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Ended up splitting the difference and got a Lamy Safari because it had a very utilitarian looking clip, and I was able to get it in hot pink. I was informed that until you get into the really high end poo poo Lamy uses the same nibs all around, so that sounded neat. Added the following to make a full gift set: A book called Spencerian Penmanship Clairefontaine cloth-bound notebook Kokuyo Systemic Refillable Notebook Rhodia Classic Orange Notepad How'd I do
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Dec 23, 2016 14:26
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Sounds like you did well, I'd never be unhappy receiving a safari. The nibs are very easy to change, are cheap, and also come in black if wanted.
Megabound fucked around with this message at 15:39 on Dec 23, 2016 |
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Dec 23, 2016 14:32
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So I wanted to get some gifts for ladies I'm doing community work with, so I settled on pocket sized grid Leuchtturm1917, a Pilot Metro, and some Waterman ink for each of them. While getting that, the owner of Crazy Alan's Emporium/Office Supplies and More convinced me to get another VP, the white with a black nib. I love going to that store, he always shows me super cool pens and is super knowledgeable. signalnoise posted:Ended up splitting the difference and got a Lamy Safari because it had a very utilitarian looking clip, and I was able to get it in hot pink. I was informed that until you get into the really high end poo poo Lamy uses the same nibs all around, so that sounded neat. Added the following to make a full gift set: That sounds amazing to me, so I would say you did an excellent job
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Dec 23, 2016 16:17
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signalnoise posted:Ended up splitting the difference and got a Lamy Safari because it had a very utilitarian looking clip, and I was able to get it in hot pink. I was informed that until you get into the really high end poo poo Lamy uses the same nibs all around, so that sounded neat. Added the following to make a full gift set: Can't speak to the Lamy or the book but I've used all of that paper and it's all good.
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Dec 23, 2016 22:17
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Lamy Safari is a good pen. I wish they took international cartridges instead of the Lamy-specific ones, so that I could use the zillions of international converters I have, but eh I suppose even a proprietary converter is only ten bucks or so.
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Dec 23, 2016 22:51
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You could buy a Jinhao 599a instead. I've bought at least 10 and never gotten one with a bad nib.
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Dec 23, 2016 22:57
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2nd antique store buy, all it needed was a polish and a flush!   Gallery here: https://imgur.com/gallery/KRsPO
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Dec 24, 2016 05:02
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I'd really love to get into vintage pens but that is a rabbit hole I'm terrified of 
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Dec 24, 2016 05:45
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I can feel myself slipping down it already. At least I'll probably stop spending money on new new pens.
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Dec 24, 2016 06:12
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Megabound posted:2nd antique store buy, all it needed was a polish and a flush! Nice find! Vintage pens are definitely a slippery slope. I have a silver pearl Parker Vacumatic. It writes very wet and very smooth, and overall I am happy with it. But that pen came in other colors! I need to complete the collection. An emerald and an azure for certain, maybe a golden brown and a red, too. And then there are the other Parker pens! What Parker collector wouldn't want a 51 or 45? Or a Duofold? I will say that the difficulty of cleaning out the Vacumatic has made me reluctant to pull the trigger on other auctions. Nothing can beat a cartridge/converter system for ease of cleaning.
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Dec 24, 2016 15:55
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The Parker 45 is a fantastic pen and basically the only vintage pen that I use regularly. It also constantly surprises me that you can still get gold nibbed 45s for the same or less than you would pay for a good condition 21 or 21 Super, even if the 45 was made in much larger numbers.
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Dec 24, 2016 20:17
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She liked em
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Dec 25, 2016 10:48
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I've owned a pilot century 3776 for a couple years and it's been fantastic. I fly a lot and appreciate the sealant cap for that. My only issue has been that the body feels a little cheap and the ink capacity feels a little low. Is there any pen people here might consider an upgrade in body and ink reserve but still high quality nib experience and flying friendly? Price range for now can be whatever, I'm half just day dreaming.
