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(filled with Rohrer & Klingner Alt Bordeaux) Demonstrators are not really my area. I do somewhat appreciate them as a sort of curiosity, but I prefer more traditional finishes and colors. That being said, a piston filling demonstrator does seem like an interesting idea, and since I've never had one and lately it became possible to buy them for less than $20, I thought I'd try one. I already had the solid black Wing Sung 698 so I wanted something different (and while I do like WS 698, I'm not that crazy about its design). So, Caliarts Ego II it is. To be precise, I ordered the first Caliarts Ego, which had a very different clip and an opaque black piston mechanism, but ended up receiving the second version. Deciding that it's not worth to make a fuss about it, I accepted what I got. Caliarts Ego II is a clear demonstrator, and when I say clear, I mean totally. The only elements of it which are not transparent are the nib and the clip. I do like the design of this pen, much more than Wing Sung 698's. It's just more neat, better shaped and the clip is much better looking. For the record, Ego II also comes with the piston knob and the cap finial opaque in a few colors (those seems out of stock on eBay now) and one fully solid color in a very bright blue. The pen came in a steel box, packed with a little wrench for disassembling and a spare feed and EF nib, while the one on the pen is marked as F. Both nibs are stamped "Caliarts Iridium Point". I think those are Pilot 78G/Metropolitan/Plumix etc. compatible nibs but I haven't tried any swapping. The wrench quickly proved useful. At first glance I noticed that the piston didn't come all the way up as it should. So I took the wrench, and not really knowing what I was doing I tried to twist the piston. There was some noise, for a second I thought something cracked, but no, surprisingly the piston went up to the exact position I wanted it to be. Now, however, it doesn't come all the way down. The piston seems to be too short to fully utilize the pen's ink capacity on a single filling, but this can be easily remedied by pushing the air out and drawing ink the second time to fill the pen completely. I filled the pen for the first time with Pelikan 4001 Dark Green and it didn't write well out of the box. It was very dry and required some pushing to get a consistent line. First I thought about opening up the tines of the nib little more - the nib on the nail method (as demonstrated by SBRE Brown). Done wonders for my Parker Sonnet but here it was completely unnecessary and it was probably a bad idea, but the unexpected result is worth mentioning. I slightly pushed the nib on my nail... and the nib instantly bent. I mean instantly. I didn't even use much force, I barely started, and the nib just completely bent immediately as if I hit it with a hammer. I thought I broke it and would to have to get another nib, but no, another surprise, as easily as it bent it got back to its right position. The nib seems to be perfectly fine. The dryness was actually a slight baby's bottoms. Not having any micromesh I decided that rather than spending $25 on the sheets I'm going to spend ca. $2 on the three grit nail file at the nearest drugstore. Did the job, the pen writes like a charm. Smoothly, moderately wet, with some feedback that I find pleasant. The nib is a stiff one, a little bit of line variation is possible, but you'd really have to force it. The cap is screwed on. That's always a good thing. Posting is possible, I guess, but not really useful. It posts very shallowly on the piston knob and not even securely. Also, posting makes it very long, and the pen is already pretty big without it. Caliarts Ego II did bring me some annoyance, two times I thought I broke it. After just a little work with the nib, it turned into a very pleasant writer. A piston filler, good ink capacity, and very affordable. If you like demonstrators then I think it's worth getting. It probably won't become my EDC, but overall I'm glad I have it. Measurments: Lenght capped - 142 mm Lenght uncapped - 131 mm Cap lenght - 60 mm Lenght posted - ca. 170 mm Barrel diameter - 13 mm Weight (half inked): Capped - 18 g Uncapped - 13 g Cap - 5 g (the feed is clear, but the pen was inked when I took the photos) Size comparison. From the top: Jinhao 159, Caliarts Ego II, Wing Sung 698, Pelikan M200

I already had some staining on one from Noodler's black, and had some shimmer left over in another one from Colorverse's Gluon, both inside the barrel where the small grooves are. What are the inks I should definitely stay away from if I don't want to permanently stain the barrel? Are there specific colors that stain more than others? What are the easy to wash out inks?

