Apparently Artlite closed. I would look for a pen show. What colors do you like for ink?

Do you use a notepad? I used Mead five star composition pads for my work journal in a gfeller cover.

bald1, I was hoping to get some of your feedback as you had been one of those posting an admirable collection. As I recall you prefer brown inks. I haven't really started digging into inks yet.

Those who know me know that I am not quick to rush out and jump on a bandwagon. I tend to prefer a road less traveled. I am probably cheating myself by not simply exploring the various makers and styles of pens. Somewhere frugality set in and while not affraid to pay for quality, I also don't want to needlessly spend. Perhaps some tips on real dogs to avoid is really what I seek.

I tend to be able to hang onto those uniball pens until I rub them out of ink, or loan one to someone pressing too hard. So, with my tendency to have a light stroke and a tight writing style, it seems a bit out of the ordinary to gravitate toward that previously mentioned medium nibb.

Part of this journey is learning something new as well as improving my existing penmanship.

Aglifter, I imagine I will start off in the blue family of inks. I am drawn to dark almost black blues.

As for paper, I will likely be seeking something spiral bound likely at the top. It will have to also have micro perforations.

I don't like writing into or out of the binding in most books unless I can get them to open up and lay flat without breaking the spine.

I think the Montblanc store will have some display items you can try. You can then begin to compare. Admittedly many business execs seem to have a Montblanc in their shirt pocket for show.

I'll try to take a spin through the mont blanc store soon.

stylophiles' most generous offer may be your best bet. Play with what he sends you to develop some preferences before you order / buy a new piece.

But to tweak your interest in the pen I recommended:
https://www.youtube.com/result...parson%27s+essential


I have a good friend who lives in Roswell. He attends a greater Atlanta area pen club where folks show, try out, and exchange pens. There is a nibmeister too who attends and will set your nib properly if it has feeding or other problems. His website may be of interest: https://www.nibgrinder.com/videos
They have suspended things due to CV19 though. I know the Peliken Hub event originally scheduled for May was cancelled. The Atlanta site for that would have been well worth attending. Same for the Atlanta Pen Show in March which was also cancelled.


As an aside, I'm personally not a fan of Mont Blanc but I know folks who have been pleased with theirs.

You asked about cost benefits. Fit and finish and quality of parts usually is reflected in pricing but not always as evidenced by the Italix line of pens. As an example my Pelikan M1000 is their top of the line model and features brass internals which their lower and middle models do not have. The discontinued Waterman LeMan 100 models also featured exemplary material selection and fitment. More expensive pens will usually have gold nibs; less expensive gilded (plated) or just plain steel, although none are a guarantee of performance. Witness the discontinued inexpensive Waterman Phileas, which was long a widely recommended starter pen. The maker's grind and adjustment is more relevant. Many higher priced pieces will have fancy finishes (highly polished multiple lacquer layers, hand painted or gilded motifs, exotic materials, etc.).

A great YouTube site for pen reviews is https://www.youtube.com/user/sbrebrown

quote:

Originally posted by ffips:
Perhaps some tips on real dogs to avoid is really what I seek.

Wish I could help with that but as said I haven't bought in recent years save the Italix I cited. The pens I have were purchased 20 or more (many more in some instances) years ago.

That said I would avoid completely the inexpensive Chinese pens despite a few folks being able to coax decent performance from some. If looking on Amazon be sure to determine country of origin for the pen.

quote:

Originally posted by ffips:
bald1, I was hoping to get some of your feedback as you had been one of those posting an admirable collection. As I recall you prefer brown inks. I haven't really started digging into inks yet.

Did you say brown?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bald1,

I found a cheap old (well, when I was in high school, class of 81) fountain pen I used breifly then,

it takes a plastic cartridge,


I tended to write basically like Charlie Brown then with it,
so I bought a few cartridges and did a bit better, ,


however I worry that if I carried a pen daily I would end up wearing the ink vs using it, so stopped,

quote:

Originally posted by lyman:
I worry that if I carried a pen daily I would end up wearing the ink vs using it, so stopped,

I haven't had a fountain pen leak on me since my elementary school days learning to write in cursive with pens like this one:


No shirt pocket carry for me. I've long preferred carrying my pens in cases. Mine:

I will see which blues I have, and if I can send you samples. I strongly endorse Pilot Iroshosuki’s inks. They have a neat blue. Robert Oster also makes a nice blue with sheening.

