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Pens, inks and related.....

Are screw cap fountain pens worth pursuing over snap? Any real benefit for the casual user? Or is it all preference?
 
GearNoir said:
Are screw cap fountain pens worth pursuing over snap? Any real benefit for the casual user? Or is it all preference?
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It’s all preference IMHO. Franklin-Christoph, Sailor and Edison all make modern screw cap FPS that are worth trying. The FC is the most affordable of all of them.

My personal favorite is Sailor. I have a 1911 with a naginata togi nib that is simply outstanding.
 
beginish said:
It’s all preference IMHO. Franklin-Christoph, Sailor and Edison all make modern screw cap FPS that are worth trying. The FC is the most affordable of all of them.

My personal favorite is Sailor. I have a 1911 with a naginata togi nib that is simply outstanding.
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Nice pens for sure! Sadly even the FC is quite out of my casual price range. Thank you for the input though (y)
MilkCrate said:
How’s that Pilot Metro working for ya? Mine is awesome.
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It’s great! I haven’t really started carrying it yet, but I keep it horizontal at home and it’s current cartridge has lasted weeks without issue. I do draw a couple lines once in a while, when I remember to, between uses.
 
GearNoir said:
Are screw cap fountain pens worth pursuing over snap? Any real benefit for the casual user? Or is it all preference?
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It is completely a preference thing. I do prefer the non snap cap though. Just feels more secure to me. My EDC is a Kaweco Sport.
 
GearNoir said:
Nice pens for sure! Sadly even the FC is quite out of my casual price range. Thank you for the input though (y)

It’s great! I haven’t really started carrying it yet, but I keep it horizontal at home and it’s current cartridge has lasted weeks without issue. I do draw a couple lines once in a while, when I remember to, between uses.
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I carry mine daily. Have you looked at the Nemosine pens? The Fine German nib is the same size as that Japanese Medium nib.
 
GearNoir said:
Are screw cap fountain pens worth pursuing over snap? Any real benefit for the casual user? Or is it all preference?
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There are tradeoffs as always. Snap tops are faster on and off, which matters for some people.

Screw tops, depending on how deep the threading is take a bit longer to get the cap off, and maybe even mores to put back on, but don't accidentally come open.

I've heard that Lamy's can sometimes be a bit loose, but none of mine are.

The biggest thing that matters to me, is that the system seal well enough to be air tight so the ink doesn't dry. Sailor 1911/Pro Gear and Platinum #3776 are known for having an piece that seals the system so you can go months without using a pen and still have it write. That was one of the reasons I started looking for something to improve my experience from Lamy, the hard starts were making my crazy.

That said, price is a huge factor, those pens cost a lot more than a Safari or Metro.
 
GearNoir said:
Are screw cap fountain pens worth pursuing over snap? Any real benefit for the casual user? Or is it all preference?
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The only pens I have that have snap on caps are my Pilot Metropolitan and Platinum Preppy.

As @HMan mentioned, Platinum has a cap system that puts a real good seal on the pen. I’ve converted my Preppy to an eyedropper but use it sporadically. It can sometimes sit for weeks without use but never has issues when I go to write with it. The only issue I had with hard starts was when I had a high sheen ink in it, but that was an ink issue not a pen issue.

As far as snap over screw caps, it’s really just preference. TWSBI also has a very good cap sealing system, and the ECO and Classic come off with one and a half rotations of the cap. My Moonman is about 3 rotations. Again, all preference.

if you’re looking for low price options on a nice screw cap pen, TWSBI’s Eco’s are awesome in my opinion. For just under $30 you can get a demonstrator with a piston fill system. Nemosine pens are super cheap and I love my stub nib Singularity (after they replaced the defective feed/nib for me). Their stuff is all clearance right now, so you’re looking at about $10-15 with shipping. I believe Birmingham Pens are somehow related to Nemosine and are very cheap as well.

The Moonman I just picked up is a real winner. Under $20. Beautiful resin pen. Super smooth nib out of the box. The biggest complaint I hear about them is that they rip off a lot of other companies designs. the model I picked up is their version of a Pelikan M600. If you’re ok with that, these are excellent pens on the low end of the price spectrum, which is where I tend to stay myself.
 
SteveChuckFrank said:
The only pens I have that have snap on caps are my Pilot Metropolitan and Platinum Preppy.

As @HMan mentioned, Platinum has a cap system that puts a real good seal on the pen. I’ve converted my Preppy to an eyedropper but use it sporadically. It can sometimes sit for weeks without use but never has issues when I go to write with it. The only issue I had with hard starts was when I had a high sheen ink in it, but that was an ink issue not a pen issue.

As far as snap over screw caps, it’s really just preference. TWSBI also has a very good cap sealing system, and the ECO and Classic come off with one and a half rotations of the cap. My Moonman is about 3 rotations. Again, all preference.

if you’re looking for low price options on a nice screw cap pen, TWSBI’s Eco’s are awesome in my opinion. For just under $30 you can get a demonstrator with a piston fill system. Nemosine pens are super cheap and I love my stub nib Singularity (after they replaced the defective feed/nib for me). Their stuff is all clearance right now, so you’re looking at about $10-15 with shipping. I believe Birmingham Pens are somehow related to Nemosine and are very cheap as well.

The Moonman I just picked up is a real winner. Under $20. Beautiful resin pen. Super smooth nib out of the box. The biggest complaint I hear about them is that they rip off a lot of other companies designs. the model I picked up is their version of a Pelikan M600. If you’re ok with that, these are excellent pens on the low end of the price spectrum, which is where I tend to stay myself.
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The Moonman pens look great especially for the price. For a second I thought it was a Pelikan, but though it takes some design cues, it's not close enough to call a rip off for me. Jinhao on the other hand.....
 
HMan said:
The Moonman pens look great especially for the price. For a second I thought it was a Pelikan, but though it takes some design cues, it's not close enough to call a rip off for me. Jinhao on the other hand.....
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Totally forgot about my Jinhao haha. Another non-screw cap. I have the 51A in Amber. A great smooth writing pen. Also an absolute rip off haha. Doesn’t bother me though, since most of the classic companies being ripped off aren’t really the same company anymore apparently. I just found out that Parker and Conklin, among others, were bought out years ago.
 
@GearNoir I just saw that Platinum released a new inexpensive pen called the Prefounte that has the cap sealing I mentioned and it goes for about 10€ here. I’d highly recommend that for as fiddle free of an experience as possible.

They also have the Preppy which is essentially the same pen, but all plastic. I didn’t realize it also has the sealing cap. It’s less than $5 iirc but IMO not so nice looking because all the UPC coding etc is printed on the body.
 
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I was having issues with my Sailor Pro Gear Earth, flow wasn’t keeping up and writing was scratchy.
Since I was feeling a bit under the weather yesterday, I stayed home, but got restless, and decided to tune the nib.
Wow, it’s writing great now!

I def recommend that no matter what class your pen is, eventually taking the time to learn to tune the nib. It makes a huge difference.

Of course, like anything it’s a small investment, you need a decent loupe. Brass shims help if the pen is on the dry side. Sometimes lapping film can help if your pen is rough, but I try to avoid it unless absolutely necessary as it can change the feedback characteristics of the nib as well.
 
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