There are some reviews on the Platinum Cool, which is also known as Platinum Balance, on FPN and other places. Nevertheless I think adding one more might contribute some more information, another perspective, experience and pictures. I had this pen in fine and medium and now use the fine for more than a year. Introduction This review is meant to depict my personal opinion and valuation. I wont use points to rate aspects. While I dont intend to criticize those who do, I dont want to evoke the semblance of objectivity. I am neither an expert for standards used nor could I compare this pen to dozens of others. Due to these limitations to what might be an ideal review, I will simply try my best to describe my experience with this model in a way which allows you to contrast it to your own experience and preferences. Nonetheless I will offer a few comparisons which might be useful. Platinum officially calls this model PGB-3000A and categorises it as a member of its Balance-family on its website. The Cool features a relatively springy steel nib in fine or medium, an acrylic resin torpedo-shaped body of medium size and weight. First Impressions The pen came in a nice-looking cardboard box which also included a Platinum proprietary cartridge and an instruction manual. Unfortunately there was no converter included. I was pleasantly surprised with the box. I wouldnt be ashamed to have the box be part of a present even though it was probably not necessarily meant to be displayed. While to me this pen feels solid and well made it cant keep up with the clear Platinum 3776 versions if we dont consider the price. The clear plastic with chrome trim looks modern. Appearance and Construction The Cool is available in three different colours, shining crystal, crystal blue and crystal rose. The clear one is, well, clear, the coloured ones are highly translucent. As I mentioned this pen is torpedo shaped, having a cap which becomes slightly wider towards the cap band and a barrel which then tapers towards its end. The Cool is mostly made from plastic. I like its quality because it really is clear, not prone to scratching and the material is quite thick which gives it a more sturdy impression than a Platinum Preppy. A Preppys barrel can be deformed when a lot of pressure is applied by hand, this one seems much more robust. One plastic part I strongly dislike is its cap insert. While it doesnt feature Platinums sophisticated slip and seal mechanism it still works well - but looks ugly. Being opaque white it doesnt match the design in my eyes. The point, I assume, is to hide traces of ink inside the cap. Where the insert is it does its job, however to me this isnt worth the effort as I consider it flawed in two ways. On the one hand this white insert is far more noticeable than ink stains in the cap, on the other hand at least in my case the white now is covered in blue spots all around its upper part where it occasionally had contact with the nib and these are more visible due to the higher contrast than those in the cap which exist where the insert cant cover them up. I would prefer a clear cap insert or a cap sealing reasonably without an insert. I'm aware my focus on staining might cast a negative light on the Cool. Thus I want to point out I don't consider this a weakness or criticize it - other pens suffer similarly from my decision to use such ink. I knew that and am fine with it, I simply look at this pen from this angle based on my personal experience. I am sure if you use non permanent colours you can maintain its transparency. The clip is simple, functional and sturdy adorned by a subtly engraved line around its rim only. Similarly utilitarian the cap band is narrow. On the cap directly above it JAPAN PLATINUM and Platinums Logo are engraved. A big part of the body is faceted though in a different way than a TWSBI Diamond as the facets are inside the barrel making its outside round and smooth. Thus the facets only affect the appearance and light refraction. Being clear the section allows the transparent feed and metal threads to be seen which probably is the most attractive and promotional aspect this pen offers. This feature makes the feed adopt the colour of your ink. In general lighter colours come across better, more like they look on paper than darker colours. The effect is similar to ink in a bottle or converter, the more ink light travels through the darker the colour will look like. Pigment inks however are an exception to this rule behaving less like this. Speaking of pigment inks, I already mentioned traces of ink and stains in the cap and insert, ink of course can also stain the feed. If you want to keep the feed completely transparent, I recommend to have this in mind when choosing an ink. In my photos you can see the effect of using Platinum Pigment Blue and Sailor Sei Boku for months (with regular cleaning). Cleanings results are limited with pigment inks. I dont think they damage or penetrate the plastic used but once they dry they are hard to remove because water then wont do anything. Removing dried pigment ink mechanically is possible, gently rubbing is