What Was Your Last Impulsive Pen Acquisition?

[bongo47]

3 hours ago, Misfit said:

I love my HS in Bronze Age with stub nib. Glad you got your pair @bongo47

Yeah, there is so much to love about the Bronze.  I keep picking it up for no reason. But I'm glad I also got the Red.  It is a touch more stealth than the Bronze, which I think will fit with my office culture better (guessing, given haven't been to campus for 17 months, but return in two weeks).  The big rose gold nib of the Bronze kind of screams "fancy", while the Red's black trim and nib fly a bit under the radar. No one I know on campus uses a fountain pen, and most are using disposable ball point.  I also am older, and have a position that puts me in a much higher salary bracket than almost everyone in my office, so I try not to be too flashy. Which is another reason I held off on the Pelikan 805, which I think is sort of showy, and not really something that goes with the casual office.  Luckily both HS have wet, smooth EF nibs that are just amazing, so I'm happy using either.  

[Bikerchick]

12 hours ago, samasry said:

One thing only you could do to sort out this entire Pelikan issue, is to  get on your bike,  and in few short  Kilometers  you are there at the site of the strike. I am sure that once they see you, they will  get back to work, out of sheer respect and appreciation   

Hannover is about 500 kilometers from here but I'll see what I can do  
Two years ago, I rode 750 kms in three days at a charity ride for cancer research, so I'm not one to shy away from a challenge. 

 

12 hours ago, samasry said:

I have told my daughter as well about your story,  she got inspired,; not 150km biking  inspired, but couple of Kilometers biking  inspired  Take care 

I never thought I'd see the day that I could inspire someone. Thank you, Samasry, you really made my day. Take care too. 

[brokenclay]

2 hours ago, Bikerchick said:

I never thought I'd see the day that I could inspire someone. Thank you, Samasry, you really made my day. Take care too. 

 

Love this!

 

@Bikerchick and @samasry, you both rock!

[samasry]

On 7/17/2021 at 4:44 AM, Bikerchick said:

Hannover is about 500 kilometers from here but I'll see what I can do  
Two years ago, I rode 750 kms in three days at a charity ride for cancer research, so I'm not one to shy away from a challenge. 

 

I am a  cancer survivor myself, so now you've got me inspired as well   

 

 

On 7/17/2021 at 4:44 AM, Bikerchick said:

I never thought I'd see the day that I could inspire someone. Thank you, Samasry, you really made my day. Take care too. 

 

I am sure many of the members in this forum who read about your post were inspired by the character and determination needed to accomplish the task.  Have a great weekend  

 

[rkesey]

I couldn't resist the latest Ranga group buy--looking forward to its arrival next week!

[rkesey]

On 7/17/2021 at 7:44 AM, Bikerchick said:

Hannover is about 500 kilometers from here but I'll see what I can do  
Two years ago, I rode 750 kms in three days at a charity ride for cancer research, so I'm not one to shy away from a challenge. 

 

I never thought I'd see the day that I could inspire someone. Thank you, Samasry, you really made my day. Take care too. 

This is all delightful.

[mizgeorge]

On 7/17/2021 at 12:44 PM, Bikerchick said:

Hannover is about 500 kilometers from here but I'll see what I can do  
Two years ago, I rode 750 kms in three days at a charity ride for cancer research, so I'm not one to shy away from a challenge. 

 

I never thought I'd see the day that I could inspire someone. Thank you, Samasry, you really made my day. Take care too. 

@Bikerchick - you're just fab  And even more of a hero than you already were!

[Bikerchick]

Aw shucks, you guys, quit embarrassing me. 😊

On 7/18/2021 at 6:58 PM, samasry said:

I am a  cancer survivor myself, so now you've got me inspired as well   

I am so sorry you had to go through that, Samasry, but I sure am glad that you came out on top! 

 

On 7/18/2021 at 9:49 PM, mizgeorge said:

you're just fab  And even more of a hero than you already were!

