What pen(s) are you using today?

[SpecTP]

samples from my latest acquisitions..

 

[Doug C]

21 hours ago, chromantic said:

 

E voila!

 

Thank you!!!

[flodoc]

Parker Duofold International in marbled green acrylic w/18K fine italic nib and Noodler's Tacoa Live Oak ink.

[flodoc]

Sailor 1911 in blue acrylic w/14K 1.1 stub and Private Reserve Tropical Blue ink.

[OldTravelingShoe]

6 hours ago, flodoc said:

Sailor 1911 in blue acrylic w/14K 1.1 stub and Private Reserve Tropical Blue ink.

Wonderful pen, @flodoc! As many of your posts, also inspiring. 

Edited May 15, 2022 by OldTravelingShoe
Fixing typos. Gotta learn sometime to type on my phone.

[OldTravelingShoe]

TL;DR: A Sailor 1911L with... 🥁

a Naginata Fude nib (21K), inked with Sailor Doyou (black). This pen can draw!

 

Figure 1. The input: a pen looking for ink. 

 

Figure 2. Nib seeking ink. (Punt zoekt inkt, a new series on TV.) 

 

Figure 3. Drink responsibility, nib! (Geniet, maar met mate!) 

 

Figure 4. The first output. Mistakes are the authors, this nib is amazing! 

 

More pics in OldTravelingShoe's Random Pics of Japanese Fountain Pens. 

 

 

What do I like most about this pen? The nib, a proper fude with wide range (from F ~ 12 distinct strokes per 5mm block [spb], to BBB ~ 3 spb), which would not work well without the very wet feed or a less generous angle for the special tip. 

 

 

Ok, must stop now... Too many Dutch references or unrequested details... This pen is... Pure joy!!! 

 

 

[A Smug Dill]

6 hours ago, OldTravelingShoe said:

Figure 4. The first output. Mistakes are the authors, this nib is amazing! 

 

More pics in OldTravelingShoe's Random Pics of Japanese Fountain Pens. 

 

 

What do I like most about this pen? The nib, a proper fude with wide range (from F ~ 12 distinct strokes per 5mm block [spb], to BBB ~ 3 spb),

 

What a lovely drawing!

 

The squares in which you tested the line width by the number of strokes, coupled by what you wrote in the (typed) text, rang some alarm bells for me however. I recall having this conversation with you:

On 3/30/2022 at 12:29 AM, OldTravelingShoe said:

I haven't pressed hard, and already the line variation covers what for me looks like an F to M range vertically (up to 14 lines per 5x5mm square, per @A Smug Dill method), EF to F horizontally (17 lines). 

On 3/30/2022 at 12:42 AM, A Smug Dill said:

Hmmm, personally I'd call ≥13 distinct horizontal lines in a 5mm-tall space on Rhodia DotPad 80g/m² paper fitting of the width grade of Extra Fine, …‹snip›… 11 or 12 lines would be quite typical of (non-Japanese) Fine nibs,

On 3/30/2022 at 2:15 AM, OldTravelingShoe said:

Very interesting. Looks like I should move one or even _two_ notches toward the finer side of the range: my original F to M becomes EF to F, my original EF becomes UEF. 

 

This new scale (for me) seems a bit different than my intuition - - here, I felt the pen was more like an M, or maybe an FM with natural pressure - -, but the numbers seem clear. 

 

and now I'm afraid I wasn't so clear after all and there was some miscommunication.

 

This is what I meant by 13 distinct horizontal lines in a 5mm-tall space:

(click on the above to take you to the discussion thread where I first posted it)

 

 

The lines are meant to be parallel and distinct, as in not touching each other; where they do make contact are just an artefact of shortcomings in my drawing technique. There is supposed to be a strip of white space separating each pair of consecutive lines. Obviously, my control of the width of each strip of white space is even more iffy than my ability to make every ink line the same width, and my metric is only a rough measure; but, based on what I see in a loupe with a 0.1mm scale on the transparent base plate, ⁵/_(2n-1) is a close enough approximation of the average line width in millimetres.

[AmandaW]

Today's journal pen was a Pilot Kakuno with a fine nib. The ink is Robert Oster Chicago from a much appreciated sample sent by a forum friend. I first tried the ink in a Slate Grey Pilot Prera with a fine italic nib (from a Plumix) hoping it would be the perfect colour for the pen without the dryness it suffered with a fill of J Herbin Vert de Gris. Sadly, it was just as troublesome. I pull the cartridge (syringe filled with the ink) and popped it in this Kakuno - a nib that hasn't caused me any problems before and, just the same, rather uncomfortably dry. So, that's that, I just crossed R.O. Chicago off my wish list - great colour doesn't make up for a dry writing - I have too many fine and extra fine nibs to feed. Edit to add: So disappointed cos the swatched colour is gorgeous.

