Boo Hooooo, Lost My Wallet Pen :-P

[Plume145]

Oh man, I just lost my 'wallet pen' - it was a tiny Luoshi pen fancifully made to look like a cigarette It may have looked like a novelty, but it was actually a real pen that had several features that made it perfect for carrying around in a wallet; read Motomo's review of these for more info and several really awesome pics (for a pic of the filling system, see my own thread about it from a few months ago when I first began using it after years of having it sit around - but it's not nice like Motomo's).

 

It was really the perfect wallet pen for me! Small and thin enough for my wallet, which is really minimalist, but unlike most pens in a wallet-friendly size, a fountain pen and not the dreaded ballpoint I end up never using 'cause I hate the feel of it. Plus, a neat cap that screws onto the back for etra length posted and stability in use! With fountain pens, the smaller you get is usually things like the Sheaffer Agio compact or those small spalding aluminum pens with the removable clip they have on Jetpens (both of which I've used as purse/pocket pens in the past - but a wallet pen is so much handier as it really does go everywhere with you).

 

Anyway, enough lamenting. Other than sympathy lol, what I mostly need help with is figuring out the best strategy for replacing it. First, I tried to see if there are other mini pens as small as that, but I don't see anything. Second, to replace it with the same pen, I tried a preliminary search, but the result is it doesn't look like it's for sale anywhere I can find - definitely not on ebay where I bought it years back, but not elsewhere either unless I am not using the right search terms (I tried several different combinations of Luoshi and the words 'mini', 'cigarette' and 'pen'). So I won't be able to just pick one up. That means I'm going to need to get it from someone who bought one when they were around but isn't using it, or to have it tracked down by a dealer. Trouble is, being a daily-user rather than a collector sort of pen geek, I haven't yet had occasion to do this sort of thing, and I really need help figuring out where to start, what to do if that first step doesn't pan out, and what pitfalls to avoid. Could anyone help me out with that please?

 

thanks in advance for any and all advice offered :-)

[Bigeddie]

First, my sympathies The same thing happened to me with a Kaweco out of my Filofax.

 

I would check out the people who are selling Luoshi on ebay and try to message them, probably with links to pictures.

 

They look really cool though! I hope you track them down. If you do, please let me know where.

[Bearcat]

Levenger has a small, "wallet" pen IIRC.

[emiliovillegas]

What about the Kaweco Lilliput?

[Plume145]

They're pretty fun, yeah! And I'm sorry about your kaweco, the problem with folofax is the loops are a fixed size rather than elasticated - looks nicer than elastic but is less secure. I guess it was one of those Liliput Kawecos?

 

About finding the ebay sellers: the only way I know how is to do a search for Luoshi on ebay and look where it says 'matching shops'. But that only turns up the shops, not the sellers and sometimes a seller moves a good volume and has the sources for that but they don't have a shop. Any clue how I can get those people?

 

MEanwhile, I've emailed the four shops with Luoshi, so now I just wait for what that turns up.

 

One thing: I was doing an image search on these and it turned up this post by member tipstricks, and the photo on that shows what is maybe a different branding on the pen - not Luoshi. I know that happens sometimes with things made in China, could it be that I should be looking at another brand other than Luoshi? Oh man, that adds a whole other layer of complication doesn't it lol.

[Plume145]

Levenger has a small, "wallet" pen IIRC.

 

What about the Kaweco Lilliput?

 

guys, sorry for not responding - I had written the reply to Bigeddie and forgot to click post before getting up to get my lunch out of the microwave lol, then when I came back I posted it without checking for new replies first :-)

 

Bearcat, they do have a wallet pen, but it's a ballpoint - there are lots of short, skinny pens if you're okay with a ballpoint, I liked this one because it's a fountain pen :-)

 

emiliovilegas, the kaweco liliput is probably what I'll end up with if I exhaust all other options for replacing the cigarette pen But the Liliput is bigger than the cigarette pen (a bit longer and a lot thicker), lacks the hooded nib that helps stop the extra-fine nib from drying out, and doesn't have that perfectly cylindrical shape the Luoshi does. The cigarette styling I could take or leave; I'm no particular fan of cigarettes But in the blue cap it doesn't look terribly cigarette-like, and I love the even shape - the liliput seems like the cap is a bit larger in diameter.

