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hi Fountain Pen people!!! about two months ago i bought a Pilot Metropolitan, a Midori MD notebook, and a couple accessories that seemed good to have. since then, i have gotten such a ridiculous amount of use out of these that I consider them full fledged disability aids  my question is thus: which one should i get, between a Medium Italic Pilot Metro, and a 1.1 mm Stub TWSBI ECO Black Fountain Pen? or could there be a better third option? is it even worth the effort if the change would be too marginal? points to consider: *i very much want to have some calligraphy capability. I don't know the precise term for it, but some in-built means to vary my lines and do those little flourishes all the internet calligraphers do. even if it's only partial capability, I want something less limiting than my current Medium/standard rollerball pens *i would like to keep it under $50. i can take it under consideration if all my best options are above that though. *ink pretty. ink good. i like the ECO's concept of a pen with a window. a plus but not necessary. *i have a set of Pilot Parallels but i don't like them as general-purpose pens, i would like to be able to actually take notes with my pens. *i trend towards black. the Pilot Metropolitan hits all the notes for me, aesthetic-wise. the balance between form and functionality is perfect and tbh the ECO is as big of an aesthetic leap as I'm willing to make without an external push. i suppose i'm not opposed to trying something different if anyone makes a strong case for it. *i'm really enjoying my Hobonichi Days so anything that can shine in those tight confines is a plus. kind of a halfway-need. *if you got any products you want to evangelize to a fresh and malleable subject, shoot. brush pens, inks that look like the ejecta of creatures better not named, whatever. thank you to whoever read all that! I hope this is an appropriate post p.s. the Troublemaker Simoun is a lovely ink and squeeze cartridges are the devil. Ramie fucked around with this message at 01:10 on Feb 22, 2022 |
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Feb 22, 2022 00:58
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good replies, one and all! i'm very grateful. forgot to mention, but i'm actually gearing up to write a set of letters to three different people (one of them being the blogger who got me into this in the first place!). so i got a cart all loaded up on JetPens with stationery supplies, and that's got me biased towards getting stuff from that site at this very moment. i had been eyeing the Iroshizuku inks, particularly Yama-budo and Shin-ryoku (because holy poo poo look at it. is it that gorgeous in person?). so, i'll go with the sample set that has the Yama-budo and two other inks. additionally, i'll be getting the TWSBI ECO. it clearly doesn't hit all my points, but i wasn't banking on anything doing so. i figure, my Medium Metro will have my back if it's a wash, and i do love making temperamental products work for me, not to mention checking out other companies. next time i get a pen will be a Metropolitan Medium Italic or a Lamy Joy set, depending on how much i want to spend at the time. i also have a $90 cart of inks and sample sets on Goulet Pens, because lol. lmao. but i'll pull that trigger in a few months, because this is not my first hobby rodeo and i know when to pocket my wallet and walk out thanks y'all!!!!!!
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Feb 22, 2022 20:02
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yeah, yeah. knowing the name and shape of the beast might not stop it from eating me. but it might! one last thing - I got this website recommended to me: The Custom Fountain Pen Paper Sample Pack and it looks pretty great! I have no need for it right now, but maybe it's not common knowledge and someone here would like to try one of the 28 brands available? I love my Tomoe River, so I can vouch for that one at least edit: uh oh. I think the name of the beast is I
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Feb 23, 2022 21:00
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my JetPens shipment arrived last night  i had slight concerns about the TWSBI ECO feeling cheap/scratchy based on what i had read, but they were unfounded. it does have more feedback than my Metro, but I'm just generally even more engaged with the act of writing, and the lines are still reasonably compact! it's not gonna be my Hobonichi pen but it will do just fine in my Midori MD. on that note, Tomoe River letter paper with Midori envelopes? classy. sexy. luscious, even. i loaded the ECO with Iroshizuku shin-kai and it's a dreamy ink. it even looks great when smudged! i got 3 Color Set B mostly for the yama-budo but im gonna be just fine spacing them out over a period of months i think. gonna try and really fall in love with each ink for now, ill go back to cross-stitch land, where shopping runs are $10 (but i'll still be lurking because i wanna be informed when i eventually drop $200 on a pen lol)
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Mar 1, 2022 20:02
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one more point in favor of the ECO: when you drop it it's fine. when you drop a Metro it gains a minuscule dent in the cap that prevents it from sitting securely unless you apply concerning amounts of force, eventually resulting in it took some doing but i finally got my ECO handwriting to be almost as small as my Metro equivalent, also.
