What Is Your Favorite Clear/transparent Pen?

[Namo]

Not a big demos lover. Tried some: I have a Noodler's Konrad, decent pen, and a Twsbi mini that I don't like. But last week, I received a Pelikan m250, a demo with black mecanism and gold trim. And I think I am in love!

[hh1990]

My favorite is my Pilot Custom 823.

[tgoto]

  On 10/9/2017 at 9:07 AM, SoulSamurai said:

I like a clear pen if there's something interesting to look at inside. So something like a Vac700, perhaps a Conid Bulkfiller. I've got a Pelikan L65 in the mail, looking forwards to seeing what's going on inside that fella.

Definitely! Being able to see inside (mechanism) is a joy

 

Conid has been on my wishlist for a long time...still can't make up my mind between the regular and minimalistica lol

 

Hope you will enjoy the L65

[Bluey]

Sailor Professional Gear Slim Sky

[tgoto]

  On 10/9/2017 at 2:32 PM, Bluey said:

Sailor Professional Gear Slim Sky

I love Sailor pens!

The only thing about Sailor is that most of their pens are either black or burgundy...

 

The slims have fun colors, and I love them

[tgoto]

  On 10/9/2017 at 10:50 AM, Namo said:

Not a big demos lover. Tried some: I have a Noodler's Konrad, decent pen, and a Twsbi mini that I don't like. But last week, I received a Pelikan m250, a demo with black mecanism and gold trim. And I think I am in love!

That is great that one pen changed your view on clear pens

I hear M250 is a fantastic pen though

[tgoto]

  On 10/9/2017 at 11:44 AM, hh1990 said:

My favorite is my Pilot Custom 823.

 

I have been hearing that 823 is awesome.

It is on my wishlist (last time I saved up for 823, I ran into Sailor Naginata nib and had to get that first) lol

[Bluey]

  On 10/10/2017 at 1:11 AM, tgoto said:

I love Sailor pens!

The only thing about Sailor is that most of their pens are either black or burgundy...

 

The slims have fun colors, and I love them

Most are black(I don't recall seeing many burgundy ones), but in all cases except for one I've chosen non-black for my Sailors.

Edited October 10, 2017 by Bluey

[inkstainedruth]

I'm not really big on clear pens or demonstrators (I can understand at some level why people might buy an actual demonstrator pen for the collecting value, but I'm not one of them). But I do have a few. The TWSBI 580-AL (pink) with a B nib is a great writing pen (and I got used to the weight much faster than I expected). I also have one of the Dollar 717i pens, and it is unexpectedly good for being a cheap pen (I would not have bought one myself, but someone sent it to me). I'll admit that I'm amused by the idea of a piston pen that inexpensive.

Additionally I have a bunch of Noodler's Charlie eyedropper pens that came free with bottles of ink. The first 3 have been pretty good (as long as you recognize the drawbacks of eyedropper pens). The fourth one may be leaking (it looks as if there may be a crack) -- but it also may be that it's less than half full at this point and also has what turns out to be a really wet drippy ink in it (no I don't know what the ink is -- it was one of a bunch of samples only ID'd with codes on the vials, and this one was "B1"). Haven't had a chance to try the newest Charlie pen yet (I got that one at the Commonwealth Pen Show last month with a bottle of Noodler's Brexit).

And I have 3 Platinum Preppies that also came free with bottles of ink, but I have those set up as rollerballs (and frankly, I'm not all that impressed with them). They got the nicknames of "Thing 1", "Thing 2" and "Thing 3" because they all have the same color trim (and were all used with black ink) and I can't tell the darned things apart....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[kestrel]

Modern Conklin Mark Twain Crescent Demo with Rose Gold plated fixtures. I special ordered one through a brick-and-mortar and the owner called it absolutely stunning when she informed me of its arrival. She was right. The beauty and simplicity of the crescent-filling system is on glorious display.

[pajaro]

Sheaffer School cartridge pen, preferably red or green translucent, with sheaffer squeeze converter with silicone sac, preferably 304 or 303 nib.

Edited October 10, 2017 by pajaro

[tgoto]

  On 10/10/2017 at 1:30 AM, Bluey said:

Most are black(I don't recall seeing many burgundy ones), but in all cases except for one I've chosen non-black for my Sailors.

Fantastic! I was always hoping that Sailor would come up with more colors, and they have them!

[tgoto]

  On 10/10/2017 at 2:01 AM, inkstainedruth said:

I'm not really big on clear pens or demonstrators (I can understand at some level why people might buy an actual demonstrator pen for the collecting value, but I'm not one of them). But I do have a few. The TWSBI 580-AL (pink) with a B nib is a great writing pen (and I got used to the weight much faster than I expected). I also have one of the Dollar 717i pens, and it is unexpectedly good for being a cheap pen (I would not have bought one myself, but someone sent it to me). I'll admit that I'm amused by the idea of a piston pen that inexpensive.

Additionally I have a bunch of Noodler's Charlie eyedropper pens that came free with bottles of ink. The first 3 have been pretty good (as long as you recognize the drawbacks of eyedropper pens). The fourth one may be leaking (it looks as if there may be a crack) -- but it also may be that it's less than half full at this point and also has what turns out to be a really wet drippy ink in it (no I don't know what the ink is -- it was one of a bunch of samples only ID'd with codes on the vials, and this one was "B1"). Haven't had a chance to try the newest Charlie pen yet (I got that one at the Commonwealth Pen Show last month with a bottle of Noodler's Brexit).

