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I always found the wire spirals irritated my hand/arm when I wrote on the back side of the page. Kind of a no win between cloth and wire bound. I ended up writing my revision notes on loose leaf paper and putting them in either a binder or presentation book.
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Mar 3, 2014 10:12
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| # ? May 12, 2024 01:10 |
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Have you tried the Rhodia top-bound ones? They're great. Wire-spirals are annoying when you have to write on the back of a sheet because they dig into your hand. Cloth/perfect-bound ones are a pain in the dick to keep open. But the top bound will stay open, and it's even scored along the top so you can fold pages right around the back and they will lie flat.
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Mar 3, 2014 13:47
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Kiran posted:How do you guys feel about the Noodler's Ahab for an entry level flex pen? I hear some flex fanatics don't like it because it takes more pressure to flex than it should, but at the same time good (vintage) flex pens can get really, really expensive and I've never even used one before. Ahabs are pretty good starter flex nibs, but yeah keep in mind that they're going to give you more flex than anything non-vintage like the Falcon, and they're going to require more pressure in order to flex them unless you take a dremel and mod the poo poo out of them. They also come in a poo poo load of colours and hold a crap ton of ink, which is nice, but be sure to buy one from a vendor with a good return policy. I have two Ahabs, and one came with some manufacturing flaws. Most of them are superficial, but the nib was basically useless. The pens are made to be cheap and easily repairable/modable, but they have no QA whatsoever. e: Staple bound notebooks 4lyfe
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Mar 3, 2014 14:04
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Has there been any new amazing entrepreneur developing a converter compatible with old Waterman C/F pens? I have a black barrel/brushed aluminium(?) cap one with the most beautiful accountant tip and while I have a cartridge for it and have been refilling that cartridge, I'd really prefer a converter because the line it puts out is amaaaaazing. Seriously, it's super fine yet clear, and smooth as silk. The pen is probably 50+ years old and writes better than my Lamy does most of the time. My Carene is another story. I might need to send that one in for nib repair or just buy (  ) a new nib - which for the Carene means buying a new everything-below-the-barrel which is like $100.But its such a pretty pen....
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Mar 3, 2014 14:29
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Yea, be careful with the Ahab from my experience. I liked the way it felt to write with, and the nib seemed to "break in" after a while and get even better. But the unit I had was a piece of poo poo otherwise. It always had significant leaking problems, so I could not carry it with me anywhere. And not long after owning it, the barrel threads just wouldn't hold the pen together well enough anymore, and the whole thing would just fall apart when I tried to write with it. I had to throw it away. I loved the concept, but the execution was... lacking.
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Mar 3, 2014 14:32
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68k posted:Yea, be careful with the Ahab from my experience. I liked the way it felt to write with, and the nib seemed to "break in" after a while and get even better. But the unit I had was a piece of poo poo otherwise. It always had significant leaking problems, so I could not carry it with me anywhere. And not long after owning it, the barrel threads just wouldn't hold the pen together well enough anymore, and the whole thing would just fall apart when I tried to write with it. I had to throw it away. I loved the concept, but the execution was... lacking. Indeed, the first time I filled mine up I ended up with a cap full of ink. I was quite lucky that it didn't spill any further.
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Mar 3, 2014 15:13
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One of my friends showed me her Nakaya raden today, and let me tell you - that thing is gorgeous. http://www.nakaya.org/en/review.aspx?id=12004&type=body
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Mar 3, 2014 17:04
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As, shucks. I just ordered an Ahab along with some dark matter ink. I hope it works good. If the threads go bad is there a fix? Do Noodler's not replace factory defective items if it comes down to it?
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Mar 3, 2014 17:12
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I am loving the Iroshizuku blues. Ama-Iro is gorgeous, Asa-gao is probably going to replace my beloved bay state blue, and I can't get enough Tsuki-yo.