 

[Faye Slift]

On 5/14/2022 at 2:53 PM, FlyingClay said:

I've been using this inexpensive pen I got a pack of 4 of to do some ink testing on some samples I have.  I've never heard of the brand actually, but they write surprisingly well (for being an el-cheapo pen which comes in a pack of 4).  The brand is EPAKH in an EF nib.  No idea where they're from.  They look to be a total knockoff on a Lamy Safari, piston fill and all.  (not a big fan of knockoffs, but I just needed something cheap to try out a bunch of different samples).

 

Other than that, I've been using one of my TWSBI Eco's with one of my favorite inks, Iroshuzuku, Kiri-Same (grey) for doing some writing.

 

ETA - Note: I had bought the x-750's and these EPAKH pens at the same time, for the same purpose.  Just trying to learn about different pens and inks.

 

Hi FlyingClay, 

 

I haven’t heard of EPAKH either. I’m pretty new to all this too. There’s an “Inky Thoughts” thread you might want to check out. People are very helpful there. 

 

I’ve purchased a couple of Jinhao pens which are usually fairly inexpensive. But I just bought some cheap plastic pens for the same reason (I’m just starting to use bottled inks, going through many samples at the moment), as well as to practice with (changing out nibs, writing with different nibs, tuning nibs, etc.) They had a deal going and a set of 5 pens ended up around $10. And that’s Canadian funds (about $7 U.S.). They’re Jinhao Swan pens. 😄 (Don’t judge me.) Who doesn’t like swans! You wouldn’t use them at the office but they’re perfect for what I need them for. The price certainly was right. 

 

Each set comes with a pouch and individual slots. Pretty cheaply made pouches, one has already separated on its own (they’re perforated, so you can separate them if you want to carry the pens around individually) but sufficient enough to hold the light plastic pens. 

(see pic 1)

 

I bought a set of solid coloured pens, and another of transparent pens. 

(pic 2)

 

The pens are fairly sturdy and the nibs set firmly in place. The solid coloured (though there is a transparent section below the nib, to view the ink) set came with regular fine nibs. 

(pic 3)

 

The transparent set with extra-fine hooded nibs. 

(pic 4)

 

The only thing I wasn’t crazy about is that the section just below the nib where you view the ink, specifically where the threads are, isn’t transparent enough and that is exactly where the converter sits. When you are filling the converter through the nib, you can’t see how much ink has been pulled up into the converter. A definite design flaw. Probably the reason they were going so cheaply!

(pic 5)

 

Each pen comes with its own converter, so that’s a bonus. The big surprise is that they actually write very well. Very smooth, no skipping, even the extra-fine nibs aren’t the least bit scratchy. Not a bad deal at all for a $2 pen. Far better than the plastic Platinum Preppy pen set I bought (that cost considerably more and came with only inked cartridges, no converters).

 

All in all, a satisfactory purchase. 

 

[ParramattaPaul]

I used two pens; a Gravitas Entry and a Conway Stewart Series 58.

[lionelc]

supporting local today - curtis australia brighton harvest, diamine ancient copper

[FlyingClay]

@Faye Slift

 

Interesting!  Thanks for the pics.

 

Sounds like your batting average was better than mine.  I was somewhat impressed with the pen body/barrel on the Jinhao x750's, but the stock M nibs were garbage (scratchy).  I bought a set of EF nibs for them and switched a couple out, but they're pretty bad too.  Not an alignment issue, the tip is actually different thicknesses (when I examined them with the loupe).  On the bright side, I've got a set of pens to practice tuning, grinding and polishing on.  So there's that.

 

On the other hand, the EPAKH pens (also cheap) write extremely well (as good as any of my Safari's and/or TWSBI's, and one of them actually writes better than that).  I was impressed.  They were even cheaper than the Jinhao's.  Again, I bought both sets solely for doing some knock-around ink testing and experimenting with (nibs, etc.) so all in all I wasn't upset.  Both sets cost me a total of $17 bucks (US), all-in, so if they got ran over by a bus tomorrow it would be no tragic loss.  I wasn't planning on taking either out in public anyway.

[OldTravelingShoe]

14 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

The lines are meant to be parallel and distinct, as in not touching each other; where they do make contact are just an artefact of shortcomings in my drawing technique

I see the methodological issue, @A Smug Dill. Relatively to the method you explain here, I am indeed effectively doubling the number of lines, by making them touch in the middle of the block. We should take this into account the next time we are discussing absolute numbers; or I could change the method of counting. 

