Yet Another Cycling Forum
Off Topic => The Pub => Topic started by: Woofage on 17 September, 2009, 09:02:58 am
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Continuing on from this topic (http://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=23821.0) I wonder which of us still carries or uses a decent pen (ie anything other than office issue throwaway things)?
I'm a self-confessed pen accumulator. My current pen-du-jour is a Pelikan M620 "Stockholm":
(http://www.woofage.co.uk/images/m620.jpg)
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I always carry a pen, despite working IT, but mine is nowhere near as nice as yours...
I always have one of these about my person:
Fisher Space Pen & Fisher Space Pen Refills - Allwrite (http://www.allwrite.nl/?incl=website-fisher-bullet-pens)
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I have a collection of Pentel Pro (http://www.amazon.com/Pentel-Automatic-Pencil-0-5mm-Black/dp/B00006IEFZ) in 0.5mm and 0.7mm. I have 2-3 in my desk drawer, a couple in my bags. I have them in green, blue, black. I use them all the time for work. I am an engineer.
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I like the Namiki Vanishing Point Untitled Document (http://www.stylophilesonline.com/archive/jan03/04vp.htm) . I've had one for about 10 years.
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This thread is nowt without pics.
My bestest pen....
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b363/rks040472/biro_11.jpg)
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I like pens, but I'm too brutal, so they tend to leak/break/give up the will to live in my bags. Currently, I use an understated Parker. But more often, whatever cheap/free pen is to hand.
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I like the Namiki Vanishing Point Untitled Document (http://www.stylophilesonline.com/archive/jan03/04vp.htm) . I've had one for about 10 years.
Mrs W has one of those but it's a European Pilot branded model.
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Yes, that VP is an interesting design. Awful colour, but interesting design. I've always had a problem with losing caps, so something integrated is quite attractive.
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I have a Waterman of indeterminate age (about 1986 ish), with a wide nib. It is lovely to write with, although my writing style has degenerated greatly with the advent of a computer on every desk. I used it as my everyday pen when I was an oafish student, it got put away the day I caught my supervisor coveting it. Now I scrawl with a Bic and only use my decent pen occasionally.
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Yes, that VP is an interesting design. Awful colour, but interesting design. I've always had a problem with losing caps, so something integrated is quite attractive.
The yellow is a special edition. Mine is a nice sober green one. Red, blue, black etc are/were available.
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I've always got one of a number of different coloured Lamys (http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/showproduct.php?brand=Lamy&range=Safari&cat=pens) about my person. Mostly obtained from the place that links to. Nice and cheap and write well.
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I love writing with a fountain pen. I was given a simple Parker Pen as a leaving present in the last 90's. I lost it in a train carriage in '99.
I liked it so much that I bought a new one exactly the same. My problem is that I hardly ever need to write now - I type most stuff. Therefore it dries out and every time I want to use it there is half an hour of washing it out and refilling it!
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I carry a nice Parker ballpoint pen or an ex Company presentation Roller Ball, both are very nice.
In my desk drawer I have Parker Quink and two nice fountain pens, a Parker which has a good antique value and with a two sided nib, fine and normal plus a Sheaffer, again both are very nice.
In addition I have copy sets of Mont Blanc and Jaguar pens bought in Jakarta. I took the Mont Blanc ballpoint to a Mont Blanc shop in Bangkok for a refill. The lady politely informed me it was a copy, "My goodness, said I"
I write neater with a ballpoint but writing with a fountain pen, neatly, has been a lifelong failed ambition :P
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I have to confess that my handwriting is awful. And, as I'm left handed, I've had a problem with smudging the ink when I write, especially with a nib pen :-[
I'd like to have a nice pen that doesn't get battered, and write neatly with it. But I know that just ain't gonna happen. :( :( :(
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This thread is nowt without pics.
My bestest pen....
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b363/rks040472/biro_11.jpg)
Design triumph, that pen. Tough, cheap, nice to write, expressive, decent for sketching too. Accept no imitations!
I used to be a total Rotring queen, but they're so damn leaky and I have always had hot hands that make liquid ink expand and ooze everywhere. Got a Schaeffer fountain pen too, but the same applies.
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It used to be a rite of passage giving your kids a fountain pen.
I remember when I was about 9, my dad gave me a Parker, that his gran had given him when he went off to college. I remember being thoroughly unimpressed. However as I was cack handed, my mum took me to the local stationers to try get a left handed nib. The guy on the fountain pen counter, took one look at the pen and told my mum that it was actually far too valuable for a child, and so I got given a cheap osmiroid instead.
After uni I joined a pen firm called Platignum, which the new management team drove into the ground ( I was just following orders). However I did get to travel around attending stationery fairs. I'm still shocked by Graf Von Faber Castell, them with the £200 pencil Luxury in Simplicity (http://www.graf-von-faber-castell.com/13985/The-Collection/The-Perfect-Pencil/GvFC_index.aspx)
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The guy on the fountain pen counter, took one look at the pen and told my mum that it was actually far too valuable for a child, and so I got given a cheap osmiroid instead.
That's very sad. Osmiroid pens were (mostly) crap.
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My writing looks crap with a fountain pen so it would be wasted on me. I keep a propelling pencil and biro with a rubber bit for your fingers in my bag. In fact, I usually write in pencil. No pens in my shirt pocket though. :)
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Gods yes. Scratchy nibs - the lefty Osmiroid nib is what drove me to technical pens at school - and watery Quink. I can almost smell the school dinners now. :-X
My writing, alas, looks lovely but is illegible.
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My writing, alas, looks lovely but is illegible.
Mine looks shocking and is illegible, even to me*.
I welcome the freedom from writing that's come with computers etc :)
I do like pens though, and if I could actually write I'd have a lovely pen...
*as a small Volio, aged about 7, I was told I would never amount to anything in life because I couldn't write properly. I replied that by the time I grew up we'd have machines for that stuff. Which earned me time standing outside the classroom :)
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Utterly shameless plug follows...
I should have said that The Writing Desk (http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/index.php) is a great place to buy pens.
Mr Woofage hides his light under a bushel. :)
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My writing, alas, looks lovely but is illegible.
Mine looks shocking and is illegible, even to me*.
As a lefty mine was always poor - then I went to Uni and we had to take notes - 20 pages of A4 in an hour. Now I cannot read my own writing.
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Rotring tart here.
I have a couple of the very solid metal bodied 600 series ones, that lock each tip into place with a ball bearing. Pencil + pens + stylus. Bought myself one the hex bodied ones, then my kids lost the clicker top bit. Wife tried to get me a replacement, but could only find a Quattro - same mech, but doesn't have the same style.
I've worn out 3 of the Rotring artpens. Cheap nib pen that works so reliably.
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Rotring tart here.
It's a shame that Rotring has disappeared as a "consumer" brand. However, they still make drawing pens and other technical drawing instruments 8).
Those 600 series pens were amazing things. A former colleague had a set of FP/BP/MP and I was rather envious! Plus, the FP could double as a deadly weapon, which was nice ;).
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I carry a nice Parker ballpoint pen or an ex Company presentation Roller Ball, both are very nice.
Mmmm. A Parker Vector (http://www.parkerpen.com/en/discovery/product/vector) roller ball is my favourite ever pen to use. Simple, inexpensive, fine. I've had loads of them over the years but don't currently own one. Must remedy that.
I've never got on with fountain pens so it wouldn't be worth me having a nice one.