[Octo]

The Sailor Recruit might suit you. The length is about 12 cm and the diameter about 7 mm. The body is metal and the nib is exposed. The real advantage is that it uses standard Sailor cartridges. JetPens had them until recently, so you might post a wanted ad in the classifieds.

 

 

Edited to add that the nib doesn't dry out even after a week or so between uses.

Edited September 23, 2012 by Octo

[Plume145]

Octo, thanks for the recommendation, but while the Sailor is a cute pen and the diameter is just right, it's way too long - the ciggie pen is only about 9cm to the Recruit's 12. Basically, the ciggie pen is sized to fit a credit card case, which is essentially what my wallet IS - a small pouch with a zip on one long side, that is big enough to hold credit cards and 3-4 folded in thirds (or half if they're small bills like the 5 or 10 euro bill) plus the big bunch of coins that you can't seem to ever get rid of with currencies like the euro:

 

 

The Sailor is bigger than the Agio Compact, the spalding bros aluminum pen, and the Pilot Birdie FP all of which I already have - and they're too big . I used to carry one of those three separate from my wallet, but it's nice to have the pen inside the wallet, it's more readily accessible and saves you having to dig around for it; a notebook is easy to fish out as it's bigger, but pens really skitter down to the bottom lol.

 

Other than Bigeddie's suggestion to contact the ebay shops selling Luoshi, what else could I try? I also contacted hisnibs - it's the only other seller of Luoshi pens I could locate on my own, but I don't know a lot of online pen shops, I've only ever bought from jetpens and the goulets and know of hisnibs, that's pretty much it :-/ Any other ideas? I figure the more places I try the better my chances, especially since this time I'm getting two just to be safe lol

[faustulus]

I would suggest one of these:Space Pen or these: Missle Pen

I have the latter and use it as my pocket pen. They have a nib similar to the one you were using.

[Plume145]

faustulus, these both look like fun pens, but they're too big - the Space pen in the length and the Missile pen in the diameter. I might still buy the latter just because lol, but it wouldn't replace the ciggie pen :-/ thanks for the recommendation though :-)

[inkstainedruth]

I feel your pain. I lost my Red Mesa Tortoise Konrad over the weekend, which was one of my favorite pens, and even though it wasn't especially expensive (and certainly not hard to replace) it still feels really awful.

Is it possible to get a replacement for the one you lost (say by searching on Ebay)? It sounded fairly unique but you never know....

That being said, there was a thread on here I read last week comparing several mini-sized pens -- don't remember what all four were, but one was a Yard-o-Led Viceroy Victorian pocket pen, which was why I was reading the topic in the first place, and I think one was maybe a Pilot of some flavor. I don't know if any of the ones reviewed would be comparable in size (I know that one of them was very fat-looking, so that one is probably right out), but the review/comparison was pretty thorough -- sizes, fill systems, nibs, writing experience, etc.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[chiaroscuro]

I think this might be one to consider: The Duller Fountain Pen designed by Dietrich Lubs. I got it recently with a nice discount here [no affiliation]). It's a tiny bit shorter than the Kaweco Sport and Pilot Petit1 capped (my other "mini" pens), and definitely thinner than both.

 

While I'm happy with it, it does have some issues. It's a good small pen, overall, and it has a clip, which IMO makes it a better contender for a wallet or filofax pen than the Liliput — plus, it won't roll off tables and doesn't need to be screwed on to post.

 

This one might also work: A.G. Spalding & Bros BRFT208 Mini Fountain Pen

 

Good luck with your search.

