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Verdugo posted:Anyone else feel [outside of this thread] if you're not spending $300 on a pen, any questions / concerns you have about stuff is just flat out ignored? Whether it be from pen manufacturers, other fountain pen communities, etc. Examples: I've had some staining issues with my Ahab and my Konrad. Asked Noodler's about it directly, completely ignored. Brought it up with some fountain pen people, "lol, the pens are essentially disposable, so buy new ones. Or ask this ancient samurai pen master if he can help, but it'll cost you 3x more than the pen to even have him look at it." Maybe the reason I bought these in the first place was because I'm a poor and can't afford a $300 pen right now, but I can afford a $10 replacement part. That's really unfortunate that you've been ignored like that. In my experience problems like that are the exception and not the norm. It's people like that that put people off buying fountain pens due to seeming elitist and snobby, when really everyone who buys a fountain pen all shares the same thing: a love for writing. What you spend on a pen should be completely irrelevant but there are always the morons that have to treat how much they spent as some kind of badge of honour. I'm glad you got your pens sorted, please don't be discouraged from asking for advice in the future thanks to the actions of a vast minority. I can also confirm what asylum years said, Pelikan are very good at dealing with problems. The cap on my M400 White Tortoise started cracking and they paid for postage to send the pen back to them so they could make a new cap specifically for that pen for free. Great service. Clamps McGraw posted:Thanks to this thread I'm now £100 poorer due to various Moleskine notebooks, 3 Lamy pens, and about 5 different bottles of Aurora and Waterman inks. Thanks a lot you jerks. One of us. 
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Nov 13, 2013 23:01
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Verdugo posted:Anyone else feel [outside of this thread] if you're not spending $300 on a pen, any questions / concerns you have about stuff is just flat out ignored? Yes, absolutely (and even though I happen to own a few fairly pricey Montblancs this still happens in their boutiques). The answer you're seeking is TWSBI. Absolute best customer service I've experience from any company. EVER. Even when I explained that I ran one of their 540s through the wash they still insisted on sending me a complete set of replacement parts. Fantastic company and one that I love to recommend, they deserve the dedicated customers they have.
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Nov 13, 2013 23:32
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Goulet is also great with customer service. Brian always answers my emails (or maybe now his staff, it's been awhile) and genuinely tries to help people.
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Nov 14, 2013 01:00
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Wondering if someone can answer a curiosity question for me. As I learn more about fountain pens I keep coming upon the term "frosted" in reference to nibs (example - the second sentence of this blog post.) From other pages and forums I gather that this means blasting the nib with some substance (soda powder/sand/whatever) to get a matte finish on the nib. Is there some practical reason for this? Is my assumption on what a frosted nib is wrong? FuzzyBuddha fucked around with this message at 21:15 on Nov 14, 2013 |
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Nov 14, 2013 02:38
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100% looks, no practical use.
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Nov 14, 2013 03:37
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Hi there, I was thinking about buying one of my first fountain pens since not only am I interested in trying to be a little more ecofriendly, I'm also interested in having a tool that's long-lasting. The only thing that's holding me back from completing my order online when I already have a whole shopping cart's worth of stuff is that it's the holiday season and I'm afraid that good discounts are going to be available right after I purchased something. I was wondering do any online suppliers have a history of special prices during the holiday seasons? Also, here's a list of things that I plan to purchase: o) Pilot Penmanship (Extrafine nib) o) Pilot Metropolitan (Medium nib) o) Pilot Petit1 (Fine nib) o) J. Herbin ink cartridges (yeah I read that Pilot pens doesn't really take international cartridges but, I'm hoping that I can take the ink from the J. Herbin and refill any spent Pilots) Have I taken the lover's leap too much?
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Nov 14, 2013 06:01
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EagerSleeper posted:Hi there, I was thinking about buying one of my first fountain pens since not only am I interested in trying to be a little more ecofriendly, I'm also interested in having a tool that's long-lasting. The only thing that's holding me back from completing my order online when I already have a whole shopping cart's worth of stuff is that it's the holiday season and I'm afraid that good discounts are going to be available right after I purchased something. I was wondering do any online suppliers have a history of special prices during the holiday seasons? I don't know about any specials during the holidays, but if you use the FPN code during checkout with the Goulet folks, you get a nice discount. I wouldn't wait for the holidays however, go ahead!
