What pen(s) are you using today?

[pan101]

3 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

OOOOH!  And now I want to try the ink.... Oh, the enablers on this forum! 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

My fave ink, teal and burgundy, sheen and shading.

[USG]

On 2/13/2024 at 12:44 PM, dms525 said:

 

David

 

#8 Stub !!!!   So Nice DMS !!  Use it in good health 😀👍

 

23 hours ago, Misfit said:

I’m using what I’m 95% sure is the discontinued Levenger True Writer Kyoto with a M nib. It’s filled with Midori Navy ink. I had to use a converter from another of my True Writers since the Kyoto did not come with one. There is a bright LED fixture in the basement. I used a laundry detergent cap to hold the pen, which worked well. 
 

 

 

Beautiful Colors 👍😀

 

13 hours ago, turbofish said:

I might have too many inked up at the office. I will rotate them all throughout the day.

Work notes: not pretty, lots of me trying to figure out a problem. The solution is always SQL code.   

Top paper is Leuchtturm1917, bottom notebook is Tome River 52 gsm. Both gifts from my daughter.  The Tome River was sent from Japan in a weird bubble pack box that could have been ran over by my car and still be ok. It's actually 2 1/2 years old now. Underneath the Tome River, just out of sight is a Midori A5.
Ink is Diamine Oxblood and writers blood. Those are the two bottles left out at home next to each other and are fairly close in color. Great ink: Thanks Claes 
Pens: the blue one, Monteverde, one next to it I forgot - a cheap but good one filled with green ink which I also forgot, followed by another Monteverde. 
Bottom page, new Monteverde USA Super Mega Carbon Fiber, just delivered yesterday, Asvine P36 Titanium, TWSBI Diamond 580 

 

Very nice TBF 👍  Pens (lots of them), Notebooks and inks... 😀👍 

Can't have too many inked pens in your office.

 

How do you like the Titanium nib?

 

 

Me Today:

Pens were:  3 Pelikan M800s, 1 Pelikan M1000, Lamy 2K and a Wing Sung 630

A few inks that do not feather on 104  Mnemosyne B5 Notebook paper:  Diamine China Blue, PR American Blue, Pelikan Brillant Braun, Diamine Polar Glow, Edelstein Sapphire, Pelikan Blau-Schwarz

 

CLICK FOR LARGER

 

And it looks like American Blue is an "Outline" ink.

 

 

[Misfit]

23 hours ago, AmandaW said:

Pretty pen, whatever it is!

It’s been confirmed by @donnweinberg that it is the Kyoto version. The only other Levenger pen that would be similar is the golden tortoise. It does not have the blue and purple or pink that the Kyoto has. I paid enough for it, so I’m happy it’s been confirmed. 

[Misfit]

1 hour ago, USG said:

Beautiful Colors 👍😀

Thank you. Kind of you to say so. I’ve been enjoying your posts with those sheening inks. 

[Misfit]

I haven’t chosen today’s pen. I could use the TW Kyoto again. Or the new Kaweco AL Mercury Orange has not been used as a log book pen yet. Yes, I’ll use the Kaweco. 

[pan101]

Todays pen will be another Skyline, this time with striated cap and medium teardrop nib. Ink is Diamine Celadon Cat which seems to have gone darker since it's been in the pen.

[turbofish]

9 hours ago, USG said:

 

#8 Stub !!!!   So Nice DMS !!  Use it in good health 😀👍

 

 

Beautiful Colors 👍😀

 

 

Very nice TBF 👍  Pens (lots of them), Notebooks and inks... 😀👍 

Can't have too many inked pens in your office.

 

How do you like the Titanium nib?

 

 

It writes super smooth. To be honest, I ordered that one just because my TWSBI was taking so long to be delivered and it shares similar characteristics such as a huge demonstrator piston.  Today, I did drop off the Monteverde USA Regatta Sport Full Carbon Fountain Pen for something else that I forgot what it is. That Monteverde Regatta has the best posting which uses magnets. But it is heavy and takes up too much space in my case that I use for transportation. 
I really need to start limiting the number I bring to the office! Might leave a Waterman [have two duplicates because it was a gift that I lost, snuck in a replacement and found the original] and a couple more just so I don't have to carry them back and forth. 

