Your Pen/ink Combinations For The Perfect Writing Experience

[chromantic]

​While I have many pen/ink combos that work well together, I'd have to say the most felicitous is my Metallic Purple Kaweco Sport with Cross Violet. Not only is the ink color a perfect match for the pen, the pen is buttery smooth and always writes immediately, with no hard starts or skipping.

 

Other stand-outs:

 

> Sheaffer Cadet w/ Yama-guri - the F1 nib lays down a very thin line, almost EF, while the ink lubricates it nicely

 

> Pelikan M150 F w/ Lamy Coral - the pen lays down just the right amount of ink to bring out the delicate pinkness

 

> Pelikan M405 Stresseman w/ KWZ Maroon - the severe formality of the pen combined with the dark, blood-like ink exudes a sense of ominous foreboding.

[IndigoBOB]

  On 3/20/2018 at 4:43 AM, chromantic said:

​While I have many pen/ink combos that work well together, I'd have to say the most felicitous is my Metallic Purple Kaweco Sport with Cross Violet. Not only is the ink color a perfect match for the pen, the pen is buttery smooth and always writes immediately, with no hard starts or skipping.

 

Other stand-outs:

 

> Sheaffer Cadet w/ Yama-guri - the F1 nib lays down a very thin line, almost EF, while the ink lubricates it nicely

 

> Pelikan M150 F w/ Lamy Coral - the pen lays down just the right amount of ink to bring out the delicate pinkness

 

> Pelikan M405 Stresseman w/ KWZ Maroon - the severe formality of the pen combined with the dark, blood-like ink exudes a sense of ominous foreboding.

 

 

You know this thread has really turned my attention to Pelikan Pens. They seem to stand out among pens that lay down a praised writing experience.

[Almu]

There's no perfect writing experience on cheap paper! At least that's how it feels like now, after using Rhodia exclusively for the last 9 months or so

 

Either way, I'm using copy paper again because I've started taking a lot more quick notes now, and I don't want to waste my Rhodia for that (it's quite expensive to me and I have to buy it online).

 

I'm currently using a Wing Sung 3008 fitted with a Lamy medium nib and inked with Sailor Souten. If I need to add in some color, I have another Wing Sung 3008 (Lamy 1.1 nib, Sailor Kin-Mokusei) for that. Normally I'd be using finer nibs, but these cheap papers feel so coarse that I rather use something broader to give me a smoother writing experience.

 

I never seem to get any bleedthrough or feathering, so I just choose inks that I like the most. And I happen to like Sailor inks because they feel so smooth to write with, they look great on the paper and even have some water resistance.

[truthpil]

  On 3/20/2018 at 4:43 AM, chromantic said:

​While I have many pen/ink combos that work well together, I'd have to say the most felicitous is my Metallic Purple Kaweco Sport with Cross Violet. Not only is the ink color a perfect match for the pen, the pen is buttery smooth and always writes immediately, with no hard starts or skipping.

 

Other stand-outs:

 

> Sheaffer Cadet w/ Yama-guri - the F1 nib lays down a very thin line, almost EF, while the ink lubricates it nicely

 

> Pelikan M150 F w/ Lamy Coral - the pen lays down just the right amount of ink to bring out the delicate pinkness

 

> Pelikan M405 Stresseman w/ KWZ Maroon - the severe formality of the pen combined with the dark, blood-like ink exudes a sense of ominous foreboding.

 

Thanks for sharing! I've read it can be hit or miss with getting an excellent nib on a Kaweco Sport, but when it's a hit, it's sure a lovely one! What size nib do you have with your Sport? I remember the EF on mine was also quite smooth and wet, but the pen shape was just a little too awkward for my fingers to qualify as my "perfect" writing experience.

 

I'd love to see that 405/KWZ combination in action...sounds like a treat for both hand and eyes.

 

  On 3/20/2018 at 5:06 AM, IndigoBOB said:

 

 

You know this thread has really turned my attention to Pelikan Pens. They seem to stand out among pens that lay down a praised writing experience.

