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howe_sam posted:The 823 is pretty much cigar-shaped-pen.txt and if you don't vibe on that it won't be for you and that's cool. Personally I don't care for the amber finish, but the smoke or clear models are dang nice imo. Plus, if you're a true madman and get your hands on an FA nib and custom ebonite feed, holy hell that's fun. I've also got an 823 with a waverly nib that I use for my black ink writing needs and it's a total champ. It's pretty much always been inked from the moment I got it. But again, if cigar shaped pen with a ball clip isn't your jam, then yeah 823 isn't the pen for you. It's just the clear-ish body. The shape and everything else is fine, but if I'm paying that much for a pen I'd rather have some choice when it comes to color. Especially since my current fountain pens are Twsbi so I'd like to go away from demonstrators. If there was a blue or green resin/marbled version I'd be all over it since it ticks all my other criteria. But I'll wait until I see it in person to discard it completely Basically for that amount of money everything has to be pretty much perfect. The Sailor pro gear for example have some really cool looking pens. KingColliwog fucked around with this message at 15:51 on Mar 5, 2023 |
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Mar 5, 2023 15:25
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| # ? May 13, 2024 10:10 |
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I found this comprehensive comparison of all the different Pilot Custom models to be very useful when I was deciding which to get: https://kmpn.blogspot.com/2011/06/pilot-custom.html?m=1
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Mar 5, 2023 18:33
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I don’t get on with Pilot nibs and haven’t tried the 823, but I will say I think the custom 92 is underrated - it has the nicest piston filling mechanism I’ve encountered. Available for ~$130 shipped from Japan. If only I liked Pilot nibs. I thought I would hate the Lamy 2000, but I got a great deal on a used one and decided to see what the fuss was about. Turns out it really is that good  . Possibly my favorite complete package pen.
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Mar 6, 2023 01:37
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I have a pilot 823 and I think I prefer the lamy 2000. So much so that I might get a second one so I can use two different kinds of ink at once.
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Mar 6, 2023 02:41
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I’m the opposite, I guess. I always wanted to like Lamy but their nibs have never agreed with me. I owned two different 2000s and both had really small sweet spots for writing. Then the high end Pilot nibs grabbed me with their glassy smoothness and they’ve always performed great for me. I have some higher end Sailor hardware (Taccia) too but I don’t prefer the feedback sensation.
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Mar 6, 2023 05:09
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NiftyBottle posted:I don’t get on with Pilot nibs and haven’t tried the 823, but I will say I think the custom 92 is underrated - it has the nicest piston filling mechanism I’ve encountered. Available for ~$130 shipped from Japan. If only I liked Pilot nibs. Can you give me a link? For a friend...
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Mar 6, 2023 08:06
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Keetron posted:Can you give me a link? For a friend... Here you go . Penpen Avenue is my preferred Japan retailer, they’ve got some of the best prices I’ve found. The 92 has more limited nib options than some Pilots, though you may be able to swap in some nibs from 91s or 74s to give you a few more options.
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Mar 6, 2023 11:32
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I just noticed Goulet raised their free shipping minimum to $99, which is a bummer. I get it, but it's getting harder to shop from there since I don't usually get a ton of stuff at once. We have a couple decent shops in the DC area but I like Goulet. I really wish they'd start allowing local purchases so at least I could go down to Richmond on a weekend or something.
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Mar 6, 2023 18:55
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I may have bought a blue custom heritage from a link that may have been posted here
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Mar 6, 2023 19:00
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NiftyBottle posted:Here you go . Penpen Avenue is my preferred Japan retailer, they’ve got some of the best prices I’ve found. The 92 has more limited nib options than some Pilots, though you may be able to swap in some nibs from 91s or 74s to give you a few more options. oh dear. these prices are really good.
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Mar 6, 2023 19:24
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roomtwofifteen posted:I just noticed Goulet raised their free shipping minimum to $99, which is a bummer. I get it, but it's getting harder to shop from there since I don't usually get a ton of stuff at once. We have a couple decent shops in the DC area but I like Goulet. I really wish they'd start allowing local purchases so at least I could go down to Richmond on a weekend or something. I'm tempted to go make fountain pen friends outside this board so that we can pair up large orders for free shipping, but that would have to be a very trustworthy friend, I guess. The other solution is to convert friends and family to fountain pen enthusiasts so that giving gifts gets easier, but then shopping is like once or twice a year. Jetpens still has free shipping at $35 so if they have it, it could be worth just shooping there if the price difference is negligible: https://www.jetpens.com/
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Mar 6, 2023 19:44
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Truphaeinc.com has free shipping over $20. They have a store in Greenville, SC. I'd say their shipping timeline isn't as crisp as Goulet's, but they also do ink samples and have a good selection.