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Mar 3, 2014 18:24
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Hellbeard posted:As, shucks. I just ordered an Ahab along with some dark matter ink. I hope it works good. If the threads go bad is there a fix? Do Noodler's not replace factory defective items if it comes down to it? No.
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Mar 3, 2014 18:30
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dino. posted:No. Good luck getting ANY customer service from Noodler's for anything. I have had zero luck. My threads went bad, I wound up crimping the threads a little and adding silicone grease and it helped. The Ahab and Konrad are crap. The nibs are crappy. They hold a poo poo ton of ink but so does a TWSBI. If you want a pen to put a goulet or other #6 nib in, pick the Jinhao X400 or X700 series. They take international carts but the 99 cent X450 is 20x better than the Ahab in my opinion. The stock Ahab nib is advertised as a "flex" but you have to press down on it super hard to even get nice line variation. It's not worth it at all.
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Mar 3, 2014 19:00
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Man, I'll just stick to their inks then. Sounds like a lot of you have had problems with the pens, I really don't want to deal with customer service and returns for a $20 pen.
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Mar 3, 2014 19:44
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TWSBI has fantastic service. My 530's cap broke and they sent me a new one free with nothing more than an email. Lamy is pretty good too, you can call the dude who does the repairs direct with questions and whatnot. On the ink side, Waterman doesn't have many colors but I really like the way their inks look and behave. Out of the TWSBI 1.5mm stub their Mysterious Blue is gorgeous, and an old bottle of their blue black is one of the few inks I own that seems to write well in any pen.
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Mar 3, 2014 19:57
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Welsper posted:I always found the wire spirals irritated my hand/arm when I wrote on the back side of the page. Vitamins posted:Wire-spirals are annoying when you have to write on the back of a sheet because they dig into your hand. Eat poo poo right-handers  Seriously though, being a southpaw makes things awkward sometimes. I finally bought a pair of lefty scissors the other day, and it's so nice not having the right-handed ergonomic handles dig into my hand  
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Mar 3, 2014 20:50
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powderific posted:TWSBI has fantastic service. My 530's cap broke and they sent me a new one free with nothing more than an email. Lamy is pretty good too, you can call the dude who does the repairs direct with questions and whatnot. Seconding the awesome service from TWSBI. I received a Diamond 540 with a B Nib, I wanted F. I contacted their customer service, since the pen was uninked they had me send the nib assembly off the old pen and they sent me the correct one free of charge.
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Mar 3, 2014 21:10
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I bought a Diamond 580 with a moderately messed up nib and received a shiny new nib in the mail a few emails and zero dollars later. Their support is utterly fantastic. As far as Noodler's pens go, I love my Ahab after I slapped one of their $2 non-flex nibs in it. It still vomits ink everywhere, though. That just seems to be part of the experience, also that rancid vegetal smell.
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Mar 3, 2014 21:22
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What's a good flex nib that's not two million dollars, then? By the way, I've also ordered a TWSBI 580 with 1.5 stub nib.
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Mar 3, 2014 21:23
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I actually like the smell of an Ahab. But not the random spewing of ink, or needing to Crazy Glue the converter back on once the threads stripped away. Come to think of it, why haven't I just tossed this thing? Probably because I only have 3 pens and it's one of them. 
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Mar 3, 2014 21:26
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Tochiazuma posted:Come to think of it, why haven't I just tossed this thing? Probably because I only have 3 pens and it's one of them.
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Mar 3, 2014 22:29
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I guess I must have gotten lucky with my Ahab because I haven't had any trouble with it in the two and a half years I've had it, other than it liking to drip into the cap a little but that was solved just by making sure I keep it nib-up in my purse. I did end up replacing the nib with one of the Goulet #6s and while I do like it a lot better, the original one wasn't all that bad for how cheap it was. The size of the Ahab is also more ergonomic for me because I have tendinitis or something so the larger size is better for that than my smaller/slimmer pens.
