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(This is a review of 6 fountain pens with two different filling mechanisms inked with R&K iron gall inks and their fitness for travel) I am on a personal quest to find the best travel pen for the R&K Salix and Scabiosa iron gall inks. First of all -- what is a travel pen? For me, a travel pen is a fountain pen that I am comfortable to take with me on an airplane or to put in my backpack and go on a bumpy mountain bike ride without fear of it burping or leaking ink. So far I have found two types of fountain pens that meet my travel pen requirements -- Japanese eye-droppers like Opus 88 and vacuum fillers like TWSBI vac700R, Pilot Custom 823, Asvine V126 or PenBBS 456. Both these types of pen come with a shut-off valve that, when engaged, seals off the section from the barrel minimizing the chances of ink burping or leaking, an important trait for a travel pen. For this review I chose 6 pens -- two Opus 88 (Clear Jazz with Flex EF nib and Clear Demonstrator with a regular EF nib), three TWSBI vac700R variants (regular, Iris and Kyanite, all with EF nibs) and one Asvine V126 also with an EF nib. Before going any further, a few words about the R&K iron gall inks that I used. Both Salix and Scabiosa are dry inks and all 6 pens were suffering from a dry and inconsistent ink flow out of the box (skipping, rail-roading, faint lines). I resolved this ink flow problem with the help of the White Lighting additive from vaness1938. After some trial & error experimentation I settled on adding 1 drop of White Lightning to 5ml of Salix or Scabiosa ink. This procedure resulted in a wet and consistent flow in Opus 88 and TWSBI vac700R pens. Asvine V126 flow improved too but was still not as good as the others. Instead on White Lightening one can use dish washing liquid soap (no idea about the right concentration). I have been running my experiment for about a month and am ready to present my preliminary score card. No pen has come out a perfect travel pen for the Salix or Scabiosa iron gall ink. There are pros and cons for each one of the pens. That said, here is the current leader board. The winner -- Opus 88 Jazz with Flex EF nib. Pros: Construction Quality. The pen is made like a tank with a strong and durable resin. No chance of cracking or breaking under normal use. The stainless-steel nib is the only metal part in the pen reducing chances of corrosion by acidic nature of iron gall inks. The plunger rod is made of firm plastic. No nib corrosion has been observed so far in my experiment. Shut-off valve to seal-off the ink barrel preventing ink from burping or leaking. Huge ink capacity (2.4ml for Jazz and 3.4ml for Clear Demonstrator) Ease of disassembly and cleaning. Eye droppers are designed for ease of unscrewing the section. After all this is how you refill the pen. This is particularly important when using iron gall inks that generally require more frequent cleaning/flushing than the die-based inks. Cons: the cons are more subjective and the readers may disagree: The Opus 88 are bulky. I would prefer a bit thinner body. The Opus 88 EF nibs write well but I slightly prefer the nibs in TWSBI vac700R. It is a little surprising that they write differently because both Opus 88 and vac700R use JoWo #6 (aka #12) nibs. Go figure 🙂 Close Runner Up -- TWSBI vac700R Pros: Great Writing. I like vac700R EF nib better than the similar Opus 88 EF nib. Pen Ergonomics is to my liking (thinner body than Opus 88). Large Ink Capacity of almost 2ml when filled to the brim using Pineider ink well. Shut-off valve to seal-off the ink in the barrel from the section similar to the Opus 88. Good cap design with a o-ring on the base of the section to prevent ink from drying out when the cap is closed. Cons: Construction is good but not as solid as of Opus 88. There are reports over Internet about TWSBI pens cracking problem. I have had three vac700R pens for about a year and none of them cracked yet. The blind cap's threads are plastic in direct contact with the metal threads of the vacuum mechanism. Over time metal threads will damage the plastic ones. Very quickly, after two or three refills with iron gall ink the plunger has become very stiff making vacuum filling mechanism hard to operate. It happened with all three vac700R pens I have been using. Applying silicon oil that comes with TWSBI pens is of little help. After couple of refills the plunger is stiff again. It seems that iron gall ink deposits ferrous oxide on the plunger's rubber gasket, or silicon oil is somehow negatively affected by the acid in the ink. I never had such problems with die or pigment based inks. Following Ron Z's recommendation I applied Molykote 111 silicon grease -- a thick hydrophobic substance that is supposed to be chemically inert. So far it is working better than the TWSBI silicon oil but I need more time to evaluate Molykote 111 effectiveness. This serious issue alone put TWSBI vac700R in the second place. If not for this problem vac700R would be a clear winner. The last place -- Asvine V126. Pros: The price -- at $26 on Amazon it is by far the cheapest Aesthetics of Pilot Custom 823 that Asvine V126 copied. Cons: Stiff EF nib. I do not like how it writes. Poor construction quality. The Shut-off valve does not seal properly. The pen leaked ink into the cap while on the airplane. I will be continuing my experiments and hope to provide an update in a month.