 

Yep, there's a reason they are probably considered the most popular brand for mid- to high-priced pens. It's not too hard to find a buttery smooth and wet Pelikan nib. I'm just not a big fan of piston-fillers and the best nibs seem to be for those pens. Although I must say that my vintage Pelikan cartridge pens create pure writing bliss with the right ink on any kind of paper.

 

  On 3/20/2018 at 10:25 AM, Almu said:

There's no perfect writing experience on cheap paper! At least that's how it feels like now, after using Rhodia exclusively for the last 9 months or so

 

Either way, I'm using copy paper again because I've started taking a lot more quick notes now, and I don't want to waste my Rhodia for that (it's quite expensive to me and I have to buy it online).

 

I'm currently using a Wing Sung 3008 fitted with a Lamy medium nib and inked with Sailor Souten. If I need to add in some color, I have another Wing Sung 3008 (Lamy 1.1 nib, Sailor Kin-Mokusei) for that. Normally I'd be using finer nibs, but these cheap papers feel so coarse that I rather use something broader to give me a smoother writing experience.

 

I never seem to get any bleedthrough or feathering, so I just choose inks that I like the most. And I happen to like Sailor inks because they feel so smooth to write with, they look great on the paper and even have some water resistance.

 

I beg to differ about the possibility of a perfect writing experience on cheap paper. However, if you prefer to use finer nibs than I can see where you're coming from and can agree that it's highly unlikely to get perfect smoothness on junk paper with a EF or F nib. It's quite easy to get pure buttery perfect (if smoothness is your thing) on even the worst of papers if you have a big honking nib and a wet feed. That's actually what converted me from being an EF/F only guy to a frequent B/BB/1.1/1.5 stub guy.

 

 

Along with the Pelikan pen trend, I'm also noticing a Sailor ink trend in these perfect combinations.

 

Keep 'em coming!

[truthpil]

  On 3/20/2018 at 3:08 AM, IndigoBOB said:

OK, so I've had some time to test out Noodler's Old Manhattan Black:

 

First Impressions (some subjectivity): It's Bleepin' black.

• Beady-eyed, relentless, saturated, cold black.
• Not warm like Noodler's Black nor Heart of Darkness.
• I'd call it more vivid than vibrant, and as a result I wouldn't call it rich, but simply vivid and saturated.
• Take-Sumi is a cooler black too, but because it's more toned down/less saturated I like it more.

 

Smearing: (Tested on Tomoe River Paper using a WS.3008-Lamy-EF and a Jinhao x750-M-Dipped, both wet writers)-

• Not a problem with dry fingers rubbing over.
• Did get smearing with barely damp or oily fingers rubbing over.
• Not recommended for lefties as much as HoD.
• Only ink I use that can withstand wet or oily rub without smearing is Kung Te-Cheng.

 

Feathering on cheaper copy paper: (examined under 10x-Goulet Loupe to verify using the same pen combos)

• Minimal feathering, but present, maybe 1 offshoot per word at best.
• Noodler's Black in my TWSBI Eco-M performed better, Flawlessly.
• Take-Sumi in my Pilot Metro-M performed better, Flawlessly.
• Kiwa-Guro in a TWSBI Eco-F performed better, Flawlessly, but wrote too dry for me, and brings out the less than preferential deviations found in this nib, which has been troublesome with all inks (have another Fine nib on the way).

Conclusion:

• That is my initial experience with Noodler's OMB.
• A solid ink over all with average performance on cheapest copy paper.
• Is the ink a recommendation of mine? IMO it's more of a niche ink for those who are looking more for the blackest color of this type of cool/cold hue, for a good value, and have better than ordinary cheap copy paper.
• I thought the inkflow was good, not too wet, but certainly not dry and I'd qualify it has having above average wetness.
• For myself, I much prefer the color Heart of Darkness and even Noodler's Black. I prefer the behavior of Noodler's Black in my dry writing TWSBI Eco.
• I prefer the behavior of Kiwa-Guro across all paper types, but am still looking for a pen to use it with that can be comfortable for long writing sessions. It's a tricky ink because it works well in mediums, but is too lubricated and makes them too smooth often, but it can be too dry in Finer nibs for me... Like Kung Te-Cheng, it is an ink I'm determined to find a proper pen for.

