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Pens, inks and related.....

Runnin_Ute

Runnin_Ute

0
This is all but two or three. My Parker IM's aren't in this photo, as I have put them away. I recently got the trays for the cigar boxes from Gary at Gopens.com. The red tray on the right was in the white box on the left when I got it. By doing this, I increased capacity in that box by five pens. From eight to thirteen.

20180406_200518 by Brad Merrill, on Flickr

Today I am using the Pelikan M200 Brown Marbled with an M nib. Currently inked with KWZI Brown #4.
 
The only fountain pen I currently own is a Pilot Varsity that is out of ink. I need to refill it. And possibly get some more.
 
I own a Lamy Safari my daily carry with Noodlers black. I have a few nibs for it also, a bold, fone, and a medium.

I own a few Pilot Metros, and some other cheap no names from eBay. A couple write alright.

A pen I have been playing around with is a Noodlers flex it's a lot of fun
 
Yeah, I have a Noodler's pen too, Chad. Konrad in Red Mesa Tortoise. (left side, center box) But I replaced the flex nib with a Goulet branded B after playing with the flex for a while. My Pelikan 140 (F) has more flex - without trying.
 
I'm glad someone started a pen thread. Thanks @Runnin_Ute for that.

In my view, writing with a fountain pen marries well with shaving with a traditional razor. I don't want to get too philosophical about it, but consider these points.

As with traditional shaving, it's contemplative. It slows your thoughts down and encourages you to focus on what you are doing right now. You have equipment that invites and rewards your attention.

As with traditional shaving, it's inexpensive enough to be a hobby to those who are so inclined.

As with traditional shaving, preparation is important, but not essential. You can pick up a fountain pen and go if you want to.

As with traditional shaving, it has gear. We guys love gear. Little utilitarian goo-gaws about which we can discuss the finer points with our gentleman friends. Little mechanical things that make our lives better. With lots of little variations to buy, try on our own, and ponder. I think this is genetic with men, and fountain pens feed that.

As with traditional shaving, it's traditional.

As with traditional shaving, you can go way retro if you want. DE/SE shavers go straight. Fountain pen users go dip. If you want an intermediate step, think lather catchers and lever-filled Watermans or Esterbrooks.

The history of fountain pens coincides remarkably with the history of razors. In the age of straight razors, dip pens were the norm. About the same time that safety razors came on the market, fountain pens arose. About the same time Bic ballpoints came on the market, disposable razors arose (not coincidentally, Bic disposables). About the same time modern gel pens came around, cartridge razors came to the market.

As with traditional shaving, what was once a daily drudge becomes a hobby when one gets into pens. You have RAD? Meet PAD (pen acquisition disorder).

As with traditional shaving, complementary accoutrements become important. Shavers fret about soap and brush variations. Fountain pen users fret about paper and nib variations.

As with traditional shaving, there has been a modern resurgence of fountain pen varieties and availability. Google it.

So if you like traditional shaving and haven't yet discovered fountain pens, open your wallet without much strain and embrace the fountain pen.
 
And don't forget the ink!! Hundreds of different colors. Even two blue blacks aren't the same. Let alone some of the others.

Seriously though, I know women who have more pens and are more into it than many guys I know.
 
Picked this up today at Michael's... Wood soda crate - $12.99.
Wood Soda Crate by ArtMinds™

As you can see I removed the center short divider. I shot this with ink bottles in boxes from Lamy, Pelikan 4001, Iroshizuku, KWZI, Noodler's, Levenger, Waterman, Robert Oster, Diamine and even a 10 ml vial. All are at or below the level of the top of the crate so you could stack. Only a few drops of glue on the bottom of each divider. I was able to take out all the dividers pretty easy. And it snug enough to not go anywhere. (the center one was done at a traffic light)

20180510_180522 by Brad Merrill, on Flickr
 
I just have two basic Lamy fountain pens at work. One is a cartridge that I use somewhat regularly to make notes to my self. The other has a reservoir. And sadly, while I like it much more, I over estimates my willingness to maintain it and only have used it a couple of times.
 
Here is the Wood Soda Crate, turned into a Wood Ink Crate....

This is all of my bottles of ink, except for a bottle of Noodler's Black and Noodler's Blue Eel. I don't use either very often, so putting them elsewhere isn't a big deal. They are still easy to get to.

20180511_133555 by Brad Merrill, on Flickr
 
So my 2000 hasn’t been used in a year or so. You soaking the nib in hot water, then trying to fill and empty the reservoir with hot water will get it cleaned out to use again?
 
Do you write a lot at home to get use from your pens? I found the basic printer paper used at work wasn’t too friendly to taking notes on with a fountain pen.
 
