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If you have to have the pen shipped from within the United States, try iSellPens. He sells Jinhao 599s for the same price as Chinese ebay sellers, only without the free shipping. Also: I'm pretty sure he stocks 159s and x450s.
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May 8, 2014 22:49
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Iron Chef Nex posted:I have a bunch of Jinhao - you can find almost any of their low-end models on ebay for <$6. They all have tended to write really nice, very smooth nibs, but they all have also had some flow issues, drying up a bit between uses.
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May 8, 2014 23:02
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rio posted:What ink is that? Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki.
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May 8, 2014 23:46
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I lost the cap to a TWISBI Vac 700 today 
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May 9, 2014 03:05
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QuiteEasilyDone posted:I lost the cap to a TWISBI Vac 700 today I lost an entire vac 700 a couple weeks ago. Don't feel too bad.
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May 9, 2014 03:13
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QuiteEasilyDone posted:I lost the cap to a TWISBI Vac 700 today Email customer service. When I busted the cap on mine Philip replaced it for me right away and only asked for shipping.
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May 9, 2014 05:36
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SubponticatePoster posted:Good to know. I just noticed them because they were stupid cheap - I don't want to spend more than say, $15 in case I lose it or it explodes on the plane or something.
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May 9, 2014 08:10
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SubponticatePoster posted:Good to know. I just noticed them because they were stupid cheap - I don't want to spend more than say, $15 in case I lose it or it explodes on the plane or something. It's hard to recommend something over the Metro for a budget that slim. It performs above its price range and it comes with both a cartridge and converter, so no matter what your setup it's ready to go out of the box (after a cleaning of course  ). Even if you spend $6 to 10 on a pen that's good, for just a few bucks more you could get a pen that gives the TWSBI Diamond 580 some competition. Some people love Jinhao, but I haven't really seen a Chinese pen that was worth it considering how much you actually save and the quality control they have.
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May 9, 2014 12:50
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SubponticatePoster posted:Good to know. I just noticed them because they were stupid cheap - I don't want to spend more than say, $15 in case I lose it or it explodes on the plane or something. It's already been said, but get a Metropolitan. Even if your budget was more than $15, I think everybody should own at least 1 Metro.
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May 9, 2014 14:21
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SnakesRevenge posted:Email customer service. When I busted the cap on mine Philip replaced it for me right away and only asked for shipping. I already did and it's already on the way. $3 for shipping
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May 9, 2014 14:58
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SubponticatePoster posted:Good to know. I just noticed them because they were stupid cheap - I don't want to spend more than say, $15 in case I lose it or it explodes on the plane or something. We should add "the answer is always to get a pilot metro" because it really is. Get one. From amazon it'll get to you quickly. Don't pop on the cartridge before getting on the plane. Wait until you arrive at your location. Also, for refills on the metro, get the 4.5 oz bottle of noodler's ink. The eye dropped fits in the hole in the cartridge.
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May 9, 2014 16:38
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Wow getting my Vanishing Point fixed will have a turnaround time of 4 weeks.
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May 9, 2014 16:38
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Ok. I'll get a Metro instead. Isellpens has 'em for about $15 right now.
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May 9, 2014 18:32
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dino. posted:We should add "the answer is always to get a pilot metro" because it really is.
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May 9, 2014 18:41
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Even though I've been spoiled by pricier pens and don't use my Metro, it's still the one I recommend to people who just want a good, worry free FP to write with.
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May 9, 2014 18:52
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Iron Chef Nex posted:I have a bunch of Jinhao - you can find almost any of their low-end models on ebay for <$6. They all have tended to write really nice, very smooth nibs, but they all have also had some flow issues, drying up a bit between uses. Oh man, I may have to get one of those 599s, they look fab and they're less than half the price of the Hero 359.
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May 9, 2014 19:48
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GBS Till Death posted:Thanks a lot, no, seriously. You're welcome! I've got like, 5 pens in my bag at all times but somehow I always opt for the Kaweco Sport. Please report on how awesome it is, with pictures.
