Pen-Fi (FPs, RBs, BPs, etc...) [56k Warning]

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder Damnit, Stax has forced me to give up part of my Pen-Fi journey... At least I've still got a Pelikan M600 and some Lamy Safaris to keep me company. ( still waiting for them to arrive ) I've put the Waterman Carene and Mont Blanc Chopin on eBay if anyone in the UK wants to buy! http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...0424&rd=1&rd=1 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...5604&rd=1&rd=1 The Mont Blanc is of sentimental value so I really didn't want to sell it, but I guess my Head-Fi journey is IMO much more important! If I've got any money left over from my Stax journey, then I'll probably reinvest in some nice pens! There's my rant.

I certainly hope you like those Stax. You are selling a lot of stuff just to get them!

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo I certainly hope you like those Stax. You are selling a lot of stuff just to get them!

Oh don't worry. I think I know what I'm getting into. Plus, this stuff is all replaceable. I'd never sell something that I know is not replaceable, like my $24k violin which I've become emotionally attached to

Can't imagine how I'd react to a Vuillaume, Lupot, Guarneri, Guadagnini or a Strad!

 

[stevesurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder The Mont Blanc is of sentimental value so I really didn't want to sell it...

Noooooooooooooo! The Chopin is an awesome pen! Don't leave Pen-Fi; you'll miss fun like this...

Anyway, back on topic...I found a good Pen resource at Pendemonium
Here's their color chart.
I also found another one from Noodlers...

Evidently there's a great deal to mixing colored inks, as well. Here's a good place to start.

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevesurf Noooooooooooooo! The Chopin is an awesome pen! Don't leave Pen-Fi; you'll miss fun like this...

Don't worry. I've still got some FPs left over... Plus, I've got my next Pen-Fi targets anyway: MB 146 LeGrand PT (see! an upgrade!),
Graf Von Faber Castell Ebony Wood Fountain Pen (not completely sure about this), Visconti Van Gogh Maxi (have read too many good reviews of this pen), Nakaya Writer Series Araishu (what a beautiful pen!). So it's more of a temporary downsize rather than a total desertion of Team Pen-Fi

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevesurf Anyway, back on topic...I found a good Pen resource at Pendemonium Here's their color chart. I also found another one from Noodlers... Evidently there's a great deal to mixing colored inks, as well. Here's a good place to start.

Wow! Ottoman Azure looks wonderful!

 

[SonicDawg]

Interesting, that's the ink that I have been using for quite a while now. Great minds do think alike!

 

[majid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by guitarman19853 Another question i had is paper... my Pilot Varsity bleeds on some papers... I'm the kind of person that takes greater pleasure taking notes if taken with a fine pen so i intend to use it every day... but its my current notebook paper that bleeds... is there certain brands of notebook paper that are more FP friendly?

Clairefontaine and Rhodia. Both are French brands, and many schools in France mandate FPs because they promote good handwriting (the pressure you have to apply with a ballpoint or roller tends to have a negative impact, although good liquid ink ballpoints like the Pilot V-Ball write almost as well as a good FP). For this reason, most French notebooks are reasonably compatible with FP ink. Miquelrius (Spanish) is also very good. Moleskines are very trendy (thus expensive) but their paper is really not all that good for FP use. All of these brands can be found at art supply stores. Obviously, they are more expensive than Mead or Five-Star, but you get what you pay for.

It's a question of porosity and coatings, not thickness - if you brush your hand against a Clairefontaine (which is a premium brand in France, at least for school students), you will feel it is smooth, unlike the abominable toilet paper that passes for stationery from Mead and their ilk here in the US. If it doesn't work with a V-Pen, it will most likely not work with other brands either (the sole caveat being that fine nibs not tipped with a ball tend to be more scratchy and sensitive to paper grades than others).

For letter-writing, the best brands are Crane (all-cotton, they are the ones who supply paper for US currency) and G. Lalo's laid "Vergé de France".

Quote:

Originally Posted by guitarman19853 What would be a good ink to start out with? I'm a fan of bold smooth writing black inks.

When I was in school, I used Parker Quink Blue-black and black, both are permanent (in France, you could buy a kind of felt-tip correction pen loaded with something like Amodex, which would erase FP ink, but it would only work with washable blue ink, not Quink).

I have now switched to Aurora black, which is the deepest, most velvety black I know, but is very difficult to find. The next one would be Pelikan black, then Herbin black. Rotring brilliant is not bad either. Avoid Montblanc inks, which are utter garbage and fade quickly. Private Reserve and Herbin have some very striking colors.

