What pen(s) are you using today?

[InesF]

On 7/5/2022 at 7:30 PM, dms525 said:

Most folks of my generation who learned italic handwriting when teenagers or college students learned using Osmiroid or Platignum pens.  

That's highly interesting news for me, @dms525!

I guess the nib will not be that smooth in the upstroke which, to my experience, will make learning to write italic a bit more effort.

This is based on my own experience in the 1960's when I learned to use my first fountain pen that was exceptionally smooth so that me bumpkin was able to get straight strokes...

 

btw.: it is exactly this (=my original) Pelikano 2 from 1968 that I use today!

 

[InesF]

On 7/5/2022 at 7:47 PM, inkstainedruth said:

The Platinum Classic inks are interesting, being that they are IG inks but in somewhat unusual colors.  I don't have this one, but I like Lavender Black and Forest Black.

Thank you @inkstainedruth for the info.

I searched for it and - surprise 🎉 - it is available in a shop nearby!

+1 ink for my collection that "is big enough". 😇

[inkstainedruth]

7 hours ago, InesF said:

btw.: it is exactly this (=my original) Pelikano 2 from 1968 that I use today!

 

Wow.  Still having (and using) a pen that you grew up using?  That's really cool.  

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[dms525]

7 hours ago, InesF said:

I guess the nib will not be that smooth in the upstroke which, to my experience, will make learning to write italic a bit more effort.

 

Actually, the Osmiroid nibs are extremely smooth. With any square cut nib, usage requires a consistent positioning of the nib on the paper, particularly with respect to rotation of the pen. I have found that people accustomed to writing with ballpoint pens and pencils, this is a somewhat challenging habit to overcome. 

 

David

[inkstainedruth]

I still find that sometimes I roll my fountain pens, even after over a decade of regular use.  It's even worse with the sterling filigree overlay Morrison ringtop -- the tipping was worn to be somewhat an oblique angled nib, so I have to remember to cant the pen at an angle to get it to the sweet spot. 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[PAKMAN]

Indigo GvFC Guilloche

[chromantic]

Tonight, I am using my matte black Hastil. The last time I used it the cart came loose and ink leaked out the spring-pad openings in the barrel. I cleaned it and it's been sitting unused. I thought it might be due to the "shrinking nipple" that plagued early versions but the cart seems to seat pretty firmly so I filled the cart and am giving it another go; so far so good.

 

I also wanted to use it tonight because the matte black slim Targa I ordered Monday was delivered to my work today and I wanted to compare them right away.

[ParramattaPaul]

CS Churchill.

 

[OldTravelingShoe]

A Pilot Custom Urushi, which at first meet I find excellent:

 

This being the first pen I have that even mentions urushi among its finishes, I am wondering if urushi pens can be used as daily writers, or, to the contrary, the risk of damage is just too high...

 

Opinions, comments, suggestions are most welcome. 

[A Smug Dill]

10 minutes ago, OldTravelingShoe said:

This being the first pen I have that even mentions urushi among its finishes, I am wondering if urushi pens can be used as daily writers, or, to the contrary, the risk of damage is just too high...

 

Opinions, comments, suggestions are most welcome. 

 

Urushi is not uncommonly applied to Japanese bowls, plates, chopsticks, etc. so there is no reason to expect urushi to be inherently fragile or overly delicate. I'm pretty sure that type of lacquerware is not mean to be just showpieces to be stowed away behind glass doors on display cabinets, or else there wouldn't have been much of an industry in Japan and elsewhere producing such items.

 

The fact that an urushi-finished pen, and/or especially your pen, is an expensive purchase may well factor into someone's risk assessment, on account of the dimension of impact/consequence, of deploying the pen in particular use cases; but it doesn't change the intrinsic nature of the object in question.

 

If you're prepared to use any other €800 fountain pen as a daily writer, then I don't see why an urushi-finished pen at roughly the same price point would warrant special consideration that sets it apart. Anything with a highly polished finish can pick up micro-scratches that aren't easily for the average user to eradicate, come time to assess the item for resale value.

[OldTravelingShoe]

33 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

Anything with a highly polished finish can pick up micro-scratches that aren't easily for the average user to eradicate, come time to assess the item for resale value.

Thanks for the entire answer, @A Smug Dill. One question derived from your formulation, which I am sure was careful: How difficult and/or expensive would the professional removal or normal scratches be? (So, shifting from average users like me to people who know what they're doing.) 

 

I know that resin and various plastics have clear re-buffing processes and tools, and it seems to me professionals see them as relatively easy-to-use and common. Thus, low cost, high availability of repair services, and quick completion. 

 

Also in my understanding, metallic finishes are a bit more difficult, because dents are more time consuming and error prone to fix than regular scratches but much more visible on a brass, silver, or gold(-plated) pen. Also the tools have less impact per action, e.g., a hammer of soft material takes longer to repair a dent, than a buffer takes to fix a scratch on resin. So, a bit more complex to repair, a bit more time consuming, a bit more expensive. (I may be completely wrong in all these statements.) 