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May 9, 2014 22:21
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Well poo poo. I knew this would happen eventually, but what a pain. I went to refill my eyedropper Preppy when, upon closing it (and not tightly I swear), a hairline fracture opened along the body and it started seeping ink. Unless it's worth fixing (it's probably not worth fixing) I guess it's time to switch pens. I have a TWSBI 580 and a Lamy Safari that I also use, but not as heavily since this one was a way finer nib than either of them and I use it on a certain writing project where my writing is downright microscopic. To hell with getting another fragile disposable Preppy. Is the answer one of the new fine-nib Metros, or is there something else that's inexpensive with a decent fine/extra fine nib? And I guess while I'm at it I should really get another bottle of ink to flesh out my modest collection. 54th Mass, Ancient Copper, and Alt-Goldgrun are pretty nice but I'm sure there's something else I should take into consideration. My sample of Noodler's Black was pretty nice, a really impressively black black, but how boring. And of course this is a good excuse to grab a cheap notebook or two, maybe a Dotpad and something a little more portable. Any suggestions offered will be taken under serious consideration. It just figures that breaking a four dollar pen is going to wind up costing me a bunch, but I knew what I was getting into. At least my hands look cool right now.
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May 10, 2014 03:19
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Meldonox posted:To hell with getting another fragile disposable Preppy. Is the answer one of the new fine-nib Metros, or is there something else that's inexpensive with a decent fine/extra fine nib?
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May 10, 2014 04:07
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I wish the purple Metro didn't have that drat leopard print on it.  I don't really have anything with a fine nib and I'd love to have a purple Metro.
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May 10, 2014 05:36
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Nebraska Tim posted:As predicted, I will recommend the Metro, and if you like italic nibs, it is interchangeable with the Pilot Plumage if you're willing to spend $10 more. Seconded. In general, Japanese pens have nibs that run about a size finer than "western" pens, especially if you go into F and below. A Lamy 2000 EF lays a line somewhat thicker than a Pilot F.
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May 10, 2014 10:24
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I CANNOT EJACULATE WITHOUT SEEING NATIVE AMERICANS BRUTALISED!
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Ok, pulling the trigger on a Metro from isellpens, any ink recommendations. I'd prefer either a black or sepia.
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May 10, 2014 17:20
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SubponticatePoster posted:Ok, pulling the trigger on a Metro from isellpens, any ink recommendations. I'd prefer either a black or sepia. I'm kind of staying away from noodlers right now, so I'd say waterman black, pilot/namiki black, or irishizuku take-sumi. For noodlers , noodlers black and heart of darkness are hard to beat. I liked dark matter personally, but some folks don't care for it, and I don't think it is bulletproof.
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May 10, 2014 17:45
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SubponticatePoster posted:Ok, pulling the trigger on a Metro from isellpens, any ink recommendations. I'd prefer either a black or sepia. For black, I'd recommend Noodler's "Heart of Darkness" or Waterman's black. No personal experience with the Waterman's but it's supposed to be the jam. I've been wanting a sepia and have tried a few samples. Noodler's Whaleman's Sepia is a really nice colour, but it's an awful starter and expensive as hell. If you want a lighter one that's really immediately noticable as a sepia, Diamine's sepia is a really nice one. If you want something that's more subtle but still noticable, J. Herbin's "Lie de Thé" is my favourite. It's a beautiful colour and behaves nicely even in my F Kakuno.
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May 10, 2014 20:44
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So I've got like a billion ink samples and I've been thinking of compiling a list of inks that don't stain/stick and are good for demonstrators. Would anyone here be interested in that when I get into gear and get it put together?
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May 10, 2014 21:56
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SnakesRevenge posted:So I've got like a billion ink samples and I've been thinking of compiling a list of inks that don't stain/stick and are good for demonstrators. Would anyone here be interested in that when I get into gear and get it put together? Yes! I feel like a lot of people in this thread use demonstrators as it is.