At work, I have a range of Staedtler Lumocolor (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Staedtler-Lumocolor-318-black-permanent/dp/B000J6F53C) permanent markers in assorted sizes (medium, fine and superfine) and colours for marking proofs. For disposable pens, they're very nice.
d.
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I carry a Sheaffer fountain pen. Yes my writing is awful but at least when I use the heavy fountain pen it makes me use a counsious effort to write so that my head doesn't get ahead of the hand and then miss out words!!
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Rotring tart here.
... and another here.....
But more for their pencils.
A couple of 600 pencils here.
I milled a slot through the opposite flats on one of them so it's possible to see the tubie thing with the leads in it ::-)
A Faber Castell Alpha-matic automatic pencil (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2641/3928099257_f3956d0619_o.jpg) - looks better than it writes.
Daily weapon of choice is the same as Frenchie's - Pentel Pro, but loaded with 0.9 (mm :D). Oh, and the tubular tip I grind down until it's about 2mm long - less chance of stabby leggy :)
Back on topic....
On special occasions the Mont Blanc Meisterstuck comes out :)
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I like basic pencils. Proper wooden ones. I used to use them for writing a lot (partly because of the smudging issue), but my favourite grade (F) doesn't seem to be very widely available any more :(
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No one is ever without a pen! Even in the confines of a padded cell, you have your index finger and excrement
to record all your thoughts. :smug:
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Big fountain pen fan here. Daily pen is one of these, Pilot Decimo (http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/showproduct.php?brand=Pilot&range=Capless%20Decimo&cat=pens), with a custom stub nib by John Mottishaw. Another favourite is a similarly customised Aurora.
I also rather like my Lamy 2000 pencil.
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Folk might be interested in the Battersea Pen Home (http://penhome.co.uk/).
A friend reports:
... he has just resurrected one of the first Sheaffer pens that came into the country after WW II - was probably about 1955 - one of the Snorkel ones and it now writes beautifully again.
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I have a restored Snorkel that does indeed write well, but remains prone to unplanned ink egress. Nice though. I also have a very nice boxed Parker 51 that I like a lot in terms of design but find it just too narrow in the body for comfortable writing.
I'm a left handed over-writer, not the best configuration for fountain pen use. Nevertheless my writing is much more legible that with a ballpoint.
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*as a small Volio, aged about 7, I was told I would never amount to anything in life because I couldn't write properly. I replied that by the time I grew up we'd have machines for that stuff. Which earned me time standing outside the classroom :)
;D
I did the whole Osimrod - > Rotring thing at school. Rotrings were brilliant for intricate doodles on exercise book covers ...
For fieldwork, I used a slim Filofax with plain coloured paper (much less glare) and a Pentel P200 propelling pencil with thick (0.9mm) soft (2B) leads - not waterproof, but pretty water-resistent.
In the office, I have a Lamy Accent fountain pen with a wooden grip, which feels lovely. Proper pens are quite good for meeting pen-upmanship ;) - an easy win if most people turn up with Bics or other disposables ...
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Proper pens are quite good for meeting pen-upmanship ;) - an easy win if most people turn up with Bics or other disposables ...
Or fancy ballpens especially Montblanc
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I love Rotrings but recently I have found Muji now do some brilliant pens.
Anyways to answer the question I now carry a pencil case again, I dunno why. But I have various grades of Faber Castell pencils, rulers, Red/Green/Black/Blue Bics, blue and red Pilot V7s, a blue Rotring, a few CD markers and a selection of permanent markers in red/blue/green/black.
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I'm a secret pen fetishist.
My current weapon of choice is a black Pelikan M800 with an OB nib.
I also have a green-stripe M1000 with a medium nib, but I much prefer the oblique ad will probably either re-nib it or sell it soon as the M800 is really much nicer to use.
My work pen is a nice Cross Pinnacle, which has a nice solid brassy feel to it and writes in an understated way. There's also a Parker Vacuumatic and a Japanese cheapy knocking round which don't really get a look in.
I used to have a Montblanc 149 but it was far better at looking pretty than actualy writing. The Pelikans put function above form and are utterly wonderful things.
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I love Rotrings but recently I have found Muji now do some brilliant pens.
I love the Muji pens, I always have a selection of them at home and work, but I always take my Parker Duofold Centennial with me. It's the nicest pen to write with that I've ever had. The guarantee only has another 5 years to run, so perhaps I might be able to sneak another one in.
(http://www.penbox.co.uk/images/ref.1037.parker.jpg)
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I love Rotrings but recently I have found Muji now do some brilliant pens.
I love the Muji pens, I always have a selection of them at home and work, but I always take my Parker Duofold Centennial with me. It's the nicest pen to write with that I've ever had. The guarantee only has another 5 years to run, so perhaps I might be able to sneak another one in.
(http://www.penbox.co.uk/images/ref.1037.parker.jpg)
If yours is the original "flat band" Centennial (like the one in the pic), they are much sought after now.
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Just remembered a firm favourite - must dig it out - an undecorated Danitrio eye-dropper filler - with a lovely italic nib. It's been unused for a while due to my eye-dropper bulb disintegrating, I must rectify that. Holds a massive quantity of ink as the innards are not occupied by any kind of filling mechanism. Some day I'd like a nice one of these (they do get rather expensive):
http://www.danitrio.com/ (http://www.danitrio.com/)
(http://www.danitrio.com/kawari-nuri/nashiji-nuri/KA2E-1RD.jpg)
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If yours is the original "flat band" Centennial (like the one in the pic), they are much sought after now.
It was, but the cap cracked and it was repaired (a long time ago) and it came back with raised bands. Not that it makes any difference to me because the only situation in which I would part with it would be if I gave it to one of my children.
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I always carry a pen, despite working IT, but mine is nowhere near as nice as yours...
I always have one of these about my person:
Fisher Space Pen & Fisher Space Pen Refills - Allwrite (http://www.allwrite.nl/?incl=website-fisher-bullet-pens)
NASA spent a hell of lot of time and money developing that pen.
The Russians just used a pencil.
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Would that it were true ...
IFAICR pencils were a unusable because of the risk (or certainty) of little bits of the lead breaking off and floating into somewhere one might not want a conductive material. Didn't they just use ball points? Gravity isn't what causes them to work.
As far as my pens go, I have a nice Parker for use at home and a Rotring in my overalls pocket.
One of the guys onboard, however, insists on using a £1250 Mont Blanc. Sod. That. For those that don't know, I'm a submariner, and there are far too many places to lose/break/drop small and valuable objects!
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My favourite pen at the moment is a Mont Blanc Meisterstuck Le Grande Platinum.
I tend to use it for signing letters. In a rather fantastic imperial purple ink... ;) ;D
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I recall previously that Pat Colbeck introduced us to a vintage pen site but have lost the details.
From this Site I discovered that my old Parker was worth a lot more than I appreciated.
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Any old bollocks that comes to hand is what I use. I'm certainly not going to take an expensive pen to work. If I still handwrote letters I'd still be using a nice Parker my mum gave me.
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Parker? That reminds me... how is Russell Downing doing in the ToB?
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Pencils! Propelling.
Despite having an iPhone, and a laptop at home and at work, I still prefer to use a Filofax for my diary... i know, i know, but I love it. And as I'm always making mistakes, or having to change appointments, my pencil allows me to 'delete' and replan.
I do still have a matching Parker pen and pencil set that I was given for going to high school, almost 30 (!) years ago. I got the piss taken mercilessly for my poncy pen set at the time but I'm still fond of it.
