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Beezle Bug posted:If a pen's nib is "normal when not flexed," what does that mean exactly? Basically that it writes a constant width when you don't add that extra pressure. Noodlers pens are F/XF, and Pilot's Falcon has different options for width when not flexed. Often a vintage pen with flex will list the range of no flex to full flex in the description from the seller (ex F-BBB)
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Feb 22, 2013 08:58
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What is everyone's opinion on Cross pens? I purchased one recently at Staples and seem to be enjoying it.
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Feb 23, 2013 02:16
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I very likely have the same Cross pen because Staples really only sells the one, and I am not fond of it. It feels wrong in my hand, doesn't post well, and I found the nib movement to be a bit slippery. Different strokes, though.
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Feb 23, 2013 03:09
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Am I supposed to be able to suck up ink through my Safari through the tip? I bought the converter and noodlers black but I couldn't manage to get more than a tiny bit of ink up through and into the pen. I just broke down and put the converter in the bottle and filled it full. It feels so good to get rid of the blue ink.
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Feb 23, 2013 04:01
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JP Money posted:Am I supposed to be able to suck up ink through my Safari through the tip? I bought the converter and noodlers black but I couldn't manage to get more than a tiny bit of ink up through and into the pen. I just broke down and put the converter in the bottle and filled it full. You need to immerse the entire nib in the ink, if you want to fill it and the converter. It is certainly possible, though, as I've done it myself (not with a Safari, but with another Lamy pen). I still prefer syringe filling, though.
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Feb 23, 2013 04:09
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I don't know anything about syringe filling. Do you just use a syringe, punch through the side of your converter/cartridge, and squirt more ink in? Doesn't that cause leaking out the syringe hole?
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Feb 23, 2013 04:11
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Synastren posted:You need to immerse the entire nib in the ink, if you want to fill it and the converter. It is certainly possible, though, as I've done it myself (not with a Safari, but with another Lamy pen). I still prefer syringe filling, though. The entire nib, past the hole, was in the bottle. It still didn't suck in any ink. Using the converter alone was super clean as ink won't stick to the plastic so I'll just go that route from now on I suppose.
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Feb 23, 2013 04:19
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It needs to be completely submerged. All the way.  Part of the grip needs to be in the ink. You have to use the ink to cover any possible air passages so suction can occur.
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Feb 23, 2013 04:24
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I thought through the nib was the only way to fill the converter.
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Feb 23, 2013 04:24
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cobalt impurity posted:It needs to be completely submerged. It was in the ink all the way up to where the nib ends and meets the body of the pen. Only around 1/5 of the converter was filled with ink. I'm not interested in dunking my pen that deep into the bottle, using the converter works pretty well for me so I'll stick to that... not sure what the deal was with this. I'll give it another shot next time I need to refill it I suppose.
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Feb 23, 2013 04:26
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bean_shadow posted:What is everyone's opinion on Cross pens? I purchased one recently at Staples and seem to be enjoying it. I have the Aventura which SHOULD be the same one, it looks and feels pretty cheap and isn't a particularly good value but it writes smoothly and I haven't had any issues out if it.
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Feb 23, 2013 04:47
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Arcturas posted:I don't know anything about syringe filling. Do you just use a syringe, punch through the side of your converter/cartridge, and squirt more ink in? Doesn't that cause leaking out the syringe hole? You just use a syringe to transfer from the bottle to the cartridge/converter using the hole the nib uses. It's really clean, too! 
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Feb 23, 2013 04:57
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Don't share syringes between ink bottles.
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Feb 23, 2013 05:09
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iostream.h posted:I have the Aventura which SHOULD be the same one, it looks and feels pretty cheap and isn't a particularly good value but it writes smoothly and I haven't had any issues out if it. Yeah, that was my first pen. It was cool having never used a fountain pen before, but once I got my 540 I never touched it again. Ugh, you could buy two Metros for that Cross piece of crap. 
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Feb 23, 2013 06:03
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When is the new 580 (?) due for sale? End of this month, right?
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Feb 23, 2013 07:29
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Early March was the last I heard.