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May 10, 2014 22:20
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Strangelet Wave posted:
Hey, this was posted a while ago but I would like to emulate your impressive handwriting for similar lab book and grading purposes  Is that link the only resource you used or were there others?
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May 11, 2014 08:12
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SubponticatePoster posted:Ok, pulling the trigger on a Metro from isellpens, any ink recommendations. I'd prefer either a black or sepia. The only black worth owning is Aurora Black As for Sepia, I'd go with Visconti Sepia but I don't have much experience with that color. I know there was another really nice one but I can't recall
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May 12, 2014 04:09
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SubponticatePoster posted:Ok, pulling the trigger on a Metro from isellpens, any ink recommendations. I'd prefer either a black or sepia. It might look a little dark from an extra-fine, but Iroshizuku Yama-Guri might be a good match for the sepia option. Noodler's #41 Brown might also be a good option, though it has the standard Noodler's issue of nib creep and might be a bit too golden brown. As far as actual black goes though, most of the good brands make a fine black, and unless you're looking for a specific characteristic there's not a lot to really suggest one instead of another. Having said that, Aurora Black and J Herbin Perle Noire are two of the best black inks that appear black on virtually all mediums, with the biggest writing difference being that J Herbin is a little bit wetter on dry writers, Daerc fucked around with this message at 20:39 on May 12, 2014 |
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May 12, 2014 09:36
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ACRE & EQUAT posted:Hey, this was posted a while ago but I would like to emulate your impressive handwriting for similar lab book and grading purposes Thanks! I also used a book called "Italic Calligraphy & Handwriting: Exercises & Text" by Lloyd. J. Reynolds, but really the most important thing is practice. I started keeping a journal, and I keep scrap paper at my desk for doodling and letterform practice.
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May 12, 2014 17:42
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I thought Aurora Black was nonpermanent
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May 12, 2014 18:07
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PRADA SLUT posted:I thought Aurora Black was nonpermanent I've heard that it's water resistant once fully dry. Noodler's Borealis Black is like Aurora Black, except darker and not as well-behaved. I like it though 
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May 12, 2014 19:41
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PRADA SLUT posted:I thought Aurora Black was nonpermanent I was thinking it was. I checked with a piece of scrap paper and it's only a bit better than the J Herbin, so I have no clue what ink I was thinking of.
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May 12, 2014 20:40
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I knew a thread like this would exist I should have double checked on here first. So my gf is graduating from law school this week and I wanted to get her something nice and professional. She writes letters fairly often for friends/family/thank yous. I ended up going with a Parker Sonnet, really because it was only name I knew of (there was a factory near where I grew up). Did I do ok?
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May 12, 2014 20:48
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Popete posted:I knew a thread like this would exist I should have double checked on here first. You done good. You done real good. It's also a cartridge filler, so if she's not a fountain pen geek yet it's pretty easy to deal with.
