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howe_sam posted:Thirty-five bucks for a large capacity piston-filler is a nice deal And one that's a migrated o-ring and dab of silicon grease away from being a gigantic eyedropper, as well as fitting #6 nibs for variety.
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# ? May 18, 2015 20:44 |
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# ? May 30, 2024 14:06 |
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GoodBee posted:I have noticed a bunch of ink on my fingers when I grip my pen like an idiot. Sometimes ink ends up on the section, but it's usually just down at the bottom. Of course, I don't grip my pens there, so that's fine. Anyway the usual starting point for an ahab is something like 8-9 slits visible on the feed. The further the tip of the nib is from the tip of the feed, the drier it'll write, generally. That'll also make it a finer point from the get-go, I believe. I'd check, but mine's not inked up at the moment.
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# ? May 18, 2015 22:47 |
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Speaking of Noodler's flex pens, I have both an Ahab and one of the original Creaper flex pens. I just unpacked my pens, which had been in storage for a year after a cross-country move. My Creaper was the "Ivory Darkness" color, which was black with white swirls. When I took it out of the box, I found the white areas had turned pink. It seems some areas got more pink than others. The only thing I can think is that it was packed with the red plastic pen pictured, and it somehow leeched some of the color out of it? The red pen is my Sheaffer calligraphy pen from back in high school.
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# ? May 18, 2015 22:49 |
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Mnemosyne posted:Speaking of Noodler's flex pens, I have both an Ahab and one of the original Creaper flex pens. I just unpacked my pens, which had been in storage for a year after a cross-country move. My Creaper was the "Ivory Darkness" color, which was black with white swirls. When I took it out of the box, I found the white areas had turned pink. The pens are made of "vegetal resin", which is supposed to behave a lot like celluloid. As I understand it, it's basically a plastic made of vegetable oil (rather than fossil fuels like PVC); I wouldn't be surprised if it does some weird dye leeching stuff. My nib creeper made me so angry. I loved the nib and loved writing with it; the nib is a cheaper steel and smaller like FPR nibs are so it was more springy. But the god drat thing dries out no matter what ink I have in it, so it's in the "I'm not excited about these pens anymore" box.
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# ? May 18, 2015 23:14 |
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NeurosisHead posted:My nib creeper made me so angry. I loved the nib and loved writing with it; the nib is a cheaper steel and smaller like FPR nibs are so it was more springy. But the god drat thing dries out no matter what ink I have in it, so it's in the "I'm not excited about these pens anymore" box. That's pretty much exactly why it was boxed up my old calligraphy pen from high school. It was the "I don't really plan to use these, but I don't really want to throw them out" box. I fell in love with flex a few years back when I bought my first vintage flex pen, and decided it probably wasn't even worth it for me to buy anything that wasn't flex anymore. I was hoping the Noodler pens would provide me with a pen that I could throw in my bag without worrying about them too much, but I haven't ever gotten either one to write properly. I've reset them over and over, really scrubbed the feeds, and scraped the feeds just a liiiiitle bit, and the feed still can't keep up with the flex in either of them. Even writing really slowly, they railroad, they're hard starters and the ink does dry out really quickly inside of them. I bought each one when they were first released though, so maybe now that some time has passed there are some new tricks listed on FPN for improving them. All I want is a sub-$75 pen with flex. Is that so much to ask?
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# ? May 18, 2015 23:31 |
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Mnemosyne posted:All I want is a sub-$75 pen with flex. Is that so much to ask? Kiiiiind of yes.
