Fountain pen - recommendations
- Thread starter HackneyE9
- Start date
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
You should have that tomorrow then. Almost instant gratification. Oxblood is a delicious colour by the way (the jet black is sort of not all that black IMO).
It was one of the few they didn't have a colour swatch for, but one of the few that sounded like something I could actually see myself annotating with
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
I have a scan of it in comparison to some other reds.
http://www.fridgemagnet.org.uk/uploads/red-inks.jpg (about a meg)
http://www.fridgemagnet.org.uk/uploads/red-inks.jpg (about a meg)
fen_boy
Exits gracefully.
I too have recently become interested in fountain pens. I got a Waterman Expert II for my birthday. Have since picked up a Lamy Safari and I've got my eye on the Pilot Capless. Also possibly the left hand version of the Pelikan Pelicano. I've not really noticed being left handed as a problem with fountain pens, but I'm told it can be.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
Ooh, this lad is ambitious!
I've been told that l/h pens make it less likely that you get writer's cramp, because you're not as likely to "crab" your hand to keep your hand and cuff clear of what you've just written. Pelikanos are really comfy to write with, too.
I approve of the Lamy 2000. Not entirely, 400% smooth, but tbh the line is outstandingly smooth / consistent and it's just a TINY bit of rub that's coming through. Perhaps it's the surface of the paper, jolting through my wrist. Meh
Lots, lots fatter than the Graphgear 1000, but tbh it's a lot smoother / more fluid too. No blotches.
I'm also glad that I got the 'free' Safari with it, because it's a fantastic reminder of just what I'm NOT getting It's the most acute reminder I've had of being back at school. Phat, phat, phat lines - like daubing a mop over a sheet of paper - with a line that regularly gives up or disappears for a bit.
The triangular grip, too. Christ almighty. We didn't have them, back in the day, thank goodness It's like wearing training wheels for how-to-hold-a-pen
And it's as ugly as a horse's arse, too.
Lots, lots fatter than the Graphgear 1000, but tbh it's a lot smoother / more fluid too. No blotches.
I'm also glad that I got the 'free' Safari with it, because it's a fantastic reminder of just what I'm NOT getting
It's the most acute reminder I've had of being back at school. Phat, phat, phat lines - like daubing a mop over a sheet of paper - with a line that regularly gives up or disappears for a bit.The triangular grip, too. Christ almighty. We didn't have them, back in the day, thank goodness
It's like wearing training wheels for how-to-hold-a-pen And it's as ugly as a horse's arse, too.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
If you're not inculcated with Quoadish
D) snobbery, Amazon Marketplace have a German seller doing a Lamy Al-Star with EF nib for £10 + £3 postage, and despite his wittering about the grip, it makes the pen extremely comfortable for long periods of use.Link.
Have used them and they're okay. Next day delivery a la CultPens it ain't, though.
E2A: Lamy's EF nibs are good. I've found them better for "proper" writing than some other supposedly fine nibs.
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
People either love the Safari grip or hate it. I'm quite fond of it myself - some of my first proper pens were Safaris and I still use them sometimes.
For the record I rate the plastic Safari over the aluminium Al-Star... I found the Al-Star to be too balanced towards the rear of the pen (because the barrel is heavier), and I prefer the weight more towards the nib.
There are a fair number of pens in the £20-50 range which definitely have good fine nibs. Just a couple off the top of my head... I rate Sailor pens quite highly and the ProColor is about £45 from TWD, I have a couple of those. The TWSBI is good and a piston-filler, though you will have to get it from the US via their eBay store at http://stores.ebay.com/TWSBI-Pen-Store as they're not imported into the UK in any great numbers. (This will probably work out cheaper than buying it here as you won't pay VAT.)
Actually one of my favourite fine nibs is on an Indian Wality 52. You would almost certainly have to get that on eBay or from abroad, and they are a tiny bit fugly, but they're cheap and hold loads of ink and write really well - the nibs are all hand checked, and they're nice fat pens and comfortable to hold.
