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Coming here to sing the praises of TWSBI's customer service. The collar that holds the nib and feed in place and screws into the barrel cracked on my Diamond 580. I emailed TWSBI USA about it and the dude just offered to send me a brand new collar and barrel, just to be sure. TWSBI rules. Seriously, for a $50 pen they're incredibly high-quality and their customer service is second to none. There is no reason for any pen nerd to not get a TWSBI.
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Sep 22, 2014 14:55
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The only reason is because you can't afford any pens right now  Hellbeard posted:Vintage Rotring 600 Frankenstein repair Those are some cool looking pens! I really love that industrial aesthetic. Usually fountain pens look refined or elegant (or just ostentatious), but those look tough. And I bet they're really expensive and/or hard to find...
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Sep 22, 2014 15:14
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Korwen posted:At least ink bottles are only like $13 right? right? Get some Iroshizuku samples, then break and buy a bottle for 20~30 bucks (they're decently priced on Amazon, haven't checked pen site prices in a while). Korwen posted:I think I'm gonna get a second pen so that I can keep two inked up. I'm trying to decide between a Noodler's Konrad Acrylic with a flex nib, and buying a Goulet EF nib too, a TWSBI Mini Classic EF, or a TWSBI 580. I'd say it really comes down to how badly you want the flex. I'd say get the 580 or hell a 700, my Vac is probably my favorite pen that didn't cost several hundred dollars I wuv you Sailor 1911 Realo. Edit: VV Either samples from Goulet or Private Reserve ink I guess, it tends to be cheap and decent, like 8 bucks a bottle if memory serves. Edit2: Okay, maybe I was thinking of Diamine, it's 6 a bottle on http://www.isellpens.com although they have some private reserve for 2 bucks on sale (it's pink). Brightman fucked around with this message at 15:25 on Sep 22, 2014 |
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Sep 22, 2014 15:20
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I like getting cheap cheap cheap pens. Is there any option to get ridiculously cheap inks anywhere?
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Sep 22, 2014 15:20
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Rotrings are like old British motorcycle; unique aesthetic, a pleasure to ride and nearly impossible to keep running.
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Sep 22, 2014 15:24
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Solumin posted:The only reason is because you can't afford any pens right now Yeah! I love the looks of them too. <3 They're not that rare and seem to range from 100$-200$. You can also check out the Levenger L-Tech which draws much inspiration from the series and is still manufactured (I think they were the rights owners or 3rd party manufacturers for a bit). The Kaweco Sport AL has some similarities too. There are a few other modern designs with similar esthetic. If you don't want the knurled patterns too bad the Rotring Newton is essentially the same thing but with smooth grip and bits. This refill-oriented pen is very strongly inspired by the design: http://apollopens.com/
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Sep 22, 2014 15:29
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I'm adding that Levenger L-tech to my list of pens, which will grow infinitely long. I should really start journaling so I have a reason to use my pens besides class notes. The Apollo looks...ridiculous? Like they're really overselling a pen here. Nice aesthetic, but seriously.
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Sep 22, 2014 15:42
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Brightman posted:Get some Iroshizuku samples, then break and buy a bottle for 20~30 bucks (they're decently priced on Amazon, haven't checked pen site prices in a while). The Vac 700 looks interesting, but the vacuum filling mechanism seems less appealing to me because you have to loosen the top for the ink to not lose flow, or so I've heard, but I like that they come in colors. Are the nibs that different between the mini/580/700 and are the 700's that much nicer to write with? They seem to get fairly universal praise.
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Sep 22, 2014 15:56
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Korwen posted:The Vac 700 looks interesting, but the vacuum filling mechanism seems less appealing to me because you have to loosen the top for the ink to not lose flow, or so I've heard, but I like that they come in colors. Are the nibs that different between the mini/580/700 and are the 700's that much nicer to write with? They seem to get fairly universal praise. It isn't that it loses flow if you don't loosen the back end, it's just that the flow is slower. If you're jotting the occasional sentence it's good, but if you're taking serious notes or writing paragraphs, you're going to want to loosen it. Sort of an inconvenience but it clears up fast enough that I can keep up with taking notes in meetings when I start with the end closed and open it when I start getting weak flow.
