What Was Your Last Impulsive Pen Acquisition?

[AmandaW]

6 hours ago, carola said:

So... I said, dang it, and bought that Blue Dunes today.

 

A perfectly sensible response!

 

My impulsive purchases have amounted to very little even though many have been reported here over the past few months. They have been getting cancelled and refunded so many times I ended up receiving few and most of those are stuck in transit somewhere. A little instant gratification from an actual store seems like a very good idea!

[senzen]

I'd managed for months to only buy a couple of ink bottles, just couldn't resist a Minerva at less than $50, the magical number to not have to pay import taxes. Resetting the pen purchase clock back to zero.

[DrDebG]

A couple of weeks ago, I purchased a Pineider La Grande Bellezza in the Tigereye color.  It came with a 14K broad nib - one of Pineider's quill nibs which has small amount flex and spring to it.   The nibs is somewhat stubbish, which I really like.  The pen writes very smoothly with just a tiny hint of feedback.  It provides a bit of variation by being stubbish and also by have a small amount of flex.  I was very surprised that I would like the pen as much as I do.  

 

 

So, about a week ago,, I purchased another one in Hematite, only with a 14k medium nib.  I had heard that the medium nib would have a bit more flex and spring.  I received it today and I am again impressed with the way the pen writes.  My initial reaction is that it provides about the same small amount of line variation as the broad nib, but is even smoother than the broad.  

 

 

 

And, on the spur of the moment, today I purchased another - this one in blue with the 14k broad nib again.  This one I may not receive until after Christmas, which is fine.  

 

I guess these are my Christmas presents to myself this year. 

[carola]

19 hours ago, AmandaW said:

 

A perfectly sensible response!

 

My impulsive purchases have amounted to very little even though many have been reported here over the past few months. They have been getting cancelled and refunded so many times I ended up receiving few and most of those are stuck in transit somewhere. A little instant gratification from an actual store seems like a very good idea!

 

And it was the right thing to do! The Pelikan 500 set so reluctant to leave Spain obviously got jealous, jumped aboard a plane and got off somewhere in Austria (probably Vienna) today. It might be here by tomorrow but I suppose it will arrive some time next week. 😁

[Detman101]

"FPNIBS full-flex steel 1.1 stub"
Horrible...just horrible.
Exceeded only by a Noodlers flex nib in it's awfulness.

It does indeed flex...super easily...the exact opposite of what I requested.
it's also super scratchy, floody, unpolished tips and it is just wholly unrefined.
Wholly disappointed, as their work was recommended as being exquisite.
I could have done better work myself, and at this point...I will, instead of relying on someone else.

[essayfaire]

So my son told me how much he liked the look of the Kaweco Student and I immediately decided he needed another pen for Christmas though I thought I had already finished shopping.  Good to have another pen aficionado around with whom to share inks and pen parts!

[ParramattaPaul]

19 minutes ago, essayfaire said:

I thought I had already finished shopping.

And I've only just begun.   Drat!

[awa54]

Impulsive purchase #847 (not really, since I don't have anywhere near that many pens, but some days it feels like it...):

 

Uncommon Pilot Elite pocket pen in all stainless finish, at $45 I couldn't pass it up.

 

[essayfaire]

18 hours ago, ParramattaPaul said:

And I've only just begun.   Drat!

You might want to prepare for presents to arrive by New Year's in that case.  I've already had one package go completely missing, another (crossing a border) disappear from tracking and reappear ten day later (though still not at its destination), and a third managed to get from Portugal to Belgium to Miami but then was routed to the "wrong" airport closer to me and has been held hostage for a number of days.  The latter is DHL, which usually has its act together.

 

Good luck!

[Doug C]

Narwhal Nautilus.  Glad I did.

[Paul-in-SF]

On 11/30/2021 at 9:03 AM, Paul-in-SF said:

Impulsive in that I wasn't sure until the last minute in the auction whether I was going to bid. 

 

Montblanc 22 and Montblanc 342. Recently a Montblanc 24, and a Parker Duofold Lucky Curve Big Red (Senior, I guess). All of them still in transit. 

 

The Big Red arrived yesterday, and what a beauty! My first Senior Duofold from that era (ca. 1928 I believe). And the Montblanc 24 arrived today, a much more understated pen, made for writing, which it does very well. 

 

Photos to come soon. 

 

[A Smug Dill]

On 9/17/2021 at 4:47 AM, sansenri said:

your comments on the Scribo Feel will be nice to read, ADS,

 

On 9/17/2021 at 10:56 AM, essayfaire said:

Please post about your experience.  I have been tempted to try a flex nib,

 

The pen body is nice. The Panarea's material looks prettier than the marketing images conveyed, the facets with well-rounded edges between them make the pen quite comfortable to hold, and the step down from barrel to gripping section isn't nearly as jarring as that on the Pilot MR to my hand. It's a hefty pen, and feels robust and well-built.

 

I have nothing good to say about the 14K gold flexible EF nib. OK, maybe that its ability and speed to spring back is ‘good’.

 

I won't be writing with that pen again, even though it looks lovely, and I got it new at a steep discount (which is always a plus). Fortunately, I'd already offered the pen to my wife before it arrived — and, in fact, I involved her in the ordering process — and she genuinely likes the pen, and so it has found a good home and I don't have to be bothered by it any more.

[essayfaire]

15 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

 

 

I have nothing good to say about the 14K gold flexible EF nib. OK, maybe that its ability and speed to spring back is ‘good’.