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Nov 14, 2013 06:39
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If you haven't really used a fountain pen — and it seems you haven't — I'd probably not buy three different ones. Unless the new Metropolitans don't ship with a cartridge, that'll be a $20 avenue into seeing if you actually like using one or not. If you have a syringe or something similar, you can probably take ink from the Herbin cartridges and put them in an empty pilot one, yes. But if you're just trying them out, that seems a bit extreme. I had an office supply place nearby that sold Pilot Varsity/Vpens — you can find them at Staples or OfficeMax or something similar usually — they're cheap, disposable fountain pens. I'd probably consider trying one out for a bit before buying three pens. As for the ink, I'd tell you to find a color you like and just grab a bottle, but those things can last for a very long time, and if you don't like the whole experience, a bottle would be pointless. I can't really speak to discounts, because I haven't been tracking them, but I'd expect that if you wait a bit (possibly after Thanksgiving), you might find a nice package deal or something. All that being said, if you have a syringe of some sort and want to play with different inks, a few pen retailers have ink samples. For example (and this is the only one I've used), Goulet Pens will give you ~1.5mL of ink for ~$2.50US, which is more than enough to try out various inks. But honestly, if you haven't used fountain pens, I'd probably start with a Varsity and see if the writing style suits you. For what it's worth, I started out with one pen and a bottle of ink, and I'm only halfway through it roughly five years later. Verdugo posted:Anyone else feel [outside of this thread] if you're not spending $300 on a pen, any questions / concerns you have about stuff is just flat out ignored? Whether it be from pen manufacturers, other fountain pen communities, etc. Examples: I've had some staining issues with my Ahab and my Konrad. Asked Noodler's about it directly, completely ignored. Brought it up with some fountain pen people, "lol, the pens are essentially disposable, so buy new ones. Or ask this ancient samurai pen master if he can help, but it'll cost you 3x more than the pen to even have him look at it." Maybe the reason I bought these in the first place was because I'm a poor and can't afford a $300 pen right now, but I can afford a $10 replacement part. I feel like if anyone has a Noodler's-related issue, they're going to be ignored, to a point. I mean, FPN had to modify their rules to stop people from white-knighting inks (or whatever the negative equivalent is) for Noodler's stuff. Now that Ahabs and the like have been out for a while, I guess people will tend to dismiss them as cheap fiddler's pens; for example, I imagine I'd get more feedback asking for help on a Safari than an Ahab or a Konrad. Part of it is definitely how you phrase the question, but no matter where you go, people will be more inclined (and have a better answer) if you want help with a more expensive pen than something that costs $20 — especially an Ahab. But I think if you act a bit like you don't really understand all the terms, you might get better help, at least on FPN. Even with their ban on disparaging Noodler's inks, a fiddly pen like that will get a bit of flack. I would use this space to promote Art Brown's store in NYC, but it shut down in August (RIP), so if you're in the NYC area, I guess you're stuck with Fountain Pen Hospital. Which is a shame: Art Browns ran my pain-in-the-rear end pen through their ultrasonic for no charge (not that it really helped, but still). I've never really cashed in on a pen's warrantee, going back to an earlier chat. My Pelikan works pretty well except at a single angle, and a little chrome-plastic ring off the end-knob is nothing worth calling home for. However (and this is a bit of a long shot), back in 2010 or so, Diplomat's customer service was excellent. I needed a converter for a pen marked "Diplomat" and "West Germany." Now, I know it was actually a Platinum with some clever rebranding (Platinum->Diplomat->Tiffanys), but they still let me buy some old-style converters for the list price of new (int'l std.) ones. They worked sorta-well: not bad for a pen the company didn't have any data on — I only "found out" nearly five years later that they were actually Platinums (does explain how fine the line from a "Medium" nib was, though). Out of curiosity, Verdugo, did you contact Noodler's directly, or their distributor? e. Assuming the Metropolitan, at the least, has a converter, yes, a bottle of ink will do you better. Don't buy one of Noodler's huge bottles if you're not sure. I love and use these pens more or less daily. I have a small collection of bottles, and I think I finished maybe one ink bottle (it was a 60mL J. Herbin), since 2008. I guess if you write a ton, that's different. Zenostein fucked around with this message at 06:44 on Nov 14, 2013 |
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Nov 14, 2013 06:41
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For the J Herbin ink, it would be easier to buy a bottle or sample than cartridges. You end up paying much less per ml, and there's less waste (the last few bits of ink you can't get out of cartridge/empty cartridges). You can refill empty cartridges using a blunt-tip syringe or a pipette, but you might prefer to buy a converter. You can probably buy one Pilot converter that will fit all 3 pens; I can't recommend one because I don't own many modern pens.
