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I just started using fountain pens a little over a week and a half ago. Started with a Platinum Preppy in green, but now I've already upgraded to a Pilot Metropolitan. Is there a general consensus on the best converter for it? I'm cool with the one that came with it, but would prefer something I can actually see filling up. It's so hard to write with a ballpoint now. It just feels so bad.
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Apr 4, 2023 04:31
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 22:51 |
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NiftyBottle posted:Con-40 you could see the ink. It does have a rather low capacity though (if you like changing your ink a lot this could be a plus). Con-70s hold more I think but I’m pretty sure they won’t fit in a Metro. One thing that is pretty popular with Pilots I think is cleaning out a used cartridge and then using a blunt-tipped syringe to put whatever ink in it. That will hold more ink than a converter, but is more involved. I don’t think you can buy empty Pilot cartridges, but washing them out with the syringe is pretty easy. Ah, yeah, I'm in the US, so it's proprietary cartridges for me. I think I'll probably just stick with the CON-B that came with it. The tradeoff for not being able to see the ink is having a solid ml of capacity, so I think that's fair. It's too bad the CON-70 doesn't fit, because that'd solve that equation pretty handily, but eh, I'll save it for when I inevitably buckle and buy a Heritage SE or something way down the line. The Metro writes really, really smoothly, though! I can definitely see this thing being a daily driver.
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Apr 4, 2023 07:24
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SixteenShells posted:I've had an idea in my head for a pen rest akin to the crab one, but it's a possum. One of these days I'll try and sketch one out and carve it out of wood or something. I would also enjoy this. I've heard that ink can mold under bad conditions. I live in a pretty hot, humid area, so is that a more serious risk for me, or is it only if inks are kept in, like, really bad conditions?
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Apr 7, 2023 04:23
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I, uh, may have a developing problem.  Now to wait on my inks to come in...
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Apr 8, 2023 16:41
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Yeah, Diamond 580ALR in Prussian Blue with a 1.1mm Stub nib. I like the way it looks and feels in my hand, but I'm not gonna ink it up in the carbon black I already have. I'm waiting on some diamine inks (Oxblood, Majestic Blue, Green-Black) to show up before I use it.
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Apr 8, 2023 23:23
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Is that a Visconti there at the bottom? It looks similar to the Homo Sapiens Dark Age that I dearly want but not quite exactly the same. e: Wow, the Dark Crystal model is a really beautiful piece. But my wallet would scream in agony if I tried to buy one. Doctor Hospital fucked around with this message at 03:33 on Apr 9, 2023 |
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Apr 9, 2023 03:23
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sb hermit posted:Me whispering to my drawer full of cheap rear end twsbi eco, pilot metropolitan, lamy safari and dollar store chinese pens: "you're dirt cheap but you're mine and you're perfect as you are" To be honest, I'm considering eyedropper-ing a platinum preppy and using it as an ink tester or something. Out of curiosity I tried my green one on some trash copy paper and it behaved well enough with the stock green ink. Expensive pens are cool but there's also a place for the cheapo ones, too. I'm just trying to talk myself out of the visconti for now
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Apr 9, 2023 07:05
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Keetron posted:Diamine Oxblood is a great ink, can't speak for the others but next time you buy ink, check out the Pilot iroshizuku line...Momiji, yama budo and syo-ro is my current daily setup. Kon-peki, Ku-jaku, and Shin-Ryoku were on my shortlist, but yama budo is pretty striking, and Syo-ro is beautiful.
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Apr 9, 2023 22:10
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Took a step back and ordered another preppy to convert and also a pilot kakuno because who could resist that face? 
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Apr 11, 2023 07:18
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Kilometers Davis posted:Oh god I’m close to buying a brass one help Do it  And also tell me how you like it because I also want one. e: I finally filled up my TWSBI Diamond 580 with Diamine Majestic Blue and I love both the ink and this pen, it's so smooth yet has a satisfying kinda slice against paper that I can't really describe. Definitely beats the ever-loving poo poo out of a ballpoint, that's for sure. I can feel my Pen Guy era beginning as we post. Doctor Hospital fucked around with this message at 04:32 on Apr 13, 2023 |
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Apr 13, 2023 02:29
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 New pen day! Got a TWSBI Go, a Faber-Castell Hexo, and a Kaweco Perkeo. The Hexo is in EF, and the Go and Perkeo are in M. Doctor Hospital fucked around with this message at 18:41 on Apr 17, 2023 |
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Apr 17, 2023 18:15
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sb hermit posted:my twsbi go is a bit scratchy (probably because it's an EF) but easy to use and indestructible The M nib on the Go is very smooth and it stays inked up and ready to go at a moment's notice, so I can definitely see it becoming my out-and-about pen. I haven't been in this hobby for long but I'm already smitten with TWSBI's utilitarian designs.