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# ? May 18, 2015 23:32 |
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Dip pen nibs are $1. A serviceable fountain pen costs $20. A sub $75 elaborate dip pen nib holder (aka the thing that fountain pens originally started as) should be in the realm of the possible
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# ? May 19, 2015 00:01 |
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If that red pen is a No Nonsense they hold a shitload of ink if you make it an eyedropper with a little silicone grease. That's how I'm using mine and it seems like the ink is never ending. I don't think it has quite the capacity of an eyedropper Ahab but it's drat close. I filled mine up last time in like...June of last year and it's finally about time to put some more in it. I mainly just use it for addressing envelopes and labeling folders so I don't write with it a huge amount but that means it also goes a really long time without drying out at all. I bought a junk pen on ebay over the weekend; holding out hope that it'll end up having a flex nib and that I can get it restored for under $50. I only paid $15 for it and if I was more DIY-minded I might use it as a project pen and try to restore it myself but ehhhh I'd rather send it to someone I think. Everything Burrito fucked around with this message at 00:26 on May 19, 2015 |
# ? May 19, 2015 00:14 |
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Mnemosyne posted:That's pretty much exactly why it was boxed up my old calligraphy pen from high school. It was the "I don't really plan to use these, but I don't really want to throw them out" box. Dude, get an FPR Guru. They're like . . . $9 base, and seriously good flex pens. Not as good as 14k vintage, but the best non-vintage flex nib pen I own is my Guru.
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# ? May 19, 2015 02:03 |
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NeurosisHead posted:Dude, get an FPR Guru. They're like . . . $9 base, and seriously good flex pens. Not as good as 14k vintage, but the best non-vintage flex nib pen I own is my Guru. This is intriguing. It looks like they became available since I stopped looking at pens, so I hadn't heard of them. Thanks for mentioning them, I'll probably order one for myself and one to include as part of the gift I'm giving. I mean, you can't introduce someone to fountain pens without giving them at least 3 nib choices and six inks, right?
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# ? May 19, 2015 19:35 |
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so I picked up some Lie de The per the thread recommendations. Did I mess up my metros nip when cleaning/drying it? It seems like it's a lot dryer than the pilot black that came in the cartridge. How I cleaned: remove cardrige that came with pen rinse nib and put water in the inside and let it drip out. fill glass with water and suck in water then flush out by pushing water through with the converter (presplate) repeat a few times till it's was clear, rinse dry lightly with paper towel, fill with ink. write.
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# ? May 19, 2015 21:26 |
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Should be fine (Lie de The was one of the first bottled inks I bought!). It is not particularly wet of an ink, but it certainly should be flowing fine. Cleaning/drying your metro in that way should be fine, but if you have a bulb syringe around that you can fill up with water, you can purge the feed more reliably than with your posted method. Goulet has a video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNZ39gUiLB4 It's worth doing another cleaning just to make sure you have all the black out. You should otherwise be fine with the new ink.
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# ? May 19, 2015 23:05 |
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The black is all out the ink and the different shades of brown for curves show pretty well. Then ink flows and ive had no railroading or dryness while writing it just seems a bit lower flow than what came with the pen. Cant wait for father's day where ive requested a sheaffer 300 so I have a bit more of a proper pen.
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# ? May 20, 2015 00:50 |
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Mnemosyne posted:This is intriguing. It looks like they became available since I stopped looking at pens, so I hadn't heard of them. Thanks for mentioning them, I'll probably order one for myself and one to include as part of the gift I'm giving. I mean, you can't introduce someone to fountain pens without giving them at least 3 nib choices and six inks, right? That's the correct way to do pen introductions, yes. Keep in mind that the pens are coming from India; I'm in the midwestern USA and it usually takes a hair over two weeks for my shipments to show up. Just in case your gift is time sensitive.