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Nov 14, 2013 06:43
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Sorry if this has been mentioned, but why is anyone disparaging Noodler's inks? Just because they don't like the company in general, or because there's an issue with the inks themselves? (I was about to order a bottle.)
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Nov 14, 2013 07:04
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Any hints on good pen stores in and around Boston and Metro West? I've got a car, a pen case with a few empty slots and picked up some new straight razors yesterday so it's time to shift the shopping target. Stores in and around cool areas to wander around in move to the top of the list. I already know about the Montblanc boutique in Copley. Also, if anyone wants to snag a lunch or something at some point and nerd out about pens or whatever, let me know. I'm just up here hanging out meeting folks and walking around with a guitar, it's awesome.
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Nov 14, 2013 07:43
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asylum years posted:Sorry if this has been mentioned, but why is anyone disparaging Noodler's inks? Just because they don't like the company in general, or because there's an issue with the inks themselves? (I was about to order a bottle.) Of course I can't speak to the specific reasons but it boils down to two things: 1) Noodler's inks are crafted for particular properties (bulletproof, exact color match to an old ink, etc.) and little to no thought is put into how they behave aside from the qualities that they were specifically designed to achieve. Many of the best looking have some quirks (54th Mass. tends to creep all over a nib, many do not flow well and skip and stutter or they can be super wet, etc.) 2) The dude behind Noodler's is, as far as anyone can tell, insane. This shows in some of the names (Bernanke inks are a great example) and he's pretty abrasive and absolutely refuses to acknowledge, let alone respond to criticism. As has been mentioned earlier in the thread, Baystate Blue will quite literally eat the feeds of some pens and some of the biggest names in the community have confirmed this but his standpoint is that it's never harmed a pen ever. So it boils down to: do your research, decide if you want to support an insane libertarian with a reality disconnect, pick up a bottle of ink. I have bottles of Nikita, 54th Mass, and Black Swan in English Roses and I absolutely love each of them despite any issues. None behave as well as my bottle of Pelikan Brilliant Black (for documents that must be signed in black and only black) but they're all way more interesting and I keep a Metropolitan inked in 54th Mass and another in BSER on me at all times.
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Nov 14, 2013 07:52
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The 54 Mass was the one that looked exactly like what I wanted: got some tint to it, but subtle enough to still use for professional purposes. I love the shade. Might get a bottle and just never load it into a more expensive pen, or find a suitable alternative. The libertarian part is tough to swallow.
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Nov 14, 2013 08:37
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I've had 54th, Purple Heart, and Heart of Darkness in Pilot, Noodler's, Hero, and TWSBI pens and none of them have been bad, though they are all really creepy and hard starters. As for Nathan Tardiff himself, I don't agree with his politics but I do think it's hilarious to see someone get so completely riled up about ink and rant on youtube about how you can't buy a 15 nib set for a dollar anymore. His inability to take criticism is incredibly off-putting, and I know if I had a genuine complaint about one of his products it would either fall on deaf ears or become my fault somehow. Still, HoD is a very, very black ink  EagerSleeper posted:Hi there, I was thinking about buying one of my first fountain pens since not only am I interested in trying to be a little more ecofriendly, I'm also interested in having a tool that's long-lasting. The only thing that's holding me back from completing my order online when I already have a whole shopping cart's worth of stuff is that it's the holiday season and I'm afraid that good discounts are going to be available right after I purchased something. I was wondering do any online suppliers have a history of special prices during the holiday seasons? Everyone's said some good stuff, but yeah, just buy the Metro. It's $15, comes with both a converter and a cartridge, and gives you a good starting point. If you don't like something about the nib or the way it writes or the size of the pen, you now know where to go when you buy your next one. It's exciting to dive right in, I know, but let's be sensible here! As for the ink, get a bottle and some samples. Find a colour you love and get it, then get some samples of others. Goulet and I Sell Pens both offer pretty hearty sample vials for very cheap. Samples will give you the ability to test out the individual inks, see what properties or colours or brands you like and dislike, and again give you a place to go when you place your second order. The bottle is for something you know you're going to want, or know you're going to need. I imagine a lot of us bought black or blue as our first ink, simply for the utility of it, but there are definitely people who pored over swatch pages and picked their favourite colour based on nothing else. You just want to get something that you'll want to keep writing with even when all your samples have run dry and you're waiting for more ink to come in! Whatever you do, keep us updated! 