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Mar 3, 2014 22:56
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Hellbeard posted:What's a good flex nib that's not two million dollars, then? The 580 is my pen of choice right now, I love it.
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Mar 3, 2014 23:40
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Hellbeard posted:What's a good flex nib that's not two million dollars, then? A Namiki Falcon is ~$120 on Amazon; not sure how much that is in hyperbole money, but it's cheap for a gold nib pen.
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Mar 3, 2014 23:52
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Welsper posted:A Namiki Falcon is ~$120 on Amazon; not sure how much that is in hyperbole money, but it's cheap for a gold nib pen. It'll have to wait then. I'm going to go with a quill setup for my variable line width via pressure needs. In hyperbolecoin ~120$ is literally exactly two shmillion dollars.
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Mar 4, 2014 00:07
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Hellbeard posted:What's a good flex nib that's not two million dollars, then? If you're a gambling sort you can do what I did and throw $25 or so at a mystery pen on Ebay. I got the flex itch and decided I'd rather have a cheap vintage pen than an expensive new pen, and knew I'd have to pay probably just as much for a refurbished one so I exclusively looked at vintage eyedroppers due to their lack of moving parts. Is it a good pen? I really don't know enough to say, but it writes and doesn't leak and flexes easily so I was happy with it. Those old rubber pens come with their own quirks (they're like mogwai - don't expose to bright light, don't get them wet,
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Mar 4, 2014 01:08
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Do people generally mail their nibs off to nibmeisters or do they go to see them in person?
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Mar 4, 2014 19:49
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Everything Burrito posted:If you're a gambling sort you can do what I did and throw $25 or so at a mystery pen on Ebay. I got the flex itch and decided I'd rather have a cheap vintage pen than an expensive new pen, and knew I'd have to pay probably just as much for a refurbished one so I exclusively looked at vintage eyedroppers due to their lack of moving parts. Is it a good pen? I really don't know enough to say, but it writes and doesn't leak and flexes easily so I was happy with it. Those old rubber pens come with their own quirks (they're like mogwai - don't expose to bright light, don't get them wet, Peyton Street Pens also sells a bunch of vintage stuff at decent prices. I've mentioned them before. The owner, Terri, is super cool and her stuff can be very affordable. I bought a vintage Pilot from her and it is amazing.. other goons have made more substantial purchases from her with no issues. http://www.peytonstreetpens.com/
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Mar 4, 2014 19:53
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After all of that flex nib talk I couldn't take it and ordered an Ahab. Never used a flex nib before, is there anything different from normal fountain pens that I should know?
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Mar 4, 2014 22:30
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rio posted:After all of that flex nib talk I couldn't take it and ordered an Ahab. Never used a flex nib before, is there anything different from normal fountain pens that I should know? Aside from having to press down harder it does take a little bit of time to get used to the nib and I believe the you do need a break it in more to your preference. Also getting used to when to flex it and how much force to use. I'd suggest practicing on swirly letters like S and L
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Mar 5, 2014 02:55
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Soricidus posted:I think I can see a possible solution there. "Great minds think alike", I think it's time to put that TWSBI 700 order in! 
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Mar 5, 2014 03:55
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Kiran posted:Do people generally mail their nibs off to nibmeisters or do they go to see them in person? Almost all the master nibmeisters have massive backlogs. Unless they are attending an event and have specifically said they are doing nibwork at the event, you mail your pen in and wait patiently. For instance, John Mottishaw has a multi-month waiting list and his operation doesn't entertain walkins (probably for good reason. Can you imagine a cloud of fountain pen people knocking down your door every morning to get nibs done  )
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Mar 5, 2014 04:19
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I love ink.  Noodler's Air-Corp Blue-Black. Such a pretty color.  Noodler's Bad Belted Kingfisher. Dat shading  Paper is just a couple pages from one of those sugarcane notebooks from Staples. Pen is a cheapo Hero with a 1.9mm stub.