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# ? May 20, 2015 01:18 |
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Not entirely sure I need more pens, but I've been thinking about some of the common makes I've seen here but never used -- most of my pens are Japanese, but not out of some Japanophile fetish or anything, they're just common recommendations. And the lower-level offerings out of Japan just seem to be cheaper. The only Western pens I've used are a Lamy Safari and a Waterford (not Waterman). Other ones I have are Sailor (HighAce Neo and Reglus), Nemosine (Fission), Pilot (Cavalier, Prera, Metropolitan, and Kakuno). Offhand, the major manufacturers I can think of that I haven't used are Parker, Sheaffer, and Waterman. Maybe Levenger but I don't know that they're as big a name. Parker has a few pens at the ~$30 level (IM, Urban), and around $60 you hit the Sonnet. Waterman and Sheaffer seem to start around $60 (except for like an $8 Sheaffer that I'm skeptical of). Levenger starts even higher, around $90. Wondering if I should even bother, I have several pens already and I'm not sure how much more enjoyment I'd get out of some more. But I did just run out of ink in one and after I cleaned it I still got a kick out of picking a pen and ink to use next, so maybe. Anyone have strong recommendations for pens by any of these companies? I have a strong bias toward professional looking pens, although the Kakuno is real cute, and I only want pens that can take bottled ink, whether I have to buy a converter or not. I have no interest in vintage or anything I have to tune myself. I just want it to work. EDIT: Even a little picky about converters -- no pressplate ones please. guppy fucked around with this message at 13:07 on May 20, 2015 |
# ? May 20, 2015 12:33 |
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I've never used one so I can't vouch for quality or performance but Goulet Pens has a Sheaffer 100 in their closeout section for $29 right now. I skimmed some reviews on FPN and they were mixed, mostly positive about the nib but nobody liked the polished section due to slickness. It comes with a piston converter as well.
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# ? May 20, 2015 17:37 |
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guppy posted:Not entirely sure I need more pens, but I've been thinking about some of the common makes I've seen here but never used -- most of my pens are Japanese, but not out of some Japanophile fetish or anything, they're just common recommendations. And the lower-level offerings out of Japan just seem to be cheaper. The only Western pens I've used are a Lamy Safari and a Waterford (not Waterman). Other ones I have are Sailor (HighAce Neo and Reglus), Nemosine (Fission), Pilot (Cavalier, Prera, Metropolitan, and Kakuno). I bought my partner a Sheaffer Sagaris, and I kind of wish that I'd bought it for myself because I truly enjoy that pen. Otherwise I don't have a lot of experience with western pens (other than Noodler's) that aren't vintage.
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# ? May 20, 2015 17:37 |
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I have a Sheaffer Viewpoint and a No-Nonsense. They're very solid but don't have the smoothness common to japanese pen nibs.
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# ? May 20, 2015 18:01 |
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I had a meeting with my boss today, and I took some notes using my fountain pen. (TWSBI 580 Diamond) He commented on it, and said that he used to use a fountain pen when he was in grade school. I told him about the Metro, and he's going to buy one for himself and his son, who apparently has said he wants to try out fountain pens.
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# ? May 21, 2015 01:03 |
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Has anyone had any trouble with Lamy Safaris leaking? I use mine maybe once every two days, but every time I do I get a three-finger carriage covered in ink. It looks like it pools up just on the little ridge between the hand grip and the pen.
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# ? May 21, 2015 17:08 |
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Cast Iron Brick posted:Has anyone had any trouble with Lamy Safaris leaking? I use mine maybe once every two days, but every time I do I get a three-finger carriage covered in ink. It looks like it pools up just on the little ridge between the hand grip and the pen. Is your feed fully seated?
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# ? May 21, 2015 18:35 |
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If you got it off Amazon recently, apparently there have been a lot of fake Lamys coming from there.
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# ? May 21, 2015 19:11 |
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Remora posted:If you got it off Amazon recently, apparently there have been a lot of fake Lamys coming from there. I was tempted to add a pen or some ink to an Amazon order but everything looked pretty sketchy and I don't know enough to figure out what's legit.
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# ? May 21, 2015 19:15 |
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My hero 359 started looking like that
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# ? May 21, 2015 19:43 |
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My lie de the came from amazon.. seems pretty legit.
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# ? May 21, 2015 19:55 |
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EE3DtrJlEA I just compared my jet black safari to this video, and it definitely shares a couple of the counterfeit dings listed. Most notably, the slit on the tines form the air hole veers hard to the left. Thanks for the help, everyone.