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Nov 14, 2013 13:39
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EagerSleeper, I started not long ago at all with a Preppy and a Metro. I now have 4 Preppies because colored nibs, my Metro, a Pilot Plumix, and a tiny vintage pen that I'm attempting to fix. One day, I want a Pelikan and a custom nib from Tim Girdler, because he was really nice and totally un-pretentious when he fixed my Metro at the pen show. I have ~14 ink samples that I use until the last drop, and I now have 3 bottles of FP ink. I rarely put my "boring" colors in my Metro and Plumix now that I have ink that looks like sunset, and I keep some Preppies with HoD and 54th inked all the time. It's an addiction.
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Nov 14, 2013 14:25
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Zenostein, I inquired through Noodlersink.com -- I figured if they didn't have the answer they could at least direct me towards one.cobalt impurity posted:I've had 54th, Purple Heart, and Heart of Darkness in Pilot, Noodler's, Hero, and TWSBI pens and none of them have been bad, though they are all really creepy and hard starters. As for Nathan Tardiff himself, I don't agree with his politics but I do think it's hilarious to see someone get so completely riled up about ink and rant on youtube about how you can't buy a 15 nib set for a dollar anymore. His inability to take criticism is incredibly off-putting, and I know if I had a genuine complaint about one of his products it would either fall on deaf ears or become my fault somehow. Still, HoD is a very, very black ink Only Noodler's ink I dislike is Baystate Blue. It stains everything it touches with its evil blueness. Ceramic, skin, walls, small children, tile, etc. I had an incident with Baystate Blue and it took forever to get out of a ceramic tile floor. I absolutely love their Polar Blue though, it's my go to document ink. If you buy from Goulet, you can pick up some of their past Ink Drop sample packs on the cheap. A full bottle of ink lasts a deceptively long time, and inks even in the same line are different. Some Diamine inks work great in my pen, others are too dry and immediately cause skipping. Another bonus with the Metro is, if you have a Pluminix, or a Kakuno, or other similar size pilot pen the nibs are interchangeable. I have the stub nib from a Pluminix and a smiley face nib from the Kakuno in my Pilot Metro box. It really is an amazing value for $15 or so. The TWSBI in Rose Gold Goulet has is a really nice pen. I think that's the next purchase once it comes back in stock.
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Nov 14, 2013 16:25
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Alright, in the interest of not supporting a Libertarian quack, I'm adjusting my ink purchases (snagging new pens in December and it's time to expand from just the Pelikan Brilliant Black.) I'm definitely getting the Iroshizuku Moonlight, then I'm thinking De Atramentis (Midnight Blue and Fog Grey) and Diamine (Matador.) I didn't even realize you could have problems with ink itself, since what I've got now dries quickly, makes no mess, doesn't damage or gunk up the pen, etc.
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Nov 14, 2013 19:50
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Wait, Baystate Blue destroys nibs? gently caress, that is my current favorite. Also, I'm not down for supporting a crazy libertarian. Guess I will have to start looking to Diamine and Iroshizuku. Are there any other super vibrant blues like BSB that are less destructive?
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Nov 14, 2013 20:11
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asylum years posted:Alright, in the interest of not supporting a Libertarian quack, I'm adjusting my ink purchases BSB IS a definite stainer however, I only use it in my TWSBI ROC540 and the inside of the barrel will forever be, I'm sure, a tinge blue. It compliments the pen nicely and I doubt I'll ever ink it with anything else (the two just go together so well, the ink really compliments the F nib on that one) so I'm not horribly concerned.
