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Stalizard posted:I got a fountain pen and I can't find out anything about it. All I know is I traded my buddy an old safety razor for it. He might have got it in India? Anyway, I'm coming to you guys because I've looked all over and I can't find anything about D'Zario pens anywhere on the whole internet. I googled and ebayed and checked all of the pen links in the OP but I couldn't find anything like it except on some website that was principally in Cyrillic. Congrats on getting a fountain pen (the infection is spreading  ).D'zario is probably some random name slapped on the box because, hey, it sounds nice. It's a no name pen, but who cares if it's comfortable to write with? The little ink thingy in the back is an ink cartridge, your pen wil probably take international size cartridges. Refilling cartridges can make sense because a) bottled ink tends to be cheaper and b) bottled ink comes in more colours. Converting = using a converter that can pump ink into the pen from a bottle instead of cartridges. Linky. Note: I prefer syringe+cartridges to converters. But hey, they're cheap, give it a try.
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Apr 5, 2013 10:29
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I CANNOT EJACULATE WITHOUT SEEING NATIVE AMERICANS BRUTALISED!
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Great Horny Toads! posted:Good god. I never realized how fast cartridges burned up until I actually started using them. Burned through a 5-pack in a week. I have to get my rear end to the art supply store for ink, but...but they have shiny pens. NO! NO SHINY PENS! My favourite "this will always work" ink (i.e. forms/exams/... on lovely printer paper that most inks feather/bleed through are a-ok; it's slightly water resistant) is Montblanc Midnight Blue. Note: it is iron gall based - you should rinse out your pen every month or so and if the ink is left to dry in the pen, it will clog the ink feed and be hard to clean with water. My favourite safe ink without the aforementioned downsides is anything from Waterman. These inks are also ok for all but the shittiest kinds of paper, feel very smooth when writing and they don't have Midnight Blue's issues (they're not water resistant in any way, though). Mix Waterman inks at will for awesome colours, starting with Violet and Florida Blue 
suck my woke dick fucked around with this message at 12:16 on Apr 5, 2013 |
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Apr 5, 2013 12:11
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Great Horny Toads! posted:So, here's a funny question. I'm writing a story, and I'm writing potential scenes down on index cards. The cards are just SPONGING up the ink. The lines are a lot thicker (double or triple) than they are on regular paper, to the point of making my writing almost illegible. Any suggestions? Is there a certain weight or finish of paper I should be looking for? What kind of ink are you using? Index cards don't work well with most types of fountain pen ink. Oxford index cards (especially the coloured ones) are supposed to be less bad. Additionally, try Montblanc Midnight Blue ink - it tends to be usable even on crappy paper. Don't let a pen filled with Midnight Blue dry out ever - it will gum up the ink feed.
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May 6, 2013 12:24
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quote:Uhh, this is confusing 'cause mine seems like a pretty dark red: quote:It looks like a dark pink to me in that pic. quote:I guess I'm going blind cause it looks blood red to me. quote:It looks pretty dark red to me too. Y'know, almost like burgundy . I find your lack of screen calibration... disturbing. Go buy a colorimeter and a cheap IPS monitor  That said, Montblanc inks look best if your pen writes a very wet line and turn out pretty meh otherwise.
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May 31, 2013 12:51
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Xachariah posted:But I'm not looking at it on a screen. But everyone else is.