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Mar 3, 2022 23:46
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every time i get an advert for the burgundy E95s i stop and stare for like a whole 10 seconds. guess that's what i'll be getting when i start my new job in the summer! anyone got Opinions on that one? also, i had to use a free shipping code before it expired (just had to!) and i got a Jinhao x750 and a random ink sample set. so far, Monteverde Keylime Pie is pretty but watery, and Noodler's Legal Blue is like a less pretty Troublemaker Simoun that smells weird. super excited for the Diamine Cocoa Shimmer and specially Enchanted Ocean. gorgeous ink, even while just being swished in a bottle the Jinhao is super nice for a pen with a (at the time) $5 price tag. kind of a pain to clean, compared to my Pilot and TWSBI Ramie fucked around with this message at 14:00 on Mar 22, 2022 |
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Mar 22, 2022 13:58
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oh right! i forgot to mention, but i'm particularly interested in the variance between nibs. what nib you got? i'm leaning towards Extra Fine since i haven't tried that end of things yet, but i can see an argument for each option. it also seems like a "you can't go wrong" kind of choice
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Mar 22, 2022 20:10
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would anyone mind telling me why people use Noodler's when basically everything about it is so... you know. between the smell and the staining and the Volcker Green controversy i'm not clear on what is worthwhile about them
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Mar 25, 2022 21:38
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thank you all for the history lesson! i think i get their place in the ecosystem now. still probably not gonna touch Noodler's or Kaweco tho, the latter for being litigious shitheads unafraid to hold the craft back. ooooh I got Opinions now! good thing i'm picky, will keep me from throwing money at an infinite pit. well, some infinities are smaller than others.... on that note, i threw away my Master's Touch "calligraphy paper" because the feathering is crazy now that I look at it closely. i thought i knew better than to trust retail craft stores but oh well. doesn't dampen my budding interest in calligraphy any A++ hobby
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Mar 26, 2022 17:05
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heads up! there's two verrry nice Sailors over at Goulet Pens with what amounts to an $140 discount for what sounds like very minor reasons https://www.gouletpens.com/collecti...=39926191947819 https://www.gouletpens.com/collecti...=39928275042347 also, i dropped a few hundos on fountain pen stuff that will hopefully arrive a little bit after my grad school graduation/new job start  i'll finally get to have an e95s! also, i can't stop showing off and i got 3 people to consider getting a pen, and 2 of them seem like a sure thing. turns out poets like having nice writing implements  i'm going through my Goulet samples and Robert Orsted African Gold made my sink look like i milked Shrek in it. hilarous ink. in the right lighting it looks like a subdued gold, in others it looks like stale piss. Monteverde Keylime Pie is a bit too ghostly and watery, but maybe that was just the Jinhao Medium making it look like that. i got a new Jinhao and a 1.5 nib on the way, anyway (i busted the last one while trying to remove the nib) Diamine Cocoa Shimmer and Enchanted Ocean are gorgeous, and they go particularly well together too. highly, highly recommend them. edit: i keep getting ads for Colorverse SM1 & COSTAR and it is tortorous. genuinely testing me Ramie fucked around with this message at 19:15 on Apr 26, 2022 |
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Apr 26, 2022 19:09
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my X750 was punching way above its weight in terms of feel. lovely weight, and i miss it enough to gamble on the QA again with a Shimmering Sands version. there aren't a lot of rainbow pens at these pricepoints, are there? meaning, shimering and such. like raden pens Ramie fucked around with this message at 21:25 on Apr 26, 2022 |
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Apr 26, 2022 19:47
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i ordered two X750s so i could give one as part of a birthday gift, im giving my lightly dinged Metro to a friend, and im giving a Hongdian to another friend because on second thought i don't trust the $5 Hero i gave her before. i got one for myself and it was a bitch to clean. the fude nib was real nice though giving people introductory pens is almost as fun as buying them for myself tbh. turns out the secret to emptying ink bottles is to become your local ink sample dealer
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Apr 28, 2022 04:30
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get 10 Chinese pens on ebay  but seriously, ebay is very much worth keeping an eye on. the other day i saw someone selling a brand new Wing sun 698 + 50ml iroshizuku bottle for $26 + shipping. i'm burning through my 15ml bottles quite fast so hey, it's a reasonable expense that comes with a free pen! "mcq1954" was the seller's name and they had good feedback, so. we'll see.
