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[woo and indeed hoo]

Normally, if the tines are aligned properly they will be even with each other. When they're misaligned, one will be above the other when looking at them head on. What you want to do is to use your fingernail to nudge the one that's down - pushing away from the feed. Here's a video with some tips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YRnN99412o

Many thanks for the link I'll give it a look.

I sort of want to like Lamy, but nothing's really doing it for me outside of the Safari family and the regular 2000. This is especially true of their expensive pens; the steel 2000 is a joke, the Dialog 3 looks like a clunky and expensive Fermo, and the Imporium seems like crazy money for what it delivers. They've got a long way to go before they're going to be able to position themselves as a true luxury brand. I suspect that pressure from TWSBI and the Japanese companies are pushing them into this direction.

Well at least you like two of their range. That's two more than many pen manufacturers I could name, for me .

 

[4Tran]

Well at least you like two of their range. That's two more than many pen manufacturers I could name, for me .

Honestly, Lamy is a pretty good pen manufacturer. It's just that their luxury products aren't as luxurious as I'd expect them to be. Heck, they're all cartridge/converters. That's one thing if you're a Japanese pen that has a ton of luxury features and a very competitive price, but Lamy's competing more directly with the likes of Pelikan. And when the Imporium costs as much or more than a Pelikan M600, that's a rough spot to be in.

Or take the Dialog 3. It's got a cool retracting mechanism which would be a nice selling point in most situations. But this is a market where the Vanishing Point exists. The Vanishing Point comes in multiple form factors, has tons of cool colors and special editions, is probably a better pen overall, and it's about a third the price!

In contrast to the luxury pens, the Lamy 2000 is a fantastic pen; both in terms of its price point and in terms of featureset. Lamy should be aspiring to reproduce the success of this product, but they've been moving away from that market instead.

 

[Jake.]

i realise it isn't a fountain pen, but the zebra f701 is my favourite writing instrument - is there something similar? i feel like changing my writing to accommodate a fountain pen may be too annoying for me though.

 

[4Tran]

i realise it isn't a fountain pen, but the zebra f701 is my favourite writing instrument - is there something similar? i feel like changing my writing to accommodate a fountain pen may be too annoying for me though.

I don't think that you'd have to change your writing by too much just to work in fountain pens. All you have to do is to put less pressure on the nib while writing. It was a lot easier for me to adjust than I expected.

As far as recommendations go, the standard ones apply: Platinum Preppy & Pilot Varsity/V-Pen are good cheap starters, Pilot Metropolitan is the king of entry level pens, and if you use a standard 3-point grip the Lamy Safari and TWSBI Eco are good choices. Zebra does make a beginner fountain pen as well in the V-301, but that is not a well regarded pen.

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

Honestly, Lamy is a pretty good pen manufacturer. It's just that their luxury products aren't as luxurious as I'd expect them to be. Heck, they're all cartridge/converters. That's one thing if you're a Japanese pen that has a ton of luxury features and a very competitive price, but Lamy's competing more directly with the likes of Pelikan. And when the Imporium costs as much or more than a Pelikan M600, that's a rough spot to be in.

Or take the Dialog 3. It's got a cool retracting mechanism which would be a nice selling point in most situations. But this is a market where the Vanishing Point exists. The Vanishing Point comes in multiple form factors, has tons of cool colors and special editions, is probably a better pen overall, and it's about a third the price!

In contrast to the luxury pens, the Lamy 2000 is a fantastic pen; both in terms of its price point and in terms of featureset. Lamy should be aspiring to reproduce the success of this product, but they've been moving away from that market instead.

I would not disagree with anything you say but now that you've mentioned the Pelikan M600 I have another lovely looking pen to add to my wishlist. Chatting with you in here is proving hazardous to my bank balance! Seriously though I have realised that I need to narrow down my wishlist rather than just seeing a new pretty and saying 'i wants it!'. I am going to try and identify which pens I should put in each tier of collection i.e. starter, step up your game and end game. I am likely to add some new pens into the mix but it might help to cull some and narrow them down to an overall strategy instead of being rather haphazard, as it is now. At the moment I am in the over excitable noob stage of wanting to buy anything and everything that takes my eye.

Speaking of which I decided to get over my trauma upon which I have already posted with some retail therapy. Namely, a Faber-Castell Loom in silver, medium [your fault again

Spoiler

<3

and some new inks. I shall then have enough pens to have inks on the go for black, blue, green, red, brown, violet, orange plus a couple of pens spare for miscellaneous colours or double ups.

Fortunately, after all my moaning about the Plumix and 2 Herbin pen nibs they are all starting to click with me. I was doing some handwriting practice last night and found that the scratchiness that had bothered me was not helped by me putting too much pressure on the nibs when writing. Once I made a conscious effort to let the pens do most of the work much of the scratchiness relented. I think the Herbin nibs are always going to be scratchy to some extent and I am not overly fond of the very fine lines they are putting down like this but I think I may grow to appreciate that in time despite favouring a broad nib for many years. Even the snot coloured Wagner is not looking quite so repulsive anymore! One new ink that is lovely though is Diamine Red Dragon. Now that colour is just how I envisioned it. It's such a delicious, deep red .

i realise it isn't a fountain pen, but the zebra f701 is my favourite writing instrument - is there something similar? i feel like changing my writing to accommodate a fountain pen may be too annoying for me though.

May I ask what it is about the zebra f701 that appeals to you so much? I am totally unfamiliar with it but if you could articulate what it is that clicks for you it would be easier for us to guide you. After saying that however, 4Tran has given you some sound advice and I especially commend the Varsity/V-Pen option to you. For the sake of a cup of coffee you can give a fountain pen with a good nib [for its price it's excellent] a whirl to see if you like the fountain pen writing experience or not. It's a disposable so you don't have to concern yourself with ink at all, just write. I have much more expensive fountain pens but will happily reach for mine.

 

[4Tran]

I would not disagree with anything you say but now that you've mentioned the Pelikan M600 I have another lovely looking pen to add to my wishlist. Chatting with you in here is proving hazardous to my bank balance! Seriously though I have realised that I need to narrow down my wishlist rather than just seeing a new pretty and saying 'i wants it!'.

I've got you beat there. Other than the cheap Chinese pens I'm only eyeing for their looks, I only have 4 pens on my wishlist because I bought everything else. It helps that I don't believe in holy grails and that most of the European luxury pens don't interest me.

I am going to try and identify which pens I should put in each tier of collection i.e. starter, step up your game and end game. I am likely to add some new pens into the mix but it might help to cull some and narrow them down to an overall strategy instead of being rather haphazard, as it is now. At the moment I am in the over excitable noob stage of wanting to buy anything and everything that takes my eye.

