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Hello, I have this sailor WG pocket fountain pen. Nib is amazing! But the section is rusted through. Does anyone here have a section that I can buy? Any ideas are welcome. Thank you!

Dear forumites, It's my 10th day on this forum and my first topic here. I really enjoy lurking through this site and my FP-mania grows with each passing minute Now today I've found a tiny fountain pen in my granddads closet. All I know is that it's a Pilot, maybe from '70s (or '80s. or '60s...). The nib is 14k 585. It's folding. And it's very thin. Kinda reminds me my Pilot Birdie pencil (however not that thin of course). Pictures: It's in excellent cosmetic condition. Folded. The color almost looks like surf green on my Precision Bass Posted: Disassembled with squeezer converter (or is it not?) Could someone please help me identify this pen: date of manufacturing, maintenance instructions (it looks like this squeeze module is not detachable. or am I wrong?) et ceterea. Oh, and there are tiny letters on the lower part of its body: HS 26 Thank you all!

This Sailor pocket fountain pen was manufactured in February 1965 (date code H. making it one of the first Sailor pocket pens to be produced. Although, once very common in Japan, they rarely come up for sale now. This is most likely due to the age and owners like to hang on to them. They are unusual which attracted me and they’re surprisingly good for writing. Pocket pens are still popular and make a revival every 15 years. Pocket pens are a rather unusual design (long cap, short barrel) and started by Platinum in the ‘60’s and due to the high demand both Pilot and Sailor soon entered the market with similar designs. As the name says, these pens are made specifically for shirt pockets. 1. Appearance & Design (8/10) This is one of Sailor’s earliest designs: jade coloured section and finial; gold clip; 14k gold nib; and decorative gold trim ring. The price, Y2,000 in 1965, wasn’t cheap which would account for the decorative trim ring which was reserved for more luxurious models. I was not particularly attracted to pocket pens at first but if you haven’t experienced them before, then you’re in for a surprise; very short when capped, yet full size posted; light; and excellent as an every-day-carry. It is sturdily built, uses a full-size Sailor cartridge with a strong clip that holds firmly. The cap has an inner liner to prevent drying and a steel clutch ring providing that snug fit capped or posted. Typical of Sailor, the quality and construction is very good. They came in many colours and I particularly like this Jade version. Personally, I find it difficult to use un-posted but luckily when posted it’s the length of the majority of fountain pens. I enjoy the convenience of a strong clip and that it easily fits in my shirt pocket or suite jacket. Overall, it's a simple design that works for me. 2. Construction & Quality (9/10) Having been protected in the box, the pen has aged well and almost as good as new. I’ve known Japanese quality control is very good, but this is commendable. I can understand why they were in high demand at the time. The pen is light, and excellent balance when posted. It's surprisingly sturdy with the brushed chrome look that will help it age gracefully. As it’s made to post, the cap fits snugly on both the section and the barrel, which is much better than some Pilots where the cap clutch grabs too soon. It has lasted 50 years and looks as good as new. Having used good quality materials, it should easily last another 50 years. 3. Weight & Dimensions (8/10) – Capped: 114mm; Uncapped: 100mm; Posted: 142mm; Diameter: 10mm; Weight: 10g. The pen is lighter than those I normally use. The cap is half the weight of the pen; it posts securely, well balanced and comfortable in the hand. It’s a pleasure to use. 4. Nib & Performance (7/10) – It has a 14k gold nib with no size indication on the nib but the price label has 細 which I’m told means fine. The nib is definitely springy almost semi-flex and writes quite smoothly, definitely not toothy or scratchy. Since it is such good condition I was reluctant to fill the pen and only dip tested for the writing sample with Sailor Souboku. It’s been subsequently cleaned and dried for storage. It had no difficulties laying a consistent fine line, an advantage of a nib matched to a good feed. The nib and section can be easily removed but not necessary since it’s NOS. The feed holds a surprising amount of ink. Given the age, if you prefer a wider nib then you may have difficulty but they are around. 5. Filling System & Maintenance (7/10) – The barrel takes a full sized proprietary cartridge. The earlier models came with a cartridge converter but I have never seen any. Luckily there are two cartridges provided which can be refilled. The nib and feed can be extracted by unscrewing the nipple, and pushing them up the section. 6. Cost & Value (8/10) –It’s a NOS vintage pen in very good condition with box and papers so would generally attract the attention of collectors, which artificially inflates the price. I have seen a few pocket pens even by Sailor but this is the first of the 1960’s luxurious pens that I’ve seen. A pen by itself, in average condition, sells for US$35-US$50. This pen including the box, instructions, and original cartridges may sell for US$50-US$70. Would I buy one for US$60? If I was looking for a pocket pen then why not pick the best. I was quite surprised how quickly I got used to the pen even if it does have a fine nib then of course it would be attractive and definitely a talking point, so for that price I would buy one. 7. Conclusion (Final score, 47/60) – Overall, there are a number of features that make this pen special: compact design; attractive appearance; springy semi-flex nib; and a good solid gold clip. The only negative is the lack of cartridge convertors so it will always be a cartridge-only pen. Initially, I wasn’t attracted to pocket pens but now I’ve tried one they will definitely be on my wish list. I like it, it’s different and looks quite attractive when capped and I love the jade colour when it’s posted. It makes a nice daily writer, built well and will survive the occasional knock without showing it. It’s such a good writer it would be a shame if this one goes to a collector but it’s understandable. With care this one will easily last another fifty years. It’s definitely a go-to pen for those that love fine nibs. Other pictures: https://imgur.com/a/qUgCtoh