 

For myself, I'm going to stick with waiting for my Pilot CH92 to arrive from Nibmeister Mark Bacas to see how that works with Kiwa-guro and my present selection of inks.

Also, I am looking forward to the Wing Sung B698 to see how that performs with Kiwa-Guro and others since I'm a large Lamy Safari/Vista/Al Star fan, but I dislike how dry those Lamy pens do write with my preferred inks on above average paper, and I do like the quality of writing Wing Sung is able to create for the price.

 

Thanks for the detailed update on this ink! Sad to hear that it isn't a smear-proof as KTC. Since Platinum Carbon Black can be 100% smear proof on copy paper, I guess I'll just keep it as my go-to permanent black. However, if you end up not using your OMB, then next time I'm Stateside I may offer to trade for a couple bottles of good inks I don't use (I've got way too many neglected inks in my drawer).

 

I've spent the past few days with what I think is the same B698 you've got coming in the mail. Don't get your hopes up, it does write really nice and wet with otherwise dry Lamy nibs. However, the construction is a little wonky and it's impossible to completely use up a fill of ink (major design flaw). After one fill, I've got ink behind the piston and water drops still stuck in the chamber! I think I'll just have to get a 3009 for my spare Lamy nibs and chalk this up as a lesson learned.

[chromantic]

On the Sports, I have one M and three Fs. All are very smooth writers though the M and first F both had serious issues with hard starting and skipping, which was fixed by very careful use of an Xacto knife on the feed channels. The next ones wrote perfectly out of the box.

[IndigoBOB]

  On 3/20/2018 at 2:14 PM, TruthPil said:

 

Thanks for the detailed update on this ink! Sad to hear that it isn't a smear-proof as KTC. Since Platinum Carbon Black can be 100% smear proof on copy paper, I guess I'll just keep it as my go-to permanent black. However, if you end up not using your OMB, then next time I'm Stateside I may offer to trade for a couple bottles of good inks I don't use (I've got way too many neglected inks in my drawer).

 

I've spent the past few days with what I think is the same B698 you've got coming in the mail. Don't get your hopes up, it does write really nice and wet with otherwise dry Lamy nibs. However, the construction is a little wonky and it's impossible to completely use up a fill of ink (major design flaw). After one fill, I've got ink behind the piston and water drops still stuck in the chamber! I think I'll just have to get a 3009 for my spare Lamy nibs and chalk this up as a lesson learned.

 

 

I might have to try Platinum Carbon Black in the future if my Ch 92 and other pens don't pan out with the black inks I have.

 

Yes, I'd be happy to trade the bottle off. HoD and Kiwa-Guro won me over to the warm side of black ever since I tried them out as samples. I'm not going to be using this bottle of OMB.

 

Darn, I was afraid about the B698 turning out like that. I'd love it if they made something like that of the same quality as the regular 698. I did try to find the WS 3009, but I couldn't find it on Ebay, Taobao, nor aliexpress. I would be very curious to see how that pen turns out.

 

I've been considering Penbbs's because something in me figured by the price point that the B698 may be so-so, but I heard the clip was very disappointing.

[truthpil]

  On 3/21/2018 at 2:16 AM, IndigoBOB said:

 

 

I might have to try Platinum Carbon Black in the future if my Ch 92 and other pens don't pan out with the black inks I have.

 

Yes, I'd be happy to trade the bottle off. HoD and Kiwa-Guro won me over to the warm side of black ever since I tried them out as samples. I'm not going to be using this bottle of OMB.

 

Darn, I was afraid about the B698 turning out like that. I'd love it if they made something like that of the same quality as the regular 698. I did try to find the WS 3009, but I couldn't find it on Ebay, Taobao, nor aliexpress. I would be very curious to see how that pen turns out.

 

I've been considering Penbbs's because something in me figured by the price point that the B698 may be so-so, but I heard the clip was very disappointing.

Cool, I'll be in touch once my US trip is scheduled.