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Nov 14, 2013 20:14
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Yeah, I was honestly exaggerating about caring about the politics much — I don't want inks that stain or potentially eat away at my pen, though, if I can find a similar shade from a different manufacturer.
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Nov 14, 2013 20:24
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iostream.h posted:I don't think I'd necessarily go that far, Nathan's a nutjob but he makes wonderful inks, even Baystate Blue (my absolute favorite blue) hasn't been as ill behaved in my experience as others might say. Enjoy his inks, ignore his politics and I'd just let it go at that (and I do, I've got a fairly large collection of Noodler's inks). Yeah, BSB is a great ink, and I used to have that tinging issue until I used some rubbing alcohol on it. Bleach spray also works on tile. As far as the politics are concerned, I'd rather he be busy making inks than making crazy calls to C-SPAN and rolling around in a rascal wearing period costumes.
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Nov 14, 2013 20:28
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I ended up with a bottle of BSB accidentally (it was supposed to be Black) and I just keep it in an eyedropper Preppy. If it stains or otherwise ruins it, whatever I'll replace it with another Preppy. I didn't plan on buying it but it's a great blue and I liked it well enough that I didn't care about the mistake. As long as I can keep buying sub-$20 pens that write perfectly well I will spend all my penbux on inks instead.
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Nov 14, 2013 20:52
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Demon_Corsair posted:Wait, Baystate Blue destroys nibs? gently caress, that is my current favorite. I'd love to know if there's anything as bold as BSB — the impression I've gotten is that it's more or less one-of-a-kind (like the rest of the Baystates). Then again, I've never used it myself, I just recall that it ate through the feeds of some Safaris a few years back, and that it's a monster to get off of anything if you accidentally spill some or splash it or whatever. And while he's crazy, you'd never know it if he didn't let that bit of himself leak through in his introductory videos for new colors/pens/&c. Doesn't really bother me any, dude's free to have an opinion. Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about Noodler's anything eating through a pen. The worst they'll do is introduce a ton of nib creep and if you use a bulletproof one, you'll have some extra cleaning to do if you want to swap inks or whatever. Incidentally, in terms of having ink issues, most of the time the worst you'll get is something like the ink separating if you've let it sit for a long while, or possibly mold growing in it. And if you mix inks, they might react oddly and clog up a pen. But just straight out of the bottle (maybe shake it a bit first), pretty much anything fountain-pen safe should behave nicely enough. And Verdugo, I think I recall someone having some luck (or at least getting a response) from Noodler's distributor Luxury Brands, but since that's who you're writing to from their Contact page now, I guess that may've been who you talked to.
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Nov 14, 2013 21:25
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Verdugo posted:Another bonus with the Metro is, if you have a Pluminix, or a Kakuno, or other similar size pilot pen the nibs are interchangeable. I have the stub nib from a Pluminix and a smiley face nib from the Kakuno in my Pilot Metro box. It really is an amazing value for $15 or so. Can I get a confirmation that the feed and nib of the Metro are actually supposed to come out? Mine has never budged, and neither the Binders or Tim Girdler could get it out. In other news, I fixed my vintage green mini pen! It was destroying paper, and now it's smooth as can be. Yay for YouTube, Micro-Mesh, and Mylar paper!
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Nov 14, 2013 21:28
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Private Reserves DC Supershow Blue is a very vibrant blue similar to BSB. I don't think anything will ever match BSB exactly though, that ink is something special.
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Nov 14, 2013 23:33
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milpreve posted:Can I get a confirmation that the feed and nib of the Metro are actually supposed to come out? Mine has never budged, and neither the Binders or Tim Girdler could get it out. I always take the nib/feed out of my Metro when I clean it. The way that works for me (please let me know if I'm doing something horrible accidently) is to wrap it in a paper towel for grip, put my thumb flat on the feed and index finger flat on top of the nib as far away from the nib tip as possible, and then just sort of pull and wiggle very gently until it starts to come out. It's really easy to put back in the same way--there are these sort of notches on the nib that fit it on the feed so you can't really mess it up.
