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A dude showed me his TWSBI mini with an Eversharp Symphony nib in it. I think...this is a thing that i am going to want to do now!? 
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Oct 27, 2013 08:58
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 16:12 |
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Probably! If you don't want to do the nib swap yourself, Mauricio at vintagepen.net had a few pre-made for sale last I checked.
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Oct 27, 2013 22:16
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Oh, I'm a bad pen man. I purchased reconditioned new old stock from Peyton Street Pens in Santa Cruz, CA and drove down there to pick up the thing - an Eversharp Symphony 713 (?) Medium 14k flex nib. I have been fiddling with it since I got it last Friday, and experimenting with some different ways of holding the pen. This thing puts out a ridiculous amount of ink (compared to the other pens I've been using, anyway).  Bad handwriting time! This was in a Rhodia Webnotebook with the above pen and Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo. I make no claims to any of the content being legible, pretty, or accurate. In the above example, #1 was writing by gripping high on the barrel while posted, on the upper third of the pen (practically where the posted cap meets the rest of the body). #2 was holding it on the middle third, done with rapid strokes using a lot of wrist movement. Lastly, #3 was as close to the actual grip as I could get my hand, making fast but short deliberate (kind of) strokes to get the lines down. It's difficult to keep the pressure so light! However, in order to achieve shading, it looks like that you want to be pretty deft on the downstrokes. If I were to use a lighter ink (which I may in a week or two, I am still really digging using the Tsuki-yo though) then I think it would be a bit easier. I'm looking on various places that discuss proper flex positioning and writing, but I must say that since this is a medium nib it feels like (and this is probably inexperience talking) that the 'flex' portion only flexes up to B or BB. I am probably being a big baby about it though and not flexing it as much as it can go!
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Oct 28, 2013 07:25
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What?? Santa Cruz has a pen store? God damnit. I just graduated and now I'm back in San Diego. Had I known...  Looks like a great pen though! Congrats.
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Oct 28, 2013 17:54
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If anyone has been on the fence about a Vac 700, the price is dropping to $65. It's seriously one of my favorite pens and this is a crazy deal - so buy it!
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Oct 28, 2013 19:26
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SnakesRevenge posted:If anyone has been on the fence about a Vac 700, the price is dropping to $65. It's seriously one of my favorite pens and this is a crazy deal - so buy it! I was just about to post this! Christ what a great deal!
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Oct 28, 2013 19:50
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aldantefax posted:yeah okay one sec Thanks!
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Oct 29, 2013 03:01
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Xovaan posted:What?? Santa Cruz has a pen store? God damnit. I just graduated and now I'm back in San Diego. Had I known... It's an online order only store, Peyton Street Pens. They don't have a real storefront but Teri was really accommodating and gave me a quick tour and introduction to their new workshop - they completely demolished a garage at her house and rebuilt it to have some dedicated space for the biz. They've been in business for about 5 years now full time, and they have what appears to be a complete staff! Speaking of which, they are doing a celebration now that the new workshop has been open and nothing exploded for about 2 weeks. I am probably going, but who else is? Apparently, there are "famous meatball sliders" and "locally made ice cream" in the works - this sounds like it's worth the drive...
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Oct 29, 2013 03:14
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I got the 580 Fine & Noodler's Black in tonight and got to play around with it for a half hour or so. I really like it! I do a lot of practice writing on cheap laser paper and it doesn't bleed too bad there. When writing in my notebooks (I've been using Whitelines notebooks for the past couple of years) there's no noticeable feathering and it dries really fast. The fine nib is somewhat thinner than my standby .7 Energel but still pretty expressive. Glad I went with the fine, with the way the cheaper copy paper feathers out the medium would have been really excessive whereas the fine ends up looking almost exactly like my old pen. Also, you guys weren't kidding about Noodler's Black being black. It's as dark, if not maybe even slightly darker, than the Energel black. No problems out of the box. I didn't flush it or anything, wanted to approach it from the dumb novice perspective, and it is working great. Requires no pressure to get good flow, no skipping whatsoever, very smooth. I had a very new-to-fountain-pens-moment when I couldn't figure out why it was having trouble getting flow going one direction but not others, turned out I just needed to roll the top of the nib away from me slightly to accommodate my grip and the problem went away instantly. The 580s real thick but not as thick as I was worried about, fits me well. I tend to hold my pen a bit irregularly, my fingertips are positioned in a pretty standard pen grip but I rest my pen between my index and middle fingers, so really huge pens can cause issue there, but no problem in this case. The whole pen actually feels really sturdy and nice, even though it is plastic it doesn't feel cheap at all, looks and feels really well engineered. What fun!