Speaking of which I decided to get over my trauma upon which I have already posted with some retail therapy. Namely, a Faber-Castell Loom in silver, medium [your fault again

Spoiler

<3

and some new inks. I shall then have enough pens to have inks on the go for black, blue, green, red, brown, violet, orange plus a couple of pens spare for miscellaneous colours or double ups.

You should add a category for oddball pens that you got just because. For me, these would be pens that may be cheap but they're fussy enough that they're not for beginners.

And I have a confession to make - I currently have six(!) pens inked in blue. They may all be different blue inks, but that's still excessive.

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

I've got you beat there. Other than the cheap Chinese pens I'm only eyeing for their looks, I only have 4 pens on my wishlist because I bought everything else. It helps that I don't believe in holy grails and that most of the European luxury pens don't interest me.

Ha! We are much alike in this respect I think except you are further along the road than me. My weakness is for pens where I fall in love with their aesthetic design. The Lamy Studio has not piqued my interest until now but it suddenly struck me earlier how attractive the design is. Now do I need one? Hell no, I already have a Lamy Safari Vista which I am terribly fond of. The Studio wouldn't give me anything different unless I went for an expensive option for the gold nib but there are probably better gold nib pens out there at a far more affordable price. I still want one though .

You should add a category for oddball pens that you got just because. For me, these would be pens that may be cheap but they're fussy enough that they're not for beginners.

I expect I shall settle on an idiosyncratic system of categories. Probably heavily smut laden in the naming department too. That sounds like the sort of thing I would do.

And I have a confession to make - I currently have six(!) pens inked in blue. They may all be different blue inks, but that's still excessive.

As someone I used to know used to say: "And your point is?" . Seriously though, I think that is perfectly understandable. There are so many nice options in just that colour with a wide variety of shades, shading and so on to distinguish them. I finally managed to use up enough of the ink in the cartridge supplied with my Pilot Kakuno to justify a quick flush and re-inking using a converter so I chose some Diamine Blue Sapphire. First time with this ink and despite being lighter than I expected it's a nice blue. It looks like it will be a good everyday blue when one is not in the mood for the exotic. I compared it to the V-Pen blue as it is the only other blue I have on the go so far and despite both being blue they are distinctly different blues although it is a very subtle difference. I must say that that is one of the delights to this hobby for me. Being able to delve into the subtle differences between inks and so on is a nerd's paradise.

Furthermore, inks tend to perform differently in different size nibs so you might have just one blue in more than one pen e.g. fine, medium, broad. Now if you were to tell me that you had the same ink in the same make, model and nib size pens I might start to question your blue ink usage!

Incidentally, are you familiar with the JinHao X750? I can't remember if that's one of the JinHao models you are dabbling in. Brian Goulet mentioned it in one of his videos and I thought it might be handy to have for quickly trying out inks.

EDIT: add the 450 to that too! Swappable nibs, Fude and Zebra G nibs? Sign me up!

 

[Bagels]

Please stop stalking me.

I have lots of pen stuff to talk about! After work!

 

[AgeEighty]

I've got a new Lamy 2000 that I've been having steady inkflow issues with, especially on upstrokes. The first time I filled the pen it was fine, but each time after this has been a problem. Any thoughts?

 

[4Tran]

Ha! We are much alike in this respect I think except you are further along the road than me. My weakness is for pens where I fall in love with their aesthetic design. The Lamy Studio has not piqued my interest until now but it suddenly struck me earlier how attractive the design is. Now do I need one? Hell no, I already have a Lamy Safari Vista which I am terribly fond of. The Studio wouldn't give me anything different unless I went for an expensive option for the gold nib but there are probably better gold nib pens out there at a far more affordable price. I still want one though .

Yeah, you're pretty much encapsulating the problem Lamy is in. Most of their products aren't any better than their two prominent pens, but they cost a lot more. And so they only can go for aesthetics.

As someone I used to know used to say: "And your point is?" . Seriously though, I think that is perfectly understandable. There are so many nice options in just that colour with a wide variety of shades, shading and so on to distinguish them. I finally managed to use up enough of the ink in the cartridge supplied with my Pilot Kakuno to justify a quick flush and re-inking using a converter so I chose some Diamine Blue Sapphire. First time with this ink and despite being lighter than I expected it's a nice blue. It looks like it will be a good everyday blue when one is not in the mood for the exotic. I compared it to the V-Pen blue as it is the only other blue I have on the go so far and despite both being blue they are distinctly different blues although it is a very subtle difference. I must say that that is one of the delights to this hobby for me. Being able to delve into the subtle differences between inks and so on is a nerd's paradise.

I only have so many pens in blue because my Lamy and Faber-Castell pens came with blue cartridges, and I'm loathe to throw them away. However, I'm still looking into buying a bunch of more blues: Pilot Ama-iro and Tsuki-yo, and maybe J.Herbin Emerald of Chivor. I just wish that there was an accessible alternative to Bungbox 4B. Then again, that's safer for my pocketbook!

Furthermore, inks tend to perform differently in different size nibs so you might have just one blue in more than one pen e.g. fine, medium, broad. Now if you were to tell me that you had the same ink in the same make, model and nib size pens I might start to question your blue ink usage!

That's something that I sort of do with black inks, X-Feather in particular. The neat thing about that ink is that it's very thick, it's a completely permanent ink, and it doesn't feather much; not even on crappy paper. That makes it a very practical ink for use at work, and so I've got it loaded up in a few pens at home, and in one at work. At work, it's sitting in a Jinhao 500 so that I can pass a cheap pen that will perform decently, which is great for lending to other people. The Jinhao isn't quite ideal, as detailed below, and I'm looking for something else cheap that I can replace it with. I have a Kakuno that would be ideal, but I don't want to put such a normal color in such a fun pen!

Incidentally, are you familiar with the JinHao X750? I can't remember if that's one of the JinHao models you are dabbling in. Brian Goulet mentioned it in one of his videos and I thought it might be handy to have for quickly trying out inks.

EDIT: add the 450 to that too! Swappable nibs, Fude and Zebra G nibs? Sign me up!

I've never tried the X750, but I have the X450 which is pretty much the same pen, just a touch heavier. I find the X450 a bit on the heavy side, so I've been thinking of picking up a X750.

Anyways, the Jinhao #6 medium nibs are pretty smooth, and it's a good writer overall. I've heard some people complaining that the converter it comes with isn't very good, but I've found it pretty decent. The problem is that the caps on my X450s don't post very securely and they don't always seal completely. The latter is the bigger problem as that means that the nibs tend to dry out and the pen ends up being a hard starter. My habit is to wet the nib of a Jinhao before writing - it works well enough, but it's not ideal for a pen whose primary purpose is to be handed to a non-fountain pen user to write with.

I've got a new Lamy 2000 that I've been having steady inkflow issues with, especially on upstrokes. The first time I filled the pen it was fine, but each time after this has been a problem. Any thoughts?

