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[Bagels]

Yeah, We're saying the same thing, just the opposite way round. Japanese nibs are finer compared to euros.

Is... Is this a Texan extra-fine?*

*Image not magnified.

Oops. I grew up in Indiana - we're all frankly lucky I can read even this durn good, which ain't great. :/

That may be one the popular "cowboy fountain pens" that accompanied young men on their voyages out West!

Massdrop has a three-pack of Rhodia's great webnotebooks up for $54. That's a great price for some fine Clairefontaine paper (Rhodia's notebooks have Clairefontaine paper because of reasons). If you're interested, I'd recommend picking up at least one landscape-format book for an extra buck.

Throw out your Moleskines and go Rhodia.

While you're there, you can vote for another Pilot Metropolitan Retro 2-pack. 150 votes out of the 200 needed right now. I need more colors, so please vote.

Pen Chalet has Neponsets back in stock, in not terrible colors!

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

Well I just placed an order for a Lamy Safari Vista with a broad nib for £12.45. I'm very happy with that . A Pilot Metro would be at least half that but is more usually double that or more, here in the UK. I resisted the urge to also order a converter, bottled ink and paper. I'll see how I get on with it first and am intrigued to see how it takes to the paper I usually use here. Any thing I might wish to add to it can be picked up pretty cheaply here on eBay, including replacement nibs! I had no idea that that was an option but a quick google confirmed it. So excited to go an pick it up from my local Argos now .

 

[Teriyaki Blues]

Giant wall of excellent Pen Text! (Snipped)

Thanks for the very detailed reply! I have also swapped the Plumix and Metropolitan nibs, which you can see on that chicken scratch I posted earlier (if imgur loads it, anyway). If anyone else is thinking of trying this "hack", it is so, so easy. I'm definitely going to be picking up a couple more converters, I'd like an "unruined" -50 and a -20 as well, since I know these two both fit the Metro for sure.

So, I was thinking about picking up a second Metro or a Kakuno with the normal "Medium" nib, as that would give me two solid, affordable pens with different nibs, and a halfway decent one with a third nib. I find the Plumix oddly comfortable to write with, so I housed the Metro's old nib & feed in it. That way I'd have an extra pen to play with ink in right now (write now?), and then I could get a more expensive pen later, like for part of my year's end birthday/Christmas present.

I was thinking of going for the TWSBI Vac700, which is a vacuum filling demonstrator pen more in the 60-80 dollar range. You can buy several nibs separately with this pen for swapping purposes, but now I'm a little leery of the build quality, especially since I'm not great at screwing things gently (TWSS). I might save up for a while and get a more expensive system later, instead. Maybe I could try some Lamy pens, as they do seem to have a universal nib system (?), with an eye toward getting a piston filling 2000 later.

InfiniteNine - one of the suggestions I read for getting the pen to write smoothly is to flush the nib and feed out with water before filling to get rid of any dust or factory gunk, but just continuing to write with it did make things smoother, as I read this tip after attaching the cartridge.

Your drawings are so good! Very cute!

WooHoo (is that okay?) - congratulations on your Safari. I'll be looking out for your impressions!

 

[Bagels]

Thanks for the very detailed reply! I have also swapped the Plumix and Metropolitan nibs, which you can see on that chicken scratch I posted earlier (if imgur loads it, anyway). If anyone else is thinking of trying this "hack", it is so, so easy. I'm definitely going to be picking up a couple more converters, I'd like an "unruined" -50 and a -20 as well, since I know these two both fit the Metro for sure.

So, I was thinking about picking up a second Metro or a Kakuno with the normal "Medium" nib, as that would give me two solid, affordable pens with different nibs, and a halfway decent one with a third nib. I find the Plumix oddly comfortable to write with, so I housed the Metro's old nib & feed in it. That way I'd have an extra pen to play with ink in right now (write now?), and then I could get a more expensive pen later, like for part of my year's end birthday/Christmas present.

I was thinking of going for the TWSBI Vac700, which is a vacuum filling demonstrator pen more in the 60-80 dollar range. You can buy several nibs separately with this pen for swapping purposes, but now I'm a little leery of the build quality, especially since I'm not great at screwing things gently (TWSS). I might save up for a while and get a more expensive system later, instead. Maybe I could try some Lamy pens, as they do seem to have a universal nib system (?), with an eye toward getting a piston filling 2000 later.

InfiniteNine - one of the suggestions I read for getting the pen to write smoothly is to flush the nib and feed out with water before filling to get rid of any dust or factory gunk, but just continuing to write with it did make things smoother, as I read this tip after attaching the cartridge.