 

But what about urushi? What do professionals think about it? What are the typical repair processes and tools? 

[OldTravelingShoe]

To all, a question: If you had to pick a good black ink for a pen that you care about, to be used together for the next six months in a large project with tens to hundreds of written pages, what would this ink be? 

 

I'm trying to decide on an ink for this Pilot Custom Urushi, M nib. I will have to draw many details and also cross-hatch large structures, and also write both small and large-sized text. I prefer wetter nibs and inks, but here I'm going to also use paper like Moleskine's Workbook (pulpy, very porous) and Leuchtturm 140 gsm (semi-rough and coated), and I'd prefer not to have much feathering. Water-resistant inks are a plus. Some shading would not be bad, but even the lightest shade must be easily legible. 

 

I'm thinking at the moment, in this order:

1. Noodler's Dark Matter - seems good, but not water-resistant. 
2. Noodler's X-Feather - but it's quite pigmented and I'm afraid it's going to clog the feed and I won't know how to clean it. 
3. Noodler's Heart of Darkness - never used it before, but the reviews are raving. May have issues with the Moleskine. 
4. Sailor Kiwa-Guro - never used it, but seems to me a (micro-)pigmented ink that you can flush away easily. 
5. Sailor Do-you - this one I'm convinced will do a good job and keep flowing (and lubricating). 
6. Pilot Take-Sumi - love this ink, but its water resistance seems just too low to consider. What if I spill even a drop of coffee? 
7. Pelikan 4001 Black - never used it, but heard good things about it and it's cousins Brilliant Brown, Royal Blue, etc. are wonderful. Same concerns about water resistance as for the Take-Sumi.
8. Platinum Carbon ink - fantastic ink, but how do I clean it after six months?! Are there strong enough but safe cleaning fluids, e.g., the Rohrer and Klingner Reiniger? 

I'll stop here; eight is a round number in my world. 

 

I would appreciate your replies, especially today, when I'll take my decision and hope not to revisit. Do you have other suggestions? They're most welcome. 

 

Thanks, everyone. 

 

Update: I've cross-posted this also in the inky section of the forum, so we do not put in this thread too much off-topic info.:

 

Edited July 9, 2022 by OldTravelingShoe
Made a request for help in the proper thread, to minimize off-topic content here.

[A Smug Dill]

18 minutes ago, OldTravelingShoe said:

One question derived from your formulation, which I am sure was careful: How difficult and/or expensive would the professional removal or normal scratches be?

 

I don't know. I used my urushi-finished Pilot ‘Hannya Shingyo’ — my most-prized fountain pen, even if it is now no longer the one that cost me the most price-wise in my fleet — a lot in the early days, and never truly worries about whether it's going to pick up micro-scratches and such through normal wear and tear, because that isn't a pen I foresee parting with, at least not before I get to the point (dead or alive) when I can no longer use any pen.

 

18 minutes ago, OldTravelingShoe said:

I know that resin and various plastics have clear re-buffing processes and tools, and it seems to me professionals see them as relatively easy-to-use and common.

 

I have some of the plastic polishing and buffing liquid products here, and they are useful in removing quite of bit of the micro-scratches; but I don't know how to restore a mirror finish, especially on a curved surface such as a pen barrel, and I have absolutely no clue as to how easy (or how costly) it would be to do so by engaging professional help.

 

18 minutes ago, OldTravelingShoe said:

Also in my understanding, metallic finishes are a bit more difficult, because dents are more time consuming and error prone to fix than regular scratches but much more visible on a brass, silver, or gold(-plated) pen.

 

Personally I'd be less worried about dents, than scratches that mar either mirror finishes, or brushed or matt finishes on metal. Scratches and marks on my Diplomat Excellence A2 Oxyd Brass and Pilot Capless matt black Vanishing Point pens, for example, appear smoother and shinier than the areas around them, and that's the real issue. Not that they're expensive pens; but I'm sure you get my point.

 

18 minutes ago, OldTravelingShoe said:

But what about urushi? What do professionals think about it? What are the typical repair processes and tools? 

 

I'd like to know too; although my two ostensibly urushi-finished pens (the Pilot ‘Hannya Shingyo’, and a Platinum Izumo Akatame) don't really worry me that much. (I can't remember whether the lacquer on Pilot Capless Raden pens is urushi or not.)

 

2 minutes ago, OldTravelingShoe said:

To all, a question: If you had to pick a good black ink for a pen that you care about, to be used together for the next six months in a large project with tens to hundreds of written pages, what would this ink be? 