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Feb 23, 2013 07:46
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 I loving love this pen. I think being left-handed is loving up the nib, though. That's supposed to be a fine nib, and that is Waterman Florida Blue ink.
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Feb 23, 2013 14:08
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TWSBI is having a thing where you can get a 540 and vac700 for $100. Is it a good deal? http://www.twsbi.com/product.php?id_product=48
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Feb 23, 2013 20:45
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Hotbod Handsomeface posted:TWSBI is having a thing where you can get a 540 and vac700 for $100. Is it a good deal? Absolutely. The Vac 700 is probably my favorite pen in my collection right now, and a diamond 540 for 20 bucks on top of that is an incredible deal.
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Feb 24, 2013 00:01
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Hey, that reminds me. I remember watching an interview with Neil Gaiman where he talks about writing an entire novel with a fountain pen, and that he wuvs his TWSBI...or something. e: So, I mean, poo poo. If it's good enough for that guy...
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Feb 24, 2013 06:19
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Does anyone know an affordable set of inks that work in a fountain pen? For the most part, I'm planning to be using them in brush pens, but I figured that if they work in a pen, they will work in a brush pen, too. I know that windsor & newton have a set, but I'm looking for something cheaper. Too bad noodlers doesn't offer one.
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Feb 24, 2013 18:47
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Otaku Alpha Male posted:Does anyone know an affordable set of inks that work in a fountain pen? For the most part, I'm planning to be using them in brush pens, but I figured that if they work in a pen, they will work in a brush pen, too. I know that windsor & newton have a set, but I'm looking for something cheaper. Too bad noodlers doesn't offer one. If you want a bunch of colors, maybe try buying a bunch of samples from one of the online stores? They're fairly inexpensive, but the downside is that you don't get much ink from them. (I think ~2ml/sample from e.g. Goulet).
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Feb 24, 2013 18:56
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Otaku Alpha Male posted:Does anyone know an affordable set of inks that work in a fountain pen? For the most part, I'm planning to be using them in brush pens, but I figured that if they work in a pen, they will work in a brush pen, too. I know that windsor & newton have a set, but I'm looking for something cheaper. Too bad noodlers doesn't offer one. J. Herbin do a nice wooden box with 14 small bottles of ink in.
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Feb 24, 2013 19:17
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Otaku Alpha Male posted:Does anyone know an affordable set of inks that work in a fountain pen? For the most part, I'm planning to be using them in brush pens, but I figured that if they work in a pen, they will work in a brush pen, too. I know that windsor & newton have a set, but I'm looking for something cheaper. Too bad noodlers doesn't offer one. Goulet pens does has a variety of sampler packs, including ones by brand, that are a tad cheaper than buying each of the samples individually, the downside being that you only get 2 mL of each color.
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Feb 25, 2013 00:59
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Got two more cheapo pens. A Pentel Tradio Stlo for 40 pesos (when apparently it goes online for 10 bucks, if so that is a nice price) and it is goddamn weird, and a Pilot Varsity for 20 pesos, planning to refill it eventually hahah.
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Feb 25, 2013 02:04
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 Left HOD in the brush pen for too long and a few rinses didn't fix it. I have to soak it but I'm lazy so I put Antietam in and now its a .. Heart of Antiedarkness. I usually use my Ahab, its my favorite. Kinda hate the flex pen, too thin and I fiddle, so I've started to plunge ink out while just sitting around playing with the pen. ..and I have terrible handwriting.
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Feb 25, 2013 17:12
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the cokes are rad?
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Feb 25, 2013 17:54
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evilneanderthal posted:the cokes are rad?  Colors, and believe it or not, "cool." legibations, trifling
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Feb 25, 2013 18:17
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So TWSBI is showing off final assembly versions of their Diamond 850: They're having folks vote on which one they like better on the facebook page, though the one on the right is winning by a landslide. Though I'd totally buy either one, the black version was nice looking as well. Either way, this pen can't come out soon enough.
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Feb 26, 2013 16:25
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Is there anything vaguely like the pilot metro for piston fillers -not in shape (I actually hate the cigar shape aesthetic) but in the 'wow this is really decent for the price'? Preferably something at least as fine as a Lamy F/EF.
