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milpreve
Feb 29, 2012

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TopherCStone
Feb 27, 2013

I am very important and deserve your attention
I've been out of the fountain pen game for a while. I have a handful of 60+ year old Esterbrooks, most with the desirable nibs. I stopped using them because filling them was tedious and very messy. I believe the caps also had dried ink in them form decades of use, as ink residue would make its way onto my hands after capping from areas that seemed entirely clean.

About 2 years ago I was at the Fountain Pen Hospital in NYC for some kind of exhibition and I remember trying out a Namiki Vanishing Point with the Yama Budo ink. It was nice, but I wasn't in the mood to pay for one. Now I have some extra cash from a bonus at work and am thinking of getting one. Good idea, bad idea? Are there better values to be had? Any flaws with the pen I should know about?

This vendor from Japan has it at a very low price compared to pretty much everywhere else I've seen online: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pilot-NAMIK...=item20d83bd6e0

ChickenOfTomorrow
Nov 11, 2012

god damn it, you've got to be kind

Vanishing Points are great and a common recommendation to people looking for an everyday pen. The clip placement bothers some; if it does, there are a couple of vendors that will sell them with clips removed (this does affect the warranty/return process). You can get replacement nibs from vendors, and if you want one customised I know both Binder and Mottishaw will do custom grinds.

I can't tell if thats a regular VP or the Decimo; the Decimo is a little slimmer. Namiki are the fancy Pilot brand (e.g. Lexus vs Toyota); IIRC most VPs are sold under the Pilot marque in the USA and UK; you might find more deals with 'Pilot' than 'Namiki'.

(If you're looking to get rid of your Esties, I have a small family of 'em and they welcome new friends.)

TopherCStone
Feb 27, 2013

I am very important and deserve your attention

ChickenOfTomorrow posted:

Vanishing Points are great and a common recommendation to people looking for an everyday pen. The clip placement bothers some; if it does, there are a couple of vendors that will sell them with clips removed (this does affect the warranty/return process). You can get replacement nibs from vendors, and if you want one customised I know both Binder and Mottishaw will do custom grinds.

I can't tell if thats a regular VP or the Decimo; the Decimo is a little slimmer. Namiki are the fancy Pilot brand (e.g. Lexus vs Toyota); IIRC most VPs are sold under the Pilot marque in the USA and UK; you might find more deals with 'Pilot' than 'Namiki'.

(If you're looking to get rid of your Esties, I have a small family of 'em and they welcome new friends.)

Thanks for the info. I'm actually really in love with the matte black model (that's the one I played with) but it's just too much money. Are there any other similar pens, or is that really the only option for a retractable?

I'm gonna hold onto my Esties, I like the way they look :3: But if ever that changes I'll keep you in mind. I'd rather they go to someone that can appreciate them than some random on eBay.

I might actually finally get a wood lathe like I'd meant to and start turning pens.

RustedChrome
Jun 10, 2007

"do not hold the camera obliquely, or the world will seem to be on an inclined plane."
The Lamy 2000 is a retractible pen that some like. The quality control seems quite iffy on them however.

suck my woke dick
Oct 10, 2012

:siren:I CANNOT EJACULATE WITHOUT SEEING NATIVE AMERICANS BRUTALISED!:siren:

Put this cum-loving slave on ignore immediately!

RustedChrome posted:

The Lamy 2000 is a retractible pen that some like. The quality control seems quite iffy on them however.

It's not actually retractable, unless you are talking about the piston or something :confused:

RustedChrome
Jun 10, 2007

"do not hold the camera obliquely, or the world will seem to be on an inclined plane."

blowfish posted:

It's not actually retractable, unless you are talking about the piston or something :confused:

Sorry, I meant the Dialog.
One of those metal pointy things, you know.

TopherCStone
Feb 27, 2013

I am very important and deserve your attention

RustedChrome posted:

Sorry, I meant the Dialog.
One of those metal pointy things, you know.

That's a gorgeous pen :syoon:

RustedChrome
Jun 10, 2007

"do not hold the camera obliquely, or the world will seem to be on an inclined plane."

TopherCStone posted:

That's a gorgeous pen :syoon:

Just make sure you buy it from a dealer who will let you return it if the nib is bad.