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(http://www.opakovanie.sk/naviac/lester/yacf/parker_pen.jpg)
My brother bought me a lovely black and gold Parker fountain pen. It is in constant use, every day. Carrying it around with me, I lost it and so had to replace it. Ouch! It now resides permanently on my desk.
It's a Parker Sonnet.
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I carry a Lamy (http://www.lamy.com/eng/b2c/studio/268) around with me most of the time.
It's nothing exceptional but I rather like it.
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I had a beautiful Parker pen set given to me when I graduated... which I have probably lost - well, will see once we have unpacked everything...
My writing returns to something like the rather good handwriting I had in school when I use a fountain pen. My wife prefers a particular Pentel - but they are much better than fountain pens for writing Japanese...
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The skill of writing seems to have deserted me since I became attached to a keyboard. I had a couple of nicish pens but I don't suppose they'd cut the mustard against some of the jewellery on display on this thread.
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All the more reason for taking up writing again. It was when I was studying Japanese calligraphy that I realised that I couldn't write for shit in my own language anymore (as a result of using computers...). That isn't good.
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Damn this thread. I had a frustrating dream last night where I was trying to write a love letter with a brand new very expensive fountain pen, but everytime I put nib to paper the end spread itself wide and ink pissed all over the page.
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Mr Freud would have a field day with that one!
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Just bought one of these (http://www.websterspenshop.co.uk/_assets/images/Signature%20for%20good300.jpg) for my birthday :thumbsup:
Special Edition for Unicef, so I get a nice pen and donate to a worthwhile charity at the same time O:-)
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Mr Freud would have a field day with that one!
I think you are being somewhat premature
:D
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I always carry at least one Lamy fountain pen and usually a propelling pencil as well. I have been known to buy stuff from Mr Woofage's excellent emporium. I love nice pens, I prefer to write with a fountain pen but like nice ball points and roller balls too. Cult Pens do a great selection of roller balls and propelling pencils.
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Rather random post this, but rootling about in my older photos, I found this shot of a Visconti Wall Street (http://www.thepencompany.co.uk/product/visconti_wall_street_limited_edition_fountain_pen_-_grey) in action. As you can see, I do not have the ideal technique for fountain pens, but with a fairly fast drying ink I rarely create too much mess. I think I took that shot to demonstrate my hold for the purposes of custom nib creation:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/Chickenhawk66/Watches1/Visconti1.jpg)
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Do you use an oblique nib or normal rounded point?
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A stub, normally (although the Visconti nib above was stock).
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5 pages.
Brilliant.
;D
H
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I keep a Waterman fountain pen in my computer repair tool bag...
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Do you use an oblique nib or normal rounded point?
Now there's a chat-up line.
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When I was a teenager I had a job as the internal mailman for a large zinc manufacturer which entailed riding around the site 4 times a day to various offices on a single speed butcher's bike with a box for mail on the front.
Anyway I digress - one of the electrical engineering supervisors for whom I collected mail was called John Green and he always used a green bic pen for all his correspondence. I would have liked to have done similar for my surname but sadly grey or gray would be viewed as a shade of black I reckon.
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I like the Namiki Vanishing Point Untitled Document (http://www.stylophilesonline.com/archive/jan03/04vp.htm) . I've had one for about 10 years.
Tried one of these in the 'proper' stationers in Bath before Christmas.
Lovely pen. Very heavy. But £110 was a bit much!
What I actually use these days is either a Pilot G-TEC-C4 (very fine nib) -- I almost always have one of these in a pocket or on the desk -- or a cheap Asda cartridge pen. I thought it was worth blowing 99p to see if a proper pen would make any difference to the way I write. Which it does, so I will be resuscitating one of my old pens or getting a decent new one soon.
S
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I rather like Pentels, but the last packet I bought had the first bad one I've ever known - it just won't write smoothly.
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I like the Namiki Vanishing Point Untitled Document (http://www.stylophilesonline.com/archive/jan03/04vp.htm) . I've had one for about 10 years.
Tried one of these in the 'proper' stationers in Bath before Christmas.
Lovely pen. Very heavy. But £110 was a bit much!
I use a Pilot Decimo which is a lighter version of the Vanishing Point, and much nicer to write with as a result. The Decimo takes (with some very minor fettling) the same nib as the VP:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Pilot-Namiki-Capless-DECIMO-GRAY-18Kt-B-Fountain-Pen_W0QQitemZ380194135176QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5885561c88 (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Pilot-Namiki-Capless-DECIMO-GRAY-18Kt-B-Fountain-Pen_W0QQitemZ380194135176QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5885561c88)
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The daft thing is that the Decimo is 25% more expensive than the standard Pilot Capless :-\.
Mrs Woofage has a Pilot Capless, but the older version with the faceted plastic body. I prefer the look of the newer models but they are slightly fatter.
Today, I are be mostly using my Parker Duofold Centennial "Greenwich" SE with J Herbin Violette Pensée and my Lamy 2000 with Rohrer and Klingner Salix.
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I really liked my Lamy 2000 but I just couldn't get it to stop over-producing ink (and leaking into the cap when not in use) - tried a replacement nib but had to give up on it.
Both the Capless and the Decimo seem to have got a hell of a lot more expensive since I bought mine.
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I appear to have accumulated a pile of pens since a fountain pen craze broke out in our office last year.
Currently:
1. Sheaffer No Nonsense calligraphy pen with an italic nib. I wrote my university thesis with it in May 1990 and then retired it for 21 years. It worked first time I put a cartridge in it. Has a screw cap which is something else to fiddle with in meetings.
2. Sheaffer Agio in the lurid limited-edition plasma/rainbow finish. People lust after this pen at work and I have to be careful where I leave it.
3. Sheaffer Triumph Imperial (the 1990s model) in a rather nice burgundy with that over-engineered inlaid nib. Looks great but the cap just pushes on in a non-positive manner, unlike any other push-on cap I've tried which clicks on. This annoys me a bit.
4. Lamy Al-Star in blue. Like all Lamys the medium nib is actually pretty wide and wet. Not pretty but writes very smoothly when it's not clogged. I've given up on Lamy ink and am using a converter and bottled ink now. Used the 1.5mm italic nib for a bit but it wasn't anywhere near as nice for italic script as the Sheaffer.
5. Lamy Al-Star in raspberry. Same as above, writes the same.
6. Lamy Vista (transparent plastic version of the pens above). As a practical fountain pen this is all you really need, and it cost about seven quid. You can see how much ink is left at a glance and there are some funky chromed parts, like the inner cap and the Lamy logo.
I also keep finding 1970s Papermate ballpoints in the changing rooms. I advertise on the work intranet but no-one ever claims them. I should probably get the burgundy and black-barrelled versions off eBay to complete the set.
We have a contractor in this week who is using a Montblanc fountain pen with orange ink :o
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Is there any truth in the rumour that fountain pens "break in" and become specific to their owner in the similar way that brooks's do?
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Is there any truth in the rumour that fountain pens "break in" and become specific to their owner in the similar way that brooks's do?
Yes. No one else is ever allowed to use my fountain pens.
Frere
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That's what we were always told, but a nib tipped with iridium (or whatever they use these days) is pretty damn hard and unlikely to be damaged by occasional use by foreign hands. The best reason for not lending one is that most people under 30 have no experience of them and may squash the nib through excessive pressure or writing at a near-90 degree angle, as is possible with a ballpoint.
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I've had a thing for Cross fountain pens for a while now. I am sure I can give them up any time I choose ... ;)
And no, they're not for lending.
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Or being a sinister type like myself who pushes the nib, causing it to dig into the paper and bend!
