The reason the Metropolitan is a big deal in North America is because it's a great pen for its price. In Japan, the Cocoon is a lot more expensive and there's a lot more competition from Platinum, Sailor, and even other Pilot pens. On the flip side, it means that Japanese buyers have a lot more options for entry level pens.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Fountain Pens 2k16
- Thread starter Bagels
- Start date
I've reached to point in my ink buying where I'm trying to stretch a little further afield. I'm certainly not jaded about Iroshizukus and J. Herbin 1670 Anniversaries - great ink is great ink, and it will always make me happy to put beautiful inks down on paper. But there's a lot of fun to be had in the search for the next great ink!
I have a bottle of P.W. Akkerman "Shocking Blue" ink on the way from Vanness Pen Shop! Look at this bottle!
PW Akkerman is a storied Dutch stationery store. They started making their own inks to celebrate their 100th anniversary. You can see the results on the Vanness website. I'm super excited to try Shocking Blue! I'll let you know what I think!
A few years back, I remember finding the name of a Japanese man who would ship things like Sailor Jentle Yama-dori (still a favorite!) to the US. Shortly thereafter, Sailor started sending their inks to US outlets like Jetpens (and more Sailor Jentle ink colors are coming out, by the way!). It's a wonderful development, but it means I need to try a little harder to stay on the CUTTING EDGE of the world of EXOTIC INKS. I know you expect me to keep my finger on the pulse of the ink world and I am more than willing to put up with the fact that it means my hands are always covered in ink to bring you this service.
Are there any unusual/rare/small manufacturer inks you love? Anything you are dying to get your hands on?
I fucking love ink.
I have a bottle of P.W. Akkerman "Shocking Blue" ink on the way from Vanness Pen Shop! Look at this bottle!
PW Akkerman is a storied Dutch stationery store. They started making their own inks to celebrate their 100th anniversary. You can see the results on the Vanness website. I'm super excited to try Shocking Blue! I'll let you know what I think!
A few years back, I remember finding the name of a Japanese man who would ship things like Sailor Jentle Yama-dori (still a favorite!) to the US. Shortly thereafter, Sailor started sending their inks to US outlets like Jetpens (and more Sailor Jentle ink colors are coming out, by the way!). It's a wonderful development, but it means I need to try a little harder to stay on the CUTTING EDGE of the world of EXOTIC INKS. I know you expect me to keep my finger on the pulse of the ink world and I am more than willing to put up with the fact that it means my hands are always covered in ink to bring you this service.
Are there any unusual/rare/small manufacturer inks you love? Anything you are dying to get your hands on?
I fucking love ink.
Funyarinpa
Member
I have a bottle of P.W. Akkerman "Shocking Blue" ink on the way from Vanness Pen Shop! Look at this bottle!
the sticker on that bottle is misaligned with the vertical lines on the bottle and that's bothering me much more than it should.
the sticker on that bottle is misaligned with the vertical lines on the bottle and that's bothering me much more than it should.
Now I can't unsee it. Dammit.
Inks are awesome, but I only just started buying them, so I don't have too much to share. However, there is the story of Private Reserve. It's a popular line of inks that was made by just one guy (like Noodler's, De Atramentis, and Organics Studio). Well, what happened is that that one guy, Terry Johnson, died in 2013, and he didn't leave behind full recipes of his inks! Private Reserve still sells inks, but they've had quality issues, and there have been cases of mold. And so, a lot of dealers who carried their products don't any more, and it's getting pretty hard to find. I had my eye on Private Reserve Spearmint, but had more or less given up on finding any at a decent price so I started looking for alternate inks. As it happened, I strolled into my local pen store, and they carry it!
It's really a great privilege to have a local store where you can just pop in and ask questions and try the feel of different pens.
Two possibly goofy questions, tangentially related to FP's
1. Is there any place that sells like a rack or box to store inks in? Just curious. There's a picture of one on the J. Herbin site but I don't see it listed anywhere for purchase.
2. Any recommendations on sites/books/whatever to help improve on overall handwriting? Not calligraphy necessarily, just like every day stuff. Being a doctor, my handwriting is inherently terrible
1. Is there any place that sells like a rack or box to store inks in? Just curious. There's a picture of one on the J. Herbin site but I don't see it listed anywhere for purchase.
