I got this pen today

[Number99]

6 hours ago, OldTravelingShoe said:

This is great information, @Number99. So many things I did not know! 

 

I'm also unable to say where "Myu 25" comes from; perhaps it's a truncation of the M-250, a spelling mistake that simply propagated? Shall we switch to MU Black from now on?

 

The info on the "Pilot Elite Tomo" is also excellent. It clarifies where the information in Richard Binder's article/book on Japanese Pocket pens stops. 

 

The other bits are also great, but I haven't seen the colored versions on the market yet. 

As for the Myu-25 designation, the Myu-25 designation is already well established in the various fountain pen enthusiast communities, and I respect that. (But there still seems to be some confusion about the identification of Myu-25 with Volex)

 

However, one must also respect Pilot Corporation's attitude of carefully explaining their 40-50 year old products.

 

Hence I personally call it Myu Black (25).

 

The display of Mu is simply a malfunction of the translation application Deep L.

What is the exact spelling of μ? I am not an English speaker and do not know how to spell μ in English. (maybe Myu?)

The logo looks like a pilot's personal letter design merging M and μ.

 

I do not know Richard Binder's article/book.

I would like to read it once.

Incidentally, to add to Pilot's description, the "Pilot Elite Tomo Short type" was sold in 1975~1976.

 

Yesterday I received a new reply from Pilot Corporation.

They say, ーThere are a few variations of the "Elite" without the logo, but they do exist. There is no special meaning to it, it is simply a "design" adoption. There is also an "Elite" that only displays "PILOT".ー.

 

And.

Now I tapped the buy button for the "Myu Combi Color Type (M-250MS-NP)" which had remained on my watch list for a long time.

 

 

Edited November 27, 2022 by Number99
Add "Short type". Other phrases

[amberleadavis]

On 11/21/2022 at 2:00 PM, Misfit said:

I decided to put the cartridges in the pens I got from Five Below. One of them doesn’t seem to let the cartridge connect. Grrr

 

Did you get it fixed?

[amberleadavis]

On 11/22/2022 at 11:52 AM, inkstainedruth said:

I went to the closest Five Below location yesterday, and ended up passing on the pens.  It was hard to see what the nibs were in some of the packages, and I didn't know what type of converters any of them might take (my experience with "International Standard" converters is that they're not as "standardized" as you'd think....  Decided I'd rather pay more and know what it was I was getting.

Still looking at a few inexpensive pens on eBay at the moment.  Plus I just put in an order to Vanness this morning for some ink, plus a couple of the Parker piston converters (I was trying to juggle spending JUST enough to get the free shipping, but without overwhelming the ink stash (since I still have a bunch of samples I haven't tried, PLUS haven't done formal testing of the four inks I bought at the Ohio Pen Show OR all the tester inks used when I had some pens repaired at the show.  

On top of that, I'm back to the point of having too many pens in rotation at the moment....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Very responsible of you!

[Misfit]

4 hours ago, amberleadavis said:

 

Did you get it fixed?

I haven’t tried yet. I may have ruined two cartridges on that pen. I will give it a try after using a tack as suggested.  The other three pens were fine. Once I try that, I’ll post here. 

[cat74]

Just opened this Epenco pen... gorgeous! - the photos don't do it justice!

 

A bit on the small side unposted but just right when posted - was serviced and has a new sack - so should be good for a while? 

 

 

Edited November 28, 2022 by cat74

[A Smug Dill]

The HongDian 6016 pen with the gold cap arrived today. (The other one I've had for a while.)

 

[PithyProlix]

I've been in North Carolina for two weeks dealing with a family emergency and had some time today. So, I decided to go 'antiquing' and this is what I found, all for less than $100.

 

 

Cordovan Brown Parker 51 Vacumatic Demi pen/pencil set, a Sheaffer lever-filler with Feathertouch nib (1920s or 1930s or ...? I don't know the model yet. Stay tuned in the Sheaffer sub-forum.), and two bottles of Jet Black Skrip.

 

It's been a rough couple of weeks and it was nice to have a good, productive time hunting for pens.

[Misfit]

@PithyProlix I hope things are better.  Excellent finds. 

[PithyProlix]

23 minutes ago, Misfit said:

@PithyProlix I hope things are better.  Excellent finds. 

 

Thanks - things do seem to be getting better.

 

There was also a Sheaffer Triumph Sentinel DeLuxe pen & pencil set that I'm thinking about going back to get. And one of the antique booth ladies told me she would find some pens for me and bring them on Monday, so I have that to look forward to, as well.

[A Smug Dill]

A no-name clone of the HongDian 525 arrived mid-week. (Note: Morandi is not the brand, and nowhere on the pen I received can I find any indication of its brand name or model designation.) I bought myself three out of four? six? of the colours of the HongDian 525 that were available at the time, back when they were sold on AliExpress for US$10 or less each; and I quite like them, and felt it was very good value for around US$8, even though I didn't and still don't feel the need to have every colour. These days they're being offered at US$13 or more each, and perhaps not in as many colours as there used to be.

 

Anyway, I had some ‘spare change’ — so-called ‘cashback’ due a recent promotion, with a really short expiry period — to use up on AliExpress, and I came across these:

Image source: AliExpress

which look an awful lot like the HongDian 525, with an asking price of US$3 each. I have reason to want to keep the order value as low as possible, so I thought one of these would do just fine if only to satisfy my curiosity, and ordered the cyan one.

 

I was incorrectly sent a blue one instead; and, for that, I got a partial refund, bringing my effective spend on it down even lower.