[Plume145]

I have news! BigEddie's idea paid off

 

I contacted all four of the sellers that turned up as selling Luoshi (well, the ones with shops; sellers without shops are harder to locate since they're not in the list on the left-hand side of the ebay search results). Of these four, two haven't yet replied (didn't help that I linked to the forum without realizing you couldn't view the pics if you're not a member lol). Of the two who replied, one just said they'd let me know if it turned up, but the other one quite casually replied something like oh sure, we know those pens, we got them in stock!

 

I was obviously chuffed to bits to hear this, and immediately inquired re: price and shipping - only six bucks for two, all inclusive! Pret-tay neat ;-) So I sent payment via Paypal and should soon be the proud owner of two of these elusive little basterds

 

So, thanks again bigeddie for encouraging me to do this! It's the sort of thing where I had thought of it, but dismissed as too much of a long shot, so it was your contribution that got me in the mindset of giving it a chance :-)

 

Everyone, thanks for the alternate suggestions! Even though they were mostly bigger than the cigarette, it was still fun to hear about a bunch of mini pens I hadn't known of! They're kind of an obsession of mine lol, since they sit at the intersection of two long-standing interests of mine, fountain pens and all things mini

 

Inkstainedruth, I'm incredibly sorry to hear about your Konrad! I know these pens have really devoted users and so I'm sure it must have been a real kicker. Back in March, I was working on my computer at a Starbucks when someone stole my pencil case practically right under my eyes. It contained my #1 favorite pen, that I'd used since my senior year of high school all through college and after, basically my One True Pen. The fact that it was a Montblanc Chopin in the discontinued burgundy color and consequently more expensive and harder to find than your Konrad didn't matter half as much as losing the pen that was an extension of my hand for so many years and through so many important events. That was the really heartbreaking part (still is). So I really really sympathize. Losing this little ciggie pen was nowhere near as upsetting - more of an inconvenience, and even that's gone now I've located the replacements. This probably won't make for much of a consolation, but losing the Chopin is what indirectly got me onto FPN as a community (I'd had an account since '07, but it had been inactive after only a couple of posts): I was doing research to try and figure out what the best avenue was for getting an identical pen to use (I can't really use the word 'replace' for a pen loaded with so much personal history) and in the process discovered this lively community of fountain pen users, which re-awoke my own interest in using multiple pens and inks, not just using one all the time. It's not really compensation for losing my beloved pen, especially since I probably would have discovered the community myself later if not sooner, but it's better than nothing. I'm hoping you too will have something positive come out of this negative experience :-/

 

Chiaroscuro, I have THREE of these little Spaldings! hehe. They were my previous top choice in handbag-sized FPs, so I bought another after I realized how much I liked the first, to have a spare if I lost it (it had happened before with a purse pen), then when one of them lost the clip, I bought an extra one just for the clip after Spalding told me they couldn't sell me extra clips as parts

 

The Duller though is kind of awesome! I might buy it anyway out of sheer magpie-ness I especially love the way it's packaged, with the cut-out inside the notebook! Really funky, even though it probably does add a good amount to the final price. But then again, that's likely true of any pen packaging more elaborate than a velvet sleeve, and at least this is useable in its own right, unlike all that clutter of branded pen boxes that only fit one specific pen...

 

Everyone, do check out Chiaroscuro's links on the Duller pen, it's worth it

[chiaroscuro]

I have news! BigEddie's idea paid off

 

I contacted all four of the sellers that turned up as selling Luoshi (well, the ones with shops; sellers without shops are harder to locate since they're not in the list on the left-hand side of the ebay search results). Of these four, two haven't yet replied (didn't help that I linked to the forum without realizing you couldn't view the pics if you're not a member lol). Of the two who replied, one just said they'd let me know if it turned up, but the other one quite casually replied something like oh sure, we know those pens, we got them in stock!

