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MJP posted:What is the zeitgeist opinion of a competitor to a Metro? I like the weight and balance, and before I just buy another Metro it'd be nice to know what else is out there. Definitely not looking for something super lightweight. Cool colors are a plus. Lamys need not apply, already got one. I actually prefer both my Kaweco Perkeo and Pilot Kakuno to my Metro, though they are both lightweight compared to a Metro (plastic vs. metal).
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Jul 24, 2018 18:01
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What's the deal with the modern day old pen brands of Parker, Shaeffer, Waterman, etc? They've been around for ages but I never hear about their current crop of pens. Everyone talks about their vintage stuff but I never see anyone talk about their current stuff. Why is this? Is it just because I'm not part of any fountain pen community (outside of this thread and some youtube stuff)? Am I just not in their demographic? Waterman seems rather boutique judging by their site, as does Parker, outside of the Jotter and IM. While Schaeffer on the other hand seems almost entirely lower end. It's this really weird blind spot that I've developed over the past year and a half and I'm not quite sure why.
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Jul 25, 2018 08:17
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Sankis posted:What's the deal with the modern day old pen brands of Parker, Shaeffer, Waterman, etc? They've been around for ages but I never hear about their current crop of pens. Everyone talks about their vintage stuff but I never see anyone talk about their current stuff. All 3 hit hard times in the past couple decades and went through a buyout or two. Waterman and Parker are now owned by Newell Rubbermaid and Sheaffer was sold by Bic to Cross last year. Neither of the parent companies seem to put much priority on making nice fountain pens. Sheaffer now no longer sells anything with a gold nib - the last lines that pen nerds might've been interested in, the Legacy and the Heritage, got cut I think with the Cross buyout. Parker's nice stuff, the Duofold and the Sonnet, date to 1987 and 1994 respectively. Waterman has a bit of buzz still (the Carene seems popular in the usual places online) but is at best stagnating. There's nothing new to talk about with any of these brands. Edit: I should add that Cross seems to think of itself as a big deal (despite having a much shorter history as a fountain pen maker than Sheaffer), and has much fancier fountain pens on offer than Sheaffer. I personally find their designs pretty uninteresting, and as far as I can tell the most impact they made on the Internet pen community was when they got Sailor to do the nib for the Peerless 125. Dad Hominem fucked around with this message at 09:51 on Jul 25, 2018 |
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Jul 25, 2018 09:34
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That makes a whole lot of sense and probably explains why the description of Waterman and Parker that kept creeping into my head was "soulless". Thanks for the answer, even if it's a bit of a bummer.
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Jul 25, 2018 09:49
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On top of that, most of the old names that aren’t on your list have been bought out (often multiple times in quick succession) and in some cases are trading purely on their name. My personal feel is we’ve reached the point where you should largely ignore the brand name and just evaluate the pen based on what folks who’ve used it have said about it.
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Jul 25, 2018 09:51
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I mean, gently caress, the folks who just bought the Omas name are primarily famous for making a bitcoin pen
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Jul 25, 2018 09:52
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I'm a fan of fountain pens, but I love the Pilot Precise RT line of pens. It's like you have the best of all worlds: a ballpoint pen, a cheap disposable, "liquid" ink, gel technology, and you don't need to do anything fancy to protect it. It's like Pilot refined pen technology and created something awesome for everyone.
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Jul 25, 2018 12:17
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Kessel posted:I mean, gently caress, the folks who just bought the Omas name are primarily famous for making a bitcoin pen I'm giving serious thought to buying a 743 with a WA nib and doing a swap with my 823, somebody talk me out of this crazy idea.