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# ? May 21, 2015 20:08 |
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guppy posted:Not entirely sure I need more pens, but I've been thinking about some of the common makes I've seen here but never used -- most of my pens are Japanese, but not out of some Japanophile fetish or anything, they're just common recommendations. And the lower-level offerings out of Japan just seem to be cheaper. The only Western pens I've used are a Lamy Safari and a Waterford (not Waterman). Other ones I have are Sailor (HighAce Neo and Reglus), Nemosine (Fission), Pilot (Cavalier, Prera, Metropolitan, and Kakuno). Have a Parker Premium Titanium from nibs.com and it's a loving boss pen
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# ? May 23, 2015 21:37 |
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Also, these are kinda driving me mad with pen lust right now, especially the blue one: http://www.nibs.com/omas-milord-arte-italiana-art-liquid-blue.htm
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# ? May 23, 2015 21:57 |
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Wengy posted:Also, these are kinda driving me mad with pen lust right now, especially the blue one: Aw, man... did you really have to show me that? I'm getting really tired of having this chunk of change tied up in a Pelikan M805 Stresemann pre-order that seems like it's never going to happen, and that is one gorgeous pen...
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# ? May 24, 2015 04:21 |
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How much can I expect selling my Pilot M90?
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# ? May 24, 2015 15:56 |
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Xehupatl posted:How much can I expect selling my Pilot M90? I would probably pay more than $200, but less than $300 for it. That's hardly objective, but it's a metal pen that's no longer in production, only had 9k ish models made and was itself a reproduction of a pen that was only made in 1971. There's a lot of factors there that might drive a more motivated collector to spend a decent chunk of change.
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# ? May 24, 2015 21:22 |
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Come and get it.. 100ML of rebranded Diamine ink starting at 5.99 http://www.xfountainpens.com/collections/ink-bottles
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# ? May 28, 2015 01:22 |
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Is there a chart or something for what Chesterfield ink is what Diamine ink?
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# ? May 28, 2015 01:24 |
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Remora posted:Is there a chart or something for what Chesterfield ink is what Diamine ink? reddit has this https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AnAYbNbmymGjdDFuOGVNaU5zZThva3ZwSy16amVpeGc#gid=0
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# ? May 28, 2015 01:42 |
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What are some good options for mini-sized pens? Similar to the Pilot Petit1 but less cheap looking.
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# ? May 29, 2015 04:29 |
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Lolcano Eruption posted:What are some good options for mini-sized pens? Similar to the Pilot Petit1 but less cheap looking. What's your budget? The Kaweco Liliput is a gorgeous mini pen if you're into metal pens, but it's not cheap. I have and like my TWSBI Mini, which posts to something close to a full-sized pen, and is a bit cheaper.
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# ? May 29, 2015 06:17 |
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Lolcano Eruption posted:What are some good options for mini-sized pens? Similar to the Pilot Petit1 but less cheap looking. Kaweco Sport (about a million different versions at a bunch of different price points) Kaweco Liliput Ohto Tasche Ohto Rook Monteverde Mini I'm partial to the Ohto Rook myself.
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# ? May 29, 2015 06:34 |
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Lolcano Eruption posted:What are some good options for mini-sized pens? Similar to the Pilot Petit1 but less cheap looking. massdrop just launched something mini and not cheap today too https://www.massdrop.com/buy/stipula-passaporto
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# ? May 29, 2015 15:11 |
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A late (or early depending on if you choose to consider delivery date versus order date) birthday present arrived today! It's every bit as lovely and understated as I hoped for, and the nib is just right. Took forever to arrive, but worth it.
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# ? May 30, 2015 18:15 |
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# ? May 30, 2024 14:06 |
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I've had a Stresemann on order with my local store ever since the announcement, and I'm beginning to despair of ever actually getting it.
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# ? May 30, 2015 22:39 |