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*runs out into the street* "NIB WAR!! NIIIB WAAARR"
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Jul 28, 2016 22:58
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| # ? Apr 18, 2024 20:24 |
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Not my fault that atholbrose still thinks it's the mid-1930s.
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Jul 28, 2016 23:07
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Not my fault that grack thinks plastic is immune to friction wear.
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Jul 28, 2016 23:39
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For friction wear to be an actual concern, you would need to remove and reseat a nib and feed dozens, if not hundreds of times. Modern plastics are extremely wear resistant.
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Jul 29, 2016 00:18
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I got my Noodler's Apache Sunset. It was packaged atrociously, in that the padding was all pushed over to one side and the bottle was just sort of free-floating in the box. Then I opened the bottle and it was way, way overfull and instantly spilled everywhere. I had to take a napkin and soak a ton of it off the top to get it down to a manageable level. The ink also isn't as saturated as I was expecting, but there may be some water in my nib yet from my last rinse, so hopefully it will even out with time. 
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Jul 29, 2016 00:28
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Heath posted:I got my Noodler's Apache Sunset. It was packaged atrociously, in that the padding was all pushed over to one side and the bottle was just sort of free-floating in the box. Then I opened the bottle and it was way, way overfull and instantly spilled everywhere. I had to take a napkin and soak a ton of it off the top to get it down to a manageable level. The ink also isn't as saturated as I was expecting, but there may be some water in my nib yet from my last rinse, so hopefully it will even out with time. I just got a bottle of Noodler's Walnut that was similar. Surface tension was the only thing that kept it from spilling as soon as I opened the bottle. I guess that's better than under filling their stuff.
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Jul 29, 2016 00:46
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Yeah, you have to be careful with Noodler's bottles because they always fill to the very brim.
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Jul 29, 2016 00:47
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Holy poo poo, this Vanishing Point is gorgeous! I ended up with the Blue/gold one with the medium nib for $60. No converter, but a gold nib. I'm waiting for the ink to flow through the feed but I can already tell that the nib is really, really flexible. What a steal! Edit: gently caress, this is smooth! Solkanar512 fucked around with this message at 01:16 on Jul 29, 2016 |
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Jul 29, 2016 01:14
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Be careful flexing the nib too much though, it's not really meant to be used as a flex nib. I've heard of people flexing it too much and spreading the tines out a bit.
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Jul 29, 2016 01:21
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Mr. Despair posted:Be careful flexing the nib too much though, it's not really meant to be used as a flex nib. I've heard of people flexing it too much and spreading the tines out a bit. Good to know, thanks!
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Jul 29, 2016 01:34
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I'm going to NY in November and I'm taking the chance to bring back a bunch of FP-related stuff, so I got a bunch of questions: A friend of mine moved away and left me 3 bottles (?!) of Noodler's Bernanke Blue. Is that one of the "dangerous" Noodler's blues, or can I just go ahead and use it? I'm not a fan of blue ink (was forced to use "Royal Blue" ink all through primary school, FP were mandatory), but I may just fill my platinum pretty with it and leave it there. My friend's dad went "oh, you liked pens, didn't you?" and gave me a (national) Parker 51. I'm soaking it a bit right now trying to disassemble it so I can clean it; there's no way to change the sac for a converter, is it? Looks to be working well so far though. I'm going to get a Metro, I have a Falcon with a SF nib, if I like the width should I just get a fine one for the Metro? (probably the dumbest question considering it's the same bloody brand, but eh). Aaaand finally, do Pilot Parallel pens take converters? I'm thinking about getting a set to start doing some fancy stuff for envelopes. Thanks!
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Jul 29, 2016 01:42
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Yep, you can fit one of Pilot's small converters in a Parallel.
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Jul 29, 2016 02:04
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Edmond Dantes posted:I'm going to NY in November and I'm taking the chance to bring back a bunch of FP-related stuff, so I got a bunch of questions: 1. Bernanke Blue is quick drying but I don't think there are really any issues with it besides that. Don't use it if you have a habit of leaving your pens uncapped. It won't damage anything but it'll be a pain to get restarted. 2. You can't switch out the sac on the 51 for a converter. I mean, you could, but you'd basically have to tear the pen apart completely and rebuild the feed system. Also if it's working well you don't really need to disassemble the pen. 3. Unflexed line width will be similar but the writing experience will be different as the Metro has a much stiffer nib. You'll probably find that that Falcon will have broader lines in general because the nib flexes much more easily. 4. Yes. CON-20, CON-40 or CON-50. I'm not sure about the CON-70
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Jul 29, 2016 02:08
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The barrel of the parallel tapers too much to fit a Con-70, if you really want the extra capacity eyedropper the sucker.
