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Fountain pen - recommendations

I started my current run of fountain pen obsession with a Tasche iirc. They're great compact pens, I have two. The cartridge only thing is the only part I find a bit annoying, but if you don't hoard ink it's not a problem.
 
I have scented ink from Venice :cool: Going to try it in the Tasche to make sure it doesn't clog up, before it goes in the Mont Blanc I use for letters of lurve.
 
hmmm. there's a parker 51 going on ebay for ridiculoso price.

as far as i can tell, it's because of a really shit photo. should i?
 
baldrick said:
hmmm. i just bought an Ohto Tasche, with one of the Diamine mixed cartridge selections plus some in Teal becase i thought that colour looked rather pretty.

No idea when I will use it, Pilot V5 0.5 pens are my usual style - i buy my own for work because I can't bear the cheapo biros in the stationery cupboard.

Only comes in a Medium nib though, and I was tempted with a Lamy safari in an F as I do prefer a thinner sort of line but I preferred the looks of the Ohto so I let that sway me.
Click to expand...

The Lamy fine is pretty much a medium, to be honest.
 
baldrick said:
hmmm. there's a parker 51 going on ebay for ridiculoso price.

as far as i can tell, it's because of a really shit photo. should i?
Click to expand...

How ridiculous? Could be a Chinese copy
 
ah! disaster averted then.

how do you tell whether it is a copy? was slightly worn and the seller insisted it was 1950s. i didn't win it in the end, pipped at the post for £27.
 
baldrick said:
ah! disaster averted then.

how do you tell whether it is a copy? was slightly worn and the seller insisted it was 1950s. i didn't win it in the end, pipped at the post for £27.
Click to expand...

Without having it in your hands it would be hard to tell. To be fair, some of the Hero pens are pretty good.
 
You'd be able to tell by the nib - the Chinese ones are generally fairly straight steel rather than the two-tone, tipped gold of the 51. Unless somebody has actually gone to the trouble of faking a 51 rather than claiming one of the Chinese 51-ish pens is actually a 51, the filler will be different too; you need to see photos of that anyway if you're considering buying it, to check what condition it is in and where it comes from - the engraving on it can give a clue there. (51s have a heavy metal filler case and press bar, whereas the Chinese ones have much thinner metal which usually has Chinese on it.)

I've not heard of people trying to seriously pass off Chinese pens as P51s, though I imagine there are some. There _are_, however, a lot of fake Hero pens around apparently. Why you would want to fake a Hero 616 I don't know but it seems people do.
 
Athos said:
. . . What pens are you getting next? . . .
Click to expand...

Well, having had my car written off just before Christmas, any "spare" funds have been severely depleted - so at the moment all I'm doing is Web Shopping - like Window Shopping but even more frustrating

I do like the look of the Sailor 1911 - yes, I know it is very, very similar to the 3776 - in fact almost identical



Then there's the Sailor King of Pens

kingofpens_1.jpg


But at the thick end of £800 for a pen - ouch!

Do you notice a bit of a theme developing in the pens that I like?
 
I've got a blueberry EF Sapporo (sp.?)

By far my favourite & most-used pen.

(Followed by the distinctly expendable Platinum Carbon)
 
Athos said:
Without having it in your hands it would be hard to tell. To be fair, some of the Hero pens are pretty good.
Click to expand...
to be honest i don't really know what i'm looking for, so perhaps it's as well I didn't win it.

i'm not sure the seller knew what they had - they didn't put "51" in the title, only in the longer description so if you were specifically searching for that type you wouldn't have found it.
 
Hmmmm! just been on Andy's Pens and had a look at the Sailor Sapporo - yep! that would fit in nicely, definitely unsure about the EF nib though - IF I get another pen then Japanese Medium seems a good thickness

What weight is your Sapporo then? the 3776 is right at the light end of light for me, I prefer something with a bit more heft
 
I've heard of a few pens with 51 in the title, and just one or two photos which don't show the nib or the filler unit. And they've turned out to be Heros, rather than Parker 51s. Seems like a genuine attempt to deceive, to me.
 
