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Lowness 72 posted:I'm kidding. For disposable but nice, try Uniball Jetstream Pens. Those are fantastic. Jetstreams are my absolute favorite, and they are nice enough that I don't even treat them as disposables, I just buy new cartridges for them. I prefer the capped version but the clicky ones are nice too. They are also generally available at big box office supply stores.
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May 17, 2018 12:40
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stealie72 posted:Joined the Goulet fanboi Facebook group, and boy people are excited to own a safari in a different color. We make fun of ourselves, but goons are nowhere near as spergtacular as we could be. The Goulet fanboi club can be hilarious at times:  Did you see the new Sailor Stormy Seas Pen? GP has a sale on Lamy's new color-of-the-month Safari! Goulet doesn't carry Sailor, but Fahrney's Pens in DC has them. I feel dirty not buying from Goulet. Heretic! I would never buy anything other than Goulet.There's another FB fountain pen group, "Fountain Pen Loft," that I'm a member of. It's pretty sedate most of the time, but some Indian self-styled royalty guy, "Hrh Anirban Chakravarti," with a nazi flag as his FB picture, joined the other day. That caused a lot of drama. Some especially fragile person quit the group because the admins didn't kick the guy fast enough. As for rollerballs, I tend to use a Pilot G2 when I want a cheap pen that writes decently well.
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May 17, 2018 14:13
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Is the Goulet Nation group run by fans or is it run by the Goulets?
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May 17, 2018 14:19
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I'm pretty sure it's the Goulets since they and a few of their employees are admins.
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May 17, 2018 14:24
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Heath posted:Robert Oster Cherry Blossom for a more pink and Robert Oster Claret for something more dusty but closer to purple. Wicked thanks, I will check those out. Does anyone know of an ink comparable to Chivor without the sparkle? The sheen is also not necessary, since I have never gotten that to show up in my Lechtturm.
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May 17, 2018 17:59
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Demon_Corsair posted:Wicked thanks, I will check those out. Does anyone know of an ink comparable to Chivor without the sparkle? The sheen is also not necessary, since I have never gotten that to show up in my Lechtturm. Montblanc Irish Green will get that deep rich green color from a wet enough nib.
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May 17, 2018 18:55
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Platystemon posted:Do you want an actual sample or a bottle? Vanness has bottles. They do sell samples of some inks but apparently not that one. Yeah I wanna drop like a buck or two on a sample to see if I like it.
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May 17, 2018 19:15
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Platystemon posted:Do you want an actual sample or a bottle? Vanness has bottles. They do sell samples of some inks but apparently not that one. Put me down as "I'd like a sample but where the heck are they" too. Refresh my memory as to how to properly fly with an FP? I intend to bring my Metro with me on an upcoming overseas flight and back. It's got the piston converter, if that helps/harms.
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May 17, 2018 19:59
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I generally wrap the pen in a ziploc bag and put it in my purse such that it'll remain horizontal. Haven't had a leak in some time. If you happen to have room for a plastic bottle, you can put the pen inside that to help protect it from pressure changes, but I don't think that's necessary.
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May 17, 2018 20:02
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Fly with it as full as possible so there’s little to no air in the cartridge or converter.
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May 17, 2018 22:22
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MJP posted:Refresh my memory as to how to properly fly with an FP? I intend to bring my Metro with me on an upcoming overseas flight and back. It's got the piston converter, if that helps/harms. Frequent flyer and Lamy 2000 owner checking in: I’ve always heard as full as possible such that you minimize the effect of the pressurized environment on the ink by way of having as little air in the system as possible, and it’s worked perfectly for me. I’ve even written on planes with it and had no problems. Or maybe it’s a side effect of the tormented soul that Lamy puts in all 2k’s which long for release from their material captivity.
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May 17, 2018 22:23
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Kessel posted:Fly with it as full as possible so there’s little to no air in the cartridge or converter. I've heard the opposite, but you've probably been on a lot more flights than I have. I filled mine about 80‰ full and put them in a Ziploc. I think it was more of a problem with vintage pens than with modern. My Lamys were all fine.
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May 17, 2018 22:37
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Newbie here. My wife caught me looking at the F-C e-motion pure black and admonished me to not spend $175 on a pen. So instead I'm looking at the Basic in carbon fiber or the ambition. Any recommendations either way? I'm interested in adding a converter but I've seen conflicting reports on if the Basic takes the standard F-C converter.
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May 17, 2018 22:39
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Dimestore Merlin posted:Newbie here. My wife caught me looking at the F-C e-motion pure black and admonished me to not spend $175 on a pen. So instead I'm looking at the Basic in carbon fiber or the ambition. Any recommendations either way? I'm interested in adding a converter but I've seen conflicting reports on if the Basic takes the standard F-C converter. I've got a Faber-Castell basic in chrome. It's a solid pen, brought down by a number of minor flaws. The grip section has a textured coating and is finger-friendly, though it also holds on to ink more than conventional materials. I've got a converter in mine (some generic international model), and the body of the pen keeps grabbing the converter. No problems with ink flow when the pen is together. The biggest flaw is the cap, which is a brushed silver plastic that just looks cheap next to the pen itself. It's not a bad pen by any reason, but I've got a Lamy Al-Star, and in that price range if you made me pick one, the Lamy would win hands down.
