OMFG! (((mrs quoad and pens)))
Here's hoping they've been handed in rather than binned or pocketed.
Fountain pen - recommendations
- Thread starter HackneyE9
- Start date
Here's hoping they've been handed in rather than binned or pocketed.
Athos
Well-Known Member
Probably been handed to the conference organiser, or left at building reception.
This is what I'm hoping.
And I can't imagine there's more than a handful of rolled string Nakayas in the country. I'm tempted to keep one eye on eBay etc.
Athos
Well-Known Member
Me too. Might snaffle myself a nice little bargain!
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
Hassan I Sabha
Kick Muck !
Honesty thrives and survives in Portsmouth - Luckily for you 
RESULT!<snip>Got them!
e2a: just as I'd googled the name of every single pawnbroker in Portsmouth
Cid
Proper break this time
That's a relief...
Latest experiment for me is gilding/illumination - not too hard... Gilders tip (25mm) and gum ammoniac from scribblers came to around £15, gold leaf is bloody expensive but had some left over from something else. You paint the ammoniac to the required shape and leave it to dry, then prep the tip (brush) by wiping it on your nose/through your hair to collect grease. That lets you pick up the leaf. Huffing on the ammoniac reactivates it and you put the leaf on as quickly as you can... You then put a bit of transfer paper (the thin paper the leaf comes on) on it and burnish (rub). You can get burnishers but I just used the back of a pen. Dries very quickly and you can just rub it with you finger to get rid of excess gold (obviously saving as much as you can).
Gave away my test piece, but might do some more this weekend.
Latest experiment for me is gilding/illumination - not too hard... Gilders tip (25mm) and gum ammoniac from scribblers came to around £15, gold leaf is bloody expensive but had some left over from something else. You paint the ammoniac to the required shape and leave it to dry, then prep the tip (brush) by wiping it on your nose/through your hair to collect grease. That lets you pick up the leaf. Huffing on the ammoniac reactivates it and you put the leaf on as quickly as you can... You then put a bit of transfer paper (the thin paper the leaf comes on) on it and burnish (rub). You can get burnishers but I just used the back of a pen. Dries very quickly and you can just rub it with you finger to get rid of excess gold (obviously saving as much as you can).
Gave away my test piece, but might do some more this weekend.
High Voltage
In the top 97% of Urban's most interesting posters
Firstly, let me say . . . to loose your engagement pen . . . YOU ARE A TWAT!!!!!
Secondly, let me say . . . I am so massively glad you have had your engagement pen (and the others) returned safely
Thirdly, let me say . . . to stop this happening again, may I suggest, either having an image of YOUR FUCKING ENGAGEMENT PEN TATTOOED ONTO YOUR CHEST
Or
Slightly less extreme, the ever patient Artichoke should impale you on YOUR FUCKING ENGAGEMENT PEN
or
Buy a ring as well AND NEVER EVER EVER TAKE IT OFF - infact USE A STAPLE OR STAPLES and/or super glue
Granted, I am neither married nor engaged, however, me and my wonderful Mrs Volts have been together now happily for 10+ years and (apart from an ocean of aged cat urine - very very long story) I am fairly sure I have NOT lost many things of that significance - the only thing that approaches this major relationship disaster is UNINTENTIONALLY breaking a glass that had seen aforementioned significant other through university
This glass, it must be said, did NOT contain the ashes of S.O.s very first pet - IT WAS A GLASS and I still felt like total and utter shite - - - - - shite, however, that has been forgiven'ish
High Voltage
In the top 97% of Urban's most interesting posters
No
Suffice to say with have two aged cats, both of which produce urine (hence: aged cat urine) only one doesn't deposit "said urine" in the correct place, choosing instead one of 3 places, all of which are indoors and none of which are "appropriate" and my lovely Izz most often has the pleasure of cleaning up said mess - the other is fastidious in burying his "emissions"
Then - separate "challenge/opportunity" to our blissful relationship there was the glass issue
Both of these issues combined pale into insignificance when compared to the aforementioned engagement pens recent adventures
Got some Sailor Jentle grenadine through in the post today.