I have a notebook with Tomoe River paper, which I keep records of inks. I will see which blues I have examples of, but I do like more true blues.

I know I’ve given a number of inks to local art students, and prefer oranges, purples, and reds but I know I have some of the Oster blue.

I agree with Aglifter that Pilot Iroshizuku shin-kai is the blue-black ink to get, and that their inks in general are top notch.


That said I do have a blue-black on hand in Waterman's Mysterious Blue, but it is more of a blue than blue-black and doesn't see much use.



Note that I favor Waterman's Florida Blue aka Serenity Blue and Pelikan's 4001 Royal Blue for blue inks. They are solid, well-behaved popular blue ink choices for good reasons. https://www.jetpens.com/blog/t...tain-pen-inks/pt/387
They see more use than any of my blacks or the aforementioned Mysterious Blue.


With blacks, since they were only used when document signatures required black, I never really experimented much. (Always kept one pen inked in black in a pen case in case such was needed.) Aside from the Pelikan and Monte Blanc I have on hand, I recall having had some Platinum (Japanese) in the past as well as using both Sheaffer Skrip and Parker Quink many decades ago.

Frankly I got to the point where the blues and blacks were just boring humdrum everyday colors to me. And that's where an exploration of alternatives years ago lead me to browns which I use probably 85 to 90% of the time. I see Aglifter expressed similar sentiments with his preferring oranges, purples, and reds.

Another stop down the rabbit hold: FPGeeks (forum). FPN is great for inks - stick with that approval thing.

I mostly started with Lamy. Got an Al-Star, Safari, then a Lamy 2000. My most used nowadays is my Platinum 3776 soft fine (and the fine) for journal entries. The Al-Star's and Safari's get used regularly. Also like my vintage restored Pelikan 140 extra fine (which translates to a western fine). You can find nice restored Pelikans at the penguin - Rick Propas does great work. The Ranga Slim Bamboo with a medium nib. My most recent purchase was a Platinum Procyon fine - which I really like. That has Sheaffer black in it. The Lamy 2000 sits idle and un-inked. Love my Faber-Castell Loom with a broad nib. It's the smoothest writing experience I've ever had with a fountain pen.

My go-to inks are Visconti blue (3776 SF), Noodler's (Al-Star) and Sheaffer black, Diamine Wild Strawberry and Poppy Red (Safari & Al-Star), and Pilot Iroshizuku asa-gao (Pelikan 140). Have Diamine Kelly Green in my Turmaline Al-Star with medium nib. And Lamy Turmaline in the Ranga (JoWa steel medium nib). Diamine Syrah is in the Loom.

If I'm going to keep a pen I have to like the nib, so you can see I like nails just fine. The only ones that could flex I guess are the Pelikan 140 and Platinum 3776 soft fine - but I'm not a calligrapher, so it's lost on my uses.

If you're going to be writing a lot and ink capacity comes into play, then you won't like the Platinums with their small capacity converters. I don't mind filling when it's dry lol. The Pelikan 140 is by far the highest ink capacity and lasts and lasts. The Ranga has a larger converter also. The Loom also seems to have a generous converter capacity also.

The most interesting recent purchase experiences have been with the 3776 Platinums (made and sold and shipped from Japan - the Amazon listings I've used (better price)) and covid nineteen. Stick with it and they may come through. Recently they've started to backup and get stuck at the Japan ports. The Procyon was a US vendor pen chalet and no issues.

Most of the time I just need to jot a quick note and don't bother with posting. So it does not come into play when looking to purchase.

Screw on or press on caps? Either or. The 2 or 1.75 twist thing - the less work to get that cap off the better. The only thing about my Loom is the smooth metal body that's slippery when removing the very strong (air tight is good) cap.

Also look at Fountain Pen Hospital for vintage pens. And check your local antique shops... I picked up a Parker 51 that was intact (rubber bladder still functioning) for $10.00 at an antique store, and that pen has a resale value of over $100.00.

quote:

Originally posted by ffips:
As for paper, I will likely be seeking something spiral bound likely at the top. It will have to also have micro perforations.

I don't like writing into or out of the binding in most books unless I can get them to open up and lay flat without breaking the spine.

Look at Rhodia and Clairefontaine. Nice notebooks and pads with very good paper that is extremely fountain pen friendly (and pleasant to write on with any kind of pen or pencil - heavy, smooth paper).

It could be my OCD, but I try to match paper and inks. Japanese Inks seem to work better with Japanese paper.