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May 17, 2018 23:06
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Heath posted:I've heard the opposite, but you've probably been on a lot more flights than I have. I filled mine about 80‰ full and put them in a Ziploc. I think it was more of a problem with vintage pens than with modern. My Lamys were all fine. The idea behind a full fill is that no air in the system means no air to expand and push ink out. If you keep your pen in a sealed container that maintains its own air pressure, then the fill level becomes irrelevant. You can use a Nalgene bottle or even an empty plastic water bottle for this.
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May 18, 2018 00:31
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Dimestore Merlin posted:Newbie here. My wife caught me looking at the F-C e-motion pure black and admonished me to not spend $175 on a pen. So instead I'm looking at the Basic in carbon fiber or the ambition. Any recommendations either way? I'm interested in adding a converter but I've seen conflicting reports on if the Basic takes the standard F-C converter. Sever Kidding, sort of. The Basic is a pretty decent pen, and the Carbon Fibre version is probably the best option. The other finishes have metal barrels and a habit of cracking at the threads. It should take the standard F-C converter. The Ambition has some design... eccentricities shall we say? That's a pen that you should absolutely try in a store if you can.
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May 18, 2018 00:33
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I added a sample of Diamine Frosted Orchid to my last order, and it is freakin' adorable. Despite being a 42 year old male, it makes me want to write "Do you like me? ___ yes ____no" notes to the cute boys in class. It's going to be hard for me to not buy a bottle, but since most of what I write is in front of clients, not sure I can get away with using it much. But my "to do" list is super sparkly right now.
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May 18, 2018 14:10
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grack posted:The Ambition has some design... eccentricities shall we say? That's a pen that you should absolutely try in a store if you can. I have more Ambitions than any other single model of pen. (I really like the OpArt's swirly guilloche patterns, and also have a thing for wood pens.) The pen doesn't have a section; you hold it by the barrel, like a pencil. If you can adapt to that, they are great. Two Basics have broken on me at the plastic ink window. Not really worth dealing with
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May 18, 2018 14:25
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I went a little batshit on $2 Chinese pens on ebay, and the first of my orders are starting to trickle in, a mere 10 days after I bought them. I'm pretty goddamn impressed with the efficiency of both of our postal systems. Got a 5 pack of Hero 926es, which are OK but a bit scratchy. Going to have to look up how to play with them. And will likely dip all of their nibs and write a couple sentences to see which is the best one. Also got a Jinhao x450 which has surprising gravitas for a $4 pen. Its nib is not half bad. At less than $2/ea for 6 pens, I'm pretty happy. Worst case is the kids will get a couple to play with.
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May 18, 2018 21:16
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Should I pick up one of those moonmans everyone is on about? Or is there a better Chinese pen to start with
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May 18, 2018 23:05
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Is Ebay the best place to get Chinese pens? The only ones I can find in any number on Amazon are Jinhao or weird nameless pens that list for $150 but are perpetually on 'sale' for 20 bucks.
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May 19, 2018 00:01
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Ebay, Taobao or Aliexpress. New stuff tends to show up on Taoboa or Aliexpress first, but Ebay is generally cheaper and has better customer protection. You'll also have to use an agent to buy off of Taobao.Lowness 72 posted:Should I pick up one of those moonmans everyone is on about? Or is there a better Chinese pen to start with What kind of pens do you like and how much do you want to spend? grack fucked around with this message at 05:51 on May 28, 2018 |
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May 19, 2018 00:09
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Thanks for the advice. I got the Basic in carbon fiber with a converter in extra fine. Hoping to get an idea of how much I like the nib. Should it crack on me I'll just pick up that pure black e-motion and have it shipped to my office. I think part of my wife's despair is that my other collecting hobby is mechanical keyboards. I guess I have a thing for pricey tactile writing instruments. 
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May 19, 2018 01:06
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grack posted:Ebay, Taobao or Aliexpress. New stuff tends to show up on Taoboa or Aliexpress first, but Ebay is generally cheaper and has better customer protection. You'll also have to use an agent to buy off of Taoboa. I've never used an eyedropper. I am a nerd and like pens - recent favorite is my Platinum 3776. Under $50?
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May 19, 2018 02:24
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Lowness 72 posted:I've never used an eyedropper. I am a nerd and like pens - recent favorite is my Platinum 3776. Under $50? Both the Moonman M2 and Wancai Mini are great pens if you want to try an eyedropper and the nibs are generally pretty good. I'm partial to the Wancai Mini because it's adorable. Also, the shorter barrel means the ink reservoir is never actually resting on your hand, which helps a bit with burping. Edit: Here's something pink 
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May 19, 2018 02:33
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I haven't seen anything about it in recent posts, but how's the TWBSI Eco? I've been working lots of overtime lately so I'm itching to expand my collection (Ignoring the cool 160ish I just spent on Kessel's nice rear end products) .