Remarkably similar to Diamine Oxblood in thin-ish lines / the fattest my Nakaya Soft EF will go. But verging more towards the mauve.
Definitely *like*
Also becoming increasingly tempted to take up the free nib reworking from Nakaya, and get it flexibilised / 'elasticated' with an increased ink flow
Remarkably similar to Diamine Oxblood in thin-ish lines / the fattest my Nakaya Soft EF will go. But verging more towards the mauve.
Definitely *like*
Also becoming increasingly tempted to take up the free nib reworking from Nakaya, and get it flexibilised / 'elasticated' with an increased ink flow
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
I haven't bought a pen in ages 
Or any ink. In fact I rarely use any ink apart from black, now.
The last one I bought was the TWSBI Vac 700 in blue - http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/showproduct.php?id=10921 - but it's a bit prone to drying out in the bag IME.
Or any ink. In fact I rarely use any ink apart from black, now.The last one I bought was the TWSBI Vac 700 in blue - http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/showproduct.php?id=10921 - but it's a bit prone to drying out in the bag IME.
Vintage Paw
dead stare and computer glare
My Lamy 2000 EF has started having problems. It stops writing after a few lines. I have to prime it again to get it working. Might be a problem with the piston, I hear it can be prone to causing a bit of a suction problem, so the ink doesn't travel down too well. Doesn't seem to be any problem with the nib. My F version still writes beautifully, but it's too broad for my tastes when note-taking (which is what I usually use my pens for).
So, I decided to look for a new note-taking pen. I considered just getting an EF nib for my Safari, but I'm not a massive fan of the design of the pen, and over extended periods the larger barrel makes my hand feel awkward. After a bit of random googling and reading around, I decided to take a punt on the Hero 616, a clone of the Parker 51. They are cheap as chips, only come with a fine nib, have a finicky aerometricish style filler, and are, apparently, made in the old Parker factory in Shanghai (which is why they look like Parkers, probably). They come well regarded, for such a stupidly cheap pen.
Well, it turns out, that there are fakes of the Hero 616's out there. Fakes of a clone, Baudrillard would roll his eyes, no doubt.
I bid on a pack of 10 on ebay. I figured it was highly likely they might be fake, but whatever. I won the auction, paid £5 for the pack, which included shipping. I figured, hey, even if they are fakes, I've got myself 10 stupidly cheap pens I can use for doodling, trying out inks, messing around, whatever. They arrived this morning. Construction quality isn't the best thing in the world, and looking at the tell-tale signs of a fake (slightly botched engraving, filler sac and lever not quite as good) I think they may, indeed, be fakes, but I'm finding it really hard to tell for sure. Thing is, I inked one up (with Diamine China Blue) and it writes like a thing of great beauty.
The F nib is about the same width as my Lamy EF, and probably a touch wetter. And get this, I turned it over to write upside down - which I always do when testing a new pen, just, well, why not? It writes smoother upside down than any other I've tried. So really, I've got 2 pens in one - a really quite smooth (considering it's a steel, fine nib) and decently wet F nib, and upside down a non-scratchy, slightly drier extra-fine, and the nib (if not the barrel and filler construction) feels good and sturdy for vigorous note-taking.
I'm tempted to get a 'real' Hero 616 from a reputable seller to compare them, but tbh, I can't imagine it writing much better than this, other than being a touch drier (because this could be described as just the slightest bit too wet, but I'm perfectly okay with that).
All in all, I'm satisfied. As long as they don't start leaking atrociously, these are probably going to be nice little note-taking workhorses.
Apols for the ebay details on this pic, it's the clearest I could find online:
So, I decided to look for a new note-taking pen. I considered just getting an EF nib for my Safari, but I'm not a massive fan of the design of the pen, and over extended periods the larger barrel makes my hand feel awkward. After a bit of random googling and reading around, I decided to take a punt on the Hero 616, a clone of the Parker 51. They are cheap as chips, only come with a fine nib, have a finicky aerometricish style filler, and are, apparently, made in the old Parker factory in Shanghai (which is why they look like Parkers, probably). They come well regarded, for such a stupidly cheap pen.