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Apr 17, 2023 21:38
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effika posted:Yeah. I wish I had TWSBI around when I was starting out instead of Lamy! Though my early Lamy pens did serve me well, they were sources of frustration too. drat, that's a nice color shift. Maybe I'll have to get a bold nib when I eventually pull the trigger on a Sport. I did a quick write with my Perkeo after seeing your much better handwriting. I did this on Maruman's Mnemosyne paper.  My handwriting has improved somewhat since I started using fountain pens, but I still have a lot of work to do.
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Apr 18, 2023 01:16
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I was having some issues with my TWSBI Go's ink flow, so I popped it open and gave it a thorough cleaning. Lost about a half ml of Kaweco Pearl Black, but now that I've gone in and tinkered with it, I re-inked it with Shin-kai and it's writing smooth as silk with no extra pressure. That said, I think for any TWSBI's I get going forward, I'm probably going with at least a B. I'll have to swap my Diamond 580's nib for the broad one I got as a spare after I run out the Majestic Blue in it. It was actually really cool to take it entirely apart and give it a full cleaning, and it was neat that I could use the wrench that came with my 580 to open the ring around the piston, but drat, I wish the nib in the Go wasn't friction fit because I felt like I was going to break it the entire time.
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Apr 21, 2023 04:50
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I've ordered a Conklin Endura Deco Crest with a 1.1 mm stub nib just a short while ago. I couldn't resist the orange resin/black metal combo. It's just the right degree of ostentatious.
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May 1, 2023 02:40
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It's mother loving new pen day Conklin Endura Deco Crest in 1.1 Stub. Waiting for some of that new Robert Oster Whiskey ink to come in before I ink it up.
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May 5, 2023 19:53
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It is once again new pen day and I can feel the power
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May 11, 2023 16:15
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roomtwofifteen posted:I've also been eyeing this one, I just love how cool/silly it looks. How does it write? I continue to be shocked with how smooth and nice the X750 is for like $10. I haven't inked it up yet but it appears to be the same medium nib as the X450, so I expect there to be a little bit of extra feedback but to otherwise be decently smooth.
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May 11, 2023 17:42
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Doctor Hospital posted:I haven't inked it up yet but it appears to be the same medium nib as the X450, so I expect there to be a little bit of extra feedback but to otherwise be decently smooth. So I inked up the pen and yeah, same nib, same feedback. Might see about swapping it for a Goulet nib at some point. 
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May 12, 2023 04:29
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I haven't tried FWP's inks, but basically every thing I've heard about them as a company is that they let lightning strike with the ink and nothing else they make is worth anything. Granted, my points of reference are basically this thread and a few videos on youtube, so take that with a couple of rocks of salt. All their inks do look really nice, though, from the swabs I've seen. I would be lying if I said I wasn't tempted by some of the blue-green inks they've got.
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May 12, 2023 08:53
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My experience hearing about Noodler's was "Oh, Heart of Darkness is super black, that's pretty neat" straight into "Nathan Tardif probably buries gold in his back yard and shoots pens out of a shotgun" with no in-between.
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May 13, 2023 02:51
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Incidentally, I also picked up a Safari in Medium and it's a little scratchy on Rhodia, so that's concerning, but I haven't had a good close look at the nib so it could be just a little misaligned. Flow and everything else seems fine with Kaweco pearl black in it.
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May 16, 2023 01:05
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I love being able to see the ink sloshing around in the Diamond 580 I have. The faceted barrel helps, I think.
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May 22, 2023 17:51
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My struggles with my TWSBI Go continue, although it seems to only be when I'm starting to write, so maybe I'm just still finding the sweet spot, or maybe it's just not an instant starter, I dunno. What I DO know is that man, Iroshizuku Shin-Kai has rapidly become one of my favorite inks. It's just such a lovely blue-black.
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May 30, 2023 05:15
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I cleaned out my Kakuno today and it has filled me with an intense hatred for the Pilot CON-70. Stupid thing is so drat hard to clean.
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Jun 16, 2023 19:38
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Fine points are okay for jotting stuff down but nothing really beats a bold or 1.1 mm Stub nib as far as making writing just feel better. My Diamond 580 in 1.1 mm Stub is still my favorite pen partially because it's the smoothest nib I own, but also because it makes my handwriting look so drat good.
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Jul 4, 2023 10:59
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My TWSBI pens are probably my favorite pens in my collection, but even as much as people have told me they're great pens, it's usually been the cap that people single out as being the sore spot. How's their customer service? Hopefully pretty good, but you never know with some manufacturers. The real come-from-behind daily driver for me has actually been my Kaweco Perkeo. It's frankly absurd how good that pen is for how much it costs.
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Aug 27, 2023 01:44
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PlushCow posted:I bought a TWSBI Eco a while ago and I love it. Writes buttery smooth, and large ink capacity; feels nicer to hold than the TWSBI 580. It may be The Last Pen for me (until some other Eco color I like more) I've got a Go and a 580, so the Eco is my next stop, at least so far as TWSBI is concerned. Might get that glow in the dark green one and use it for crazier inks.