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Nov 15, 2013 00:21
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milpreve posted:Can I get a confirmation that the feed and nib of the Metro are actually supposed to come out? Mine has never budged, and neither the Binders or Tim Girdler could get it out. I can confirm, I swap nibs all the time in my Metro. Feed and nib are friction fit, they pull right out, just like the Plumix/Pluminix. I clean mine religiously between refills. With that being said, I received a package in the mail today from Japan.... Ordered it from Rakuten Shop USA on 5 November, they shipped it 7 November, cost me $12 USD including shipping, received it today. The nib is really nice. Same as the Metro nib but finer, and with a .I opened it, tossed the box, then remembered I was going to take pictures. It also comes with a instruction sheet that I also didn't take pictures of. It doesn't come with a converter but the squeeze one from the Metro works fine. The instruction sheet says the Piston one works fine as well. Verdugo fucked around with this message at 01:16 on Nov 15, 2013 |
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Nov 15, 2013 01:13
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Verdugo posted:Ordered it from Rakuten Shop USA on 5 November, they shipped it 7 November, cost me $12 USD including shipping, received it today. The nib is really nice. Same as the Metro nib but finer, and with a So I was looking around Rakuten and I'm finding Pelikan Souveran M600s for $220 and Iroshizuku inks for $15 and both for free shipping. Is this site totally legit or are there costs that I'm not taking into account? That's around $100 off of the Amazon price of that pen!
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Nov 15, 2013 02:48
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I've been using the same Lamy Safari for almost two years now and I'm thinking about getting something new. The idea behind the safari was if I lost it I wouldn't care so much, since I go through ball points and mechanical pencils like candy, but apparently I can hold onto a $25 pen that I buy solely because I may lose it for ever and ever. Still, I don't trust myself with a $200 dollar pen, because it goes everywhere with me. I don't write at home, so it's a moot point to have a shiny desk-only pen. Any suggestions in the (equal to or less than) $50-75 dollar range? I don't really like the look of the TWSBIs. I did get my dad a Lamy CP-1 for his birthday and it seems pretty nice, but I don't know if I want to get the same one. It feels so tiny after my Safari. Edit: Extra fine (preferably)/fine nib is pretty much a must for me, too, because I have terrible chunky handwriting otherwise  (or maybe I'm just weirdly pen OCD)
triskadekaphilia fucked around with this message at 03:25 on Nov 15, 2013 |
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Nov 15, 2013 03:19
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Solkanar512 posted:So I was looking around Rakuten and I'm finding Pelikan Souveran M600s for $220 and Iroshizuku inks for $15 and both for free shipping. Is this site totally legit or are there costs that I'm not taking into account? That's around $100 off of the Amazon price of that pen! Heads up: foreign language ahoy. It came recommended from FPN because god drat I wanted one of those smiley face nibs. Rakuten apparently used to be Buy.Com The website I used was http://global.rakuten.com/en/ -- site is in passable english. The shop I ordered from was あっとエヌ（＠Ｎ） The english email I received said: quote:This e-mail is automatically sent when order information reaches The quote they emailed me was: quote:[商品] After they shipped they hit me with quote:
A pretty enjoyable experience but this is my first time using the service. Edit. Looks like they have them inks. http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/atn/item/ink-50new4c/ ...and yes, I know, I complained about buying a new Ahab and wound up buying the Kakuno. Hooray for impulse buys. Also holy crap, looking a bit more in depth Jet Pens has an insane markup. Verdugo fucked around with this message at 03:57 on Nov 15, 2013 |
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Nov 15, 2013 03:43
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Rakuten is totally legit. Like a Japanese Amazon, sort of; I used it often when I lived in Japan. The English site has enough English to be usable, but if anything ever gets confusing for anyone, PM me and I'll translate for you.
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Nov 15, 2013 04:05
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Help me out fountain pen thread. I have a minor interest in fountain pens but haven't bought any yet. A few weeks ago I found this pen and am trying to learn more about it. I can tell it's a Parker but beyond that I couldn't find any information. There's this X marking on the nib but I'm not sure if it means anything.   The ring below the cap says Parker and Made in UK.   Here's the filling mechanism.  I ran water through the pen until it was pretty much clear but it's been unused for weeks now. How does the nib look? I couldn't find anything online to identify it. I tried to find markings but didn't see anything significant. VisualIntercourse fucked around with this message at 09:44 on Nov 15, 2013 |
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Nov 15, 2013 09:40
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That is a Parker Vector with a cartridge converter. I've not seen one in matte black with gold highlights before. Where yours says 'X' on the nib mine says 'M' which is the thickness. Hope this helps.