This is usually caused by the way you're rotating the pen. The Lamy 2000 is infamous for having a small sweet spot, and if you're off that spot, the pen won't write. Just be more conscious of how you're holding your pen and you should be fine.

 

[AgeEighty]

This is usually caused by the way you're rotating the pen. The Lamy 2000 is infamous for having a small sweet spot, and if you're off that spot, the pen won't write. Just be more conscious of how you're holding your pen and you should be fine.

Hm. I do seem to get a little better results by rotating slightly counterclockwise in my hand; I'll experiment with it some more.

Great to see this thread btw; I'd never noticed it before. In addition to the Lamy 2000 I have a Twsbi Diamond 580 and a Pilot Falcon. I use mostly Noodler's No. 41 Brown.

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

Please stop stalking me.

I have lots of pen stuff to talk about! After work!

Buh, buh, but daddy! It's the only way we get to see you! :'(

Yeah, you're pretty much encapsulating the problem Lamy is in. Most of their products aren't any better than their two prominent pens, but they cost a lot more. And so they only can go for aesthetics.

Nicely put.

I only have so many pens in blue because my Lamy and Faber-Castell pens came with blue cartridges, and I'm loathe to throw them away. However, I'm still looking into buying a bunch of more blues: Pilot Ama-iro and Tsuki-yo, and maybe J.Herbin Emerald of Chivor. I just wish that there was an accessible alternative to Bungbox 4B. Then again, that's safer for my pocketbook!

You could always donate them to a needy home [not me! I'm not on the scrounge; I've got lots of ink to get to!]

Yes, it's a shame the Bungbox inks are so limited :/. I'm not overly fond of blue-black ink but the 4B does have lovely shading.

That's something that I sort of do with black inks, X-Feather in particular. The neat thing about that ink is that it's very thick, it's a completely permanent ink, and it doesn't feather much; not even on crappy paper. That makes it a very practical ink for use at work, and so I've got it loaded up in a few pens at home, and in one at work. At work, it's sitting in a Jinhao 500 so that I can pass a cheap pen that will perform decently, which is great for lending to other people. The Jinhao isn't quite ideal, as detailed below, and I'm looking for something else cheap that I can replace it with. I have a Kakuno that would be ideal, but I don't want to put such a normal color in such a fun pen!

The X-Feather is on my wishlist thanks to your previous praise about it . It's not the cheapest brand of inks here in the UK sadly so a bit of shopping around is required but that and Apache Sunset will definitely come into consideration the next time I decide to have a splurge on in. Get moar Kakunos and have different ones for different inks!

I've never tried the X750, but I have the X450 which is pretty much the same pen, just a touch heavier. I find the X450 a bit on the heavy side, so I've been thinking of picking up a X750.

Anyways, the Jinhao #6 medium nibs are pretty smooth, and it's a good writer overall. I've heard some people complaining that the converter it comes with isn't very good, but I've found it pretty decent. The problem is that the caps on my X450s don't post very securely and they don't always seal completely. The latter is the bigger problem as that means that the nibs tend to dry out and the pen ends up being a hard starter. My habit is to wet the nib of a Jinhao before writing - it works well enough, but it's not ideal for a pen whose primary purpose is to be handed to a non-fountain pen user to write with.

Thanks for your feedback. Not a problem for me as I am a hermit and never leave the house.

Hm. I do seem to get a little better results by rotating slightly counterclockwise in my hand; I'll experiment with it some more.

Great to see this thread btw; I'd never noticed it before. In addition to the Lamy 2000 I have a Twsbi Diamond 580 and a Pilot Falcon. I use mostly Noodler's No. 41 Brown.

Glad you found us AgeEighty . Those are three fine pens! How do you find the Falcon? It has definitely got my interest, primarily due to the soft nib but that's something for me to explore down the road. I am trying to make good use of the pens I currently have and resist the temptation to keep adding pens that catch my eye. That is a delicious brown too. Another to add to my ink wishlist!

Speaking of using my pens I have been trying to improve my bleurgh handwriting recently and last night did this with my Prera and Diamine snot green ink:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5IfmlGTAoUVUzNsSGFzUF9Ec28/view

Lots of room for improvement and my normal handwriting is still shocking but I enjoy the practice and it's nice to have something to show for my efforts.

 

[AgeEighty]

Glad you found us AgeEighty . Those are three fine pens! How do you find the Falcon? It has definitely got my interest, primarily due to the soft nib but that's something for me to explore down the road. I am trying to make good use of the pens I currently have and resist the temptation to keep adding pens that catch my eye. That is a delicious brown too. Another to add to my ink wishlist!

The soft nib is exactly why I bought the Falcon, and it fills the role nicely. I probably would prefer something even a bit softer, as I like lots of line variation in a soft-nibbed pen, but it seems hard to find a really nice pen with a very soft nib without paying far more than I'd like. The Noodler's Ahab Flex is very nice for this, but it's kind of a cheap pen and not as well made as the others. Any recommendations?

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

The soft nib is exactly why I bought the Falcon, and it fills the role nicely. I probably would prefer something even a bit softer, as I like lots of line variation in a soft-nibbed pen, but it seems hard to find a really nice pen with a very soft nib without paying far more than I'd like. The Noodler's Ahab Flex is very nice for this, but it's kind of a cheap pen and not as well made as the others. Any recommendations?

o/ Yes, I got the impression from a review video that it was more of a semi-flex nib. I had heard those quality comments about the Ahab Flex too and that discourages a purchase for me. I know little about flex pens and have no personal experience so hopefully someone more learned than me will chime in on this matter. However, I have been listening to a lot of Goulet Pens podcasts recently and Brian Goulet discussed this quite thoroughly in at least one of them. I just googled 'Goulet Pens flex' and they have plenty of videos on the subject. However, one aspect of it that I do remember is that he said that a full-on flex nib is hard to get these days unless one goes for a vintage pen/nib.

One possibility that might be worth considering though is to stick a flex nib in a pen that will take it. For example the Jinhao 750 that I've discussing with 4Tran will take Fude and Zebra G nibs. As I understand it these are nibs popular with those who sketch and do pen art such as anime.
A couple of articles on the subject that I just found that might be worth a look:

http://www.lizsteel.com/fountain-pen-sketching-part-7-pens-with-variable-lines-2/

http://www.parkablogs.com/content/how-use-zebra-g-nib-fountain-pen

I haven't read either yet though as I'm taking a break from the pc and am probably not long for bed.

 

[4Tran]

Hm. I do seem to get a little better results by rotating slightly counterclockwise in my hand; I'll experiment with it some more.

You can get more info from this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lBop5mDTA4

Great to see this thread btw; I'd never noticed it before. In addition to the Lamy 2000 I have a Twsbi Diamond 580 and a Pilot Falcon. I use mostly Noodler's No. 41 Brown.