2. Any recommendations on sites/books/whatever to help improve on overall handwriting? Not calligraphy necessarily, just like every day stuff. Being a doctor, my handwriting is inherently terrible
Two possibly goofy questions, tangentially related to FP's
2. Any recommendations on sites/books/whatever to help improve on overall handwriting? Not calligraphy necessarily, just like every day stuff. Being a doctor, my handwriting is inherently terrible
Check out the free books at iampeth.
Fountain Pen Network has a whole subforum dedicated to handwriting so you can check it out: http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/forum/148-handwriting-handwriting-improvement/2. Any recommendations on sites/books/whatever to help improve on overall handwriting? Not calligraphy necessarily, just like every day stuff. Being a doctor, my handwriting is inherently terrible
smokey5604
Neo Member
Hey, sorry if this has been answered 100 different times but I was wondering what would be a good intro pen for someone that logs a lot of information in journals all day? Something with a fine tip preferably. I checked the pens out in the OP but can't decide which one is right for me
If you do a lot of writing, comfort is going to be a big deal. For most people, the most comfortable pen is going to be one which is light and has a relatively large grip section, but it's going to differ somewhat from person to person. If you can, you should try out the feel of a bunch of starter pens at a pen store. If you can't then you should stick with one of the most common starter pens:Hey, sorry if this has been answered 100 different times but I was wondering what would be a good intro pen for someone that logs a lot of information in journals all day? Something with a fine tip preferably. I checked the pens out in the OP but can't decide which one is right for me
Pilot Metropolitan
Lamy Safari
Platinum Preppy
TWSBI Eco
Kaweco Sport
Of these, the Metropolitan is probably the best buy in North America and less price efficient elsewhere in the world. If you want to go with a Safari, bear in mind that it has a triangular grip section that most people like, but that some people hate it.
Personally, I've found long writing sessions with a fountain pen are a lot easier to do, and less fatiguing, than using a ballpoint or rollerball.
smokey5604
Neo Member
Thanks for taking the time to reply, I'll try out the Metropolitan then. Thanks again!
I'm planning to pop into my local pen shop for some Eclat de Saphir - are there any other cool inks to check out? I'm good for green, black, and brown, but everything else is welcome!
No problem. The Metro is a great pen, so enjoy! Note though that it comes with a basic converter, so you can jump right into bottled ink if you want to.
If you write a lot you might want to consider getting a preppy and converting it to an eyedropper since it will hold a lot of ink.Hey, sorry if this has been answered 100 different times but I was wondering what would be a good intro pen for someone that logs a lot of information in journals all day? Something with a fine tip preferably. I checked the pens out in the OP but can't decide which one is right for me
If ink capacity is a major issue, the TWSBI Eco would be a better choice. It can hold 1.76mL of ink without all of the issues and considerations that come with an eyedropper conversion. That seems to be more suited for someone with more experience with fountain pens.
Bitmap Frogs
Mr. Community
Hey!
Joined the club (or rather rejoined). Long story short I need to take notes for my work and I can't even understand my ballpoint handwriting.
Cool trick: because the euro metropolitan supports the standard, you can use other companies adapters! Well, in theory. In practice I found a Waterman piston that fits like a glove (other ones not so much).
I wish I had a pen shop nearby. I went into an art store the other day and asked about fountain pens and the girl looked at me like I was speaking an alien language.
Cool stuff! I've had a bunch of problems using a ballpoint since I switched to fountain pens. Admittedly I also changed the way I held pens in the process.
Hey!
Joined the club (or rather rejoined). Long story short I need to take notes for my work and I can't even understand my ballpoint handwriting.
It's a pretty great experience to try out different pens before buying them. It's also nice to walk out again with a bunch of stuff instead of waiting for a courier for who knows how long. I ended up picking up Diamine Marine and Eclat de Saphir, and a TWSBI Eco.
The Eco is a surprisingly great pen! I've heard of all sorts of quality issues with other TWSBI pens, but these seem to be all resolved for the Eco so it might be the best pen in their collection. This is also the first stub nib I've tried other than the Plumix and the Parallel, and the experience is quite different. The Eco, and most other italic nibs, have a flat nib that's rounded off for a more comfortable stroke whereas the Pilot pens have a very sharply cut nib. The sharp cut is close to a true italic and it makes for very distinctive looking stokes, but they can also cut into the paper, making the experience a lot less smooth.
Funyarinpa
Member
...I didn't need to know these existed ;_;
Bitmap Frogs
Mr. Community
I have one in my city (founded in 1938 no less) but they only stock pens, their ink selection is pitiful and they have no paper.
They are some of the best pens I own. I love them.