enough, but limited to accessible areas and areas like the body and inside of the cap which are smooth. I am not able to completely remove stains from the feed. If you tried it with an ultrasonic cleaner I would love to read about your experience. The sections circumference is on the narrow side, I would say. Wider than a Pilot Metropolitan section for example or a Waterman Hemispheres one, which for me is not comfortable. I recommend Goulets Pen Plaza for comparisons. Since the connection between section and barrel is made from metal the front part is heavier than the plastic back where only the converter adds weight. The section unfortunately comes with another downside as its threads are sharp enough to abrase material from the plastic threads on the barrel, at least in my case. Im sure this wont be more than an aesthetic problem for the next few years but it doesnt improve the experience either. Weight and Dimensions Length capped: 139,5mm 5,5in Length posted: ~154mm 6,1in Length uncapped: ~126mm 5in Weight body: 13g 0,46oz Weight cap: 5g 0,18oz The more subjective assessment: This model is section-heavy but works well. Posting for me adds too much weight to the back. The Cool is about as heavy/light as a Lamy Safari. Nib and Performance As already mentioned the nib is made from steel and available in fine and medium. The nib is rather small, normal sized for the pens overall size. In contrast to most Japanese and Platinum pens in this model the line width runs similar to an average European fountain pen. I also found both the medium and fine rather wet. Combined this results in rather wide lines, maybe even compared to some fine running European brands. How it feels writing is more congruent to other Platinum pens as mine write smoothly and with some even feedback. An interesting feature is the relatively springy nib. Following the logic of what Platinum says about the new Platinum Procyon this might be due to the pentagon-shaped nib. It offers more flexibility than a Lamy Safari or Pilot Metropolitan to which I compared it before, I wouldnt call it flex though. My experience is limited but considering what I have seen it also is much less flexible than a Pilot Falcon or FA nib. When pressure is applied the line width increases, more noticeable in the fine than the medium, as well as the ink flow. You can reasonably expect the line width to become 1,5 times as wide, maybe to double. During normal writing the effect is very small, writing feels springier than with a nail-like steel nib. But I wouldnt recommend to constantly apply (a lot of) pressure, to me this nib doesnt feel like it would like this. The ink flow is even, doesnt decrease over time and easily keeps up with fast writing. Edit: The symbol on the left means 'fine', the one on the right 'medium'. Both nibs are silver coloured, the ambient light affected the reflection. Filling System and Maintenance Platinum uses a proprietary cartridge/converter system. There was no converter included which is common at this price point. Buying one is worth it I think. The converter is very well made overall, feels sturdy and can be taken apart for cleaning if you wish so. Its mouth is made from plastic surrounded by a metal ring. The clear part stood up surprisingly well against staining being still clear. The shroud is from metal again. Take a look at the pictures to see the piston mechanism inside the converter. The knob is made from plastic and features grooves, turning it feels controlled. Platinums cartridges are smaller than large standard international ones, and close in size to Pilot's cartridges. Their body is fairly thick and they contain a metal ball agitator. Cost and Value The Platinum Cool retails for about 40 US-Dollar in the US. I havent seen it at European retailers and must admit I dont know much about other markets. Some companies offer it for around 25 Dollar/Euro. Customer care usually is limited if you would have to send it back to Japan from Europe for example but these shipping costs probably exceed their benefits anyway at this price. The Cool can be considered an entry-level pen, maybe an upgrade to a Preppy or Plaisir. There are a lot of good competitors. I can name the Safari and Metropolitan again, but there are many more. I think the Cool cannot surpass them in writing experience, construction quality or filling-system but neither lacks behind. A clearer reason to buy is its transparent body and feed. Conclusion The Platinum Cool is an affordable demonstrator which offers reliable and controlled writing. Its transparent feed makes it special. If you aim for a super-smooth entry-level pen, look elsewhere. If you like the design you probably wont be disappointed by its other features. Feedback, criticism and further questions or opinions are welcome. Feel free to point out language mistakes I might have made. Edit 1: removed my remark on what the symbol on the nib stands for. It indicates the nib size,but I probably mixed up fine and medium. Edit 2: added picture for comparison of the symbols adorning the nib which mean 'fine' and 'medium'. Thanks for pointing out my mistake, Pseudo88.