Hi everyone! I'm traveling to Copenhagen and Berlin soon, wondering if anyone had any recommendations for great stationery stores, and especially places to buy vintage pens. I love me my vintage Lamys. Thank you!

Hi everyone! I'm traveling to Copenhagen and Berlin soon, wondering if anyone had any recommendations for great stationery stores, and especially places to buy vintage pens. I love me my vintage Lamys. Thank you!

I have the good fortune to be traveling through Italy for a few weeks with a nice stay planned in Firenze. I was hoping to take in some pen sites since Visconti, Stipula, and Pineider are all sourced from there, but I have no idea what a visit would entail. I assume they all have store fronts (Googled Visconti's already, but less luck with Stipula and Pineider). I've perused the forums to see where others have gone while visiting and there are some wonderful discussions on local pen shops that I'll have to visit (if they are still around, which seems to be a thing). Any suggestions for an ink loving traveler? Thanks!

I'll be travelling to London and Edinburgh in about a month with my husband, and while I saw this thread on London pen shops (or the lack thereof), I was also wondering if there were any cute little pen/stationery shops to visit in Edinburgh (there's this thread, but it is a bit old, so I'm starting this one). Google says The Pen Shop in Edinburgh is closed, so... any suggestions? I'm not that well to do, so it doesn't have to be high end pens or stationery, but a neat souvenir and/or a nice deal would be great I'm also making a stop at the Isle of Skye, but that being a less urban place, I am assuming there wouldn't be a lot of pen/stationery stuff there (maybe antique shops?). If there is, I'd be keen to hear it!

I was going to post a pic of the Inoxocrom my wife brought from Spain, but I can’t master my tablet. I almost always hunt a little when travelling, and pens memorialize trips. Anyone have some travel acquired pens significant to them?

I received a summons to jury duty today - the first time since 1994, when I was in college and wrote with a strict diet of uni-ball Vision Elite, felt-tip, and the occasional Varsity disposable pens. Nowadays, I prefer fountain pens, though I'll usually pack a Retro 51 roller in black for good measure. But I've mainly worked from home this century, both as a freelancer and as a remote worker. So I never really have to worry about things like running out of ink in a pen in the middle of a day, since all my pens and ink are always close at hand. And I also don't write copiously during a normal day, whereas my main recollection of my prior jury duty was filling two legal pads with notes over the course of a two-day trial. So, I'm likely to do a month's worth of writing every day for as long as I'm on duty, and I'll be stuck at a courthouse far from home. Any tips for how best to prep? Bring extra pens? Dig into that box of cartridges I've never used? Etc.?

Long story short: I bought a TWSBI Vac mini since I love my Eco and was looking for a travel pen, figured this fit the bill. Just took it with me to a vacation in Costa Rica, filled with Noodlers Blue-Black, to journal while we're here and it keeps leaking. On the flight out I made sure to give it a FULL fill (using Brian Goulet's technique), and stored it nib up on the plane. When I uncapped it I got a handful of ink around the section and cap. Figured this was bound to happen despite my best efforts and shrugged it off. A couple days later it is still leaking, even after sitting in our room all day without any movement or pressure changes. Seems every time I uncap it to journal there is a smattering of ink inside the section and cap. Anyone have a similar experience or know what might be the problem? Perhaps I filled it TOO full or might have a crack in the plastic I can't see? I have kept the blind cap screwed down and sealed when not in use and unscrew it when writing. Any help is appreciated! Enjoy writing with this pen but surprised at its consistent leakage. ~AK PS - any of you looking for a getaway soon should seriously consider Costa Rica, it is an incredible place...Pura Vida!