Athos said:
I've heard of a few pens with 51 in the title, and just one or two photos which don't show the nib or the filler unit. And they've turned out to be Heros, rather than Parker 51s. Seems like a genuine attempt to deceive, to me.
Click to expand...
but it wasn't in the title. the pics were shit to be fair, whether that is because they had summat to hide or they were just inept i dunno, but the seller's other items are also fairly random ancient/vintage stuff so i'd be inclined to think it was genuine. no matter anyway. i have now turned my attentions to tweed jackets, which i am also failing to win :D
 
High Voltage said:
Hmmmm! just been on Andy's Pens and had a look at the Sailor Sapporo - yep! that would fit in nicely, definitely unsure about the EF nib though - IF I get another pen then Japanese Medium seems a good thickness

What weight is your Sapporo then? the 3776 is right at the light end of light for me, I prefer something with a bit more heft
Click to expand...
I NOW like the weight. Initially, I thought it felt a bit plastic.

Also - it was Andy's who allowed me to have a blueberry with the EF. Apparently Sailor only like vendors to sell M nibs on coloured barrel pens, and you're only allowed EFs / Fs / etc on the black ones. ffs.

But Andy's were awesome.

e2a: actually, no, it was The Writing Desk who were awesome. I tried repeatedly to order from Andy's Pens but Andy was a bit hopeless wrt stock. So after paying, and waiting a day or three, I got an email saying 'ummm.... no stock for the next 2 or 3 months.'

So I went to The Writing Desk instead, who were ace.
 
Nadgers.

This thread's just got me realising that I've lost my Lamy 2000. Probably whilst treating it as my 'most disliked / most expendable' posh pen.

e2a: oh, found it :facepalm:

In the Sailor's box, ffs. I guess I meant to take it somewhere whilst keeping it safe, then decided against :facepalm:
 
ok, so my tasche has arrived, i've put a cartridge in and not much is happening. it's not drawing ink very well.

i've tried blotting it, gentle writing, shaking and leaving it nib down while i cooked my tea. i've even taken the cartridge out and put it back in again just to check it was fully in.

not v impressed atm, but then it's been so long since i've had a functional fountain pen i've probably forgotten all the tricks.
 
Rub cartridge briskly between hands for about a minute. It should warm the ink up enough for it to flow more smoothly.
 
baldrick said:
ok, so my tasche has arrived, i've put a cartridge in and not much is happening. it's not drawing ink very well.

i've tried blotting it, gentle writing, shaking and leaving it nib down while i cooked my tea. i've even taken the cartridge out and put it back in again just to check it was fully in.

not v impressed atm, but then it's been so long since i've had a functional fountain pen i've probably forgotten all the tricks.
Click to expand...

Flush the pen through with some warm water with a tiny amount of washing up liquid, then flush thoroughly with lots of cold water.
 
baldrick said:
what is the purpose of the washing up liquid?
Click to expand...
It helps dissolve any gunk that might be in there still from the factory, and helps lubricate the innards a bit, but if you leave any noticeable amount in there afterwards it will write ridiculously wetly, hence the flushing.

Once it's had some ink through it it should be fine, but new pens often need a good wash out.
 
no, i'm guessing by your question i should have though? never mind, i will try again tomorrow without the foolish errors of the fountain pen amateur.
 
baldrick said:
no, i'm guessing by your question i should have though? never mind, i will try again tomorrow without the foolish errors of the fountain pen amateur.
Click to expand...
Well, if you leave it full of water you're just going to get water out. Shaking it dry and soaking water through the nib with some kitchen towel is usually okay. Or for that matter leaving it overnight.
 
DSCF4687.jpg

Found my pen, thought the ex had nicked it, but it turned up in a box of stuff I went through last week. Last time it was used was probably about 18 years ago. I was using it daily when i was doing a levels, but i cannot remember having used it since. and certainly not in the last 10 years.

i'd suspect it could do with a bit of TLC before I use it again.
 
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