Your drawings are so good! Very cute!

WooHoo (is that okay?) - congratulations on your Safari. I'll be looking out for your impressions!

The Vac Mini is supposed to be less prone to cracking. You can see where the stresses are with crossed polarizers. The newer TWSBIs have been changed a bit to reduce the stresses that leas to the cracking.

The Vac Mini is super cool (I just refilled mine with Kon-peki! Fun!). It's really comfortable when posted, for me, and I can write just fine with it unposted if I want to fiddle around with the cap.

The Lamy nib system is nice, yeah. I'd still put my TWSBIs over my Lamys in my personal rankings.

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

Thanks for the very detailed reply! I have also swapped the Plumix and Metropolitan nibs, which you can see on that chicken scratch I posted earlier (if imgur loads it, anyway). If anyone else is thinking of trying this "hack", it is so, so easy. I'm definitely going to be picking up a couple more converters, I'd like an "unruined" -50 and a -20 as well, since I know these two both fit the Metro for sure.

So, I was thinking about picking up a second Metro or a Kakuno with the normal "Medium" nib, as that would give me two solid, affordable pens with different nibs, and a halfway decent one with a third nib. I find the Plumix oddly comfortable to write with, so I housed the Metro's old nib & feed in it. That way I'd have an extra pen to play with ink in right now (write now?), and then I could get a more expensive pen later, like for part of my year's end birthday/Christmas present.

I was thinking of going for the TWSBI Vac700, which is a vacuum filling demonstrator pen more in the 60-80 dollar range. You can buy several nibs separately with this pen for swapping purposes, but now I'm a little leery of the build quality, especially since I'm not great at screwing things gently (TWSS). I might save up for a while and get a more expensive system later, instead. Maybe I could try some Lamy pens, as they do seem to have a universal nib system (?), with an eye toward getting a piston filling 2000 later.

InfiniteNine - one of the suggestions I read for getting the pen to write smoothly is to flush the nib and feed out with water before filling to get rid of any dust or factory gunk, but just continuing to write with it did make things smoother, as I read this tip after attaching the cartridge.

Your drawings are so good! Very cute!

WooHoo (is that okay?) - congratulations on your Safari. I'll be looking out for your impressions!

Thanks . I shall certainly post my impressions and currently intend to inflict a pic of my scawl on you all! *evil laugh*

Please just refer to me as 'woo' . I am fond of my username but it is a bit of a mouthful!

The Vac Mini is supposed to be less prone to cracking. You can see where the stresses are with crossed polarizers. The newer TWSBIs have been changed a bit to reduce the stresses that leas to the cracking.

The Vac Mini is super cool (I just refilled mine with Kon-peki! Fun!). It's really comfortable when posted, for me, and I can write just fine with it unposted if I want to fiddle around with the cap.

The Lamy nib system is nice, yeah. I'd still put my TWSBIs over my Lamys in my personal rankings.

Before I settled on the Lamy I was strongly tempted by several different makes and models, most notably the Pilot Metro, Kakuno & Plumix, TWSBI Eco and Kaweko Sport. I have decided that if I stealth buy them over a period of time then I can kid myself that I am not going overboard and that they are an 'investment'. Hurrar for mental self justifications! Oh and I have been yearning for a Pilot Vanishing Point for yonks but I like to mental put my fingers in my ears and chant "la la la la la I can't hear you" to deal with that urge. One day....one day.

 

[MiszMasz]

Well I just placed an order for a Lamy Safari Vista with a broad nib for £12.45. I'm very happy with that . A Pilot Metro would be at least half that but is more usually double that or more, here in the UK. I resisted the urge to also order a converter, bottled ink and paper. I'll see how I get on with it first and am intrigued to see how it takes to the paper I usually use here. Any thing I might wish to add to it can be picked up pretty cheaply here on eBay, including replacement nibs! I had no idea that that was an option but a quick google confirmed it. So excited to go an pick it up from my local Argos now .

Excellent. You probably already know but keep in mind Lamy pens use a proprietary cartridge, you ought to get a blue one with it though. The nibs are ideal for experimenting and work out well price-wise too, shortly after getting my fine nibbed Safari I also got a 1.1 italic and it's my favourite nib so far.
Further to the above, in the UK (and it might be one of the reasons they're a little dearer here) Pilot Metros use standard international cartridges and converters, whereas in the US they also use proprietary types.