Good choices! I'm not in the market for flexible pens right now, but I'm curious what nib you got for the Falcon, and how much line variation you're getting.

You could always donate them to a needy home [not me! I'm not on the scrounge; I've got lots of ink to get to!]

Nah, you can't exactly donate cartridges that have been open! Besides, I realized that I only have the one Standard International cartridge, and my Rook can only take cartridges, so I'll have to empty the ink that's in there and refill it with something nicer.

The X-Feather is on my wishlist thanks to your previous praise about it . It's not the cheapest brand of inks here in the UK sadly so a bit of shopping around is required but that and Apache Sunset will definitely come into consideration the next time I decide to have a splurge on in. Get moar Kakunos and have different ones for different inks!

If you're interested in X-Feather, there are a couple of things to note. The first is that it's a permanent ink in the strictest sense - if you get it on anything with cellulose (paper, wood, clothing, furniture) you're not getting it off again with anything! In this way, the thickness of X-Feather comes in handy in helping to avoid leaks. On the flipside, it might not work so well in pens that are hard starters. Noodler's Heart of Darkness is supposed to have similar properties to X-Feather, but it flows a lot better. In hindsight, I should have gotten samples of both before settling on one.

If you're looking for a cheaper permanent black ink, there are a few different options: De Atramentis and Diamine offer something similar. If you want a black as dark as X-Feather, then Platinum Carbon Black would be the only way to go.

Speaking of using my pens I have been trying to improve my bleurgh handwriting recently and last night did this with my Prera and Diamine snot green ink:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5IfmlGTAoUVUzNsSGFzUF9Ec28/view

Lots of room for improvement and my normal handwriting is still shocking but I enjoy the practice and it's nice to have something to show for my efforts.

Honestly, that looks pretty good!

The soft nib is exactly why I bought the Falcon, and it fills the role nicely. I probably would prefer something even a bit softer, as I like lots of line variation in a soft-nibbed pen, but it seems hard to find a really nice pen with a very soft nib without paying far more than I'd like. The Noodler's Ahab Flex is very nice for this, but it's kind of a cheap pen and not as well made as the others. Any recommendations?

There aren't a whole lot of other choices without dipping into vintage pens or dip pens. One pen that may work out is a Pilot Custom 912 with a FA nib. The Noodler's pens are worth looking at if you're willing to fiddle with them - there are quality concerns, and they may not write out of the box.

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

Nah, you can't exactly donate cartridges that have been open! Besides, I realized that I only have the one Standard International cartridge, and my Rook can only take cartridges, so I'll have to empty the ink that's in there and refill it with something nicer.

Ah, I hadn't considered that, apologies. Once I start a cartridge I stick with it until it's used up but no doubt I shall get into taping up cartridge ends at some stage .

Rook?

If you're interested in X-Feather, there are a couple of things to note. The first is that it's a permanent ink in the strictest sense - if you get it on anything with cellulose (paper, wood, clothing, furniture) you're not getting it off again with anything! In this way, the thickness of X-Feather comes in handy in helping to avoid leaks. On the flipside, it might not work so well in pens that are hard starters. Noodler's Heart of Darkness is supposed to have similar properties to X-Feather, but it flows a lot better. In hindsight, I should have gotten samples of both before settling on one.

Whelp! What about pussycats? I haven't got ink on them yet but given their propensity to want to lie on the desk near daddy it's probably only a matter of time.

I can't find anywhere in the UK that does Noddler's samples and only one retailer [other than Amazon UK price gouging] that carries it at all. Also, after my recent Wagner disappointment I am loathe to spend £10.95+ on a bottle of ink I might not even like when I get it. I'll no doubt find my courage before long and order some anyway . Besides, I am hardly bereft of inks to use!

If you're looking for a cheaper permanent black ink, there are a few different options: De Atramentis and Diamine offer something similar. If you want a black as dark as X-Feather, then Platinum Carbon Black would be the only way to go.

I'll bear those in mind, thanks . Once I've got my handwriting to a state I'm happy with I intend to get back into letter writing. A permanent ink shall be required for the address and I don't want to write the letter with a fountain pen and then use a biro or something to address the envelope!

Honestly, that looks pretty good!

Thanks very much but that was a good 2-3 hours of concerted effort! However, given that I was quite discouraged that I would even get to this stage a couple of weeks ago I don't mind admitting that I'm pretty pleased with it although it's far from perfect. I'm finding that decades of muscle memory is reluctant to give way to a newfangled way of writing letters. Who knew?!

 

[4Tran]

Rook?

http://www.jetpens.com/Ohto-Rook-Fountain-Pen-Black-Green-Fine-Nib/pd/6732

It's a super tiny compact pen made by Ohto, a smaller Japanese company, with a Chinese nib. It only takes Standard International short cartridges, and the only one I have is the one that came with my Loom.

Whelp! What about pussycats? I haven't got ink on them yet but given their propensity to want to lie on the desk near daddy it's probably only a matter of time.

You should be able to clean it off their skin, but there's no guarantees about the fur! The ink is supposed to only bind onto cellulose, but it's sticky enough that I can't imagine that it'll be easy to get out of hair and fur. Note that this goes for Noodler's and most other permanent inks. X-Feather is just worse than most because you can't get it off with alcohol, acetone, ammonia, etc. by design.

I can't find anywhere in the UK that does Noddler's samples and only one retailer [other than Amazon UK price gouging] that carries it at all. Also, after my recent Wagner disappointment I am loathe to spend £10.95+ on a bottle of ink I might not even like when I get it. I'll no doubt find my courage before long and order some anyway . Besides, I am hardly bereft of inks to use!

I don't think that's very expensive for ink, but I'm used to the higher prices. At least with the black inks I've listed, you can be sure that they're pretty darned black so it's going to be pretty hard to be disappointed by the color.

I'll bear those in mind, thanks . Once I've got my handwriting to a state I'm happy with I intend to get back into letter writing. A permanent ink shall be required for the address and I don't want to write the letter with a fountain pen and then use a biro or something to address the envelope!

Note that Platinum Carbon Black is also very popular among artists. You can use it in all sorts of instruments other than fountain pens, and since it uses pigments, there's no danger of the color fading in UV light. On a similar note, X-Feather is one of the few fountain pen inks thick enough to use in dip pens with no difficulty.

 

[Any Questions]

I've got a new Lamy 2000 that I've been having steady inkflow issues with, especially on upstrokes. The first time I filled the pen it was fine, but each time after this has been a problem. Any thoughts?

Have never had this problem. I use my 2000 daily and to be fair can not fault it one bit. Totally my fave. With the inking problem, perhaps try and swap it out if you can.

Not sure you should have any issues with it at all.

