What Was Your Last Impulsive Pen Acquisition?

[ralfstc]

8 hours ago, PithyProlix said:

What do you think, please? Do you still think the Debutante diaphram should be the one to get for my pen, please?

 

I just checked my pens and I don't have a regular major to measure. I only have long majors right now (I like Canadian pens) and they are over 130mm. 120mm is quite a lot shorter than most vacs, which tend to hover around 125mm. 

 

In terms of the diaphragm, the difference is in the diameter not the length (they all actually need trimmed lengthwise to fit). If you are confident the barrel is around 11mm this would seem to suggest a deb diaphragm. It needs to fit snuggly around the cone on the filler so the whole thing is airtight and robust when assembled.

 

The plastic filler knob is consistent with 1950 dating for the pen.

 

To replace the diaphragm it is best to have the correct tool. You cannot use pliers or anything like that on the filler threads without causing damage . . . 

 

R.

[inkstainedruth]

6 hours ago, SLinkster said:

Checked my eBay watchlist before work and saw that a pen was about to end with a pretty low high bid. I submitted my high bid just a few seconds before the auction end and *presto* manual sniping success!

 

So now I'm waiting for a Pelikan m205 with broad nib to wing it's way from Deutschland to me in Texas. 

Nice.  What's the color of your new bird?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[AmandaW]

I won a Lady Sheaffer Skripset Moire XV with a conical Waverley nib. c1958. Am I mad? I have trouble enough getting a new pen that writes. It was the nib that made me bid. Now I'm worried it will be too delicate to actually use.

[Misfit]

@AmandaW I hope the pen isn’t too delicate. 

[Carguy]

For the first totally new pen I have bought recently, I saw a Aurora Red Mamba in a jewelry store while I was waiting on my watch to be fixed and decided I couldn’t resist it…l

[txomsy]

Wow! That Red Mamba is a really beautiful pen. Congratulations.

[SLinkster]

9 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

Nice.  What's the color of your new bird?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Nothing too exciting - post-1997 basic black with a (presumed) steel nib. I'm happy with the price even with international shipping. 

[AndyYNWA]

On 1/22/2024 at 4:12 PM, Gloucesterman said:

What you have here is the Pilot 78G (?) an inexpensive, and for the money - they were originally $10-15.00 "back in the day". A simple pen with and easily swapped nib (F, M, B - with the broad nib being more of stub/italic 1.0 mm. The converter was a Con-20 or, in some cases the earlier (cheaper) converter (# unknown). The nib is friction fit and easily swapped with most lower cost Pilot pens such as the Prera, Plumix, Metropolitan, Knight etc. One of the Chinese companies made a decent (imho) knock-off of this pen that was selling for about $6-8.00 the last time i paid any attention. I would question any swap-ability between the 78G and the Chines alternative.

 

I think Pilot made a slightly updated version (78G+ possibly) about which I know little to nothing.

 

Somewhere in my old pen larder, I still have six or eight of these pens.

 

Oh, yes, the Pilot versions came in black, a "tealish" blue, burgundy-ish red and a greenish color - IIRC.

 

Enjoy it as I recall, it's a nice writer... or was for me.

 

On 1/22/2024 at 7:07 PM, Junebe said:

AndyYNWA, I have a Pilot 78g+ (I don't have a 78g but I think they are more or less the same thing) and I like it, it is thin and very light. They are sold for less than 20 euros on Aliexpress.

 

I bought it last year to be able to use some pilot nibs I have from a Plumix and two MRs. I dislike the section of the Plumix and of the two MR, one doesn't seal well at all, and I dropped the cap of the good one and it bent. So now none of them seal well.

The 78g+ and the MR have the same section, with the difference that my MR take standard international cartridges and converters and the 78g+ Pilot ones.

So now I have a MR section with its original medium nib, the other MR section with a Plumix M italic nib and the 78G+ section with its original extrafine nib to use in one pen.

Thanks for the clarification. Luckily I had a 200 SEK voucher from Tradera, so I only paid 121 SEK (USD 11.50).

 

However, a Pilot converter doesn’t fit. A assume a standard international converter would do the job. But my Faber-Castell converter doesn’t fit either. Any recommendations of a converter that will fit?

[Junebe]

AndyYNWA, now that you mention it, both of my Pilot MR came with standard international cartridges with them, but when I used a standar international converter in one of the pens, the lip of the converter cracked (I didn't noticed it until I removed it for cleaning after using up the ink, it didn't leaked).

I use standard internatinal cartriges with it, Pelikan and Kaweco.  The fit is a bit tighter than on other pens.

 

 

The green one is the 78g+ (Pilot cartridges and converters) and the black one is one of the MR sections (standard international but the fit is a bit tight).

 

 

I use these 2 catridges with the MR sections. One is a Pelikan 4001 and the other one is unbranded, but it is like a Kaweco.

 

I hope you find something that fits.

[Junebe]

Well, forget what I said. I just tried a Jinhao converter on the section of my Pilot MR and it's a perfect fit.

 

 

 

[Gloucesterman]

1 hour ago, Junebe said:

Well, forget what I said. I just tried a Jinhao converter on the section of my Pilot MR and it's a perfect fit.