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Dec 26, 2016 21:59
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So, after handling my wife's new Lamy Safari I decided to get one for myself in rollerball format. Would this thread be appropriate to talk about and get advice regarding rollerballs as well? I am used to Zebra Sarasa rollerballs because they're cheap, but if there's a rollerball out there that is heads and tails above the rest, I'd love to hear about it.
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Dec 26, 2016 22:44
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Xguard86 posted:Is there any pen people here might consider an upgrade in body and ink reserve but still high quality nib experience and flying friendly? If price is whatever, any of the Visconti double reservoir power fillers can hold a poo poo ton of ink and are very flying friendly.
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Dec 26, 2016 22:59
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Wheee! My other half got me a Carene for Christmas! It's super nice.
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Dec 26, 2016 23:02
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signalnoise posted:So, after handling my wife's new Lamy Safari I decided to get one for myself in rollerball format. Would this thread be appropriate to talk about and get advice regarding rollerballs as well? I am used to Zebra Sarasa rollerballs because they're cheap, but if there's a rollerball out there that is heads and tails above the rest, I'd love to hear about it. My advice is to try writing with a fountain pen instead. A decent one will write smoother than a rollerball, (usually) hold more ink, and can be filled with whatever colors you want.
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Dec 26, 2016 23:04
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Bertrand Hustle posted:My advice is to try writing with a fountain pen instead. A decent one will write smoother than a rollerball, (usually) hold more ink, and can be filled with whatever colors you want. My problem with fountain pens has always been that they'd leak all over the place. That was years ago though, has pen technology advanced such that you can use them basically the same as any other? Also, I write super hard on the paper and I have difficulty easing back on my hand tension. I've found that I end up scraping the paper with fountain pens. Advice on that?
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Dec 26, 2016 23:07
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signalnoise posted:Advice on that? Advice is don't do that. Just practice writing with a light touch until you get used to it. It's a habit you get into with ballpoints because you actually need that much pressure to make a visible mark, but you'll damage the paper and/or the pen doing it with fountain pens. Also, none of my pens has ever leaked unless it was damaged. That's not to say that fountain pens never leak, but I've used pens ranging from $2 Jintaos to a $120 Lamy 2000. Now, if you're gripping up on the feed, you're gonna get ink on your fingers regardless, and ink might bleed on lovely paper, but a decent pen shouldn't be leaking all over the place.
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Dec 26, 2016 23:29
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Xguard86 posted:I've owned a pilot century 3776 for a couple years and it's been fantastic. I fly a lot and appreciate the sealant cap for that. My only issue has been that the body feels a little cheap and the ink capacity feels a little low. Platinum has a briarwood bodied version of their 3776 (You meant Platinum, right?) which is nice and heavy — under the wood it's brass. Obviously the ink capacity is the same, but it's nice to hold. The only problem is I don't think I've ever seen one for sale except on like, Rakuten. Mine was a hand-me-down that took like 5 years to figure out it was even a Platinum (it's got "Tiffany & co." and "Diplomat West Germany" on the capband and diplomat stamped on the [quite obviously] platinum nib), and it has a different cap. The obvious solution for the ink situation is to use cartridges instead of a converter, since that'll probably double the ink capacity. So if you already do that I've got nothing, I guess. Another option is probably a Pelikan of some sort — they do hold tons of ink, and once you get a nib the size you want they're quite nice. I have a simple steel-nibbed one and it's quite nice, if rather wet. Not sure if I flew with mine though, and while the cap is a screw-type, it unscrews pretty easily. Mine'll come unscrewed if I put it in a jeans pocket or whatever, which is mostly just annoying; however if you ended up with a capful of ink, that ease of unscrewing could be a huge problem. signalnoise posted:My problem with fountain pens has always been that they'd leak all over the place. That was years ago though, has pen technology advanced such that you can use them basically the same as any other? Also, I write super hard on the paper and I have difficulty easing back on my hand tension. I've found that I end up scraping the paper with fountain pens. Advice on that? Try holding the pen closer to the nib? If you're resting your hand on the paper you'll have less force available to mash the nib into the paper, I suppose. Alternatively, practice with a dip pen and a flexible nib until you stop gushing ink everywhere from too much pressure. Practice and all that.