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Jul 29, 2016 02:13
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I now have three pens (two Metros and the Noodler Charlie, which gobbed mercilessly until I shoved that nib in a lot farther--thanks for the tip!) and it's not enough pens. Super happy with the picks of Ancient Copper and 1670 Stormy Grey. I'm trying out a sample of the 1670 Emeraude and it's very shaded and sparkly in the right light. I want to try ALL TEH COLOURS AND ALL TEH PENS.
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Jul 29, 2016 02:17
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Edmond Dantes posted:A friend of mine moved away and left me 3 bottles (?!) of Noodler's Bernanke Blue. Is that one of the "dangerous" Noodler's blues, or can I just go ahead and use it? I'm not a fan of blue ink (was forced to use "Royal Blue" ink all through primary school, FP were mandatory), but I may just fill my platinum pretty with it and leave it there. I'm pretty sure it's a regular blue. Maybe it does something silly, like turn brown if you bleach it — turning the color of those forgery-check pens for cash would actually be a real neat trick. In any event the only "dangerous" blue is Baystate, and only because it'll get everywhere and bond to basically anything, even poo poo pen ink wouldn't normally bond to, like sinks. As noted above, be careful if they were never opened — they really fill those to the brim. Incidentally, would sticking a new bottle in the fridge help any? I'm thinking if it was sitting out in the heat for a while at the least, it might be more prone to spilling all over the drat place once you get it open. Why would you replace a sac with a converter? I'm sure you could frankenstein something in, but you should probably leave the sac alone unless it's dried/cracked/missing a chunk. And in that case, re-saccing would still be a better idea. This thread on FPN has a few charts — an SF and an F will be similar, but not quite exact. See post 33 for Pilot's chart (complete with such excellent descriptions as "The thin character of a software tone") and post 35 for “some guy with an army of pilot nibs, I guess”'s chart. They should at the least take a con-20/30/50 — I don't think any of them are wider than the other, and there shouldn't really be a length problem with the parallels.
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Jul 29, 2016 02:17
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Pixelante posted:I now have three pens (two Metros and the Noodler Charlie, which gobbed mercilessly until I shoved that nib in a lot farther--thanks for the tip!) and it's not enough pens. Super happy with the picks of Ancient Copper and 1670 Stormy Grey. I'm trying out a sample of the 1670 Emeraude and it's very shaded and sparkly in the right light. It won't be quite the same as if you'd used a fountain pen, but a dip pen is really way better if you just wanna give a color a whirl for a bit. At the least it's way less cleaning to change color. Edmond Dantes posted:A friend of mine moved away and left me 3 bottles (?!) of Noodler's Bernanke Blue. Is that one of the "dangerous" Noodler's blues, or can I just go ahead and use it? I'm not a fan of blue ink (was forced to use "Royal Blue" ink all through primary school, FP were mandatory), but I may just fill my platinum pretty with it and leave it there. I'm pretty sure it's a regular blue. Maybe it does something silly, like turn brown if you bleach it — turning the color of those forgery-check pens for cash would actually be a real neat trick. In any event the only "dangerous" blue is Baystate, and only because it'll get everywhere and bond to basically anything, even poo poo pen ink wouldn't normally bond to, like sinks. As noted above, be careful if they were never opened — they really fill those to the brim. Incidentally, would sticking a new bottle in the fridge help any? I'm thinking if it was sitting out in the heat for a while at the least, it might be more prone to spilling all over the drat place once you get it open. Why would you replace a sac with a converter? I'm sure you could frankenstein something in, but you should probably leave the sac alone unless it's dried/cracked/missing a chunk. And in that case, re-saccing would still be a better idea. This thread on FPN has a few charts — an SF and an F will be similar, but not quite exact. See post 33 for Pilot's chart (complete with such excellent descriptions as "The thin character of a software tone") and post 35 for “some guy with an army of pilot nibs, I guess”'s chart. They should at the least take a con-20/30/50 — I don't think any of them are wider than the other, and there shouldn't really be a length problem with the parallels.
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Jul 29, 2016 02:19
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Does anybody have any tips for cleaning fountain pens using an ultrasonic cleaner? I have a variety of pens that need some deep cleaning from old BCHR pens to newer resin pens like TWSBIs and the like; would be interested to know if I should be wary of anything and/or if any specific fluid mixes are ideal for cleaning (I've read that adding a drop of unscented ammonia works well but only in some cases, as well as using distilled water, etc).