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

http://www.jetpens.com/Ohto-Rook-Fountain-Pen-Black-Green-Fine-Nib/pd/6732

It's a super tiny compact pen made by Ohto, a smaller Japanese company, with a Chinese nib. It only takes Standard International short cartridges, and the only one I have is the one that came with my Loom.

Oh Ohto; sorry, the Rook model hadn't captured my attention. The Tasche had though and I was pretty tempted by that until I learnt about 'Iridium Point' nibs, thanks to you IIRC. My J Herbin Iridium Point nibs have rather put me off getting any more. However, I was using them last night and could not help but think of your comments about the Lamy 2000 nib sweet spot as I discovered that one of the J Herbin pens is very sensitive to how I hold it. If I hold it in precisely the right spot then it is a far smoother writer. Now I am wondering if I should get some micro mesh and try to tweak these 2 nibs so that the sweet spot is not so capricious. Brian Goulet has covered it in his podcasts several times so I know there's plenty of knowledge out there if I do decide to try that.

After saying that however, how do you like the Rook? Do you have any other Ohto f pens?

You should be able to clean it off their skin, but there's no guarantees about the fur! The ink is supposed to only bind onto cellulose, but it's sticky enough that I can't imagine that it'll be easy to get out of hair and fur. Note that this goes for Noodler's and most other permanent inks. X-Feather is just worse than most because you can't get it off with alcohol, acetone, ammonia, etc. by design.

Hm, I think if I get any of that ink I shall have to instigate a quarantine system. Pussycats and permanent inks clearly do not mix! The X-Feather can wait until I'm confident that my quarantine protocols are working sufficiently well. I'm only partially joking with all this as William [my avatar] has a gift for being precisely where I don't want him to be at any particular moment. Right now we are engaged in an ongoing territorial struggle. I took apart two broken office chairs to make one, functioning chair and he can't get enough of it! Anyone who has ever tried to pry a pussycat away from somewhere they don't want to be pried away from will tell you how difficult it is. Dead weight plus claws dug into chair seat makes for a fun time.

Speaking of permanent inks though I do have a bottle of 'Rowney waterproof drawing ink black indian' that has survived 35 odd years since it was used in school art lessons. There's still a little ink left in it although I hate to think what state it's in. I'm tempted to grab a toothpick or match stick or something and have a play. The bottle does have a rubber eye dropper built into the lid though which seems to have survived so that's cute.

I don't think that's very expensive for ink, but I'm used to the higher prices. At least with the black inks I've listed, you can be sure that they're pretty darned black so it's going to be pretty hard to be disappointed by the color.

No, I suppose not. I expect I've been spoilt by being able to pick up cartridges and small bottles of ink for so little in comparison. Yes, they're more expensive relative to the amount of ink in a Noodler's bottle but it's a nicer price to take a punt on an ink one may or may not like. Besides, there are tons of nice looking inks for me to try before I have to take a punt like that on a bigger, more expensive bottle.

Note that Platinum Carbon Black is also very popular among artists. You can use it in all sorts of instruments other than fountain pens, and since it uses pigments, there's no danger of the color fading in UV light. On a similar note, X-Feather is one of the few fountain pen inks thick enough to use in dip pens with no difficulty.

Hm, I have a dip pens and nib set here that I am yet to play with. Food for thought, thanks .

Have never had this problem. I use my 2000 daily and to be fair can not fault it one bit. Totally my fave. With the inking problem, perhaps try and swap it out if you can.

Not sure you should have any issues with it at all.

I am not an expert in these matters but from what I understand it is not atypical for there to be slight variations in nibs even though they have all undergone the same manufacturing process.

 

[MR4001]

I am not an expert in these matters but from what I understand it is not atypical for there to be slight variations in nibs even though they have all undergone the same manufacturing process.

Recent Lamy QA with the 2000 has been spotty, in my experience. All rather slap-dashedly put together. At least they're easy to send back and get fixed. Lamy of recent seem to be forgetting about the details: loose clips, parts misaligned, seams, and so on. I will only buy one from the likes of The Writing Desk - places that give pens a once-over before dispatch. Too much of a lottery, sadly, otherwise. Only the Japanese manufacturers seem to put in the extra effort.

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

Recent Lamy QA with the 2000 has been spotty, in my experience. All rather slap-dashedly put together. At least they're easy to send back and get fixed. Lamy of recent seem to be forgetting about the details: loose clips, parts misaligned, seams, and so on. I will only buy one from the likes of The Writing Desk - places that give pens a once-over before dispatch. Too much of a lottery, sadly, otherwise. Only the Japanese manufacturers seem to put in the extra effort.

That's a shame but good to know, thanks. I just placed an order with TWD for the first time a few days ago but sadly missed postie by a few minutes earlier so a trip to the local depot is in my future tomorrow. I suspect I shall be making more purchases from them in the New Year though; I like the site. They're relatively 'local' to me too so it's nice to give them some support.

 

[4Tran]

Have never had this problem. I use my 2000 daily and to be fair can not fault it one bit. Totally my fave. With the inking problem, perhaps try and swap it out if you can.

Not sure you should have any issues with it at all.

That means that you're holding the 2000 the way it wants to be and that you don't change the rotation when writing. Not being able to write on the upstroke is a very common complaint with the Lamy 2000 and it's almost always caused by being a bit off with the rotation.

After saying that however, how do you like the Rook? Do you have any other Ohto f pens?

The Rook is a pen that I'm a bit on the fence about. It's a very small and very thin pen that feels okay to grip, but the writing doesn't seem very smooth. I'm hesitant to give a final verdict on it until I try it out with a different ink though - I hate the F-C blue in the pen, and it's going to affect my writing experience by too much. The build quality could be a bit better too - there's a metal band inside the cap that's designed to control how far the pen posts, but it came loose on me. All in all, it's a decent pen if you need something very compact, but it's not up to snuff with the bigger Japanese companies. I haven't tried any other Ohto pens, but I imagine that some of the same issues with be present in them as well.

Speaking of permanent inks though I do have a bottle of 'Rowney waterproof drawing ink black indian' that has survived 35 odd years since it was used in school art lessons. There's still a little ink left in it although I hate to think what state it's in. I'm tempted to grab a toothpick or match stick or something and have a play. The bottle does have a rubber eye dropper built into the lid though which seems to have survived so that's cute.

Just make sure you don't put that into a fountain pen!

No, I suppose not. I expect I've been spoilt by being able to pick up cartridges and small bottles of ink for so little in comparison. Yes, they're more expensive relative to the amount of ink in a Noodler's bottle but it's a nicer price to take a punt on an ink one may or may not like. Besides, there are tons of nice looking inks for me to try before I have to take a punt like that on a bigger, more expensive bottle.