Well, it turns out, that there are fakes of the Hero 616's out there. Fakes of a clone, Baudrillard would roll his eyes, no doubt.
I bid on a pack of 10 on ebay. I figured it was highly likely they might be fake, but whatever. I won the auction, paid £5 for the pack, which included shipping. I figured, hey, even if they are fakes, I've got myself 10 stupidly cheap pens I can use for doodling, trying out inks, messing around, whatever. They arrived this morning. Construction quality isn't the best thing in the world, and looking at the tell-tale signs of a fake (slightly botched engraving, filler sac and lever not quite as good) I think they may, indeed, be fakes, but I'm finding it really hard to tell for sure. Thing is, I inked one up (with Diamine China Blue) and it writes like a thing of great beauty.
The F nib is about the same width as my Lamy EF, and probably a touch wetter. And get this, I turned it over to write upside down - which I always do when testing a new pen, just, well, why not? It writes smoother upside down than any other I've tried. So really, I've got 2 pens in one - a really quite smooth (considering it's a steel, fine nib) and decently wet F nib, and upside down a non-scratchy, slightly drier extra-fine, and the nib (if not the barrel and filler construction) feels good and sturdy for vigorous note-taking.
I'm tempted to get a 'real' Hero 616 from a reputable seller to compare them, but tbh, I can't imagine it writing much better than this, other than being a touch drier (because this could be described as just the slightest bit too wet, but I'm perfectly okay with that).
All in all, I'm satisfied. As long as they don't start leaking atrociously, these are probably going to be nice little note-taking workhorses.
Apols for the ebay details on this pic, it's the clearest I could find online:
Structaural
in Chatsubo
Can someone recommend a reasonable flex nibbed pen for a beginner in flex calligraphy?
I'm going to the pen shop at lunch.
I'm going to the pen shop at lunch.
Would you be at all tempted by a dip pen?
You cannot beat a Gillot 303 in an oblique nib holder, for Spencerian / calligraphic script, at least. They are stunning, stunning nibs. As in, stunning. But needlepoint -> BBBBBBB, so quite scratchy.
And, tbh, fuck all use for normal writing
IMU it's pretty damned hard to find flex-nibbed pens in shops.
But I believe Noodlers pens have a reasonably decent flex-nibbed reputation. And're now being sold by the bloke who sells Pelikan pens via nichepens.
http://www.purepens.co.uk/acatalog/Ahab-Fountain-Pens-.html
I am *very* tempted by a couple of their less expensive options.
An ebonite one, in particular.
Structaural
in Chatsubo
ooh thanks. I used to use dip pens when I first learnt calligraphy.
I've heard a bit about Noodlers.
Right printing that out..
Cheers me dears
I've heard a bit about Noodlers.
Right printing that out..
Cheers me dears
Should they ever be relevant, Mrs M found me this site for plastic oblique nib holders. Work fine for 303s.
I've also got a wood turned one from the US, which my parents got me for my birthday. It is *far* more beautiful, but - tbh - each does the job just as well.
e2a: and, tbf, it's easier to get a nib into the plastic one. The wood turned one is lovely, but the nib holder is a very, very hard-arse bit of bent brass.
Structaural
in Chatsubo
Cheers noted.
No luck in that shop (biiig stationers). Got a few others to check tomorrow, an Art store types and a technical drawing shop.
May well have to internet mail order...
No luck in that shop (biiig stationers). Got a few others to check tomorrow, an Art store types and a technical drawing shop.
May well have to internet mail order...
Structaural
in Chatsubo
Are Noodlers hard to find then?
Don't think you'll realistically find them in any shops. IMU (FM will be better on this) all the inks are blended by one fringe lunatic in the US, who has a very large shed and several tonnes of industrial surfactants.
Again IMU, the pen design and distribution system is not a million miles from the same.
