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Hi! There are other discussiong talking about posting on urushi pens in general, but in reading those I discovered lacquer thickness can vary from one pen to another... With that in mind, is it safe to post my Custom Urushi? (As long as I post with care, of course.) I bought this as a workhorse pen and I'm OK with a little wear --- but I don't want to completely scratch through the coating over time if that is a thing. I post my plastic 'resin' Pilots all the time and I don't notice any wear that causes, if any. Is the urushi on this pen MORE prone to wear & damage than a normal Pilot? To be clear, my question is specific to the Pilot Custom Urushi, not urushi pens in general. Is it an unusually thin coating that I should be extra careful about? Or is it similar to the urushi coating on dinnerware, designed to handle some wear as long as I am not abusive with it? Thanks! PS. I just got it yesterday and it exceeds my already high expectations. Thanks to those of you who recommended the pen here!

I am curious to know what is considered the best / right / perfect balance point for a pen as it is held. This will be a centre of gravity point always locating in a narrow range regardless of pen length or weight (or else it would not be an ideal balance point). Is it measured in distance from the nib, the section (allowing for variation in grip) or somewhere else? Of course I know how comfortable I am with each of my pens, but I am wondering about the recommended or ideal position? I searched without finding a corresponding thread, in case this already exists as a topic.

Hi all - I bought this pen from one of the common European online retailers a few days ago. While trying it out at home, I realised that I preferred a F to a M nib. They agreed to swap it and I sent it back in its original packaging with bubble wrapping. After it arrived back at their office, they claim I damaged the pen as per the pictures attached (scratch & possibly some cracking in the base of the body). The only way I can imagine having caused this damage is via: 1) posting of the cap whilst writing (done maybe twice) 2) storing the pen standing up in a jar along with all my other pens (this has never damaged any of my other pens) Has anyone had similar experiences or can shed any insight? Is it possible I have a defective pen from the manufacturer? Thanks.

After weeks of deliberation, I finally placed an order for a Pilot Custom Heritage 912 with a Posting nib, ordered from Engeika (no affiliation) also with some Iro Take-Sumi ink. This will be my first $100+ fountain pen. Does anyone have a 912 that they like/dislike? What might be your comments on it? I hope this will be a good pen; I'm quite excited!

I recently got a Pilot Metropolitan for the first time - and I can see what so many people mean when they've said it is a bargain for the price. It's beautiful, a nice thickness, substantial feel... But for my small hands, a little too substantial - it feels too heavy for me, especially when posted, to be comfortable for long writing sessions. I fell in love with the nib, which is working fantastically, so I unscrewed the section and screwed it into my 78G (formerly having a B stub nib I just couldn't get on with). The 78G is light and comfortable to write with, but it does definitely feel like cheap plastic and the body is thinner than I'd ideally like. Are there any pen bodies I could swap the Metro nib into, that would be heavier/better-quality material than the 78G, but not as heavy(/back-heavy) as the Metro? I was thinking the Prera might fit the bill - can any Prera owners weigh in on its weight and how it feels when posted?

Hey everyone! A quick search didn't seem to turn up any relevant results, so here I am. A month or two ago, I picked up a Parker Sonnet on a whim (in my neck of the woods, we unfortunately don't have any dedicated fountain pen stores, but my local Staples carries a few of the less-expensive offerings from Parker's product line.) It's the stainless-steel version with a gold-plated steel nib—I opted for a medium. All in all, it's a nice-looking pen for under $100. However, I've noticed that I often find myself using a Q-tip to soak up excess ink that accumulates inside of the cap when the pen is closed. It's problematic because I like to post this particular pen. If I don't regularly clean the cap, it leaves residual ink on the end of the pen, menacing whatever shirt or jacket I'm wearing. I use Noodler's Black in the pen—my typical go-to ink. I suspect that this ink might not be viscous enough for the Sonnet, but I'm uncertain. I don't presently have another ink for comparison. Has anyone else run into this problem before? If yes, have you been able to combat it somehow? I'd greatly appreciate any and all suggestions! Regards, Dustin

Hello fellow Pelikan-heads. Today, I became the proud owner of an m600 EF in green/gold/black. This in the third Pelikan to have passed through my hands. I've also had my fun with an m205 and an m800. The M600 is ultimately my goldilocks pen. Its dimensions mirror my other favorite (by proporsion) a Sheaffer No-Nonsense. So, I was very happy to receive it in the mail from Spain, where I was able to find the best deal at $305. Then the real fun began. Someone, (maybe in customs) had removed the pen from the pouch and it was just sitting out in the display box. The surface of the display box seemed a bit worn like it hadn been slid into and out of it's packaging numerous times. The plastic bag containing the pen was all crinkled, and there were fingerprints on the section. It did not appear to have been inked, but this was strange already. Still, I got a decent deal and so I chalked it up to that. Then I got the pen out. If you're an anti-poster, you can absolutely stop reading here. Fully half of the reason I got this pen is because I like to post. The entire reason I got rid of the otherwise fabulous M800 is because writing with that pen posted is much like writing with a pen made of a meter stick. So I try to stick the cap on the back as has been quite easy with my other Pelikans... but no. It just sits there with almost no friction at all. Loose and freely rotating, I think it's suction more than anything that's keeping it from falling right off when I tip the pen over. I got this pen so that I could write with it posted. I can, kind of. But the cap is constantly moving around due to the chanigng position of my hand and it's driving me nuts. I could probably make a return, but this place doesn't have replacements in stock, and the shipping to Spain is silly. Everything else about this pen is near perfect! Can somebody out there think of something I haven't. Is sending it in to Pelikan an option?