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May 12, 2014 21:00
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So... trip report of the Pilot Custom 823 with FA nib (special model sold only by this shop) so far. Short version:  if you want to spend money go get this pen right now, you don't know what you're missing out on Slightly less short version: * gently caress parcelforce. If I pay for express shipping I want express shipping. I don't want to wait for you guys to twiddle your thumbs for a week before deciding to have your very own customs agents (yes, there's customs agents assigned to parcelforce) read the customs declaration that's right on the loving box so you can finally charge me customs. Did I mention that parcelforce also charge an inflated customs handling fee on top of that which makes them just as expensive as DHL even though they're a poo poo company compared to DHL  * The Pilot 823 is a really solidly made pen. It is much harder to scratch than most other expensive plastic pens (Pelikan Souveräns, Montblancs), and it doesn't even show any posting marks from the cap (Pilot engineers must know their materials science). The barrel material is quite thick except for the front, due to the vacuum filling mechanism. * It looks great - the amber translucent cap and barrel and the brown section go together very well with the gold furniture. Note that it's made to be a tool though, so while it's well polished, if you look closely at the section you can kinda see where it was molded together from two parts (to be fair, if you look that closely, you'll find that Montblanc doesn't consistently polish away all production marks either). * The nib is only semiflex if you're used to dip pens or century-old flex nibs, but goddamn it's a dream. Writing with it feels like writing on a cushion, with just the right amount of springiness/give as pressure changes when writing to relax my hand without making the pen hard to control. It's perfectly suitable for quick note taking and everyday use; the only nib I'd say comes close is an early-model Pelikan M800 14K nib. When writing slowly and deliberately, it is possible to shade letters on the downstroke decently well. It doesn't snap back quite as quickly as a good dip pen, but it does so sufficiently with a dry ink. When not flexed, it's basically an EF (as in, western EF) nib so you can write both large and small. Having tried a number of Pilot and Waterman inks, I haven't noticed the nib being hard to start like many reviews have complained about - once I touch the paper, it lays down ink and doesn't skip at all even on very smooth paper. However, note that the nib is more sensitive to writing angle than a normal EF, so if you hold the pen rotated relative to the paper, it will get noticeably less smooth and will skip. * The vacuum filling mechanism is quite neat to use. Pilot have integrated a "snorkel-lite" into the feed: Unlike youtube videos of the filling mechanism suggest, there is no reason to submerge the entire nib and section in ink to fill the pen. All ink that enters the pen does so through a small hole in the feed, so submerging about 1/3 to 1/2 of the nib guarantees a good fill. If an ink for some reason gums up the mechanism and makes it too stiff to operate, it's possible to unscrew the whole thing by hand (no tools necessary) for cleaning, obviously at your own risk. If you clean it, make sure to have a tiny amount of silicone grease on hand, as the seal between barrel and plunger will otherwise not be air tight anymore. * Don't wash out Pilot Irushizuku Kon-Peki with tap water - in my case, it precipitated and I had to clean out the filling mechanism suck my woke dick fucked around with this message at 00:13 on May 13, 2014 |
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May 13, 2014 00:07
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Asahiya owns, 823 owns - good choice and glad you like it. Pilot's high-end tool pens - the 823 and 845 in particular, I think - show that the designers and engineers at Pilot really built them to be presentable, but first and foremost good writers. The inside of the barrel on my ebonite 845 is completely unfinished because it makes no difference to the pen, but the inside rim of the cap has a ring of felt to prevent posting marks and marks on the section when the pen is capped. Detail where it counts, and only where it counts? Kessel fucked around with this message at 08:59 on May 13, 2014 |
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May 13, 2014 08:55
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I'm not a huge fan of Fountain Pens -- or rather, I have not yet mastered the art of writing with a Fountain Pen yet. I have a (then $80, now $60) Fine Nib Lamy Fountain Pen that I've used maybe 4 times. It's sitting in my drawer, anyone want it? I can ship it out if someone wants it.
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May 13, 2014 09:35
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jacobs posted:I'm not a huge fan of Fountain Pens -- or rather, I have not yet mastered the art of writing with a Fountain Pen yet. How much did you want for it? I never took the leap for a lamy because much more than $25 or so was a bit out of my budget, and because there are drat fine pens that cost a lot less than $20. I'd love to have one though, because they are such a neat looking pen. It's well possible that you don't like a fine nib pen, or that the paper you have isn't very conducive to writing with a fine nib. I have some Rhodia paper leftover from my class last semester that I can send you, along with a medium nib jinhao, filled with a fairly well behaved ink, if you want to give it a try? Maybe hold off on judgement about fountain penning until you try the different paper/ink? When I first got the fine nib pens, I hated them because they didn't behave like my broader nib pens. Once I got the right situation for it, all was well.
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May 13, 2014 11:00
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I added spoilers to your thread title I hope you enjoy it
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May 13, 2014 14:36
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