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Sep 22, 2014 18:12
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   Mmmmyep.
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Sep 22, 2014 18:36
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Korwen posted:The Vac 700 looks interesting, but the vacuum filling mechanism seems less appealing to me because you have to loosen the top for the ink to not lose flow, or so I've heard, but I like that they come in colors. Are the nibs that different between the mini/580/700 and are the 700's that much nicer to write with? They seem to get fairly universal praise. The Vac 700 thing is really no big deal. I just unscrew it when I sit down at my desk and screw it back down when I'm packing up at the end of the day. In the meantime it has enough ink in the feed for casual notes. If it's really a hassle I understand you can just remove the o-ring from the cut off and eliminate the feature.
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Sep 22, 2014 18:51
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Korwen posted:The Vac 700 looks interesting, but the vacuum filling mechanism seems less appealing to me because you have to loosen the top for the ink to not lose flow, or so I've heard, but I like that they come in colors. Are the nibs that different between the mini/580/700 and are the 700's that much nicer to write with? They seem to get fairly universal praise. All TWSBI nibs are pretty much the same and interchangeable between pens, so the nib on your 580 or Mini will fit on your 700 (I own all three and I have swapped a nib between all three, same threads). However, I had someone put a vintage nib on my VAC-700 and adjust the feed, and it writes like a champ - it's a daily writer for me with fantastic ink capacity. If you can get your hands on a vintage #6 nib of some kind you can make the adjustment yourself, but you will certainly want to adjust the feed if you want the pen to keep up with your hijinks for flexing (a rigid vintage nib will likely have no problems at all writing with an unmodified feed). For short writing sessions there is a 'staging' chamber before ink enters the feed, so you don't really need to unscrew unless the 700 hasn't been in use for awhile. For longer writing sessions I have found I just unscrew the cap entirely to allow 100% free flow.
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Sep 22, 2014 19:19
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aldantefax posted:All TWSBI nibs are pretty much the same and interchangeable between pens, so the nib on your 580 or Mini will fit on your 700 (I own all three and I have swapped a nib between all three, same threads). Wait, I thought the Diamond series was a #5 nib while the Vac (and maybe the Micarta as well) was a #6 nib. EDIT: Also, could I simply take a Goulet #6 nib, grind half circles out of the sides and make it really flexible? Or is the steel too stiff anyway?
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Sep 22, 2014 19:32
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Solkanar512 posted:Wait, I thought the Diamond series was a #5 nib while the Vac (and maybe the Micarta as well) was a #6 nib. I can go back and swap between the 580 and the Mini when I get home tonight to verify. The primary limitation for nib swapping in a Mini and 580 is that while they can likely take a #6 nib no problem, you wouldn't be able to fit the cap back on because they are skinnier than the VAC. Dunno anything about the grinding down of a steel nib to make it more flexible so I'll defer to other people. There's probably threads on FPN and FPGeeks about doing it to some varying degree of success.
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Sep 22, 2014 19:39
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Bertrand Hustle posted:There is no reason for any pen nerd to not get a TWSBI. Maybe it's just me, but I'm not a fan of how they look. That's my reason, at least.
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Sep 22, 2014 22:58
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They're good workhorse pens with good customer service and pretty standard construction. Once you actually start collecting fountain pens you'll quickly move out of that range and into pens with more interesting materials, construction and most importantly, nibs.
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Sep 23, 2014 08:08
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Kessel posted:They're good workhorse pens with good customer service and pretty standard construction. There's no reason for a pen nerd to not have a quality workhorse pen from a company with great customer service, though, so my point stands. It's a fantastic "first 'real' fountain pen" unless you go the route I did and buy a vintage one cheap on eBay and fix it up. Which I still recommend doing.