 

[milkpowder]

I don't get what all the hype for Moleskines is about...

 

[Zanth]

How about the H-Works Titanium Pens? Has anyone read anything about them? http://www.stutler.cc/pens/hworks/

Basically, Titanium body, 18K gold tip 1.5 years to make and basically 1500 for the pen

I am not into flash, but into durability, nice feel and weight, luxury but not gawdy luxury hence the no flash rule, but most of all a nice fine writing experience. 1500 is um...a bit much for me for a pen, I had wondered about MB but I had read repeatedly that they are overpriced compared to other brands that are equal to if not better (kinda like how Rolex is a mid-level watch in terms of quality but is high priced range).

 

[Vertigo-1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanth How about the H-Works Titanium Pens? Has anyone read anything about them? http://www.stutler.cc/pens/hworks/ Basically, Titanium body, 18K gold tip 1.5 years to make and basically 1500 for the pen I am not into flash, but into durability, nice feel and weight, luxury but not gawdy luxury hence the no flash rule, but most of all a nice fine writing experience. 1500 is um...a bit much for me for a pen, I had wondered about MB but I had read repeatedly that they are overpriced compared to other brands that are equal to if not better (kinda like how Rolex is a mid-level watch in terms of quality but is high priced range).

Titanium you want, titanium you get...

http://www.stylophilesonline.com/arc...an03/02tit.htm

You may be interested in Chris Thompson's custom pens if you like that H-works. I've never heard of H-works before but that is definitely a nice looking pen.

 

[Zanth]

Sweet! Thanks for that link. How do the Duofolds usually write and feel? Is this design dated to a point of begin outclassed by other designs?

Also, I remember you once posted a link about this really awesome mechanical pencil, do you remember which one I'm refering to?

 

[Vertigo-1]

The Duofold feels very nice in the hand, it's nice and big but not heavy feeling. Of course all bets are off once you have it go through a complete body changeover, but I still believe they are among the best out there. It's been quite a while since Parker has released a new flagship pen other than the Duofold, with good reason! It's got a great classic, timeless design that will never be outdated, just like the Pelikan M800.

The nib though I'm not so sure about, the two times I've tried Duofolds, the nibs have been quite finicky and required adjustments. They were both fines, and one was scratchy and stingy with the ink, requiring a specific strange angle to write smoothly. The other fine was ok, but clearly wrote more like a medium than a fine.

As for the pencil, it was the Otto Super Promecha. Has more features than a Swiss Army knife.

You can pick one up at www.jetpens.com. Been meaning to pick one up myself someday.

 

[majid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder I don't get what all the hype for Moleskines is about...

Mostly clever marketing, implying that if you use the product, you are in the same creative league as Hemingway or Van Gogh. Also, the implication of euro chic, even though they are made in China, like so many other consumer goods, except the price is definitely premium.

That said, Moleskine notebooks have a few distinctive design features that will hopefully trickle into other brands:

1. a very stiff (yet lightweight) cover, that makes it possible to write even if you don't have a flat surface to lean the notebook on, e.g. scribbling on while standing up, as with a reporter's notebook.
2. an elastic strap that prevents it from opening up in a bag and getting the pages crumpled
3. a convenient pocket in the back for scraps of papers, clippings and other miscellanea

 

[majid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo Yes the Levenger note cards are very nice, but they can become expensive if you take a lot of notes.

They are not really meant for heavy duty (e.g. college student) note-taking, more like a classier alternative to Post-It notes. Crane's sells 3x5 index cards in their cream-colored 100% cotton rag card stock paper, and you can also have them imprinted. Very elegant, and much more versatile than most custom stationery. You could also buy an embosser to personalize your cards.

 

[majid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanth I had wondered about MB but I had read repeatedly that they are overpriced compared to other brands that are equal to if not better (kinda like how Rolex is a mid-level watch in terms of quality but is high priced range).

Rolex and Montblanc are brands snobs love to hate, but both are very reliable. Pelikan is probably the next closest thing to a Montblanc, but a M1000 is about the same price as a Meisterstuck Diplomat 149.

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by majid Rolex and Montblanc are brands snobs love to hate, but both are very reliable. Pelikan is probably the next closest thing to a Montblanc, but a M1000 is about the same price as a Meisterstuck Diplomat 149.

And no one ever complains about the price of the M1000!