Hi, I am wanting to buy a flex pen I can take on my book tour. There will be lots of travel (including airplanes) and probably a bit of getting knocked about in my bag. Would the FPR Guru leak all over my stuff? My original plan was to take my Safari (which I bought primarily for it's durability), but am now thinking I'd like my autographs to have a bit more flourish!

Are there any reasons to buy pens in Bermuda? As in cheaper than in the US because of licensing (the opposite of normal Bermuda prices) or models available that are unattainable stateside? I don't even know if there is a good pen store there these days. I do know that my beloved Trimingham's closed about ten years ago.

Hello, Just wondering if anyone could tell me their personal preference for what to carry their fountain pens in? I'm looking for my boyfriend who uses fountain pens every day. He takes them to use at work and I'm thinking having some kind of carrying case would be a nice gift. I've looked at different types but I thought it best to ask those who use them what is the most practical or preferred way. Thanks for any input you have

Hello! I'm gonna be visiting Fukuoka (Kyushu) - has anyone got any ideas on old second hand pen shops? and first post too =P

The review is a part of the larger TWSBI VAC700 review. You can go to the original post here. I thought that this review could be useful for people, who like me are searching for an inkwell, that's okay for travel, holds a fair amount of ink and does not exactly make a hole the wallet. The full review is also live on my personal blog. Click below if you enjoy pics in a tablet/mobile optimized view: TWSBI VAC 700 with a VAC 20 Review I was looking for an inkwell at a decent capacity & price (that's why skipped the Visconti Travel Inkwell), which could fit comfortably inside the visiting cards slot of my laptop backpack. So here goes the review. The VAC 20 inkwell comes within a small cardboard box. Unlike the well packaged Diamond 50 bottle, the packaging is pretty plain. It’s made of plastic and weighs around 20 grams without ink. Ink Capacity is 20 mL, of course (Thus VAC 20, but wait, what about VAC 700! ). The below bottle is around two-thirds filled. The bottle used to come in five simple variants - black, orange, red, green & blue top-caps and occupies a fraction of space taken by the Diamond 50 inkwell. The new one however is called VAC 20A and it has an additional insert for the VAC Mini. You have to remove the top cap for filling the VAC 700. The base cap has the threads of the VAC 700 pen inside, so as to fit the pen precisely. And with an inverted configuration you can pull/push the plunger to suck the ink to full capacity of the pen. And there is no need of cleaning the VAC700 after filling ink, as only the feed area is exposed. Cool ! The outer cap has a good sealing tube and I never found any ink leakage from the bottle itself, even after keeping it inverted in my backpack for 2 days of travel. Personally, I find it comfortable as a travelling inkwell since the dimensions are minimal and the base bottle offers the height of ink to completely immerse nibs of most pens with standard nib sizes. The only quibble I have is: when you fill ink in any other pen, the base cap (black) has to be unscrewed and it exposes the broader opening of the bottle. The secure bottle acting as a pen stand is now gone. The inner taper of the base cap block sections of most of the similar sized pens (except VAC 700 & a few slimmer ones). Besides it’s priced pretty decent (in US), and you do travel with 20 mL of your favourite ink. So, I give an Overall Rating of 5/6 to the VAC20. The VAC20A has an additional insert, so it would stand a bit taller compared to the VAC20.