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Sep 23, 2014 12:30
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Cheap flex pen chat: Has anyone checked out a pen from Fountain Pen Revolution? I just recently ordered a couple of FPR Gurus with flex nibs, and from what I've seen in reviews online, it's quite a flex. (I also think Noodler's pens are based on or sourced from FPR or one of their suppliers.) At $12 it wasn't much of a gamble. Also bought a cool Airmail hooded-nib eyedropper in a swirly brown. Can't wait to see what they're like. Recently got my Metropolitan back from Pilot customer service (cap ring broke, and the store where I bought it was like, "oh, they're all like that"; no, no they're not) and am anxiously waiting for Lamy to return my 2000, again. (I was in a car wreck with the 2000 in my pocket and the barrel cracked. They repaired it before, transferring the nib to a new body, but it's never written right -- and this was my daily-carry pen for years, I've gone through two and a half bottles of Lamy blue-black with it so I'm pretty sure I know how it's supposed to write.)
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Sep 23, 2014 17:57
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Does anyone know where I can buy a Pilot Metropolitan with a fine nib on the internet, from someone who ships from within the EU? And maybe some ink too? All brick-and-mortar shops I've checked don't carry it, the only place I've found on the 'net that sells it is Amazon UK which only sells the medium nib, and if I order from outside the EU they'll run me dry with import dues and taxes. (Apologies if this has been asked before, but I couldn't find it in the OP and the thread is literally a hundred pages long...) Right now at home I'm using a Waterman le Sulitzer I found in a drawer at my dad's house, but it doesn't flow right and I wanted something I can use in the office when I want to write quickly. Mikl fucked around with this message at 18:07 on Sep 23, 2014 |
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Sep 23, 2014 18:01
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Mikl posted:Does anyone know where I can buy a Pilot Metropolitan with a fine nib on the internet, from someone who ships from within the EU? And maybe some ink too? All brick-and-mortar shops I've checked don't carry it, the only place I've found on the 'net that sells it is Amazon UK which only sells the medium nib, and if I order from outside the EU they'll run me dry with import dues and taxes. (Or get both and swap the nibs? Allegedly they're compatible.)
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Sep 23, 2014 21:39
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I might just do that, if I can find some place that sells them both, a converter, and some ink and will package them in a single shipment. Thanks!
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Sep 24, 2014 11:34
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atholbrose posted:Cheap flex pen chat: Has anyone checked out a pen from Fountain Pen Revolution? I just recently ordered a couple of FPR Gurus with flex nibs, and from what I've seen in reviews online, it's quite a flex. (I also think Noodler's pens are based on or sourced from FPR or one of their suppliers.) At $12 it wasn't much of a gamble. Also bought a cool Airmail hooded-nib eyedropper in a swirly brown. Can't wait to see what they're like.  You have to press pretty hard, imo. If you go further you can get a slightly thicker line than in the picture. (It's the Dilli with flex nib + Noodler's Black.) I don't use it much since I usually write really small, but they're good enough.
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Sep 24, 2014 13:19
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basch posted:You have to press pretty hard, imo. If you go further you can get a slightly thicker line than in the picture. (It's the Dilli with flex nib + Noodler's Black.) I don't use it much since I usually write really small, but they're good enough. Thanks for the pic! Really, "good enough" is all I want -- the only flex nib I have now is an Esterbrook extra-fine flex and that's kind of like writing with a needle. When I flex it flicks ink around a bit. I just want to see what I can do with a rangier flex before committing to something like a Pilot Falcon. I'm in agony; I have a pen and some ink arriving today and I keep checking the tracking numbers. atholbrose fucked around with this message at 20:16 on Sep 24, 2014 |
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Sep 24, 2014 19:31
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Guys. Look at this:   From this gallery: http://imgur.com/gallery/i3jKN That's flex. Namiki Falcon? Y/N
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Sep 24, 2014 22:27
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Mother of God, that's pen porn right there. The beak looks like the Falcon alright. Speaking of, does anyone here have/has used the Falcon? It's caught my eye lately and I think it'll be my next purchase, because look at that. 
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Sep 24, 2014 22:36
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Edmond Dantes posted:Mother of God, that's pen porn right there. I used one a guy had custom-sharpened, and it was beautiful. It felt really 'sharp', if that makes sense, like it was sort of digging at the paper, but a wider nib would be an absolute pleasure if you're down with writing in like 18pt font all your life.