 

 

 

Interesting situation.

If the Chinese converter fits and the pens color is accurate above , you may have one of the knock-offs.

To my knowledge,Pilot did not make the 78G in that color. I am unsure about all of the colors on the 78G+.

 

If that is the knock-off, I think you dd overpay a bit.

[JonSzanto]

I forgot about this purchase: I picked up two Wing Sung 601a pens and they arrived about a week ago. One was a gag gift for a friend, but I was curious enough about the pen that I kept the 2nd for myself. A bizarre mash-up of a vacumatic-style filler, a Parker 51 profile, a nib that's a knock-off of Sheaffer "imperial" tubular nibs, and a selection of cap designs that could have been done by Ariel Kullock! Pretty funny, and after I did a bit of nib tuning it writes well. I'll take it to pen club as another example of inexpensive but usable pens.

 

[DilettanteG]

I'm trying to pace myself by not ordering another pen until the last one arrives. Unfortunately, I've got that FOMO feeling and am scrambling to pick up the rest of the two series I'm collecting before the NOS disappears back into the ether. So, two more on order 

 

1. A Pelikan M205 Duo Highlighter in green with a BB nib and the matching ink. The listing of "last one" pushed me over the edge. It's winging it's way from Japan as I type this. Just the anthracite and the amethyst to go and I'll have collected all the Pelikan M200/205 demonstrator barrel colors.

 

2. Pelikan M101N Bright Red with an IB nib. Another last one listing, though I think that only applied to these discontinued nibs. I've heard this is the least attractive of the M101N Special Editions, but I'm in 'collect all five' mode. Looking at the pictures, I'm with Pelikan's Perch, and think they should have released a reproduction of the Coral Red instead. Still, I love the size, weight, design, and construcition, plus they write like a dream. After this just the Blue-Gray version to go.

 

I've got a couple grails in the back of my mind, but they're all pretty painfully expensive. Plus, I'm trying keep my collection to the modern Pelikan Special Editions. Of course, that means I'll have to switch my focus to dealing with my broken pen pile. Not nearly as much fun, somehow.

[DilettanteG]

14 minutes ago, JonSzanto said:

I forgot about this purchase: I picked up two Wing Sung 601a pens and they arrived about a week ago. One was a gag gift for a friend, but I was curious enough about the pen that I kept the 2nd for myself. A bizarre mash-up of a vacumatic-style filler, a Parker 51 profile, a nib that's a knock-off of Sheaffer "imperial" tubular nibs, and a selection of cap designs that could have been done by Ariel Kullock! Pretty funny, and after I did a bit of nib tuning it writes well. I'll take it to pen club as another example of inexpensive but usable pens.

 

That's actually a pretty nice looking pen.

[gweimer1]

I went and done it again....Nakaya Naka-Ai Cigar Nanohana-iro

 

 

[Doug C]

2 hours ago, gweimer1 said:

I went and done it again....Nakaya Naka-Ai Cigar Nanohana-iro

 

 

I love the color. 

[JonSzanto]

5 hours ago, DilettanteG said:

That's actually a pretty nice looking pen.

 

Oh, I can't complain, especially for the money. Assuming the components hold up, the filling system works well, including the breather tube. If you look closely at the pen, you can see that details and execution are a tad short of extraordinary, but a very fine general user pen. I only really have one pen to judge the nib quality by, but it only needed a small bit of touch-up.

[AndyYNWA]

8 hours ago, Junebe said:

AndyYNWA, now that you mention it, both of my Pilot MR came with standard international cartridges with them, but when I used a standar international converter in one of the pens, the lip of the converter cracked (I didn't noticed it until I removed it for cleaning after using up the ink, it didn't leaked).

I use standard internatinal cartriges with it, Pelikan and Kaweco.  The fit is a bit tighter than on other pens.

 

 

The green one is the 78g+ (Pilot cartridges and converters) and the black one is one of the MR sections (standard international but the fit is a bit tight).

 

 

I use these 2 catridges with the MR sections. One is a Pelikan 4001 and the other one is unbranded, but it is like a Kaweco.

 

I hope you find something that fits.

Thanks Junebe! That’s exactly how it looks.

I will try to get hold of a Pelikan or Kaweco converter. 👍🏼

[Doc Dan]

I just ordered a Jinhao 9019 because it is a large pen. I don't have it, yet. It is on the way from China. It cost $6, shipping included. I can't wait till it gets here and I can ink it up and use it. 

[carola]

10 hours ago, DilettanteG said:

2. Pelikan M101N Bright Red with an IB nib. Another last one listing, though I think that only applied to these discontinued nibs. I've heard this is the least attractive of the M101N Special Editions, but I'm in 'collect all five' mode. Looking at the pictures, I'm with Pelikan's Perch, and think they should have released a reproduction of the Coral Red instead. Still, I love the size, weight, design, and construcition, plus they write like a dream. After this just the Blue-Gray version to go.

 

I have seen that one in person at my favourite pen and paper store. I liked it, but as my focus is more on the 400s/800s and when it comes to the 100Ns rather on the vintage ones, I didn't buy it.

I wasn't too sure about the colour in the beginning, but I saw it several times and it somehow started to grow on me.