What Is The Wettest Pen You Own

[Honeybadgers]

my pilot 823 with FA nib and 3 slot ebonite feed. it's completely unusable in that configuration.

[The-Thinker]

This is so not my area of ‘expertise’, but...

 

I mainly use ‘Fine’ nibs (because my handwriting is small and scrawly ), with the nominally broadest nibs that I own being on some Parker & LAMY pens that have ‘Medium’ nibs.

 

I own a Pelikan M205 with a ‘Fine’ nib. These are supposed to be ‘wet-writing’, but I wouldn’t describe it as ‘very wet’. Then again, I typically ink it with i-g inks or Pelikan inks, so I may well be wrong about that.

I also have a Parker “51” whose worn-out nib I had replaced with an NOS ‘Fine’, and asked to have tuned to be ‘wet’. Both the M205 & the “51” put down fine, wet lines (which is what I like).

 

The wettest pen/nib/feed that I own - by far - is a Pelikan P480 ‘Pelikano’ whose nib is marked ‘Fine’.

I have two of them, and each is as ‘gushy’ as the other. Even with Pelikan 4001 ‘Brilliant Black’, which a lot of people think of as a fairly ‘dry’ ink.

 

I might try inking one with R&K Salix next, or even Scabiosa, to see whether the iron-gall ink can ‘tame’ it a bit.

Though if I were in the mood to take advantage of the pens’ generous flow, I might fill one with some Pelikan Edelstein Topaz, in order to show off that ink’s lovely cerulean blue colour and its propensity to show ‘shading’

 

Given that my two P480s are both marked ‘Fine’, I do wonder how broad & wet the ‘Medium’ nibbed ones are

 

I have a similar taste regarding nib width as you, that is why i am looking for a gushing pen so that i can lay down a fine yet fine nib (even tho its counterintuitive). It seems pelikan nibs are wet, but there is a hit or miss case!

[The-Thinker]

Any of my pens which has a badly adjusted feed.

Any of my pens that the slit on the nib is adjusted wrong.

 

As for typically wet, flex Waterman 12s, 42s,52s, Red Keyhole Waterman Nibs, Flex Eversharp Skylines, and adjustable sliding block Wahl Nibs.

I am not impressed with the wetness of a stock Noodler Ahab, it railroads too easilly. Those with upgraded aftermarket feeds are much wetter.

 

so basically all the vintage pens are very wet as it may seem, its interesting how ahabs have ebonite feeds and are very wet, yet they railroad!

[The-Thinker]

my pilot 823 with FA nib and 3 slot ebonite feed. it's completely unusable in that configuration.

 

Is the feed from flex nib factory?

[Tseg]

M1000 was sopping wet and uncontrollable. I tried to fix it myself and essentially ruined the nib... actually, it works great but nib looks mangled. I then bought a second M1000 nib NOS 2-chick hoping for a different result. It was almost as bad. I immediately sent to Pendleton Brown to grind to a BLS and it is now amazing.

 

I have a vintage Geha 790 with flexible nib that is really amazing... will deliver an extra fine rope of ink and with pressure will go to a wet BBB line all day long. Everything is super-controlled. I’m amazed how that little pen has such a large ink chamber.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/337810-geha-790/

Edited January 26, 2020 by Tseg

[The-Thinker]

M1000 was sopping wet and uncontrollable. I tried to fix it myself and essentially ruined the nib... actually, it works great but nib looks mangled. I then bought a second M1000 nib NOS 2-chick hoping for a different result. It was almost as bad. I immediately sent to Pendleton Brown to grind to a BLS and it is now amazing.

 

I have a vintage Geha 790 with flexible nib that is really amazing... will deliver an extra fine rope of ink and with pressure will go to a wet BBB line all day long. Everything is super-controlled. I’m amazed how that little pen has such a large ink chamber.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/337810-geha-790/

 

what nib did u get the m1000? its sad how a flagship is that problematic it seems that vintage nibs are perfectly tuned

[Tseg]

 

what nib did u get the m1000? its sad how a flagship is that problematic it seems that vintage nibs are perfectly tuned

 

My first M1000 was a Medium, my second was a Broad, but with the new grind writes much more fine. That second nib maybe wasn’t vintage, but it was older new stock. I had a NOS Lamy 2000 nib that also needed adjusting as it was very snaggy when first used.

