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Jmcrofts posted:Not sure if this will get me made fun of in this thread, but does anyone have good recommendations for a good ball-point or gel pen? I use G-2's at work but their performance is spotty sometimes and I want something that's more of something nice that I'll keep around and not just chuck when it runs low on ink. I personally like the Uni-Ball Vision series myself, lots of ink, smooth writing, only cost about $2-ish.
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Oct 3, 2014 20:59
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Jmcrofts posted:Not sure if this will get me made fun of in this thread, but does anyone have good recommendations for a good ball-point or gel pen? I use G-2's at work but their performance is spotty sometimes and I want something that's more of something nice that I'll keep around and not just chuck when it runs low on ink. All rollerballs are going to be spotty, but the Montblanc refills are generally considered the best of the bunch. Another option is the Uniball Signo 207 which isn't water soluble like the pilot G2s. As far as the pen you use your preferred refill in, surprisingly, most high-end rollerballs use similarly shaped refills so they are usually somewhat interchangeable (sometimes requiring a but of trimming). Before I graduated to fountain pens I had a few nice rollerballs that I just used G2 or Signo refills in. My personal favorites were signo refills in Rotring pens.
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Oct 3, 2014 21:04
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The Signo is a great pen, very free-flowing. Refills are pretty reasonable.
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Oct 3, 2014 22:22
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Uniball is king of common pens. Signo 207s and Jetstream RTs are pretty much the only non-fountain pens that I use. Jetstreams & Field Notes Expedition notebooks in particular are a lovely writing combo. (If you haven't tried synthetic paper yet you're missing out.) Tul's gel pens are pretty good too, although a bit overpriced for what they are imo.
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Oct 4, 2014 00:04
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What's the buzz about the Lamy 2000? Is it really worth it?
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Oct 4, 2014 03:25
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milpreve posted:What's the buzz about the Lamy 2000? Is it really worth it? Yes. Welsper fucked around with this message at 03:33 on Oct 4, 2014 |
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Oct 4, 2014 03:29
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I love a Parker jotter with a gel rollerball refill.
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Oct 5, 2014 01:28
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I work in a cold environment and it always fucks my pens up when I change temps. poo poo drives me insane leaking everywhere.
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Oct 5, 2014 01:57
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Massdrop are doing a Vanishing Point in fine or medium for $105 with an optional bottle of Iroshizuku for another $20. That's.. pretty good I guess? It's sorta tempting. vvv: Fair enough. Those metallics do look cooler than the options they offer anyway. Meldonox fucked around with this message at 05:34 on Oct 5, 2014 |
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Oct 5, 2014 05:17
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Meldonox posted:Massdrop are doing a Vanishing Point in fine or medium for $105 with an optional bottle of Iroshizuku for another $20. That's.. pretty good I guess? It's sorta tempting. It's not really good. I picked up a VP on amazon for $120 (one of the cool new metallics, which looks sexy), with massdrop you don't get your choice of colour, either. You can reliably get iroshizuku for about $20 from japanese resellers on ebay.
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Oct 5, 2014 05:26
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I'm a student and color code my notes  I don't use the vintage stuff often, but I enjoy restoring them.
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Oct 5, 2014 06:08
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Not Safe For Work posted:I work in a cold environment and it always fucks my pens up when I change temps. poo poo drives me insane leaking everywhere. Yeah, I know what you mean. You're issue is that you have a significant air bubble inside that is expanding and contracting. So either keep your pen full, bleed out the air or hold your pen nib facing up until it warms up. Otherwise you just start writing and expanding air pushes ink out.
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Oct 5, 2014 23:58
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poo poo, I recently got a Metro as advised by this thread, and it's smoothness makes my TWSBI 580 feel like crap. I'm afraid I might have damaged the 580's nib slowly by always allowing my clients to sign their papers with it, so I'm inclined to replace the nib. But if it's generally expected that TWSBI's nibs are rougher than Metros, then I'll leave it alone.