I also have a pen shop in my city, however they are way overprice for what i can purchase online.
https://www.bromfieldpenshop.com/
I miss Japan, the penshops there are so good and awesome. Its impossible to find a pencil/pen case worth a damn in America. There is a cheap department store in Kasukabe, Japan that has a rather small (compared to other Japanese department store) pen/stationary section that would put Staples to shame.
Well that seems silly, you'd think those things would be natural extensions of their inventory. Maybe they tried it before and they weren't selling?
I'm still jealous
Question for you - what inks show up the nicest in the clear barrel? I tried Private Reserve Spearmint, but it just looked black. I've switched it to Diamine Marine, but and it was still pretty dark. Right now it's 1/3 full and it looks great, but I'm interested in an ink that will look great completely full.
I think that what's happening is that that store caters to an older professional clientele who don't really write with the pens they collect. A lot of storied pen manufacturers have been trying to corner more and more of their old customer base and eliminated many of their entry level offerings. If that store did the same thing, it's a real bummer, but it would explain the lack of a non-pen selection. I'm just lucky that my local store is dedicated to people who write, so they have a great selection of everything.Well that seems silly, you'd think those things would be natural extensions of their inventory. Maybe they tried it before and they weren't selling?
I'm still jealous
I pretty much use noodler's ink, blue and black. Im not too picky with my ink. I have used Lamy's ink in the past but wasn't too thrilled with it.
oh and i thought i'd post a writing sample of mine.
Any Questions
Member
I must admit that in really do enjoy catching up with this thread. I treated myself to a Lammy 2000 set including fountain, ball point and pencil. I use them every day in the office. I opted for the medium nib. Love love love the Lammy. The ink reserve is huge and the way you fill it is really cleaver. Plus it writes so well. A genuine joy.
Going to toy around with a with a new colour as my main. Thinking a dark green however not sure yet. A pen shop would be handy and a good idea. Am confident there will be one on London somewhere.
Will let you know when in find out myself. As an aside what colour is your primary writing colour, and that's an open question to anybody on this thread. It would be interesting to know.
Happy writing folks.
Going to toy around with a with a new colour as my main. Thinking a dark green however not sure yet. A pen shop would be handy and a good idea. Am confident there will be one on London somewhere.
Will let you know when in find out myself. As an aside what colour is your primary writing colour, and that's an open question to anybody on this thread. It would be interesting to know.
Happy writing folks.
I'll be at the Ohio Pen Show (runs Nov 10-13, Columbus, Ohio) in two weeks! I've never been to a pen show, so this should be a good time. This is a great chance to learn about pens, see what is available, see antique pens, get your pens fixed or tuned up, have nibs reground, and snag some special pens and inks. I'm excited to see if Franklin-Christoph brings any of their more rarely produced offerings. I'll arrive Friday the 11th and attend the show on Saturday the 12th. It's $5/day to attend the show. If anyone is in the area or is planning on attending, we can have a little Fountain Pen GAF meetup!
I've got to get me one of those one of these days. The hard part is finding the right nib size as I haven't played much with German nibs yet. I guess I'll have to make do with a TWSBI Eco until then.
I'm still very much in the experimenting stage, but my go-to colors have mostly been blue. Of the ones I've tried, Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-peki is my favorite, but I've got Diamine Majestic Blue and Marine for different occasions, and I'm dying to try out that Eclat de Saphir I picked up.
Blacks may be boring to some people, but they're pretty useful as well. I was gifted a vintage Sheaffer Imperial with a nifty Triumph nib and the unusual Touchdown filling mechanism. Aurora Black gives the pen a very classy look, and it's pretty easy on maintenance as well. Noodler's X-Feather is great for really bad paper and for writing that has to be waterproof.
I can't say that there's any one ink or pen I stick to simply because I love the sheer variety of it all!
FlutterPuffs
Member
I actually have a MeisterStruck Montblanc Diamond that I got as a gift but I don't know what to do with it. Tried to sell it online but there's virtually no interest. Anyone know where's the best place I can trade it away?
Any Questions
Member
I really like the medium nib, but you have to appreciate that the ink flows so well that you do get that medium size. You can write very neatly and relatively small however your not going to get anything like fine. I am very happy with this and it suits me nicely.
Am happy with my black but really looking for something which I can use every day, however isn't the usual blue or black. So I am thinking dark green or a play on blue. Will see
It's Fountain Pen day! I just got a Lamy Safari and I'd like to love it more than I do. It had a misaligned nib, and I had to fight with it before it would write properly. It can write pretty well now, but the odd stroke will still be scratchy. It seems like the Metropolitan really is the best starter pen out there.
