[brim71]

  Wow i didnt even know this thread was here. For anyone else there is a forum for FPs that is about the same level as this board in its respective area called FountainPenNetwork. I've been a member there for some time. Anyways i ammassed a decent collection over the past few years but havent made any purchases lately. Heres my List!
 
If you want any photos/reviews let me know:
Sailor Professional Gear Black - Naginata Togi MF
Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze Age - Fine
1985-1990 Montblanc 149 - Fine
Namiki Metal Falcon - John Mottishaw Spencarian
Pelikan m215 - Richard Binder 0.6 stub, 0.7 Crisp Itallic, Fine
TWSBI Diamond 530 - Fine, 1.5mm Stub
Visconti Salvador Dali Dance of Time Blue - Fine
Pilot Vanishing Point Matte Black, or blue with Rhodium trim - 0.6 Crisp Cursive Itallic, fine, medium, broad
TWSBI Diamond 580 clear - Pendleton Bad Boy with Angel Wings
Pilot Knight - Medium
TWSBI Diamond 580 Rose Gold - Pendleton Stub
Pelikan m620 Place de Concorde City Series - Medium
Parker 15 - Restored by Greg Minuskin
Cross Townsend Medallist - Medium nib, has issues
Nakaya Portable Cigar Kuro Tamenuri - Soft Medium 2 tone stub
Nakaya Desk Pen Aka Tamenuri w/ base - Medium
Platinum 3776 #50 Midnight Ocean 
Platinum Maki-e Sumiko Black Tiger - 0.6 Crisp Cursive Itallic
Pilot Custom 823 Amber - Broad (out for repair, will be returned Shortly)

Really nice collection!
 
I'm a sucker for Visconti, so would love to see a picture of the Dali.
 
I've also been thinking of picking up the Pilot Custom 823, how broad is the Pilot broad?  Is it a wet nib?
 
And yes, a number of us from this thread hang out over on FPN too!

 

[Ra97oR]

I might have found my favourite Gel-Pen refill... Even dethroned the Pilot Hi-Tec C 0.4 for me. I really do not like the Pilot Hi-Tec C blue, too dark and purplish, forcing me to use the Blue-Black all the time.
 
The Uniball Signo 207 0.38 in Blue, the ink is very nice blue. Not unlike the Kon-Peki even! <3
 
The best part is how it writes, it writes slightly wet while having a decent feedback. I found it the closest thing I have written that feels similar to my Pilot VP Fine, the Hi-Tec C doesn't give you any feedback on a Rhodia pad at least, making my handwriting a fair bit more messy.
 
Once my Ti2 Techliner body comes in, I can see this being my favourite non-FP ever... Can't wait.

 

[brhfl]

 
Once my Ti2 Techliner body comes in, I can see this being my favourite non-FP ever... Can't wait.

Dang, that's a nice looking pen… kind of bummed I missed out on that one!
Edit: or not, guess there's a second KS for a bunch of different anodized versions... That bluish one looks fascinating...

 

[Pwn3r4Life]

  Really nice collection!
 
I'm a sucker for Visconti, so would love to see a picture of the Dali.
 
I've also been thinking of picking up the Pilot Custom 823, how broad is the Pilot broad?  Is it a wet nib?
 
And yes, a number of us from this thread hang out over on FPN too!

Check out the Goulet Nib Nook. You can compare fountain pen nibs and all the images are to scale on a Rhodia dot pad with Noodler's Black ink. It really gives you a great idea of nib widths. To answer your question basically. No, it isn't very broad. More of a thicker medium in my mind.

 

[Pwn3r4Life]

I'm a senior in high school, rapidly becoming addicted to fountain pens. I'm actually trying to trade my headphones for fountain pens. But alas, I have a question that I cannot get answered elsewhere.
 
What ink should I get? I am forced to write on both sides of garbage paper at school, so it cannot bleed-through. Also, I'd like it to dry quickly. I also want a cheap ink. Other than that, I really don't care. I just can't find any information on inks about how they bleed on cheap paper.

 

[Planar_head]

  I'm a senior in high school, rapidly becoming addicted to fountain pens. I'm actually trying to trade my headphones for fountain pens. But alas, I have a question that I cannot get answered elsewhere.
 
What ink should I get? I am forced to write on both sides of garbage paper at school, so it cannot bleed-through. Also, I'd like it to dry quickly. I also want a cheap ink. Other than that, I really don't care. I just can't find any information on inks about how they bleed on cheap paper.

 
I've only ever tried two inks: Pilot Black:
 
http://www.jetpens.com/Pilot-Fountain-Pen-Ink-70-ml-Bottle-Black/pd/3992
 
and my daily-driver ink right now is Noodler's Dark Matter:
 
http://www.gouletpens.com/Noodlers_Dark_Matter_Ink_3oz_p/n19052.htm
 
Both are excellent if you want a ink that can be used all the time. I note-take on cheap Officemax filler paper, printer paper, and occasionally in a proper bound notebook. I think that the Noodler's ink is a more interesting black ink, with more interesting ink tones and it even shades a little bit sometimes, even with Pilot Prera. Pilot's ink was pretty boring, though if you dilute it a little bit it made for a nice looking gray. Both inks are nice and saturated at full strength.
 