 

I was obviously chuffed to bits to hear this, and immediately inquired re: price and shipping - only six bucks for two, all inclusive! Pret-tay neat ;-) So I sent payment via Paypal and should soon be the proud owner of two of these elusive little basterds

 

So, thanks again bigeddie for encouraging me to do this! It's the sort of thing where I had thought of it, but dismissed as too much of a long shot, so it was your contribution that got me in the mindset of giving it a chance :-)

 

Everyone, thanks for the alternate suggestions! Even though they were mostly bigger than the cigarette, it was still fun to hear about a bunch of mini pens I hadn't known of! They're kind of an obsession of mine lol, since they sit at the intersection of two long-standing interests of mine, fountain pens and all things mini

 

Inkstainedruth, I'm incredibly sorry to hear about your Konrad! I know these pens have really devoted users and so I'm sure it must have been a real kicker. Back in March, I was working on my computer at a Starbucks when someone stole my pencil case practically right under my eyes. It contained my #1 favorite pen, that I'd used since my senior year of high school all through college and after, basically my One True Pen. The fact that it was a Montblanc Chopin in the discontinued burgundy color and consequently more expensive and harder to find than your Konrad didn't matter half as much as losing the pen that was an extension of my hand for so many years and through so many important events. That was the really heartbreaking part (still is). So I really really sympathize. Losing this little ciggie pen was nowhere near as upsetting - more of an inconvenience, and even that's gone now I've located the replacements. This probably won't make for much of a consolation, but losing the Chopin is what indirectly got me onto FPN as a community (I'd had an account since '07, but it had been inactive after only a couple of posts): I was doing research to try and figure out what the best avenue was for getting an identical pen to use (I can't really use the word 'replace' for a pen loaded with so much personal history) and in the process discovered this lively community of fountain pen users, which re-awoke my own interest in using multiple pens and inks, not just using one all the time. It's not really compensation for losing my beloved pen, especially since I probably would have discovered the community myself later if not sooner, but it's better than nothing. I'm hoping you too will have something positive come out of this negative experience :-/

 

Chiaroscuro, I have THREE of these little Spaldings! hehe. They were my previous top choice in handbag-sized FPs, so I bought another after I realized how much I liked the first, to have a spare if I lost it (it had happened before with a purse pen), then when one of them lost the clip, I bought an extra one just for the clip after Spalding told me they couldn't sell me extra clips as parts

 

The Duller though is kind of awesome! I might buy it anyway out of sheer magpie-ness I especially love the way it's packaged, with the cut-out inside the notebook! Really funky, even though it probably does add a good amount to the final price. But then again, that's likely true of any pen packaging more elaborate than a velvet sleeve, and at least this is useable in its own right, unlike all that clutter of branded pen boxes that only fit one specific pen...

 

Everyone, do check out Chiaroscuro's links on the Duller pen, it's worth it

 

Update: the discount is no longer, and the pen is backordered, but it might be worth the wait.

 

I'm really starting to love it more every day -- I just wish they had a true fine nibbed version (the nib is marked F but it's thicker than most mediums out there), but it's smooth as can be. I filled it (via cartridge of course) with my "proprietary" dark green ink (just 3/5 Diamine Umber 2/5 Diamine Dark Brown and a drop or two of Prussian Blue -- nothing proprietary about it, hehe) and it's been kicking a** so far.

 

Thanks for mentioning the A.G. Spalding: I've gone back and forth about it, but I think you convinced me that I need one, hehe. I'll wait to see if the TWSBI mini is worth it (comes out later this month, supposedly), though. Do you know if it's possible to remove the branding on the side of the cap? I'm not too crazy about it...

 

Also, how did I not mention the Pilot Petit1? Yesterday I took out the dismal "Blue Black" ink that comes in the cartridges (not Pilot Blue Black, I'm certain, but a different ink in carts specifically for the Petit1) and filled one with Lamy Blue Black: I'm now 100% sold on it. I "get" the Petit1 and it may be the first pen I convert to an eyedropper-filled.