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Jul 29, 2016 02:54
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Thanks to everyone for the replies! 1. Thanks for the Bernanke Blue clarification. Still not sure I'm going to be using it though, I may start giving the bottles out alongside Metros as gifts. v  v2. Not planning on changing the sac for a converter, but I've read how old sacs get fragile and spending $5 on a spare converter in case it turned out to be leaky sounded like a good idea. 3. The Falcon "feeling" broader than a F nib makes sense; I went straight for the F beause I got a Lamy M and oh god it's gigantic for my handwriting.  . Since japanese pens run thinner than european I may end up going for an M, or getting the Metro and a plumix since I loving love italic nibs. 4. Con-40/50 sounds good for the parallels; I don't think I need the 70. Pixelante posted:Super happy with the picks of Ancient Copper and 1670 Stormy Grey.
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Jul 29, 2016 03:06
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aldantefax posted:Does anybody have any tips for cleaning fountain pens using an ultrasonic cleaner? I have a variety of pens that need some deep cleaning from old BCHR pens to newer resin pens like TWSBIs and the like; would be interested to know if I should be wary of anything and/or if any specific fluid mixes are ideal for cleaning (I've read that adding a drop of unscented ammonia works well but only in some cases, as well as using distilled water, etc). I use a 10:1 mixture of water and ammonia and just let it run. I've done it with a wide degree of pens and never had any trouble, both assembled sections and separate parts. That said, I've never tried it with something like celluloid or other exotic/vintage materials. Also don't do it if your pen has something that shouldn't go in an ultrasonic anyway like opal or emerald.
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Jul 29, 2016 03:41
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Parker 51 update: sac is hosed. 
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Jul 29, 2016 03:45
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You don't want to put rubber (BCHR or ebonite) pen bodies or any celluloid or celluloid derivative pens in an ultrasonic cleaner. Hardened rubber is fairly fragile and many celluloids will become cloudy or discolour when immersed in water for too long.
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Jul 29, 2016 03:47
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I swapped the orange ink into my Metro and it works a million times better. I also discovered that my converter had come loose in my bag and exploded all over the inside of the pen. Is there something about the design of the pen that it holds liquid in? I noticed it didn't explode and when I was washing it out I had to physically shake it to get the water to come out. Seems like a good design choice in the event of exactly this problem!
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Jul 29, 2016 04:31
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aldantefax posted:Does anybody have any tips for cleaning fountain pens using an ultrasonic cleaner? I have a variety of pens that need some deep cleaning from old BCHR pens to newer resin pens like TWSBIs and the like; would be interested to know if I should be wary of anything and/or if any specific fluid mixes are ideal for cleaning (I've read that adding a drop of unscented ammonia works well but only in some cases, as well as using distilled water, etc). I haven't watched it all yet, but it looks like this weeks goulet q&a has a section on ultrasonic cleaners: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aso-Jn919XE
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Jul 29, 2016 17:08
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Edmond Dantes posted:2. Not planning on changing the sac for a converter, but I've read how old sacs get fragile and spending $5 on a spare converter in case it turned out to be leaky sounded like a good idea. Having re-sacced an Esterbrook LJ, I can tell you that this is an insanely cheap and easy thing to do. The biggest investment you'll make up-front is a few bucks for the shellac and talc powder, which is more than enough for multiple pens, and a sac itself is like $2. Also, I don't think old sacs get fragile in the sense that like a couple years on they're starting to spring leaks. My LJ is still fine after 2+ years. It's more that old pens left alone, unused, and uncared-for in unknown conditions for decades until they're rediscovered at estate sales tend to have sacs that have completely dried out and crumbled to bits. How old is the pen? If it's new, no worries, and if the sac looks new and is still fairly pliable it's possible it was re-sacced recently.
