FridgeMagnet
Administrator
Which Sailor one?
Fountain pen - recommendations
- Thread starter HackneyE9
- Start date
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
The Sailor steel nibs are pretty good in my experience - I have a couple of the ProColors, and I can't tell the difference between their nibs and the Sapporo that I have (the construction of the Sapporo is better though).
Athos
Well-Known Member
I just ordered one of these:
http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Kaweco-Classic-Sport-Fountain-Pen.html
http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Kaweco-Classic-Sport-Fountain-Pen.html
Maurice Picarda
Actually, might as well flounce.
When do you fountain pen people use your toys? I take notes in meetings, and I think that's the only time I ever write with a pen. Do you send handwritten billets doux, just to have an opportunity to try out a new nib? Do you keep personal journals (and if so, wouldn't it be more sensible to store them online, safe from fire and flood?)?
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
VP is very keen on those. I have one as my standard pocket pen - it's incredibly tough. The only trouble is that it only takes cartridges (unless you use it as an ED which would be... potentially disastrous as a pocket pen).
I also have one of the original 1953 models, which looks even nicer, has a semi-flex gold stub nib and is a piston-filler, but is a "lady" pen and so small that I find it a bit hard to write with.
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
I do keep a journal, but I'm not terribly concerned about the details of my hangover or what's on the radio being preserved for eternity; I review it every now and then, and type up/scan any ideas or pictures etc in it that are worth keeping at all. I have a pocket pad that I use mostly for shopping lists, but occasional other notes, with a pen. I write lists and drafts and mindmaps and flowcharts with pens, but again they usually get copied up somewhere.
There's a fairly significant stationery subculture amongst computer types, I think perhaps because
(a) they were often the sort of geeks at school who loved coloured pens and stickers and notebooks;
(b) fountain pens are good general gadgets, in that they're small and complex (but not over-complex) and come in lots of varieties;
(b) they spend so much time using computers that it spurs an analogue reaction, partly just to save the eyes. There are other examples of this, like "Maker culture" which is more like hipster DIY.
Athos
Well-Known Member
Apparently, the Monteverde mini-converters fit, so I've ordered one of them, too.
Athos
Well-Known Member
Take notes, annotate texts, write letters, and keep a pocket book (tiny Quo Vadis Habana), and a journal. In fact, I just ordered one of these (in burgundy) - http://www.penheaven.co.uk/sorrento-large-leather-journal/p1283 - with my name and the start date embossed on the cover (naff, I know).
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
Well, if it works, let us know - I've seen some conflicting reports.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
I had to use a bit of PTFE tape to get a good fit between the converter and the feed, but otherwise it works fine.
Athos
Well-Known Member
I'll either do that or make it into an eyedropper, with a bit of silicon grease.
Meltingpot
Living in our pools we soon forget about the sea
Yeah, and I also think mechanical watches are part of this. Traditional shaving too perhaps?
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
Yes, I've seen those quite heavily connected - well, shaving at least, as a lot of people don't carry any sort of watch at all whereas they do shave.
I've also seen cigarette lighters associated too.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
My last 3 watches (spanning the last 12 years) have been mechanical, and I use a safety razor, shaving brush etc for shaving.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
Currently enjoying another cheap Chinese import pen, the Pirre Paul (yes, they misspelled Pierre! 
) 929, a longitudinally ribbed steel-bodied pen with gold plate highlights, with the usual medium-ish Chinese fine nib. Very comfortable even in my hand with the cap posted. At £6 for 2 from HK, a bargain.
) 929, a longitudinally ribbed steel-bodied pen with gold plate highlights, with the usual medium-ish Chinese fine nib. Very comfortable even in my hand with the cap posted. At £6 for 2 from HK, a bargain.
Athos
Well-Known Member
ViolentPanda said:
My last 3 watches (spanning the last 12 years) have been mechanical, and I use a safety razor, shaving brush etc for shaving.
I wear a mechanical watch (a 1953 Omega 30mm - was the world's most accurate timepiece for more than a decade), and had a beautiful Dunhill Rollagas gold and silver lighter. But I can't claim to have any interest in shaving!
Athos
Well-Known Member
ViolentPanda said:Currently enjoying another cheap Chinese import pen, the Pirre Paul (yes, they misspelled Pierre!
Damn you! Had to look at these on Ebay. Didn't buy any (as I like broad nibs) but bought a couple of other pens, instead. Thankfully, they were equally cheap Chinese jobs.
Riklet
procrastinación
Hrmm considering getting a decent pen, but haven't used a fountain pen for ages, been using liquid ink/rollerball kinda pens by Pilot and the like (those 0.7 pilot pens are fucking win!) for a while, but would be good to have something refillable.
Ideas for rollerball/liquidy ink type lovers? I am pretty cheap, btw... that hero pen looks kinda cool, roughly how much n from where would one get it?
Ideas for rollerball/liquidy ink type lovers? I am pretty cheap, btw... that hero pen looks kinda cool, roughly how much n from where would one get it?
Athos
Well-Known Member
Riklet said:
A couple of quid, off ebay. Good pens for the money, but can be a bit hit-and-miss. Plus they have very fine nibs.
Maybe you could go for a Pilot Prera, a Sailor Somiko or a Lamy Safari. All under £40, and bloody good pens.
It's easy to swap nibs on the Lamy, so maybe a good place to start: try some different widths, until you work out what suits you best. They're less than £15, but not everyone likes the styling.
And don't forget to buy some good ink. The 30mm bottles from Diamine are an economical way to experiment with colours.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
Well, I've got a beard, but I still need to cut in the edges etc once in a while, and a safety razor does a smoother job than a Mach 5000 or whatever, imo.
So, besides lighters (late 1950s brass Zippo), fountain pens and shaving gear: How about pocket knife? (Opinel No. 4 here)
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
Of course, if he wants to start cautiously, there's always the Kaweco ink roller, which he could use diamine international carts in.
Athos
Well-Known Member
Snap!! I love my Opinels.
My other collections are single malts, cigars and ukuleles.
Athos
Well-Known Member
I thought he was saying that, until now he's been using rollerballs, but is keen to get a fountain pen, now.Of course, if he wants to start cautiously, there's always the Kaweco ink roller, which he could use diamine international carts in.
Meltingpot
Living in our pools we soon forget about the sea
Yes it does. I've had an operation recently, and for the time being I find a disposable multi-blade razor (oh the horror) easier to manage than a normal razor, but I hope to go back to safety razors soon. I've also got an automatic watch - a Tissot day date - as well as a Timex digital.
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
I'd probably say a Safari with an F nib and a convertor as a first step - it's fairly cheap, it's stupidly tough and reliable, you can get cartridges in Smiths in an emergency, and as mentioned you can swap the nibs around. I still carry my old yellow Safari around and use it in preference to some other much more expensive pens. Somebody who is used to quite a fat rollerball like a 0.7 would be okay with the Lamy F nib I'd say.
Some people do hate the grip though so worth trying one out in a shop.
Some people do hate the grip though so worth trying one out in a shop.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
My dad has one where the blade has been sharpened so many times over the years that it's about half of the original blade-width. The other allotmenteers are always trying to half-inch it from him.
I had a Lagouile, but I always felt guilty using it, because of the ornamentation.
Hmm, I'm mostly dry, and haven't smoked since '94, so those vices have passed me by, although I do occasionally indulge in musical instruments, even though arthritis limits my capacity to play strings any more.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
Well , he did say "Ideas for rollerball/liquidy ink type lovers?", so I thought I'd through the Kaweco in there.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
This thread is starting to look like a meeting of the Urban Fogeys' Society. 