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Oct 30, 2023 22:34
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roomtwofifteen posted:My white/rose gold medium ECO is probably my favorite pen. Like others said, writes so smoothly, never dries out or leaks regardless of what kind of ink I put in it (I have a lot of shimmers that just wreck my Lamy feeds). I have a second ECO in fine and it's great but less smooth, but the medium nib is just perfect. TWSBI has really knocked it out of the park for me, tbh. Between the 580 in Broad/1.1 Stub and the Go in Medium, they're both some of my favorite pens, and they just do not give a rat's rear end about what ink you put in them, they'll drink it up and keep on going. Probably would get the ECO in either Fine or Medium just to mix it up a little. No easily-swappable nibs is kind of a bummer, but for the price, you could honestly just get a second one if it meant that much, and really, isn't that more in the spirit of the thread? Incidentally, has anyone tried the TWSBI classic? It's got a pretty good look to it, and if it's as good as the rest of TWSBI's pens, then 55 bucks seems pretty good for it.
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Oct 31, 2023 20:38
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Keetron posted:The Eco you can just pull out the feed and nib super easy in my experience... I went to check if it was friction fit and found a Goulet pens video explaining exactly this. It's a lot like swapping the nib on a Pilot Kakuno, as it turns out. Thanks for the heads up! I cleaned out my TWSBI Go, Kaweco Perkeo, and Lamy Safari today and while the Safari was pretty gummed up, I was pretty pleased to find out how easy it is to disassemble the converters for both it and the Perkeo. I'll have to crack open the phial of silicone grease that came with my Diamond 580 to make sure everything's smooth, but at least I won't have to worry about dried up ink getting behind some pistons. ...And also what ink to put back in the Perkeo. It had Iroshizuku Shin-ryoku in it, which is a beautiful ink, but once it's dry it's kind of flatter than I would like. I may put some of the Abalone Troublemaker ink I got a while back in it and see how well it handles on some Tomoe River.
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Nov 1, 2023 22:42
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I think my problem with Sailor is that I just don't like any of the colors on the ones that aren't two grand or the compass, which, from what I understand doesn't give you the pencil-like feeling that you get Sailor pens for. I had been looking at the Pilot Custom 74, but now that I know you can get an 823 for not all that much, I may just spring for that. The 74 would pretty much be my choice only from a color standpoint, and the black and gold 873 is a pretty solid, classic sort of look, so it wouldn't be the biggest deal. Plus I wouldn't have to deal with the CON-70.
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Nov 7, 2023 06:36
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I went ahead and sprang for the Smoke 823 in Broad. It's gonna take a little while to get here, but I'll just consider it an early christmas present to myself.
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Nov 7, 2023 23:40
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LionArcher posted:Well I’m sure as hell getting the 823 pilot from eBay now, but the real question is do I also get the new 1911 ring less galaxy addition in the teal for only $260? Because that thing is sick sb hermit posted:*taps thread title* I know I just groused about how much I don't really like any of Sailor's pen colors, but the Pleiades one looks stunning, so that may end up being a birthday gift to myself when I've got the cash to float it.
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Nov 10, 2023 01:49
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Robert Oster's inks tend to have really phenomenal shading. I have a bottle of their Whiskey color and it's also got extremely strong shading that turns a very nice orange into a really amazing one. I don't have any pens inked up with it right now, but I may use it with my planner for next year once that rolls around.
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Nov 10, 2023 01:59
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My 823 came in today! Now to fill it up with Iroshizuku Shin-Kai and do some writing.
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Nov 22, 2023 01:50
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New pen day, but we're taking a step back. Lamy Vista Black in Broad and the motherfucking Jinhao Shark Pen. I was pretty surprised at how smooth the shark pen feels considering it's an Extra Fine. Also, I put Emeraude de Chivor in the Vista.  e: I don't know how this is possible considering they are functionally the same pen but the Vista writes so much nicer than the Safari it is unreal. Doctor Hospital fucked around with this message at 04:25 on Nov 26, 2023 |
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Nov 26, 2023 00:05
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That's the thing, it is. Yet somehow it just feels better to write with. Probably just in my head.
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Nov 27, 2023 15:28
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Whenever I find a Noodler's color that looks nice, I find a comparable shade from Robert Oster or Diamine and just get that instead. I don't think I'm going to worry about running out of ink any time soon.
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Jan 10, 2024 22:04
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TWSBI is what immediately pops into my head for mid-range stuff. Good quality steel nibs, integrated filling mechanisms, great capacity, and totally user-serviceable. They pretty much all punch above their weight, except for maybe the GO, but that's really their budget option.
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Feb 3, 2024 04:35
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 22:51 |
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I also need to pick up some more Iroshizuku. Shin-Kai and Shin-Ryoku are both really nice, but it's probably time for me to pick up konpeki and Kujaku.
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Feb 4, 2024 05:46
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