Advice Wanted On Cheap Pen For Work. Ef, Preferably Demonstrator.

[51ISH]

 

My apologies for that! I'll have to have another look, particularly at the mentioned website...

Still haven't quite decided yet. Budget is ever so tight so I've got to think carefully, but will let you know ASAP

 

 

I've found that EF Lamy Vista/Safari nibs (I assume they're interchangeable) are rather hard to source in the U.K (had a brief search on my usual websites earlier. Unfortunate as it was sounding oh so nice

 

The preppy does sound like a good option. The free eye-dropper I got with a Noodler's big bottle last year was very good indeed for a free fine nib.

 

With regards to inks it'll be a difficult decision. Wonder if I could refill up a cartridge with Noodler's x-feather at home then somehow seal it up for the journey to work... hmmm. Will have a look at Private reserve carts which I can just about source in the U.K. but that would bump the price quite a bit...

 

 

Decisions, Decisions!

 

Thanks for the help!

Badger

 

Martin at The Writing Desk normally keeps ef nibs for these....but having checked his website there seems to be a temporary supply issue.

 

http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/showproduct.php?brand=Lamy&range=Z50+nib&cat=Spares

 

 

You may want to check when they are due in or send him a message on here, his user name is twd

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

Ah, wouldn't contamination be more apparent on a White pen? e.g. Lamy Safari

 

Bye,

Ms Bigmouth Smartypants

[DanF]

If you want a very water resistant ink that comes in cartridges, consider a Pilot pen, their blue black is darned near waterproof, their blue jut one notch below that. They only fit Pilot pens though.

 

Other than that, I have a Nemosine Singularity demo that I would recommend, but not sure what international carts offer water resistance. Not sure why you couldn't keep a bottle of ink in the lab though.

 

 

Dan

[ISW_Kaputnik]

The Waterman Kultur is a pretty nice pen in its price range, available in clear or various translucent colors, uses long or short international cartridges, or you can buy an international converter. Not actually made any more, but you should be able to find an NOS one on eBay for under $30, converter probably extra. I did get one in an unopened blister pack for $17 shipped, so deals are out there if you're lucky. I've seen them with EF, F, and M nibs, and even ballpoint models.

 

As a lot of other people have been saying, there's also the Lamy Vista. Haven't tried this one myself, but I've used the Safari, which I believe is just the non-demonstrator version. I had to tweak the fine nib on mine a little, but it's okay now.

Edited September 15, 2013 by ISW_Kaputnik

[GabrielleDuVent]

The Vista and Safari are interchangeable; Vista is just a name for demonstrator Safaris. Preppy 03 and Vista/Safari EFs are fairly on par, width-wise. (And performance, actually. They both make the "scritch scritch" noise.)

 

White safaris stain insanely (I've seen someone convert a white Safari into purple marble Safari because the owner accidentally smeared some purple ink on it, and it wouldn't come off).

[migo984]

Hi

 

I might be a bit late to this topic so you might have already made your decision however.....

 

You could try a Platinum Cool with F nib. It's a nice demonstrator. Cos it's Japanese it writes like a European (i.e. Lamy) EF. It's £29 from Cultpens http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Platinum-PGB-3000A-Cool-Fountain-Pen-Clear.html#a27611 (usual blurb re no affiliation).

 

It's C/C (converter extra at £4.99) or I use mine at the moment with the little Platinum International Adaptor at £1.50 which enables it to take standard international cartrdiges. I think it's a dream with Cultpens Deep Dark Blue. Here's link to my post bemoaning my awful hadndwriting but handily shows the Cool + ink combination mentioned https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/252514-improving-my-everyday-handwriting/

If that's too expensive for you at the moment how about the Pilot Penmanship at £8.99. Has an EF nib only & is really fine at 0.2mm http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Pilot-Penmanship-Fountain-Pen-FP-50R.html#a27091

 

Only takes Pilot cartridges but takes the Pilot CON50 convertor for about £5.

 

I'll stop twittering on now!

 

Hope this helps

 

Marie

[Sasha Royale]

I have an old LAMY Vista (No, you can't have mine.), that belonged to an old schoolmate. It endured the

heavy use of college lectures, biological nastiness of tropical service in the Peace Corps, and harsh aridness

of archeological digs. It is scratched and dented and discolored, but I used it a few weeks ago.