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Jul 29, 2016 19:02
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Hey, good timing. I just finished taking it apart. Unfortunately it has a small crack at the top of the barrel (where the threads are). It's not bad though, but I have no idea how one would go about repairing something like that. The sac looks good, but there's dried blue ink everywhere inside the pen: inside the barrel, in the metal sac guard, the cap; I'm still not sure if it's the sac, the place where the sac meets the connector, or just years of lying in the bottom of a drawer or just not being properly stored/cleaned. From what I can see it's the Argentina-made Aerometric 51, so even though it was discontinued in '72, the Argentina version could have been manufactured well into the 1980s. Only date I can find is on the nib istelf, it's US-made and dates to 1948. This pen in particular has probably been sitting in a drawer for at least 20 years. I'll grab some pictures once everything dries, I'm giving the pieces a good soak. Edmond Dantes fucked around with this message at 20:10 on Jul 29, 2016 |
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Jul 29, 2016 20:07
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Thanks to this thread I've spent the last month and a half writing with a Lamy Logo, using the Lamy violet ink that came with it. I'm super happy with how it looks and how it feels, but now I want another pen so I can start playing with more ink colours. As I have a birthday coming up I figured I'd buy one of the below as a gift to myself - does anyone have any experience with any of them, or thoughts on which one I should go for? Cross Century II: https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/CR40980/cross-century-ii-fountain-pen-medalist-chrome-with-gold-trim Lamy Accent AL: https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/LM40716/lamy-accent-al-kw-fountain-pen-palladium---grey-wood Faber-Castell Ambition: https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/FC41388/faber-castell-ambition-fountain-pen-special-edition-black-sand Open to other suggestions in a similar price range if there's some great pen I've overlooked and should be considering. Of note: 1) I'd prefer to order from a UK site if possible, so I don't have to worry about customs, international shipping, etc, and 2) In terms of aesthetic I like fairly minimal styles and metal bodies. I think the Lamy Safaris and all the TWSBI pens that everyone seems to like are totally hideous.
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Jul 30, 2016 00:17
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Exculpatrix posted:Thanks to this thread I've spent the last month and a half writing with a Lamy Logo, using the Lamy violet ink that came with it. I'm super happy with how it looks and how it feels, but now I want another pen so I can start playing with more ink colours. As I have a birthday coming up I figured I'd buy one of the below as a gift to myself - does anyone have any experience with any of them, or thoughts on which one I should go for? The Cross Century II will be thinner than your Logo. Cross nibs are generally good though not substantially different in terms of writing characteristics from your Logo. Cross doesn't get a lot of attention in the fountain pen world but they make pretty reliable pens and are one of the few makers that offer lifetime warranties. The Accent will be thicker in your hand but will otherwise be identical in terms of writing. The Accent and your Logo use identical nibs as well as the same cartridges and converters. Faber-Castell's nibs are very highly regarded and are some of the best writing steel nibs on the market. The Ambition, however, has some idiosyncrasies to be aware of - it's very picky about converters for one, and the cap is much heavier than the rest of the body. If you post the cap on your pens while you write the pens will feel very back heavy and unbalanced. Other pens to consider might be the Pelikan Stola III or the Diplomat Traveler. The Pelikan only comes in a single nib size and the cap can't be posted on the back of the pen, but the nibs are smooth and well tuned, and the pen is very well made. The Traveller is on the thin side but not too much different than your Lamy, and Diplomat's steel nibs are very well tuned. The Traveler also has a pretty big range of colour and body material choices. Both the Pelikan and Diplomat should be pretty widely available in the UK.
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Jul 30, 2016 00:41
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Did I buy a stupid? A local shop had some fountain pens that are made by "just this guy," who apparently buys pen parts from Germany and makes the wood casing himself. This one is purpleheart wood with a nib that says "iridium point Germany" on it. It's got weird threading on both ends--for capped and post--so it looks a bit naked when it's not posted. Pilot Metro for scale. e: Looks like "iridium point Germany" probably means, "made in China." The wood sure is pretty though! (Tag says "Sidona" which gives me a bunch of do-it-yerself pen kits. Inked up it's okay, but the converter seems like super cheap plastic and it's not as smooth writing as the Metro. More on par with the Noodler Charlie.) Pixelante fucked around with this message at 06:59 on Jul 30, 2016 |
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Jul 30, 2016 05:45
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I'd return it if you could. Kit pens tend to be bottom of the barrel crap. You literally buy all of the hardware for the pen like the clip, barrel plugs, nib and grip section and then add turned wood or acrylic body parts. Most of them the makers don't even bother to inspect or tune the nib before selling them and the quality of the nibs tend to be pretty poor as well.
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Jul 30, 2016 07:33
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Pixelante posted:Did I buy a stupid? Did you pay $300 dollars for it? Then yes. You bought a stupid. More than $20 and less than $40? Then you did alright. I think it looks nice! Purple heartwood is an attractive wood.
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Jul 30, 2016 07:37
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CrimsonSaber posted:Did you pay $300 dollars for it? Then yes. You bought a stupid. In that case, I did just fine. It's not terrible to write with, though I'm new enough to this to not have discerning standards. I just can't post it while I write because it throws the balance off. Might end up giving it to my godkid to see if he likes it for taking notes at school.
