What Pen Are You Using Today in 2021/22?

[InesF]

On 10/31/2021 at 9:50 AM, DvdRiet said:

Taking the JIF-Waterman Standard (pen and pencil set) out for a Sunday drive today - it's been a little while 

This is a very nice set, you show to us, @DvdRiet!

I understand, it makes Sundays special ... 😎

[PAKMAN]

Parker 51 aerometric with a Sterling silver Ariel Kullock tooled cap.

[DvdRiet]

1 hour ago, InesF said:

This is a very nice set, you show to us,

 

Not bad taste in pens you have yourself there, @InesF! 😉

I'm not a big MB fan but THAT ONE... beautiful!

 

[JakobS]

Newton Thompson Orville with medium left oblique with Diamine Umber

Lamy Safari Savannah with fine nib and Platinum Classic Forest Black 

[inkstainedruth]

Today (so far) it's been one of the Noodler's Konrads (Medieval Lapis, flex nib) with diluted Noodler's Akhmatova; and the Parker 45 Arrow (Aqua Blue[?], M nib, with vintage Quink Permanent Royal Blue.  And will shortly finish up my test of MB Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Encre du Desert, in the black Sheaffer No Nonsense, IM nib, that I picked up on the way to the Chicago Pen Show the end of September.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[lionelc]

section thread fixed by a trusted repairer - a waterman concorde

 

[Noihvo]

[DvdRiet]

I'm also going old-school today with a Diplomat 101 hooded medium oblique inked with Daimine Writer's Blood. I do keep forgetting how much I need to keep it rotated, which is annoying, but I guess it's just been a busy week and my brain needs a reboot.

[AmandaW]

I'm still madly writing out Jacques Herbin Noir de Abyssal cartridges with a Kaweco Perkeo 'Bad Taste' so I have empties for some Perkeos incoming. These long cartridges hold so much ink it's a lot of pages! And I need three cos I'm getting a Cotton Candy and an Old Chambray - thinking grey and blue inks for those. And an All Black with a PO nib destined for use with Van Dieman's Eclipse which is my current Bullet journal ink. At least it's 'inspiring' me to write more.

[DvdRiet]

5 minutes ago, AmandaW said:

I'm still madly writing out Jacques Herbin Noir de Abyssal cartridges with a Kaweco Perkeo 'Bad Taste' so I have empties for some Perkeos incoming. These long cartridges hold so much ink it's a lot of pages! And I need three cos I'm getting a Cotton Candy and an Old Chambray - thinking grey and blue inks for those. And an All Black with a PO nib destined for use with Van Dieman's Eclipse which is my current Bullet journal ink. At least it's 'inspiring' me to write more.

 

I could tell you a cheat for that, but then you wouldn't be so 'inspired' to write more. ☺️

[A Smug Dill]

Natami Inception in blue, filled with Hero 232 ink.

 

 

No two ways about it; this pen feels cheap. If you think the barrel material on an entry-level Platinum #3776 Century feels a bit poor, the plastic body of this pen is worse; it picks up a tonne of micro-scratches in no time flat, although they are also easily polished out with Novus #1 liquid. The spring mechanism for the inner cap feels flimsier than on any other pen fitted with that type of feature, including the much cheaper Platinum Preppy and Monami Penna pens. Its steel F nib isn't very good at all in terms of nib width and finishing of the tipping; and it's the epitome of a ‘nail’ nib. The faceted body shape is nice in principle, but the ridges didn't feel that good against the hand out-of-the-box, and it took some polishing to make it more pleasing kinaesthetically. This pen is in no danger of becoming my favourite pen any time soon.

 

However, for US$18, it's hard to fault it for the sum of all its features. The wannabe Slip & Seal mechanism works well to very effectively prevent ink evaporation and nib dry-out, notwithstanding it feeling flimsy and somewhat loose. The faceted barrel is better for one's grip (in my opinion) than a conventional perfectly round barrel, and gives the ‘illusion’ and feel of a more premium product, especially after I made the edges between facets more graceful with some reasonably quick manual polishing. I can't make the nib tipping narrow enough to suit my tastes for a general-use writing instrument, but as a fine Italic it isn't bad. Most importantly, though, it actually feels better in the hand than my Platinum #3776 Century pens do, on account of the more subtle step-down near the barrel thread on this pen.

 

[Helen350]

Piper Empire Heart of Spring - Jinhao #6 Med nib.  Ink:  Dryden Designs Decadent Purple

Kaigelu 316A - M. nib.   Ink:  Chesterfield Antique Oxford

[N1003U]

Out with the brownish autumnal colors, in with the bluish winter palette…(for those of us in the snowy north of the northern hemisphere)… When the Terracota Studio runs dry in a few more pages, it will get cleaned and stored. Daily calendar keeping duties will then be transferred to the Glacier Studio.

[debraji]

Pelikan M250 Burgundy with an EF nib, inked with Diamine Syrah.