 

Most of my pens aren't very expensive that I use on a daily basis - but I tend to keep too many inked up. Actually, I think I have around 20-25 that are currently inked up and another stash when I work from home. Around 10 others I either don't have inked, or need some attention like the perhaps terminal Montblanc Meisterstuck that I bought 30 years ago. 

 

Last night, I brought along my newest one [the Monteverde Super Mega Carbon Fiber] to dinner with my wife and was disappointed when they had me sign the check using electronic handheld device. I was just looking forward to using one of my pens one more time. 

[irrigger]

Today is just my Pelikan Twist,

Parker Vac, & Lamy 99e

 

[Baka1969]

[USG]

7 hours ago, turbofish said:

It writes super smooth. To be honest, I ordered that one just because my TWSBI was taking so long to be delivered and it shares similar characteristics such as a huge demonstrator piston.  Today, I did drop off the Monteverde USA Regatta Sport Full Carbon Fountain Pen for something else that I forgot what it is. That Monteverde Regatta has the best posting which uses magnets. But it is heavy and takes up too much space in my case that I use for transportation. 
I really need to start limiting the number I bring to the office! Might leave a Waterman [have two duplicates because it was a gift that I lost, snuck in a replacement and found the original] and a couple more just so I don't have to carry them back and forth. 

 

Most of my pens aren't very expensive that I use on a daily basis - but I tend to keep too many inked up. Actually, I think I have around 20-25 that are currently inked up and another stash when I work from home. Around 10 others I either don't have inked, or need some attention like the perhaps terminal Montblanc Meisterstuck that I bought 30 years ago. 

 

Last night, I brought along my newest one [the Monteverde Super Mega Carbon Fiber] to dinner with my wife and was disappointed when they had me sign the check using electronic handheld device. I was just looking forward to using one of my pens one more time. 

 

When I was working, I had a leather 15 pen case in my briefcase.  I never knew which pen I wanted to use...😁

 

Now my moto is Ink'em Up.  Been keeping them inked for a long time and I haven't noticed any ill effects.  A couple of micro drops of water from a syringe gets a dry nib back in action.  Haha, some things never change.  I still never know which pen I want to write with.... 😁

 

And now there's all those crazy inks I want to try....🤪

[USG]

5 hours ago, Baka1969 said:

 

Just nod if you can hear me .... 😉

[essayfaire]

On 2/14/2024 at 12:04 AM, Baka1969 said:

 

That's my love/hate relationship with Baystate Blue. 

 

Here's my thread discussing the evil ink:

 

Baystate Blue is Evil Yet I Can't Help Myself

I am too risk-averse to try it, but it does look tempting...  Perhaps if I had a pen that I didn't mind potentially parting with, but I've gotten much more intentional about what pens I keep around than I used to be.

[AmandaW]

I am still writing with the little red Sheaffer School pen from a few days ago, intending to write it out, then clean it.

 

Also drawing with a cheapy-but-favourite Sailor fude pen filled with Sailor Black. On the top one I also used watersoluble colour pencils and realised the Sailor ink has no water resistance...

 

 

 

 

[Baka1969]

5 hours ago, USG said:

 

Just nod if you can hear me .... 😉

Is there anyone at home?

[Misfit]

I heard a sound over there, no there. 
 

I’m using the Levenger True Writer Kyoto again. The pen might be moving into my personal top five pens.  It may have knocked a TWSBI Diamond Mini out of the top five. Not sure yet as the Mini has a 1.1mm stub nib, and the TW Kyoto has a run of the mill, in my opinion, M nib. 

[Baka1969]

4 hours ago, essayfaire said:

I am too risk-averse to try it, but it does look tempting...  Perhaps if I had a pen that I didn't mind potentially parting with, but I've gotten much more intentional about what pens I keep around than I used to be.