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Sep 24, 2014 22:40
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Hellbeard posted:Guys. Yes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRebkWHsHC0 It's a custom though. The writing is like 2 minutes in. Edit: There's another video somewhere, thought this was it, where they practically abuse the pen to achieve some really neat effects. I'm fairly sure it was a Falcon pen too, but maybe it was like a Custom 823 with a flex nib or something like that. Brightman fucked around with this message at 22:58 on Sep 24, 2014 |
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Sep 24, 2014 22:53
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Brightman posted:Yes. Christ is he writing on card stock in that video?
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Sep 24, 2014 23:04
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Yup, custom-ground super flexy Falcon. That thing looks sweeeeeet and juicy!
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Sep 25, 2014 01:29
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I would have no bloody clue as to where to take something like that in order to have it customized for "extra flex"; is it too different out of the box?
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Sep 25, 2014 02:07
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Edmond Dantes posted:I would have no bloody clue as to where to take something like that in order to have it customized for "extra flex"; is it too different out of the box? Nibs.com offers added flex for the Pilot Falcon purchased there if you're interested.
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Sep 25, 2014 02:29
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Edmond Dantes posted:I would have no bloody clue as to where to take something like that in order to have it customized for "extra flex"; is it too different out of the box? It's gonna be either John Mottishaw at classic fountain pens (nibs.com) or Richard Binder (richardspens.com). Modifying for extra flex will not make you a better writer though, and it also compromises the integrity of the nib (so you really need to know what you're doing when you're using it).
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Sep 25, 2014 02:33
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Play with semi-flex first before you dive into something custom-ground like that. There's a very good chance that an inexperienced user will spring the nib on the first try.
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Sep 25, 2014 08:15
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Oh, I wasn't planning on going for a custom nib from the start, I'm certain that if I tried imitating that video the pen would somehow end up lodged in my eye or something.
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Sep 25, 2014 12:17
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So I got this pen off a flea market once on a whim. It writes decently and all but once day it decided to leak some ink off the end (pic for clarity - the ink came from near the gold ring and more seemed to leak when I twisted the end): I'm still using it now - a lot less often than I used to - and it hasn't exploded on me since. Anything I can do about it?
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Sep 25, 2014 12:23
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So is that a piston-filler? If it's not a piston filler and that's just some cosmetic end bit that screws off, you could probably grease the threads up and stop it from leaking that way. I can't tell from the pictures but if it's a blind cap you might be able to remove it by unscrewing it and then check for any leaks. It might be an old/dodgy gasket that needs replacing. Buck Turgidson fucked around with this message at 13:09 on Sep 25, 2014 |
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Sep 25, 2014 13:04
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QuantumNinja posted:Christ is he writing on card stock in that video? I think so, might be some super thick paper or the custom grinding that causes the super scratchy noise though, but it looks like card stock. Here's another video where in they waste a bunch of ink: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMolEvB5EqA Edit: Ah, this was the one I was initially looking for. Also it might go without saying, but this person might be a little...off. Brightman fucked around with this message at 13:53 on Sep 25, 2014 |
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Sep 25, 2014 13:49
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Brightman posted:
Well, they did write a John Galt quote...
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Sep 25, 2014 14:04
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Buck Turgidson posted:So is that a piston-filler? If it's not a piston filler and that's just some cosmetic end bit that screws off, you could probably grease the threads up and stop it from leaking that way. Nothing screws off - it's basically one solid piece. So I can't really open it up to check  It was pretty cheap so I don't mind if I can't salvage it but I liked it cause it writes slightly thinner than my Lamy EF. Which may as well stand for Extra Fat, compared to the non-FP pens I used to use...
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Sep 25, 2014 14:20
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basch posted:Nothing screws off - it's basically one solid piece. So I can't really open it up to check Remember that fountain pen inks are water-based. On most papers, this means it'll soak right in and give you a fatter line (and probably some bleeding and feathering) than on nicer paper.
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Sep 25, 2014 14:35
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