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Oct 29, 2013 08:00
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Here, now, what's all this? Ah ha. Seven Seas Tomoe River paper. I don't know how many people in this thread know of it, but it was brought up some time ago. A very fancy paper that is ridiculously thin. Looks like this one is used - what's on the other side?  lovely handwriting practice time, and power metal lyrics, at that! Shameful.  Goodness, if I didn't transcribe these from album lyrics I'd swear the last 2/3rds were worrisome (good song, though, if you like Holy Grail).  lovely pen picture time! From left to right, then the desk pen:
It looks like I'll be giving Leigh Reyes a ride to the Santa Cruz Pen Posse while she's in town! I'm sure I'll have a lot of questions for her during the car ride down. She has been known to have beautiful calligraphy, artwork, and a hell of a lot of fancy pens.
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Nov 1, 2013 08:10
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Can I ask for a bit of advice please folks. I bought a Lamy Safari on the recommendation in this thread as my 2nd fountain pen. I love it, but the way I hold my pen vs. the way the 2 finger grooves are positioned don't quite match up. Is it possible to rotate the lower part of the barrel with the two finger cut-outs? Or rotate the nib in relation to these? I suspect not, but thought I'd ask and hope to be proven wrong. Thanks
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Nov 2, 2013 01:09
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Tilda posted:Can I ask for a bit of advice please folks. I bought a Lamy Safari on the recommendation in this thread as my 2nd fountain pen. I love it, but the way I hold my pen vs. the way the 2 finger grooves are positioned don't quite match up. It might be. It's been a while since I pulled mine apart, but you can pull the nib and feed all the way out of the section, and I don't think there's anything preventing you from putting it back in a little rotated. You'll need to remove the cartridge/converter and I'd recommend flushing it out first as well. Edit: I got home and checked and it turns out I'm a liar, the underside of the feed is 'keyed' so it won't go in when rotated - unless you're willing to modify it a bit, of course. SnakesRevenge fucked around with this message at 08:33 on Nov 2, 2013 |
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Nov 2, 2013 02:10
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Just got my Pilot Metro and this heartily deserves all the praise it gets. I got the Violet Leopard and it is not nearly as bright and garish as the photos from Goulet would lead you to think, it's actually much darker in person.    The nib is so freaking smooth, I love it~~
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Nov 2, 2013 19:42
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I have an old Parker fountain pen of my grandfather. I have no clue in how to refill it. It has a little cap on the back, and some metal strips can be removed of it. https://www.dropbox.com/s/b1eu0ctsar6xj1e/2013-11-04%2010.30.23.jpg Any idea how this pen works?
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Nov 4, 2013 10:46
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Maximilian posted:I have an old Parker fountain pen of my grandfather. I have no clue in how to refill it. It has a little cap on the back, and some metal strips can be removed of it. It looks like it might be a button fill. I imagine that pen needs an ink sac. If the pen is old, it is probably dried out, so you may need to get a new one before trying to fill it. If it is a button fill, here are some directions: http://www.vintagepens.com/filling_instructions_button-fillers.shtml
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Nov 4, 2013 12:21
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pienipple posted:Just got my Pilot Metro and this heartily deserves all the praise it gets. Got one for my wife from Goulet and she loves it. Now maybe I can have my gold one back.
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Nov 4, 2013 14:51
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Maximilian posted:I have an old Parker fountain pen of my grandfather. I have no clue in how to refill it. It has a little cap on the back, and some metal strips can be removed of it. That's a button filler. The metal bar goes inside the body of the pen, and when you press down on the button, it compresses a latex sac, then when you release the button the sac fills with ink. Yours looks to be missing the button, unless that's hidden in the picture.