I have a thing about clear/transparent pens. They don't necessary have to be a demonstrator, but any clear parts attract me. My favorites so far are Omas 630, Franklin Christoph P66 with Italian Ice and Stipula Etruria Blue. What is your favorite clear/transparent pen(s)?

Hello everyone, I would love to see photos of rare demonstrators (both vintage and modern) in the same topic. Since it's been 3 years (already!) since Kenshiro shared his brilliant collection (https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/276249-demonstrator-festival-2014/), I think it's worth it getting the demonstrator people together again. I'm gonna start with this old, probably first generation (metal parts, W. Germany etc.) Lamy Safari Demonstrator (old Safari converter included): This second one is not that rare, but since I could't find pictures of it before buying it, here it goes. It's a modern Wahl Eversharp Skyline Demonstrator. I don't know if it was released under a different name. Notice that this model has a clear cap (different from the currently produced demos with metal caps): I'm looking forward to seeing yours! Regards, Osny

I saw this YouTube video about the Pilot Kakuno with demonstrator/clear/transparent body. Is anyone else really excited for this pen? I like Pilot steel nibs. I like demonstrator pens. And, I like the comfort of the Kakuno pen body. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkNjCHH7K7Q

Hi everyone! I'm in the market for a nice Senior sized striped duofold. I'm particularly interested in the blue pearl version! Are there any places in Australia who may have a nice one of these? Or anywhere great in the states or other overseas areas? I have been waiting for a reasonable one on ebay but no luck. I can't quite post a WTB yet here, but will once I hit that (30) mark. Lastly, what price are we looking at if we're being fair? Thank you so much!

