We're back! Topics appropriate for discussion:
-cleaning agents
-filling systems
-nib & pen materials
-tip design
-ink composition
-feed design
-pen design
Resources:
Evolution of the fountain pen:
richardspens.com
How it works:
explainthatstuff.com
Filling systems:
richardspens.com
How to use a fountain pen:
youtube.com
Common mistakes:
youtube.com
Information on nibs:
en.wikipedia.org
Cursive styles:
writeanalog.com
As always, feel free to show off your pen!
I was into fountain pens at one point but I changed my preference to ball points. I just ordered 12 for $10 from amazon - made of steel, from Japan.
Well.. ball points are definitely more practical, but it's nice being able to pick out inks, and fountain pens create a more consistent line imo.
Some papers will really draw out the water based ink too much though. I don't see how anyone uses broad nibs.
I got a pilot Cavalier what do
What's the chink shit trifecta for pens, ink, paper?
The Wing Sung 618 seems to be a solid Chinese pen, an "homage" to the Parker 51. I don't know about any Chinese ink so I would just go with a 350ml bottle of Pilot Blue Ink (not the fancier and more expensive Iroshizuku line) and with paper I guess any 100gsm grade paper will be enough.
Would anyone like to trade hand written notes? I have some time and mediocre handwriting.
I have small collection. Few no names, black lamy all star, monteverde invincia red, parker im (nice pen, but hole in cap makes it dry FAST), and my beloved twisbi eco.
Ink collection - diamine : black quartz, red dragon, midnight, teal, royal purple (or vas it imperial purple?)
I find 70gsm paper holds ink better with medium nibs. Also I feel like a less granulated finish is better for fountain pens, and more important than gsm
you mean letters?
I think he meant hand written emails. This is Sup Forums after all.
but emails are also hand written?
we're in a pen thread, so i meant pen and paper notes. we've had people post replies like this in these threads before to show penmanship, nibs, inks, and so on.
i wouldn't mind writing letters too though, it'd give me a good excuse to keep experimenting with different paper and ink.
Showing off my pens!
From left to right we have:
Rotring Rive
My father's waterman (I don't know the model)
My father's Parker (I don't know the model)
My mother's Parker vector
My mother's pelinkan (don't know the model)
A meme €0.70 chink hero 616
I picked up the hobby last month, I cleaned all of them besides the vector, which is too hard to take apart.
I'm currently using the unknown Parker as a daily writer at University and I love it. I also bring the meme 616 just to have a backup. I'm currently waiting for a jinhao x750.
Is any of you able to recognize those three pens?
I've also made a wooden feed based on the waterman feed. It's been an interesting project.
It works both with and without the nib. Using it without the nib feels like writing with a sharpie.
Your fathers parker looks to be a parker 45.
This is my fountain pen collection over a year and a bit. From left to right:
Montblanc 145 (new style classique)
sailor tagayasan wood pro-gear
Sheaffer targa 1003 (pre 1989)
Platinum #3776 chartres blue
My grandfathers cross century II fountain pen and pencil
Kaweco chess sport
Nice collection, enjoying the aesthetic you have going. Do you have any writing samples?
very nice
The montblanc medium isn't the best, it's skippy and dry so I'll probably get it ground down to a fine italic or needlepoint by masuyama. The kaweco is not currently inked since I've ran out of cartridges.
Ink:
Blue = sailor souten
Brown = MB toffee brown
Green = MB Irish green
Paper:
Rhodia ice no 18
Need recommendations. I've been using Pilot Precise Roller Balls since forever. Wondering if there's a step up that isn't a fountain pen. I'm not a pen aficionado so I don't really know the vernacular for pens. I have huge hands with long fingers and get writer's cramps a lot if I have to use any amount of force. Never had a problem with ink bleeding onto/through the paper.
Just ordered my first non disposable pen, did I do good anons?
I use Rapid Pro mechanical pencils out of the house for drawing due to their retractable lead sleeves. No idea what the ballpoint is like but I can tell you the body will be solid.
How are pens technology when only dinosaurs use them?
I havent used pen + paper in over 2 years. Everything I do is digital.
Pens are obviously niche technology, probably dont belong on this board desu.
That's good, the main reason I switched from BIC pens is that I just want to carry it everywhere and not have it break and crack after a couple weeks
>BiC
You're going to be shocked by the weight.
Will it take long to get used to do you think? I could probably do with writing a bit more slowly anyways.