And then my following wrist smudges over what I've just written.
Perhaps I should buffer a line of text in my head, and output it in reverse, writing from right to left.
Fountain pens are not for me.
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Or being a sinister type like myself who pushes the nib, causing it to dig into the paper and bend!
And then my following wrist smudges over what I've just written.
Perhaps I should buffer a line of text in my head, and output it in reverse, writing from right to left.
Fountain pens are not for me.
Learn Arabic, that's right-left :)
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I'm left-handed, but manage OK. I usually use "The Parson's Essential" (Frankie Howerd's pen?) from Mr Pen, with Diamine ink (black, midnight or teal as the mood takes me. Somewhere I've got a 1930s Parker Vacumatic and a cheap (Chinese made) but very good Sheaffer. I also like the Uniball Eye, preferebly micro. but fine will do.
For drawing i use a Pentel P205 mechanical pencil, Pilot Hitecpoint V5 and G-TEC C4 and Zebra Jimnie, which is available in subtle colours. The green and maroon are especially nice.
I covet a fat barrel Pelikan and the Pilot Capless (which appears to be cheaper than the imitations).
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I've just got a 1.1 broad nib for my work TWSBI. It writes wonderfully.
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I've just got a 1.1 broad nib for my work TWSBI. It writes wonderfully.
:thumbsup:
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Is there any truth in the rumour that fountain pens "break in" and become specific to their owner in the similar way that brooks's do?
I used to use rotring art pens, which have a stainless steel 1.1 flat nib. They wore in to me - tried writing with someone else's and it was hopeless.
Like a Brooks, once you've broken in a nib, it becomes more comfortable and easier to write with. If someone damages it and you have to replace the nib, it is like the pain of breaking in a new brooks.
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Is there any truth in the rumour that fountain pens "break in" and become specific to their owner in the similar way that brooks's do?
I used to use rotring art pens, which have a stainless steel 1.1 flat nib. They wore in to me - tried writing with someone else's and it was hopeless.
rOtring italic nibs are not tipped, therefore you are just writing on the steel body. Artpen sets come with an Arkansas stone to re-grind the nib when necessary.
Personally, I do not believe that a pen "wears in" or "adjusts" to its owner. As RZ pointed out, nibs are tipped with Very Hard Stuff which takes literally decades of constant use to show any signs of wear.
An analogy is hi-fi speakers: do they wear-in or do you just get used to them?
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Do I need to post close up photos of my old pens and new ones so you can see the wear?
It's only stainless. Paper is quite abrasive and wears away soft steel easily. You can sharpen knives on paper.
<I am in a grumpy mood. plz do not be telling my that I imagined something in over 10 years of using these pens. Maybe I'm just hard on pens? YMMV>
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Do I need to post close up photos of my old pens and new ones so you can see the wear?
No, because I know that un-tipped italic nibs like those on rOtring Artpens do wear out. I wrote as much in my post above.
I hope your day improves :).
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At the moment I like the Parker Cisele style pens, as they are quite tactile and, IMHO look great as a work pen - not too fancy and not too out of place in an engineering business environment. My main pen at the moment is a late 60s fine nib 75 Cisele fountain pen with Diamine Amazing Amethyst purple ink, obtained from Woofage's emporium. I'm actually using an old, rinsed out cartridge for holding the ink, which I refill with a syringe - that gives more capacity than the converters so I don't have to carry ink when I travel. It writes a little dry compared to the mid-70s Parker 61 I also use.
For a mechanical pencil I have a modern Sonnet Cisele, and store them with a ballpoint in a three pen Conway Stewart case (http://www.mvburke.com/images/limitededitionsfldr/case3.jpg) that also holds some credit cards. The Leuchtturm pen loop (http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/showproduct.php?brand=Leuchtturm+1917&range=Pen+loop&cat=accessories&subr=) was a recent discovery, which makes carrying a pen with a notebook or pad much easier.
I'm still trying to decide upon a good ballpoint to use. I'm using a fairly default choice - a plain stainless Parker Jotter, which is convenient as both kids have Jotters as school pens so we just need to keep a stock of one type of refill (except one prefers blue, the other black ::-) ). I'm tempted to get a matching Cisele, but I'm put off by the quality of the Parker refills - a disposable bic crystal feels far smoother to write with than a Parker refill.
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A few in usual rotation for me. The usual suspects are either a (now badly battle-worn) TWSBI or if I fancy a change, a Faber Castell e-motion (I like fat pens). There's a couple of others in the pot on my desk, including a freebie eyedropper which came with a bottle of Noodler's Heart of Darkness and a Waterman my ex gave me.
Ink wise, I'm on a bit of a sepia kick lately but I usually end up going back to the bottle of Sailor Jentle Sky High.
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I appear to have accumulated a pile of pens since a fountain pen craze broke out in our office last year.
I see you've been hanging around on FPN as well ;D.
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Why are ink bottles the shape they are (generally short and fat)?
Trying to fill a pen when the bottle is less than half full always results in me spilling ink on the desk or only getting a half full or less pen.
'Tis annoying.
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Why are ink bottles the shape they are (generally short and fat)?
To encourage you to buy an inkwell.
(Any maybe also to avoid the risk of them being knocked over?)
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I don't want an inkwell they are stupidly shaped as well.
Ink could easily be in a tall thin bottle with a heavy and wide base to prevent tipping.
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A bottle cast with a "V" shaped interior would do.
The guy at work is using Montblanc Orange from the "Ink of Joy" range, apparently.
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This:
(http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/lamy/ink_T52.jpg)
or this:
(http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/visconti/visconti_ink_plastic.jpg)
Both have narrow sections to maintain sufficient depth when the remaining quantity gets low.
Sheaffer used to have an internal inkwell but since changing to the current style bottle this feature has disappeared. Sailor has an internal plastic inkwell system similar to that used by Parker in the Penman range, as does the TWSBI ink well.
Waterman bottles have an angled side so you can tip the bottle over to help filling when low on ink.
Alternatively, remove the converter from the pen and fill that directly. Or buy a new bottle and when that gets low top it up from the old one ;D.
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Does anyone else find paper a problem? Most A4 bound notebooks (I get through about one a year at work) have at least one side of the page that doesn't cope well with a fountain pen because the paper isn't properly coated. Ironically, the one I got from the Isle of Man Poundland offshoot for £1.20 is pretty good for writing in, although the cover is horrible. Ideally I'd like something with off-white paper that is smooth enough to write in.
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Don't even think about using an ink pen with recycled paper.
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I'm using Rhodia pads and notebooks, which have Clairefontain paper in them that is pretty good with a fountain pen. The problem with the A4 pads for folio use is that they are stapled through the top edge, so when you remove a page it is shorter than A4. They do an A4+ pad that gets around this, but you need to have a folio big enough to hold it.
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Even more oddly, the A4 stuff out of the photocopier at work is fine but the A3 stuff is awful. Probably a different brand, but you'd think photocopier paper had to meet some kind of universal standard for coating.
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I have a new recommendation for "best value pen". I picked up a barely-used base model Sheaffer Targa from eBay, brass with brushed stainless steel finish and a stainless steel nib. It's better-made and smoother-writing than anything else I have, and it was about a tenner.
You can pay over £100 for one of the rarer Targas with gold nibs (they came in about 80 finishes) but they won't work any better. I have a Valor (the current model with the same "inlaid nib") and the Targa makes it look rather crude.
There are rumours that Bic/Sheaffer might start making the Targa again, since many people consider it to be the last really good pen they made.