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Oct 6, 2014 18:18
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Lolcano Eruption posted:poo poo, I recently got a Metro as advised by this thread, and it's smoothness makes my TWSBI 580 feel like crap. Are you by chance using a Fine or Extra Fine in your TWSBI? One of the big reasons a Metro is so smooth is that it's a Medium nib, and all that ink really helps make it smooth. If not, you might want to check the tine alignment or play with your ink choices. If nothing else, you can try gently squeezing the nib by the sides to open it up a bit.
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Oct 6, 2014 18:21
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It's practically guaranteed that your clients are pressing too goddamn hard because that's how you have to use ballpoints. I'd keep that one as a beater and either get another TWSBI or just use the Metro as your own pen. I carry around ballpoints specifically if I have to get someone to sign something because the last time I loaned a fountain pen to someone my skin crawled from the scratching noise.
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Oct 6, 2014 19:21
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Have you actually looked at the nib to see what the problem is?
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Oct 7, 2014 01:46
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Solumin posted:
Heheh, I admit it's more like I see something new and sell off whatever FPs I never got around to writing with over time. Right now, I have a mental list of factors I want to consider before buying a new item. Reminds me, some serious collectors have hit over 2,000+ Jmcrofts posted:Not sure if this will get me made fun of in this thread, but does anyone have good recommendations for a good ball-point or gel pen? I use G-2's at work but their performance is spotty sometimes and I want something that's more of something nice that I'll keep around and not just chuck when it runs low on ink. I like Uni-ball gel pens and they come in fun colors and many sizes at $3 from Jetpens.
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Oct 7, 2014 02:41
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I have 1 pen. Mind offloading some of those pens to me? 
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OK, I just bought a Metro, which seems pretty cool. My handwriting is total poo poo though, I think the new pen might have even damaged the legibility. I've always admired calligraphic scripts (esp. Copperplate/Spencerian) but my writing is so bad maybe I shouldn't start with that. I'd be happy enough with something legible preferably with a little flair. So how do I improve?
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Oct 7, 2014 15:37
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Crack posted:OK, I just bought a Metro, which seems pretty cool. My handwriting is total poo poo though, I think the new pen might have even damaged the legibility. I've always admired calligraphic scripts (esp. Copperplate/Spencerian) but my writing is so bad maybe I shouldn't start with that. I'd be happy enough with something legible preferably with a little flair. So how do I improve? Write more. Write slower and make an effort to write more legibly until you can write nicely at a normal, comfortable pace. Take up journaling. Write down your thoughts, dreams, ideas for world domination, whatever, anything to get you putting pen to paper more often.
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Oct 7, 2014 15:39
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Start by learning to write with a lighter touch and by using more of your arm instead of your fingers. Those sound like simple things, but without them you won't be getting into calligraphy anyway.
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Oct 7, 2014 15:39
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Crack posted:OK, I just bought a Metro, which seems pretty cool. My handwriting is total poo poo though, I think the new pen might have even damaged the legibility. I've always admired calligraphic scripts (esp. Copperplate/Spencerian) but my writing is so bad maybe I shouldn't start with that. I'd be happy enough with something legible preferably with a little flair. So how do I improve? Kessel posted:Start by learning to write with a lighter touch and by using more of your arm instead of your fingers. Those sound like simple things, but without them you won't be getting into calligraphy anyway. This, writing with your shoulder makes for good handwriting. I was actually reading through some of my old notes at work and noticed an improvement from 2 years ago, same pen and nib even, so it really is just a matter of writing more as well.
