[SonicDawg]

Wow, I am jealous

I am a broke college student using a Parker Frontier: light and durable, and surprisingly smooth. But it would be nice to see some upper echelon Parkers.

 

[dvw]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood My most used "pen". My favorite old school pen is my Lamy (can't remember which model). It's the one that the "architect" from the Matrix Reloaded uses as a remote control. -Ed

The pen that the architect uses is the Lamy Swift.

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dvw The pen that the architect uses is the Lamy Swift.

That's the name! Yeah.

I really like it, with the retracting clip. But too bad the nickel plating suffers from pitting corrosion. I kept it in a nice leather pen case too. I guess it needed a humidity controlled vault or something.

-Ed

 

[stevesurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder Visconti Blue is amazing. I haven't tried many blues, but it is my favourite at the moment. It flows extremely well out of my MB. Which MB do you have BTW?

Which one? Well, I've got a few

MEISTERSTÜCK LE GRAND

Jules Verne Ballpoint

MEISTERSTÜCK SOLITAIRE SILVER FIBRE GUILLOCHE

BOHÈME ROUGE

BOHÈME BLEU

MEISTERSTÜCK SOLITAIRE DOUÉ SIGNUM

Milkpowder, I want you to know that I took the time to put this stuff up here just for you, because I know you are a MB lover

Three of the above are housed in a well worn but very nice Piquadro 3 Pen Case and the 'lil guy stays in my Passport Wallet.

Perhaps we should have a Pen meet after the Cigar and Flashlight meet!

 

[TiTaN]

And people think I'm crazy for buying a $100 keyboard...at least I can type faster than I write...and more legibly!

Oh who am I kidding! Even though I've yet to own a truly nice pen, I've always been obsessed with anything I can, flashlights, lasers, pens, headphones, computer mice, etc etc etc...

Maybe I should start up Addict-Fi.com

 

[TiTaN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by meat01 Something else that is nice and small that you can always carry with you is the Fisher Bullet space pen. The ballpoint ink isn't as nice as cross' gel ink, but it does write anywhere and will last forever. It is the same length as the ion closed, but when you put the cap on the back to write, it is full size. It is also thinner than the Ion.

Own both...ran out of black ink for the Ion though, might have to go out soon to get some refills if they truly are discontinuing them now

 

[ilovesocks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder Nice pen ilovesocks! It writes BEAUTIFULLY Swisherpens.com is great and so is pengallery.com

Thanks! I really like it. Working off your guys' tip that it's being discontinued, I just bought one identical to mine off eBay (mine's pretty chewed up, though it doesn't show completely in the pics), and I'm also watching another auction for a blue one. Also bought some black refills, since I'm almost out. I've had bad experiences with the red and purple refills--only the blue and black ones are worth it.

EDIT: I love writing those curly d's. Those and lowercase betas. And vectors i, j, and k.

 

[majid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder What is Parker Quink Black like? I wanted a darker ink than the MB black, so I had a look 'round a fountain pen forum and they recommended the Pelikan Brilliant Black and the Aurora Black.

The Aurora is exceedingly difficult to find, your best bet is online, but it is a beautiful, deep black ink, that's what I use in my own MB.
Quote:

Originally Posted by RedLeader alrighty, where would I get such a pen, and what would it cost me? I've ALWAYS been a mechanical pencil man as I'm an engineer (in training, but close enough I say) and constantly erase and am doing calculations. Math with pens doesn't make a whole lot of sense. But my other writing I do, perhaps.

I used fountain pens extensively in school and college (Sheaffers mostly, ballpoints were actually banned in my traditionalist Catholic high school in France), and I had a maths major, and had to take down about 250 pages of handwritten notes every two weeks or so. You can always get your feet wet with a disposable Pilot V-Pen, which writes surprisingly well for such an inexpensive device. All you need to do is unlearn the bad habit of gouging into paper learned from ballpoints, and caress the paper with the nib to deliver ink via capillary action.
Quote:

Originally Posted by wanderman pens...*begins to fondle collection of mechanical pencils* rotring and cross make such good pencils.

I really like Faber-Castell. I have an Alpha-matic, but the best is certainly the E-Motion with its ultra-thick 1.4mm leads and its bullet-shaped design with a wooden grip.

Montblanc is the brand pen snobs love to hate, but it's more Rolex than Bose. Uninspired nibs, but extremely reliable in my experience, and their piston fillers almost never dry out. My favorite nibs are S.T. Dupont's, but they don't make piston fillers, and thus dry out too quickly. People who like fine nibs may enjoy Pilot/Nakaya or Sailor nibs better.

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder Thanks for the recommendation. I actually bought a bottle of Waterman Florida Blue today. I got a brief try at the pen shop. It's a very nice blue (nicer than Mont Blanc Blue-Black). I haven't had a chance to ink up my pens with the Florida Blue though. I'll keep an eye out for the Levenger.

Levenger's Cobalt Blue is one of my favorite inks, and at $8 it is nicely priced.

You can order it at: http://www.levenger.com/PAGETEMPLATES/PRODUCT/Product.asp?Params=Category=8-221|PageID=787|Level=2-3|Link=PI|special=search|ID=SearchClicked|i=1

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevesurf Which one? Well, I've got a few * * * * * Milkpowder, I want you to know that I took the time to put this stuff up here just for you, because I know you are a MB lover Three of the above are housed in a well worn but very nice Piquadro 3 Pen Case and the 'lil guy stays in my Passport Wallet. Perhaps we should have a Pen meet after the Cigar and Flashlight meet!

Woah! That's a lot of MB pens!

My next FP will probably be the MB Boheme Bleu or the LeGrand, depending on my needs.