I also got in a Pilot Elite, and it's pretty awesome! I love the way it looks and how compact it is when closed. Even though it has an extra-fine nib, it feels extremely smooth and fun to write with. The question is whether I should wait for my next few orders to come in, or to buy more pens today!
I also got in a Pilot Elite, and it's pretty awesome! I love the way it looks and how compact it is when closed. Even though it has an extra-fine nib, it feels extremely smooth and fun to write with. The question is whether I should wait for my next few orders to come in, or to buy more pens today!
Your best bet is to check out the buying/selling forum on Fountain Pen network. You may get lucky and find someone who wants to add that specific pen to their collection.
I'm still really experimental right now so I bought my Safari in bold even though I don't think that size suits my writing.
There's a lot of really nifty inks in that dark green area. The ones I've heard talk about are Diamine Sherwood Green, Diamine Green Black, and Rohrer and Klingner Verdigris.
Any Questions
Member
Cheers. That Sherwood green looks good.
perfect free
Member
It might be a little showy, but the green I'm in love with right now is Sailor Tokiwa-Matsu. Lovely pine color and it has this amazing red/brown sheen that I can't get enough of. (It's muted here because lol Moleskine notebook.)
Petit Melon
Member
This thread awakened a monster in me. Also have a bottle of the Fuyu-syogun, Apache Sunset, and Diamine Hope Pink coming in. @_@ Thanks for the great OP to start me in on madness.
Funyarinpa
Member
There's this big dent in my AL-Star. ;_;
It still looks lovely. What a pen (the very best pen I have ever used).
It still looks lovely. What a pen (the very best pen I have ever used).
Bitmap Frogs
Mr. Community
What's the difference between the al star and the safari?
Tokiwa-Matsu is definitely going to be my next Sailor ink! But do I really need three different green inks?It might be a little showy, but the green I'm in love with right now is Sailor Tokiwa-Matsu. Lovely pine color and it has this amazing red/brown sheen that I can't get enough of. (It's muted here because lol Moleskine notebook.)
Yes, of course.
They're exactly the same design, but the Al-Star has an aluminum body and cap while the Safari is made of plastic.
Duebrithil
Member
Okay, so after less than ideal first try (whenever I needed to use ink the FP wouldn't write at all) I want to give fountain pens a proper second chance. A little bit of additional information: I mostly write using a mechanical pencil (Pentel Technica-X 0.5) and when I do have to use ink my instrument of choice is a Pilot G-2 07 (gotta love that pen!). I'd say my writing is fairly small, with capital letters no taller than 0.5cm. Knowing this:
1) Would a fountain pen be a viable option or is my sporadic use of ink more suitable for a regular pen?
2) What fountain pen/nib size would you recommend? I've mainly looked at Pilot Metropolitan M or Lamy Safari F.
3) Does the Pilot CON-50 fit only Pilot fountain pens or can it be fitted into other manufacturer's FP?
Thank you
1) Would a fountain pen be a viable option or is my sporadic use of ink more suitable for a regular pen?
2) What fountain pen/nib size would you recommend? I've mainly looked at Pilot Metropolitan M or Lamy Safari F.
3) Does the Pilot CON-50 fit only Pilot fountain pens or can it be fitted into other manufacturer's FP?
Thank you
Okay, so after less than ideal first try (whenever I needed to use ink the FP wouldn't write at all) I want to give fountain pens a proper second chance. A little bit of additional information: I mostly write using a mechanical pencil (Pentel Technica-X 0.5) and when I do have to use ink my instrument of choice is a Pilot G-2 07 (gotta love that pen!). I'd say my writing is fairly small, with capital letters no taller than 0.5cm. Knowing this:
1) Would a fountain pen be a viable option or is my sporadic use of ink more suitable for a regular pen?
2) What fountain pen/nib size would you recommend? I've mainly looked at Pilot Metropolitan M or Lamy Safari F.
3) Does the Pilot CON-50 fit only Pilot fountain pens or can it be fitted into other manufacturer's FP?
Thank you
1.) Can't hurt to just try
2.) I have small handwriting and I live the Pilot F nibs. The M ones I find already slightly to big for my taste. The TWSBY F is also good though slightly broader than the Pilot ones.