 

The Vista is clear version of the LAMY Safari. I know a medical professional, who uses a white Safari

in her work. it gets wiped with disinfection towelettes every day.

[Cyclopentadiene]

Hi,

 

Ah, wouldn't contamination be more apparent on a White pen? e.g. Lamy Safari

 

Bye,

Ms Bigmouth Smartypants

 

It would indeed. But I feel it would remind me of one of those vintage nurses pens with the hidden thermometer for sticking in warm crevices, for want of a better phrase... something I fortunately don't have to do!

 

Plus, I kinda like demonstrators... and I think that'd be the next best colour variant.

 

 

Martin at The Writing Desk normally keeps ef nibs for these....but having checked his website there seems to be a temporary supply issue.

 

http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/showproduct.php?brand=Lamy&range=Z50+nib&cat=Spares

 

 

You may want to check when they are due in or send him a message on here, his user name is twd

 

Hmm... I'll be making a proper decision tonight (I say that now hehe) so I'll consider sending him a message about the EF nibs. Thanks for the info!

 

Lamy Safari /Vista EFs are closer to F than EF. If you are looking for a true EF nib, Pilot would be a better choice.

 

Safari/Vista nibs are drier than Pilots'. If you like your pens to lay a wet line (a must for EF nibs), you can tweak the nib+feed of Safari or you can use a Pilot 78G straight out of the box

 

I've heard about the wideness of Lamy nibs... Pilot would be a good choice indeed. Just weighing up the various factors...

 

Hi

 

I might be a bit late to this topic so you might have already made your decision however.....

 

You could try a Platinum Cool with F nib. It's a nice demonstrator. Cos it's Japanese it writes like a European (i.e. Lamy) EF. It's £29 from Cultpens http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Platinum-PGB-3000A-Cool-Fountain-Pen-Clear.html#a27611 (usual blurb re no affiliation).

 

It's C/C (converter extra at £4.99) or I use mine at the moment with the little Platinum International Adaptor at £1.50 which enables it to take standard international cartrdiges. I think it's a dream with Cultpens Deep Dark Blue. Here's link to my post bemoaning my awful hadndwriting but handily shows the Cool + ink combination mentioned https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/252514-improving-my-everyday-handwriting/

If that's too expensive for you at the moment how about the Pilot Penmanship at £8.99. Has an EF nib only & is really fine at 0.2mm http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Pilot-Penmanship-Fountain-Pen-FP-50R.html#a27091

 

Only takes Pilot cartridges but takes the Pilot CON50 convertor for about £5.

 

I'll stop twittering on now!

 

Hope this helps

 

Marie

 

I'd had a look at the Platinum cool when it became available in the U.K., originally I wasn't impressed by the specifications but you're writing sample is really good!

Deep dark blue is easily my favourite ink! At least when it comes to the safe category.

The penmanship looks like a very good option, especially considering my budget. I seem to remember that there's some pretty good Youtube videos on it so I'll review them. Thanks!

 

The Vista and Safari are interchangeable; Vista is just a name for demonstrator Safaris. Preppy 03 and Vista/Safari EFs are fairly on par, width-wise. (And performance, actually. They both make the "scritch scritch" noise.)

 

White safaris stain insanely (I've seen someone convert a white Safari into purple marble Safari because the owner accidentally smeared some purple ink on it, and it wouldn't come off).

 

Ah excellent news on the interchangeability (surprised I could spell that...).

 

Thanks for the heads up on the staining!

 

I have an old LAMY Vista (No, you can't have mine.), that belonged to an old schoolmate. It endured the

heavy use of college lectures, biological nastiness of tropical service in the Peace Corps, and harsh aridness

of archeological digs. It is scratched and dented and discolored, but I used it a few weeks ago.

 

The Vista is clear version of the LAMY Safari. I know a medical professional, who uses a white Safari

in her work. it gets wiped with disinfection towelettes every day.

 

Hmmm very interesting. It survives the Iso-propyl wipes! Tough pen... very tough.

