[Tangster]

   

 I absolutely adore my twin Pilots... and there's that ink 

... too much beauty! Actually, I didn't have the budget for a Metal Falcon and dialed my expectations down to get the resin version. I will point out that I both enjoy the metal body and added weight, as well as the larger cartridge. 
 
It took me a few months to save for the resin body purchase. The night I went to order, I realized it wasn't what I really wanted and would suffer upgradeitis the moment I took delivery. So, I went ahead and covered the difference. I am not exaggerating when I say Amazon dropped it on my porch so quick 

 I thought there had been a mistake!
 
The moment I held it in my hand it was over! I sat down, filled the cartridge with Lady Shikibu and wrote. I ordered the second Metal Falcon just days later...

Yeah, the metal falcon is on my to buy list. The resin falcon just doesn't hold enough ink(and I'll be damned if I use it as an eyedropper). The soft fine nib is outstanding, but I'm still considering the spencarian mod. Just don't know if I'll be able to handle that as a daily writer.

 

[Silent One]

  Yeah, the metal falcon is on my to buy list. The resin falcon just doesn't hold enough ink(and I'll be damned if I use it as an eyedropper). The soft fine nib is outstanding, but I'm still considering the spencarian mod. Just don't know if I'll be able to handle that as a daily writer.

 

 Ur killing me!
 
Another benefit from the larger cartridge for me is overall length of the pen, cap on when writing. A body too short

feels like Crayons.

 

[proton007]

Yeah, the metal falcon is on my to buy list. The resin falcon just doesn't hold enough ink(and I'll be damned if I use it as an eyedropper). The soft fine nib is outstanding, but I'm still considering the spencarian mod. Just don't know if I'll be able to handle that as a daily writer.

After experiencing the SEF nib, my answer is no.
Finer nibs tend to dig into paper, and are restrictive in movement. Unless you're using 100gsm paper for everday use it'll be hard to turn an XXF nib into a daily writer.

 

[Silent One]

Additionally, extra fine reduces the angle/slant at which one writes... and will either tear up some paper or cause one to pick up the nib off the paper too frequently to reset. I like g-l-i-d-e...

 

[proton007]

The SEF has a small contact area; it doesn't tolerate any rotation. At least it didn't right out of the box.
A gentle tour of the plains of micromesh made a difference, at the cost of increasing the width slighly.

 

[proton007]

Writing with the other Falcon nib, or FA nib is an enjoyable experience too.
The best modern alternative to a vintage flex in my opinion. Needs a light hand. Some may find the ink flow lacking, but it's adequate for regular use.

 

[Tangster]

Hmm. It might have to be something I get as a secondary messing around pen. My general paper is stock rhodia. The only pen I have that catches on that is my sharp italic parker...entirely my fault when it does because that means I've messed up the angle. Still, as I said, I'm very happy with the Resin Falcon, writes wet and smooth, even with no pressure at all, and is still smooth with no railroading when I flex it.
 
It's not a fan of Diamine inks from what I can tell so it's got iroshizuku asi-gao in it for now. Works much better with Pilot inks, though I haven't tried putting the wetter Diamine inks in it yet.(my sister got me another 4 colours for my birthday, so I've got 13 different inks to try from their range!)

 

[proton007]

^^
I haven't used any Diamine inks. There are some colors I like in their collection, I'll try them out sometime.

What is the difference between the Iroshizuku and the Diamine in your experience?

 

[Silent One]

  Hmm. It might have to be something I get as a secondary messing around pen. My general paper is stock rhodia. The only pen I have that catches on that is my sharp italic parker...entirely my fault when it does because that means I've messed up the angle. Still, as I said, I'm very happy with the Resin Falcon, writes wet and smooth, even with no pressure at all, and is still smooth with no railroading when I flex it.
 
It's not a fan of Diamine inks from what I can tell so it's got iroshizuku asi-gao in it for now. Works much better with Pilot inks, though I haven't tried putting the wetter Diamine inks in it yet.(my sister got me another 4 colours for my birthday, so I've got 13 different inks to try from their range!)

 WOWZA!

 

[Tangster]

^^
I haven't used any Diamine inks. There are some colors I like in their collection, I'll try them out sometime.

What is the difference between the Iroshizuku and the Diamine in your experience?

Flow. In general, the Iroshizuku inks flow more freely than Diamine.

 

[proton007]

Flow. In general, the Iroshizuku inks flow more freely than Diamine.

This would mean Diamine inks are suited for broad/medium nibbed pens?

 

[Tangster]

Hmm. I don't know about that. There's a fairly decent spectrum of flow in the Diamine range. Sherwood green for instance would be best in medium+, but prussian blue flows very nicely even in a japanese EF. Greatly depends on the ink. My Falcon didn't like Majestic purple much at all.

 

[proton007]

Hmm. I don't know about that. There's a fairly decent spectrum of flow in the Diamine range. Sherwood green for instance would be best in medium+, but prussian blue flows very nicely even in a japanese EF. Greatly depends on the ink. My Falcon didn't like Majestic purple much at all.

I suspect finer nibs and complicated feeds require inks that can flow freely.
I've observed that Pilot's feeds have a different design than European pens. The feed is longer; the circular fins extend all the way into the reservoir. This also explains why Pilot makes the nib section as an assembled unit, it houses the feed in its entire length. Others like Pelikan have a direct channel leading from the reservoir to the nib, the fins are present in its proximity, and the feed is shorter.
Older pens like Waterman's also have a simple feed, most likely designed to utilize unrefined inks.

 

[Silent One]

Anyone here read The Tale of Genji? I'm a bit behind in my reading. Will get to it shortly... I hope.

 

[proton007]

^^
Nope.
Enjoying Bertrand Russell at the moment.