Small rant though - used eBay pens WILL be caked with dried ink. No-one ever bothers to clean them before sale. It is, however, interesting to see what colours come out when you chuck the nib in ammoniated water. If they were using blue ink, it normally dissolves out quicker than black does.
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I normally have use either some Bioscience company freebee pen that reps hand over, a charity envelope pen, or bic-type...
101 uses? Apparently bics et al., have been used for emergency tracheotomies.... http://www.wikihow.com/Perform-a-Tracheotomy. "by trained medical professionals."
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I have a new recommendation for "best value pen". I picked up a barely-used base model Sheaffer Targa from eBay, brass with brushed stainless steel finish and a stainless steel nib. It's better-made and smoother-writing than anything else I have, and it was about a tenner.
You can pay over £100 for one of the rarer Targas with gold nibs (they came in about 80 finishes) but they won't work any better. I have a Valor (the current model with the same "inlaid nib") and the Targa makes it look rather crude.
There are rumours that Bic/Sheaffer might start making the Targa again, since many people consider it to be the last really good pen they made.
I've had and unfortunately lost/had stolen 2 Targas (gold nibbed I believe) and I agree they're fabulous pens, I'll certainly get another when I've a few quid spare. Excellent weighty writing machines.
My Mont Blanc Traveller I've managed thus far to keep and I use it on a daily basis, it's lovely but a little light for my liking. I did leave in the back of a taxi taking me to Heathrow, fortunately it was a company we regularly used and the driver gave it into the office. I realsied it had gone when I got to my hotel in Spain and reckoned it lost in security. I called the taxi firm the next day and the lady said she had it on her desk, I politely asked her to put it in the safe and sent Mrs FF round to collect it - very happy bunny.
I have a nice Waterman boxed upstairs that I've never used on the basis that it's hard enough to look after 1 decent pen without having more. I reckon the last Targa dissappeared because I got lax carrying around 2 pens.
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This is my latest pen http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/livescribe-echo-smartpen-8gb-black-09964899-pdt.html (http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/livescribe-echo-smartpen-8gb-black-09964899-pdt.html) :thumbsup:
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Rotring tart here.
I have a couple of the very solid metal bodied 600 series ones, that lock each tip into place with a ball bearing. Pencil + pens + stylus. Bought myself one the hex bodied ones, then my kids lost the clicker top bit. Wife tried to get me a replacement, but could only find a Quattro - same mech, but doesn't have the same style.
I've worn out 3 of the Rotring artpens. Cheap nib pen that works so reliably.
Beware rot rings. I stuck one into my scalp at school and have been left with a blue black tattoo that becomes more obvious each year as my hairline recedes.
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This is my latest pen http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/livescribe-echo-smartpen-8gb-black-09964899-pdt.html (http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/livescribe-echo-smartpen-8gb-black-09964899-pdt.html) :thumbsup:
Me too. The writing quality is vastly improved if you buy some D1 refills and cut them down (I'm currently using Rotring D1's from Amazon).
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This is my latest pen http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/livescribe-echo-smartpen-8gb-black-09964899-pdt.html (http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/livescribe-echo-smartpen-8gb-black-09964899-pdt.html) :thumbsup:
Me too. The writing quality is vastly improved if you buy some D1 refills and cut them down (I'm currently using Rotring D1's from Amazon).
Ooh thanks for the tip.
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I also use a Lamy, but my hand writing is not as good as I'd like.
How about some links to teach me how to write?
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I like the Lamy Z50 nibs; cheap (about three quid) and usually very smooth. Having used about 12 different pens, I agree with the modern theory that a gold nib offers no advantage over a good stainless steel nib. No modern nibs have any appreciable flexibility and it's the tipping material that touches the paper, not the gold or the steel. The final irony is that a palladium-plated gold nib for £££ looks exactly the same as a polished steel nib for £.
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This is my latest pen http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/livescribe-echo-smartpen-8gb-black-09964899-pdt.html (http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/livescribe-echo-smartpen-8gb-black-09964899-pdt.html) :thumbsup:
Me too. The writing quality is vastly improved if you buy some D1 refills and cut them down (I'm currently using Rotring D1's from Amazon).
Ooh thanks for the tip.
I have one of those at work to test for our dyslexic students.
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This is my latest pen http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/livescribe-echo-smartpen-8gb-black-09964899-pdt.html (http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/livescribe-echo-smartpen-8gb-black-09964899-pdt.html) :thumbsup:
Me too. The writing quality is vastly improved if you buy some D1 refills and cut them down (I'm currently using Rotring D1's from Amazon).
Ooh thanks for the tip.
I have one of those at work to test for our dyslexic students.
It's revolutionising meetings for me. :-). I think they are fantastic.
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As someone who tends to be fairly flippant in meetings, I shall keep an eye out for such devices :-\
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As someone who tends to be fairly flippant in meetings, I shall keep an eye out for such devices :-\
The main reason I don't worry about this is that I *AM* the main/only person able to use such devices properly for now... :D
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One of these (http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Cleo-Messograf-Pen.html) is a handy addition to any top pocket. :thumbsup:
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This is my latest pen http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/livescribe-echo-smartpen-8gb-black-09964899-pdt.html (http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/livescribe-echo-smartpen-8gb-black-09964899-pdt.html) :thumbsup:
Oooo Interesting...
I have one of those at work to test for our dyslexic students.
I'll be very interested to know what you think of it.
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Interesting: FPs on the up:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18071830
Hundreds of comments too.
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Interesting: FPs on the up:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18071830
Hundreds of comments too.
My 15 minutes of fame ;D
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Earlier this year I bought a used Sheaffer Targa rollerball, the basic stainless steel model, for about a tenner on fleaBay, and it's useful for having around in the kitchen to write shopping lists and stuff; I use a pen so infrequently at home that a fountain pen would clog up. Mrs Z has taken a shine to it and it keeps disappearing, so I thought I'd try and find another one.
£50 for a used rollerball?! The world has gone Targa-mad.
I do have a spare front section for a rollerball, so if anyone has a Targa fountain pen (not slimline) with gold-plated trim and a shagged nib, let me know; the barrel and cap are the same so a conversion is straightforward.
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One of these (http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Cleo-Messograf-Pen.html) is a handy addition to any top pocket. :thumbsup:
Thanks, have ordered one for self and one for #1 son.
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I actually picked up a Pelikan M805 for the first time this week (one of my new colleagues was admiring my somewhat cheaper Sheaffer Valor). The Pelikan was much smaller than I'd expected and is actually about the same size as the Valor. As it was the M805 (silver coloured bits - rhodium or palladium, i assume) in black it didn't look anything special; I like the traditional green striped M800 with the gold plating.
The Valor is a very smooth and reliable pen with the usual funky Inlaid Nib (looks as if it was based on the design of a backgammon table) but the cap is ridiculously huge and the over-engineered clip isn't an especially nice design - it's a bit ugly and too stiff to actually use. Still, if I ever see the discontinued brown and gold version I'll be tempted.
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My mum bought me a proper fountain pen and a good quality ballpoint thing for my birthday one year. I know they're somewhere in the flat but I never use them. I use a selection of cheap ballpoints I've nicked from various hotels/company reps.
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Fountain pens are crap for occasional use, because they dry out and clog. if you have more than one, you need to keep most of them washed out and unused at any given time, just using one or two of them in rotation. if you ever found the perfect pen, you could sell all the others. They don't really wear out in normal use as the tipping material is so hard (although you can destroy it in 30 seconds with a piece of wet and dry paper).