The only really neat pen I have my Dad had made for me at Christmas last year. It is a shell casing from a rifle bullet and a piece of deer antler.

 
This arrived in today's mail.....

It was part of a group buy I participated in over on FPN. The first post on it was in early April 2017. Getting that many people together on what was essentially a custom pen had to have been like herding cats for the organizer. Mine was one of the first six completed and delivered, out of around 30 I think. For most of us, we bought materials from exoticblanks.com (mine is Lava Explosion #12 - Copper Mountain) I have dubbed the pen Copper Mountain. (but that could change) It is far and away my largest pen. 158 mm capped (a Pelikan M1000 is only 147 mm -5.8") and 150 mm uncapped. I got a B nib (Schmidt)

20180514_113853 by Brad Merrill, on Flickr

20180514_113957 by Brad Merrill, on Flickr

The only way it fits in this box:
20180514_114127 by Brad Merrill, on Flickr
Capped:
20180514_114142 by Brad Merrill, on Flickr

20180514_114319 by Brad Merrill, on Flickr

20180514_114351 by Brad Merrill, on Flickr
and next to an M200....

1526321785875 by Brad Merrill, on Flickr
 
I want to play too... I have had a couple fountain pens over the years but i rarely ended up using them. I recently looked at fountain pens on eBay and decided the prices are a little out of my league. Then I found the disposable Pilot Varsity available on-line from Staples for $4.95 and decided I would wager $5 on my ability to actually use a fountain pen. I picked it up last night and gave it a test scribble this morning. I have to admit I kind of like it. I have horrible penmanship and generally write better with a pencil than a typical rollerball pen, I assume it's the tactile feedback of the pencil along with the slight resistance of the lead on paper. This pen has a feel/feedback similar to a good old #2 Ticonderoga pencil. I'll play with this one a while before getting a refillable one. I would like a fine tip but can live with this one until as I evaluate my ability.

 
Just starting to dip my toes into the nib world...picked up a couple of Lamy's. One is a Safari rollerball, (need it for meetings), the other one is an All-Star fountain, medium nib for correspondences. Didn't want to get into the reservoir area while I'm over here...cartridge works just fine.
 
CBLindsay said:
I want to play too... I have had a couple fountain pens over the years but i rarely ended up using them. I recently looked at fountain pens on eBay and decided the prices are a little out of my league. Then I found the disposable Pilot Varsity available on-line from Staples for $4.95 and decided I would wager $5 on my ability to actually use a fountain pen. I picked it up last night and gave it a test scribble this morning. I have to admit I kind of like it. I have horrible penmanship and generally write better with a pencil than a typical rollerball pen, I assume it's the tactile feedback of the pencil along with the slight resistance of the lead on paper. This pen has a feel/feedback similar to a good old #2 Ticonderoga pencil. I'll play with this one a while before getting a refillable one. I would like a fine tip but can live with this one until as I evaluate my ability.

[/Q
You will find going forward that the M nib on the Varsity (and other Japanese pens) is the same size as a F from a "Western" (Europe/USA) manufacturer. Many of the smaller manufacturers use German made nibs. Even TWSBI uses a Jowo/Bock nib.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I can play! Well, I don't have a big collection, but I have something at least.

I have a Pilot Metro fine nib (no converter though), a Sheaffer something (no marking except F1 on hte nib) that has a bladder type converter that I believe is a fine nib also, and a Platinum 3776 with a gold extra fine nib.

My ink selection is beyond pathetic though. A box of cartridges for the Pilot, and 5 Diamine and 3 J. Herbin samples.

The Platinum is a little scratchy for me being such a fine nib, but a great writer. I would like to try a Pilot E95S I think at some point though.

 
I received my Pilot Decimo with a M-nib (from Samurai.Japan on Amazon) earlier this week. A dummy/empty cart to hold the nib in place and a pilot cart were included, but not the convertor which was in the Amazon pic. A short back-and-forth with the vendor and they offered a refund but did not take ownership of the missing convertor. As it was just over $150CDN (~115$US), I wasn't going to quibble overly much and sourced a convertor from a lady on Kijiji who happens to live just a mile or so away and also carries Iron-Suzuki ink (Iroshizuku). Woohoo! I know where to go from here on out.


A trade also saw me score some St Charles Shave Fairway soap (mmmm!) and an extra surprise was a bottle of 5 O'Clock Shadow being included in my care pack. Sweet!


Having a little difficulty getting the convertor to draw up ink (yes, the unit was submerged past the fill hole... which is high up on the Capless nib units), I just syringe-filled the empty cart that came with the pen.


There's a happy woodpusher heading into the weekend with a smile.
 
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