Your Pen/ink Combinations For The Perfect Writing Experience

[dcwaites]

I tell you, and I hate this because it peeves me off with how much I've spent elsewhere to try and get a pen to come close to this, but the best EF combination I've ever used is my Wing Sung 3008 with a Lamy EF nib, loaded with Noodler's Black.

 

I have two other Lamy EF nibs that don't feel as good as this one, so it was like some kind of fluke or something being lucky or unlucky, IDK, but since the 3008 is wetter than the Safari the scratch of this nib that was previously present on the safari with Noodler's HoD and black, and Kiwa-Guro, is now writing as pleasant as my Franklin-Christoph Medium nib on my Jinhao x750-BSIER, which is basically perfection.

 

In fact, this writes so good that I returned my recently received "dreamily writing" Lamy 2K-F, which was meant to fill the purpose this 3008 does now.

 

But the 3008 has it's drawback with a stiff twisting cap, and I honestly prefer a faceted grip for the decreased effort it takes to hold it so I ordered a Wing Sung B698-Blue that I think uses the same internals so I can just swap in this nib, and even feed of this pen if need be.

 

As you know, the 3008 uses a Lamy Safari style nib, but the 698 uses a Pilot 78G style nib. The feeds and nibs are not interchangeable.

[IndigoBOB]

 

As you know, the 3008 uses a Lamy Safari style nib, but the 698 uses a Pilot 78G style nib. The feeds and nibs are not interchangeable.

 

 

Not the B698 wise guy

[truthpil]

Its funny to me that I treat my inks like my wife... found one that I love and stopped looking.

Pelikans with Iroshizuku

 

Not all Iro's perform the same, so which inks in particular do you find produce the perfect writing experience with your Pelikans?

Do you like a little feedback or aim for buttery smooth?

 

Blackstone make a very nice, modern formulation ferro-tannate ink called Barrister Blue, which might fill the bill for your "Nano-Pigmented Midnight Blue".

 

The new version of this ink has pigment instead of any IG content, thus making it even more waterproof. I can't wait to get my hands on some!

 

Blue black is a color where I regularly want a refill. Pilot’s keeps being fun, so I’ll see how I feel about it when I run the cartridges out. But it might be the right one. The agreeable to many pens part of my requirements makes it a bit tricky.

 

Pilot Blue-Black, although a little boring in color perhaps, can really make for a nice writing experience in a lot of pens.

 

My write on anything anywhere combo - even copy paper - is my Delike Alpha EF nib with Koh-i-nor permanent black. I was going to give up on EF nibs until I tried that ink. Last year, before Koh-i-nor, my husband borrowed my pen and gave it back in less than 5 minutes because it was too scratchy. This year ,(we Journible together during Lent) I had to order him a Delike Alpha in chrome and an extra bottle of ink because he has been writing it dry each day. Luckily, his pen came in before the end of February so I could get all my post cards out for LetterMo.

 

The Alpha's are great little pens, aren't they? I'm really impressed with how well mine writes with the F nib and Noodler's Prime of the Commons (this ink has either bleed to much or clogged the feed on so many of my pens). The nibs are outstanding for smoothness (unusual for a Chinese pen) and everything about the pen just works right. It's cool that you do the Journibles! When I was in seminary I used to use my fps to write out the original texts in Hebrew and Greek.

Edited March 10, 2018 by TruthPil

[truthpil]

 

 

Not the B698 wise guy

 

Really? I couldn't find any B698 on Taobao...

[MHBru]

TruthPil.. At least so far I've not noticed any significant diffs in the Irozhizuku inks I've used. That includes kon peki, ku jaku, shin kai, syo ro,take sumi and tsuki yo. My preference is for a buttery smooth experience and so I try and stick w Clairefontaine and rhodia white paper. It may take another few seconds to try but I love the smooth writing and they way to colors show on the white paper.

[minddance]

TruthPil.. At least so far I've not noticed any significant diffs in the Irozhizuku inks I've used. That includes kon peki, ku jaku, shin kai, syo ro,take sumi and tsuki yo. My preference is for a buttery smooth experience and so I try and stick w Clairefontaine and rhodia white paper. It may take another few seconds to try but I love the smooth writing and they way to colors show on the white paper.