I was amazed to find that there was a mainstream (rather than eBay) retailer for Noodlers pens a week or so ago (linked above). They're definitely, definitely, definitely not mainstream in any sense. Certainly not in the UK. They're full-on pen geek niche eccentricities, with occasionally catastrophic colouring and designs.
Structaural
in Chatsubo
Oh right. Tricky then. I think I'll order both pen and ink from that link.
This guy managed to put a Waterman nib into a Noodler's Creaper. But from the text above I guess flex nibs really need a quality ink...
Thanks for the info Mrs Quoad.
Erm, can't see why they wouldn't be fine with anything that flows, tbh.
I've got various Diamines and Sailor Jentles in mine atm. And've tried various others.
FM is, again, better on this. He's got, like, four billion varieties of Noodler's ink.
Some of them can be a bit *unpredictable* though, IME. I think he dilutes some of the more bonkers ones 50 / 50, or similar.
Some of them - certainly the two I have - are raw bonkers filled with surfactants. So you touch a needlepoint to the paper and, basically, every drop of ink down to the arse end of the cartridge gushes out and floods across the page. They are sickflowing inks. And hopeless on dips (and IME certainly needlepoint / EF flex) because they're gushing so damned much on the needlepoint that by the time you get to broad you're basically pissing a river of ink out of a fireman's hose.
Erm, can't see why you wouldn't be ok with a plentiful array of inks, though.
I've got various Diamines and Sailor Jentles in mine atm. And've tried various others.
FM is, again, better on this. He's got, like, four billion varieties of Noodler's ink.
Some of them can be a bit *unpredictable* though, IME. I think he dilutes some of the more bonkers ones 50 / 50, or similar.
Some of them - certainly the two I have - are raw bonkers filled with surfactants. So you touch a needlepoint to the paper and, basically, every drop of ink down to the arse end of the cartridge gushes out and floods across the page. They are sickflowing inks. And hopeless on dips (and IME certainly needlepoint / EF flex) because they're gushing so damned much on the needlepoint that by the time you get to broad you're basically pissing a river of ink out of a fireman's hose.
Erm, can't see why you wouldn't be ok with a plentiful array of inks, though.
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
Yes, I think it unlikely you'd ever casually see Noodler's ink in a shop, unless the owner had made a special order which hadn't then been sold. Supplies are quite limited over here.
The effects of flex can be seen with a number of different inks. The "flex specific" Noodler's inks are designed to exhibit what is called "shading" - a colour difference based on the amount of ink at any one point, so e.g. the tails of strokes will be lighter - but actually most traditional inks do this as well, sometimes to quite ridiculous degree, it's just that most of the rest of the Noodler's line specifically doesn't.
It all depends on what style you are going for really. Some calligraphy favours a very even ink that looks exactly the same at all points on the stroke. Others look better with a shading ink. Personally I like to write with medium or broad nibs and prefer an ink which shades a little, to make it look more interesting, but not so much that the colour differences make it hard to read... but then that's just for my handwriting, not anything proper.
The effects of flex can be seen with a number of different inks. The "flex specific" Noodler's inks are designed to exhibit what is called "shading" - a colour difference based on the amount of ink at any one point, so e.g. the tails of strokes will be lighter - but actually most traditional inks do this as well, sometimes to quite ridiculous degree, it's just that most of the rest of the Noodler's line specifically doesn't.
It all depends on what style you are going for really. Some calligraphy favours a very even ink that looks exactly the same at all points on the stroke. Others look better with a shading ink. Personally I like to write with medium or broad nibs and prefer an ink which shades a little, to make it look more interesting, but not so much that the colour differences make it hard to read... but then that's just for my handwriting, not anything proper.
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
My current standard pen, for instance, is a TWSBI with a B nib that doesn't actually flex much but works like it does, in that the nib design means that there's quite a difference between a light stroke and a heavy one, in terms of both width and amount of ink laid down. I use this with bog standard Waterman Violet (an underrated ink, but not one that's hard to get hold of).
