Fountain Pens:I strongly support any and all financially crippling fountain pen purch

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Fountain Pens:I strongly support any and all financially crippling fountain pen purch

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iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

As far as the pads themselves go, aren't all Rhodia products made with Clairefontaine paper? I know my Webplanner says so.

# ¿ Feb 14, 2013 06:22

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# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 16:02

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

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.

# ¿ Feb 23, 2013 04:47

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

uXs posted:

That does look pretty sweet. Any other reason this seems to be so anticipated?

TWSBI likes for their customers to enjoy their pens. They get excited, we get excited, it's nice to have fun with a company who actually seems to give a drat about what the community thinks about them.

Seriously, I think that's about it. They seem like a good company that makes nice pens.

# ¿ Mar 2, 2013 18:17

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

uXs posted:

Neat. Makes me interested in getting one. But it seems rather a lot of money

If it helps you, I carry my TWSBI as often as any of the (in some cases) much more expensive pens I have. They're really good pens, especially for how little they cost (overall).

# ¿ Mar 3, 2013 20:03

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Not for the pen, but it'll likely feather horribly.

# ¿ Mar 9, 2013 02:23

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

evobatman posted:

Speaking of which, are there any pens in the ~$30-50 area that are compatible with my Mont Blanc refills?

Edit: oh god the tables

How many and what type
Are your refills? Do you just want to sell them?

# ¿ Mar 15, 2013 22:56

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

I maintain that posting is the refuge of communists and heathens.
Cap goes in the palm of your offhand when writing.

# ¿ Mar 18, 2013 20:22

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Be careful using dish detergents, I know a lot of them have bleach added which will corrode the holy hell out of most metal components.
The best thing is a tablespoon of pure non-scented ammonia in distilled water. It rinses clean and leaves absolutely no residue. I've restored several horribly corroded pens this way by soaking for a few days.

Xovaan, which 540 is it?

# ¿ Mar 22, 2013 01:57

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Luisfe posted:

I just got a bottle of Heart of Darkness. Is the free pen it comes with safe to use with it (as in, it won't leak horribly when put in a pocket and then put goddamn impossible to remove ink on everything I have?)

Absolutely, mine has turned into my dedicated HoD pen in fact and it writes well to boot!

# ¿ Mar 29, 2013 13:34

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Tochiazuma posted:

I gotta stop reading this thread because it makes me want to buy more pens and ink and nice paper and I've barely made a dent in the ink I've already bought

oh god I wanna buy another pen and another 3 years worth of ink for it and there's no 12 step program to save me from this

You (and everyone) should try out some of the ultra-cheap Chinese pens off of eBay.

A good friend who I got interested in FPs has been buying them up as he's on an extremely tight budget and while I've been supportive I've been a little bit suspicious until he gave me a couple. Some of them write rather well, and I'm talking $5 pens! They're obviously hit or miss but still, I think I'm going to expand my shopping horizons a bit.

# ¿ Apr 1, 2013 18:51

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Iroshizuku bottles are nice as well, they have a little divot in the bottom for your nib when the level gets low, and they're pretty!

# ¿ Apr 4, 2013 21:23

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Zenostein posted:

Would just leaving it in a glass of water overnight harm it? That's what I do when my caps are inky, although that is usually wet ink, not dried.

Nope, not at all. Put a teaspoon of plain ammonia in as well.

# ¿ Apr 10, 2013 05:15

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Xachariah posted:

IM Premium. Shiny chrome specifically. Where would I find an acceptable ammonia solution?

Just a couple of tablespoons of pure unscented in a quart or so of water is all you need.

# ¿ Apr 23, 2013 01:29

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Is anyone interested in doing a letter exchange?
I've actually had a lot of fun in recent years mailing random celebrities (authors mostly) and have had great results. Letter writing is fun! Plus it's a great excuse to use up so much of the various stationary and inks I've randomly acquired.

Anyone?

# ¿ May 12, 2013 01:55

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Awesome!
Let me figure out the logistics and we'll get something rolling!

# ¿ May 13, 2013 00:34

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Vitamins posted:

After buying the Aurora Hastil a few weeks ago, I've been really interested in looking for other slim, metal pens. I know Sheaffer did a Targa Slim in stainless steel, and there's the Lamy Pur which is aluminium. Does anyone know of any others like these?