 

I won't be writing with that pen again, even though it looks lovely, and I got it new at a steep discount (which is always a plus). Fortunately, I'd already offered the pen to my wife before it arrived — and, in fact, I involved her in the ordering process — and she genuinely likes the pen, and so it has found a good home and I don't have to be bothered by it any more.

 I actually didn't think that pen looked particularly comfortable, but grip and nib feel are two different problems.  Maybe I don't need to try out a flex after all.  It's a bit of a Catch-22: an inexpensive flex nib may not suit because of quality level, yet I don't want to spend the money to learn the hard way that I am not partial to a flex nib!

 

Thanks for the update.  I hope your wife likes writing with it.  I'm definitely in the pens-are-to-be-written-with camp.

[sansenri]

18 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

 

The pen body is nice. The Panarea's material looks prettier than the marketing images conveyed, the facets with well-rounded edges between them make the pen quite comfortable to hold, and the step down from barrel to gripping section isn't nearly as jarring as that on the Pilot MR to my hand. It's a hefty pen, and feels robust and well-built.

 

I have nothing good to say about the 14K gold flexible EF nib. OK, maybe that its ability and speed to spring back is ‘good’.

 

I won't be writing with that pen again, even though it looks lovely, and I got it new at a steep discount (which is always a plus). Fortunately, I'd already offered the pen to my wife before it arrived — and, in fact, I involved her in the ordering process — and she genuinely likes the pen, and so it has found a good home and I don't have to be bothered by it any more.

 

Thanks for the comments, from more than one voice I've hear the design is not uncomfortable as it looks. although the big step down still does disturb me even just visually...

I'm somewhat surprised about your comments on the nib, which others indicate as the strength of this pen, what aspects did you find undesirable/unsatisfactory?

 

 

[A Smug Dill]

On 12/5/2021 at 10:20 AM, sansenri said:

what aspects did you find undesirable/unsatisfactory?

 

I use Extra Fine nibs (and sometimes “Japanese Fine” and Medium-Fine nibs) to produce writing in Latin-based alphabets at x-height of ≲2.5mm, and Chinese hanzi or Japanese kanji in a 5mm (line, dot, or virtual) grid. I expect by default that EF nibs of any make — especially brands that don't offer UEF, EEF or XXF width grades — would allow me to do that, without the counter spaces (e.g. in lowercase ‘e‘ and ‘o’) getting closed up, or what should be distinct (and often parallel) lines inevitably fusing with each other. If a nib is flexible, I expect I would get some line variation when writing at that scale.

 

The Scribo FEEL's 14K gold flexible EF nib is entirely unsuitable for that purpose. If I wanted to (be forced to) write in English to fit 8mm–10mm tall ruled lines, I'd use a Fine, Medium-Fine or even broader nib.

[Detman101]

Today: Penrealm 1.1 Two-tone Steel Stub with Tomahawk cuts.

 

 

[DrDebG]

On 12/4/2021 at 4:06 PM, A Smug Dill said:

 

I use Extra Fine nibs (and sometimes “Japanese Fine” and Medium-Fine nibs) to produce writing in Latin-based alphabets at x-height of ≲2.5mm, and Chinese hanzi or Japanese kanji in a 5mm (line, dot, or virtual) grid. I expect by default that EF nibs of any make — especially brands that don't offer UEF, EEF or XXF width grades — would allow me to do that, without the counter spaces (e.g. in lowercase ‘e‘ and ‘o’) getting closed up, or what should be distinct (and often parallel) lines inevitably fusing with each other. If a nib is flexible, I expect I would get some line variation when writing at that scale.

 

The Scribo FEEL's 14K gold flexible EF nib is entirely unsuitable for that purpose. If I wanted to (be forced to) write in English to fit 8mm–10mm tall ruled lines, I'd use a Fine, Medium-Fine or even broader nib.

This makes perfect sense.  I always have to consider what I will be using a new pen for.  If the pen will be used mainly for printing or filling in forms, etc, then I tend to focus more on Japanese brands of fountain pens.  As you stated, the F and EF nibs are narrower and quite precise.  But if I want to use the pen mainly for cursive writing as I use in my journals and note taking, I almost always look for a "European" type of nib that is wider and wetter, more of a wet noodle type.  I recently purchased an Italian made medium nib that is as wide as the Japanese music nib that I bought last year (and that was just for the novelty of discovering what a music nib is).  

[maclink]

I bought a Pilot Fermo on relative impulse.  It comes with a F nib that's wonderfully adjusted.  Gotta give it to Pilot.  It was shipped from Japan. Yet again, another Pilot nib spot on after shipping and not bought in a boutique.

 

If you want a quieter retractable nibbed Pilot, then go for this one.  It's a twist mechanism that works very well.  Ergnomically, the pen is great too with very good balance and weight.

[Doug C]

48 minutes ago, maclink said:

I bought a Pilot Fermo on relative impulse.  It comes with a F nib that's wonderfully adjusted.  Gotta give it to Pilot.  It was shipped from Japan. Yet again, another Pilot nib spot on after shipping and not bought in a boutique.

 

If you want a quieter retractable nibbed Pilot, then go for this one.  It's a twist mechanism that works very well.  Ergnomically, the pen is great too with very good balance and weight.

I had a Fermo and liked it. I have one of the Ls models now. Nice and quiet but stupidly priced.

[tde44x]

A few pens ago I promised myself this was it for 2021 then...Two Opus 88's. An Opera with a broad nib that came in yesterday - beautiful pen and the nib is soooo smooth; and a Koloro with a stub that I'm anxiously waiting on for USPS to deliver later this week.