What paper does the majority of people here use? I've been using rhodia for the past year and i haven't been using any other type since, how does rhodia compare to famous brands such as tomoe river, clairefontaine and any other FP friendly paper?
I absolutely love the idea behind retractable nib fountain pens. Has anyone got one?
Some local stuff that holds up really well all things considered. Only the featheriest and bleedy of my inks seem to do a job on it, that or the ultra wet pel m800 italic broad or the montblanc 149 OBBB nib, or anything flexy.
Rhodia is an odd one. I know that it's touted as the standard for great paper, and it is very good, but as with all things in regards to liquid inks and nibs, your own results may vary. Sometimes it's too smooth for its own good. Sometimes I find shit that causes even rhodia to feather and bleed. Still, better than 99% of ordinary paper (ie. not artist paper, cardstock or cotton pulp) out there. Relatively costly, but if you can't find a suitable local alternative (like I have), it'll do you fine. Rho and clairfontaine are the same french paper mill, so I don't recall there being much of a difference between the two.
Tomoe River is something truly special. I believe it was originally created as a catalog paper for some japanese firm.
It's very, very thin. So thin that it crinkles easily. However, that's a small trade off considering its properties. It's smooth, yes, but unlike with rho for example, I've had misbehaving nibs (with babies bottom or other ailments I've not properly diagnosed) perform *good* on TR whereas on rho they skipped and hard started.
Additionally, it's very fucking hard to get bleedthrough or feathering; you really have to use something heinous. Show-through, "ghosting" or "echo", yes of course; it's that thin. I've had some custom journals bound in tomoe; allows for a buttload of pages for the same approximate size and weight compared with other paper. Double the pages, in fact. (one spanish, one japanese bookbinder -very pleased). If your inks are prone to sheen or shading, and you're into that shit, TR will sure make them sheen and shade.
Heinous ink was one of the last bottles of Noodler's Singapore special series: Majestic Orange. When something feathers and bleeds on TR, you know it's horrid stuff.
Also, I'll just recommend that TR paper not be used for large looseleaf; it'll crinkle. It's best used on a smaller pad or an A5 sized notebook to be honest.
There is a heavier weight TR paper that's also really quite nice that's only now making the rounds in the market; few takers at the moment though, as normal TR is already expensive so this thicker, heavier kind will be even more so. Not much for sheening, this heavier grade, but it doesn't crinkle like its lighter cousin.
Every year lamy goes on sale in my country a couple of times. And every year I look at that dialog three but never purchase. I don't know if it was an old issue that's now been corrected (I recall reading something to that effect), but it was prone to dryouts, which is of course unacceptable. They might have fixed it, though.
I dunno if the pilot capless also suffers from dryouts. Regardless, both the diaglog 3 and the capless I've found to be rather uncomfortable to hold. It's a weight thing, and a a clip issue; I can't seem to get a comfy grip. Try to get a feel in had before ordering, if you can. The weight might surprise you.
Pilot used to make a thinner version of the capless, called the femto, or fermo or something (or was it decimo?). Maybe that'd be something to investigate? It might've had a drawback like not being able to use a converter or someshit, that stopped me from buying one years ago. I can't remember this shit anymore.
Surprisingly shit handwriting for someone with a decent collection
>she writes on top of a soft surface
Enjoy your botnet
post your own
I can understand the /mkb/ meme because it's not really a meme (typing with a mech keyboard right now) but fountain pains are a fucking meme, it's slow, fragile and you must change the ink cartridge every fucking week. It's ok to have one if you are a rich and if you want to sign some papers but if you use this for everyday life you probably wear also a fedora like a fucking autistic, you are a living meme.
And please stop writing cursive, that's disgusting, especially for /sci/ related works.
Thanks for the info. I'm not really into buying a particular brand, I'm just in love with the engineering behind a retractable fountain pen. Maybe one day I'll be serious about it and I'll get one... Hopefully
Pilot V5 is godtier and cheap to pick up at the local store
It is intriguing. It's something that Pilot's been working on for like 80 years or something. I for one ultimately don't like something that would be hard for myself to maintain in the advent the company somehow went under, and I've never taken apart one of these things to find out. That leaves me with piston filler from the usual suspects; just replace the seal in 20years (or more, if I've taken care of it) and away we go. I don't know if the internals of a dialog 3 or capless require lubrication or replacement springs or someshit.