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Mar 6, 2023 22:00
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roomtwofifteen posted:I just noticed Goulet raised their free shipping minimum to $99, which is a bummer. I get it, but it's getting harder to shop from there since I don't usually get a ton of stuff at once. We have a couple decent shops in the DC area but I like Goulet. I really wish they'd start allowing local purchases so at least I could go down to Richmond on a weekend or something. Yeah they had allowed warehouse pickup before they moved to their current location, and it's a bummer -- I'm local to them and would love for it to come back. They said they couldn't offer it anymore because of something to do with their lease/landlord's rules (at least that's what a friend of mine who used to do warehouse pickup was told when she asked them about it).
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Mar 6, 2023 22:09
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NiftyBottle posted:Here you go . Penpen Avenue is my preferred Japan retailer, they’ve got some of the best prices I’ve found. The 92 has more limited nib options than some Pilots, though you may be able to swap in some nibs from 91s or 74s to give you a few more options. Salvation is mine, they do not ship to my country so I stopped looking. Still on the zero line for fp stuff this year, I can do this!
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Mar 6, 2023 22:38
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Wound anybody be interested in buying a lightly used Platinum Curidas in blue? Nib size is Fine. I just don't use it in favor of my Vanishing Point.
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Mar 7, 2023 03:25
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Heath posted:Wound anybody be interested in buying a lightly used Platinum Curidas in blue? Nib size is Fine. I just don't use it in favor of my Vanishing Point. I'll definitely take a look if you post in sa-mart and PM me a link.
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Mar 7, 2023 04:15
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sb hermit posted:I'll definitely take a look if you post in sa-mart and PM me a link. I might be listing a couple of pens actually so I'm going to put a thread together in the next day or two. Here's the Curidas, I'll have to ink it up to get a writing sample. 
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Mar 7, 2023 05:48
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Well thanks for everyone's input! I would never have made that choice without your suggestions. I ended up getting a Pelikan M200 in green with a fine nib. I can't wait to ink it up with my favourite green (Shin-Ryoku) since I left all my nice inks at school. It's fairly small, but I can write with it comfortably unposted. What really convinced me is that it's the first pen I tried that I can actually use posted and it's super comfortable and not unbalanced and annoying. It also looks super beautiful when posted and I'm not going to lose the cap/the pen won't roll over. It's really light too, which I don't mind but some people might not like. The nib is great, not scratchy but not too smooth. Quite a bit better than my Twsbi diamond fine which I find too scratchy and it has more feedback than my medium Twsbi Eco that I find a bit too glassy. Oh and the piston is soooooooo smooth it's crazy. The Twsbi piston feels like garbage after using the Pelikan. That whole research sure made me want more pens though. I'll probably get a pilot Falcon next time I want to indulge. Or a Sailor Pro Gear. Or a... Muir posted:My Vac700R cap never felt fragile. There's also the TWSBI Classic to look at. Next step up after Vac 700R and Classic is probably is the $130 range, e.g. Pilot Custom Heritage 92 ($130 shipped from Japan on eBay), Pelikan M200 ($135 on Amazon), and then up to the $200+ range, e.g. Pilot Custom 823 ($220 shipped from Japan on eBay). Thanks to you in particular, since it's that post that made me consider the Pelikan. KingColliwog fucked around with this message at 18:45 on Mar 8, 2023 |
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Mar 8, 2023 18:38
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I'll say my Vac700R cap never felt fragile either, but one day out of the blue the plastic cleanly separated from the metal ring around the bottom of the cap. It didn't snap or feel like it broke, I just went to unscrew it and it fell off.
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Mar 8, 2023 18:54
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Heath posted:I'll say my Vac700R cap never felt fragile either, but one day out of the blue the plastic cleanly separated from the metal ring around the bottom of the cap. It didn't snap or feel like it broke, I just went to unscrew it and it fell off. This was exactly my experience with the Vac700. Twice. We have easily a dozen Diamond 580s in the house (look, she's a bit of a collector, you know?) and none of them have had an issue.
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Mar 8, 2023 19:05
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KingColliwog posted:Thanks to you in particular, since it's that post that made me consider the Pelikan. Glad to be of assistance! I hope you enjoy your Pelikan, they're nice pens. I also have a strong preference for posting my pens. One of my favorites is a Franklin-Christoph 02 that I had done in urushi and maki-e by Bokumondoh. They have a slightly weird profile that tapers down so the cap can post deeply. Franklin-Christoph nibs are excellent (Jowo #6 but always tuned or custom ground in house). No piston filler though. I will say even the longer Pilot models like the 823 feel on the edge of OK length-wise when posted for me, since they're pretty light. I don't have a 92 but I expect it would be quite comfortable posted.
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Mar 8, 2023 19:13
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atholbrose posted:This was exactly my experience with the Vac700. Twice. It's kind of bizarre how replicable the flaw is, it has to be a process thing.
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Mar 8, 2023 19:14
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Heath posted:It's kind of bizarre how replicable the flaw is, it has to be a process thing. I think it's as simple as a rather heavy metal ring sitting on top of a rather thin plastic tube. It's just poor design. I've had it happen twice.