One of the things that puts me off a piston filler is that you have to write a LOT to get through a full barrel of ink before it starts to dry a bit and clog the nib. Typically they hold nearly 3 cartridges' worth, or about 6 fills of a Sheaffer piston converter. I'd normally flush the latter every two fills.
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Fountain pens are crap for occasional use, because they dry out and clog. if you have more than one, you need to keep most of them washed out and unused at any given time, just using one or two of them in rotation. if you ever found the perfect pen, you could sell all the others. They don't really wear out in normal use as the tipping material is so hard (although you can destroy it in 30 seconds with a piece of wet and dry paper).
One of the things that puts me off a piston filler is that you have to write a LOT to get through a full barrel of ink before it starts to dry a bit and clog the nib. Typically they hold nearly 3 cartridges' worth, or about 6 fills of a Sheaffer piston converter. I'd normally flush the latter every two fills.
You need a Pelikan! :)
My M800 gets very occasional use but writes first time every time. My TWSBI isn't that far behind in the reliability stakes amazingly, although the Other pens I own do need to be used or cleaned to prevent blockage.
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I do like a nice fountain pen, but for everyday use I've got a thing for Parker Jotter ballpoints, with gel refills. I've got rather too many and like to coordinate the ink colour with the pen colour. :D
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Fountain pens are crap for occasional use, because they dry out and clog. if you have more than one, you need to keep most of them washed out and unused at any given time, just using one or two of them in rotation. if you ever found the perfect pen, you could sell all the others. They don't really wear out in normal use as the tipping material is so hard (although you can destroy it in 30 seconds with a piece of wet and dry paper).
One of the things that puts me off a piston filler is that you have to write a LOT to get through a full barrel of ink before it starts to dry a bit and clog the nib. Typically they hold nearly 3 cartridges' worth, or about 6 fills of a Sheaffer piston converter. I'd normally flush the latter every two fills.
You need a Pelikan! :)
My M800 gets very occasional use but writes first time every time. My TWSBI isn't that far behind in the reliability stakes amazingly, although the Other pens I own do need to be used or cleaned to prevent blockage.
£560 is a tad spendy for a pen thinks! I do like a good fountain pen though
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My writing looks crap with a fountain pen so it would be wasted on me.
20-mumble years later I thought I should check that claim. I got a cheap Lamy (nexx M, with a narrow italic nib) and some ink in the post today. Actually, I think that my handwriting looks better with the new pen. It might just be the new toy effect, but it's certainly nicer to use than I remember my school pen being!
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Me too. There is something about the way you have to hold a fountain pen that makes your writing neater. Mine is awful with a ballpoint but quite legible (if not exactly copperplate) with a fountain pen.
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I am sad to announce the demise of my Livescribe smartpen. After less than two years of admittedly heavy use the usb connector failed. Despite the best efforts of one of our members, it could not be repaired.
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One of the few positive things I've taken away from Audax riding is that I generally have a pen or some writing implement about my person.
Nothing flash, mind - either a bog-standard Bic-style biro or one of a number of 0.7mm rollerball pens I bought from Muji in Leeds before they shut down; they write wonderfully well although they really shouldn't be kept in pockets for any length of time (DAHIKT, suffice to say it's a good job that I tend to wear dark coloured clothing ..)
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A colleague at work uses these:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/DEEP-RED-INK-PILOT-FOUNTAIN/dp/B0023725NI/ref=sr_1_1?s=officeproduct&ie=UTF8&qid=1385846458&sr=1-1&keywords=v-pen+red
The idea of a disposable fountain pen seems horribly wrong, but the price is unbelievable.
Mind you, you could buy a Sheaffer No Nonsense pen, a converter and a bottle of ink and it would last longer than a 10 pack of these.
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I like Zebra F-301 pens and mechanical pencils for keeping in the car or a travel bag. Stainless steel, robust and cheap (<£5).
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A colleague at work uses these:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/DEEP-RED-INK-PILOT-FOUNTAIN/dp/B0023725NI/ref=sr_1_1?s=officeproduct&ie=UTF8&qid=1385846458&sr=1-1&keywords=v-pen+red
The idea of a disposable fountain pen seems horribly wrong, but the price is unbelievable.
I used them (not those precise ones) for a while at school, for bully-resistance of a redundant array of inexpensive pens.
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Not a pen to carry, I'll grant you (it would do horrible things to your pockets) but one I'm really growing to love since being given it as a surprise Christmas present by Julian:
(http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b187/vicechair/Pencil%20Fetish/DSCF6262_zps7cf38002.jpg~original)
(http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b187/vicechair/Pencil%20Fetish/DSCF6263_zps8b0ccac5.jpg~original)
(http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b187/vicechair/Pencil%20Fetish/DSCF6264_zps4242a7c5.jpg~original)
I'm already a convert to the ultra-thin Pilot cartridges that the pen was designed for. But the plastic cases that they are supplied in are not very good. This pen is over-engineered to the point of obsession.
The satisfying little 'plop' noise it makes as you slide the pen out of the barrel is just delicious.
CW&T Pen Type-A (http://shop.cwandt.com/products/pen-type-a)
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Oh - and look!
Cult Pens are doing a promotion (http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Pilot-Pens-Promotional-Offer.html?utm_source=Cult+Pens+Newsletter%3A+A-D&utm_campaign=1633bd3d1c-January+2014+-+Testing&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3499a4410f-1633bd3d1c-59306049&mc_cid=1633bd3d1c&mc_eid=6aa425f148) to let you try a Pilot G-Tec-C4 pen for 10p (they are usually £3.79).
(http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Pilot-G-Tec-C4-10p-SO.jpg)
Try one, they are awesome :D
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Oh - and look!
Cult Pens are doing a promotion (http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Pilot-Pens-Promotional-Offer.html?utm_source=Cult+Pens+Newsletter%3A+A-D&utm_campaign=1633bd3d1c-January+2014+-+Testing&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3499a4410f-1633bd3d1c-59306049&mc_cid=1633bd3d1c&mc_eid=6aa425f148) to let you try a Pilot G-Tec-C4 pen for 10p (they are usually £3.79).
(http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Pilot-G-Tec-C4-10p-SO.jpg)
Try one, they are awesome :D
She's right!
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On the bike I carry a low-cost giveaway ballpoint. Everyday a Lamy Swift roller. Have a bunch of FPs, Sheaffer Imperial, vintage CS etc and even a Noodler's Flex, but FP ink goes through most of the paper that gets shoved at you ("sign here") and they're a bore to maintain so they're wrapped up in a drawer awaiting posterity. Much prefer bikes & cameras.
May I post a little FP/camera porn?
(http://www.pbase.com/johnewing/image/121916008.jpg)
(It's a lie.)
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A colleague at work uses these:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/DEEP-RED-INK-PILOT-FOUNTAIN/dp/B0023725NI/ref=sr_1_1?s=officeproduct&ie=UTF8&qid=1385846458&sr=1-1&keywords=v-pen+red
The idea of a disposable fountain pen seems horribly wrong, but the price is unbelievable.
Mind you, you could buy a Sheaffer No Nonsense pen, a converter and a bottle of ink and it would last longer than a 10 pack of these.
I've got one of those (found it abandoned somewhere, IIRC). For a disposable, it's a pretty smooth writer.
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Woofage - do you have any TWSBI 580s in stock at the moment? My original (I was an early adopter..) has cracked in the barrel and I need a new one. Oblique broad if they do them, if not medium or broad..