I travel quite a bit for work and am looking for a good way to write on the go. I, personally, prefer the look of unlined/grid/dotted paper but still need the crutch of lines. I've read that many people use a lined sheet under their page to achieve this. I am trying out some thin paper to see how I like it but I, in general, I'm a heavy/thick paper enthusiast. Beyond the feel, I like writing on both sides and hate ghosting. This makes it difficult to use a lined guide under my page. So my thought was to use a light box. But with the amount I travel carrying something large was out of the question so I started thinking about building a 9"x7" (just larger than A5) sized 1/4" (~6mm) light box that could fit into a leather portfolio in the place where most people would have their notebook. The lighting probably won't be super consistent since it will be hard to diffuse the LEDs in that small of a space but it should easily be enough to see the lines. My idea is to build something like this: Imagine you store your paper (unused and finished) in separate slots on the left. Take a single sheet and the lined guide and move it to the right and slip it under the corner elastics (forgive the horrible "elastic" lines). Then write away. As I see it: Pros: Very portable light box (9"x7"x0.5" without paper) >6hr rechargeable battery (probably shares a cylinder in the center with the pen holder) Can use a lined guide with very heavy paper Lexan surface made of multiple thin sheets so it's cheap to replace the top one when I inevitably stain/score/... it. (This should also help the diffusion since I can sand middle layers) Cons: Writing on a sheet of lexan instead of leather or whatever your preferred surface is Without a piece of paper on it it looks a little like a tablet/kindle Custom build so won't be as polished (at least my customs aren't) LEDs, lithium batteries, ...? Part of the romance of using a FP is the history Thoughts? Has anyone seen anything like this (before I try to build it myself)?

So recently I went to Greece on Holiday. I wanted an fp with me, so I decided to experiment with my new Eco. I inked it full before the flight with Noodlers Black. The nib was kept up during climb to the cruise altitude of ~35,000ft(obviously the cabin pressure has a significantly lower 'altitude'). During the 4hr flight I used the pen in the cruise and saw no leakage in the cap or ink on the nib. After descent and landing into a hot climate (33C) I saw no troubles. After my stay in Greece the pen had been used a fair bit and a good amount of ink had been used (1/3 ish). This is where I was hoping for some leaky fun on the plane. I decided I'd go all out; I'd be brave and go against my morals and my guy instinct. I went nib down. And, well, and. Nothing happened. No spontaneous combustion, no high energy explosion, not even any ink spillage. The TWSBI Eco is a pretty good flyer, and didn't get air sickness and spill everywhere.

I've traveled with fountain pens before and haven't had any problems, but I'm wondering if there's anything I need to be careful of with an Esterbrook? Do you think I'd have a problem if I traveled with it full? I'm sorry if this is a stupid question, but my previous experience is only with cartridge fill fountain pens so I want to be sure. Thanks for any help or advice you can give!

I was just on a two week vacation where I wouldn't do much writing, but would need a pen for the occasional form, etc. I took a recently acquired Lamy 2000 and the first couple of days were fine. I should note that I did use this pen for a couple of days before I left and it wrote fine. I did have the pen carried in a shirt pocket daily and after about a week, I had to make a note and found the nib to be dry even though that I could see ink in the ink window. I used the piston to expel a drop of ink and made the note. My thought was that maybe the feed was starved due to the ink not touching the feed. The ink level was about a half. However, the same thing happened at the end of the trip. Only this time expelling a drop of ink didn't let me write anything more than a letter or two. I had to finish the form with a back up rollerball. This morning I quickly flushed the pen at my desk and filled it again and it's been writing fine since. Any thoughts on what happened? Ink issue, pen issue, freak occurrence, nasty paper clogging nib?

I'm not sure that this is the proper place to put this, however...as a knitter it occurred to me that the cases we use for the short, double pointed needles (that are used to make socks and mittens and such) would make great pen cases. Same sort of pocket for each set of needles that would fit a pen, and usually pretty decent protection. Here's a link to a selection of handmade ones: https://www.etsy.com/search?q=Sock%20needle%20case&ship_to= and some photos of some of my pens in a very basic one that I have. Even my Collier (on the far left) and my Ranga Bamboo (far right) fit into it. Mine is isn't padded but I used it just for demo, many of those you will find are quilted and thus have more padding. Last is a link to a seller (whom I do not know) who makes different sizes, from 16 to 36 pockets. https://www.etsy.com/listing/170244666/xl-large-36-pocket-wzip-pouch?ref=shop_home_active_6

Hey guys, I'm going to China for a few months this coming year, and I can only take one suitcase and one carryon with me. I cannot, for obvious reasons, be without my trusty Lamy Safari for this long, and so how best to transport it? Is it safe to bring it filled onto the plane with me, so I can write during that 12 hour plane ride? Or will it get ink everywhere? Can I write with it while airborne, or will the air pressure make it go all wonky? Also, how do I travel with ink safely? How do you guys deal with planes and pens? Whats the best way to pack them? Thank you!