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May 31, 2013 17:29
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Xovaan posted:The Platinum pens look awesome. I just wish I had use for a music nib. Anything larger than a medium is way too big for me. I feel for you... I might buy a music nib to play with at some point, but anything broader than a fine nib is too much for my note taking which is 90% of what I need a pen for. Oh yes, and they're quite affordable! Make sure to order them from Japan directly on rakuten - even accounting for import duties, my orders have ended up being cheaper than EU/US pen shops. I think I saw Platinum 3776s (with 14K nibs and the slip seal cap) on sale for ~$60-70 two months ago. One of these days, I'll have to review the Pilot desk pens, probably after I have tried the full lineup... These things are almost indestructible (believe me, I've tried...) and they're amazingly comfortable to use for extended periods. 14K nibbed DP-500 versions will set you back ~$40 plus shipping, which is half of what you'd pay on ebay and amazingly cheap for a gold nibbed pen  !e: I forgot to mention that Pilot inks are supposed to be much less expensive than they usually are. almost $30 for a small bottle of ink?  $10? much better... suck my woke dick fucked around with this message at 18:54 on May 31, 2013 |
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May 31, 2013 18:48
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cobalt impurity posted:Welp, looks like I finally can't justify not having Iroshizuku inks! Adding this to the OP. Cool! Shipping costs from Japan can be non-trivial so don't just order a single glass of ink and nothing else (I paid ~$30 shipping for 2 inks and 3 pens). Also, you can never justify not having Iroshizuku inks! Asa-Gao and Kon-Peki are awesome shades of blue that actually look like the vivid shade on the label instead of being dull on paper once they've dried (Pelikan/Montblanc, I'm looking at you  ).e: Brightman posted:I don't think this is wise. The shipping rates look like they'll knock it back up to about what it normally costs here, and also they don't tell you what you'll be charged, just have a chart of rates based on grams, and I'm not sure how much the package will weigh...so...it could be more expensive...the minimum is about 12 bucks for 300 grams, and then 15 bucks for 1.10 pounds. Also no idea how long it'll take to ship from Japan. The shop I linked uses express shipping which takes about a week to Germany (including the time customs take to mail me about having to pay them when collecting the shipment). As I said, if you buy more than a single cheap item, it'll probably worth it. The order I mentioned above ended up costing about 140€/$180 including shipping and customs duties. Ordering from any English language-shop (the pens from an ebay.com who mails them from Japan, since desk pens aren't sold anywhere else) would have set me back ~$300 plus shipping and duties and would have probably ended up being in the region of $350. Overall, I think the advantages of ordering on rakuten are greatest for non-US goons since the wacky stuff is even harder to get in Europe, but depending on what you're ordering it can still be worthwhile in the US quote:Edit: We really need someone who's going to Japan anyway with space in a checked bagged for ink...an ink mule. Yes, we definitely do 
suck my woke dick fucked around with this message at 19:58 on May 31, 2013 |
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May 31, 2013 19:46
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Here's my review of the Pilot DP-500 desk pens (with some DP-200 goodness, too). Shall we include [56K DIE] in the thread title yet  ? Nib goodness  DP-500 with CON-20 squeeze converter  Transparent ink feed       Pilot make several other types of desk pens which I might review later.
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Jun 9, 2013 17:26
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cobalt impurity posted:Whoa, awesome review! I don't know how I'd feel about that taper, but those pens certainly look impressive for being made of plastic. Especially with the gold nib, the price seems reasonable enough, too! Thanks! Actually, I like the taper - you can hold the pen higher or lower without needing to post it. Since all metal parts are in the section, the pen is still well-balanced and not top-heavy. Even Montblanc use (slightly fancier) plastic, too 
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Jun 10, 2013 13:33
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Seconded. Keep in mind that for writing several pages at a time, smaller/lighter pens with good balance (not top-heavy) might be more comfortable while bigger pens will be comfortable for signatures, short notes etc.
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Jun 10, 2013 20:34
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Teach posted:...am I OK using black Parker Quink with the TWSBI? I can pick up some posh inks in the summer, but the only bottle I've got here in the Gulf, in the desert, where I live, is the Parker. Back in the UK in the summer, I can experiment with different posh inks. Is Quink a bad ink? Or just a value ink, with no real merits? Is what I'm doing like running a nice car on cooking oil? As the previous goons have said, quink looks rather dull. In addition to India ink, you should keep in mind that inks like Noodlers Baystate Blue can stain your pen (it'll still work, though) and there have been a few cases were Baystate Blue has reacted with ink feeds (Lamy Al-Stars/Safaris and some vintage stuff, I think). Most iron gall ink (except some whacky stuff that contains ridiculous amounts of iron gall) will clog your pen like a pigmented ink if it dries out rather than corrode it (once it turns solid and oxidises, it isn't water soluble anymore). Other than that, feel free to put whatever ink you like into your pen. Sometimes, the warranty will say that you should only use ink from the respective pen maker, but that mostly boils down to "if you completely gently caress up your pen with india ink, it's your problem". cobalt impurity posted:India ink in particular you should Hey, shellac is alcohol soluble - dump your pen in Ethanol and see how much other soluble stuff it contains (may or may not be a good idea)
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Jun 12, 2013 23:30
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You're spot-on regarding the Lamy 2000 - it's absolutely a writers' pen and I'd heartily recommend it for everyday use.
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Jun 13, 2013 13:54
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aidoru posted:Thanks all! I'll keep that in mind while I'm travelling Keeping pens nib-up in flight will also keep them from leaking most of the time, as does using a Pelikan pen (despite not having a seal like the 823, their ink feeds will hold quite a bit of ink before leaking).