3.) As far es know, no, the don't.
woo and indeed hoo
Banned
I don't see why a fountain pen shouldn't fit your use case. You could do worse than use a disposable fountain pen for awhile to see how it suits you. For example:
That would be my recommendation since it fits all your criteria and would probably bring your further along in your thinking to then make your initial purchase of a 'proper' fountain pen easier given that you would have more of an idea of what does and does not suit you.
Incidentally, fountain pens can by gently manipulated e.g. rolled, shaken in the hand to encourage ink flow although I don't find the need to do this with the above V Pen. I have several fountain pens now so do not use the V Pen that often but it still writes when I need it to. What was the fountain pen you mention that wouldn't write at all, if you don't mind me asking?
With respect to nib size:
Like you I generally have small writing although this can vary with the nib size. I've tried to keep it all small for you in this so that you more easily compare them though and see what would suit you better. Despite writing small I generally prefer a broad nib but for you a Japanese e.g. Pilot, medium or fine, or a European e.g. Lamy, fine or very fine might suit you best, as you suspect. That Herbin was an impulse purchase from Bureau Direct as it was cheap and cute and the talk on here about green ink got me wanting some! It's a very fine nib [for me] and I'm not entirely sure what I think of it yet. I suspect it will favour better quality paper.
I also just treated myself to a Pilot Kakuno for the smiley face nib! From my googling about a converter for it yesterday it seems that Pilot is one of those manufacturers that uses proprietary connections so you might be out of luck with it fitting other manufacturer's pens. I might well be wrong though as I struggled to really get to the bottom of it all yesterday.
That would be my recommendation since it fits all your criteria and would probably bring your further along in your thinking to then make your initial purchase of a 'proper' fountain pen easier given that you would have more of an idea of what does and does not suit you.
Incidentally, fountain pens can by gently manipulated e.g. rolled, shaken in the hand to encourage ink flow although I don't find the need to do this with the above V Pen. I have several fountain pens now so do not use the V Pen that often but it still writes when I need it to. What was the fountain pen you mention that wouldn't write at all, if you don't mind me asking?
With respect to nib size:
Like you I generally have small writing although this can vary with the nib size. I've tried to keep it all small for you in this so that you more easily compare them though and see what would suit you better. Despite writing small I generally prefer a broad nib but for you a Japanese e.g. Pilot, medium or fine, or a European e.g. Lamy, fine or very fine might suit you best, as you suspect
. That Herbin was an impulse purchase from Bureau Direct as it was cheap and cute and the talk on here about green ink got me wanting some! It's a very fine nib [for me] and I'm not entirely sure what I think of it yet. I suspect it will favour better quality paper.I also just treated myself to a Pilot Kakuno for the smiley face nib! From my googling about a converter for it yesterday it seems that Pilot is one of those manufacturers that uses proprietary connections so you might be out of luck with it fitting other manufacturer's pens. I might well be wrong though as I struggled to really get to the bottom of it all yesterday.
Okay, so after less than ideal first try (whenever I needed to use ink the FP wouldn't write at all) I want to give fountain pens a proper second chance. A little bit of additional information: I mostly write using a mechanical pencil (Pentel Technica-X 0.5) and when I do have to use ink my instrument of choice is a Pilot G-2 07 (gotta love that pen!). I'd say my writing is fairly small, with capital letters no taller than 0.5cm. Knowing this:
1) Would a fountain pen be a viable option or is my sporadic use of ink more suitable for a regular pen?
2) What fountain pen/nib size would you recommend? I've mainly looked at Pilot Metropolitan M or Lamy Safari F.
3) Does the Pilot CON-50 fit only Pilot fountain pens or can it be fitted into other manufacturer's FP?
Thank you
It really depends on what kind of paper you're writing on, and how you're going to be using pens. I find that it got a lot more fun to write after switching to fountain pens, so picking up a disposable or another cheap pen is a great place to start.
Check out the Goulet Pens Nib Nook. It conveniently lists a lot of different pens and nibs and shows you how broad they all are (on good quality paper). Even better for you, they have the Pilot G2 rollerball included in the tool. I'd say that the Pilot medium nibs will come pretty close to that size while Lamy Extra fines will be fairly close. Do note though that different papers will perform differently, so if your paper is very water absorbent, the line width will be larger as well.
Pilot converters are proprietary and will only work with Pilot pens. Also note that there are a few Pilot pens that are incompatible with the CON-50: the Elite, the E95S, and the European MR pens. The Elite/E95S only work with the CON-20 and CON-40 while the MR pens use standard international cartridges and converters.3) Does the Pilot CON-50 fit only Pilot fountain pens or can it be fitted into other manufacturer's FP?