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Dec 26, 2016 23:38
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Re Visconti: that filling system sounds cool but expensive and a little finicky. Zenostein posted:Platinum has a briarwood bodied version of their 3776 (You meant Platinum, right?) which is nice and heavy — under the wood it's brass. Obviously the ink capacity is the same, but it's nice to hold. The only problem is I don't think I've ever seen one for sale except on like, Rakuten. Mine was a hand-me-down that took like 5 years to figure out it was even a Platinum (it's got "Tiffany & co." and "Diplomat West Germany" on the capband and diplomat stamped on the [quite obviously] platinum nib), and it has a different cap. The obvious solution for the ink situation is to use cartridges instead of a converter, since that'll probably double the ink capacity. So if you already do that I've got nothing, I guess. Yes platinum, brain fart sorry! All those P brands. I was looking at pelikans, I like their look. Hearing some positive feedback, I'll explore more deeply.
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Dec 27, 2016 00:45
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Pelikan makes really good stuff, but while their nibs are really nice you can basically forget about consistent nib sizing. They're all over the place.
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Dec 27, 2016 04:17
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Yeah, but they should still give you a month to sort that out, assuming you don't have an actual store that would let you try poo poo out. But yeah, more than usual, the width markings are a very loose guideline for Pelikans. Also if you were feeling spendy, I believe they all have interchangeable nibs — the nib/feed just screws out. So hey, buy a few of the appropriate size and you can have a pen that writes as fine or as wide as you'd care for!
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Dec 27, 2016 07:01
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I really liked the look of the Nemosine Re-Entry nibs and heard you could do it to a faber-castell steel nib, so I gave it a shot.  Really happy with the results!
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Dec 28, 2016 02:56
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I guess if you don't ever intend to push the nib wider that's okay. Annealing steel makes it pretty brittle though. I agree that they look pretty cool!
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Dec 28, 2016 04:35
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So I had mentioned in an earlier post that I was looking to trade one of my pens. It's a Waterman's 3v with an Ideal gold flex nib that I bought off eBay and restored to working order. I had to soak it for awhile, disassemble it, clean it and replace the ink sac, but now it's in excellent working condition. The metalwork is in decent shape for a pen its age, the finish isn't rubbing off, and thankfully the lever filling mechanism works fine - apparently those are a common point of failure on old Watermans and they're hard to fix/replace. I'm looking to trade it because it's too nice and I never use it because I don't want to break it. I'm wanting to get a modern pen that is more easily replaceable so I won't feel so bad if I break/lose it. I'm open to offers, but in a perfect world I'd really like to try out a vanishing point/decimo.    
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Dec 29, 2016 17:43
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I got one of those Visconti Wall Street limited editions that Chatterly Luxuries has on sale for a really nice price. Absolutely gorgeous pen, that green stacked celluloid is my jam. The nib could stand a bit of tuning, but it's not bad by any means, pretty stubby. Super comfortable to hold, and despite being the longest pen in my collection it's not heavy at all. It's just a joy of a pen, except... When you screw the cap on. It's about a quarter turn out of alignment with the body. 
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Dec 30, 2016 21:14
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Korwen posted:So I had mentioned in an earlier post that I was looking to trade one of my pens. For reference, you could get about $100 for that out of a vintage pen collector, depending on the nib's actual performance.
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Dec 30, 2016 21:31
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NeurosisHead posted:For reference, you could get about $100 for that out of a vintage pen collector, depending on the nib's actual performance. Thank you! I figured it was about that, based on a few sold ebay listings. I was hoping since they retail for ~$140 new and several people have found cheaper deals, a vanishing point (or other "entry level" modern gold nibbed pens) wouldn't be out of the question for trades
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Dec 30, 2016 22:24
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Speaking of new pens, my Christmas gift (to myself) showed up today. My sisters gave me some Amazon gift cards so I was able to snag a Porsche Design Slim FP off of the clearance page for $76(!). It's a Pelikan made pen and the nib is a (very stubby) broad. The nib is loving amazing, but almost too broad for day to day use.