TopherCStone
Feb 27, 2013

I am very important and deserve your attention

RustedChrome posted:

Just make sure you buy it from a dealer who will let you return it if the nib is bad.

I'll probably make another trip into the city and check out the fountain pen hopsital, where I should be able to inspect and maybe test them before buying. Actually I should see if they have any events coming up again where I can really play the field.

Kessel
Mar 6, 2007

The Dialog 3 is poo poo in everyday use. The closing mechanism isn't as good as the VP, so the nib dries out all the time.

RustedChrome
Jun 10, 2007

"do not hold the camera obliquely, or the world will seem to be on an inclined plane."
I don't think I've heard much positive talk about the Dialog, other than that it looks cool.

aldantefax
Oct 10, 2007

ALWAYS BE MECHFISHIN'
Well! That was interesting, if a bit crowded. Someone brought a Nakaya Urushi (the burgundy clipless! oh my!) and someone had already busted out their kit to inspect some pens that needed work. I ended up walking away with a certain kind of paper that is supposedly quite expensive, very thin, and very fountain pen friendly? I'll have to test it out some time.

I also was like half the age of a large majority of those present, it felt like...

suck my woke dick
Oct 10, 2012

:siren:I CANNOT EJACULATE WITHOUT SEEING NATIVE AMERICANS BRUTALISED!:siren:

Put this cum-loving slave on ignore immediately!

RustedChrome posted:

I don't think I've heard much positive talk about the Dialog, other than that it looks cool.

It is a very fat and heavy pen, which you may or may not like. Also there is a photo of Merkel using a Dialog 3, which you may or may not like :v:

When I tried it, the nib was wonderfully springy compared to most other pens in the shop, but I found it awkward to hold

ChickenOfTomorrow
Nov 11, 2012

god damn it, you've got to be kind

aldantefax posted:

Well! That was interesting, if a bit crowded. Someone brought a Nakaya Urushi (the burgundy clipless! oh my!) and someone had already busted out their kit to inspect some pens that needed work. I ended up walking away with a certain kind of paper that is supposedly quite expensive, very thin, and very fountain pen friendly? I'll have to test it out some time.

I also was like half the age of a large majority of those present, it felt like...

You took some of the Tomoe River paper that Loren posted about? Do share scans of your writing samples. I'm a brand loyalist but I enjoy the reviews of others.

Kessel
Mar 6, 2007

It's insane paper. It feels like it should be lining the contents of your cabinets and drawers, or used as blotting paper for your face, but it's totally impervious to bleedthrough.

aldantefax
Oct 10, 2007

ALWAYS BE MECHFISHIN'

ChickenOfTomorrow posted:

You took some of the Tomoe River paper that Loren posted about? Do share scans of your writing samples. I'm a brand loyalist but I enjoy the reviews of others.

Goodness, 100 sheets for 10 bucks is a princely sum. A majority of the old hats at the pen club noted it as a "paper of the gods" - I'll see if I can do something with it tonight.

I sampled some inks, too, whilst I was out there: De Atrementis Merlot, Shaeffer Permanent Royal Blue #532, a custom Iron Gall labeled "Valley Oak Iron Gall, 14 April 2013 GT Veddig", and some mystery Chinese black ink. I sampled all of the inks with a J. Herbin large glass dip pen:



Handwriting still terrible!

The top left was a demonstration by the organizer of a proper flex pen, which was done with a pen that I'm sure had something considerably more expensive in the nib that I'm ready to spend!

No idea what that Chinese black ink was because I can't read the label, but it wrote well enough. I think it's pretty thick, overall:



I quite like that Royal Blue, more of a blue-grey that I'm a fan of. I was also, ah, educated by the guy who brought his entire pen repair kit that a 'demonstrator' pen is, in fact, just a 'clear' pen - a real demonstrator would be nonfunctional. Educational!