With the latest Twsbi Eco making news, I decided to give my old 580 another shot just to make sure whether I should go for another. Find one is good enough for me (personal opinion). Here is also a link to my blog: TWSBI Diamond 580 Review Here goes my review of the 580: My sole motivation behind getting a TWSBI was to disassemble the pen and have all the fun, which I missed. And I got a clear demonstrator, packaged with a nice-looking wrench. THE TWSBI STORY TWSBI (called Twiz-Bee) refers to San Wen Tong, i.e when TWS is spelled backwards and it means ‘Hall of Three Cultures’ according to their website. BI at the end refers to writing instruments. Ta Shin Precision manufactured everything from toy lego parts to high-end writing instruments for several luxury brands (both American & Japanese) for well over 40 years. So that’s plastic, metal & precision, precisely what’s required to make and sell a nice writing instrument, under your own brand name. Which luxury brands? They don’t reveal those due to privacy agreements. I have reasonable doubt from various reviews that one of them is Levenger. And TWSBI Nibs are said to be sourced from JoWo (earlier it was Bock & Schimdt), Germany (same as for Faber-Castell Design Pens). THE FPN CONNECTION An FPN member by the name of speedy started a post with a prototype development for an inexpensive piston filling fountain pen somewhere around late October, 2009. He clarified that he was a pen-maker and shared pictures of TWSBI 530 prototypes in this post. It showed a metallic piston system. And it became a popular brand within a short period of time. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aXanzzgVZpc/Vb2tFd_RXXI/AAAAAAAAFAc/VMOIxx7069c/s1600/Prototype.jpg PRESENTATION That’s probably one of the great aspects of marketing. Inside a brown cardboard box, you will find the pen residing within a clear plastic case. You will instantly fall in love with the presentation part of it. For the lack of a better word, I call it The Apple packaging. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2v-U9j8mEdg/Vb2r5a2wXVI/AAAAAAAAE_Q/PCrDoboa4xw/s1600/DSC_4802.jpg There is an instruction sheet on disassembly of the pen, highlighting the pen parts. Below the white pen-holding shelf, you will find the 7mm TWSBI wrench and a vial of silicone grease in two slots. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1wEqgLBfRVA/Vb2tSxNRwAI/AAAAAAAAFA0/8dvHgT0DmhA/s1600/box.jpg DESIGN - THE GEOMETRICAL TRANSPARENCY (4/6) The build looks sturdy without adding much weight. Plastic economizes both cost and weight of fittings. This pen endorses practical utility rather than art with which you will probably associate a Pelikan or a Visconti. I do find an element of industrial look with the pen. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-COLWtQyBr-o/Vb2rvkWHSqI/AAAAAAAAE_I/_C5pGu7HVTk/s1600/DSC_4833.jpg Most of it is visible engineering, while use of plastic is quite evident in its piston-system. The barrel and cap are made of thick polycarbonate, with a protective heat treated layer for increased resistance to scratches, along with the crystal transparence. The overall fitment is still an area of improvement. One of my experiences is with the piston knob, which does not tighten itself well, as the piston head is pulled back in. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vVlXAJhf34U/Vb2r7Unlx0I/AAAAAAAAE_Y/A6R6VKiUpMQ/s1600/DSC_4829.jpg The cap feels substantial and unscrews with a single turn, revealing a rather dagger-like nib. There is a metallic insert for the nib unit, supplying necessary chrome accents for the aesthetics. The piston knob has a rather broad ring making the mark for disassembly. Multiple polygonal planes orchestrate light effectively within, dazzling both the pen and the ink inside the barrel. The decagonal geometry also prevents an open pen from rolling away. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5lnoYSQczHQ/Vb2sO5WHmuI/AAAAAAAAE_w/coWF8V-uyck/s1600/DSC_4837.jpg The cap has a wide chrome band carrying a laser engraved TWSBI on one side of it and DIAMOND 580 TAIWAN on the other, in three separate lines. Two concentric circles run on this band in the form of imprints. The finial carries a vibrant red & silver TWSBI logo of three pillars within a dome of transparent acrylic. The clip is spring-loaded within a visible system having a chrome tassie and it has a geometrical pyramid-like cut. The cap is heavy and has a smooth circular cross section which can roll the entire pen easily with its weight, until the clip restricts it. You can also observe the relatively greyish inner cap, which prevents the nib from drying out. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hvFDb1IoLBQ/Vb2tS3yDViI/AAAAAAAAFA4/O1cIkYuxahU/s1600/cap.jpg FILLING SYSTEM (5/6) As a piston filler, it does have a good ink capacity around 1.8~2mL. The knob unscrews with three complete turns and manages to draw ink quite efficiently from the bottle. The feeder hole is rather a channel to enable efficient ink suction. One of the improvements could be with the piston knob, which should increasingly tighten itself, as the piston head is pulled back in. Mine stays loosely fastened (after I applied some silicone grease on the piston head) and is directly proportional to the friction at the piston head. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zyu-R2d4OIY/Vb2tEOw3cII/AAAAAAAAFAY/b53TOE9_aQc/s1600/Filler.jpg DISASSEMBLY For this phase, rather than learning from the manual, you can have a look at a 580 disassembly video. I like the one with gouletpens or srebrown. Make sure you thoroughly flush the pen with water before disassembling it. 1. Rotating the piston end-cap counter-clockwise, the piston seal is lowered to a hinged stop inside the barrel. 2. Fit the wrench just below the piston-end-cap, which can unscrewed in a clockwise direction from the piston-knob. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NUkTmOyn-1U/Vb2sxi3fPxI/AAAAAAAAFAI/7YzC3qXppfM/s1600/DSC_4903.jpg 3. The piston mechanism has five different parts as you can see in the picture, though it’s not necessary to remove the rubber piston seal (or head) from the piston rod (spindle). The fittings of the mechanism can be made from higher grade material. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I1IdSoPmNms/Vb2sps-rsbI/AAAAAAAAFAA/LSsSEwOPHFE/s1600/DSC_4913%2Bcopy.jpg 4. The nib unit can be easily removed by first unscrewing the grip section from the barrel. 5. Since, nib is friction fit, you may remove the nib and feed from the unit, in case there is some heavy cleaning required (in case of a bad flow, sometimes the feed is coated with grease which restricts ink-flow). 6. Make sure you apply an adequate amount of silicone grease to the sides of the rubber piston seal (you may ignore the bottom surface) before reassembly. NIB - ALL THAT MATTERS (4/6) The nib/feed unit can be taken out or apart for cleaning purposes. The nib is stainless steel and has a rather small dagger-like design. It comes with four stock widths - EF, F, M, B and two special widths of Stub 1.1 & Stub 1.5. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pUw5Vdlnev4/Vb2sIzRr7-I/AAAAAAAAE_k/h6rOBMIZtfQ/s1600/DSC_4877.jpg The tail end specifies carries the nib width while the name TWSBI along with the logo rest above the tail. There are some curves adorning the inside symmetry of the tines. To be honest it’s kind of a plain design with limited nib leverage. A black plastic feed with a feed channel for ink suction and the thin fins on the other side ensures a good buffer capacity and prevents hard-starts. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vdkLuAmZ2NI/Vb2sJai3UzI/AAAAAAAAE_o/fZXFoCmyeW8/s1600/DSC_4893.jpg Earlier, TWSBI used to source its nibs from Schmidt and then Bock, which is incidentally the nib-supplier for Faber-Castell too. But it’s the alloys and then post-processing that can make a lot of difference even in steel-nibs. PHYSICS OF IT (6/6) – RELATIVELY SPEAKING The pen filled with ink, does have a good balance in terms of both weight and length. The pen is not meant to be posted. The grip is quite comfortable with a section around 1 cm thick. Uncapped Length ~ 13 cm Capped Length ~ 14 cm Nib Leverage ~ 2 cm Overall Weight ~ 28 g (Cap Weight ~ 14 g) Capped and uncapped and posted with a pelikan m805 runs below for your reference. A capped 580 looks similar to a m805. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NlHUezEy6vA/Vb2soSwhyvI/AAAAAAAAE_4/yewH-68smxg/s1600/DSC_4929.jpg Uncapped it obviously lacks the nib of a m805, although the lengths are well-matched. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zIo52iiZJXE/Vb2tCnSS2lI/AAAAAAAAFAQ/0xh7oZmbYUU/s1600/DSC_4937.jpg ECONOMIC VALUE (4/6) It retails at around Rs 5,500 ($ 86) here and I got it from a local store at around $ 70. The problem with ordering it from TWSBI’s website directly is that apart from heavy shipping charges, there are unseen duties to be paid for. Given the fact that you could get one of the usual butter-smooth and more responsive steel-nibbed Faber-Castell pens at a similar or even lesser price, it’s rather a decision of piston vs converter. I hope that the retail prices will get evened out with demand. OVERALL (4.6/6) This nib is wet with a hint of feedback which is expected of fine nibs. I purposely used a less wet ink, since the pen runs smooth with wet inks. There is some line variation which is evident with thicker vertical lines. A complete absence of any perceptible softness in this nib, kills the responsiveness part. The fine nib lays a line which runs between Japanese Fines and European Fines. Being a wet writer out of the box, the Fine nib puts a line which takes around 16-17 seconds to dry on MD Paper with Pelikan 4001 ink. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CwXFByod9IE/Vb2tIszp84I/AAAAAAAAFAo/K60KSx721a8/s1600/DSC_4943.jpg INNER CAP - INK RESIDUE In case you find any ink trapped between the inner cap and the cap, a wooden pencil fitted with attached eraser, can help clean it. I have experienced this kind of leakage during air-travel. 1. Take the wooden pencil (Standard #2) and insert the eraser-end into the cap. 2. Bend the cap in one direction, while putting pressure on the eraser in the opposite direction. 3. Slowly use the friction created by the eraser to pull out the inner cap. 4. Wash the ink out (Plain water is fine). 5. Re-insert the inner cap, and screw the pen back in, and it should friction-fit back into its original position. REFERENCES FPN TWSBI Bock Clientele Ink Residue Disassembly - gouletpens, srebrown Thank you for going through the review. You can find some more pen and paraphernalia reviews here.