 

Compared to the genuine HongDian 525:

1. The HongDian 525 is substantially heftier than the no-name clone of apparently the same design.
2. The metal grip section on the HongDian 525 is brushed; the metal grip section on the no-name clone has a matt finish.
3. The HongDian 525's nib can be removed by way of unscrewing the nib unit (nib, feed, and the collar that goes around them), whereas the plastic collar around the nib and feed in the no-name clone is either glued in or jammed into the metal grip scection, and cannot be removed. A convex rim of the collar protrudes slightly above the rim of the metal grip section on the no-name clone.
4. The exterior finish on the HongDian 525's body has more of a velvety texture, feels grippier and nicer to me subjectively, and reflects less light. The finish on the no-name clone's pen body is smoother, and has more of a metallic sheen, even though it is still matt rather than glossy.
5. There is a discrepancy in the colours of the cap and the barrel of the no-name clone.
6. The clip on the HongDian 525 is slightly longer than on the no-name clone.

 

I haven't inked it up yet, and I don't think it matters. I inked it up with Monteverde Horizon Blue, and the ‘Iridium Point’ steel F nib writes like a Broad nib by my reckoning. (Eight parallel horizontal lines inside a 5mm-tall square space on Rhodia DotPad 80g/m² paper is all I can manage with it.)

 

For US$3, I think I'd prefer to get a Jinhao 80 or Jinhao 82 when it is discounted during an AliExpress sales campaign (such as the two recent ones in November), or even another Jinhao 51A. That said, I wouldn't recommend spending US$13 on a HongDian 525 either.

 

Now, I'll go attend to the other new pen that came in today, which cost more than 150 times more than this pen…

 

Edited December 2, 2022 by A Smug Dill

[PithyProlix]

Some more antiquing today. Got a Sheaffer snorkel desk pen set - looks unused - and a Pelikan 120 with a little bit of corrosion on a bent clip. All for less than $50.

 

[Penguincollector]

@PithyProlixScore! Both pens and that stand are really cool.

I have some of my overseas purchases coming in. I don’t know what because my husband puts them in my stocking or under the tree. We have a rule that unless it’s perishable or personal hygiene, do not open until Xmas. So I got several pens today, but I don’t know which pens.

[PithyProlix]

7 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

@PithyProlixScore! Both pens and that stand are really cool.

I have some of my overseas purchases coming in. I don’t know what because my husband puts them in my stocking or under the tree. We have a rule that unless it’s perishable or personal hygiene, do not open until Xmas. So I got several pens today, but I don’t know which pens.

 

Oh my - the anticipation must be staggering! 

[Penguincollector]

It’s better than the overseas shipping induced anxiety, at least I know they’re here and I will get to them. I’ve been on a bit of a binge lately, so I can catch up with what is already clean and ready for inking in my pen case.

[inkstainedruth]

14 hours ago, PithyProlix said:

Some more antiquing today. Got a Sheaffer snorkel desk pen set - looks unused - and a Pelikan 120 with a little bit of corrosion on a bent clip. All for less than $50.

 

Nice score!  I paid more than that at an antiques place for just a 120 (although it was in great condition and seemed to be pretty clean when I flushed it out).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Arkanabar]

I actually received three from FPRevolution a while back, but I'm not posting about them until they get inked up and used.

 

Right now, that means I can tell you about my Royal Blue Jaipur V1 with the Ultra Flex Nib.  I'd say the vegetal resin (the smell is actually rather mild on this one) is closer to a cobalt blue than a royal blue.  The design aesthetic isn't as appealing to me as that of the Himalaya, but I just love the section profile and form factor.  These are my favorite pens for when I am going to be writing a lot.  I don't have the patience to really work the flex without railroading, but the pen wrote very well out of the box, with only a flush of dish soap in water -- no heat setting or nib tweaking required.  It is yet another pen currently devoted to consumption of my bête noire of inks, Noodler's Bad Black Moccasin diluted 1:1 with water.  It's quite generous with the ink in ordinary writing, which is so far, so good.  I don't know if it will respond as well to neglect as my emerald v1 Himalaya stub (still wrote on the first stroke after 3-4 days in the pen cup); only time will tell.

 

You'll probably hear about the purple Guru and purple Indus sometime after the penitential season of Advent ends.

 

I haven't talked about the red Sheaffer School pen I got off the dreaded Bay of Evil a while back.  It has the stingiest line of HoD 2:1 H20 I've ever encountered.  This makes it ideal for writing stuff really small thata needs to be permanent.  It's not so easy to cap one-handed as my Jinhao 51A XFs, or my Hero 616s, as it has an open nib instead of hooded/inlaid, and it's a lot smaller than I remember (comparable to a Pelikan M200 capped, and to a Pilot Prera opened).  And it will dry out with a few days of sitting unused in the pen cup.  But clearly not without its uses.

[Misfit]

This pen arrived today. Franklin-Christoph sends them in a softly lined pouch, which I like.  
 

[Tyroker]

I got it yesterday but... TWSBI Eco in white with a Fine nib. Inked with Rohrer & Klingner - Verdigris.

[Misfit]

@Tyroker Aw, the TWSBI Eco. It’s hard to only own one. I got the black version before the white version. I looked at reviews of the white version, and most put blue inks in theirs when they reviewed it. I hope you enjoy your new pen for many happy years to come. 

[mtcn77]

Bought Faber Castell Ambition OpArt Flamingo with matching GvFC converter gifts for family however they turned out to be incompatible with the thin section. Luckily their older made converters fit the body and thus, crisis averted for now.