Vitamins
May 1, 2012


Oh my god, I really want some of that Tomoe River paper now. :stare:

I'm heading back to university this week so the next few days will be full of getting stationary. Gotta get a big hunk of those Rhodia pads, and may just use it as an excuse to get a bunch of ink too. :getin:

Edmond Dantes
Sep 12, 2007

Reactor: Online
Sensors: Online
Weapons: Online

ALL SYSTEMS NOMINAL
On the subject of paper, I've gathered that Rhodia webnotebooks are the go-to option for ink-friendly paper? I have a small moleskine notebook but it bleeds through with Noodler's Tiananmen (but no so much with Diamine Grape, though, but tiananmen is kinda my main ink for now); the beedthrough is not MASSIVE, but the paper is kinda thin and see-through even with a ballpen, and I wanted to start making a recipe notebook and I want it to look PRETTY. :colbert:

Edmond Dantes fucked around with this message at 19:20 on Sep 23, 2013

Rudeboy Detective
Apr 28, 2011


Moleskine notebooks, despite their pricepoint, are made with fairly poor paper in my experience. It's overwaxed yet manages to allow bleedthrough, and has a tendency to clog my pens up with waxyfibery gunk.

Rhodia paper is pretty much better in every way, it also comes in dot grid. Dot grid paper is awesome.

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

Lord Girlyman posted:

Rhodia paper is pretty much better in every way, it also comes in dot grid. Dot grid paper is awesome.
This is Absolute Truth.

Edmond Dantes
Sep 12, 2007

Reactor: Online
Sensors: Online
Weapons: Online

ALL SYSTEMS NOMINAL
Huh. I fiddled a bit more with the different inks and another moleskine I have (in this case a sketchbook, so it's more suited to pencils, but eh, I'm bored); Heart of Darkness and Diamine Grape work like a charm, very little feathering with HoD and none that I can see with Grape, and no bleedthrough with either.

It's kinda crap with Tienanmen though, it feels like I'm trying to write on plastic, I feel like the ink is not flowing into the paper, if that makes any sense... like when you try to write with an empty pen.

I do have the inks loaded on different pens with different nib styles (fine/medium/1.1 stub respectively), so I'm not sure if the nib is causing this or the ink though.

Edmond Dantes fucked around with this message at 20:17 on Sep 23, 2013

djinndarc
Dec 20, 2012

"I'm Bender, baby, please insert liquor!"
I highly recommend the Rhodia Webnotepads if you are looking for something small and portable to jot quick notes, memos, shopping lists, etc. on.
The 3 x 4.75 is small enough to fit in a shirt or pants pocket. I carry one on me at all times.

And yes, Rhodia paper is the bomb for fountain pens. I have read that Rhodia uses Clairfontaine paper, but the CF in the Rhodia notebooks seems different than the CF paper in the CF notebooks. I personally like the Phodia paper better.

Kessel
Mar 6, 2007

I wouldn't put that Chinese ink in a fountain pen without making sure it won't clog the tubes first!

ChickenOfTomorrow
Nov 11, 2012

god damn it, you've got to be kind

In the thumbnail it looks like Heisenberg ink.

milpreve
Feb 29, 2012

Kessel posted:

I wouldn't put that Chinese ink in a fountain pen without making sure it won't clog the tubes first!

In general, how does one do this? I made some ink with tea and gum arabic, and I want to write with it without risking my Metro. I also have some other homemade inks, like a lovely oak gall from a friend. But my Metro is my daily pen, and I can't afford another right now.

fart particle
May 14, 2013

by toby
I've been using Campus notebooks by the Japanese brand Kokuyo. The pages are smooth, work great with fountain pens, and also come with the dot grid. Unfortunately, you can only buy them online (jetpens, Amazon) or in Japanese stores like Kinokuniya. They're very light and easy to carry. Definitely worth checking out if you happen to see them somewhere.

aldantefax
Oct 10, 2007

ALWAYS BE MECHFISHIN'
poo poo. Iroshizuku inks are 20 bucks on Amazon right now and I have Prime. I'm gonna get that Tsuki-yo, but what else? Yama-budo? Asa-gao?

Welsper
Jan 14, 2008

Lipstick Apathy
Kon-Peki is quite nice, Tsukushi and Fuyu-Syogun have been getting lots of comment in the thread lately.

Always buy a Tsuki-Yo

aldantefax
Oct 10, 2007

ALWAYS BE MECHFISHIN'

Welsper posted:

Kon-Peki is quite nice, Tsukushi and Fuyu-Syogun have been getting lots of comment in the thread lately.

Always buy a Tsuki-Yo

Actually, I have Fuyu-Syogun already, works like a champ (though I swapped it out for Noodler's Borealis Black in my Prera). Since I have the Diamine Prussian Blue it feels like too much overlap to get the Shin-kai, but the Kon-peki seems like a winner.