The Pilot I'm using has a fine nib; with juicier nibs your mileage may vary! I think overall that's probably going to be one of the biggest factors on if you get a lot of show-through or bleed through -- if your nib is a wet noodle it will definitely show. For what it's worth, I think the Noodler's ink if more tolerant of junk paper in terms of show through. No direct comparisons, so simply take it with a grain of salt. Both dry pretty quickly, though local humidity probably affects those comparisons though. I don't think I've ever smeared either ink; the Pilot G2s I used to write with are a whole different story!

 

[brim71]

  I'm a senior in high school, rapidly becoming addicted to fountain pens. I'm actually trying to trade my headphones for fountain pens. But alas, I have a question that I cannot get answered elsewhere.
 
What ink should I get? I am forced to write on both sides of garbage paper at school, so it cannot bleed-through. Also, I'd like it to dry quickly. I also want a cheap ink. Other than that, I really don't care. I just can't find any information on inks about how they bleed on cheap paper.

As Planar_head said, your bleed-through is actually going to depend on your pen, probably more so than your ink.  A wet writer, with a broad nib will make probably any ink bleed-through, whereas with a dry writer and fine nib you could get away with more (obviously at the expense of smoothness!).
 
What inks have you tried already that produce bad bleed through?  Maybe we can compare our experiences with those inks and others we've tried.  That being said, I tend to have good results with Waterman inks.
 
A couple of other things you can do to try to reduce bleed through, water down your inks a bit (try FPN for some suggestions about that), or use blotting paper to quickly dry the ink (although in high school that may be difficult if you're in a time crunch).  Iron gall inks may also be something to look into, although more maintenance and you'll need to do your research to make sure your pen will play nicely with it.

 

[Ra97oR]

 

 
Once my Ti2 Techliner body comes in, I can see this being my favourite non-FP ever... Can't wait.

Dang, that's a nice looking pen… kind of bummed I missed out on that one!
Edit: or not, guess there's a second KS for a bunch of different anodized versions... That bluish one looks fascinating...

My Gonzodized Ti2 Techliner finally arrived... with hefty custom charges... The Gonzodized is really fantastic looking , loving the blue with a hint of gold.
 
I try to get some picture later, too busy playing around with the magnets. lol.
 
 

 

[Noobmachine]

As a point to note about using fountain pens in school, a very good option is Pelikan 4001 black, and also Noodlers black, these two inks were what my friends used I class, and personally ( I have a knack for flair) used Pilot Iroshizuku Yama Guri (a dark brown) in a Lamy EF pen, and I rarely had bleed through.

In terms of pen, I'd recommend pilot's kakuno or metropolitan in fine, very cheap and good fine writers with very normal and not too flashy looks.

 

[dclaz]

How hard am I meant to be pressing down when writing with fountain pens? I find my Lamy 2000 EF doesn't put much/any ink down on a lot of strokes unless I press harder than what I thought might be necessary....

 

[Ra97oR]

I don't apply any noticeable extra pressure on mine. My pen's weight does the job quite well. Maybe it's the EF nib on the Lamy? I utterly hated the Safari's EF, it wasn't even as fine as my Pilot Fine, but a lot more scratchy and dry.

 

[dclaz]

  I don't apply any noticeable extra pressure on mine. My pen's weight does the job quite well. Maybe it's the EF nib on the Lamy? I utterly hated the Safari's EF, it wasn't even as fine as my Pilot Fine, but a lot more scratchy and dry.

I've got a Pilot Vanishing Point Fine on it's way, I'll be able to make a comparison soon I guess.

 

[Pwn3r4Life]

  How hard am I meant to be pressing down when writing with fountain pens? I find my Lamy 2000 EF doesn't put much/any ink down on a lot of strokes unless I press harder than what I thought might be necessary....

You shouldn't have to press down, at all. I suggest you try adjusting the nib. Perhaps the tines are too close and you aren't getting enough ink flow. Maybe the nib is rough, and needs to be smoothed out. If the former is the case, I refer you to YouTube. I know almost nothing about this kind of nib tuning.. If the latter is the case, I recommend you look into some abrasives that will smooth out the nib. I've only heard good thing about the Micro-Mesh and Mylar sold here 

 

[dclaz]

  You shouldn't have to press down, at all. I suggest you try adjusting the nib. Perhaps the tines are too close and you aren't getting enough ink flow. Maybe the nib is rough, and needs to be smoothed out. If the former is the case, I refer you to YouTube. I know almost nothing about this kind of nib tuning.. If the latter is the case, I recommend you look into some abrasives that will smooth out the nib. I've only heard good thing about the Micro-Mesh and Mylar sold here 

I might take it to someone who knows far more about fountain pens than I do See what they think.

 

[brim71]

  I might take it to someone who knows far more about fountain pens than I do See what they think.

Yep, could be lots of things going on with it.  In general, you don't need much pressure at all when writing with a FP.
 
The great thing about the Lamy nibs is that you can just pick up a couple (if you can afford the $13) and swap them around.  I'd say, pick up another nib (maybe try the F) and see if it writes the same way.  Now that you have a backup nib, try spreading the tines a bit on the other one (youtube it) to make it a little wetter.  It you screw it up, you're only out $13.