Yeah, you're in the UK so you can just buy up cheap Diamine inks to your heart's content. Pity the rest of us who have to spend twice as much on a bottle!

Recent Lamy QA with the 2000 has been spotty, in my experience. All rather slap-dashedly put together. At least they're easy to send back and get fixed. Lamy of recent seem to be forgetting about the details: loose clips, parts misaligned, seams, and so on. I will only buy one from the likes of The Writing Desk - places that give pens a once-over before dispatch. Too much of a lottery, sadly, otherwise. Only the Japanese manufacturers seem to put in the extra effort.

Really? I thought Lamy was supposed to be the one European pen maker who actually had good QA. That's pretty sad to hear.

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

The Rook is a pen that I'm a bit on the fence about. It's a very small and very thin pen that feels okay to grip, but the writing doesn't seem very smooth. I'm hesitant to give a final verdict on it until I try it out with a different ink though - I hate the F-C blue in the pen, and it's going to affect my writing experience by too much. The build quality could be a bit better too - there's a metal band inside the cap that's designed to control how far the pen posts, but it came loose on me. All in all, it's a decent pen if you need something very compact, but it's not up to snuff with the bigger Japanese companies. I haven't tried any other Ohto pens, but I imagine that some of the same issues with be present in them as well.

Good to know, thanks. Fortunately I have no need for a very thin pen and whilst I like the look of the Tasche I think I am going to avoid iridium point nibs if I can.

Just make sure you don't put that into a fountain pen!

Oh I won't! Thanks anyway. My Vista has stubbornly hung on to some gold flecks from having Stormy Grey in it so I am quite mindful of such things now. Some household ammonia is on my shopping list to give that a good flushing out; just water didn't get it all out.

Yeah, you're in the UK so you can just buy up cheap Diamine inks to your heart's content. Pity the rest of us who have to spend twice as much on a bottle!

Yes, it's swings and roundabouts really. Pilot and other Japan based stuff tends to be pricey here but we get decent prices on Euro stuff. If you ever want me to pick up some cheap Diamine for you let me know. I'd be happy to send it on to you.

 

[Any Questions]

Neither am I chap. However it's a crying shame a 2000 isn't flowing like buttery butter.

I do hope you get it fixed.

Edit

On mobile and this is a reply to woo and indeed who

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

Thanks old boy but it was actually AgeEighty who has the 2000 nib issue . I'd like to try a 2000 at some stage given its reputation but if I'm honest the hooded nib puts me off in an aesthetic sense. A minor thing perhaps but given the price of these things that makes it more of an issue for me.

Neither am I chap. However it's a crying shame a 2000 isn't flowing like buttery butter.

I do hope you get it fixed.

Edit

On mobile and this is a reply to woo and indeed who

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

This is... embarrassing.

I am having flow issues with my TWSBI and went to clean the nib under the sink prior having a looksie... and the nib slipped off my sausage fingers and went down the drain (yeah, I also forgot to cover the drain).

Well, it seems my nib problems are now fixed since I'll need to order a new nib anyways.

At least I still have the orange metal piece that covers the feed... all the nibs I've seen come with some plastic.

DOH

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

This is... embarrassing.

I am having flow issues with my TWSBI and went to clean the nib under the sink prior having a looksie... and the nib slipped off my sausage fingers and went down the drain (yeah, I also forgot to cover the drain).

Well, it seems my nib problems are now fixed since I'll need to order a new nib anyways.

At least I still have the orange metal piece that covers the feed... all the nibs I've seen come with some plastic.

DOH

It was a mercy killing.

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

It was a mercy killing.

I'm having major stress issues at work (up to the point I'm getting acid stomach) my cc just got hit by a fraudulent charge and now this.

Goddamn holidays cannot come any sooner yeesh.

 

[4Tran]

Yes, it's swings and roundabouts really. Pilot and other Japan based stuff tends to be pricey here but we get decent prices on Euro stuff. If you ever want me to pick up some cheap Diamine for you let me know. I'd be happy to send it on to you.

Thanks for the offer, but I like picking up Diamine inks from my local pen shop.

This is... embarrassing.

I am having flow issues with my TWSBI and went to clean the nib under the sink prior having a looksie... and the nib slipped off my sausage fingers and went down the drain (yeah, I also forgot to cover the drain).

Well, it seems my nib problems are now fixed since I'll need to order a new nib anyways.

At least I still have the orange metal piece that covers the feed... all the nibs I've seen come with some plastic.

DOH

If you really want to save your nib, you should still be able to do so. Most sinks have a U-shaped section beneath the drain. That section can be removed to take out anything that may have gone in the sink by accident. It'll be a messy operation though, and you'll probably want to turn off the water before you proceed.

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

If you really want to save your nib, you should still be able to do so. Most sinks have a U-shaped section beneath the drain. That section can be removed to take out anything that may have gone in the sink by accident. It'll be a messy operation though, and you'll probably want to turn off the water before you proceed.

Thank you for the tip. I checked and the fittings appear rusted enough that if I remove them I'm gonna need new ones...

 

[MR4001]

Really? I thought Lamy was supposed to be the one European pen maker who actually had good QA. That's pretty sad to hear.

I have had three 2000s and two I have sent to Lamy headquarters for repair - the remaining one also visited Heidelberg but just for a nib change. One had an incorrectly fitted piston knob - was always loose - and the other a poorly fitted clip - shifted from side to side and rocked about.

Lamy fixed them up no problem: I just sent them with covering letters to the factory and got them back a month later all sorted. (Would be a different story in North America I've read...) Perhaps I was just unlucky, but I swear Safaris - of which I've had a few... - have definitely got a touch crappier - they're still very good pens! Recent ones don't seem as well-finished. I wish I hadn't gotten rid of my old yellow and black one...

I have had a fair few Pelikans and only one needed remedial work: the nib leaned to the right and was just a bit off when writing. Again, off to the factory with a letter. The wait was long - at least two months - and the lady - I forget her name - in charge of all that stuff actually got in touch and kept me up-to-date. When it arrived back they had repackaged it and put in a handwritten note. The nib was still a bit Tower of Pisa but wrote beautifully. Hey-ho!

Never had any problems with either Kaweco or Faber-Castell, and I have no experience with any Italian brands. (No trouble with any Pilots, Platinums or Sailors, too.)

Christ, the amount of pens I had. A few months ago I gave them all away (and sold - dead cheap - a few). Only two now. Way better. &#128556;

 

[AgeEighty]

Good choices! I'm not in the market for flexible pens right now, but I'm curious what nib you got for the Falcon, and how much line variation you're getting.

I went with the fine nib, because I read it was the one with the most line variation&#8212;I generally prefer a medium for regular writing, but I'm OK with fine lines on upstrokes. I definitely do get noticeable variation, but nothing on the level of the Ahab Flex.

A dip pen is something I might try at some point. Any experience with them?