Faber Castell Ambition. I have one and absolutely love it. It's a hard nib without a lot of feel or feedback but is great for writing on crappy paper or carbon copies and the like. Looks beautiful in my opinion.

# ¿ May 13, 2013 19:05

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Vitamins posted:

Oh that's really nice. The section looks really short though, do you hold it by the section or the barrel?

Was looking at the Cross Classic Century too, that fits with what I like.

Mostly the barrel I think, I haven't actually paid attention to it, it sits nicely in the cradle of my hand and writes easily as a result.
it doesn't FEEL short, it's a fairly weighty little pen, of note (for all the posting heathens in here) I do not post it and it balances well but I bought one for a friend and she posts her pen and also says it balances well.

# ¿ May 13, 2013 19:44

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Ed Mungo posted:

What do y'all keep your pens and pen accessories in?

I found a glass 'frog' (for florists) that I use on my desk for my 'in use' pens. Works really well and looks nice.
Like this:

Edit: Ok, let's try this this way.
Everyone who wants to participate in the pen pal thing, PM me your mailing addresses, and if you don't have PMs then email them to iostream.header at the googles and I'll start matching people up.

# ¿ May 14, 2013 17:42

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

I meant to list it earlier, but I also bought the 10 slot Aston case for travel and it's held up really well.

# ¿ May 14, 2013 20:09

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

I have a few addresses, if people want to send in some more that would be good, and I'll start matching people up.

# ¿ May 15, 2013 16:52

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Sorry for the delay everyone, but you should all have your pen pal info now!
If anyone else wants to join in I don't think there'll be any issues with doubling up or not.

Have fun, and I take ZERO responsibility for what gets sent and/or received!

# ¿ May 18, 2013 23:06

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

404notfound posted:

I bought a thing:

This thing is really, really loud. That's kinda what I wanted, since my other pens are all in very understated/muted colors, so it's a nice contrast, but I can definitely a lot of people hating this year's Safari color.

The bright color really stands out against the standard black bits of trim, so I got a black nib to go with it, but I'm slightly disappointed that the clip is also the standard steel and not black like the charcoal Safari.

That's exactly what I was hoping for out of this years, I ordered mine yesterday. I was a little disappointed in last years, I wanted it to be brighter.

# ¿ May 23, 2013 01:12

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Brightman posted:

Hmm, the one in the pen seems to be pretty drat smooth as it is, but okay, I'll keep that in mind.

Now I'M intrigued, the Bock that came on my 540 is incredibly smooth and compares quite favorably with much more expensive pens.

Are the new nibs coming on ALL of their pens or just the vacs?

# ¿ May 24, 2013 16:50

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

# ¿ May 25, 2013 00:13

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Reivax posted:

the bloke sounds like a bit of a oval office

I think that's a bit much. He's just a little eccentric, not an 'in-your-face' kind of rear end in a top hat.
He's entertaining and while I may disagree with his politics he's at least very devoted to providing a good product and cares about his customers.

# ¿ May 26, 2013 01:50

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Seriously, we're all on a forum that cost :10bux:

to join in a subforum with a thread dedicated to our enjoyment of using writing instruments that have been out of fashion for 60 years or so discussing an INKMAKER of all things.

Regardless of his political leanings, I don't think Nathan's necessarily the odd duck here.

Wouldn't change a loving bit of it btw, just saying.

# ¿ May 26, 2013 04:36

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

If you want a dark, bloody red and can find it, the Montblanc Hitchcock red is sublime. I've been meaning to buy some more (I believe it's limited production) since I gifted my bottle to a friend. Shades very well and ends up a nice, clotted bloody looking red on the paper. Works way better with a wider nib too.

# ¿ May 30, 2013 00:52

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

I get accused of giving back photocopies when I sign docs with HoD.

# ¿ Jun 7, 2013 19:18

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Yoshi Jjang posted:

Yeah, tell me about it. When I was at the Mont Blanc store at the London airport, I felt horribly under-dressed for just being there. I also found a Mont Blanc shop in my town, but I doubt I'd have any reason to visit that place anytime soon.

Don't stress over it! I make a point of visiting all of them I can and have never had anything but great service and treatment from them all with one exception:
The Montblanc store in Copley Plaza in Boston. I'd stopped by to check on a ballpoint pen repair for a friend (which they actually did in-store) and was asking about some ink.
Now, I'd been on the road for a couple of days and granted, looked fairly shabby but there was no reason for the clerk to be snobbish.