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Mar 6, 2014 16:31
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Bertrand Hustle posted:I love ink. That's Tengwar, isn't it? I wish my hand writing looked that good in English!  How did you manage to make the tehtar so consistent and 'square'?
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Mar 6, 2014 16:40
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Solumin posted:That's Tengwar, isn't it? I wish my hand writing looked that good in English! So do I. quote:How did you manage to make the tehtar so consistent and 'square'? It is tengwar. The two in Air-Corp Blue-Black are the One Ring inscription in standard Sindarin mode, and Elendil's Oath* in the classical Quenya mode. The last one is the spell Arwen recites** in Fellowship (obviously the film) at the Ford of Bruinen to fend off the Nazgūl. Well, the a and i tehtar are just dots, so holding the nib at a 45-degree angle (as one does) and just making a short mark does it. The e tehta looks like an acute accent and is easy to write with just a quick stroke along the angle of the nib. The o and u tehtar are a bit harder and you'll notice they're not really even. * Et Eärello Endorenna utślien. Sinome maruvan, ar hildinyar, tenn' ambar-metta. ** Nīn o Chithaeglir, lasto beth daer; Rimmo nīn Bruinen dan in Ulaer! And that may just be the nerdiest goddamn thing I've ever posted.
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Mar 6, 2014 17:06
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My Ahab arrived yesterday - wow, flex nibs are awesome! There is nothing wrong with the pen but it smells pretty funky. A very strong chemical/assy smell, coming u think from the piston filling system inside. I hope it goes away soon. I didn't realize that to properly write with a flex pen I would have to change my grip to make the nib write at a 90 degree angle compared to the top edge of the page. It is taking some getting used to and I have to go very slowly, but what a cool look. I have Tsuki-Yo in it right now and it is great. I also ordered some Heart of Darkness and it came with a free dropper fill pen with the Noodler's logo on it. It writes really really well, particularly since it was free! A win/win order overall.
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Mar 6, 2014 20:38
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The smell is from the stuff used to make pen body. If you put it somewhere that it can sort of air out, the smell should go away faster. Using it daily also helped in my case. It still smells a little but only if you hold it directly under your nose.
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Mar 6, 2014 23:59
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I had a "near-death" experience last night when I realized I left my Vac 700 at my new retail sales job. I actually called the store and asked the closing manager to look for it. It spent today safely in my pocket, and I will be buying a cheaper F-nibbed pen for work. I was going to ask for recommendations, but I realized I just need another Kaküno with a clip. 
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Mar 7, 2014 05:00
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Anyone have suggestions for reducing skipping with a TWSBI 530 and 1.5mm stub nib? For whatever reason I have a bit of trouble maintaining flow with any of the inks I've tried. When the flow is there it's plenty wet, it just seems to take a bit to get it going and it cuts out occasionally. I've taken to screwing the piston a little bit to force more ink into the feed for the time being.
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Mar 7, 2014 17:24
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powderific posted:Anyone have suggestions for reducing skipping with a TWSBI 530 and 1.5mm stub nib? For whatever reason I have a bit of trouble maintaining flow with any of the inks I've tried. When the flow is there it's plenty wet, it just seems to take a bit to get it going and it cuts out occasionally. I've taken to screwing the piston a little bit to force more ink into the feed for the time being. I got the same issue. When it's going it's awesome but it has a hard time getting going.
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Mar 7, 2014 17:32
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I just got a flexy Eversharp Symphony No. 913 M as a birthday gift. Anyone know of a guide to writing with flex? Everything I've come across is superflex crazy copperplate stuff.
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Mar 8, 2014 02:30
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Just a quick FYI: don't wipe your pens with alcohol wipes. My Pelikan m205 is so hosed up now. The finish is all gummy. What a waste of a pen. I guess it's my beater now since I've no idea where my lamy safari is.
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Mar 8, 2014 10:33
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