 

I think there's some hyperbole involved in the BSB lore. Unless you're using a demonstrator pen, Baystate Blue shouldn't permanently stain,  destroy or ruin one's pen. I have successfully cleaned the ink from converters. A diluted bleach solution will help when flushing a pen if you want to be absolutely certain all traces of the ink are gone. Most of my issues with the Noodlers is how it reacts to writing. 

 

In the end, my love/hate with Baystate Blue forces me to overlook its flaws and pick it to use in a pen I write with on a regular basis. The color is just too appealing to me to live with out it. Plus it is somewhat water resistant. I wouldn't use it in all my pens. But I wouldn't want to be without it. It's an essential part of my arsenal. 

[USG]

On 2/13/2024 at 5:12 AM, Mercian said:

I’d be amazed if they were weaker than the long Pelikan GTP5 cartridges are!

 

Those have really thin walls, and have to be handled very gently. In comparison, the similarly-sized and similar-capacity cartridges made by Parker and Lamy feel like they have been made to withstand incoming artillery 😁

Expand  

 

On 2/13/2024 at 5:38 AM, Mercian said:

It was in response to your earlier remarks about the great number of companies that make and sell c/c pens.

 

It was intended to show that companies generally have an interest in promoting the ink-in-cartridges filling-model over any other form of ink usage (including, it seems, NR’s reluctance to acknowledge the existence of its own converters that it makes for its own c/c pens).

i.e. to explain the reason for the phenomenon that you cited (that so many companies sell and market c/c pens).

 

You also said that most people are presumably buying and using cartridges all the time. That, too, is probably true.

But then, the usage pattern of most of what we may call ‘typical’ fountain pen owners is probably to own one (maybe two) fountain pens, and use them continually, with the same brand/colour of ink cartridge.

 

We here on FPN are ‘outliers’, in that many of us are ‘hobbyists’ who own many pens, and many inks, and like to switch between inks and pens as the fancy takes us.

Our pens are therefore more likely to sit unused for a while than is the sole fountain pen used continually with one type of cartridge by a more-typical fountain pen user such as, say, a school student.

And we hobbyists are certainly more likely to need to perform a more-thorough cleaning of our pens (e.g. when switching between different types/brands/colours of inks) than is a more-typical FP user, who just uses the same types of cartridges all the time.

 

In the ‘pen-cleaning regime’ discussions that occur here from time to time, several members have pointed out that the modern tendency for ‘obsessive’ or ‘excessive’ cleaning regimes is a new phenomenon, and that, back when fountain pens were typically in continuous use, many people never cleaned out their pens.

Even manufacturers only mentioned the idea of running tap-water through a pen’s feed/grip-section once every six months or so.

Again though, while that advice is perfectly fine for people whose ‘usage pattern’ is to use their pen continually, and with the same ink, or only switching inks rarely, it is less-appropriate for those of us ‘hobbyists’ who switch between pens and inks often.

 

Using converters in one’s pens does flush pens’ feeds more-effectively than does exclusive cartridge use (I think I remember Ron Z once saying that he advises his customers to use converters, and not cartridges, for this reason).

And for hobbyists who, like me, like to use iron-gall inks and pigment-based inks, it is important to keep the feeds of one’s pens as free from old ink residues as possible.

Expand  

 

All good thought provoking stuff.  To be Continued....

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

 

I wanted to discuss this a little more.  I hope I don't need the Dread Pirate again.😁

 

I've been thinking about who is using fountain pens today and besides the enthusiasts, (hobbyists, artists, calligraphers, nostalgics, and collectors etc.) I'm not sure who, or why, anyone  would want to use a fountain pen, when there are so many modern ball points, rollerballs, markers, and gel pens available, at every price point.

 

It seems that in the golden age of inks, with the myriads of colors and shades, unsuitable for Business, the market is being driven exclusively the enthusiast group.  The same might be said for the fountain pen market too.  Driven by the enthusiasts.