 

[MR4001]

A dip pen is something I might try at some point. Any experience with them?

Brause nib holder - affordable and good-quality - and Brause (sometimes sold under the J Herbin brand) Cito-fein and Pfannen nibs - the closest to normal FP nibs, ie the perfect nibs to start with. Sennelier Artists' Ink, too. Sorted.

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

I'm having major stress issues at work (up to the point I'm getting acid stomach) my cc just got hit by a fraudulent charge and now this.

Goddamn holidays cannot come any sooner yeesh.

So sorry you are having such a rough time. I hope things improve greatly for you very soon.

Thanks for the offer, but I like picking up Diamine inks from my local pen shop.

I thought you might say that . I'm glad you have a local pen shop to support.

 

[4Tran]

I have had three 2000s and two I have sent to Lamy headquarters for repair - the remaining one also visited Heidelberg but just for a nib change. One had an incorrectly fitted piston knob - was always loose - and the other a poorly fitted clip - shifted from side to side and rocked about.

Lamy fixed them up no problem: I just sent them with covering letters to the factory and got them back a month later all sorted. (Would be a different story in North America I've read...) Perhaps I was just unlucky, but I swear Safaris - of which I've had a few... - have definitely got a touch crappier - they're still very good pens! Recent ones don't seem as well-finished. I wish I hadn't gotten rid of my old yellow and black one...

Wow. The only reason I was holding off on a Lamy 2000 was because it's a lot more expensive than the Japanese pens. I hope you've just been unlucky, but I have to admit that the worst pen I had out of the box was a Safari with a misaligned nib.

Never had any problems with either Kaweco or Faber-Castell, and I have no experience with any Italian brands. (No trouble with any Pilots, Platinums or Sailors, too.)

I've heard of good things about Kaweco and Faber-Castell steel nibs, but their gold nibs don't seem particularly attractive; especially compared to all the awesome Japanese pens you can get.

I went with the fine nib, because I read it was the one with the most line variation—I generally prefer a medium for regular writing, but I'm OK with fine lines on upstrokes. I definitely do get noticeable variation, but nothing on the level of the Ahab Flex.

That checks out. Apparently, the sweet spot is narrower on the fine and extra fine nibs, so those get the most complaints.

I thought you might say that . I'm glad you have a local pen shop to support.

Yup - you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, and my local shop is pretty great!

 

[MR4001]

Wow. The only reason I was holding off on a Lamy 2000 was because it's a lot more expensive than the Japanese pens. I hope you've just been unlucky, but I have to admit that the worst pen I had out of the box was a Safari with a misaligned nib.

I've heard of good things about Kaweco and Faber-Castell steel nibs, but their gold nibs don't seem particularly attractive; especially compared to all the awesome Japanese pens you can get.

I think as long as you buy from somewhere that'll do all the checks you would do if you were buying in person you will be fine. The 2000 is an iconic pen - everyone should have a go on one. I loved the design but couldn't get on with the hooded nib - found the same with the Parker 51. :'(

I really want to try one of Kaweco's gold nibs, but they're expensive and have to be bought separately. (Bock make all their nibs. On a related - kinda! - note, Kaweco - well the company that Kaweco is a now brand of, Gutberlet - make many components for Lamy. The More You Know)

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

Yup - you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, and my local shop is pretty great!

I might be moving over the next year or so. Where I am at the moment is a bit remote so it's no surprise that I don't have an awesome fountain pen emporium handy. If I do end up in London [at least some of the time] I'm sure there will be options there.

Incidentally, I watched the nib adjustment video you linked me to last night. In fact I watched all three in the series. Great stuff! It's got me fired up to get some equipment to give it all a go. Those J Herbin pens were cheap enough that it wouldn't be too much of a drama if I ruined a nib or two. Also, I'm looking forward to when I've run the carts dry that I've got in them currently so I can safely see if the nibs are removable.

Oh and Faber-Castell Loom GET! It's a pretty dry writer if my initial use is anything to go by. However, I'll give it a good work out this evening with some handwriting practise and see if that helps. I do like the design though.

 

[ChemicalCutthroat]

I ordered two of the TWSBY ECO's on Monday, one for me, and one for a surprise Christmas present for the wife.

I also made sure to order a bottle of http://www.jetpens.com/J.-Herbin-Emerald-of-Chivor-Ink-1670-Anniversary-50-ml-Bottle/pd/14633

Because I need that in my life.

That plus a mechanical keyboard were my Christmas present to myself. Really looking forward to that ink.

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

I ordered two of the TWSBY ECO's on Monday, one for me, and one for a surprise Christmas present for the wife.

I also made sure to order a bottle of http://www.jetpens.com/J.-Herbin-Emerald-of-Chivor-Ink-1670-Anniversary-50-ml-Bottle/pd/14633

Because I need that in my life.

That plus a mechanical keyboard were my Christmas present to myself. Really looking forward to that ink.

Good for you! Enjoy the Ecos; I don't have one [yet] but I do have a 580 AL and I'm sure you will be very happy with them. Delicious ink too! It's high up on my wishlist; just be diligent with your pen flushing as the gold specs tend to hang around and resist water flushing. At least that's my experience with Stormy Grey and my Lamy Vista.

 

[Alex_Mexico]

Ok so my very first fountain pen ever arrived yesterday. I listened to GAF and bought a Pilot Metropolitan. I spent around $15 USD on it which is about $10 more than what I've ever spent on a friggin' pen for myself ever. I already have a couple of questions/concerns.

Soon after starting to write with it I noticed that on top of the nib on the sides of the line that goes from the edge to the little circle in the middle a few black ink stains. Mi natural reaction was to gently wipe it out with a Kleene--OH MY FUCKING GOD ALL THIS INK!?!?!

That was yesterday. It took a while but I finally was able to clean the nib without causing too much ink to flow out and stain the nib again. Right now I took the cap off after a some 20 minutes of not using the pen and the nib was stained all over the nib here and there. It was sitting on my desk all this time.

What am I doing wrong? Is this normal? And what is the proper way of cleaning a fountain pen nib without having to remove all the ink and using water? All I wanted is to wipe the excess ink on the nib with a tissue... but even that is very hard to do!

 

[4Tran]

Ok so my very first fountain pen ever arrived yesterday. I listened to GAF and bought a Pilot Metropolitan. I spent around $15 USD on it which is about $10 more than what I've ever spent on a friggin' pen for myself ever. I already have a couple of questions/concerns.

Soon after starting to write with it I noticed that on top of the nib on the sides of the line that goes from the edge to the little circle in the middle a few black ink stains. Mi natural reaction was to gently wipe it out with a Kleene--OH MY FUCKING GOD ALL THIS INK!?!?!