 

 

Unrelated, but also much appreciated: thank you for the kind words about the drawing 😄

[OldTravelingShoe]

14 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

based on what I see in a loupe with a 0.1mm scale on the transparent base plate

I've been looking for a good optical instrument, and bought several very cheap loupes, one forming a 3cm x 3cm stand with a 10x lens but considerable visual aberration at the sodes (see my Fude pic), and one hand-held BelOMO 10x. 

 

Do you, @A Smug Dill, or does anyone know what would be good lenses for a reasonable budget (say, <100€)?

 

I remember @fpupulin showing amazing magnified pics of Montblanc nibs, but he seems to have used professional gear for botanists. Maybe some cheap digital microscope could be similar - but which? 

[InesF]

This week (and today) I use the Aurora Blue Mamba F, filled with deAtramentis Deepwater Black-Blue.

 

It has this coated nib which fits perfectly in colour with the pen body and also with the ink.

The Aurora 88 Model is an excellent fountain pen (piston filler with ink window) and the stiff nib writes a reliable medium-soft line and deals well with low surface tension inks.

[IlikeInksandIcannotlie]

A Platinum preppy inked with J. Herbin Bleu des Profondeurs, and a Kanwrite Heritage filled with MB MB.

[mallymal1]

On 5/15/2022 at 11:17 AM, OldTravelingShoe said:

TL;DR: A Sailor 1911L with... 🥁

a Naginata Fude nib (21K), inked with Sailor Doyou (black). This pen can draw!

 

Figure 1. The input: a pen looking for ink. 

 

Figure 2. Nib seeking ink. (Punt zoekt inkt, a new series on TV.) 

 

Figure 3. Drink responsibility, nib! (Geniet, maar met mate!) 

 

Figure 4. The first output. Mistakes are the authors, this nib is amazing! 

 

More pics in OldTravelingShoe's Random Pics of Japanese Fountain Pens. 

 

 

What do I like most about this pen? The nib, a proper fude with wide range (from F ~ 12 distinct strokes per 5mm block [spb], to BBB ~ 3 spb), which would not work well without the very wet feed or a less generous angle for the special tip. 

 

 

Ok, must stop now... Too many Dutch references or unrequested details... This pen is... Pure joy!!! 

 

 

 

I take it you quite like this pen? 😁

 

Looks great! Congrats.

[mallymal1]

9 hours ago, AmandaW said:

Today's journal pen was a Pilot Kakuno with a fine nib. The ink is Robert Oster Chicago from a much appreciated sample sent by a forum friend. I first tried the ink in a Slate Grey Pilot Prera with a fine italic nib (from a Plumix) hoping it would be the perfect colour for the pen without the dryness it suffered with a fill of J Herbin Vert de Gris. Sadly, it was just as troublesome. I pull the cartridge (syringe filled with the ink) and popped it in this Kakuno - a nib that hasn't caused me any problems before and, just the same, rather uncomfortably dry. So, that's that, I just crossed R.O. Chicago off my wish list - great colour doesn't make up for a dry writing - I have too many fine and extra fine nibs to feed. Edit to add: So disappointed cos the swatched colour is gorgeous.

 

 

That's a shame...but at least you haven't invested in a full bottle. 👍

[mallymal1]

A Waterman Lara Croft. F nib. Diamine Kensington Blue.

 

 

[mizgeorge]

9 hours ago, AmandaW said:

Today's journal pen was a Pilot Kakuno with a fine nib. The ink is Robert Oster Chicago from a much appreciated sample sent by a forum friend. I first tried the ink in a Slate Grey Pilot Prera with a fine italic nib (from a Plumix) hoping it would be the perfect colour for the pen without the dryness it suffered with a fill of J Herbin Vert de Gris. Sadly, it was just as troublesome. I pull the cartridge (syringe filled with the ink) and popped it in this Kakuno - a nib that hasn't caused me any problems before and, just the same, rather uncomfortably dry. So, that's that, I just crossed R.O. Chicago off my wish list - great colour doesn't make up for a dry writing - I have too many fine and extra fine nibs to feed. Edit to add: So disappointed cos the swatched colour is gorgeous.

 

How strange. I have Chicago in a vintage Kaweco Kadett with a fine nib and a Pilot Plumix with a Penmanship EF, and whilst it isn't the wettest ink I own, it's certainly not dry to the point of being in any way troublesome. I like it a lot.