 

The reviews seem to have a consensus that the 698 is the superior piston filler among the wingsungs.The 3009 is just an all clear demonstrator model of the 3008 so no improvements or anything I'm what you already have. The clip on my Penbbs 308 is a disappointment; it almost ripped apart the elastic band holding it in the pen case when I pulled it out yesterday. Now the band is all frayed.

[KLscribbler]

Back with an update - following our discussions here, I went and got myself a UK-made P45 Flighter with a 14k medium nib. And finally, I have the exact type of P45 flighter I've always wanted: the early 1970s type, with the chrome tailcap. I have been writing with this pen for a couple of weeks, and can now report back with my observations. It has certainly surprised me in some ways.

 

This UK P45 nib has a totally different kind of tipping grind compared to my US ones - it's very smoothly polished and a lot more spherical, perhaps a little unfortunately so as it makes the nib "blobby" in the particular way I dislike (much as I dislike, say, Parker 25 nibs, or some modern German nibs). It falls squarely into the "glassy smooth" category, and is the first of my P45s to be so.

 

However, the nib is saved from my disfavor for two reasons - firstly, it's surprisingly stubbish. Since the tipping looked so spherical to my eye, I didn't expect it to produce line variation, but it did. Cross strokes are noticeably thinner than downstrokes, and this is not caused by tine spreading, as the line variation is visible with no pressure. Secondly, the nib is palpably soft, with a nice responsive springiness. It's not as soft as my beloved #5 Pilot soft nibs, but enough to give a nice cushioned feel in writing. I would say its degree of softness is comparable to, say, a current Platinum Balance/Cool. Soft enough for comfort, firm enough to not impede speed writing - very comfortable in use.

 

This is also the first P45 nib I have used that is very forgiving of rotation. Surprising! I had not expected I could ever say that of any P45 nib, but it's true for this one. Because of this nib's smoothness and very rounded tipping, it's great for fast jots on the go and on uneven surfaces (say, writing on a clipboard).

 

When this pen is rotated out of its sweet spot, tactile feedback does not increase in the gradual way that it does on my Pilot. The pen continues to write smoothly, it just puts down a drier and thinner line until it finally stops writing when rotated too much. Still, even at extreme angles of rotation, the nib remains smooth. This can be good or bad, depending on the situation. It's good for writing comfort on uneven surfaces, but it's not so good when I can't look at the paper (e.g. when taking notes while looking at someone give a presentation, or in very dim environments). It just doesn't give the sort of real-time tactile orientation information that my Pilot nib does. It sure is comfortable to write with, though.

 

In all. a very nice nib that is different, and perhaps - if one loves ultra-smooth, springy, and forgiving nibs - better than the garden variety US P45 nibs. I like this pen - not as much as my Pilot CH91, 'tis true, but enough that some of my other daily workhorses are in danger of being displaced from their EDC role. Thanks to this dangerously enabling thread and all of you here...

 

Now to find the perfect ink for this pen...

[truthpil]

Thanks for the update, KLscribbler!!

 

Although the UK nibs are usually softer than the US nibs, I didn't expect that the tipping would also be a different shape.

After reading your post, I examined the nibs on all my (too many) Parker 45s and noticed that the UK nibs are indeed a little more rounded at the edges than the US nibs. Unlike you, I was collecting P45s deliberately in search of glassy smooth nibs and now I can see why I was so disappointed....I should have focused more on acquiring UK pens (most of mine are US). Sadly for me, only 1 of mine could be described as blobby and as forgiving as your nib with regard to rotation (and that nib was tuned to my specs before shipment).

 

I'm looking forward to knowing what ink you settle on for this pen...maybe it will save some of my other P45s from banishment or sale.

[KLscribbler]

This new P45 is pushing me in a strange direction, ink-wise. Because of its smoothness, I decided to try dry inks to counter the smoothness. (I normally like wetter inks with a lubricated feel.) Currently it's inked with Pelikan 4001 Black. It's working, partially - I do indeed get a crisper, more controlled writing feel, and I can feel the paper's texture more clearly. Problem is, this nib is not particularly wet. It's of middling wetness, I'd rate it a solid 5 on a 1-10 scale of wetness. About the same wetness as my Muji Aluminum Round FP. Writing with 4001 Black, it just isn't quite juicy enough to stoke my enthusiasm. I think a dry ink that is just a bit wetter than the Pelikan 4001 series is in order.