That was yesterday. It took a while but I finally was able to clean the nib without causing too much ink to flow out and stain the nib again. Right now I took the cap off after a some 20 minutes of not using the pen and the nib was stained all over the nib here and there. It was sitting on my desk all this time.

What am I doing wrong? Is this normal? And what is the proper way of cleaning a fountain pen nib without having to remove all the ink and using water? All I wanted is to wipe the excess ink on the nib with a tissue... but even that is very hard to do!

That's perfectly normal. It's called nib creep and it will be more common with certain ink and pen combinations than other ones. A bit of ink on the surface of the nib is nothing to be concerned about. Just make sure that the grip section is clean before you use it, and you should be fine.

For wiping the nib in general, you should use a cheap-ish paper towel. The top notch paper towel and tissues are overly absorbent so they'll draw way more ink from the nib than you really want. Sometimes you won't be able to get a nib completely clean, and it's okay to leave it like that.

 

[Any Questions]

This is... embarrassing.

I am having flow issues with my TWSBI and went to clean the nib under the sink prior having a looksie... and the nib slipped off my sausage fingers and went down the drain (yeah, I also forgot to cover the drain).

Well, it seems my nib problems are now fixed since I'll need to order a new nib anyways.

At least I still have the orange metal piece that covers the feed... all the nibs I've seen come with some plastic.

DOH

Can't you recover the nib? It should be in the u bend. A little bit of plumbing and out it will pop.

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

Can't you recover the nib? It should be in the u bend. A little bit of plumbing and out it will pop.

Not so much:

Thank you for the tip. I checked and the fittings appear rusted enough that if I remove them I'm gonna need new ones...

 

[Porcile]

Dont think i've ever had a pen which didn't have some nib creep.

 

[MR4001]

Bit of ink on the nib is nothing to worry about. Sometimes if your pen takes a knock - your cat pushes it off your desk, for example... - you'll have a few extra drops appear, and you get a few drops in the cap - only visible, of course, if the cap is transparent (something I don't mind - like, even - but it drives some people crazy). If it gets a bit too much (or after filling) I find the folded edge of a piece of kitchen paper folded twice and a quick, deliberate vertical swipe cleans things up nicely. - Does that make any sense? ::Opens Paint::

Heh.

However, if your nib looks like this:

Then nuke it from orbit - it's the only way to be sure!

 

[Alex_Mexico]

That's perfectly normal. It's called nib creep and it will be more common with certain ink and pen combinations than other ones. A bit of ink on the surface of the nib is nothing to be concerned about. Just make sure that the grip section is clean before you use it, and you should be fine.

For wiping the nib in general, you should use a cheap-ish paper towel. The top notch paper towel and tissues are overly absorbent so they'll draw way more ink from the nib than you really want. Sometimes you won't be able to get a nib completely clean, and it's okay to leave it like that.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind!

Bit of ink on the nib is nothing to worry about. Sometimes if your pen takes a knock - your cat pushes it off your desk, for example... - you'll have a few extra drops appear, and you get a few drops in the cap - only visible, of course, if the cap is transparent (something I don't mind - like, even - but it drives some people crazy). If it gets a bit too much (or after filling) I find the folded edge of a piece of kitchen paper folded twice and a quick, deliberate vertical swipe cleans things up nicely. - Does that make any sense? ::Opens Paint::

Heh.

However, if your nib looks like this:

Then nuke it from orbit - it's the only way to be sure!

LOL. It doesn't look anything like that picture. I find the Pilot nib design so freaking sexy that seeing it stained with ink was driving my OCD nuts. I never imagined cleaning a nib out of excess ink was going to be su damn tricky.

Now to wait for my Hobonichi Techo 2017 to arrive.

Dammit, GAF. I've never spent so much on planners or pens for myself before this month.

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

Ah, Diamine Ancient Copper.

Lovely ink!

 

[ChemicalCutthroat]

So my TWSBY's came in! Along with the ink, so I am super excited. The one is getting wrapped as a gift for the wife, along with the fancy ink. I'm going to load mine up with the Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo I got, and wrap the Emerald of Chivor for the wife.

The Emerald of Chivor says not to use it in a fountain pen with a reservoir. So is it suggesting only using it for dipped pens like for calligraphy? That isn't a problem, as I have those as well, but it would be a little nice to fill up one of the TWSBY's with it to have some delicious color on the go.

My enthusiasm to play with my new toy is going to put a damper on the rest of the workday.

 

[4Tran]

So my TWSBY's came in! Along with the ink, so I am super excited. The one is getting wrapped as a gift for the wife, along with the fancy ink. I'm going to load mine up with the Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo I got, and wrap the Emerald of Chivor for the wife.

The Emerald of Chivor says not to use it in a fountain pen with a reservoir. So is it suggesting only using it for dipped pens like for calligraphy? That isn't a problem, as I have those as well, but it would be a little nice to fill up one of the TWSBY's with it to have some delicious color on the go.

My enthusiasm to play with my new toy is going to put a damper on the rest of the workday.

Nah, it's just a CYA for the 1670 inks in case someone leaves it in their pen for a couple of months without cleaning it. As a standard practice, you're supposed to clean your pen every couple of weeks - if you do so diligently, Emerald of Chivor and the other 1670 inks should behave themselves. You might want to be careful with putting it in pens that already have starting issues. Note though that, because the ink has physical flakes inside, it can be harder to clean thoroughly than conventional inks. Oh, and you should upend the bottle every time you ink up; the flakes have a tendency to settle if left alone.

 

[ChemicalCutthroat]

Nah, it's just a CYA for the 1670 inks in case someone leaves it in their pen for a couple of months without cleaning it. As a standard practice, you're supposed to clean your pen every couple of weeks - if you do so diligently, Emerald of Chivor and the other 1670 inks should behave themselves. You might want to be careful with putting it in pens that already have starting issues. Note though that, because the ink has physical flakes inside, it can be harder to clean thoroughly than conventional inks. Oh, and you should upend the bottle every time you ink up; the flakes have a tendency to settle if left alone.

Excellent. Yeah, I noticed that it had settled in the bottom rather finely. Don't know how long it had been sitting before it got shipped, so maybe a healthy couple of shakes a day or so before filling to get everything stirred up again is in order.

I went and got the ECO inked up with the Pilot ink for now, and did a couple test scribbles on one of my notepads. I carry Black n' Red notebooks for most of my RPG notes and ideas, and it writes incredibly well on it. Little guy is smooth and clean, and the lines don't have any weird bleed on the paper, but that was expected since this paper holds up very well to almost everything I throw at it. There is some bleed through on the back of the sheet, but I'll have to see how much that bothers me before switching to a more stout notebook.

Gotta say, thumbs way up on the TWSBY. Everything that was said about it holds up, and it is a real joy to write with. And as my first pen with a built in piston filling mechanism everything worked like a complete charm.