell to fill your pen from! V ingenious. If you're looking for an ink bottle or well that has a similar idea you can get old Skrip ink bottles from the '50s with a well, or an ink well like the TWSBI that has a plastic insert to perform the same thing.
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Oct 25, 2013 21:55
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I'm having some smudging issues with my noodlers bulletbroof black. I searched for a fast drying Noodlers ink and letmetellyou https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YF7AZRcOAk&t=757s The fountain pen crowd is very special.
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Oct 26, 2013 11:09
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It's mostly just him. Rational self-interest says I should take advantage of his autismally crafted inks. Welsper fucked around with this message at 11:44 on Oct 26, 2013 |
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Oct 26, 2013 11:42
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Nathan Tardif is a treasure to this world and I hope he doesn't die, but instead ascends to Objectivist Heaven where he'll rain his inks down on us forever. 
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Oct 26, 2013 12:35
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Nathan's political views are well-known in the FP community. He's pretty hardcore about them, but he does make some superb inks. That having been said, he's also extremely hard-headed and often not open to criticism at all - he maintains to this day that his Baystate Blue ink doesn't damage pens, even though many experienced pen owners and experts (including Richard Binder, one of the two best nibmeisters and pen repairers in the United States) have confirmed that BSB does eat through some feeds and pens.
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Oct 26, 2013 12:36
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| # ? May 10, 2024 16:11 |
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I think I need to gush over TWSBI a little. My new Diamond 580 came with a misaligned feed so I contacted their US support about it. After a few emails and sending them a picture of the problem they sent me a brand new nib, without even receiving the original one. The individual I dealt actually inspected and tested the new unit before sending it to me. I don't think I've ever had a customer service interaction where they just sent me a new thing for free without any run-around. I'm also going pen-hunting next weekend at a massive regional flea market, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a Parker 75 that's not utterly destroyed. I suspect that most of the pens that make it to these things are the left overs that didn't get picked up at estate sales, as almost every one I inspected were beyond repair. I mean like, nib bent at a 70° angle kind of damage.  Fountain Pens.
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Oct 26, 2013 23:54
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