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May 9, 2022 23:32
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hope i'm not too late for the Heart Sutra-posting! that's a gorgeous pen, how's the feel of it?  i have always been hard to do birthday shopping for, mainly in the sense that my loved ones always have to resort to offloading stacks of books on me. and then come in, fountain pens. i'll have to get back to my japanese studies and my barely-budding Buddhist practice before i can feel deserving of this one. the machining on the wood is entrancing, and the pen itself is so so calming to lay eyes upon. not to mention how steadying the weight of the wood is. and the smell! goodness. i'm in love
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May 21, 2022 05:55
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Same Great Paste posted:Thanks for the quick answers! Tried a waxy paper - the medium is definitely thicker than the fine - and yes I had been comparing on notebook paper. The Extra Fine still looks identical to the Medium though. That’s really disappointing. I bought these partly to understand which size Lamy 2000 I’d want. Gross. eep, this all hurt to read Same Great Paste, if you are open to trying Asian nibs instead, i can send you some of my "learner's" pens? make the whole thing feel like less of a wash, hopefully, and maybe get you thinking of other brands. realistically i'm never gonna use them now that i have found my favorites, so they were always destined to be given away. for free! in other news, i think i found my grail pen  i didn't know anyone made bat-themed pens!!!! they are my absolute favorite animal and hell, i dress as a vampire every Halloween, I Have to own this pen one day Ramie fucked around with this message at 16:03 on Jun 21, 2022 |
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Jun 21, 2022 12:36
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Xun posted:Make sure you pair it with an appropriately blood like ink? Van Dieman's Vampire Bat! https://www.vandiemansink.com.au/collections/night/products/van-diemans-night-vampire-bat-fountain-pen-ink i found it while looking for an entirely different ink, seems like a close match to Sailor Ume, which i already have a sample of. hoping that one turns out bloody enough! on that subject, Van Dieman seems like a neat brand. i'm also looking at Monarca, that Nopal ink... there's so many kinds of ink! just yesterday i found out Platinum makes Sepia pigmented ink, i'll probably switch to that for my watercolor needs
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Jun 22, 2022 23:20
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on that note, are Script nibs supposed to be the smoothest nibs on god's green earth? i frankenstein'd a script section off a wrecked vintage Pilot Elite and onto a nicer body (screw on converter cap?) and it writes like the wind. i'm very surpised i don't see them being sold in the modern day related question, any tips for cleaning the barest hint of rust off the part where the metal clip meets the cap? btw Elite nibs with a white section stain absurdly easily (and permanently) every time you refill and they should be avoided. rear end nasty design Ramie fucked around with this message at 21:02 on Jul 11, 2022 |
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Jul 11, 2022 20:53
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so it seems Sailor Pro Gears are reaching an all-time price low on amazon? there's a few $50 listings nvm it's Shikioris. some PGSs are down to $65-$80 so it's still pretty crazy Ramie fucked around with this message at 14:56 on Jul 22, 2022 |
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Jul 22, 2022 14:50
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Taccia inks look stunning even on a fine, at least the ones from the Hokusai line I have tried. Fukakihanada is up there with Ancient Copper as an ink I'll never live without from what I read there's a metric fuckton of inks exclusive to Japan, such as Maruzen Athena, Bungubox, and Kingdom Note Ramie fucked around with this message at 05:20 on Aug 8, 2022 |
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Aug 8, 2022 05:15
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i found asa-gao to be a little eye-searing, with Diamine Blue Velvet having a more bearable amount of pep also, i gifted my beaten-up, very first Metro to a friend just this morning at work, i even loaded up a sample vial with my last 5mL of yama-budo... then i procedeed to accidentally spill half of it while doing my filling demo. lol. lmao she loved it though! everyone in close proximity to me is writing letters now 
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Aug 10, 2022 14:58
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 holy gently caress outta my way nerds, i need this but seriously if you see this one going over like $40 it's safe to assume im out of the running so uhhh good luck if you want to bid on it too this same shop had something called an "Apex Trident", by Sailor. omnidirectional nib! would have been a fun novelty, just not $90 fun https://www.ebay.com/itm/165632582824#vi__app-cvip-panel Ramie fucked around with this message at 13:24 on Aug 25, 2022 |
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Aug 25, 2022 13:15