 

I previously inked it with Sailor Yama Dori, and that was an extremely smooth combination - a good controlled flow with that typical velvety feeling of Sailor inks. But this pen wasn't quite wet enough to bring out the best of Yama Dori's sheen. Have you tried putting Sailor inks in your P45s? I find they help to make the corners of the US P45 nibs less palpably sharp. There's no helping that small sweet spot of those US nibs, though...

 

Looks like most of us in this thread really like the writing feel of Sailor inks. Everything is nice about them... except their new price-hiking strategy of shrinking bottles.

[displacermoose]

  On 3/23/2018 at 6:10 PM, KLscribbler said:

I previously inked it with Sailor Yama Dori, and that was an extremely smooth combination - a good controlled flow with that typical velvety feeling of Sailor inks. But this pen wasn't quite wet enough to bring out the best of Yama Dori's sheen. Have you tried putting Sailor inks in your P45s? I find they help to make the corners of the US P45 nibs less palpably sharp. There's no helping that small sweet spot of those US nibs, though...

 

Looks like most of us in this thread really like the writing feel of Sailor inks. Everything is nice about them... except their new price-hiking strategy of shrinking bottles.

 

Recently I've been playing with Doyou in a Sheaffer Imperial Deluxe II at work (the only place where I use cheap copy paper with any regularity) and it has turned out to be a surprisingly nice combination. My boss complains about anything other than black, but I don't care for black. This is my little stealth rebellion. I was a bit worried that it might feather since Doyou is so wet, but it doesn't. Rather, it makes 20lb Office Depot special copy paper feel and behave like something much better.

 

The price hikes... yeah.... I got an extra bottle of each of my favorite colors in the larger bottles when the scuttlebutt started simmering, but I'm currently exploring Colorverse as a possible alternative.

[truthpil]

  On 3/23/2018 at 6:10 PM, KLscribbler said:

Have you tried putting Sailor inks in your P45s? I find they help to make the corners of the US P45 nibs less palpably sharp. There's no helping that small sweet spot of those US nibs, though...

 

Looks like most of us in this thread really like the writing feel of Sailor inks. Everything is nice about them... except their new price-hiking strategy of shrinking bottles.

 

Thanks for the tip, I'll try my Sailor inks in my P45s and report back later. Ironically, I bought those pens because I wanted to semi-vintage pens I could put waterproof inks in and fully disassemble for cleaning, so non-water-resistant Sailor inks were the last thing on my mind. Why do all the best writing inks have to lack full water resistance???

[truthpil]

  On 3/24/2018 at 12:46 PM, displacermoose said:

 

Recently I've been playing with Doyou in a Sheaffer Imperial Deluxe II at work (the only place where I use cheap copy paper with any regularity) and it has turned out to be a surprisingly nice combination. My boss complains about anything other than black, but I don't care for black. This is my little stealth rebellion. I was a bit worried that it might feather since Doyou is so wet, but it doesn't. Rather, it makes 20lb Office Depot special copy paper feel and behave like something much better.

 

The price hikes... yeah.... I got an extra bottle of each of my favorite colors in the larger bottles when the scuttlebutt started simmering, but I'm currently exploring Colorverse as a possible alternative.

 

This isn't the first time I've heard of Doyou being used as a clandestine replacement for black at work. It is a wonderful ink!!

 

However, this is the first I've heard of larger bottles of Sailor inks, is there anything available larger than 50ml?

 

What's the nib width on your Sheaffer and how does it feel with Doyou on copy paper?

[displacermoose]

  On 3/24/2018 at 2:55 PM, TruthPil said:

 

This isn't the first time I've heard of Doyou being used as a clandestine replacement for black at work. It is a wonderful ink!!

 

However, this is the first I've heard of larger bottles of Sailor inks, is there anything available larger than 50ml?

 

What's the nib width on your Sheaffer and how does it feel with Doyou on copy paper?

