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Hi There have been written much more on Pilot Namiki, Dunhill-Namiki and their artists but not much is written about Plainum Pen Co. and their artists.Im collecting vintage Makie Paltinum Pens. Im trying to get some back ground information on who the artists were, when they worked for Platinum and perhaps others, their birthdate and when they passed away, if they have won any prices and if they did other makie works other than fountain pens and pencils. And what other information is out there even the most trivial. So far I have come up with the following names:Rosui-Gyokusendou-Ohara: a subcontractor of Platinum Pen Co. in 1930s (propably the most famous) Shuzan: a subcontractor of Platinum Pen Co. in 1930s Gyokusen: a subcontractor of Platinum Pen Co. in 1930s (might be same persona Gyokumei just spelled differently in english) Gyokumei: a subcontractor of Platinum Pen Co. in 1930s Housen: a subcontractor of Platinum Pen Co. in 1930s Are there any names im missing? I have searched FPOJ, FPOW by Lambrou, The Murakami book, the Nakazone FPOTW and the internet. If any one might have some old Bonhams or Christies catalogues with pictures and/or information if you could take a picture and post it it would be appreciated greatly Kind regardsJohn

I can't find a similar thread, so I thought I'd start one here. Artists who use fountain pens to draw have different needs from those who are using them to write. Personally, I need ink to be waterproof so I can add watercolour, lightfast so it doesn't fade if hung on a wall, and work in a fountain pen with a very fine nib, since that's what I prefer to use. I thought perhaps other artists in the network may like to share their best finds. Pens for sketching also need to be lighter as I may be drawing solidly and cross-hatching for some time, so I tend to go with plastic rather than my lovely heavier pens. My favourite pens for drawing are Lamy Joy with an EF or EF gold nib - great for fast sketching and smooth for writing; Namiki Falcon EF and F - such lovely expressive lines (I use the EF for black and the F for brown), and Sailor 1911 EF for drawing lots of details and really fine lines. I have used the Sailor Nano ink but have found the De Atramentis document black to be a wonderful fast-drying and waterproof ink. The Document brown is also lovely for drawing and writing. I am excited about the idea of CYMK waterproof inks for fountain pens - a great idea that has been missing to my knowledge. For inks that don't like fountain pens, I love a dip pen and post office nib. I also like to use inks that are not waterproof so they react with water. Noodler's Polar Brown is rather lovely for this, as is an Aussie ink Art Spectrum Burnt Sienna, and Higgins Eternal for black. I've attached a photo of the pens and the nibs though many of you will be very familiar with them. I just like visuals! Love to hear from others :-)

I call upon the wisdom do FPN crowds: I have a question about the pen collector's unicorn: the seldom-seen Artist's Nib. If anyone's seen one - are they marked 'artist'? Or is that simply shorthand for an Ideal nib with longer-than-usual tines?