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Nov 15, 2013 12:03
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Zenostein posted:Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about Noodler's anything eating through a pen. The worst they'll do is introduce a ton of nib creep and if you use a bulletproof one, you'll have some extra cleaning to do if you want to swap inks or whatever. This straight from Richard Binder's site: http://www.richardspens.com/pens/nam.htm quote:CAUTION As long as you do your homework it's fine, but BSB definitely eats through some poo poo. There have been confirmed reports of it chewing through older pens made out of cellulose. In the same vein, Zenostein posted:But just straight out of the bottle (maybe shake it a bit first), pretty much anything fountain-pen safe should behave nicely enough. unfortunately this isn't always true either. There are inks which you can get from any art supply shop that are labeled safe for fountain pen use on the box, but which will clog your pens something furious. We've had goons in the previous FP thread, many of them new to fountain pens, bitten in the rear end by this problem exactly because "the box says specifically fountain-pen-safe, I should be fine!" It's down to some ink manufacturers not labelling their poo poo appropriately, yes, but always check if unsure. Something labelled fountain-pen-safe isn't always. Kessel fucked around with this message at 12:26 on Nov 15, 2013 |
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Nov 15, 2013 12:21
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DJT518T posted:That is a Parker Vector with a cartridge converter. I've not seen one in matte black with gold highlights before. Where yours says 'X' on the nib mine says 'M' which is the thickness. Yup, the X just stands for Extra Fine. Kessel posted:
I believe this is down to some ink manufacturers not making the distinction between fountain pens and dip pens. A lot of these inks contain pigments rather than dyes and some contain shellac and other nasties that will clog the delicate internal feed of a fountain pen. A dip pen won't have these problems as the ink source is external and the nib can be cleaned more aggressively without doing any damage. If in doubt about an ink always ask first. It's better than risking a pen!
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Nov 15, 2013 12:58
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Vitamins posted:I believe this is down to some ink manufacturers not making the distinction between fountain pens and dip pens. A lot of these inks contain pigments rather than dyes and some contain shellac and other nasties that will clog the delicate internal feed of a fountain pen. A dip pen won't have these problems as the ink source is external and the nib can be cleaned more aggressively without doing any damage. That's correct. Mostly this happens with stuff from art supply stores where the actual pigments floating about in the ink are too large and clog fountain pen feeds. I only wanted to bring it up because we've had new goons get bitten by it before - and who can blame them? The box says fountain pen use is okay, so you'd be perfectly within your rights to assume that, yes, it does work safely in fountain pens. So to be clear to new goons - you will almost certainly be safe with ink from fountain pen manufacturers. That means Pelikan, Pilot, Sailor, Parker and so on. If in any doubt, ask!
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Nov 15, 2013 13:00
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Christ, the TWSBI facebook page is the biggest cock tease. More pics of the Vac Mini, Classic, IROC 850 (!!), Eco and yet another pen as of yet to be named. Classic is coming in December apparently. ETA: I've been reading about people diluting inks and adding crazy stuff to them. I'm a big fan of Noodler's Eel lubricated inks since my main pens are piston/vac fill. Are there other inks that are lubricated anyway, or is there something I can add to my other inks to give them that lubricating quality? Solkanar512 fucked around with this message at 17:01 on Nov 15, 2013 |
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Nov 15, 2013 16:49
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Kessel posted:As long as you do your homework it's fine, but BSB definitely eats through some poo poo. There have been confirmed reports of it chewing through older pens made out of cellulose. Celluloid. (Cellulose is the cell wall in green plants and a maor component in paper/paperboard.)
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Nov 15, 2013 17:47
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ChickenOfTomorrow posted:Celluloid. Plenty of pens are made out of cellulose acetate, which is itself made from cellulose, I thought?
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Nov 15, 2013 18:14
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| # ? May 10, 2024 08:56 |
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Oh, right, I forgot about Pelikan.
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Nov 15, 2013 18:25
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