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Jun 14, 2013 09:04
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Pelikan superiority  Also, congrats to Teach for getting an old PFM! I'm envious right now
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Jun 23, 2013 10:06
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Vitamins posted:Also I've been looking at some calligraphy and really want to try it. Does anyone have any recommendations for a flexy pen that isn't one of those £5 calligraphy sets you can get? What kind of calligraphy? If you want to try out some italic styles, buy any art fountain pen. Lamy Joy (I think), Rotring Artpen (also available in 0.6mm in addition to the 1.1mm and 1.5mm italic nibs), whatever. If you want to try Copperplate/Roundhand, Spencerian or another shaded script, a flexible dip pen nib is guaranteed to be affordable and better than most fountain pens including the majority of vintage flex nibs. Note that the dip pens recommended for Spencerian and Copperplate on calligraphy websites (Gillot 303 etc.) are not suitable for beginners: you will wreck them by pressing down/holding them at a wrong angle on the upstroke if you haven't used easier nibs before. My recommendation for a good intermediate nib would be Brause 54 EF or Brause 141 EF which are not perfect, but will do a reasonably good job without being frustrating (buy an entire box on ebay, they're not made anymore and the remaining stock at calligraphy shops is getting way too expensive). Among those nibs still being made, Brause Rosenfeder (Rose nib or something along those lines) is said to be a good, non-frustrating nib that's still being made and G-nibs for drawing mangas should work, too (and Gillot 303s are still made, too, but they're Gillot 303s). It's also very important to use decent paper - shaded scripts look like rear end if you use a nib that's broader than EF (unless you're writing letters 2 inches in height) and, without an iridium tip, the tines will catch easily on rough paper. If you're looking for a fountain pen that is italic-ish, buy a TWSBI with a stub nib or just use an art fountain pen anyway. If you're looking for a fountain pen for everyday use that will flex decently, Pilot Custom 742/743 (I think) are available with the FA nib, which is actually flexible (as opposed to slightly soft like the Pilot Falcon pen). You might also try finding vintage pens (really old Watermans, Mabie Todd, ...), but restored pens are expensive and buying them on ebay means you'll probably have to buy multiple ones until you get one that flexes well and/or doesn't need maintenance.
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Jun 29, 2013 19:08
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ChickenOfTomorrow posted:If you want a vintage flex fountain pen I'd recommend camping Greg Minuskin's blog. He tends to post pens with flex nibs 2+ times a week for prices $50-100. He's a well-respected watch and fountain pen repairer and his wife does Spencerian. Seconded on both counts. I tried fishing on ebay, with mixed results, and in all likelihood, you'll be spending $100-ish on ebay pens before finding something decent. Also, if you practice on a decent dip pen, your flex fountain pen handwriting will improve while the other way round doesn't work as well (at least for me ). A decent (sharp point, but not overly scratchy or overly smooth) dip pen will keep your hand steady while a tipped fountain pen nib won't.
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Jun 29, 2013 20:33
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ChickenOfTomorrow posted:In other news, today is my birthday and I want to buy myself a gift. Options for a $100-$150 fountain pen? I prefer vintage pens and my collection has an emphasis on British and flex (I have 6 or 7 Mabie Todds, 3 Conway Stewarts and 4 Watermans) and I already have a Namiki Falcon. The modern CS pens are not particularly flexible, though I'd totally buy them for their looks (same for modern Onotos, for that matter). One review comparing a CS Churchill to a Montblanc 149 called the latter nib more flexible (less inflexible ), so an EF Lamy 2000 would probably produce better line variation 
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Jun 29, 2013 20:54
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Platypus Farm posted:Actually this brings up a question I've had and been too overwhelmed by the vintage boards to figure out. What ARE good vintage makes to look for if you're wanting a nice, flexible nib? I make a quarterly sweep of all the antique stores around here and pick up anything that looks halfway decent, usually doing some minor rehab to get them working again, but the vast majority of what comes through my hands is stuff you'd expect - Parkers, Sheaffers, and the like. None of them exhibit even the slightest bit of flex. Ok, as far as I know... Parker rarely flex. Sheaffer almost never flex (and if they do, they're expensive as gently caress because collectors). Conway Stewart may or may not flex, I'm not sure how common flex CS nibs are. Mabie Todd are often flexible (but not always!), they're one of the go-to brands I've seen recommended as easy-to-get flex pens Old Watermans are often flexible. Old Onotos tend to be flexible, too. Apparently, old German pens tended to have semi-flex nibs at least in some cases. In general, eye dropper pens and lever filler pens are most likely to be flexible (Mabie Todd "leverless" are just fancy lever fillers). Anything made after 1950-ish (I think) is less likely to be flexible. However, you might actually find really ancient nibs that do the the same thing as the Falcon I have a Swan 1500 eye dropper pen with a very long tined nib that feels like a stiff paint brush...