Thank you
Duebrithil
Member
Thank you all for your responses, I'll take them all into consideration when the time comes to make the purchase.
Also that Nib Nook is amazing! Completely missed it when I checked Goulet Pens' website.
Also that Nib Nook is amazing! Completely missed it when I checked Goulet Pens' website.
That sounds fun! I'm in Akron and didn't realize this was going on. I just may run down there and check it out!
woo and indeed hoo
Banned
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00NVFMK6I/
As I type this it is priced at £8.98!
EDIT: This is a nice ink so I'm pretty pleased at that, especially since I bought three bottles to get free postage! *cough* Normally anything glittery or sparkly like this makes me want to vomit but I like it here and I like the shade of grey irrespective of that. Next stop, Emerald of Chivor, om nom nom. Oh and it's a lovely, smooth writing ink too. It looks a bit bling for my tastes in my Lamy Vista but you don't look at the mantle piece when you're poking the fire.
.....or something *cough*.
As I type this it is priced at £8.98!
EDIT: This is a nice ink so I'm pretty pleased at that, especially since I bought three bottles to get free postage! *cough* Normally anything glittery or sparkly like this makes me want to vomit but I like it here and I like the shade of grey irrespective of that. Next stop, Emerald of Chivor, om nom nom. Oh and it's a lovely, smooth writing ink too. It looks a bit bling for my tastes in my Lamy Vista but you don't look at the mantle piece when you're poking the fire.
.....or something *cough*.
Bitmap Frogs
Mr. Community
I am now convinced there's no way to fill a pen without getting some ink in you.
Anyways, bought the HoboTecho from that uk shop... and because they wanted to charge me for shipping I also tossed in a couple of J Herbin anniversary inks so they'd waive away the shipping charge.
Anyways, bought the HoboTecho from that uk shop... and because they wanted to charge me for shipping I also tossed in a couple of J Herbin anniversary inks so they'd waive away the shipping charge.
I just picked up a Platinum Century 3776 in Chatres Blue, and it's not quite what I expected. Platinum's gold nibs have a reputation of being pretty stiff and featuring a fair bit of feedback as opposed to other companies' gold nibs. I was expecting the pen to be a little less forgiving and feeling less smooth as a result, but the thing absolutely writes like a dream. Its sensitivity to paper makes it feel like I have more control than other pens, and the overall feel is extremely smooth and pleasant to write with. So far, it's the best writing experience I've had with fountain pens - even better than my Sailor Pro Gear. If you're in the market for an entry-level gold nibbed pen, I heartily recommend it.
On a slightly different note (and on the other end of the price spectrum), I've been playing around with a Hero 616. It's a very cheap Chinese knockoff of the classic Parker 51, with the hidden nib and the aeromatic filler. It actually writes very nicely, and it's fun to use, but the damned section leaks! I'm always hesitant to reach for this pen because it's guaranteed to cause a mess. Does anyone know of any other Parker 51 knockoff that has slightly better build quality?
I've already ordered a bunch of Hero 616 Jumbos in the hopes that they will work out better, and I intend to switch to a thicker ink and use some silicone grease on the threads to see if it'll help.
On a slightly different note (and on the other end of the price spectrum), I've been playing around with a Hero 616. It's a very cheap Chinese knockoff of the classic Parker 51, with the hidden nib and the aeromatic filler. It actually writes very nicely, and it's fun to use, but the damned section leaks! I'm always hesitant to reach for this pen because it's guaranteed to cause a mess. Does anyone know of any other Parker 51 knockoff that has slightly better build quality?
I've already ordered a bunch of Hero 616 Jumbos in the hopes that they will work out better, and I intend to switch to a thicker ink and use some silicone grease on the threads to see if it'll help.
perfect free
Member
Got this in my email from Goulet Pens today. I may have drooled a little before I caught myself.
Metro in 1.0mm stub! I don't need it but that hasn't stopped me yet, so I'm probably going to get one. (The image says "now available" but they're actually coming soon, according to the email.)
Metro in 1.0mm stub! I don't need it but that hasn't stopped me yet, so I'm probably going to get one. (The image says "now available" but they're actually coming soon, according to the email.)
It's about time. It's obvious that there's a fair bit of demand for inexpensive stub pens, and the Metropolitan is probably the most popular entry pen in North America. I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up cannibalizing sales of the Plumix though.