I think you're freaking amazing yourself, George. 😘

[A Smug Dill]

A Pilot Custom Heritage 912 with PO nib (for which I blame @ethernautrix), and since I need to buy two pens in the same order to qualify for the discount level that made me pull the trigger, a Pilot CH91 with an EF nib, even though I could've just ordered a slightly overpriced Pilot Kakuno instead so as to qualify.

 

Still wondering if I'm going to buy that second UEF-nibbed Platinum #3776 Century.

[ethernautrix]

5 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

A Pilot Custom Heritage 912 with PO nib (for which I blame @ethernautrix), and since I need to buy two pens in the same order to qualify for the discount level that made me pull the trigger, a Pilot CH91 with an EF nib

 

I hope you enjoy the PO nib! It wasn't my favorite out of the box, as it was finer than what I was used to, but one day as I was scribbling away with it, I realized, Hey! I'm really enjoying this nib! And now it's my favorite favorite.

 

My latest purchase (a coupla months ago) was a P91. I just had to satisfy my curiosity about Pilot's 14kt EF nib. Wow, do I love it! It writes even finer than the PO. I paired the EF with the P92; put the 92's F in the 91 -- gotta say, the F nib is also... another favorite.

 

I hold a pen at a high angle and tend to rotate the nib a smidgen to the left, FWIW. This way, the nib gives me a suggestion, a hint, perhaps an illusion of line variation. 

 

I'm curious what your experience will be, with the PO and the EF. 

[A Smug Dill]

1 hour ago, ethernautrix said:

I hold a pen at a high angle and tend to rotate the nib a smidgen to the left, FWIW.

 

Much the same with me; or, at least some folks on FPN noted that I hold a fountain pen more upright than they would when writing, even though in Platinum's standard testing for its published line width chart, the pen is held at 60° (to the page), which I take is ‘normal’ or average for users of Japanese fountain pens in the view and/or experience of the company. The more precise (and therefore expressive, in my book) I need the pen strokes and/or ink marks to be, the more upright I tend to hold my pen.

 

1 hour ago, ethernautrix said:

I hope you enjoy the PO nib! It wasn't my favorite out of the box, as it was finer than what I was used to,

 

I'm a little worried that it won't write fine enough for what I want. Even my Platinum #3776 Century's 14K gold UEF nib — which, as a (sub)class of Platinum nibs, is unfortunately subject to more variation from one unit to the next, from what I've read — doesn't write/draw as finely as I want it to, in that I think the steel JoWo-made EF nib on my Edison Collier and the 14K gold EF nib on one of my Sailor Promenade pens are finer; but then I've only used Platinum Carbon Black ink in that #3776C, so I think it's unfair. A few minutes ago I was actually making a list of all my finest-writing pens/nibs, so I can test (at least some of) them fairly against each other in two rounds, using Platinum Carbon Black ink and (probably) Jacques Herbin Noir Abyssal ink respectively. I have so many pens there, though, and the task just seems rather daunting in its tediousness, even though I really want to know the result as information/‘intelligence’ on what I have in my fleet of pens.

[sirgilbert357]

15 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

Much the same with me; or, at least some folks on FPN noted that I hold a fountain pen more upright than they would when writing, even though in Platinum's standard testing for its published line width chart, the pen is held at 60° (to the page), which I take is ‘normal’ or average for users of Japanese fountain pens in the view and/or experience of the company. The more precise (and therefore expressive, in my book) I need the pen strokes and/or ink marks to be, the more upright I tend to hold my pen.

 

 

I'm a little worried that it won't write fine enough for what I want. Even my Platinum #3776 Century's 14K gold UEF nib — which, as a (sub)class of Platinum nibs, is unfortunately subject to more variation from one unit to the next, from what I've read — doesn't write/draw as finely as I want it to, in that I think the steel JoWo-made EF nib on my Edison Collier and the 14K gold EF nib on one of my Sailor Promenade pens are finer; but then I've only used Platinum Carbon Black ink in that #3776C, so I think it's unfair. A few minutes ago I was actually making a list of all my finest-writing pens/nibs, so I can test (at least some of) them fairly against each other in two rounds, using Platinum Carbon Black ink and (probably) Jacques Herbin Noir Abyssal ink respectively. I have so many pens there, though, and the task just seems rather daunting in its tediousness, even though I really want to know the result as information/‘intelligence’ on what I have in my fleet of pens.