I've noticed a rather significant variety in your list: e.g. Tsuki Yo is the smooth runny one; Shin Kai is a dryer ink.

[truthpil]

I've noticed a rather significant variety in your list: e.g. Tsuki Yo is the smooth runny one; Shin Kai is a dryer ink.

 

I'm guessing the lack of major differences in the writing experience with this variety of inks is due to the really good paper being used.

 

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So I guess that Wing Sung B698 is something special that an Ebay seller has put together. I'm not really sure it's even a Wing Sung, but the body resembles a 698 and it uses the Lamy style nib.

[MHBru]

Good to know but not likely to come up again as shin kai was my least favorite of them. ☺

[dcwaites]

 

Really? I couldn't find any B698 on Taobao...

 

Nor could I find any on eBay.com.au (my default eBay, given where I live) when I looked, as I did before I posted. Consequently, I assumed the B was a typo.

However, looking again, there is one vendor on eBay.com who has some of this model.

[IndigoBOB]

 

I'm guessing the lack of major differences in the writing experience with this variety of inks is due to the really good paper being used.

 

------

 

So I guess that Wing Sung B698 is something special that an Ebay seller has put together. I'm not really sure it's even a Wing Sung, but the body resembles a 698 and it uses the Lamy style nib.

 

 

Well, it's sold by a reputable seller.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wow-Wing-Sung-B698-Piston-Fountain-Pen-Difference-From-Wing-Sung-698-With-A-Box/232677225262?hash=item362ca4b32e:g:P-IAAOSwUjpakYzW

 

I normally wait to hear more word on the matter, but it was recommended to Chrisrap52 by the seller, I believe, and the writing test on his video showed positive results:

 

 

So we'll see *fingers crossed*. I do like the combination of features this pen has. I don't think it's as good as a 698, but it looks to be a possible step up from the 3008. I especially like that it has an inner cap. But we'll see.

---------------------------

I do know Barrister works to improve their inks so I'd be curious to see how it performs because the colors are great.

 

Pilot Blue Black is fantastic, but I can't ink it in anything less than a wetter writer cuz the color can go between pleasant down to an anemic blandness

[truthpil]

 

 

Well, it's sold by a reputable seller.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wow-Wing-Sung-B698-Piston-Fountain-Pen-Difference-From-Wing-Sung-698-With-A-Box/232677225262?hash=item362ca4b32e:g:P-IAAOSwUjpakYzW

 

I normally wait to hear more word on the matter, but it was recommended to Chrisrap52 by the seller, I believe, and the writing test on his video showed positive results:

 

 

So we'll see *fingers crossed*. I do like the combination of features this pen has. I don't think it's as good as a 698, but it looks to be a possible step up from the 3008. I especially like that it has an inner cap. But we'll see.

---------------------------

I do know Barrister works to improve their inks so I'd be curious to see how it performs because the colors are great.

 

Pilot Blue Black is fantastic, but I can't ink it in anything less than a wetter writer cuz the color can go between pleasant down to an anemic blandness

 

Yeah, that was the link I found too. There is an entire thread on here recommending "Bobby Pen" as a reliable Chinese fp dealer and I'm sure he's great. I'm just wondering how he got a hold of these pens. TWSBI clones are now just as popular in China as Safari clones, so there is a slew of unheard of brands cranking out similar looking pens. I couldn't find any brand that matched the pics of the B698, so I'm guessing Bobby may have had it custom designed for his business. It seems to have the 698 mechanism with the 3008 nib assembly and then a cap and end nob from some other pen. Like in Chris' excellent video, it really is a some sort of "mashup" pen. I'm going to message the seller and see if he can cut me a deal so I can buy one from him within China.

 

I'm looking forward to your impressions of the pen because I have 5 Safari nibs and only 1 Safari, so it'd be nice to have a wet-writing pen to put some of these orphan nibs in...especially if it's wet enough to make KTC work its magic.

 

Regarding the OP, this morning I had another dreamy writing experience....this time with a custom JoWo #6 1.1 oblique cursive italic using Herbin Emeraude de Chivor. I've found that ink to have just the right amount of wetness to make a nib glide over any paper and the glittery stuff doesn't clog up or come out in globs the way it does with some of the other 1670 line inks. With non-absorbent paper (sorry, no go with copy paper), the red sheen is absolutely stunning and appears evenly in the letters with this nib. The ink color itself is so great that I usually just let the glitter stay in the bottom of the bottle and use the ink without it.