Portage notepads work well, for jotting, but they are not micro perf.

I like Kuyoto, but I’m not sure they make spiral bound notebooks.

You should get some Tomoe River/at least try it, just to see what inks can do on superb paper.

I use the thin stuff as an insert in Christmas cards.

bald1, one of your pen holders looks like a cigar holder. I spent some time yesterday looking at inks. Several of those blues you posted are ones I will likely want to try. If I had to pick one from those examples it would be the diamine blue black. I think grey's will also be on my list of trys.

Two that I am curious about are the Colorverse Stars & Stripes and Colorverse Stars & Stripes Glistening on the Goulet site.

I will also try out many styles of paper.

I think today the hook was fully set. I was writing with the bold caligraphy nib on some at a glance paper. The nib wouldn't flow properly. I narrowed it down to user error. When I got things write, it all just flowed. After about 30 minutes of good and bad, I had a meeting and reverted to my unibal 207. It was super scratchy and that is the first time I have felt a uniball product was scratchy. They have always flowed well for me.

So, chances are, another addict has been created. I can follow the ink and paper variances, but I am still puzzled by the pens. I am sure I will get a better understanding as I journey through the process. I'll probably have a pen box after all... time will tell.

You guys knew this would happen didn't you?

Will look into it more. What they call glistening, I think, is shimmer AKA glitter.

Such inks should really be confined to cheap pens, which are easy to clean. I use a Herbin Emerald ink for Christmas, which is green and red with gold glitter, but only in my Pilot parallel.

The non glistening looks similar to the Oster ink. Better paper, specially Tomoe River, will bring out sheening more.

OP, not that I want to encourage too ,ugh OCD, but what is your profession?

You may like an ink, linked to it. I like to rotate my colors with the flavors of the season.

When I do lawyering stuff, I use a green-black permanent ink I tried to blend, very closely, to the color of money.

quote:

Originally posted by ffips:
bald1, one of your pen holders looks like a cigar holder.


So, chances are, another addict has been created. I can follow the ink and paper variances, but I am still puzzled by the pens. I am sure I will get a better understanding as I journey through the process. I'll probably have a pen box after all... time will tell.

You guys knew this would happen didn't you?

I think you're referring to that 3 pen open case with the wood top. It is a Levenger model from years and years ago.

The fact that you started this thread and asked the questions you asked was a pretty good indicator. LOL

quote:

Originally posted by ffips:
I am curious about the ... Colorverse Stars & Stripes Glistening on the Goulet site.

As for the shimmering or glistening inks, they have a particulate suspension with which to achieve that look. The only one I've ever tried is J. Herbin 1670 Caroube de Chypre which I still have. Fun but definitely not for everyday use. Addressing a very special card or writing notes inside it is what I restrict it too. And then instead of loading my pen's converter, I simply dip the nib to write with it.
This review has some great images of the ink color and effect: http://www.clumsypenman.com/in...n-caroube-de-chypre/
As Aglifter mentioned, such inks require care as they can easily cause problems with pen feed mechanisms.

Blunt needles are pretty handy too.

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:

As for the shimmering or glistening inks, they have a particulate suspension with which to achieve that look. The only one I've ever tried is J. Herbin 1670 Caroube de Chypre which I still have. Fun but definitely not for everyday use. Addressing a card or writing notes inside a card is what I restrict it too.

I have all of the J. Herbin 1670 metallic inks. My favorites are the Emeraude de Chivor (green) and Rouge Hematite (red). All of mine are the first run in the old bottles...ink lasts a long time, eh?

The problem with 'shimmering' inks like the Herbin 1670 is, as bald1 points out, the suspended metallic particles. They clog the s**t out of feeds. For this reason, I have a dedicated Twsbi 700 Vac for those inks.

They really do add a lot of style and panache to note cards and Thank Yous, though. So it's worth the PITA to clean the Twsbi out when I change inks.

It's a different effect than the shimmer inks, but with a wet pen/ink combination (lots of ink flow) on paper that does not fully absorb all the ink, you can get an interesting color variation effect - parts of the strokes where not as much ink is laid down are lighter and where more is, some ink dries on top of the paper and it is darker.

I wrote this with a wet Visconti pen on Rhodia paper (not very absorbent). Noodler's inks have a reputation for generally being wet as well.



The line width variation is because it is a medium nib ground italic (basically flattened into a chisel/highlighter shape instead of the typical ball shape).