I love the way how the nib on the Boheme retracts! I was going to get it initially, but it took too long to get the retractable nib out and start writing. This, IMO, makes it unsuitable for note taking when you have to frequently cap and uncap the pen to prevent the nib from drying up.

I'll see how the Pelikan M600 writes and decide on my next step...

Quote:

Originally Posted by majid The Aurora is exceedingly difficult to find, your best bet is online, but it is a beautiful, deep black ink, that's what I use in my own MB.

I've manage to source some from pengallery.com Thanks for the advice. I also got a bottle of Mont Blanc Season's Greetings and am currently trying to track down a bottle of Mont Blanc Je t'aime.

Has anyone had experience with the Graf von Faber Castell line of FPs (not the normal FC line), in particular the Guilloche?

 

[dvw]

I have the Faber Castell and I also have quite a few MBs. IMO, they are over priced. I used to get them at less than half what they're selling for at Costco.

The Graf Von Faber Castell is pretty good. But I actually like the E-motion (the Pearwood) better and it's also cheaper.

I need to stop buying pens.

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dvw I have the Faber Castell and I also have quite a few MBs. IMO, they are over priced. I used to get them at less than half what they're selling for at Costco. The Graf Von Faber Castell is pretty good. But I actually like the E-motion (the Pearwood) better and it's also cheaper. I need to stop buying pens.

Which is overpriced, the Faber Castell, the Graf Von Faber Castell or the Mont Blanc FPs? I'm guessing you meant the Faber Castell and the Mont Blanc pens.

The Graf Von Faber Castell pens look very nice and very tempting! Speaking of which, I need to stop buying pens too!

 

[dvw]

Yes both.

My first MB 146 cost me about $200 with a life time warranty. My rollerpen was $70 (I lost that one). The recent MB I had (a gift) accidentally rolled off my desk and the barrel cracked. I found the modern MB only has one year of warranty (60 days on the nib) and cost me $35 to repair the pen.
So you are paying a lot for the plastic.

The nib on my Cross was skipping a little (a very underrated pen, nib is rumored to be mad by Namiki). I sent in for a repair and it only cost $7. Cross, Parker and Sheaffer all have lifetime warranty. Oh, the Faber Castell also has life time warranty.

Attachment 8492

This is my recent purchase. It's heavier than MB. But it writes well and feel pretty good and it's pretty reasonably priced.

 

[J-Pak]

I'm down with pen-fi. I usually spend $5 every few months on some awesome Pilot extra fine tips. I get 5 of them for $5, and it's ink! Plus it's really sweet to look into that elusive window that shows you how much ink you have, and swash it back and forth.

I write much faster with them (which is a must for timed essay writing) compared to ball points.

And all the money I save goes into headphone stuff! Wooo...

Oh yes another stupid thing I can do is write in blue and underline main topics or words in red. It never ceases to amaze most girls.

My dad has a few 22k and 18k gold plated pens he gets when he's traveling, I'll have to see if I can get pictures of them.

(sorry no pictures, the sheer beauty of the Pilot extra fine tip would be too much for this thread)

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dvw Yes both. My first MB 146 cost me about $200 with a life time warranty. My rollerpen was $70 (I lost that one). The recent MB I had (a gift) accidentally rolled off my desk and the barrel cracked. I found the modern MB only has one year of warranty (60 days on the nib) and cost me $35 to repair the pen. So you are paying a lot for the plastic.

I thought MBs had a two year warranty? Mine came with 2 years warranty anyway... I've been hearing a lot about the fragility of the MB barrels. Oh well... For the record, my Waterman Carene, which costs less than half of the 145, writes smoother, feels more expensive, and has a nicer nib (18k vs 14k). I guess you pay a lot for the brand name.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dvw The nib on my Cross was skipping a little (a very underrated pen, nib is rumored to be mad by Namiki). I sent in for a repair and it only cost $7. Cross, Parker and Sheaffer all have lifetime warranty. Oh, the Faber Castell also has life time warranty. Attachment 8492 This is my recent purchase. It's heavier than MB. But it writes well and feel pretty good and it's pretty reasonably priced.

Nice. I like the look of the E-Motions.

I'm actually considering a custom pen by a man called Lou Metcalf. He's got a lot of experience with custom pen making and his pens simply look wonderful. Most of them are one-offs or very limited and each of them is handmade and unique. Here's the website. More importantly, his pricing is VERY reasonable considering the custom nature of his pens.

For example, he makes a fountain pen out of Irish bog oak, which is an extremely rare wood that dates back to 449-563 AD, with platinum trim and a 14k gold nib. Because of the rarity of the wood, there will only be 5 of these pens. That's exclusivity, expensive materials and fine craftmanship, all of which costs a mere $350. To put it into perspective, I paid $420 for my MB 145 and it's hardly rare. Neither does the "precious resin" even start to compare to the ancient, rare oak that dons Lou's masterpiece.

That said, I have always wanted a MB. Now that I have one and am starting to appreciate custom pens, I find myself swaying away from mass produced, world famous brands. It's those smaller companies/individuals that actually make the nice stuff! That's not to say that I won't buy another MB or other big-name pen makers (eg Parker, Waterman) though. I really do enjoy using their products and they, without a shadow of doubt, make fine pens!

Then there's the whole business with vintage pens. I spotted an extremely nice NOS Parker 51 Special Edition in Vista Blue with a sterling silver "Empire State" cap and an 18k nib. I would buy it if I didn't have to eat, but on my student budget, I just can't stretch another $300 for it at the moment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by J-Pak My dad has a few 22k and 18k gold plated pens he gets when he's traveling, I'll have to see if I can get pictures of them.

Yes please!

Quote:

Originally Posted by J-Pak (sorry no pictures, the sheer beauty of the Pilot extra fine tip would be too much for this thread)

Well, you can't do any harm?