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does it have to be bigger than a5? nanami has basically everyone beat on price and quality for handbound 400~ pages. Musubi excepted, but im assuming you dont want an easily stained linen cover. Nanami covers are cheap and perfect for a lab environment and oh god Nanami sells Maruzen Athena Sepia. i just got my Platinum Sepia Brun, and was looking at Sailor Texas after that. curse my brown addiction, ill just have to hope they stay in stock for a while 
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Aug 26, 2022 15:52
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DicktheCat posted:I check on this thread every so often, because I'm fascinated by the pens. ooh, my main area of interest! the obvious (and sane) option: is to point you towards the tools manga artists use, Zebra G nibs and the like, with associated holders and ink. JetPens stocks these and has a couple very useful guides on the subject [1][2] the pricy option: my personal mainstay right now is a 3776 Platinum Century Soft Fine modified by nibs.com with their Flex + Elastic option. if money is no object, i think a Soft Fine 3776 with the stock nib is way ahead of the pack in terms of feel, the resistance inherent to it gives you a slightly more brushlike feel that you can get nowhere else, and even without modifications it has an acceptable amount of flex, if your lines are not meant to be too thick. the modifications i got enhance both of those aspects, but they are not at all necessary. (i keep meaning to make a post about this pen...) budget options: depends on whether line variation is needed, but the cheapest easily available flex nip is the FPR Flex/Ultra Flex nib with a FPR pen, and the BlueDew pens. if flex is not a concern i personally quite like the Mahjong C1 ($30~), and if you like it you can upgrade it with other nibs, like i did with a Knox Double Broad nib ($20) i got from Birmingham Pens. for inks i use Platinum Brun Sepia, which i love for linework on watercolors. maybe Platinum Carbon Black would be more your speed. Ramie fucked around with this message at 20:46 on Oct 21, 2022 |
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Oct 21, 2022 20:43
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Last day to preorder any of the Yoseka limited edition Sailors! I don't have anything particularly nice to say about the Refresh and Home pens, but the Origin is a pen I tracked down for months until I finally bought a used one, and I considered worth the effort It really might be one of like, 2 or 3 rare Sailor colorways that seem actually worth the added expense. They have never done a green like it
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Apr 14, 2023 18:17
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I have a really fun $9~ Kuretake brush pen that supposedly takes Platinum converters but I haven't finished the basic black cartidge I put in it. Might take me a few months to use it all up I forgot about for like 5 months and it did not dry out even a little so that was nice
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May 16, 2023 20:33
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There's also Platinum Pigment Brun Sepia, which is basically a sepia version of Carbon Black. It's great for watercolor purposes too
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Jul 29, 2023 21:48
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My 3776 seems like it ought to be sturdier than the average Hongdian, but I would be wary of getting too comfortable with it too, yeah. The Hongdian N7 though... that's a really pleasantly hefty metal thread pen. I gave mine to a friend and I just plain miss messing with it
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Aug 18, 2023 23:27
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I mean, Lamy and Noodler's are kind of rock-bottom as far as QA goes. Everything else is in a whole other stratosphere as far as rarity of defects goes. Not much cause for fear imo Except for Monteverde and Visconti In new pen news! I like the MUJI I got gifted by my grandma Initially I thought it would be too stiff for casual use, and it kind of is! I'll never write with it at home, but it's perfect for rapid work/school notetaking. Something about the resistance it puts up goes a long way towards forcing me to adopt a proper posture, alleviating physical discomfort over the course of the day Ramie fucked around with this message at 00:05 on Sep 13, 2023 |
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Sep 13, 2023 00:00
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I feel like it's a very popular sentiment for 823 owners to say that they believe buying any other pen will likely be a sidegrade at best - that they realized 9 pens ago that it just doesn't get much better than that and they are just paying for novelty now. Not the only pen people say that about, but 80% of the time they are talking about the 823 It sits at a breakpoint of price/quality where the quality exceeds similarly-priced pens, and it is substantially lower in price than the next step up in user experience. Subjective and all, but most see it as an uniquely good value Too bad I think Pilot gold nibs are boring! Sailor/Platinum for me all the way. And because buying Sailor means paying hundreds extra for nicely-colored plastic, mostly just Platinum. I recommend checking out vintage pens if you want to try out the other 2 Japanese brands. You can spot gold-nibbed pocket pens for like $20 on ebay
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Nov 7, 2023 04:24
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