For the record I rate the plastic Safari over the aluminium Al-Star... I found the Al-Star to be too balanced towards the rear of the pen (because the barrel is heavier), and I prefer the weight more towards the nib.
There are a fair number of pens in the £20-50 range which definitely have good fine nibs. Just a couple off the top of my head... I rate Sailor pens quite highly and the ProColor is about £45 from TWD, I have a couple of those. The TWSBI is good and a piston-filler, though you will have to get it from the US via their eBay store at http://stores.ebay.com/TWSBI-Pen-Store as they're not imported into the UK in any great numbers. (This will probably work out cheaper than buying it here as you won't pay VAT.)
Actually one of my favourite fine nibs is on an Indian Wality 52. You would almost certainly have to get that on eBay or from abroad, and they are a tiny bit fugly, but they're cheap and hold loads of ink and write really well - the nibs are all hand checked, and they're nice fat pens and comfortable to hold.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
I'm tempted by the black Varuna Kavi (with the matt Bakul finish) over at Andy's Pens (so sue me! I like "odd" pens!), which uses a small Wality F nib. The question is: Eyedropper or Aerometric?
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
Hmm... I like EDs but I'd probably go for the aero there. I generally want an ink window if I'm going to use an ED, for some reason (not that you're ever likely to run out of ink of course).
I'd forgotten about Andy's Pens - they sell the 69L Wality (aka Airmail) in ED and piston filler for £9. I have one of the purple ones here... http://www.andys-pens.ukhome.net/clearacrylic.shtml
Cid
Proper break this time
I used Safaris and al-star at school so don't really want any of those, was thinking one of those svelte little numbers that VP's twisted claws can't handle. I'm not enormously bothered about the grip as I don't write by hand for extended periods any more, nib is important though.
I order all my stationery from Cult Pens now on point of principal, don't mind paying a couple of quid more than Amazon occasionally.
I order all my stationery from Cult Pens now on point of principal, don't mind paying a couple of quid more than Amazon occasionally.
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
You might like to look at the Sailor Somiko. I don't have one myself, but Sailor do some very good fine nibs and their pens tend to have a good weight to them. They are C/C which annoys some people, but I can't say it bothers me hugely these days, C/Cs are easier to clean for a start (compared to most things apart from an ED).
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
e2a: just got to get some more interesting inks now
Like what? If you want to experiment with colours, if you buy direct from the Diamine site you can get their ink in little 30ml plastic bottles which are much cheaper - that is a good way to experiment with colours. J Herbin is my current favourite as a manufacturer; they have the best black ink all round I think (though Noodler's does make excellent blacks as well) and their colours are excellent, very well balanced.
tbh, I'm not that keen on the Diamine selection. Or, at least, very few of the colours on cultpens' swatch look like something I'd actually want to use.
I also can't see myself writing in black that much, and blue smells a bit too much like school. Blue-black reeks of school. And, more specifically, Parkers long cartridges.
I've ordered a cheerful Noodlers red and a marginally more restrained Noodlers green on the basis of people's apparent enthusiasm for them. They're both colours I can see myself using for text annotations, notes, document planning, etc, and I've always got the Diamine black if I really need it.
The oxblood is doing outstanding service atm. I like it, a lot.
I also can't see myself writing in black that much, and blue smells a bit too much like school. Blue-black reeks of school. And, more specifically, Parkers long cartridges.
I've ordered a cheerful Noodlers red and a marginally more restrained Noodlers green on the basis of people's apparent enthusiasm for them. They're both colours I can see myself using for text annotations, notes, document planning, etc, and I've always got the Diamine black if I really need it.
The oxblood is doing outstanding service atm. I like it, a lot.