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Jul 25, 2018 14:04
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Sankis posted:What's the deal with the modern day old pen brands of Parker, Shaeffer, Waterman, etc? They've been around for ages but I never hear about their current crop of pens. Everyone talks about their vintage stuff but I never see anyone talk about their current stuff. I can't speak for the other brands, but I own a modern Parker Premier in black lacquer and it's used daily at work. I bought it at Fountain Pen Hospital in NYC after using a metro for awhile. It cost about the same as a gold nibbed Edison and in my opinion, writes beautifully. The nib doesn't have a lot of flex, but it's super smooth, which I like. Another plus is the cap has a half turn which is good when I'm taking notes in meetings. My criticism is only that cartridge the converter is sticky and others may not like it's weight as it has a brass base. Here's a picture of it. My handwriting has improved somewhat since I got it, especially because I've been practicing.  I'm not really "in" the fountain pen community either apart from this thread, Youtube, and a little Reddit every now and again. My impression is that Parker, at least, kind of focuses on "executive gifts" and "luxury" using safe, but mostly boring designs. They try to be exclusive like MB, but I'm not sure it's the best strategy, because the whole "executive jewelry" thing seems confined more to older people and if one of them thinks of a pen at all, it's MB. If "Goulet Nation" is anything to go by, the FP community has a lot of enthusiasm and people are willing to poo poo money out for pens. My hunch is Parker would be better served trying to tap into that rather than just focusing their higher end offerings on the cufflinks and pocket squares set. SteelReserve posted:I'm a fan of fountain pens, but I love the Pilot Precise RT line of pens. How is that different than the G2 which I have a soft spot for?
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Jul 25, 2018 14:35
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Sheaffer 400s are nice FPs depending on model they are not too expensive (black is like 40) and are nice smooth pens.
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Jul 25, 2018 14:48
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Moral_Hazard posted:How is that different than the G2 which I have a soft spot for? The Precise V5/V7 use liquid ink, and the G2 uses gel ink. The rollerball designs for them probably differ to work that way. I suspect it's similar to the difference between Pilot fountain pen and Pilot Parallel inks. The Parallels especially are way more fun to use than any rollerball pen.
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Jul 25, 2018 15:10
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howe_sam posted:So is this a different crew from the Armando Simoni Club guys? ASC bought materials, not the name. Moral_Hazard posted:I'm not really "in" the fountain pen community either apart from this thread, Youtube, and a little Reddit every now and again. My impression is that Parker, at least, kind of focuses on "executive gifts" and "luxury" using safe, but mostly boring designs. They try to be exclusive like MB, but I'm not sure it's the best strategy, because the whole "executive jewelry" thing seems confined more to older people and if one of them thinks of a pen at all, it's MB. If "Goulet Nation" is anything to go by, the FP community has a lot of enthusiasm and people are willing to poo poo money out for pens. My hunch is Parker would be better served trying to tap into that rather than just focusing their higher end offerings on the cufflinks and pocket squares set. Parker actually still makes a pretty full lineup of pens, including entry-level models like the Vector, Jotter and IM that all sell for $20 or less. There are also low end pens made in India under license by Luxor like the Beta and Frontier. I think Parker kind of falls by the wayside because they really don't make any interesting pens. Also, I've owned two Premiers and they were both complete pieces of poo poo, so YMMV Dad Hominem posted:Edit: I should add that Cross seems to think of itself as a big deal (despite having a much shorter history as a fountain pen maker than Sheaffer), and has much fancier fountain pens on offer than Sheaffer. I personally find their designs pretty uninteresting, and as far as I can tell the most impact they made on the Internet pen community was when they got Sailor to do the nib for the Peerless 125. Cross still mainly focuses on ballpoints. Also, Cross has used other companies to make pens for them in the past - the Solo was made by Pilot, and the nib on the Verve came from Pilot as well.
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Jul 25, 2018 20:46
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grack posted:I think Parker kind of falls by the wayside because they really don't make any interesting pens. I would not mind getting one of those 90's era Centennial Duofolds in a pretty acrylic, but yeah the modern designs are boring.
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Jul 25, 2018 21:27
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I have a silver/titanium Parker Premier that was ground to EF by John Mottishaw. It’s a very beautiful pen and an absolute dream to write with.
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Jul 25, 2018 22:27
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The Sheaffer 300 is super duper smooth and has a nice weighty feel to it. It also helps to feel ~luxury~ if you get the Ferrari one, because you can then say you own a Ferrari! Shame the nibs are whole sections and like $15 each, I want mine to be in F/EF.
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Jul 26, 2018 00:15
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MJP posted:The Sheaffer 300 is super duper smooth and has a nice weighty feel to it. It also helps to feel ~luxury~ if you get the Ferrari one, because you can then say you own a Ferrari! Can confirm that it is an awesome feeling pen for $35.