Just the 50ml bottles, which are no longer available in the Four Seasons line. The round squat bottles have been replaced by 20ml square bottles at basically the same price per bottle.

 

My Sheaffers (I have two) both have free-flowing fine nibs. They feel great with Doyou on copy paper. Kiwaguro is another excellent (even better feel, really) combo but it's actually black, so doesn't indulge my rebellious nature. It's a really nice ink, though.

 

Edited to add more detail:

 

Doyou with a reasonably wet US fine allows you to feel the inconsistency in the paper as gentle feedback, a bit of character. It's rather like writing with a Japanese fine on Midori paper. Kiwaguro can make generic copy paper feel like writing on silk: smooth but with just a touch of friction to give control.

Edited March 24, 2018 by displacermoose

[IndigoBOB]

  On 3/24/2018 at 3:11 PM, displacermoose said:

Just the 50ml bottles, which are no longer available in the Four Seasons line. The round squat bottles have been replaced by 20ml square bottles at basically the same price per bottle.

 

My Sheaffers (I have two) both have free-flowing fine nibs. They feel great with Doyou on copy paper. Kiwaguro is another excellent (even better feel, really) combo but it's actually black, so doesn't indulge my rebellious nature. It's a really nice ink, though.

 

Edited to add more detail:

 

Doyou with a reasonably wet US fine allows you to feel the inconsistency in the paper as gentle feedback, a bit of character. It's rather like writing with a Japanese fine on Midori paper. Kiwaguro can make generic copy paper feel like writing on silk: smooth but with just a touch of friction to give control.

 

That hike in price of the Jentles was killer. You can still find some if vendors have them left over. For example: I know Penchalet and Anderson Pens still have some for a decent price here in the U.S.

 

At their new prices I'd rather just buy a bottle of Bungubox or Kobe, or rather settle for the Basic Jentles that didn't have price increases.

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

 

+1 on Kiwa-Guro.

 

I experimented putting it in my TWSBI Eco-T today and it does well in that pen.

 

In my Lamy Vista I'd fill up the pen saturating the feed, which would eventually dry out after a single descent writing session requiring me to remove the body and manually prime the feed.

 

In my Eco-T, when I position the nib down to write I can see the feed immediately saturate after it's dried out from sitting upside-down/capside-up for a time or if I've pulled extra ink out of the feed using the piston. I don't have to prime the pen like I do with the Vista. And I wouldn't consider the Eco's to be wet pens either. I wonder if the fact that it's a piston filler helps to make a difference.

 

It's still not the wettest ink, and I do feel feedback from my TWSBI-EF nib, but the lubrication and consistent flow helps to make it a pleasant writer on Tomoe.

 

On cheap paper like Mead and cheaper Copier paper, that smoothness from the EF surprisingly carries over. Typically with my other black inks, like Noodler's Black and HoD, I lose a lot of smoothness going to cheaper copier paper despite wetness of the inks. With Kiwa-Guro, the added lubrication seems to reduce that difference in feel between varying quality paper providing an experience displacermoose describes.

 

And since I find similar lubrication present in the Sailor Jentle line, let alone the Kobe, Bungubox, and Pen House inks I've tried, I gotta give another hats off to Sailor inks for using on cheaper copier paper.

 

If worse comes to worse, at least their Jentle Blue, Blue-Black, and Black are still affordable, because they do behave well on cheaper paper, I find to be well behaved in pens, and aren't as boring IMO as Pilot Blue & Black & Blue-Black, though I do happily have a bottle of Pilot Blue Black and cartridges of the black as back ups for lending and using as back up ink just in case I need to bring out my reliable Prera or Metro.

 

But I am glad that Kiwa-Guro wasn't hiked up in price. The hike of the Jentle was disappointing, but that would vex me.

Edited March 25, 2018 by IndigoBOB

[TheDutchGuy]

Two new combinations that I didn't have when this thread started :-).