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Dec 31, 2016 02:12
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Got a copper lilliput for Xmas it is awesome.
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Dec 31, 2016 21:04
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I'm going to be in Tokyo for a week or so soon, and if there's time I want to visit some fountain pen shops while I'm there. Does anyone have any suggestions for where to go/what to get? So far, my fountain pen habit basically encompasses a Pilot Metro and a few bottles of Iroshizuku ink.
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Jan 1, 2017 07:16
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There are those Tokyo limited edition Iroshizuku bottles.
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Jan 1, 2017 07:17
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Lots of choice in Tokyo. I asked over on r/fountainpens before I went and this is what they suggested: https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/4nv3if/pen_shops_in_japan/ Kingdom Note has an insane variety of pens and inks but the staff aren't very helpful at all if you can't speak rudimentary Japanese. Maruzen (I went to the Nihonbashi branch), has a comparatively smaller selection but the staff are exceptionally keen to help you - I lost track of how many pens I tried there despite speaking no Japanese and the assistant speaking no English. Ito-ya is more about stationery than pens but it's definitely worth the trip to get some good paper and notebooks and it's walking distance from the Nihonbashi Maruzen iirc. Maruzen has some exclusive Salior and Athena inks, Ito-ya has the Iroshizuku Tokyo inks, Kingdom Note has a few exclusive inks as well.
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Jan 1, 2017 08:25
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Well I got this as a gift from my mother since she knows I love all things that draw and love vintage stuff too. It was my grandfather's and the internet tells me it's from the 50s. I think it's quite a find according to the web but whatever I would never sell this. Wondering if I should just load it up with paint or attempt some restoration first.
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Jan 1, 2017 16:10
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I decided to take a gamble on an 8-pack of those Jinhao 599-A's, and so far they've been perfectly acceptable pens. I'm having more trouble with the ink I decided to try than anything else. ON a related note, does De Atrementis have any inks that don't take years to dry? I've tried both Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle and they're very pretty but useless for my planner since they have to be left alone for so long or they smear.
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Jan 1, 2017 20:41
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I picked up some Rhodia notebooks and a planner to use with a Pilot Metro with a fine nib for my office at work. The Metro came with an ink cartridge but I'm not a big fan of it. Recommendations for a quick-drying ink in black? I'm also going to grab a con-50 for it - love it on my other Metro for my home journal.
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Jan 1, 2017 21:59
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I like Borealis Black a lot. X-Feather is a very fast drying ink for lefties.
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Jan 2, 2017 00:23
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Iznogood posted:Well I got this as a gift from my mother since she knows I love all things that draw and love vintage stuff too. It was my grandfather's and the internet tells me it's from the 50s. I think it's quite a find according to the web but whatever I would never sell this. Wondering if I should just load it up with paint or attempt some restoration first. It's going to need a flush in the very least, and if it's a Vacumatic it will probably need a replacement sac as well. Most likely it also needs a new breathing tube. You can get away without replacing the tube, but it will effect the writing experience. I restored one a week or two ago, for my flush I used a 1:10 ratio white vinegar : water, run that through it until the water comes out clear, and flush the solution out with clean water. Soak the nib section in clean water until it stops bleeding ink from the nib, flushing every now and then, this might take up to a day. Let it dry then fill with ink. If everything works then congratulations, if not, you'll need to go and find an in depth clean and restore video on YouTube.
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Jan 2, 2017 00:44
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Megabound posted:It's going to need a flush in the very least, and if it's a Vacumatic it will probably need a replacement sac as well. Most likely it also needs a new breathing tube. You can get away without replacing the tube, but it will effect the writing experience. It's a vacumatic alright. I'll try what you said. Anyways what's the worst that can happen? A big mess of ink? Rigth? If it's too much of a pain I'll just keep it and not use it. Not like I need it or expect it to perform anywhere neer more modern pens. It's a souvenir from my grandpa and prety neat as is. The mechanical pencil works like a charm. Thanks a ton for the advice!
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Jan 2, 2017 01:17
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