 

[DvdRiet]

The 101 ran out of ink so moving the Welsh green marbled celluloid with a fine calligraphy nib back into the rotation. This is one of my very favorite nibs! 

 

[N1003U]

1 hour ago, debraji said:

Pelikan M250 Burgundy with an EF nib, inked with Diamine Syrah.

 

Lovely pen. I have that one on my hunting list. I spotted one some months back, and it sold while I dithered. I won’t make that mistake twice.😃

[MuddyWaters]

6 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

Natami Inception in blue, filled with Hero 232 ink.

 

 

No two ways about it; this pen feels cheap. If you think the barrel material on an entry-level Platinum #3776 Century feels a bit poor, the plastic body of this pen is worse; it picks up a tonne of micro-scratches in no time flat, although they are also easily polished out with Novus #1 liquid. The spring mechanism for the inner cap feels flimsier than on any other pen fitted with that type of feature, including the much cheaper Platinum Preppy and Monami Penna pens. Its steel F nib isn't very good at all in terms of nib width and finishing of the tipping; and it's the epitome of a ‘nail’ nib. The faceted body shape is nice in principle, but the ridges didn't feel that good against the hand out-of-the-box, and it took some polishing to make it more pleasing kinaesthetically. This pen is in no danger of becoming my favourite pen any time soon.

 

However, for US$18, it's hard to fault it for the sum of all its features. The wannabe Slip & Seal mechanism works well to very effectively prevent ink evaporation and nib dry-out, notwithstanding it feeling flimsy and somewhat loose. The faceted barrel is better for one's grip (in my opinion) than a conventional perfectly round barrel, and gives the ‘illusion’ and feel of a more premium product, especially after I made the edges between facets more graceful with some reasonably quick manual polishing. I can't make the nib tipping narrow enough to suit my tastes for a general-use writing instrument, but as a fine Italic it isn't bad. Most importantly, though, it actually feels better in the hand that my Platinum #3776 Century pens do, on account of the more subtle step-down near the barrel thread on this pen.

 

This kind of review, even if it wasn't meant as a "review", is much more effective than the usual review that provides no comparative analysis of the parts of the pens, and I like that you don't give the pen a free pass just because of its price. Strangely I'm more likely to buy it after reading a detailed criticism of it. 

[brokenclay]

FWI The Planets: Mercury, with Diamine Majestic Blue.

[A Smug Dill]

15 hours ago, MuddyWaters said:

This kind of review, even if it wasn't meant as a "review", is much more effective than the usual review that provides no comparative analysis of the parts of the pens,

 

Well, that would depend solely on what my objective is, or what effect I want to achieve, by posting a “review”, wouldn't it?

 

As that is the pen I was using today, I posted it here primarily to show fellow hobbyists what (little bit) I've done to that pen and its nib, since anyone else's Natami Inception pen would probably feel quite differently in hand and write differently from mine as-is. My musings about the product's quality and characteristics give context; but, as you've already pointed out, the content was not designed to give others information for deciding whether the retail product is suitable for their user requirements (out-of-the-box) and/or makes for a good value-for-money purchase.

 

There is madness in my method, and some rationale as to why such (arguably, or potentially) subjectively useful information is “buried” here, instead of a review or other thread people are likely to look at when performing due diligence and targeted searches. Even if this thread does get returned in the list of results for a keyword search, it'd be easily missed by those who is focused on making an informed decision whether to buy something promptly. No tagging with metadata, and nothing that calls researching shoppers' attention; so I guess they would say this is not “effective” for their purposes, if they're looking to crowd-source relevant information.

 

My target audience here is really those who just like to idly browse and look at what fellow hobbyists are using; and are open to acquiring “unnecessary” new pens and inks, instead of trying to make the “best” use out of a limited budget and hit the jackpot, so to speak, with every purchase decision towards building a carefully curated personal collection. Comparative analysis against competing or substitutable retail products, especially those which are more expensive and/or less accessible, has limited relevance (for my intent) there, unless a reader already has a Platinum #3776 Century and is not entirely happy with it, thus want to try something else that may be an ”improvement”. If someone doesn't already have a Platinum #3776 Century, I certainly wouldn't want him or her to refrain from buying and trying one after reading my post, on account of the Natami Inception possibly being a “good enough” but much cheaper option.

 

15 hours ago, MuddyWaters said:

and I like that you don't give the pen a free pass just because of its price.

 

For the spend, I'd gladly take a HongDian 517D, a wooden-barrelled Jinhao 51A and a Wing Sung 3008 instead.

 

…

 

Anyway, I've just gone and polished the Natami Inception's body some more with Novus #2 and #1 liquids, and then buffed it a fine-weave microfibre cloth. Now the pen is actually looking quite decent.

 

 

My wife now coos over ”the colour” of the pen, once it's all smooth and shiny, and so it just joined her fleet.

[DvdRiet]

And now, as they say: 'Time for something completely different.'  Laban Skeleton in Iridium finish inked with KWZ Raspberry.