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Jul 26, 2018 02:06
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This may have been posted. I may have posted it long ago, but heres an episode of the late Huell Howser going to a meeting with the southern california pen collectors club, probably 15-20 years ago. Huell was the master at making anything fun and interesting with his enthusiasm and positivity: https://youtu.be/c4M3kwt0ZPw
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Jul 26, 2018 10:28
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grack posted:Parker actually still makes a pretty full lineup of pens, including entry-level models like the Vector, Jotter and IM that all sell for $20 or less. There are also low end pens made in India under license by Luxor like the Beta and Frontier. I think Parker kind of falls by the wayside because they really don't make any interesting pens. We learned to write with fountain pens in late junior school (from age 9 or so), and the Parker Vector was the pen of choice for pretty much everyone. It might be Stockholm syndrome, but I still much prefer the feel of one in-hand compared to something like a Safari or Metro. There's something about that straight cylinder that appeals to me. I wouldn't pick up anything more expensive from Parker necessarily, but as a cheap pen to sling in a bag the Vector doesn't get enough love.
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Jul 26, 2018 12:42
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I have a Cross century (bought a few years ago before I discovered this thread) which I maintain is a perfectly nice pen and has worked without any issues since the first time I filled it up with ink. Design-wise though I’d agree that it doesn’t stand out at all.
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Aug 1, 2018 11:12
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I was all stoked to go to the DC pen show and got hit with probably to worst bug I've had in years. High fever plus lots of other lovely symptoms for three days. Adding to the bummerness is that family and friends were all going to go. 
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Aug 2, 2018 01:31
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Moral_Hazard posted:I was all stoked to go to the DC pen show and got hit with probably to worst bug I've had in years. High fever plus lots of other lovely symptoms for three days. Adding to the bummerness is that family and friends were all going to go. Oh no! Hopefully next year goes better.
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Aug 2, 2018 03:56
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Well, gently caress me. I ordered a parker challenger slender, a 1939 model for a nice cheap vintage pen to dip my toes into this whole thing. It came today and it's great. It writes wonderfully and the nib is fantastic. What happens hours later? I drop it hard enough that one of the tines breaks off completely and the other bends. edit: don't suppose anyone knows where i can find some parts? though im guessing it's probably gonna cost me more to fix than it did to buy it. Sankis fucked around with this message at 04:49 on Aug 2, 2018 |
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Aug 2, 2018 04:26
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Sankis posted:Well, gently caress me. Only a couple repairers weld nibs and it will most likely be uneconomical. You're best off sending the pen to a repairer for a replacement nib, or trawling eBay for a loose nib. I don't really recommend the latter, though, since it's tricky to get the size right just going off auction pictures.
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Aug 2, 2018 06:09
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Oh I didn't doubt that welding would not be economical. It doesn't matter anyway as I lost one of the broken tines. I was mostly wondering about loose nibs. The pen itself is in great condition, just not the tines I broke in less than 8 hours  Hopefully I can find a broken slender challenger that has an otherwise decent nib on ebay or something.
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Aug 2, 2018 06:37
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Ok. I love my TWSBI ECO pens. They are awesome and have stub nibs and I enjoy writing with them. But I want something fancier. Something ornate and rich. I was unironically looking at the Montegrappa GoT pens and the Lannister/Targaryen pens really caught my eye. I’m looking for something stylish, but not necessarily ostentatious (those GoT pens tread that line, which why I’m looking for something close but different). I have a budget of 100-300 dollars. I’d like a gold nib and a fine point. I’m really just looking for image dumps of beautiful pens, so go for it if you want to image dump.
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Aug 3, 2018 08:15
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At that price point with a gold nib I would say all your options are going to be stylish, but understated. Personally I'd look at the Lamy 2000 (the textbook definition of understated style), the Sailor 1911 Stormy Seas (blue pen with sparkles), or the Pilot Custom 823 (especially if you go the gray market route) but there's a ton of other Pilots, Platinums and Sailors to choose from as well, but they're all going to be basically injection-molded plastic pens. The other option is get a custom made pen from a place like Edison. They'll make you a pen out of a very pretty material of your choosing, but for under $300 you'd probably have to "settle" for a steel nib, though since pretty much every custom pen maker uses jowo nibs you can always buy a gold nib down the road.
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Aug 3, 2018 14:00
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What kind of paper/notebook do you guys like to write on/in? I bought some Pilot Varsitys to test the fountain pen waters, and they seem to feather on anything short of my Leuchtturm notebook (there the ink seems to sit on top of the paper and smears easily). I'd chock it up to the pens, but I've had similar (more bleeding than feathering though) issues with my other non-fountain pens. The apparent solution is better paper, but I am clueless on what to look for, other than price. Or do I need to stop whinging about paper and just buy better pens?