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Jun 30, 2013 19:54
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Kessel posted:One of the other FP-related groups I keep up with was just discussing this very issue. Apparently Rouge Hematite has been gunking up a lot of their pens too, so it isn't just you. Keep in mind that red ink in general tends to be more gunk-prone than other inks from the same manufacturer. Even, say, Pelikan red will leave a layer of crud quite quickly.
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Jul 14, 2013 09:17
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Verdugo posted:Guy doesn't seem to have done much research outside of "this fountain pen. you buy.": In addition, "It comes in any nib size you want - as long as that nib size is M" is a bit disappointing. e: Just looked at the kickstarter again. 1) $220000  2) At over 5500 pens already ordered, he definitely could add at least F and B nibs (or F and EF ). I recall TWSBI saying the minimum order for their nibs was 1000 or 2000-ish per size.
suck my woke dick fucked around with this message at 07:57 on Jul 19, 2013 |
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Jul 19, 2013 07:51
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Kessel posted:That Kickstarter is aimed at people who don't know the least bit about fountain pens. It aims to try and appeal to their sense of a "lost age of writing." And the "lost age of writing" isn't something that his pen will be able to emulate. As you said, a fountain pen with a stiff, round M nib is cheap and readily available (5 minutes of googling ) and it's a foregone conclusion that his nib isn't going to be anything like a like a 1960s nib or a modern not-completely-nail-like nib (let alone a proper flex nib or stub nib).e: on the other hand, it is kind of nice to know there's still some enthusiasm for fountain pens (even if it's for overpriced designer fountain pens). suck my woke dick fucked around with this message at 17:15 on Jul 19, 2013 |
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Jul 19, 2013 17:07
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Kessel posted:Ah hahaha god. I browsed through some of the comments on the Kickstarter page. So ... probably a lovely Iridium Point Germany nib instead of a decent one  . Seriously, that pen costs as much as a TWSBI Diamond, how hard can it be to squeeze a Bock nib into the budget?On the other hand, some Hero pens do have a decent nib  .
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Jul 19, 2013 17:30
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Zenostein posted:I hope I don't come across as "that guy," but honestly, I've had no issues with moleskines. I've seen all the negative reviews, but they've played nice with my pens/inks (although, I should note that drat near all my pens are euro Fs, and at most an M). I've been using this cheap Staples notebook for three years without any real bleeding or anything (besides me needing to superglue the spine back on), so if you aren't using super wet inks/pens, maybe try that? I actually like my €0.99 ring books from the nearest supermarket - the paper is quite fountain pen friendly. By the way, what ink are you using on Moleskines?
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Jul 29, 2013 14:59
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Reivax posted:The only problem I ever had with moleskines was that the ink took an age to dry. If you're in the UK, Sainsburys have A5 lookalikes for a fiver that are absolutely fantastic. Only real downside is that the covers are quite soft and can get dented easily. With every piece of moleskine paper I have ever tried, I had the problem of being able to use only a limited selection of inks in F nibs because otherwise, the ink would bleed through the page (and sometimes 2-3 pages below it). That wasn't just the case when using exotic inks, mind you, I had problems with some Pelikan and Waterman stuff.
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Jul 29, 2013 21:45
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Solkanar512 posted:Yeah, I've heard of the Realo, but that's like 2 or 4 models in the entire range. Maybe it's just me, but I live having a huge ink reservoir and seeing something as large and expensive as a King of Pens with only a converter seems nuts. Never not M800  . I am kind of disappointed that Sheaffer doesn't make Snorkels anymore. The ink volume is ok (especially since everyone is used to converters) and you will never ever get your hands messy despite using inkwells.
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Aug 30, 2013 10:34
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aldantefax posted:i have made a terrible mistake A good kind of mistake.
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Aug 31, 2013 09:35
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Strangelet Wave posted:You want the ink to saturate all the way up the feed to the nib, so that the nib is provided with a sufficient amount of ink. Actually the feed shouldn't be full of ink. The fins are supposed to hold ink burping out due to air expanding in the pen (e.g. when you take a cold pen into your hand). If they're completely full already, the pen may drip. Sufficient ink will always arrive at the nib through channels in the feed.