 

I have also done something similar -- testing a batch of pens and inks to see what came out most in line with my preferences. The cleaning of the pens between inks is the beat down to me. I just tend to be rather thorough and also like the pens as dry as possible when I ink them so that even the smallest amount of water isn't changing the ink's characteristics. I can only handle a few pens and inks at a time before chunks of time measured in hours have been used for the task. I stopped doing those kinds of tests back to back.

 

At this point, if I want to try a new ink in a pen I will just make a mental note ("Hmm, I should try Diamine Syrah in the Lamy 2000 next...") and then the next time I ink that pen, I try that ink. I really should keep an ink journal or something, but I don't. I've inked a combo before and within half a page realize that I've tried it in the past and it didn't work for whatever reason...whoops. Oh well. LOL.

[ethernautrix]

22 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

only used Platinum Carbon Black ink in that #3776C

 

I think I see the, uh, problem. I like Platinum Carbon Black, but it enwidens my lines, and that's the main reason I don't use it as much as I would otherwise.

I use Noodler's Black. When I had four pens inked up until a few days ago, three contained Noodler's Black (Pilot PO, Pilot EF, and Nakaya EF) and one had KWZi niebieski galusowy (IG Blue) #3 (Pilot F).

 

I don't recall if you have Noodler's Black. I'd assume yes, since you have many inks (and thus all the pens inked up with all the different inks), but plenty of fpn maninkiacs -- nope, can't make that a word - ink connoisseurs have hundreds of inks, including several black inks, but not Noodler's.

 

Yes, using it on Tomoe River paper takes a long time to dry, but I've cut paper towels to A6 size to put between pages so I can turn them without waiting.

 

22 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

the task just seems rather daunting in its tediousness

 

Yeah, but afterward, the satisfaction of knowing! Also, good luck!

[ethernautrix]

7 hours ago, sirgilbert357 said:

I really should keep an ink journal

I've thought about that over the past few years, but it seems too late. I'm generally using Noodler's Black -- and one of a handful of not-black inks. I have ink-testing pages, but they aren't on the same paper and sometimes aren't the same size.

Since switching to a page-per-day planner, I've kept track of pens and inks either at the back or on the non-calendar page preceding each month.

 

Hm. My system seems to presume an excellent memory in the future. Which presumes the same degree of interest in pens and inks, hahaha. Seems a reasonable expectation considering, but it could change!

 

If only I tested inks the way others on the forum provide ink reviews -- with sketches and Rorschach blots. I enjoy those, and if I'd been doing that all these years, I'd enjoy paging through them, not just for the colors. (I guess it's never too late to start!) [Imagining paging through a notebook full of sketches in black ink. Actually, that wouldn't be a bad thing. Haha.]

[sirgilbert357]

11 minutes ago, ethernautrix said:

 

I think I see the, uh, problem. I like Platinum Carbon Black, but it enwidens my lines, and that's the main reason I don't use it as much as I would otherwise.

I use Noodler's Black. When I had four pens inked up until a few days ago, three contained Noodler's Black (Pilot PO, Pilot EF, and Nakaya EF) and one had KWZi niebieski galusowy (IG Blue) #3 (Pilot F).

 

I don't recall if you have Noodler's Black. I'd assume yes, since you have many inks (and thus all the pens inked up with all the different inks), but plenty of fpn maninkiacs -- nope, can't make that a word - ink connoisseurs have hundreds of inks, including several black inks, but not Noodler's.

 

Yes, using it on Tomoe River paper takes a long time to dry, but I've cut paper towels to A6 size to put between pages so I can turn them without waiting.

 

 

Yeah, but afterward, the satisfaction of knowing! Also, good luck!