Edited March 11, 2018 by TruthPil

[IndigoBOB]

I'd be happy to share. They were very quick to ship it out yesterday, and packages from them have arrived earlier than expected.

 

I love my Lamy's, but they are just fickle with a dryness I was determined to work out only to be left with some disappointment and many Lamy nibs that could use a proper home.

 

But the B698 does look like quite a mutt. I'd bet on your conjecture about Bobby's concoction of the B698's. It looks like parts taken from 3 different companies. But it wrote wet with Salix in a 1.5 stub: A very dry writing combo typically especially if it were a Safari.

 

But I don't want get my hopes up. We'll see how it goes.

 

Congrats on your successful inking!!! That is an absolutely beautiful ink. Totally Jeally lol

[truthpil]

I'd be happy to share. They were very quick to ship it out yesterday, and packages from them have arrived earlier than expected.

 

I love my Lamy's, but they are just fickle with a dryness I was determined to work out only to be left with some disappointment and many Lamy nibs that could use a proper home.

 

But the B698 does look like quite a mutt. I'd bet on your conjecture about Bobby's concoction of the B698's. It looks like parts taken from 3 different companies. But it wrote wet with Salix in a 1.5 stub: A very dry writing combo typically especially if it were a Safari.

 

Now...if someone could just make a pen that takes Lamy nibs without those stupid facets on the section. I don't like anyone telling me how I should hold my pen.

[dcwaites]

 

Now...if someone could just make a pen that takes Lamy nibs without those stupid facets on the section. I don't like anyone telling me how I should hold my pen.

 

The Wing Sung 3008 is has a cylindrical section and takes Lamy nibs. I have two, and find them quite ok.

I have swapped nibs with a Safari, and it worked well, but not any better than the original nib, so I swapped back again.

[truthpil]

 

The Wing Sung 3008 is has a cylindrical section and takes Lamy nibs. I have two, and find them quite ok.

I have swapped nibs with a Safari, and it worked well, but not any better than the original nib, so I swapped back again.

 

Thanks for the information. Do your 3008s write any wetter than the average Lamy Safari?

[dcwaites]

 

Thanks for the information. Do your 3008s write any wetter than the average Lamy Safari?

 

Not really. If anything, perhaps a tad drier, but I haven't compared the two using the same inks to get a good idea.

[truthpil]

 

Not really. If anything, perhaps a tad drier, but I haven't compared the two using the same inks to get a good idea.

 

Oh ok, thanks. From Chris' video it seems like this "B698" is a wet writer. I was amazed how nice the dry Salix looked from a usually dry Lamy 1.5 stub!

Of course, he could have just been lucky and got a wet one that's an exception to the rule...

[IndigoBOB]

I wonder if it's an inconsistency in the feeds. I received a 698 with a terrible feed and had to replace it with a Pilot feed. That's why I'm open to swapping in the feed of my 3008 into the B698 if possible and need be.

 

I did test the Safari vs 3008 using Noodler's Black and the same nib and my results yielded substantial differences, the 3008 being the wetter.

[truthpil]

Mystery solved (kinda)! I found the "B698" on Taobao being offered by one seller:

 

 

https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.163.6aea21721dyWQT&id=564619540660&ns=1&abbucket=11&sku_properties=2066814:11533312

 

The seller doesn't give a model number, but just says it's a "Wing Sung Student Pen." It's actually cheaper than a 3008!

[IndigoBOB]

Well at least it's Wing Sung, or some type of it.

 

My translator doesn't work well enough on that page for me to see anything or navigate properly.

 

I think these have the potential to be pretty big pens, or maybe it's just me. It's basically a Piston Filling Lamy Vista with different color schemes, and with what seems to be the 698 Piston, which is a solid mechanism.

 

I wish they made an all clear color scheme, though, like the original 698. I agree with Chrisrap on the color scheme of these. It's somewhat all over the place. I'm not typically a purple kind of guy, but I do like the way the Purple scheme looks.