Hello all, I have a TWSBI Mini with a Medium nib and, some time ago, lost the o-ring on the piston knob that prevents over-tightening of the cap upon posting. Does anybody know where I can buy a replacement o-ring, or am I just SOL? On the attached image, I marked where the o-ring is normally located in red. - J

Which pens do you wish came in demonstrator versions, but don't already? Personally, I'd love to see a demonstrator Jinhao X450 or a demonstrator Vanishing Point.

I got a Pilot Custom Heritage 92 Clear Demonstrator for christmas. Do I run into any danger zones if I use the Goulet Pen Flush to clean up my CH 92? Beautiful pen, will probably be my favorite from now on. My common sense tells me that: 1. Flush chemicals may haze the clear plastic. 2. Flush chemicals may slowly eat the piston seal or make it brittle. I don't want anything to happen to my pen. It is too precious!! Please throw all your knowledge at me! Ty!

sup ppl. So I got an Ahab and my oh my! Those 20 dollars are worth every cent and more... I even love the smell. Reminds me of my grandpa's Vacumatic. I swapped the stock "flexi" nib for Zebra G and the thing became insane! Couldn't be happier. One question to other Ahab owners though... I first filled the pen with Sailor Jentle Green (ever so exquisite!) but noticed that it stained the section as well as the reservoir. After subsequent fillings with the same ink and a transition to Platinum Carbon Black Ink (ftw) it seems unlikely that the now amber-colored demonstrator plastic in the section is ever going back to its original clear (yet with a tinge of purple color). Is this normal? I will be going eyedropper style as soon as the stores open tomorrow (so I can get me some silicone grease) and I just want to know for sure if the staining I described above is the regular Ahab behaviour so I'll be prepared to get a permanently stained barrel too. Not that I care too much, to be honest Just wanted to ask. Thanks for looking at my post! cheers S

Hi all, Backstory: I've recently changed job location and gave away the pens I had to my colleagues. Now I need another pen at my new location and thought it a good idea to try a fountain pen in the lab. But which one?!? Needs: - The pen really needs to have an extra fine nib and be able to take some pressure. - Preferably by a C/C filler.... never thought that I'd say that, but the contained environment that I work in means that things go into the lab... and not out. A cart filling pen is just going to make things a whole lot easier. - The pen needs to be cheap too, no higher than £20, what's that... $25 or so. I'm normally careful with my pens but damage to the nib and barrel is quite possible and my budget is shockingly low at the moment. - A demonstrator would be good, or any other barrel colour that would show up contamination... Any brands that would meet these needs? The obvious choice would be for a Lamy Vista, but I'm open to suggestions! Thanks for the help, Badger

One of my recent Sheaffer acquisitions has a very hazy, fuzzy ink view, pretty much opaque unless held up to light. I believe it has been heat or environmentally exposed to make it that way. Is it possible to sand/polish off or treat the hazy part to get a clearer ink view underneath? Not a crucial thing, as the pen works superbly otherwise, but would be nice to make the view section clear again, at least a bit more so.