 

Not to speak for A Smug Dill, but I don't think he has, nor cares to spend the money to acquire, any Noodlers inks...being in Australia makes Noodler's inks pricey...

[A Smug Dill]

22 minutes ago, ethernautrix said:

I think I see the, uh, problem. I like Platinum Carbon Black, but it enwidens my lines, and that's the main reason I don't use it as much as I would otherwise.

 

Yes, you'd mentioned that before; and I still haven't fulfilled my offer to dig out some Tomoe River FP paper to do some comparison of lines widths from Platinum Carbon Black and other black pigment inks, sorry. It's on my list of things to do, and in fact part of this listing and planning thing I'm doing. One of the other things I want to get out of all that is to decide on which ink(s) to use going forward with my terrible drawing, of which you've seen some recently. In that context, suddenly even the slightest inevitable widening of ink marks using Platinum Carbon Black becomes a big deal.

 

I'm hoping that a Pilot Custom EF or PO nib would make Platinum Carbon Black more usable, and thus the purchase of the new pens (which will hopefully arrive by my birthday!); no other ink seems to be as waterproof and resistant to smudging when rubbed with an eraser to remove pencil sketching lines, or subsequently inked over with other colours. I've ordered R&K SketchINK Lotte, but unfortunately that won't arrive for a while yet (long story!), I expect. Sailor Kiwaguro will not smudge the paper when rubbed, even though some black would get onto the bits of material shed by the eraser (which doesn't happen with PCB); but it will darken subsequently applied coloured ink. I tried drawing over pencil sketches with Noodler's X-Feather, which of course isn't a pigment ink, and sadly it will smudge on the paper when rubbed, no matter for how long the ink lines have been left to dry completely.

 

2 minutes ago, sirgilbert357 said:

Not to speak for A Smug Dill, but I don't think he has, nor cares to spend the money to acquire, any Noodlers inks...being in Australia makes Noodler's inks pricey...

 

I think I've seen and tried enough as much of Noodler's ink as I'd want to. I still have another bottle of X-Feather (which has its uses, just not for my drawing) on the way, and a bottle of Black Swan in English Roses as well, to sate my curiosity after reading a recent ink review of it here. Buying from LCdC and Amazon AU makes the delivery-included prices (as part of larger orders eligible for free international shipping) more acceptable; I could get a 3oz bottle of X-Feather for around A$13.50, as opposed to A$33+ that a local stockist is asking for.

 

Some of the Noodler's inks are quite usable, and I would even say I like some of the ones I bought; but I just don't want them anywhere near my Aurora, Pelikan, and Pilot (etc.) pens. I'm quite happy for them to stain a Wing Sung 699 or PenBBS 494, if they can deliver crisp lines without feathering and bleed-through.

[sirgilbert357]

Well I just bought two Jinhao 100 Centennials. My plan is to replace their nibs with Goulet nibs once the sizes in the "new design" are in stock. I'm thinking a broad and maybe a 1.1 stub. Or maybe just two broads...I don't know. I have time to figure it out. LOL.

[NumberSix]

Just ordered a red Montblanc Generation <EF> on ebay. (and a converter for it from Fahrney's)

 

I have been on the lookout for a Generation rollerball, to match the one my dad has. But I stumbled across this red fountain pen when looking for x2 and x4 models. I couldn't resist the bright color and the classic line. Impulse Purchase: Activate! 

 

(probably should lose my access to ebay on a bored Sunday evening)

[NumberSix]

13 hours ago, sirgilbert357 said:

Well I just bought two Jinhao 100 Centennials. My plan is to replace their nibs with Goulet nibs once the sizes in the "new design" are in stock. I'm thinking a broad and maybe a 1.1 stub. Or maybe just two broads...I don't know. I have time to figure it out. LOL.

Something being changed about the Goulet Jowo nibs?

[Sybarite]

Only because my collection includes the rollerball and pencil and I thought it would be rude not to include the fountain pen.

Besides - having the others makes it easier to smuggle past my wife!