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Nov 4, 2013 22:37
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After getting a Lamy 2000 and being really disappointed with the line thickness I've found a nib grinder who'll turn it into a medium italic for me. Super stoked to see how it turns out, grabbed a bottle of Noodler's Bad Belted Kingfisher as a dark blue-black to go in the pen when it's done.
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Nov 5, 2013 00:12
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Any of you pen guys live in Portland? Would you recommend any shops?
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Nov 5, 2013 06:45
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ChickenOfTomorrow posted:That's a button filler. The metal bar goes inside the body of the pen, and when you press down on the button, it compresses a latex sac, then when you release the button the sac fills with ink. Yours looks to be missing the button, unless that's hidden in the picture. Thanks for the info! Yes, the button is missing and it looks like the ink sac is dried out. I'm gonna look around if there is someone who can replace the ink sac and button.
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Nov 5, 2013 11:10
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Vitamins posted:It's extremely black. I'ts also a completely neutral black too, with no red or green tones like a lot of blacks out there. Aurora only make blue and black inks, preferring to make two very good inks rather than a lot of possible mediocre ones, and it really shows. I have been using my sample of Aurora blue for the past 2 weeks and I agree it's an excellent ink. It's been very smooth, smoother than my beloved Iroshizuku inks. It also performs extremely well in my VP/Decimo that I use at work which has a tendency to dry out over the weekend. It's a very lovely saturated blue that leans toward violet. I'm totally going to order the full size bottle 
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Nov 7, 2013 00:36
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Ohio pen show starts today aw yeah! Gonna be there from 4-6. Anyone else going?
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Nov 8, 2013 16:05
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We're already on the way. Hoping to be there at one. I'll be the lady with a baby strapped to my hip. We have to leave by 3 though to get home at a decent hour.
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Nov 8, 2013 16:51
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I hope you guys find some super cool pens (then give them to me)!
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Nov 8, 2013 18:14
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The show was fun. I managed to complete my Esterbrook J collection and picked up a Pilot Metropolitan. 4 pens for $84! The black esterbrook was sold as parts without a nib but it has a good sac in it and I have an extra nib already.
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Nov 9, 2013 02:47
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lady flash posted:The show was fun. I managed to complete my Esterbrook J collection and picked up a Pilot Metropolitan. 4 pens for $84! The black esterbrook was sold as parts without a nib but it has a good sac in it and I have an extra nib already. I have a green Esterbrook just like yours. It's possibly my favorite just because it looks so cool. I'm going to have to dig mine out and take a family photo
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Nov 9, 2013 14:58
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Is anybody going to the Pan-Pacific pen meetup next weekend? I heard they are going to display dark secrets of pen-based telepathy at it.
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Nov 9, 2013 19:24
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Anywhere I can get the purple Leopard Metropolitan for my girlfriend other than GouletPens?
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Nov 9, 2013 23:19
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Here's the link to I Sell Pens, which is a pretty good retailer with fantastic customer service.
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Nov 9, 2013 23:26
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I had a lovely time at the Ohio Pen Show! Tim Girdler fixed my Metro, which he said the nib had sprung, I think. I also got to write with some really lovely pens and see how different fillers worked from the vendor with the cutaways. My fiancé even had a nice time and he doesn't care much about pens at all. I bought a tiny fountain pen that may or may not work, but is adorable. Edit: Tiny pen works, but is scratchy as hell. Does anyone have any links to some good nib repair advice? Also, Noodler's Apache Sunset is the most beautiful ink. milpreve fucked around with this message at 23:29 on Nov 10, 2013 |
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Nov 10, 2013 05:26
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OP, you should add a link to Richard Binder Pens. He does fantastic restoration work and I typically buy all of my Pilot/Namiki products from him.
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Nov 11, 2013 05:08
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Would anybody like to do a virtual pen pal thing for the holidays? Save on the postage, get all the fun of writing to someone else! Actual pen pal things would be cool too. I know there are a few efforts to get some holiday greetings correspondence out on FPN and FPGeeks and the like.
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Nov 12, 2013 21:08
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I'm up for real mail pen pals. There's a goon mail thread in CC that's year round but gearing up for Christmas cards.