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Feb 27, 2013 02:41
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If you don't mind having to fiddle with the pen at first to get it right, the Noodler's Konrad, Ahab, and Nib Creaper are all good pens for $14-20. Next up I would recommend is the TWSBI Mini or 580 which won't be out until early March. They're both $50 though, so I don't know if that's out of your price range, but they're amazing pens and fully user-serviceable which I personally love!
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Feb 27, 2013 03:15
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cobalt impurity posted:If you don't mind having to fiddle with the pen at first to get it right, the Noodler's Konrad, Ahab, and Nib Creaper are all good pens for $14-20. Next up I would recommend is the TWSBI Mini or 580 which won't be out until early March. They're both $50 though, so I don't know if that's out of your price range, but they're amazing pens and fully user-serviceable which I personally love! Thank you for the suggestions. The noodler's flex pens certainly looked affordable, but it sounded like they were barely/hardly 'fine' (Caveat: I've never used a flex nib, new to FPs in general). That was my big concern. Am I wrong that it looks like some piston fills need you to disassemble somewhat, like using a converter (but with better capacity), whereas others just can be twisted at the top?
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Feb 27, 2013 03:24
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Anyone use the Nemosine Singularity? A friend of mine got one and I was looking for another cheap pen, so I figured why not? $15 on amazon.
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Feb 27, 2013 03:44
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Fayk posted:Thank you for the suggestions. The noodler's flex pens certainly looked affordable, but it sounded like they were barely/hardly 'fine' (Caveat: I've never used a flex nib, new to FPs in general). That was my big concern. My Ahab writes with a pretty fine line if I don't flex it, so you should be fine in that regard. I don't know about any piston fillers you have to disassemble at all, but there are some that have what's called a "blind cap," which is a little bit at the end you have to unscrew to reveal the knob you have to twist to activate the piston. It's so the piston doesn't get accidentally twisted and squirt ink into the cap while in your pocket!
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Feb 27, 2013 05:13
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Noodlers pens unflexed are definitely thinner than a Lamy fine,
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Feb 27, 2013 09:49
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SnakesRevenge posted:Noodlers pens unflexed are definitely thinner than a Lamy fine, This I can confirm. However, my Ahab's cap cracked around the lip within days of me receiving it. My Lamy Al-Star has not.
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Feb 27, 2013 10:00
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TWSBI just put up a picture of the 580, the second major revision of their main pen: Not sure if I like the metal ring around the piston knob now, though it's probably there to mitigate some of the barrel cracking issues that users have had. Other than that, it doesn't look like there's much different, so there's probably not any reason to upgrade if you already have a 530/540.
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Feb 27, 2013 10:02
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404notfound posted:TWSBI just put up a picture of the 580, the second major revision of their main pen: I think I'll live okay without one of these, but it's going to be really, really hard to resist that 850 when it comes out.
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Feb 27, 2013 17:35
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I saw some discussion on this the other day somewhere (I forgot where, doesn't seem to be on fpn, so maybe it was on a blog) and the only other noticeable differences are the clip style, larger o-rings for the grip section, and also a metal bit in the grip that holds the nib assembly, which is also to help prevent cracking as people seemed to have a hard time lining up the notches and not just cramming it in there. Also the metal bit in the body where the plunger mechanism is screwed in is gone and it just screws straight into the plastic now, probably, again, to prevent cracking. So if you're pen is cracked, then this might be a good idea, but otherwise yeah, what 404notfound said. Personally I'm looking forward to the 850, really curious how that'll end up and how it'll perform. Also still trying to hold off on getting a Vac700.
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Feb 27, 2013 17:40
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404notfound posted:TWSBI just put up a picture of the 580, the second major revision of their main pen: It's a really nice evolution from the 530 and the 540, but like others here have said, my money is waiting for the 850. Brightman posted:Personally I'm looking forward to the 850, really curious how that'll end up and how it'll perform. Also still trying to hold off on getting a Vac700. Don't resist, I love that giant nib. And filling it is so much fun!
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Feb 27, 2013 18:29
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