 

Why would anyone outside of our enthusiast group use a fountain pen?   We have the "boomers" who grew up with fountain pens.  Some of us still use them and others have moved on.  Academics might use a fountain pen but they're a type of enthusiast... A CEO might have an expensive fountain pen, a Tom Ford suit and a Rolex watch, but unless they're an enthusiast I doubt they use it much, and would probably opt for cartridges rather than dealing with inky fingers.... 

 

Which brings me to the next point, inky fingers.  I could be wrong, but from the earliest days, when  people were writing with quills and liquid ink, the trend has been away from sticking something into an ink well.  It took a long time but finally there were pens that held their own ink supply, (eliminating the constant dipping). Then there was the snorkel, the capillary filling system and the cartridge.  All seemed to be designed to separate the pen from the bottle and inky fingers.

 

It's true that in terms of ink, cartridge ink is much more expensive than bottled ink, but my feeling is that cartridges were developed as a way to make fountain pens less dependent on the ink bottle and easier to use.  The idea, it seems, was to get the pen away from the ink bottle, rather than as a money making endeavor.

 

I'm starting to wonder if the cost of the ink itself factors into the cost of cartridges, if you consider the equipment to mold and fill cartridges, the packaging materials and machinery involved.

 

What does everyone else think?

 

[USG]

1 hour ago, Baka1969 said:

Is there anyone at home?

 

Come on now, I hear you're feeling down...

[AmandaW]

I only got a partial refund for the broken pen. Is that how it works? I cleaned it, sent it back and even included a Sheaffer cartridge so the seller could get inky fingers too.

 

I paid bid $35 plus postage $10.60. I got back "bid $26.69, postage $8.31".

 

That's it. No more scambay for me.

[Baka1969]

2 hours ago, USG said:

 

 

All good thought provoking stuff.  To be Continued....

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

 

I wanted to discuss this a little more.  I hope I don't need the Dread Pirate again.😁

 

I've been thinking about who is using fountain pens today and besides the enthusiasts, (hobbyists, artists, calligraphers, nostalgics, and collectors etc.) I'm not sure who, or why, anyone  would want to use a fountain pen, when there are so many modern ball points, rollerballs, markers, and gel pens available, at every price point.

 

It seems that in the golden age of inks, with the myriads of colors and shades, unsuitable for Business, the market is being driven exclusively the enthusiast group.  The same might be said for the fountain pen market too.  Driven by the enthusiasts.

 

Why would anyone outside of our enthusiast group use a fountain pen?   We have the "boomers" who grew up with fountain pens.  Some of us still use them and others have moved on.  Academics might use a fountain pen but they're a type of enthusiast... A CEO might have an expensive fountain pen, a Tom Ford suit and a Rolex watch, but unless they're an enthusiast I doubt they use it much, and would probably opt for cartridges rather than dealing with inky fingers.... 

 

Which brings me to the next point, inky fingers.  I could be wrong, but from the earliest days, when  people were writing with quills and liquid ink, the trend has been away from sticking something into an ink well.  It took a long time but finally there were pens that held their own ink supply, (eliminating the constant dipping). Then there was the snorkel, the capillary filling system and the cartridge.  All seemed to be designed to separate the pen from the bottle and inky fingers.

 

It's true that in terms of ink, cartridge ink is much more expensive than bottled ink, but my feeling is that cartridges were developed as a way to make fountain pens less dependent on the ink bottle and easier to use.  The idea, it seems, was to get the pen away from the ink bottle, rather than as a money making endeavor.

 

I'm starting to wonder if the cost of the ink itself factors into the cost of cartridges, if you consider the equipment to mold and fill cartridges, the packaging materials and machinery involved.

 

What does everyone else think?

 

 

Probably the same reason I'm also an enthusiast of mechanical watches or tube audiophile amps and turntables. Being analog in a digital world.  Intentionally slowing our lives down to appreciate things just a little more.  The artistry of something mechanical.  Nostalgia.