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Nov 12, 2013 22:28
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Yeah, same. It would be a nice chance to use some of the more fancy inks we have - I'm doing all my cards this year in Noodler's Black Swans in English Roses, a red ink that dries to an almost blood-like colour. It'll also give me a chance to use my Iroshizuku Old Man Winter as well, because that's not practical for most writing.
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Nov 12, 2013 23:58
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I've dipped through parts of this thread but must admit I haven't read it all, so sorry if others have commented, but I've got a Pelikan M200 that I swear by. I actually got it because my girlfriend saw me browsing this thread a year ago and got it for me as a gift. It's a ballin' pen. I don't know if the price bump up from some of its cheaper counterparts really reflects much improvement, as it's the only fountain pen I own, but I use it all day long at work and it's smooth, reliable, and an all-around dream. It's probably a really nice option for someone who appreciates fountain pens and is looking to make their first purchase on a pricier (though still not ridiculously expensive) pen.
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Nov 13, 2013 21:09
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asylum years posted:I've dipped through parts of this thread but must admit I haven't read it all, so sorry if others have commented, but I've got a Pelikan M200 that I swear by. I actually got it because my girlfriend saw me browsing this thread a year ago and got it for me as a gift. It's a ballin' pen. I don't know if the price bump up from some of its cheaper counterparts really reflects much improvement, as it's the only fountain pen I own, but I use it all day long at work and it's smooth, reliable, and an all-around dream. It's probably a really nice option for someone who appreciates fountain pens and is looking to make their first purchase on a pricier (though still not ridiculously expensive) pen. I'm lusting after one of the larger blue/black striped ones once my wife finishes college and has a full time job. Giant gold nib, piston fill, christ.
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Nov 13, 2013 21:44
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I can't speak for the larger Pelikans, but my m215 is pretty brilliant. Even with a simple steel nib, it's astonishingly smooth unless it rotates just enough to find a single somewhat rough spot. Hell, it even still looks pretty nice after three years of being tossed into a pants pocket nearly every day. Do the regular m200s have a clear ink window? The dark blue 'translucent' ink window is one of my only real complaints with the pen, since I basically have to hold it up to the sun to check the ink level. That and the cap comes off rather easily, which is only an issue if you're regularly throwing pens into pockets. The other really neat thing about the m200 line is that the nib and feed screw out, and you can replace them with a nib from a lot of other Pelikans. Richard Binder has this chart listing the compatibility. One day when I can justify the expense, I kinda want to get one of his custom nibs, just for fun. Also because the "Fine" nib is still very generous with the ink.
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Nov 13, 2013 22:14
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Anyone else feel [outside of this thread] if you're not spending $300 on a pen, any questions / concerns you have about stuff is just flat out ignored? Whether it be from pen manufacturers, other fountain pen communities, etc. Examples: I've had some staining issues with my Ahab and my Konrad. Asked Noodler's about it directly, completely ignored. Brought it up with some fountain pen people, "lol, the pens are essentially disposable, so buy new ones. Or ask this ancient samurai pen master if he can help, but it'll cost you 3x more than the pen to even have him look at it." Maybe the reason I bought these in the first place was because I'm a poor and can't afford a $300 pen right now, but I can afford a $10 replacement part. Issues have been fixed, but it's frustrating. Needed to vent.
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Nov 13, 2013 22:39
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Thanks to this thread I'm now £100 poorer due to various Moleskine notebooks, 3 Lamy pens, and about 5 different bottles of Aurora and Waterman inks. Thanks a lot you jerks. P.S BROAD NIB SUPREMACY FOR LIFE
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Nov 13, 2013 22:41
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 16:12 |
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Zenostein posted:Do the regular m200s have a clear ink window? The dark blue 'translucent' ink window is one of my only real complaints with the pen, since I basically have to hold it up to the sun to check the ink level. That and the cap comes off rather easily, which is only an issue if you're regularly throwing pens into pockets. Same situation with the 200s. Translucent green (at least on mine), but it's actually pretty easy to see. Looks like this:  When the pen's full, it doesn't look like there's a window at all. When it's getting low, you'll notice. Verdugo's comment also raises another nice point about Pelikans -- if there's something up with your pen, you can just mail it off to them, they'll fix it or replace it for free, then mail it back. No questions asked.
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Nov 13, 2013 22:49
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