Hello again to all my FPN friends, When the original Moonman 80 came out, I resisted buying one because I already have more Parker 45s than I can remember. However, when the 80mini came out I knew it was worth a try, if only to be a recepticle for my favorite Parker 45 gold nibs. Although the quality isn't nearly as good as that of a real Parker 45, these pens still hold their own and nib swappability opens up endless possibilities. How cool is it that I can put a soft 14k UK Parker 45 OBB stub in a tiny pen that will fit in my pocketbook or even directly in my pocket?? Here are some of my impressions after taking the pen apart and playing around with it today: (This first page was written with the stock EF nib. Notice how hard it is to read due to how dry the pen writes.) (Problem solved with a quick and easy nib swap.) Size Comparisons: (top to bottom: Platinum Preppy 02; Pilot 78G; Delike Alpha; Moonman 80mini) Comparison of Nib Assemblies: (Parker 45 on the left; Moonman 80mini on the right) Notice the extra bits of plastic from the injection molding process still on the Moonman's feed and cowl. This leads me to believe that the Moonman will probably write much better if one uses a razor blade to scrape off the extra plastic bits and floss the channels. Moonman 80mini vs. my son's "moon man":

Hi Forum Folke, Can anyone give me some instruction on how the cap on a Skyline comes apart? I have one with a semi-mangled clip (the "ball" at the end that lifts the clip over the pocket edge has somehow been flattened pretty badly.) I can't figure out how the thing comes apart so I can get the clip off of the cap and straighten out the bent metal; I need direct access from 'beneath' the clip... can't do it on the pen. Thanks for any direction! Pics would be good, but I can probably follow a good text description.

Henlo!!!! I'm new here. I was wondering if any could point me towards some affordable pocket notebooks to write in that work well with fountain pen. I've heard of feild notes but I heard some of ya'll don't really like them.. also, bare with me, I don't really know how a forum works... Thanks!

Hello forum, I've just bought what I think may be a Platinum PKA 500. The design is white with green clovers, exactly the same as the pen in this link http://www.vitstyle.com/home/601-platinum-18k-gold-sf-nib-pocket-fountain-pen.html with one difference being, the nib is steel. I checked the photos very well, above the P symbol on the nib, nothing is written. Only some japanese under it. Does anybody have any expeirence with the performance of this pen/nib? And would it be possible to swab the nibs on it? I intended this pen to be a present for my wife but was hoping the nib would be gold. Unfortunately, it wasn't. The pen is still on its way in the mail.