 

I'm trying to decide on an ink for this Pilot Custom Urushi, M nib.  …‹snip›…

Platinum Carbon ink - fantastic ink, but how do I clean it after six months?! Are there strong enough but safe cleaning fluids, e.g., the Rohrer and Klingner Reiniger?

 

I used Platinum Carbon Black ink in my Pilot ‘Hannya Shingyo’ for (≥6) months on end, back in the day. Never caused a problem.

[OldTravelingShoe]

13 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

Personally I'd be less worried about dents, than scratches that mar either mirror finishes, or brushed or matt finishes on metal. Scratches and marks on my Diplomat Excellence A2 Oxyd Brass and Pilot Capless matt black Vanishing Point pens, for example, appear smoother and shinier than the areas around them, and that's the real issue.

I see. I surely get the point, I've had a recent experience with the ensso Piuma in titanium, which... scratched in less than two weeks of (careful) use. The scratches are indeed simply different from the areas around them, catching and reflecting light in remarkable ways. But it's this remarkable that, both per definition and in practice, we notice. Hmmm... 

[OldTravelingShoe]

16 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

used Platinum Carbon Black ink in my Pilot ‘Hannya Shingyo’ for (≥6) months on end, back in the day. Never caused a problem.

Same experience here, but in my sketching pens, with notably long periods of alternating use and non-use in my Lamy Joy pen. (Recommended by Liz Steel, in her blogs about urban sketching.) 

 

But also I have to figure out how to clean, if I want to do it thoroughly - do you use iterations of cleaner fluid and ultra-sonic cleaner until pigment is no longer showing? I'm not picky about cleaning for normal use, but I prefer the pen to be crystal clean when I store it away. 

[A Smug Dill]

2 hours ago, OldTravelingShoe said:

But also I have to figure out how to clean, if I want to do it thoroughly - do you use iterations of cleaner fluid and ultra-sonic cleaner until pigment is no longer showing?

 

The friction-fit nibs and feeds in Pilot pen models in the Custom product line, at least those with size no.5 and size no.10 nibs, can be easily pulled out of the section in my experience, if you want to take things that far for cleaning.

 

Otherwise, I long soak the entire section in room temperature or lukewarm water to dissolve whatever would dissolve from the (most likely uneven) exterior surfaces of any globs, to reduce the likelihood of pigment particles being held tightly together; then an ultrasonic cleaning cycle, to break up any clustering and shake loose the pigment particles; then use a bulb syringe to first suck water in via the nib and feed back up through the length of the section, which will hopefully dislodge and remove particles that may have built up near the ‘nipple’ end of the feed, before flushing 30–60ml of pressurised, clean water from a bulb syringe through the nipple out the nib and feed. I might repeat the flushing part several times, but I don't usually need multiple cleaning cycles in the ultrasonic cleaner.

 

Now, you'd probably want to avoid soaking urushi-finished pieces, so better check that the gripping section on the Pilot Custom Urushi is just resin and not also finished with urushi.

 

If you see stubborn remnants of Platinum Carbon Black ink inside a converter after soaking, ultrasonic cleaning and flushing, then — in my experience — commercial pen cleaning fluid won't remove them either; you'd have to apply mild abrasion, such as with a q-tip, directly against the black marks. You're not likely to see/spot such marks inside the gripping section or on the feed, though; and, if they're indeed present without being seen, the pigment particles held therein aren't likely to just come loose in the course of the pen being used after refilling with ink.

 

2 hours ago, OldTravelingShoe said:

The scratches are indeed simply different from the areas around them, catching and reflecting light in remarkable ways. But it's this remarkable that, both per definition and in practice, we notice. Hmmm... 

 

Ah, and how computer vision works.

[Vintage_BE]

A Swan 1060 which I was told is a “wartime” (1939-1945) model. The fine tipped nib of this pen is one of the very best that I have ever tried. And I have tried a rather large number of nibs. 

[essayfaire]

11 hours ago, Vintage_BE said:

A Swan 1060 which I was told is a “wartime” (1939-1945) model. The fine tipped nib of this pen is one of the very best that I have ever tried. And I have tried a rather large number of nibs. 

That's a handsome pen!  The nib looks unusually long and thin for the time, too.

[OldTravelingShoe]

18 hours ago, Vintage_BE said:

A Swan 1060 which I was told is a “wartime” (1939-1945) model. The fine tipped nib of this pen is one of the very best that I have ever tried. And I have tried a rather large number of nibs. 

Very nice pen, @Vintage_BE, thank you for sharing!

 

Because I have a similar 1060, I can observe the better how good your calligraphic skills are - excellent, from my vantage, albeit amateur, point. Wonderful! 

[PithyProlix]

19 hours ago, Vintage_BE said:

A Swan 1060 which I was told is a “wartime” (1939-1945) model. The fine tipped nib of this pen is one of the very best that I have ever tried. And I have tried a rather large number of nibs. 

 

Really beautiful penmanship.