 

 

Thanks for all your responces,

Will let you know later tonight!

 

Badger

[Iscribe]

TWBSI - Not a cartridge filler, but they hold a lot of ink.

John

[fpconverted]

I really like the utilitarian look, design, and performance of Lamy pens. Especially the Lamy Vista. I use the Lamy Vista for just every type of note jotting, writing, and long episodes of journal writing. I also use Yard O Led blue black in my LV for that deep teal blue black.

I really cant say anything negative of this pen for under 50$ you really cant beat this and I think everyone should at least have one clear demonstrator to your collection.

I like how the ink flows and how smooth it writes as well. It uses a twist type piston and comes with the pen also. The design of the Lamy Vista is a very modern yet minimalist design with chrome accents and therefore making this pen a very simple yet modern design and complements all styles from edgy to conservative. The clear body of the pen takes the geuss work out of which ink you have installed in your pen. Get it!!! You won't be disappointed!!!

Edited September 17, 2013 by fpconverted

[Edwaroth]

+1 on the TWSBI...clear, hold a ton of ink, and the EF nib is a decent player. Very fine and well defined line.

[andymcc]

No one seems to have mentioned the Kaweco ICE Sport, although technically not a demonstrator the cap and section are fairly transparent and the body is completely clear and it takes cartridges or a converter plus the nib come in sizes EF-2mm italic. I have 3 Kawecos, a Classic, an AL Raw and an ICE Sport, the ICE Sport is my EDC and has stood up to a good amount of punishment and has never let me down. Cult pens sell the ICE Sports for around £18 and you get a clip free

[fpconverted]

Or get a few clears for red or highlighter ink!

Edited September 17, 2013 by fpconverted

[Cyclopentadiene]

Hey all!

So I decided and had a chance to use my decision... a couple of Platinum Preppys at work on friday. You will be glad to know they work reasonably well!

The "fine" nib using platinums black in works very well. No feathering and I can use the pen for carbon copies pressing quite hard when required which was an excellent bonus. I've also a "medium" nib filled with red for time sheets (the bosses have to use red ink... don't know why). But that performs less well. The colour leans towards pink and the nib seems more scratchy, which is odd to me considering the nib size.

I did also buy a fine nibbed Pilot VPen, but It was too nice to send off to it's doom. For £3.50 those VPens are nice... VERY nice. Reasonable size, posts well. Good balance. Gave it away on loan but will get it back to do a review when I can.

Thanks for the help! I carefully considered all the answers, but had to go with what I felt were the most disposable choices just in case.

Best wishes,

Badger

[fpconverted]

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

Noodlers ahab clear demo under 25$ i beleive.

[copierguy1961]

 

 

I think you are confusing Mnemosyne notebooks by Maruman with the Nemosyne pen brand. I bought mine in xfountainpens.com, and they ship over to EU.

Now that you mention it, a preppy also fits the bill, and since you'll be using it in a lab setting, you could refill the cartridge using a syringe or a pipette.

I'm glad you found your solution!

I have to agree. I love my Singularity and for $14 you can't go wrong. I have seen them on Amazon also. Glad you already got one but as they say you can never have just one.

[Newjelan]

No one seems to have mentioned the Kaweco ICE Sport, although technically not a demonstrator the cap and section are fairly transparent and the body is completely clear and it takes cartridges or a converter plus the nib come in sizes EF-2mm italic.

I agree and while I loved my TWSBI 540s, the cracking has stopped me from ever buying another TWSBI.

 

In Australia we get the Kaweco Ice Sport for $24.95AUD including the clip (about £15) from Notemaker.com.au (no affiliation). They ship internationally and their service is excellent. I have 4 of them as well as the excellent roller ball.

[Bourriquette]

I love your username !

Have you solved the filling issue ? Reading your requirements I would suggest converting the Preppy to an eyedropper (they hold an insane amount of ink and it is easy to do), and leaving a bottle at your workplace.

Other option is using a syringe as a buffer container, sole can be shut tight with a dedicated lid .

[Sailor Kenshin]

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

 

Nemosine Singularity, $15 US, but would they be available to you? Xfountainpens may ship, but not sure if they do worldwide.