What Pen Are You Waiting For 2019

[biancitwo]

My Visconti HS Lava Bronze Age oversized is speeding back to me from Pendleton Brown (PB). I liked the factory stub nib, but thought it needed more line variation. PB sent me a writing sample when he finished. Can’t wait.

[chromantic]

I just received a shiny metallic red (looks like Mylar) JIF from Montgomery Stationery.

[mallymal1]

Penbbs 323-108RM, the last of the Mocha with an RM nib, and the last of the 267-63SF. Love that Frostfire colour, and the 267 is the way to enjoy it.

 

[truthpil]

Penbbs 323-108RM, the last of the Mocha with an RM nib, and the last of the 267-63SF. Love that Frostfire colour, and the 267 is the way to enjoy it.

 

Way to go getting the last Mocha 323!

[ScarletWoodland]

I have another Nib Creaper in Cardinal Darkness on the way and an extra fine, Manuscript italic nib to put in my Noodler's Charlie. Its own nib is lovely and smooth but a bit broad and blah for my handwriting.

 

I also ordered a Platinum Preppy for my first foray into Japanese extra fines.

 

My repaired Lady Duofold is supposedly in the mail, so I'm crossing everything that it actually shows up!

Edited February 28, 2019 by ScarletWoodland

[Michael F]

Traded my Lamy 2000 for a Pelikan M400, blue stripe. It's my first Pelikan and I am very excited to receive it!

[A Smug Dill]

I also ordered a Platinum Preppy for my first foray into Japanese extra fines.

 

Hmmm. I wish you good luck with yours. I've found their supposed ability to lay down 0.2mm lines to be unconvincing and underwhelming. A Pilot Penmanship or Kakuno with steel EF nib would be a far better bet, if we're focusing on cheap pen models. Once we get to entry-level gold nibs, though, in my experience Platinum wins in being both the narrowest and the cheapest.

[Nerdyhistorian]

A Lamy Studio in Racing Green.....

[ScarletWoodland]

Hmmm. I wish you good luck with yours. I've found their supposed ability to lay down 0.2mm lines to be unconvincing and underwhelming. A Pilot Penmanship or Kakuno with steel EF nib would be a far better bet, if we're focusing on cheap pen models. Once we get to entry-level gold nibs, though, in my experience Platinum wins in being both the narrowest and the cheapest.

Received it today and would have to agree. It writes very nicely and will work well for my purposes but it's no finer than my Chinese "accountant" type nibs.

 

Will spring for a PTL-5000 next.

[Misfit]

Jinhao 750 Shimmering Sands

[A Smug Dill]

An amber Aurora 88 Minerali with Stub nib, which I ordered from Massdrop a few weeks ago. I was surprised that it actually shipped (a day or so ago) on the published shipping date for that drop!

[Honeybadgers]

 

Hmmm. I wish you good luck with yours. I've found their supposed ability to lay down 0.2mm lines to be unconvincing and underwhelming. A Pilot Penmanship or Kakuno with steel EF nib would be a far better bet, if we're focusing on cheap pen models. Once we get to entry-level gold nibs, though, in my experience Platinum wins in being both the narrowest and the cheapest.

 

I wonder if the preppy EF nib QC has gone downhill a bit. I have a few older EF preppies and they're absolute hairlines, maybe a touch finer than a penmanship EF.

 

I just ordered my second Grifos fountain pen, another oikos model, but with a full sterling silver guilloche cap and barrel in an incredible twist pattern - steel EF nib, solid sterling cap and barrel and hand-done guilloche by a professional italian silversmith, $122 shipped

 

It's similar to this (same guilloche pattern cap and barrel), but a snap cap, snap post, with black lacquer grip and black/chrome furniture

 

[by_a_Lady]

PenBBS 456 F in 9SF Summer



The most recent addition to my growing collection of "unusual" filling systems. I really couldn't go back to CC fillers anymore!
The model has reveiced mostly glowing reviews, so when the Etsy shop was updated a couple of days ago, I knew I would get one. There were a few interesting acrylics up for sale, although none of them really my first choice. Unfortunately, with PenBBS, you don't always have a choice; only a handful of acrylics go up at one time, and the more popular colours of the bunch sell out within hours. In this particular batch, 9SF Summer and 57SF Marshmallow (and maybe 43SF Cloud) seemed the prettiest to me - in the end, I decided for the blue-swirled Summer acrylic because the sun was shining and I was feeling summery. And with the estimated dispatch time of 1-2 weeks, plus average delivery time of 3 weeks, I may indeed receive it only at the beginning of summer...

Dominique

Edited March 3, 2019 by by_a_Lady

[drathbun]

PenBBS 456 F in 9SF Summer

 

The most recent addition to my growing collection of "unusual" filling systems. I really couldn't go back to CC fillers anymore!

The model has reveiced mostly glowing reviews, so when the Etsy shop was updated a couple of days ago, I knew I would get one. There were a few interesting acrylics up for sale, although none of them really my first choice. Unfortunately, with PenBBS, you don't always have a choice; only a handful of acrylics go up at one time, and the more popular colours of the bunch sell out within hours. In this particular batch, 9SF Summer and 57SF Marshmallow (and maybe 43SF Cloud) seemed the prettiest to me - in the end, I decided for the blue-swirled Summer acrylic because the sun was shining and I was feeling summery. And with the estimated dispatch time of 1-2 weeks, plus average delivery time of 3 weeks, I will probably indeed receive it only at the beginning of summer...

 

 

Dominique

 

That is a beautiful pen, Dominique! Do you have a photo of it inked up? And what ink are you using to fill it?