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Jul 30, 2016 07:41
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grack posted:The Cross Century II will be thinner than your Logo. Cross nibs are generally good though not substantially different in terms of writing characteristics from your Logo. Cross doesn't get a lot of attention in the fountain pen world but they make pretty reliable pens and are one of the few makers that offer lifetime warranties. Thanks for the input. I usually just leave the cap standing upright on my desk rather than posting it, so the balance shouldn't be an issue with the Ambition. Is this the Traveller you were referring to: https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/DP26256/diplomat-traveller-fountain-pen-stainless-steel-gold-trim ? I like the look of it, but the description on that site suggests it's too small to take a converter, which seem less than ideal. Is it possible to use it with bottled inks or would I be stuck with cartridges? Speaking of inks, just how good are the Iroshizuku inks? I hear a lot of good things, and I love the look of the yama-budo and the ku-jaku, but drat are they expensive. A bottle seems to be about 5 times the price of a Diamine or Pelikan ink.
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Jul 30, 2016 15:35
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Bertrand Hustle posted:Having re-sacced an Esterbrook LJ, I can tell you that this is an insanely cheap and easy thing to do. The biggest investment you'll make up-front is a few bucks for the shellac and talc powder, which is more than enough for multiple pens, and a sac itself is like $2. Well, turns out the sac is ruptured, it has a ~3mm tear. I'll see about getting a replacement; would you mind explaining the shellac and talc powder bit?
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Jul 30, 2016 16:18
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Exculpatrix posted:Thanks for the input. I usually just leave the cap standing upright on my desk rather than posting it, so the balance shouldn't be an issue with the Ambition. The Traveller will absolutely take a converter, I'm not sure why Cult Pens would say otherwise. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=732n0yaYX4c Iroshizuku inks are very, very nice but Japanese pens and inks seem to have absolutely absurd pricing in the EU for some reason. If you're willing to order from a Japanese seller through Amazon or a website like Seiya you'll save a ton of money, otherwise stick with Diamine. Diamine has ton of colours and their inks are extremely well behaved. Edmond Dantes posted:Well, turns out the sac is ruptured, it has a ~3mm tear. Fountain pen sacs are attached using shellac, and you usually put talc powder on them to keep them from getting caught up and torn on interior components in the barrel like the spring or squeeze bar.
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Jul 30, 2016 18:06
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Yeah, this Sidona nib is kinda crap. Probably didn't help that I put a 1670 ink in it. It starts rough and skips annoyingly. The ink is amazing though. I've heard about people tweaking nibs? Any suggestions of things I could try to improve smoothness and flow with this one? I wouldn't be heartbroken to make it worse by accident. I have jewellers pliers and sandpaper around already.
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Jul 30, 2016 22:39
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If you have paper to the tune of 800 grit or higher, draw a few figure 8 on it and graduate up to your finest, then work it on something coarse like a piece of cardboard or really fine micromesh before trying it on paper. Just work cautiously because you can't undo it and be sure to only smooth the nib the way you would write, pressure too, otherwise you can baby bottom your nib.
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Jul 30, 2016 22:53
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grack posted:Fountain pen sacs are attached using shellac, and you usually put talc powder on them to keep them from getting caught up and torn on interior components in the barrel like the spring or squeeze bar. Ah, that makes sense. I was wondering if the sac was supposed to be held in place and "sealed" by just being snug.
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Jul 31, 2016 01:09
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Solkanar512 posted:I ran into this guy on my honeymoon, and he is indeed an rear end in a top hat. The legends are true. * You want a Lamy. * I am the biggest marketer of fountain pens in Canada... haven't even heard of WonderPens... but here's a list of places in Toronto I'm better than. (We are nearly 3,000 miles away from Toronto.) What's a Goulet? No, don't answer that. I don't care. * Look at all the Lamys. * TWSBI is novelty trash I won't sell. They break because they're made with cheap materials. * No, Lamys don't look modern, they're classic. * J. Herbin 1670s are garbage that isn't permitted in this store, because I won't stock anything I wouldn't put in my $100,000 pen. * You want a demonstrator? Okay, here's a Lamy. * Why yes, I do have pens around $100-150. Here are some that cost $300+. Unless you want a Lamy? * I only sell the very, very best, so you'll have to go elsewhere if you want cheap junk. I got him to grudgingly open a box of Monteverdes after I told him three times I didn't want to look at Lamys. For a guy who claims to have tens of thousands of pens in stock, he was very uninterested in showing me very many. He made a lot of judgements about my wealth based on I dunno wtf because this is Vancouver Island, where the millionaires wear cargo shorts and sandals. He might be autistic, but he's definitely an utter tool. I was going to tell him his company email was broken but figured "gently caress it," and left.
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Jul 31, 2016 03:51
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| # ? Apr 18, 2024 20:24 |
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Well if you get over to the mainland on a regular basis the people who run the two big stores in Vancouver are much easier to deal with.
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Jul 31, 2016 23:29
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