 

First, as documented elsewhere on FPN, on impulse I bought a Visconti van Gogh. Great F nib, very smooth even when reverse writing, wonderful design. Problem: it wrote so dry it was barely usable, even with very wet inks. The feed didn't get enough ink from the converter. I thoroughly cleaned the pen to remove manufacturing oils etc and filled it with Robert Oster Fire & Ice to which a drop of pure glycerine had been added. For this pen and ink, I hit the sweet spot at 1 small (!) drop of glycerine in 30 mL of ink. The pen writes fan-tas-tic now and the colour of the ink matches the Pollard Willows colours of the pen. I can't stop writing.

 

Second, when visiting Appelboom's store in Holland to add a brown ink to my humble ink collection, I was shown Diamine Ancient Copper. I immediately fell for that ink and put it in my Diplomat Aero, the barrel of which has more or less the same colour, creating a very pleasing aesthetic balance between pen and ink. Performance-wise this pen and ink love each other as well. This ink is so nice.

[truthpil]

  On 3/24/2018 at 3:11 PM, displacermoose said:

Edited to add more detail:

 

Doyou with a reasonably wet US fine allows you to feel the inconsistency in the paper as gentle feedback, a bit of character. It's rather like writing with a Japanese fine on Midori paper. Kiwaguro can make generic copy paper feel like writing on silk: smooth but with just a touch of friction to give control.

 

Thanks for the extra details. This thread has really led me to analyze my experiences when writing with a new pen/ink/paper combination. It adds quite a lot of fun to the hobby to compare how one pen/ink combination feels different on different papers and then think about how to describe the feelings.

 

Hopefully soon I'll have a new blissful experience to report, but I'm not quite there yet. For my birthday I bought myself a vintage Pelikan 400 with a butter smooth and stubby OBB nib. It's so smooth that it feels glassy even without any ink in it on most papers! However, I'm having trouble keeping in the sweet spot range when I write, so occasionally I'll feel a slight gouging sensation that ruins the whole experience. Once I finish this fill of slightly dry vintage Sheaffer #22 Permanent Blue-Black, I'll try some Doyou, Yama-dori, or Miruai and see if that produces the insane smoothness I desire on any kind of paper. As it is with the current ink, if I'm able to maintain the sweet spot then it feels like there isn't even paper under the pen with good paper (I finally tried this Black N' Red journal I bought a while back....awesome smooth paper) and more of the drifting over silk feeling on really poor and gritty copy paper.

 

  On 3/25/2018 at 6:47 AM, IndigoBOB said:

 

That hike in price of the Jentles was killer. You can still find some if vendors have them left over. For example: I know Penchalet and Anderson Pens still have some for a decent price here in the U.S.

 

At their new prices I'd rather just buy a bottle of Bungubox or Kobe, or rather settle for the Basic Jentles that didn't have price increases.

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

 

+1 on Kiwa-Guro.

 

I experimented putting it in my TWSBI Eco-T today and it does well in that pen.

 

In my Lamy Vista I'd fill up the pen saturating the feed, which would eventually dry out after a single descent writing session requiring me to remove the body and manually prime the feed.

 

In my Eco-T, when I position the nib down to write I can see the feed immediately saturate after it's dried out from sitting upside-down/capside-up for a time or if I've pulled extra ink out of the feed using the piston. I don't have to prime the pen like I do with the Vista. And I wouldn't consider the Eco's to be wet pens either. I wonder if the fact that it's a piston filler helps to make a difference.

 

It's still not the wettest ink, and I do feel feedback from my TWSBI-EF nib, but the lubrication and consistent flow helps to make it a pleasant writer on Tomoe.

 

On cheap paper like Mead and cheaper Copier paper, that smoothness from the EF surprisingly carries over. Typically with my other black inks, like Noodler's Black and HoD, I lose a lot of smoothness going to cheaper copier paper despite wetness of the inks. With Kiwa-Guro, the added lubrication seems to reduce that difference in feel between varying quality paper providing an experience displacermoose describes.

 

And since I find similar lubrication present in the Sailor Jentle line, let alone the Kobe, Bungubox, and Pen House inks I've tried, I gotta give another hats off to Sailor inks for using on cheaper copier paper.