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Mar 9, 2023 01:46
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Yeah mine broke twice randomly and once because I dropped it. Thankfully it's really cheap/easy to get a new one shipped by Twsbi, but it's still annoying. They told me that over tightening the cap can lead to that problem. I really don't feel like I use any force when I tighten mine and I don't like it when I need to baby things so they don't break. It'll be relegated to ink color I don't use often duty. Or I might see if there's any cool nib I can get for it... edit : I may have ordered a 1.1mm stub for it KingColliwog fucked around with this message at 02:09 on Mar 9, 2023 |
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Mar 9, 2023 02:00
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They told me the same thing and I just don't buy that it's due to over tightening. I don't feel like I was especially rough on it. I have a 1.1mm Nemosine Re-Entry nib on mine that looks amazing. I wish they were still available.
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Mar 9, 2023 03:43
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I'm about to give up on having red inks in my Safaris, the nib creep and bleed is so bad I have to wipe down the nib, grip, and inside of the cap almost every time I use it. Rouge Grenat was my main red for a while and I knew it was particularly bad with creep, but I just switched to Rouge d'Orient and it's slightly better but still bad. Such is the life of a red ink enthusiast
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Mar 10, 2023 15:49
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"Do you bleed" I ask my new Pilot in a Batman voice while standing over a mess of disheveled Lamys
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Mar 10, 2023 16:45
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Heath posted:"Do you bleed" I ask my new Pilot in a Batman voice while standing over a mess of disheveled Lamys
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Mar 10, 2023 17:40
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Shellception posted:
holy smokes, that's a gorgeous pen, and at half price, what a find! very classic and refined look and i'm sure it's smooth like butter to write with. unfortunately upon seeing this pen, my "Meister" is "Stuck" at full attention, so i'll have to go put it to work for a bit  (i want to gently caress this pen!!!)
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Mar 11, 2023 03:54
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I just ordered a few inks and noticed I don't have a true black. I want to just buy a black that is as black as possible, nice to use and don't care about waterproofness, etc. Doesn't feel like spending more is going to be useful here. Also as a side note why are J. Herbin bottles so terrible.
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Mar 12, 2023 23:12
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What's wrong with them? Seem similar to like Diamine. Noodlers are worse. I recently bought one not thinking about it, and it's the worst bottle yet:
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Mar 13, 2023 00:30
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teethgrinder posted:What's wrong with them? Seem similar to like Diamine. Noodlers are worse. They are super wide and very shallow with a small opening. Once you get past the half point, you have to angle the bottle and then either transfer it into another bottle or something. Noodlers are very tall so you only get that problem when there's 1/8 of the ink left so I don't mind as much. edit : That color looks nice though. KingColliwog fucked around with this message at 02:55 on Mar 13, 2023 |
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Mar 13, 2023 02:19
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j. herbin is such an old brand I'd be surprised if it's not one of those capital B brand things to use the bottles they use and only those
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Mar 13, 2023 02:38
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I was shopping for black ink recently and found this very left-brained analysis and comparison: https://macchiatoman.com/blog/2017/12/11/ink-comparison-32-black-inks I ended up getting Perle Noire, but that's a J. Herbin ink. Previously, I had used Noodler's Heart of Darkness and it was fine. I just wanted to try something that wasn't Noodler's. Nonetheless, Noodler's has a few intense blacks with various properties.
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Mar 13, 2023 03:08
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They are quite proud of their d-bottles, with convenient pen-rest, yeah. Tipping them is only really annoying when the bottle's real empty (like anything that isn't a vial, really), and they look nice. Perfectly acceptable tradeoff. Anyway I think the generally accepted blackest black is Aurora. Pilot black is what I use, though. If you get the 70?ml one, it has a neat little mini-vial thing in it to solve the very problem you're complaining about, too! It's maybe not the absolute darkest (I use fine pens), but it's definitely black, and not just super dark purple or something. Does get kinda feathery on some random looseleaf I was using, though.
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Mar 13, 2023 03:12
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Yeah I never used Aurora but it was recommended online repeatedly.
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Mar 13, 2023 03:54
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Platinum Carbon Black is also very popular.
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Mar 13, 2023 04:20
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Borealis Black has the benefit of being Sharpie-black but it does have kind of a weird dusty residue on nicer paper. It works well with fine pens on cheaper paper, which is a good upside for notetaking. When I want to use a black, I dilute it a little bit and it doesn't lose much depth.
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Mar 13, 2023 04:31
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Aurora Black or Platinum Carbon Black are the best black inks out there, in my opinion.
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Mar 13, 2023 04:35
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I am not much of a black ink person and use Carbon black for all my needs as it is water proof and I draw a lot with my pens. However, it has a long drying time and heavy sheen. When diluting it, for example when washing out a pen, it will lean towards a warm dark purple. When it comes to blacks, instead of worrying about the blackness, I look at other properties more such as feathering and writing smoothness. Carbon Black feathers badly on cheap paper, possibly because it needs more than usual surfactant with it being a pigment ink. Finally, with it being a pigment ink, it can clog up pens if not used for a long long time and it will leave stains on clothing that will never go out.
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Mar 13, 2023 07:48
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