Hi all! Just got this cute little converter in the mail, and I thought it could be interesting to a lot of folks looking for converters for their smaller pens. This model does fit the liliput, so I think quite a few smaller pens will fit it. It is a push and pull (no twisting), and feels very well made. The opening was a little too small; I had to stick a toothpick in there and wiggle it a little bit for it to fit. But after the first time you plug it onto a pen for the first time, it's a nice fit. I carefully measured the ink capacity and it's about .58mL. So yep, not a whole lot... You probably don't want to put this on a double broad Visconti... Untitled by Kevin Guo, on Flickr Untitled by Kevin Guo, on Flickr

I'm a student, and I usually carry one of my nice pens (I don't actually have any cheap pens - just my grandpa's 51, Snorkel, and my Edison Nouveau Premier) in a leather sleeve in a separate compartment in my backpack. In my pocket, along with my keys and knife (and whatever else makes its way in there) I usually carry a cheap ballpoint or gel pen. Just a Bic or a G2, sometimes a mechanical pencil. I want to carry a fountain pen instead, and I was wondering what you thought would be best for something that I can throw in my pocket and not worry about it breaking. It's between a Preppy, a Metro, or a Safari. It'd just be for times when I need something to write with right away, so a cheap pen with a fine nib and a snap cap is what I want. Would a Preppy work? Can it stand up to the abuse of being smashed around like that? Or should I upgrade to a Metro or a Safari? (I welcome other suggestions) Thanks!

Is it safe to carry a fountain pen in your pants pocket? I wear cargo pants and like to carry a pen and notebook in my cargo pocket, but I'm worried that the pen will leak. The pen's that I'd carry would either be the Platinum Preppy, or the Pilot 78G. I'm not using an eye dropper conversion, just using cartridges and converters. They seem pretty secure, but I'd hate to ruin a pair of pants.

I've been following this for a while, and see Massdrop just added a second color option for the Franklin-Christoph Pocket 40: https://www.massdrop.com/r/8DRCZ3 Having never owned an F-C, is this a good pen? Good track record? I'm tempted by the Ice with violet, but having just ordered an Edison (yippee!), it's tough to justify yet another pen unless it's a really great opportunity. (Mods: If posting the link violates any rules, please feel free to remove it.)

I'm using a pocket Moleskine as sort of daily bullet journal , and having recently switched to using fountain pens as much as possible , I've found out that the notebook + Preppy Medium are not a good combo at all .. Looking for a notebook of ~ same size (3.5 inch*5.5 inch or 9 cm * 14 cm), preferably hardbound , and not too expensive. Also, needs to be available online as I'll need to have it shipped to me in Israel. Thanks

I am in the market for an every day carry pocket fountain pen to be carried in the pants pocket with keys. I read a quote many years ago in Popular Photography magazine something to the effect of: "What is the best camera?....the one you have with you." In that same spirit, I don't always have my work bag, pen case, or desk with me. I want a pen to keep on my person at all times without worries. After researching, the Kaweco Sport seems to be what I am looking for. I LOVE the look of the aluminum AL Sports (especially after earning pocket-worn status), but I cant justify the triple price over the plastic version, at least not yet since I've never owned a Kaweco. I'm just curious how the plastic versions in various colors earn a patina over time when carried with keys, etc. Also curious if anyone has attempted a satin finish on a plastic sport using sandpaper, scotchbrite pad, etc.? Pictures of your beater pens please! If anyone has a well used Sport they want to part with, I'm in the market...prefer manly colors, chrome trims, and extrafine nibs.

Hey all, has anyone ever heard of or seen a mini Lamy? Like a short version of a Safari or Al-Star? Has anyone ever wanted one? I think a pocket length Safari would be pretty sweet! Similar in size and use to a Kaweco. What do YOU think? Tim

I was late catching the train this morning, late enough to get a good jog on. Not enjoyable in the slightest. I finally caught my morning train (it was late... Haw), sat down to read my morning emails and enjoy my tea... But then I saw them. Little patches of magenta, red and brown on my forearm, wrist and palm. I looked down... http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u11/davidfielding3832/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0369.jpg Bugger. It seems I didn't cap my trusty little Kaweco securely enough when leaving the house and it managed to worm it's way free from the cap on my little jogging episode. It's lucky that Sailor's Grenade matches the shirt I suppose. Please tell me this has happened to someone else, so I don't feel like a total clot.