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May 19, 2018 05:37
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Nine of Eight posted:I haven't seen anything about it in recent posts, but how's the TWBSI Eco? I've been working lots of overtime lately so I'm itching to expand my collection (Ignoring the cool 160ish I just spent on Kessel's nice rear end products) . I like mine, it writes smoothly and holds a nice amount of ink, but I've heard lots of vague bad stuff about TWSBI lately so you might want to wait for a second opinion.
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May 19, 2018 05:50
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The Ecos are (generally) fine, it’s the other models you have to worry about
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May 19, 2018 06:45
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I got a Vac 700r with a Nemosine Reentry stub and it's pretty nice.
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May 19, 2018 06:47
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My broad TWSBI 580 is still one of the best pens in my collection, and after a couple years it's still in immaculate condition because I'm not a ham-handed galoot. Don't overtighten them, don't let them bounce around in some lovely pen kimono at the bottom of your backpack, don't put them in your loving jeans pocket
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May 19, 2018 13:25
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For what it’s worth, 580s have cracked while sitting unused in their own packaging because of the faulty design putting stress on the plastic. I’ve seen the discard pile at some of the distros and it’s dumb. Treating the pen like poo poo might hasten the damage, but you could white-glove it and still get in trouble because that’s just the way it is.
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May 19, 2018 13:44
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Kessel posted:For what it’s worth, 580s have cracked while sitting unused in their own packaging because of the faulty design putting stress on the plastic. I’ve seen the discard pile at some of the distros and it’s dumb. Treating the pen like poo poo might hasten the damage, but you could white-glove it and still get in trouble because that’s just the way it is. How recently, though? All the reports I've seen seem to indicate that those issues are a thing of years past. edit: Like, lots of people have sour grapes over old cracked TWSBIs, but I never see reports of those mysterious phantom cracks with newly manufactured TWSBIs in The Year Of Our Goulet Drew 2017-2018 VVV Sorry, I think that's a lil' spoonful of hyperbole Trustworthy fucked around with this message at 14:08 on May 19, 2018 |
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May 19, 2018 13:56
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It still happens. They’ve never made significant enough changes to the design or the plastic mix. The model itself is a write-off now — they’re trying to milk every colour variation the factory can do before killing it off.
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May 19, 2018 14:00
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Trustworthy posted:My broad TWSBI 580 is still one of the best pens in my collection, and after a couple years it's still in immaculate condition because I'm not a ham-handed galoot. Honest question: Why are you being such an rear end in a top hat about this?
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May 19, 2018 17:45
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Trustworthy posted:How recently, though? All the reports I've seen seem to indicate that those issues are a thing of years past. Hardly a huge cohort, but five of five people at a local FP meetup who have had 580s have had them crack, and these are not people chucking them around in pockets or bags, and they all bought theirs in the last two years. So I don't think it's got anything to do with being a "ham handed galoot". Also nobody's going to be more likely to buy a pen because you're being a jerk TWSBI apologist, so I'm not at all certain what you're hoping to accomplish here.
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May 19, 2018 18:11
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I'm a big fan of the Eco. Got me back into fountain pens after some not so great Metro experiences. A piston filler for $30! And you can try out a stub.
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May 19, 2018 18:29
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Yesterday I rolled my desk chair back over my Namiki Falcon that I purchased years ago crushing the body (front of body and nib and cap are fine). Is there any way to get a replacement body? Also I have an unused Mont Blanc Meisterstuck 146 that I bought my dad 2 decades ago and that he regifted to me this year after a big career move with an unopened 2 decade old bottle of Noodler's Ink. Would it be ok to use ink still? I'll use it as a replacement if I can't get a new body for my Falcon.
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May 19, 2018 20:11
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I got a bottle of Heart of Darkness recently and decided to fill up the little Charlie pen that came with it. The last one I got with a bottle of Borealis Black was total garbage and would randomly spew a blob of ink on the page with no provocation. I wasn't expecting much out of this one, but it's been my main pen for the last few days. It weighs almost nothing and lays down thick, dark lines reliably. It may become my main journaling pen. The Noodler's Experience: sometimes awful, sometimes great.
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May 19, 2018 20:21
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Yuns posted:Yesterday I rolled my desk chair back over my Namiki Falcon that I purchased years ago crushing the body (front of body and nib and cap are fine). Is there any way to get a replacement body? Pilot doesn't sell replacement bodies. You may get lucky on eBay or buy/sell pages for the more popular fountain pen sites. Alternatively, the barrel from the Custom 91 and 74 both fit the Falcon
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May 19, 2018 20:43
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Trustworthy posted:VVV Sorry, I think that's a lil' spoonful of hyperbole You're free to think that if you'd like, but I'm close to quite a number of elements in the supply chain. If you really enjoy TWSBI, I would recommend just getting the Eco or the new Precision. The 580 and the 700 are problematic beasts with a very high fault rate and you're likely better off skipping them. Kessel fucked around with this message at 23:56 on May 19, 2018 |
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May 19, 2018 23:49
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