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Sep 8, 2013 15:10
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RustedChrome posted:The Lamy 2000 is a retractible pen that some like. The quality control seems quite iffy on them however. It's not actually retractable, unless you are talking about the piston or something 
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Sep 22, 2013 23:24
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RustedChrome posted:I don't think I've heard much positive talk about the Dialog, other than that it looks cool. It is a very fat and heavy pen, which you may or may not like. Also there is a photo of Merkel using a Dialog 3, which you may or may not like When I tried it, the nib was wonderfully springy compared to most other pens in the shop, but I found it awkward to hold
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Sep 23, 2013 07:12
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ChickenOfTomorrow posted:OK, coolio. Now, if you don't mind me Also, gold nibs won't corrode However, homemade and vintage iron gall inks will clog feeds quite fast because they are not engineered to stay in solution.
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Sep 25, 2013 05:58
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ing at you: Iron gall inks, because of their nature, are corrosive. Modern iron-galls have been engineered to hell and back to be minimally corrosive, but vintage and home-made irongalls lack that engineering. They could possibly be dangerous if left unattended and allowed to dry out, but the chances of a newcomer ending up with home-made or vintage iron-gall is hella low.
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wodan22 posted:I totally understand. You make a really good point about not giving the green light to try that with pens that you don't personally use-in retrospect, I should probably not have asked about those specific pens. Mea Culpa. A hero 616 or 329 with a hodded nib should work, it's cheap and very very stiff. My TWSBI 530 (so, same nib as the 540) is a pen I'd consider somewhat too soft for pressing down hard, its nib is relatively soft for a modern steel nib.
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Sep 27, 2013 17:46
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Argh, I finally pulled the trigger on two Kaweco pens. Let's see how underrated old unknown German pens are (they also have the advantage of costing next to nothing on ebay around here).
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Nov 18, 2013 21:38
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Edmond Dantes posted:Just a heads up, I have a Safari with a 1.5 nib and it's still a bit big for everyday use. If you are thinking about a smaller nib, but still italic, I'd go for the 1.1; I have it on a Lamy CP1, which is fantastic, but quite different grip-wise from the Safari so I'm not sure if it's your cup of tea. Rotring Artpens can be had with a 0.6mm italic nib, I think. e: Tulip posted:Soliciting purchasing advice. You might want to try some pens without the finger grooves then. suck my woke dick fucked around with this message at 00:42 on Nov 30, 2013 |
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Nov 30, 2013 00:23
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Mad Lupine posted:
The 149 has existed for about 50 years now and it has gone through a variety of finishes on 14k and 18k gold. The current nib finish is exactly like the original one, though the first nibs were much more springy and flexible compared to the current ones. Your nib is an intermediate which is probably a bit less stiff than the current one (though MB149 nibs are still a bit springy).  Try this chart if you want to identify where the pen came from.suck my woke dick fucked around with this message at 00:48 on Nov 30, 2013 |
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Nov 30, 2013 00:45
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shadysight posted:I decided to do a test to see if it was the pen or the nib that was acting up, by switching nibs between the non-working pen and my broad lamy, which has been working fine. The result is: They both work now. I'm not sure if I should be disappointed with that or not. Chances are some crud got caught below the nib and isn't there anymore I guess
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Dec 5, 2013 10:18
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supercow posted:Are there any cheaper alternatives to rotring 600? I really dig the design but don't really have the cash to spend at minimum $100 likely closer to $200 on ebay. Maybe have a look at the Rotring Newton?
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Dec 8, 2013 21:48
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Luisfe posted:I am probably dumb for asking this but what is a crimehack? I think he means that like some other noodler's inks, when you treat it with bleach or whatever to delete it (~check fraud~) it turns pink. suck my woke dick fucked around with this message at 10:58 on Dec 12, 2013 |
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Dec 12, 2013 10:50
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Verdugo posted:Nathan's continual downward spiral in action. Man makes great inks but is slowly descending into the lunatic fringe. Which video was that again (link)?
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Dec 17, 2013 21:07
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DurianGray posted:I'm going to assume the Rome Burning one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KcW1IlaxFs but really, it could have been any number of his product videos. Oh great, it's not available here. Damnit GEMA
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Dec 17, 2013 23:19
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cobalt impurity posted:I'm all aboard the knife writing thread if we can buy Nathan Tardif an account and bring him in. Do you really want to fuel his  more by bringing him into this unamerican forum?
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Dec 18, 2013 09:42
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