Does anyone know anything about the Lanbitou pocket fountain pens, or others? I've only discovred their existance a couple days ago, and I'm curious. Figured I'd start with something "cheap" just to play around before getting a higher valued Pocket pen. And I do know about the Pilot Elites, botht eh 100 or so dollar and higher, and the $20 US dollar version. But i'm looking for alternatives. Thanks! ~Nikesh

IntroI have lately been looking to add a few low cost everyday pens to my collection so when I saw the UK high street and online retailer "The Pen Shop" had launched a new range of low cost fountain pens I jumped at the opportunity to add something new to my collection. The new youth orientated pens are under the Brand Dex as a division of their existing Kingsley own brand pens. I’m not really sure what to think of the name Dex as a pen brand, but hey, I may be too old to appreciate it’s name appeal, perhaps they were trying to associate the name with the once popular 90's Dexter’s Laboratory cartoon. The range consist of two different pen styles, both in ink roller and fountain pen variants in various finishes (see here) they do appear to have done a good job with a number eye catching designs.I ended up going for the Compact pen in blue as it caught my eye in the store. Here are my thoughts after two weeks of use. Design Materials and aesthetics 7/10The pen has a modern, distinctive design with chrome accent opaque body and an ink window with a contoured rubber grip section. The pen is a little on the light side as all the components bar the clip and nib are made of plastic. Overall an interesting, unique design. Construction Quality 6/10 The quality of the materials used in the pen are reasonable at the price point, however the plastics do feel low cost and the pen overall feels relatively cheap. Ergonomics 6/10 For a compact fountain pen the ergonomics are quite good and the pen fits fine into smaller hands unposted however, it probably will be too short for larger hands unposted. However, if the pen is posted it becomes a similar size to a posted Safari. The grip section of the pen is fairly comfortable, however, I do think the positioning of the finger placements recesses are a little strange as they seem to be placed too widely apart for a comfortable grip. Nib performance 8/10 I was pleasantly surprised with the nib having only paid about £13 for the pen I wasn't expecting much from its “iridium point” nib. However, I found the nib to be one of the highlights of the pen as it delivers a firm, smooth, Medium line with a little bit of reassuring feedback. The nib isn't quite as smooth as my Parker Frontier nib however the nib is excellent for a sub £15 pen. Filling Mechanism, 6/10 The pen is a compact pen so is relegated to using only small international cartridges out of the box. However, I have successfully managed to convert mine into an eye-dropper pen with a touch of petroleum Jelly which has meant the ink capacity has been effectively tripled to approximately 3ml. The ink window is especially useful when the pen has been converted as it allows for a clear indication of the remaining ink. Cost and Value 7/10 Bought for £13 The pen isn't bad value, however it does feel a little on the cheap side and perhaps a price of just under the £10 may have been a bit more reasonable price. Final Thoughts Overall score 40/60 The Good Smooth nib.Compact Design.Can be converted to an eye dropper. The Bad Feels a little on the cheap side.Cartridge only out of the box.

Hey everyone, I'm relatively new to fountain pens (I only have 2), and I was wondering how you guys carry your pens. Personally, my wardrobe doesn't include many shirts with pockets so that's out of the question for me. I've been carrying my pens (one at a time) in my pants pocket for about 4 months now; I simply slide the pen in and clip it on the pocket (making sure the rest of the picket is empty so that it doesn't get scratched), but I've seen many people on here strongly discouraging this and say that one should only carry the pen in an inside jacket pocket or a shirt pocket. Well, like I said before, I don't have shirt pockets, and I'm a student so I don't have many occasions to where suit jackets or blazers, what ways to carry my pen does this leave me with? I've considered purchasing a leather slip, but even if I did where would I then place the slip? Perhaps anyone that's faced this dilemma before can help. Thanks!