 

In fairness, I find myself doing a minor tweak to most my nibs, usually to make them slightly more wet, but also I’ll find a burr or minor misalignment on a new nib.

 

I think many vintage pens have good working nibs (when they are not abused and mangled) because the prior owner(s) have worked all the bugs out of them.

 

Just yesterday I was thinking about flex vs more stiff, and while vintage flex can be more fun and beautiful to write with, for me it takes more mental effort to be consistent. For long writing sessions I prefer something more stiff but with some spring, like a Pilot Custom 823.

[The-Thinker]

 

My first M1000 was a Medium, my second was a Broad, but with the new grind writes much more fine. That second nib maybe wasn’t vintage, but it was older new stock. I had a NOS Lamy 2000 nib that also needed adjusting as it was very snaggy when first used.

 

In fairness, I find myself doing a minor tweak to most my nibs, usually to make them slightly more wet, but also I’ll find a burr or minor misalignment on a new nib.

 

I think many vintage pens have good working nibs (when they are not abused and mangled) because the prior owner(s) have worked all the bugs out of them.

 

Just yesterday I was thinking about flex vs more stiff, and while vintage flex can be more fun and beautiful to write with, for me it takes more mental effort to be consistent. For long writing sessions I prefer something more stiff but with some spring, like a Pilot Custom 823.

 

so if you were about to pick up a pen to just write it would be an 823 ? btw i noticed your profile picture, its beautiful.

[YonathanZ]

Graf von Faber Castell Intuition (medium nib).

[TSherbs]

Hi TSherbs,

 

Would you recommend the Ahab?

 

 

Sean

Sure, but you'll probably have to learn how to "heat set" the nib and feed. And the Ahab is a large pen (not sure I would like it with small hands).

[The-Thinker]

Graf von Faber Castell Intuition (medium nib).

 

i have heard that it is a good quality pen, and it feels substantial

Edited January 26, 2020 by The-Thinker

[mana]

Vintage Pelikans. They play nice with inks that are more dry.

[Driften]

is the nib in particular the reason for the wetness ?

 

 

TWSBI uses a wetter feed on the stub nibs and the combination seems to be extra wet on the pen I have.

Edited January 26, 2020 by Driften

[Tas]

My Visconti Homo Sapiens. So so wet.

[ENewton]

Vintage Pelikans. They play nice with inks that are more dry.

 

 

I made this assumption prior to purchase, but my Pelikan 140 turned out to be quite dry--a nice pen but needing a wet, lubricated ink to provide a pleasant writing experience. I tried various inks for almost a year and a half before settling on Iroshizuku Kujaku.

[Tseg]

 

so if you were about to pick up a pen to just write it would be an 823 ? btw i noticed your profile picture, its beautiful.

 

Ha! Complicated answer. Interestingly, as I write, my 823 is not inked for about the first time in 2 years. I currently grab any one of the below at home since they are all inked. For my trip tomorrow I am taking my bullet raw brass Fisher Space Pen that I recently got, which is why I ran out my 823.

 

My profile picture is there to drive the OCD in the crowd nuts.

 

 

Namiki Vermillion Urushi No. 20

Kaweco Brass Sport

Visconti HS Elegance

Visconti HS Bronze Age

Pelikan M800 Renaissance Brown

Lamy 2000

Sailor King of Pen Pro Gear

Waterman Carene

ST Dupont Olympio XL

Mb 149

 

Note: apologies... I had a Visconti ink pot explosion minutes before with ink all over the place, so my pens look all smudged but I was just handling them with wet hands.

Edited January 27, 2020 by Tseg

[Parker51]

My wettest Vintage pen is a Conklin, can't recall the model. To get it to not gush required the use of Pelikan ink, with Waterman ink it was unusable.

My wettest modern pen is an Aurora Talentium. It does not gush, irrespective of ink, but it does write wetter with some. It is a Medium nibbed pen. And, it never ever is a hard start, nor des it ever dry out. I routinely use Montblanc ink in it and the flow is wet, but not too wet.

[The-Thinker]

 

 

TWSBI uses a wetter feed on the stub nibs and the combination seems to be extra wet on the pen I have.

 

thank you for sharing!

[The-Thinker]

My Visconti Homo Sapiens. So so wet.

in what nib ?

[The-Thinker]

i think it's due to the ebonite feed tho, right ?

 

Vintage Pelikans. They play nice with inks that are more dry.