And I have 3 Platinum Preppies that also came free with bottles of ink, but I have those set up as rollerballs (and frankly, I'm not all that impressed with them). They got the nicknames of "Thing 1", "Thing 2" and "Thing 3" because they all have the same color trim (and were all used with black ink) and I can't tell the darned things apart....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

TWISBI seems to make great pens. I am debating within myself if I should purchase Mini...

 

I had an ink dripping problem in my first Noodler's...haven't purchased since. Maybe their pens have improved. I might give another try but not until I get other pens on my wishlist (there are rather many pens on my current wishlist )

 

I am not too familiar with Pilot pens. I was going to order a Prera, but ended getting Platinum Cools. It is on the way in mail. We'll see how this pen performs...

 

I am surprised that 717i pens are good pens. I should definitely get some to be given away at work, so that people can experience fountain pens..(no I am not sharing my fountain pens with the people who have not heard of fountain pens).

[tgoto]

  On 10/10/2017 at 2:37 AM, kestrel said:

Modern Conklin Mark Twain Crescent Demo with Rose Gold plated fixtures. I special ordered one through a brick-and-mortar and the owner called it absolutely stunning when she informed me of its arrival. She was right. The beauty and simplicity of the crescent-filling system is on glorious display.

I can feel the beauty...

Do you have a photo of the Crescent?

[tgoto]

  On 10/10/2017 at 3:05 AM, pajaro said:

Sheaffer School cartridge pen, preferably red or green translucent, with sheaffer squeeze converter with silicone sac, preferably 304 or 303 nib.

This is a cool pen! Timeless design...

[mitto]

I have a dozen or so colored SB tranparent pens from Taiwan.

 

Also have some old Soveit clear colorless pens. And, ofcourse a few dozen piston filled clear local Dollar pens. But I am not so fond of clear/transparent pens.

 

Forgot to mention an orange transparent Jinhao 992 that I received recently as gift from a FPNer in the UK.

[JonSzanto]

[inkstainedruth]

  On 10/10/2017 at 4:27 AM, tgoto said:

I had an ink dripping problem in my first Noodler's...haven't purchased since. Maybe their pens have improved. I might give another try but not until I get other pens on my wishlist (there are rather many pens on my current wishlist )

 

I had a bit of a problem with my first Noodler's Konrad with dripping when I first got it (Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses -- that experience taught me what "bleedthrough" meant.... ) but then by the next morning when I refilled the pen the combination was fine. Up until this Charlie pen (and there may be a crack by the threads, but I haven't investigated too fully yet because I haven't had time, the only OTHER inks I'd ever had that sort of dripping from was Iroshihzuku Asa-gao (write a page and the pen -- don't remember what now -- would be fine and then watch a droplet roll down the nib) and Iroshihzuku Fuyu-syogun. Hmmm. Both also possibly with that same first Konrad, it seems (I lost the pen at the Ligonier Highland Games a few months later). But mostly the pen was fine with whatever ink I put in it.

I chalk the issue with this new Charlie to be a combination of "half-empty eyedropper" with "wet drippy ink". I'm going to dump the contents back into the sample vial, flush the pen out, look really carefully for cracks, and then try the ink in a different pen. Say, the Platinum Plaisir, which is a super dry writer....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[ASCIIaardvark]

  On 10/8/2017 at 6:43 PM, NinthSphere said:

Additive Pens' stuff, although I don't have any of them.

 

I've got one. It's definitely super pretty, but the cap is super fiddly -- it doesn't go back on unless you line it up *just* right, and if you try to unscrew it instead of pulling you instead unscrew the section and spill ink... which happens 100% of the time I hand the pen to someone to try.

 

Mine is their 2nd production run. I plan to wait a few generations before buying another.

 

 

 

Someone mentioned the Visconti Opera Crystal. I actually prefer the look of their demonstrators with something more than just clear, or like the Homo Sapiens Crystal series -- I know they're not TRUE demonstrators; but most inks look basically black in the tank, and some colorful pen-trim lets me match ink to pen while adding some bonus visual interest to the full-body ink-window.

 

 

If you like big demonstrators, take a look at the ASA Galactic. As an acrylic eyedropper, it's still light weight despite its enormous length and girth. Gama Jumbo is a very similar design -- these two pen makers are both in Chennai; if you're ever there, Gama is definitely worth a visit (ASA doesn't have a store-front).

 

Also: all my Indian eyedropper pens seem to magically get dryer as they run low on ink, skipping the whole "burping" problem. If anyone can tell me how they do it, I'd love to know.

Edited October 10, 2017 by ASCIIaardvark

[hmj]

I bought a Model 02 Antique Glass at a pen show. The pen body material and shape are stunningly beautiful, which is why I bought the pen. However, I've been disappointed while actually using the pen.

 

For such an expensive steel nib pen, I expected a little more refinement. It does not post securely and comes loose from rubbing against my hand while writing. When capping, I have to make a point to close it super tight or the cap may come loose (I've already had one inky mess). Also, I bought mine with a clip, but the clip and nib do not align when capped. While this last one is a very minor issue, it gives me a bad overall impression when coupled with the other issues above.

 

Lately, I've gotten more satisfaction from using my 15-dollar Pilot Kakuno with a clear/transparent body. While the pen is not as good-looking, and the body material feels "cheaper" than the FC, it performs wonderfully while writing and does not have any of the problems above.