 

If worse comes to worse, at least their Jentle Blue, Blue-Black, and Black are still affordable, because they do behave well on cheaper paper, I find to be well behaved in pens, and aren't as boring IMO as Pilot Blue & Black & Blue-Black, though I do happily have a bottle of Pilot Blue Black and cartridges of the black as back ups for lending and using as back up ink just in case I need to bring out my reliable Prera or Metro.

 

But I am glad that Kiwa-Guro wasn't hiked up in price. The hike of the Jentle was disappointing, but that would vex me.

 

If you don't mind standard business colors, the regular Platinum inks are less boring than Pilot and cheaper than Sailor (at least where I am), yet also have amazing performance on just about every kind of paper. If I'm having trouble with a pen, Platinum Blue-Black (a silky smooth and permanent iron gall ink) always seems to save the day...not to mention it can give a deeply saturated KTC-style indigo from a wet nib or very nice shading with a flex nib. At least for me, it's one of those inks that can make a nib feel smoother (like with Miruai).

[KLscribbler]

  On 3/25/2018 at 7:35 AM, TruthPil said:

If I'm having trouble with a pen, Platinum Blue-Black (a silky smooth and permanent iron gall ink) always seems to save the day...not to mention it can give a deeply saturated KTC-style indigo from a wet nib or very nice shading with a flex nib. At least for me, it's one of those inks that can make a nib feel smoother (like with Miruai).

 

An IG ink that actually makes a nib feel smoother? Now that's interesting. The IG inks I've tried were just generally dry and could not be described as smoothness-enhancing. (Examples - Diamine Registrar's, R&K Salix and Scabiosa)

 

Platinum has really been pushing IG inks of late. I haven't yet tried anything from their new IG "Classic Inks" line, but if Platinum's IG inks tend to have a more lubricated feel on the nib than other brands, I might have to look into them.

 

By the way, has anyone here tried a Canadian Vacumatic before? If you have, what is the writing feel like with them, especially those that have some softness to their nibs?

 

Earlier in this thread, I speculated on getting an English Duofold because their reported writing characteristics seemed to be in line with what I like: soft wet nibs that run on the wider side. However, one thing that keeps getting mentioned about them bothers me: their nibs are often noted to have a really generous amount of tipping material that is polished to a more spherical shape relative to other nibs of that vintage. If that is true, they might be too "blobby" for my liking.

 

I used to never pay attention to Vacs because all the ones I've examined to date had really stiff nibs. But I just learned that soft and even flex nibs may be found in some of the Canadian-made pens. Since Vac nibs often have a crisp sort of feedback, I wonder if a soft-nibbed Canadian Vacumatic might be a better choice for me than an English Duofold. The latter has the advantage of a more low-maintenance filling system, 'tis true, but at this point I'm not lacking in EDC workhorses. And the Vacs are so very pretty...

[truthpil]

  On 3/25/2018 at 9:41 AM, KLscribbler said:

 

An IG ink that actually makes a nib feel smoother? Now that's interesting. The IG inks I've tried were just generally dry and could not be described as smoothness-enhancing. (Examples - Diamine Registrar's, R&K Salix and Scabiosa)

 

Platinum has really been pushing IG inks of late. I haven't yet tried anything from their new IG "Classic Inks" line, but if Platinum's IG inks tend to have a more lubricated feel on the nib than other brands, I might have to look into them.

 

The IG content in the Platinum inks isn't very high, which may contribute to them being smooth and easy to clean out of a pen. I also have the Classic Cassia which is wonderfully wet as well, but I can't remember whether or not it improved smoothness. I've used it with stub and flex nibs to much delight, but I may try to sell the bottle because it's too pink even after oxidation. The Platinum IG inks are nothing like the R&K offerings (a good thing in my book). Platinum's original Blue-Black stands out for its smoothness and permanence while performing well on every kind of paper. Out of my 80+ inks, it's the only bottle that is half gone, despite the color not being exotic.

 

Sorry I can't help with the vacumatics. You are wise to avoid the English Duofolds for the reasons you suggested. Both of mine have very rounded and (for some of us) wonderfully feedback-less nibs. It may be tough to find the combination of softness and response that your looking for, but I'm sure there are some pens out there.