There's a chinese copy of the montblanc heritage pseudo-safety filler that's about 60 bucks? (I think). It has a retractable nib. But it also has a cap, and like the MB it's copying, is kinda stupid and redundant, since it's not a real safety filler (like the recently released noodler's boston safety).
But, it's retractable, for what it's worth, and the cheapest one mentioned yet until the chinois manage to create a cheapo copy of pilot's capless.
Tomoe River is my favorite paper for letters and projects, it's thin and delicate but really makes your inks shine. I also love the crinkling sounds I get if I write something particularly condensed. For the rare occasion I need to take notes or write a memo I'll use rice paper.
Lovely handwork user, would write letters to/10. I'm really enjoying the toffee ink too. Do you have a favorite of the bunch?
I wanted to write something properly in return, but the only fountain pen I have with me at work has a broader nib that makes my normal handwriting look sloppy.
It's not our fault you amerishits can't read cursive
nt but i'm not a burger
My favourite combo currently is my sailor and Mb toffee brown.
Daily remind vanishing point is the most practical pen you can ever own
>be me
>watch vidrelated
>tfw handwriting is shit and will never get any better, let alone become calligraphy-tier
What can be done? In the previous thread an user suggested to copy someone's handwriting from notes.
There's also the other issue that I bought 2 identical 10-15$ cartridge pens and they are identical in all properties, but writing and numbers on the feed.
>The one with the number 5 writes with little to no pressure applied to it, but the line is too thick, noticeably thicker than ballpoint pens'. It also begins the lines with very dark colors, making basically all ink look black, until about 15cm is drawn with it, after which it starts being consistent with the color intensity. Its point is more round-ish, too. Writing in flipped position is really thin, but scratchy.
>The pen with number 1 seems to draw thinner lines in general, but it does not always begin to do as soon as the nib touches the paper, because of which every 5th word's 1st letter is always incomplete and requires this annoying correction. After a 20cm line you either have to hold it in a very exact position or apply pressure, though it had not made a single unwanted stain anywhere yet. The nib's tip is like the №5's, but flatter and is much smoother at the upside-down writing, though the line is thicker than №5's thin line.
What if the number = ink dispensing speed? What can be done about the pens and what is (most) unnormal about the properties that I've described here?
Post a photo so we can help you identify. Stock photos are fine. Have you cleaned your pens before using them?
I think other user's advice to practice through copying is the best you'll get. I think of it like drawing, something you need to practice a lot to get better at.
>1st point
You don't need pressure to write with a fountain pen so it seems this one is working perfectly. Are you storing it nib facing downwards? That could explain the juicy ink writing at the start.
>2nd point
That means there's something wrong with the nib itself, maybe it has baby's bottom or the tines are too close to each other
My favourite writing pen is the G2 05 but Im not a huge fan of the plastic pen itself.
Are there more substantial pens that the G2 refill will go into? Preferably metallic.
pen - luxor iridium point (Not sure if that was the name, but it says so on the nib)
>Have you cleaned your pens before using them?
The #5 one, I guess yes, with regular water. The #1 - no. Any recommendations on cleaning?
>Are you storing it nib facing downwards?
Not always, even if it lays perfectly horizontally on the table, that might still occur. But I'm not sure, though storing it upwards seems to make the thickness effect weaker, especially with the cartridge having less ink left.
Could you please post a writing sample or a short review? I'm pretty tempted to buy it
Oh it's chink shit, with their abysmal QA it's a lottery to get a working pen without any problems.
Wash both of them with soapy water. Might wanna disassemble nibs from feeds first, most of them are only friction fit, so it shouldn't be difficult.
Recommend me a ball point pen to use everyday. Whichever gets smooth lines without skipping too much
Probably not. My penmanship improves drastically with a weighty pen.
...
Is notebook advance technology good? What would it be most similar to? Just bought a travellers notebook with lightweight refills since i remember hearing its comparable to tomoe river
*Quality not technology
It's nice. It has thick paper. Ink doesn't bleed through at all, but also it absorbs kind of slowly, so it's easy to smudge immediately after writing on it.
>ran faucet over text for a couple of seconds
Basic Pilot fountain pen here. I like it because I tend to get really tense when I'm writing and I actually fuck my shoulder up. Using FP helps remind me to relax and write in a more flowing manner. I also like using ink from a bottle and not producing trash in the form of disposable pens to go in the landfill.
The Pilot pen is pretty nice, I have no complaints with the way it writes. I wish the reservoir was twice as big though, I run out of ink every 2 - 3 pages of writing.