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I very rarely write letters, so any pen is mainly used for jotting down notes at work. Nevertheless I've acquired a small collection of fountain pens. I bought a Parker Rialto in gorgeous red/brown lacquer cheaply years ago when a local stationer closed down.
More recently I've bought 2 Lamy Safari's, a TWSBI mini and just before Christmas found an Amazon reseller with a Lamy Studio in a lovely orangey red for £21!
They are nice, tactile things to stroke & play with..
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Woofage - do you have any TWSBI 580s in stock at the moment? My original (I was an early adopter..) has cracked in the barrel and I need a new one. Oblique broad if they do them, if not medium or broad..
I think we're pretty low at the moment but there's a delivery due early next week. If you send in your 530 I'll replace the barrel for you and give it a general service. We provide this service for anyone who buys a TWSBI from us.
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Woofage - do you have any TWSBI 580s in stock at the moment? My original (I was an early adopter..) has cracked in the barrel and I need a new one. Oblique broad if they do them, if not medium or broad..
I think we're pretty low at the moment but there's a delivery due early next week. If you send in your 530 I'll replace the barrel for you and give it a general service. We provide this service for anyone who buys a TWSBI from us.
You're a gentleman - I will do.
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Courtesy of Mr Woofage's online emporium, I am using a Pelikan M800 - the usual green and black version with a medium nib - as my main writing thingy at work. The Sheaffer c/c pens couldn't hold enough ink for a job interview and i was taking two pens with me.
So...is a £290 pen more than twice as good as a £130 pen? Actually, yes it is, and the money hasn't just gone into bling. It's quite a bit smoother than a Sheaffer Valor/Targa, the piston gubbins is all solid brass and built-in (not a £4 accessory) and it holds vastly more ink. It's a lot of money but you probably can't get anything better and it should outlast me.
The M800 is considered a "large pen" but after trying a colleague's M805 (same pen, different finish), I realised that anything smaller wouldn't have worked with my odd non-tripod grip. With smaller pens I need to post the cap to give me something to hold, and I hate posting the cap because it scuffs up the end of the pen.
I'm sticking with Sheaffer Skrip black because it's a reliable non-clogging ink and, also being rather runny, it gives a very wet line with the M800. However, it doesn't seep through pages, which is rather clever considering how thin it is - some of the Diamine inks like Florida Blue always go through to the other side.
Our new recruit asked what it was...turns out her mother works for Montblanc UK. I told her it was better than a Montblanc ;)
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I'm currently quite pleased with my "Parsons Essential" from "Mr Pen". A nice deep maroon lacquered brass body with a bog standard convertor. Hand fettled medium italic nib is nice & smooth. Currently loaded with Diamine Monaco Red, which almost matches the finish.
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I'm currently quite pleased with my "Parsons Essential" from "Mr Pen". A nice deep maroon lacquered brass body with a bog standard convertor. Hand fettled medium italic nib is nice & smooth. Currently loaded with Diamine Monaco Red, which almost matches the finish.
Mrs E and I have one each; hers is italic and mine standard. I'd never heard of them until my sister bought one for my birthday. I was impressed enough to get one for Mrs E's next birthday. We use Diamine ink, in a variety of colours; currently dark brown dor me and turquoise for her.
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Please don't judge me.
I have a Parker IM cartridge pen. I love the way it writes. Being left-handed, it's a miracle to find a pen I can use comfortably, legibly, and not smudge the ink with my hand.
But... Black? I want BLACK ink. Really proper BLAAAAACK. Parker Quink don't quite do it.
Does the panel have any suggestions for Parker-size cartridges with deep black ink? I suppose I could go for a fountain converter, but they tend to be smaller reservoirs, and a bit more faffy.
All suggestions gratefully received.
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Woofage can probably suggest something. You do know that really black inks may clog more, presumably?
The M800 is nearly three years old, gets used every day at work and has not clogged once. I think it's been flushed out with water about three times, ever. Still using Sheaffer Skrip black ink, which is pretty non-clogging (although the Skrip red is supposed to be so non-clogging that people sometimes use it in a recalcitrant pen for a few weeks just to flush it out!)
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You could keep the empty cartridges and refill them with a syringe.
Diamine Jet Black is nice ink, and De Atramentis black is probably good (I've only ever used the coloured Document Ink). Both come in bottles...
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I've succumbed, and bought a converter, so bottle ink is a possibility if no cartridge options are available.
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Diamine do multiple shades of black, available in 30ml bottles which are not too spendy so you can try different ones.
http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/showproduct.php?brand=&cat=colorama&subr=black
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I purchased three fountain pens for my birthday last year. One from mrpen.co.uk. I have forgotten
the brand name, as I returned for a refund. I have a Parker for home use and a Lamy (cheapest of
the three and most comfortable and easiest to write with) at work.
I always have a pen in my jacket pocket and manbag too.
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Tried to use a fountain pen for the first time in a while today.
I have a TWSBI in my pencil case that goes in my bag everyday. (Screw on lid and valve on air inlet make it less prone to leaking everywhere when shaken.) The lid had snapped, leaving the threaded bit in the metal cuff on the body.
Another pen that is pretty more than its good to write with has dried up so much that the ink reservoir forms a vacuum when trying to draw ink in. I've left it soaking.
Third (and final) time lucky after cleaning out the red ink from the last lot of marking I did.
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Please don't judge me.
I have a Parker IM cartridge pen. I love the way it writes. Being left-handed, it's a miracle to find a pen I can use comfortably, legibly, and not smudge the ink with my hand.
But... Black? I want BLACK ink. Really proper BLAAAAACK. Parker Quink don't quite do it.
Does the panel have any suggestions for Parker-size cartridges with deep black ink? I suppose I could go for a fountain converter, but they tend to be smaller reservoirs, and a bit more faffy.
All suggestions gratefully received.
Parker makes 2 types of black ink for cartridges: "permanent" black (product code S0116200) and "washable" black (S0881560). Neither meets the description properly; the terms permanent and washable in this context depend upon whose shirt you've got ink on :P.
Aurora cartridges usually fit Parker pens - the fitting is the same but since barrel dimensions vary it's impossible to give a universal recommendation. Aurora black is considered one of the blackest fountain pen inks available.
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I have a TWSBI in my pencil case that goes in my bag everyday. (Screw on lid and valve on air inlet make it less prone to leaking everywhere when shaken.) The lid had snapped, leaving the threaded bit in the metal cuff on the body.
Vac 700 or Vac mini? I can help you with a replacement cap.
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If you want seriously-goth-apparently-literally-indestructable-black-black, Noodler's Heart of Darkness fits the bill nicely. Don't get it on your clothes. Or fingers. Or leave it in a pen too long.
Bottle only, and I'm not sure of any UK retailers (Woofage will possibly correct me on that one), but I have a hefty bottle a friend brought back from the US for me, and you're welcome to a small vial of it to try if you like (and if I can find a vial).
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I have a TWSBI in my pencil case that goes in my bag everyday. (Screw on lid and valve on air inlet make it less prone to leaking everywhere when shaken.) The lid had snapped, leaving the threaded bit in the metal cuff on the body.
Vac 700 or Vac mini? I can help you with a replacement cap.
The 700. But already in the bin and beyond reach. Thanks for the offer though.
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Thanks Woofage and Dibdib. Yes, I would appreciate a sample of the BLACK! if you can manage it, Dibdib.
In the meantime, I shall search for Aurora. :)
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Diamine do multiple shades of black, available in 30ml bottles which are not too spendy so you can try different ones.
Diamine do multiple shades of everything never mind black !