I did ask this earlier, but got no replies....trying again... I have a Faber Castell e-motion, the white one, and I love it. The one thing which drives me daft is .......the top will not stay on. It wiggles and falls off with no attempt at clinging on. Anyone else find this? It *is* a pretty heavy beastie, even unposted, but I like that. Alex

Some FP users don’t like to post *, and others don’t mind one way or the other. Many are like me, and have a strong preference for posting, and are less likely to buy or use a pen that cannot post. I recently bought a TWSBI 580. I knew in advance that it doesn’t post, but decided to get it anyway, as it looked otherwise excellent. But although I do like the pen (and it is long enough to use without being posted), I find its inability to post really detracts from my writing experience. So, what’s my problem? I've come up with four reasons why posting matters to me. Bear in mind that expectations affect perception, and each of these factors seems likely to be not only self-reinforcing, but also to reinforce perception of the other factors. First: habit. I have always posted my pens. I first used fountain pens at primary/junior school; probably learned to write with them.. Whatever the reason, I got into the habit of posting my pen early on. Second: security. A posted cap won’t get lost, or fall and crack. That’s more relevant to someone trying to write in a wave-tossed boat than sitting at a desk (unless you’re teaching unruly primary school children to write). But I do use my pens in moving trains, so it’s relevant to me. Third: usability. Many fountain pens are simply easier to use if posted: better-balanced and a better fit in the hand. The Lamy 2000 is a good example (and I cannot use a small pen, such as the Kaweco Sport, without posting). So far, so obvious. But I thought of something else as well, which is what led me to write this, ahem, post. Fourth: comfort. To write, one holds a pen towards the nib, with the remainder of the pen balancing on the skin between thumb and forefinger. I find that I like a pen to noticeably stick out beyond my ham-fist. Posting a pen helps that happen, but also causes (slightly) increased girth. The effect is particularly strong where the barrel otherwise tapers towards the back (e.g. a Skyline), and I find it much more comfortable. I think the sense of comfort comes from greater confidence that a posted pen is less likely to slip out of my hand. This would explain why I really like the excellent Franklin Christoph 33 (Abditus), despite the fact that it cannot post and is not exceptionally long (it has a large ‘stopper’ at the end, to screw the barrel into the cap - which is the length of the barrel). TWSBI developers, I hope you’re reading this. I would definitely spend money again on a 580 - if it were ‘postable’. What's your experience? * For newcomers: posting a pen means putting a pen’s cap on the back of the barrel when writing. It has nothing to do with the postal service.

My search for a good needle-thin line continues. My favorite pen to write with so far is a Penmanship nib(EF by Pilot's standard)on a Metro and Prera. I got an elite 95S with a 14K EF nib once, thinking it'd be like a penmanship, but it was exactly like a Metro's Fine. Very disappointed. Then I found a 1960s vintage elite with 18K Posting nib, and it doesn't write very satisfactorily. Maybe that's because I am using Pilot Cartridges in it? But I just don't like it, it writes thin, hollow lines on sidestrokes and bold ones on downstrokes. And the line isn't what many say a PO line is (finer than EF) It makes for a very inconsistent writing experience. BUT now I've felt the difference between 14/18K and steel nibs. Now I want a 14K nib that writes as thin as a Penmanship. (Any suggestions there?) QUESTION: How is the PO nib on a Heritage 912? is it a hair-thin line that writes solid lines in every direction(that's what I want)? And how does it compare to the EF nib on the same pen, a Heritage 912? I'm assuming the finer line will be on a PO nib. Thanks if you've gotten this far, and I'm planning to get a Heritage 912, but am very conflicted over which nib. Thanks again for your help!

I posted this in the First stop section, but it has yet to be answered. If this is in the wrong place, please feel free to move it. Hello. I've just gotten my Sheaffer Valor and have been using it for a few days at school. I haven't been doing anything that may have caused it like running around or dropping it, but there seems to be a faint mark on different parts of the acrylic pen. I suspect these may be capping/posting marks, as they are in the right place and are in ring shapes. There is one directly below the nib, one on the upper body and one at the very tip. If a fellow owner of an acrylic pen could assist in identifying these marks and any potential tips on maintenance and perhaps a solution to this, it would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: added pictures Hello. I've just gotten my Sheaffer Valor and have been using it for a few days at school. I haven't been doing anything that may have caused it like running around or dropping it, but there seems to be a faint mark on different parts of the acrylic pen. I suspect these may be capping/posting marks, as they are in the right place and are in ring shapes. There is one directly below the nib, one on the upper body and one at the very tip. If a fellow owner of an acrylic pen could assist in identifying these marks and any potential tips on maintenance and perhaps a solution to this, it would be greatly appreciated.