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
Noodler's Empire Red is certainly bright and cheerful, if that's the one. I have three of the greens - Victoria's Royal Mint is very bright, El Lawrence is a great colour (sort of motor oil/khaki/algae on a fountain in an abandoned palace in the middle of a forest - a lot of yellow and brown in it) and Zhivago is... well, quite hard to distinguish from black. And very dry.
dessiato
🇪🇸 my spirit is crying for leaving
I have a Waterman that uses both cartridges and fills from a bottle. It is really nice, although I seldom use it. It makes writing a pleasure. The down side was that it was £60 and a gift from my patient and loving wife
(If you are reading this, Mrs D, there's a really nice pencil that matches it, hint)
(If you are reading this, Mrs D, there's a really nice pencil that matches it, hint)
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
I've heard people say good things about Fox Red.
Noodler's inks are good for fine nibs because they have a high and even colour density (this is often called "saturation" but I don't like the term, as it doesn't really correspond to either saturation in the HSV colour sense or in the chemical sense). The limited amount of ink that fine nibs put down means you need something quite definite. (They're also very permanent.) On the other hand, people who like broader and/or flexible nibs tend to go more for more traditional inks which have a lot of shading i.e. colour differential based on ink quantity.
Noodler's inks are good for fine nibs because they have a high and even colour density (this is often called "saturation" but I don't like the term, as it doesn't really correspond to either saturation in the HSV colour sense or in the chemical sense). The limited amount of ink that fine nibs put down means you need something quite definite. (They're also very permanent.) On the other hand, people who like broader and/or flexible nibs tend to go more for more traditional inks which have a lot of shading i.e. colour differential based on ink quantity.
Sounds good! 
Fwiw, this is why I couldn't work with little billy fatnibs:
I've discovered that the M nib on the Safari works ok as an effective / occasional highlighter - in effect, writing in bold. But the fine is already pushing it, annotating article margins with anything bigger'd be ridiculous. Or'd require a whole new level of abbreviation
Fwiw, this is why I couldn't work with little billy fatnibs:
I've discovered that the M nib on the Safari works ok as an effective / occasional highlighter - in effect, writing in bold. But the fine is already pushing it, annotating article margins with anything bigger'd be ridiculous. Or'd require a whole new level of abbreviation
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
Pelikan did release a special edition highlighter fountain pen recently - http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/showproduct.php?id=10444 - I rather want one of those.
I use an F nib Sailor Procolor with Empire Red for annotations mostly. If you want something inexpensive and absurdly fine, there are a lot of Chinese pens on eBay that are very cheap and have the tiniest little write-on-a-rice-grain nibs... the Hero 329 and Jinhao 325 are both pretty good.
I use an F nib Sailor Procolor with Empire Red for annotations mostly. If you want something inexpensive and absurdly fine, there are a lot of Chinese pens on eBay that are very cheap and have the tiniest little write-on-a-rice-grain nibs... the Hero 329 and Jinhao 325 are both pretty good.
First impressions of Noodler: eek.
It seems to be putting a whole lot more ink through the nib. And feels / looks a lot more like writing in felt tip, than writing in what I've previously thought of as 'fountain pen ink.'
It was proper knackering anything approaching a 'fine line,' so for the mo I've flushed the pen out and gone back to Diamine Oxblood. Which I like, lots.
It seems to be putting a whole lot more ink through the nib. And feels / looks a lot more like writing in felt tip, than writing in what I've previously thought of as 'fountain pen ink.'
It was proper knackering anything approaching a 'fine line,' so for the mo I've flushed the pen out and gone back to Diamine Oxblood. Which I like, lots.
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
"consistcy"?
Some Noodler's inks can be pretty wet... the paper can also make a difference. You _are_ expelling a few drops after filling and then retightening, by the way, aren't you?
Some Noodler's inks can be pretty wet... the paper can also make a difference. You _are_ expelling a few drops after filling and then retightening, by the way, aren't you?
Yep!
Might try it again at a later date, though. Give it a bit more time to settle in, like.
btw, you're ok with offr, MAgcy, DAT and compmise; but not consistcy?
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
are you suggesting that I'm being inconsistt?
Cid
Proper break this time
As a designer I have exquisite taste and would want my pen to reflect my elegance, modesty and appreciation for the modern aesthetic*. I want one of these:
*As a designer I desperately need to cover up my real personality by having sleek black pens and rimmed black glasses.