They do them in 30ml samples as well at about £2.50 a shot so you can try loads for not much spendiness.
http://diamineinks.co.uk/listings.aspx?brandid=3
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Prompted by this thread, and courtesy of Mr Woofage's online emporium of shiny, a Pelikan M215. :)
Extravagant, maybe, but it is so much better to write with than the Parker Sonnet now relegated to the drawer.
I just need to keep away from the website for a while...
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I normally use Pilot V5 pens as I like the fine line that they give and fine them easy to use without any smudging etc. I also use a transparent Lamy Vista fountain pen with an extra fine nib. It writes very nicely and is similar to the Pilot V5s but is probably cheaper to run.
I've also got 2x old Parker Vacumatics that I recently had serviced and date back to 1938. I use one of them quite frequently (there's a problem with the barrel of the other that I'm trying to get fixed).
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I normally use Pilot V5 pens as I like the fine line that they give and fine them easy to use without any smudging etc. I also use a transparent Lamy Vista fountain pen with an extra fine nib. It writes very nicely and is similar to the Pilot V5s but is probably cheaper to run.
I've also got 2x old Parker Vacumatics that I recently had serviced and date back to 1938. I use one of them quite frequently (there's a problem with the barrel of the other that I'm trying to get fixed).
There's a version of the V5 with ballpoint style refills.Cult Pens sells it.
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I normally use Pilot V5 pens as I like the fine line that they give and fine them easy to use without any smudging etc. I also use a transparent Lamy Vista fountain pen with an extra fine nib. It writes very nicely and is similar to the Pilot V5s but is probably cheaper to run.
I've also got 2x old Parker Vacumatics that I recently had serviced and date back to 1938. I use one of them quite frequently (there's a problem with the barrel of the other that I'm trying to get fixed).
There's a version of the V5 with ballpoint style refills.Cult Pens sells it.
Thanks Efrogwr, I've seen that on Amazon and have some in my basket at the moment waiting for me to buy else. The feedback was a bit mixed that they're thicker than the normal V5 and don't last as long.
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As an interesting side note; When I write with a 'biro' I tend to scribble; When a write with my fountain pen I write both slower and properly.
The pen I've been using for donkeys years: Pelikan Souveran M400 Fountain Pen - Green Striated
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Being a bit of a label queen, and long-term fan of Pilot's disposables, I have now sourced a couple of really nice reusable pens.
There's the dinky Petit, which is clear, so you can see how much ink there is.
And I have black black black (none more black) Metropolitan (or MR, depending on country) medium nib fountain pen and gel rollerball. Because refills are difficult to find, I have taken the precaution of buying a plunger for the FP, only to find to my delight that it had a bladder refill included! :)
Very happy.
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Oh Clarrers I clean forgot about that ink sample. I did find an empty ink vial so PM me an address and I'll pop a drop of the Heart Of Darkness in the post to you.
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Not a worry. I have found multiple bottles of ink during the house move, and I would feel guilty about importing any more into the house at the moment!
Now, when I get through that...
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Prompted by this thread, and courtesy of Mr Woofage's online emporium of shiny, a Pelikan M215. :)
Extravagant, maybe, but it is so much better to write with than the Parker Sonnet now relegated to the drawer.
I just need to keep away from the website for a while...
Thanks again for your purchase. Excellent choice :thumbsup:.
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My wallet is going to regret me asking this, but what is the weblinky for Mr Woofage's online emporium?
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I use a Mont Blanc pen I got as a leaving gift from the company I left in 2000. At the time other people leaving typically asked for something like a PDA but when the group secretary asked what I wanted I said to choose me something that would last and not be thrown away in a year like a PDA would be. She chose the Mont Blanc pen that I still use today.
I also have a pen hand turned from rosewood that I picked up from a craft show I visited. It fits perfectly in my hand (if anything it's nicer to write with than the Mont Blanc) and the weight is perfectly balanced. The guy who turned it also had a range of pens made from .50-cal rifle shells that looked nice but just didn't fit in my hand in a way that was comfortable. I also bought a similar pen from the same guy as a Christmas present for my brother, but his was turned from black walnut.
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My wallet is going to regret me asking this, but what is the weblinky for Mr Woofage's online emporium?
I believe this (https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=23832.msg427406#msg427406)refers.
and what a nicely laid out home page.
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I love Rotrings but recently I have found Muji now do some brilliant pens.
I love the Muji pens, I always have a selection of them at home and work, but I always take my Parker Duofold Centennial with me. It's the nicest pen to write with that I've ever had. The guarantee only has another 5 years to run, so perhaps I might be able to sneak another one in.
(http://www.penbox.co.uk/images/ref.1037.parker.jpg)
If yours is the original "flat band" Centennial (like the one in the pic), they are much sought after now.
What's the nib like?
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My wallet is going to regret me asking this, but what is the weblinky for Mr Woofage's online emporium?
I believe this (https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=23832.msg427406#msg427406)refers.
and what a nicely laid out home page.
Bookmarked for future
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I've just seen that you can get a Brexit ink http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/312368-noodlers-brexit-exclusive/
Appropriate for signing a country's death warrant I suppose. It's not BRITISH though, damned colonial muck!
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I carry this one on the bike for use at controls:
(http://www.pbase.com/image/165387086.jpg)
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To fix, or not to fix, that is the question?
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DJfSW78ZWoo/Wn6lOyb5phI/AAAAAAABFDU/NcWnA5cwuHY60S3rWpQnE3HuBKfSrXrLwCKgBGAs/s1600/IMG_20180210_074833.jpg)
It's a briar Waterman Man 100, c 35 years old. I've only just noticed the crack in the wood, don't suppose that it affects it adversely. Getting it fixed will lose all the years and words that the mucky nib unit represents. There is one issue I would love to fix, in that the cap no longer fits on the body positively, preventing it from being carried in a pocket (so I carry it in my laptop bag). It does fit on the rear end positively, replacing the nib unit will not fix that issue.
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I've just seen that you can get a Brexit ink http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/312368-noodlers-brexit-exclusive/
Appropriate for signing a country's death warrant I suppose. It's not BRITISH though, damned colonial muck!
First, that link screwed my browser session totally..
Anyway, talking of exits, have been reading memos written by senior figures in the very last days of the British Empire as they prepared to exit Cyprus. It's all beautifully handwritten in proper ink. Every word can be easily read, even the local names. It's possible to detect the mood with which they wrote, too, although the legibility never suffers.
There is also a photo of Major General Darling at his Cypriot desk, looking sad and holding a pencil or crayon. I guess he was a Remainer.
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It's a working link, but Adblock tells me it blocked 29 things & Ghostery blocked 7.....
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Bollocks. Just bought a bag of cartridges from WHSmiths for a fountain pen that was a free gift but that's actually reasonably good, but it turns out they're the wrong sort. The hole is not wide enough for the barrell's 'piercer' (terminology?) to go into.
The one that came in it has a slightly fatter hole and is slightly longer but still of the stubby variety, not fully long like a parker one.
Any idea what it might be/how many different standards there are?
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Parker et al also do stubby versions - https://www.penheaven.co.uk/parker-quink-short-cartridge
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I carry a Pen F much of my not a work time, usually with a 17mm F1.8 attached.
(https://www.provideocoalition.com/wp-content/uploads/olympuspenf001.jpg)
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Ha! I carry a Pen, too: An E-P5 (not been able to afford an F yet) ;)
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Ha! I carry a Pen, too: An E-P5 (not been able to afford an F yet) ;)
It's just as well it's digital because I can't afford any film for it ::-) ;D
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:D :D :D