 

EDIT: Sorry, I figured out after I hit "save" that you haven't received the pen yet... duh. WHEN you get the pen, what ink are you planning for it and will you take a photo? I would love to see what this pen looks like inked up.

Edited March 2, 2019 by drathbun

[mallymal1]

PenBBS 456 F in 9SF Summer

 

 

The most recent addition to my growing collection of "unusual" filling systems. I really couldn't go back to CC fillers anymore!

The model has reveiced mostly glowing reviews, so when the Etsy shop was updated a couple of days ago, I knew I would get one. There were a few interesting acrylics up for sale, although none of them really my first choice. Unfortunately, with PenBBS, you don't always have a choice; only a handful of acrylics go up at one time, and the more popular colours of the bunch sell out within hours. In this particular batch, 9SF Summer and 57SF Marshmallow (and maybe 43SF Cloud) seemed the prettiest to me - in the end, I decided for the blue-swirled Summer acrylic because the sun was shining and I was feeling summery. And with the estimated dispatch time of 1-2 weeks, plus average delivery time of 3 weeks, I will probably indeed receive it only at the beginning of summer...

 

 

Dominique

 

In this last batch of 456's there was a translucent lilac, which I quite liked. Unfortunately, I 'slept on it', and the morning after it had sold out.

 

The 'Summer' is a wonderful acrylic. Hope you enjoy it.

[DrDebG]

Two Leonardo Momento Zeros - one in Positano and the other in Red Marbled - both with stub nibs. They should be here by the end of the week.

 

 

[by_a_Lady]

 

That is a beautiful pen, Dominique! Do you have a photo of it inked up? And what ink are you using to fill it?

 

EDIT: Sorry, I figured out after I hit "save" that you haven't received the pen yet... duh. WHEN you get the pen, what ink are you planning for it and will you take a photo? I would love to see what this pen looks like inked up.

 

Hm, asking the big questions! I've been pondering this last night, but the thing is, even if I managed to choose a colour now, by the time I receive the pen I could be either fed up with it or craving a completely different colour family. My ink moods depend a lot on the weather, too, so it's a Russian roulette.

However, I think a vibrant light blue might make itself best in the semi-transparent acrylic. J. Herbin Bleu Azure looks fantastic in the sample vial, but I'm told that it's quite light and hard to read on paper (haven't tried it yet). Perhaps Diamine Asa Blue, Noodler's Ottoman Azure, Sailor Jentle Souten, Robert Oster Soda Pop Blue? They're all in the azure/cerulean family and rather similar to each other. Right now, my eye is drawn to Diamine Mediterranean Blue, which is wonderfully vibrant, shades and sheens and is just all kinds of gorgeous and summery.

In the end, I'll probably end up playing it by ear, but I'm pretty sure that it's going to be a light, happy colour. Maybe you have a good recommendation?

And I'll definitely post photos when the pen gets here!

 

 

In this last batch of 456's there was a translucent lilac, which I quite liked. Unfortunately, I 'slept on it', and the morning after it had sold out.

 

The 'Summer' is a wonderful acrylic. Hope you enjoy it.

 

I was really torn between the three acrylics, scrutinising photos, comparing the look of empty and full pens, etc. In the end, Summer made the cut because it seems to be consistently interesting and beautiful, whether you get a pen with more blue swirls or one that is mostly white. That seems to be the main problem with the sought-after Galaxy finish, for example - the sparkles sometimes show up only as a thin stripe somewhere on the side of the pen, and only a handful of pens are actually sparkly throughout. I didn't want to risk such a situation for my first PenBBS model, so I chose a rather versatile colour.

 

 

Dominique

[Inky-Republic]

Can't wait to receive a Conway Stewart Winston, which I hope will be large and heavy enough for the over-size mitts I'm stuck with! Also looking forward to trying out the "semi" flex nib, which will add a bit more expression to every day writing.

 

I've also just ordered a Noodler's Ahab pen for experimental purposes and will be looking to acquire an assortment of #6 nibs to play with. Currently thinking that a selection of Goulet nibs might be the ticket, especially since I've never tried a stub nib in a fountain pen before and Goulet currently offers both a 1.1mm and 1.5mm nib in their line-up

[AGxM]

Arrived last week....Scriptorium Baskerville

 

[drathbun]

 

Hm, asking the big questions! I've been pondering this last night, but the thing is, even if I managed to choose a colour now, by the time I receive the pen I could be either fed up with it or craving a completely different colour family. My ink moods depend a lot on the weather, too, so it's a Russian roulette.

However, I think a vibrant light blue might make itself best in the semi-transparent acrylic. J. Herbin Bleu Azure looks fantastic in the sample vial, but I'm told that it's quite light and hard to read on paper (haven't tried it yet). Perhaps Diamine Asa Blue, Noodler's Ottoman Azure, Sailor Jentle Souten, Robert Oster Soda Pop Blue? They're all in the azure/cerulean family and rather similar to each other. Right now, my eye is drawn to Diamine Mediterranean Blue, which is wonderfully vibrant, shades and sheens and is just all kinds of gorgeous and summery.

In the end, I'll probably end up playing it by ear, but I'm pretty sure that it's going to be a light, happy colour. Maybe you have a good recommendation?

And I'll definitely post photos when the pen gets here!

Dominique

 

Thanks! Looking forward to it. I like the look of very transparent inks sloshing around in transparent or translucent pens. Looking at the gorgeous swirls of rich deep blues to light, almost turquoise blues makes me think of Iroshizuku Ama-Iro.