[chiaroscuro]

Also, do you mind telling me how you lost the clip on the Spalding Mini? ...So it doesn't happen to me (for a Spalding without a clip, I might as well get a Liliput).

 

I read a bit more about the dimensions you're looking for and I propose we call it a micro fountain pen, hehe: most pens in the mini category won't fit the bill(holder).

 

Do keep us posted on your search. I love mini pens and can't get enough of them, apparently.

[Plume145]

Also, do you mind telling me how you lost the clip on the Spalding Mini? ...So it doesn't happen to me (for a Spalding without a clip, I might as well get a Liliput).

 

I read a bit more about the dimensions you're looking for and I propose we call it a micro fountain pen, hehe: most pens in the mini category won't fit the bill(holder).

 

Do keep us posted on your search. I love mini pens and can't get enough of them, apparently.

 

Yep, micro is right I went with the 'wallet pen' name because that's what sprang to mind first, from seeing things like this or that around the internet in my long and checkered history of ogling office and writing supplies

 

Mini pens (and minis in general) are an obsession aaaall their own. With me it's lasted since at least my early teens, when I recall putting together a small but fairly complete weekend travel kit using miniature toiletries from The Body Shop. The fact that these were a hit with my best mates not only decided what they were getting for their birthdays, it also seems to have encouraged this into becoming a long-standing interest

 

ABout losing the clip on the Spalding. It was kind of a classic dumb move, the kind that seems totally obvious in retrospect. So, it's totally preventable I was carrying the pen clipped to the side of my bag, to make sure I can lay hands on it immediately when I need it as well as to keep it pointing up so it won't spit ink into the cap. Now, normally I would clip it to an *inside pocket*. But then I'd changed bags and was using one that didn't have an inner pocket, so I clipped it to the outer wall. That's perfectly fine with most pens that have a fixed clip...but the Spalding's is meant to slide off. Get where this is going? The clip slid off and fell while I was walking, and the pen, which was no longer being held upright to the side of the bag, just slid down to the bottom of it. So, this is the DO...

 

... and this is the DON'T I was using a different bag. It's gone now *circkets chirp*

 

[chiaroscuro]

Got it. Is it meant to be as loose as the Kaweco AL Clip (meaning mostly decorative)? Thanks for the pics -- it looks really nice.

Ah, mini pens...

[Plume145]

ugh, can't tell you how it compares to the one on the Kaweco AL, bummer :-/ I haven't handled one of those to be able to tell. But it's not too loose - it's pretty tight. If you look real close at both photos, you can see some fairly deep vertical scratches on the cap: they're from when I removed the cap (aluminum is a pretty soft metal). But the friction and drag of a full handbag does the trick - especially since at the time I had slid the clip up pretty close to the edge of the cap so it wouldn't poke up into the flap of the stupid handbag.

 

If you like minis, I don't think you'll regret buying the Spalding. It IS a little bigger than the Liliput, but it's also more than $20 cheaper AND has the clip.

[chiaroscuro]

ugh, can't tell you how it compares to the one on the Kaweco AL, bummer :-/ I haven't handled one of those to be able to tell. But it's not too loose - it's pretty tight. If you look real close at both photos, you can see some fairly deep vertical scratches on the cap: they're from when I removed the cap (aluminum is a pretty soft metal). But the friction and drag of a full handbag does the trick - especially since at the time I had slid the clip up pretty close to the edge of the cap so it wouldn't poke up into the flap of the stupid handbag.

 

If you like minis, I don't think you'll regret buying the Spalding. It IS a little bigger than the Liliput, but it's also more than $20 cheaper AND has the clip.

It's on its way! Thanks so much for the recommendation. I'm very partial to how bare metals scratch and even dent, so this will be perfect. Have you tried the Classic Sport (plastic version)? It's essentially the same, but the Classic holds the clip slightly better.

[axio]

Where can I buy a Luoshi cigarette pen?