It was great to see her face when I pulled out my Sterling 146 to test the ink on, funny as hell.

# ¿ Jun 10, 2013 23:31

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Yoshi Jjang posted:

What I meant to say is that I'm not exactly a big spender.

I'm not either, I didn't mean to imply that I am. I've been lucky with buying/trading and my biggest haul was walking into a store that literally had trucks hauling away merchandise and crazy 'you got cash' prices.

# ¿ Jun 11, 2013 00:12

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Freckles posted:

Will any Cross converter fit any Cross pen? I've got a pen that I've been using cartridges in, because it's several years old and I can't remember what type it is exactly other than it's a Cross, but I'd like to get a converter and some better ink for it.

No, I know for a fact that the converter for the Aventari(?) is different from some of the others at least.

# ¿ Jun 19, 2013 02:47

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Solkanar512 posted:

I have both, and the only difference is that one is threaded.

Huh, I didn't know WHAT the difference was, but way back when I first got into FP I picked up an Aventari and when I ran out of carts stopped by a stationary shop where we went through and found the correct adapter. They actually had a little thing from Cross stating that they were not interchangeable. Interesting to know tho'.

As far as purple inks go, I think it's a Goulet exclusive but Noodler's Purple Heart is just absolutely beautiful. Dark enough to pass on official documents but purple enough to make me happy.

# ¿ Jun 19, 2013 04:39

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Yeah, you'll be fine, my stepdad gave me a pen set that had a minimum of 10 years dried ink in it, took a couple of days soaking in water + ammonia and it was fine after a lot of rinsing.

Edit: IF it happens to be a bladder fill, be very, VERY careful, do NOT operate the lever until it's soaked a LOT first. If the bladder is dried out you can crack it.

# ¿ Jun 20, 2013 22:08

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Bahama.Llama posted:

I'm looking for a replacement on the ballpoint. Can anyone recommend something a few steps up from the Jotter?

Find something that uses the Montblanc rollerball refills (you can get an actual MB pretty cheap), they're incredible.

# ¿ Jun 24, 2013 19:32

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

wshngmchn posted:

I intentionally bought a fountain pen once, and it stopped working almost immediately.

Since then, I only accidentally acquire fountain pens. And they're alright.

This is awesome, sounds like something Mark Twain would say.

# ¿ Jul 15, 2013 19:11

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Prathm posted:

I don't really get what's so bad about moleskines. Occasionally there'll be a sort of waxy patch on the paper where the ink doesn't penetrate as deeply. But other that I haven't had any problems.

I've used Quink, Mont Blanc Black and 3 Sailor Jentle inks (pomegranate, apricot and epinard)

I used to say the same thing, and while I still maintain that they're not quite the spawn of the Devil, for a few bucks more their quality doesn't even come close to that of the Rhodia pads.

I used to use Moleskine because that's all I really knew about in that format, now I use Rhodia because they're incredible and a joy to write on and carry around.

# ¿ Jul 29, 2013 17:57

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

cobalt impurity posted:

but don't anybody sit on a throne and scowl down at the unwashed peons because their writing tool isn't as bendy in places as yours.

Exactly!

Everyone knows the only thing to look down on others for is those weirdos who insist on posting their caps.

Heathens, the lot of 'em.

# ¿ Aug 8, 2013 23:34

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

GabrielAisling posted:

Any recommendations for a nice dark purple ink?

I don't know how dark you want to go, but Noodler's Purple Heart (a Goulet exclusive I believe) is my all-time favorite purple.

# ¿ Aug 29, 2013 21:20

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

ChickenOfTomorrow posted:

Heck, if you buy LAMY ink

I never, somehow, realized Lamy even SOLD bottled ink.

# ¿ Sep 17, 2013 23:39

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# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 16:02

iostream.h: Mar 14, 2006; I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Xun posted:

Any suggestions for a good slim pen? I'm thinking about moving up from my safari at some point but a lot of the suggested ones look too fat for my tiny rear end hands

I really love my Faber Castell Ambition. It's balanced incredibly well too.

# ¿ Sep 21, 2013 13:51

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Fountain Pens:I strongly support any and all financially crippling fountain pen purch

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