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Aug 3, 2018 14:31
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Cowwan posted:What kind of paper/notebook do you guys like to write on/in? Smaller nibs help, like extra fine, since they put less ink on the paper. Paper recs: Black n Red, Rhodia, Tomoe River, Miquelrius, Quo Vadis, most composition books, HP Laser Paper (at least 24lb for bleed through issues) (do not get ink jet paper as it makes a feathery mess), sometimes Staples bagasse paper, random one subject notebooks and loose leaf paper (check the Fountain Pen Network to see what people are finding). If paper feels smooth and crisp it'll probably be worth a try. That's how I pick random paper for notebooks.
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Aug 3, 2018 15:27
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howe_sam posted:At that price point with a gold nib I would say all your options are going to be stylish, but understated. Personally I'd look at the Lamy 2000 (the textbook definition of understated style), the Sailor 1911 Stormy Seas (blue pen with sparkles), or the Pilot Custom 823 (especially if you go the gray market route) but there's a ton of other Pilots, Platinums and Sailors to choose from as well, but they're all going to be basically injection-molded plastic pens. Edison is $350ish for a steel nib but a loving awesome filling system, fyi. Worth it, because Brian does a great job hand tuning the nibs on their pens.
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Aug 3, 2018 15:41
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areyoucontagious posted:Ok. I love my TWSBI ECO pens. They are awesome and have stub nibs and I enjoy writing with them. LOL $285 for a loving steel nib and cartridge converter? Christ. EDIT: If you like the look and whatnot of the pen, I totally get that. It's just for that price you could get a Pelikan M800. Solkanar512 fucked around with this message at 16:22 on Aug 3, 2018 |
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Aug 3, 2018 15:54
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effika posted:Smaller nibs help, like extra fine, since they put less ink on the paper. Cool, thanks for the advice.
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Aug 3, 2018 16:08
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Solkanar512 posted:LOL $285 for a loving steel nib and cartridge converter? Christ. I think it also depends on the pen and how it's made. Since 280 is about what most of the custom pen turners like Edison, Newton Pens, Carolina Pen Co etc charge for a steel nib C&C pen, but with them you're getting a largely hand made pen and when looked at through that lens, yeah the cost makes sense. Plus made completely to your specifications.
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Aug 3, 2018 17:32
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Pelikan M800 is on sale at Cultpens right now. They are definitely the way to go.
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Aug 3, 2018 17:35
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I am so happy with my Edison that it's been my main pen for months, replacing my beloved (but slightly too big) custom from Scriptorium Pens. The seasonals Edison puts out for Goulet can be nice looking too, and cheaper than fully custom. His line of pens sold at other retailers are nice too. I dunno, I buy a pen at that price point based on if I like the l body materials and I can always upgrade a standard #6 nib if I want. The fun resins stand out from the elegant but staid pens that tend to be in that price point. Pelikans are nice, get one if you want. But don't overlook handmade stuff like Edison.
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Aug 3, 2018 17:51
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Solkanar512 posted:LOL $285 for a loving steel nib and cartridge converter? Christ. I know, I know, it was totally a silly aesthetic thing vs actual components. I like that Pelikan.
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Aug 3, 2018 18:09
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howe_sam posted:I think it also depends on the pen and how it's made. Since 280 is about what most of the custom pen turners like Edison, Newton Pens, Carolina Pen Co etc charge for a steel nib C&C pen, but with them you're getting a largely hand made pen and when looked at through that lens, yeah the cost makes sense. Plus made completely to your specifications. Wait, is the Montegrappa handmade as well?
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Aug 3, 2018 21:41
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Honestly I have no idea, maybe?
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Aug 4, 2018 00:29
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haha gently caress. I was looking at PenBbs stuff and came across their inks. They have one called "The burning of the white house 1814" and another called 45 POTUS that's a poo poo brown
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Aug 4, 2018 00:40
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It's like an inverse Noodlers
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Aug 4, 2018 00:43
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Sankis posted:haha gently caress. I was looking at PenBbs stuff and came across their inks. They have one called "The burning of the white house 1814" and another called 45 POTUS that's a poo poo brown This is № 269 if you want some. It’s beautiful.
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Aug 4, 2018 01:19
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