TopherCStone
Feb 27, 2013

I am very important and deserve your attention

milpreve posted:

In general, how does one do this? I made some ink with tea and gum arabic, and I want to write with it without risking my Metro. I also have some other homemade inks, like a lovely oak gall from a friend. But my Metro is my daily pen, and I can't afford another right now.

Never use iron gall ink in a fountain pen, you will corrode it really badly. Dip pens only for that. I imagine your homemade tea ink would be best for a dip pen as well, but I can't say for sure because I've never heard of it before.

Everything Burrito
Jun 2, 2011

I Failed At Anime 2022

aldantefax posted:

poo poo. Iroshizuku inks are 20 bucks on Amazon right now and I have Prime. I'm gonna get that Tsuki-yo, but what else? Yama-budo? Asa-gao?

Oh poo poo! I had some reward points hoarded up that were crying out to be used on ink so I got Tsuki-yo, Shin-Ryoku, Fuyu-Gaki, Fuyu-Syogun, and Tsukushi.

edit:
Since I said I'd use Q'Ternity next, here is a scan and a photo. Paper is cheap graph paper (the only large paper I had that wasn't yellow) and a generic unlined journal that I'm using as an ink journal. The 1 second checkmark smeared slightly but I don't think it showed up on the scan, and just for giggles I ran a wet finger across the scribbled lines but it started messing up the paper so I didn't take that any further. The journal photo washed the colors out pretty bad because the light in my office is kind of awful, so that image has been edited to try and show a true representation of each color but I was not that successful. To my eye in person they are much closer together with that greenish-blue dark spruce color; Verdigris is slightly more blue, and 54th/QT are similar but QT is the darkest of the bunch. Also it stinks a bit.

Everything Burrito fucked around with this message at 20:28 on Sep 24, 2013

jomiel
Feb 19, 2008

nya
I have some homemade iron gall made by this German pharmacist from FPN forums. I use it quite frequently in my Pilot Decimo (slim version of VP) and it has been just fine. I've seen people use homemade tea ink on FPN as well, it's fine.

What you don't want to do is load it up with this ink and then forget about the pen for a few weeks. I ruined my previous TWSBI by doing exactly that but with cuttlefish ink from Hakase :( The ink dried all around the piston and I couldn't really get it clean.


What you don't want to use is India ink.

jomiel fucked around with this message at 18:20 on Sep 24, 2013

Meldonox
Jan 13, 2006

Hey, are you listening to a word I'm saying?

aldantefax posted:

poo poo. Iroshizuku inks are 20 bucks on Amazon right now and I have Prime. I'm gonna get that Tsuki-yo, but what else? Yama-budo? Asa-gao?

Ugh, I already have a decent blue black, dunno if I can justify a Tsuki-yo until that's gone. Been eyeballing that Fuyu-Syogun for a while though.

kim jong-illin
May 2, 2011
If I want an italic/stub nib in a Pilot Metropolitan, what are my options? Buy a Goulet nib and slot it in? Is the nib even removable?

Everything Burrito
Jun 2, 2011

I Failed At Anime 2022
Buy a Pilot Plumix for $7, yank the nibs out and swap them.

Verdugo
Jan 5, 2009


Lipstick Apathy

kim jong-illin posted:

If I want an italic/stub nib in a Pilot Metropolitan, what are my options? Buy a Goulet nib and slot it in? Is the nib even removable?

The Goulet nib is a #6 and will not fit in that pen.

pienipple
Mar 20, 2009

That's wrong!
Is the Metro's nib a standard size or is it swap from the Plumix only? The Metro is really nice but I prefer a big fat nib.

DanManIt
Sep 5, 2008

pienipple posted:

Is the Metro's nib a standard size or is it swap from the Plumix only? The Metro is really nice but I prefer a big fat nib.

You can't change the size (pilot proprietary) of the nib, but you could swap it out for another Pilot Plumix or 78g for a different line width. Those are the only two that it fits as far as I know.

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ChickenOfTomorrow
Nov 11, 2012

god damn it, you've got to be kind

TopherCStone posted:

Never use iron gall ink in a fountain pen, you will corrode it really badly.

This is nonsense, FYI. Commercial iron galls are just fine in pens as long as you don't leave them unattended for 3+ weeks.

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