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Oct 7, 2014 15:45
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OK, thanks for the really speedy advice! I do most of my writing in lectures, which usually has to be quick to keep up with the lecturer. I guess the solution is to write more slowly outside of lectures and do those wierd arm exercises in the air from that link or whatever. I definately use my fingers / wrist almost exclusively. and end up with ink on the side of my hand. Problem with jotting down dreams though in my opinion is that I'm in a semi-comatose state in the darkness, so it generally ends in a total scrawl as by the time I turn the light on or whatever I;ve forgotten half the details. I guess as with everything hours of practice is the answer, although I think without learning the fundementals (which I hope are all covered in the previous link) it's not that much improvement. Just to show how bad my handwriting is, here is some recent lecture notes written with the metro:  In my defense I was also a bit hungover and writing very quickly. My slow writing (like a birthday card) is very slow but much much better. You probably won't understand most of this anyway unless you are a chemist, but I'm guessing there is a lot of words there undecipherable. Makes it very hard to revise from when it comes to exam time. You can also see I struggle with new symbols like zeta in the greek alphabet.
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Oct 7, 2014 16:42
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I hate you guys. I bought a Pilot Metro, and I couldn't figure out how to write with it, because I kept turning it my hand, but I wrote a letter to my friend today with it, and I found out how to write with it comfortably, and it was awesome, and I wanted to keep writing, but I was already like 6 pages in, and this thing is just going to cause me to write everything down all the time, and I hate all of you. Thanks though. Fake Edit: Seriously, how do I not have a cramp in my hand? This is insane.
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Oct 7, 2014 19:03
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Webasaur posted:Fake Edit: Seriously, how do I not have a cramp in my hand? This is insane. It's because you don't need to apply nearly as much pressure as you do with a ballpoint and why fountain pens are awesome for people who frequently get poo poo like RSI and carpal tunnel, or have something like MS or are just old I guess. You can just keep writing, and writing, and writing.
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Oct 7, 2014 19:38
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Webasaur posted:I hate you guys. I bought a Pilot Metro, and I couldn't figure out how to write with it, because I kept turning it my hand, but I wrote a letter to my friend today with it, and I found out how to write with it comfortably, and it was awesome, and I wanted to keep writing, but I was already like 6 pages in, and this thing is just going to cause me to write everything down all the time, and I hate all of you. Thanks though. Remember you're here forever...
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Oct 7, 2014 23:38
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Jmcrofts posted:Not sure if this will get me made fun of in this thread, but does anyone have good recommendations for a good ball-point or gel pen? I use G-2's at work but their performance is spotty sometimes and I want something that's more of something nice that I'll keep around and not just chuck when it runs low on ink. Fisher Space Pen. Brass/Steel construction, writes upside down and other nerdy features. I got this one off ebay for ~$35; I use it whenever I'm writing on a worksite or somewhere a fountain pen would be too fragile. Welsper fucked around with this message at 01:09 on Oct 8, 2014 |
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Oct 7, 2014 23:56
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Found my cheapest thing so far Cap'n Murrika. 7 pesos. That is around half a dollar, with 6 blue cartridges. Have not opened it yet and tried it. Will do so later.
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Oct 8, 2014 01:18
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Crack posted:OK, I just bought a Metro, which seems pretty cool. My handwriting is total poo poo though, I think the new pen might have even damaged the legibility. I've always admired calligraphic scripts (esp. Copperplate/Spencerian) but my writing is so bad maybe I shouldn't start with that. I'd be happy enough with something legible preferably with a little flair. So how do I improve? I've been doing Gothics and Italics for about a year now, and they look alright, but my Copperplate is unbelievably bad. Pointed scripts are really, really hard. Not to discourage you from calligraphy (it's fun and makes your headers look rad) or even from using pointed scripts, but to make sure you know that it's tough to start. I'm pretty sure my whole first page is covered in bleed from flexing too fast. The simplest way to improve in general is handwriting repair. Next step would probably be Palmer Method, there's like a million places for that, such as over at IAMPETH. /r/handwriting is a pretty good place to go.
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Oct 8, 2014 01:29
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Luisfe posted:Found my cheapest thing so far No red or white cartridges? This isn't what Washington fought for. 