I've always liked Moleskine notebooks and especially the pocket-sized ones - 9x14cm. Just ideal for the everyday 'get off my chest' sort of comments. A bit like my LOMO camera used to be for 'photo-thoughts'. I know that the Moleskines have a bit of bad press but that's probably down to people's reluctance to sort out what is right with Moleskine for themselves, rather than complain and whinge that Moleskine 'doesn't like my ink' sort-of thing. So I decided that I'd start using them again, in favour of the Leuchtturm pocket ones and see what happened. I've gone back to the soft-cover ones for the simple reason that I've found a superb chap who makes leather covers for them (along with a load of other stuff) and mine arrived this morning. I'll come to that in a bit. When I first started my first Moleskine I'd done a bit of searching for 'good' inks for Moleskine and came across this excellent series of reviews. I immediately went for the Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black - just my sort of colour anyway - and have never looked back. Therefore, I would suggest that people might care to try Moleskine-friendly inks first, before they rule out the paper altogether. (Sorry about the pun.) Making something work for you is a lot more fun than complaining that something doesn't suit you. Just my opinion. Anyway; soft covers here I come and as I mentioned, I've a perfect soft leather cover for the start of my next project. This is the one I went for, from Fenner Crafts. A fabulous chap to deal with and the service has been excellent. The soft Italian leather and soft cover of the book just go together perfectly. Of course, that's my opinion and some people might prefer hard covers and thicker leather. I've not tried a hard cover book in there but the covers are designed for both and I guess that a similar-sized book, like a Rhodia, would fit too. But I don't want to use either of those. Here's a picture of mine. So, come on people - give Moleskine another shot! You know you want to.

Okay, I'm no good with paper reviews, so I'll just skip over that in this case since Kokuyo Campus paper is an old classic practically on par with Rhodia (at least for those of us who love our Japanese/Asian paper!) so it's bound to have been reviewed already. That's my story, etc. But I just HAD to share this totally adorable version that I recently found on Rakuten, because it is a total darling. Just look at that! That's a clip from a Lamy Safari for size: The best part for me, as a big fan of all things miniaturized, is that this is an exact replica of the larger Kokuyo Campus notebooks - all the way through, not just the cover! The paper stock is the same smooth but not slippery perfection, same line spacing, same setup with the two dots for the date top right and the two bold lines top and bottom with dots as guides for vertical lines, basically everything you get in the larger Kokuyo Campus notebooks is here: OMG, cute cubed! What should I use it for. do you think? Do you like miniatures too?

My EDC is a Parker 51 Aero, reporters style notebook, and a journal. I used to carry all the items separately but always wished I could consolidate. I made this for myself over the last week after seeing (lusting after) a pen case journal combo but not liking their choice of materials. If there is a desire for it I can make more of these to order. I used full grain vegetable tanned leather and hand stitched it using waxed poly thread. I will most likely only do plain and natural (unfinished) if there is interest as that is the aesthetic of the items I typically make as an artist regardless of medium. I oil the cover with neatsfoot, sun tan the leather slightly, and hand burnish the edges after stitching. The rest of the details are left to the user. With proper oiling and commonsense leather care the item will age beautifully. The item was a very personal project so I haven't yet decided on a price but it will be reasonable. I have moleskine notebooks in the pictures but rhodia A6 webbies should fit. I won't make another for at least a month or two while I test the durability of the one I just made. I can also upload the template I created for this project if any DIY'ers are interested in taking on the challenge. EDIT: As promised... here is the template! FYI The colors are a little wacky but I used a BW laser printer so all I needed was contrast.

Having seen the review of a cover made for Clairefontaine notebooks here, I eventually contacted Ray Clark and asked about producing one for me, for the Leuchtturm 1917 pocket notebooks I favour. Although happy with using Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black on Moleskine paper with perfect results most of the time, I've gone onto the Leuchtturm ones in both pocket and A5 sizes. So his response was marvellous - he said he'd produce the Leuchtturm model, which is only 10mm higher in effect, than the Moleskine template, for the same price. The one I chose was £35.00 plus the postage etc. I went for the simple one with no stud fastening and asked him to round off the corners. The result was just what I wanted and the notebook fits perfectly. There's enough room around the edges to actually make writing in it a lot easier and the leather helps to keep it open and lie much better. The first picture is of a Moleskine one from Ray's Etsy page. Then a couple of the one I've received. I would suggest that this product is well worth considering for a lot of different notebooks and Ray will certainly help with any questions that one might have. A courteous service throughout and I'm very pleased. His Etsy page can be found here.Enjoy.