Fountain pen - recommendations
- Thread starter HackneyE9
- Start date
Cid
Proper break this time
Nothing like gifts with a lot of thought and effort put into them, not just something nice you could buy.
'Top 100' though?
Athos
Well-Known Member
Cool. I love Rhodia. I'm seeing my sister-in-law today, so should beon the receiving end of five A4+ Rhodia R pads.
Athos
Well-Known Member
Nice. Any pics?
Athos
Well-Known Member
I love Edelstein. The Topz is one of my favourites.
Callum91
Let them eat cock
I've got 5 now (Ruby, Amber and Mandarin are the others) and the quality of the ink is lovely. The Ruby one could do with being a shade or three darker but that's just me.
High Voltage
In the top 97% of Urban's most interesting posters
Yeah, thinned it out a bit recently!
I didn't like to ask about what happened to the rest
"Thinned" is a good word
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
Took this on my phone, so it's a bit harsh. It's actually deep metallic red, not orangey-red!
"Under the bonnet" there's a black fine-tip Schmidt "Parker-type" ballpen refill, which impressed me, as Schmidt-branded refills tend to eat into profit margins!
SikhWarrioR
And the Worms ate into his brain
My Waterman Pen does me fine and i have the parts to use it as a cartridge or fountain pen And also have a matching rollerball pen to go with it
Athos
Well-Known Member
Took this on my phone, so it's a bit harsh. It's actually deep metallic red, not orangey-red!
"Under the bonnet" there's a black fine-tip Schmidt "Parker-type" ballpen refill, which impressed me, as Schmidt-branded refills tend to eat into profit margins!
Nice.
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wobbly
I'd like a recommendation please. I've been an ebay hero 832 pens as my day to day notetaker, which i believe is a knock off sheafer 100. it's quite thick and quite heavy. but it's broken, expected for a cheap ebay pen, but I'm looking for a replacement. the obvious for similar but better would be the scheafer, but although I can find the med nib pens for about 16 on ebay us, I'm looking at 35 for a fine nib, which is what i want to use. and although I'd go for the 16 quid price, and probably a bit higher, i can't justify 35 quid on a pen atm.
so yes, any recomends on something that might last a little longer than the cheap hero, that is fat and heavy and chunky, fine nib and within a student budget?
so yes, any recomends on something that might last a little longer than the cheap hero, that is fat and heavy and chunky, fine nib and within a student budget?
Athos
Well-Known Member
I'd recommend something like a vintage Sheaffer 440 (ideally 'NOS' - new old stock). They're very similar to the more expensive Imperial models, but less pricy. And a good girth plus a reasonable heft. Also, whilst it's a reliable workhorse, it's a class above any contemporary pen at the price point, in terms of styling and build - especially the nibs which are smooth with a little 'give.' The thing is, you'd do well to get one for much less than £35; the cheapest I could find is £27+p&p, here:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sheaffer-...561?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c656ac6d9
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FridgeMagnet
Administrator
toggle Take a look at the Indian pens mentioned earlier in this thread - they're cheap and reliable and chunky and usually come with fine nibs. The only ones I can remember off hand are the Wality ones on Andy's Pens http://www.andys-pens.co.uk/wality.shtml but there are other sites mentioned, I'll need to take a look.
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wobbly
Athos that is a beautiful pen. I don't think I can quite justify spending that much at the moment though. I shall seriously consider trasting myself a bit if (when, dammit, when) my phd funding happens.
FridgeMagnet looking more like a student budget pen, although the styling may give me the irristable urge to order repeatedly.
that does look astoundingly like someone's also been designing miniature models for a low budget cold war movie and repurposed them as a pen. I think i'm most tempted by the green or purple clear ones though.
in the meantime, i'm using the one with the broken but inside as a dip pen. I can get about half a page every dip, which is fine on my desk,.
and this as an inkwell. I'm much happier with this than trying to use ink straight out of the light plastic diamine bottles.
which cost me the student budget breaking price of 1.50 in a local charity shop
FridgeMagnet looking more like a student budget pen, although the styling may give me the irristable urge to order repeatedly.
that does look astoundingly like someone's also been designing miniature models for a low budget cold war movie and repurposed them as a pen. I think i'm most tempted by the green or purple clear ones though.
in the meantime, i'm using the one with the broken but inside as a dip pen. I can get about half a page every dip, which is fine on my desk,.
and this as an inkwell. I'm much happier with this than trying to use ink straight out of the light plastic diamine bottles.
which cost me the student budget breaking price of 1.50 in a local charity shop
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FridgeMagnet
Administrator
Oh yeah, this is the specialist site - http://www.fountainpenrevolution.com - a lot more options there. The styling tends to remain similar.
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wobbly
Cid
Proper break this time
You could try a Kaweco classic sport... Not used one myself, but think a few people rated them somewhere in the early stages of this thread. Cheap, fine/extra-fine available and chunky, but plastic and light (apparently).
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
Their customer service is pretty good, too. I've ordered from them several times, and the order is usually here in 7 days.
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
I really feel like ordering some Indian pens now - something with really extravagant coloured swirls.
I still have the Varuna Gajendra (not coloured but utterly extravagant size) but it seems to leak and burp a lot now. It didn't previously so I'm not sure what the problem is. I might try giving it a good re-grease and a refill.
I still have the Varuna Gajendra (not coloured but utterly extravagant size) but it seems to leak and burp a lot now. It didn't previously so I'm not sure what the problem is. I might try giving it a good re-grease and a refill.
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wobbly
light is a problem.
what got me back into fountain pens was finding something on a discount stand in smiths that felt far far too good for what i paid for it, something like 2 quid. it turned out to be a rotring freeway, that should have set me back at least 20. but ti's a monster of a weight, even heavier than the hero pen i recently broke, not by much, but definitely heavier. I can't feel a weight difference between it and my ecig that is around 40g. the only problems is it has a M nib and is a little too narrow a grip. so writing more than a page or 2 and i have hand cramp. and I could work until my brains dribbled out my ears with the hero, and that is really unusual for me.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
The good thing with most of the pens on the Fountain Pen Revolution website is that they're eyedropper-filled, so even if the pen itself isn't that heavy, you have the weight of the entire body filled with ink, once you've loaded it.
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
I'm enjoying my Parson"s Essential, even though I need both hands to pick it up, and the nib isn't nearly as italic as I hoped it would be.
Also, in my job, I'm often holding a pen, ready to write, for quite a while in between scribblings, and my (Lamy blue-black) ink tends to dry on the nib, so I end up with a blue-black tongue from licking it to start it again!
Are there inks which dry slower?
Also, in my job, I'm often holding a pen, ready to write, for quite a while in between scribblings, and my (Lamy blue-black) ink tends to dry on the nib, so I end up with a blue-black tongue from licking it to start it again!
Are there inks which dry slower?
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
I wouldn't lick Lamy Blue-Black! It's an "iron gall" ink which do dry quickly, that's one of the reasons I like them. However, nore conventional water-based inks like, well, most of them - other Lamy inks, standard Parker ones, Diamine, J Herbin, lots - will dry slower.
At the extreme end, some of the Noodler's inks can take a minute or more to dry. I dilute these with water which makes them more usable.
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
The Kuru-Toga pencil is good - it's quite cheap and also has a system which revolves the lead every time you press on the paper, so it doesn't wear down on one side. It even has a little window so you can see it revolving.
Otherwise I use clutch pencils personally, which have fat 2mm leads that don't break and are way easier to change.
Otherwise I use clutch pencils personally, which have fat 2mm leads that don't break and are way easier to change.