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Oct 8, 2014 01:41
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Tulip posted:The simplest way to improve in general is handwriting repair. Jesus Christ, that thing could use some website repair.  My handwriting has always been rubbish. My cursive handwriting was always bad and it's never improved so much as it's matured so it looks deliberate and stylistic instead of just illegible. My Cyrillic was gorgeous, but a year of college Russian isn't going to get me very far at anything. The Italic guide linked from that Reddit board is pretty nice though. I might have to give that a shot.
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Oct 8, 2014 04:27
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In more money-burning news I placed an order at Nanami Paper for a bunch of those A5 sized plastic writing pads (I got one of each to see how I liked the different textures). To date I think they're the only people domestically that stocks Maruzen Athena Sepia, and that poo poo is expensive. 45 bucks a bottle is no joke. They ship from City of Industry or Santa Barbara, so I'm looking forward to getting my stuff soon. i kind of want to buy it They are also part of the few (but growing) resellers that does Tomoe River notebooks. The dude I emailed at the place, Dave, said that they're expecting a version 2 of their "Seven Seas Notebook" in the last week of October, so if you're looking for a nice piece of stationery, this place might be up your alley.
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Oct 8, 2014 06:15
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AH AH AAAAAAAHHH       I loved the idea of Rouge Hematite, and I love Fuyu-syogun as a gray ink, so a shiny gray ink has got me all hot and bothered. Just wondering now how to best keep it in my pen without it gumming up the nib/feed or settling at the end of the converter...
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Oct 8, 2014 19:22
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Welsper posted:Fisher Space Pen. Can this take refills from normal pens? I don't wanna have to order my ink refills online.
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Oct 8, 2014 19:30
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Hey, I've just switched to the converter from the included cartridge with my Pilot Metros (yes, plural, drat you all.) I'm a little confused on how to fill them. Am I just squeezing the converter once or should I do this multiple times? How do I know when it's full? Also, Saguaro Wine is a fine ink from Noodler's. It's purple, but not too harsh on the eyes. I write in it all the time.
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Oct 8, 2014 20:51
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I actually forgot to post in this thread. I ended up ordering a Pilot Prera F, a converter and some ink off the Amazon Marketplace. The converter and the ink have arrived, the pen not yet but it should be a matter of days. Really looking forward to start using a fountain pen that doesn't literally cost 2€.
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Oct 8, 2014 21:16
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UnoriginalMind posted:Hey, I've just switched to the converter from the included cartridge with my Pilot Metros (yes, plural, drat you all.) I'm a little confused on how to fill them. Am I just squeezing the converter once or should I do this multiple times? How do I know when it's full? Squeeze it all the way, then let go and wait a few seconds. Repeat this two more times and you'll be as full as you can ever get with a squeeze converter. They kinda suck, to be honest, but they're great for cleaning since you can swish water with them unlike twist converters or the godawful CON-70.
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Oct 8, 2014 21:21
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cobalt impurity posted:Squeeze it all the way, then let go and wait a few seconds. Repeat this two more times and you'll be as full as you can ever get with a squeeze converter. Yeah, I had a feeling they were mediocre. Still, better than carts. I usually just carry my ink bottles around like a crazy person anyhow, so it's not like I'm running out.
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Oct 8, 2014 21:36
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404notfound posted:AH AH AAAAAAAHHH I just spotted this from FB and it's already out of stock. 
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Oct 8, 2014 21:47
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Ugh if I had that ink in my life I would write All The Things. I hope I can snag a bottle when Goulet restocks, insha'allah. Mikl posted:I actually forgot to post in this thread. I ended up ordering a Pilot Prera F, a converter and some ink off the Amazon Marketplace. The converter and the ink have arrived, the pen not yet but it should be a matter of days. Prera is a solid pen. I have one with a 1.1 stub nib, filled with Iroshizuku Asa-Gao, and it writes like a dream. Ink capacity is a bit wanting but such is the life of a converter fill.
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Oct 8, 2014 22:22
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404notfound posted:
Great photos and handwriting. I'm not a fan of specialty inks but looks impressive on paper.
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Oct 9, 2014 00:16
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