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

Excellent. You probably already know but keep in mind Lamy pens use a proprietary cartridge, you ought to get a blue one with it though. The nibs are ideal for experimenting and work out well price-wise too, shortly after getting my fine nibbed Safari I also got a 1.1 italic and it's my favourite nib so far.
Further to the above, in the UK (and it might be one of the reasons they're a little dearer here) Pilot Metros use standard international cartridges and converters, whereas in the US they also use proprietary types.

Thanks I was aware that they use a proprietary cartridge [thanks to this thread, <3 Bagels] but appreciate your thoughtfulness in mentioning it. It shall come with a single, blue cartridge [I just double checked] so that will allow me to use it to see if I wish to order some more and in what colours or a converter and some bottled ink. I am really excited by the ability to swap inexpensive nibs . That 1.1. italic got serious consideration before I settled on a broad.

Your comment about the Metros was very helpful, thank you. I thought once I decide on getting a Metro that I might import from the US since even with postage it would still be cheaper than the cost from the UK. Now however I think I might just swallow the few quid extra . Something to ponder later. I mustn't make my Lamy jealous! Now if it would only hurry up and bloody well get delivered [says the impatient one who only ordered it a few hours ago]. We need a tireless robot workforce and/or a replicator in every home STAT!

 

[Bagels]

Playing around with my m-nib orange Lamy Al-Star, I think my problem is in pulling exaggerated ascenders and descenders. The speed and pressure involved is spreading the tines of the nib enough to cause skipping. It's not an issue on my F-nib Safari, so I went ahead and spent ten bucks at Jetpens to order another F-nib. I'm hoping that does the trick!

 

[kharma45]

Well I just placed an order for a Lamy Safari Vista with a broad nib for £12.45. I'm very happy with that . A Pilot Metro would be at least half that but is more usually double that or more, here in the UK. I resisted the urge to also order a converter, bottled ink and paper. I'll see how I get on with it first and am intrigued to see how it takes to the paper I usually use here. Any thing I might wish to add to it can be picked up pretty cheaply here on eBay, including replacement nibs! I had no idea that that was an option but a quick google confirmed it. So excited to go an pick it up from my local Argos now .

I never thought to look in Argos, I went Amazon instead.

 

[deadeye]

My dad had a fountain pen back when I was a kid some 20+ years ago, and it always got messy when I ever tried to use it, especially when trying to fill it with ink. I haven't attempted to use one since then. However, I've been a fan of this thread for the past few days, and I've been convinced by the OP and everyone here to get one. I still do a lot of writing, and I purchase various different pens that I like, but I think it's time to step it up.

Yesterday, I started browsing through the OP's suggestion on which pen I should get. I really want the TWSBI Diamond 580, mainly for it's cool design, but I think I'll start with the Pilot Metropolitan. It seems to be the pen for beginners, and the price is affordable. I know I can get the TWSBI ECO, but for my first fountain pen, I'll take the cheaper one. If this goes the way the OP suggest I'll probably end up with a collection so I can always get the TWSBI next. I've never been so excited about a pen before. I'll post impressions when I finally get it.

Awesome thread OP. I read in a post that you have a mechanical pencil thread. I am going to have to check that one out as well.

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

I never thought to look in Argos, I went Amazon instead.

Oh I didn't go to Argos; sorry for misleading you. No, it was eBay but I selected to pick it up from my local Argos which is only half a mile away. Much more convenient than postie trying [or not] to deliver it, leaving a card and then having to go and pick it up from the postal depot.

 

[Union Carbine]

Got a hold of a couple of Metropolitans and a Plumix and did the nib switch. It'll take some getting used to but I like the italic nib.

 

[Teriyaki Blues]

Got a hold of a couple of Metropolitans and a Plumix and did the nib switch. It'll take some getting used to but I like the italic nib.

Yep, the Italic seems to like cursive better for me (that continual light nib pressure) which I haven't used much in over 20 years, because High School.

Also, I swapped the feeds from the Plumix and the Metro when swapping the nib - don't do that. The feed from the Plumix fell out of the Metro when I stood up, taking the nib and a good amount of ink with it. (My sock! Better than "my carpet!", though.) Good thing the Metro feed is a lighter color.

Is that an Alice/Jabberwocky reference there? I like your handwriting, it has a unique style while being easy to read at the same time.

Bagels - good luck with the Lamy, you have filled me with determination to get the TWSBI Eco for my year's end splurge.

deadeye - welcome to the madness! The Metropolitan is nothing like the comparably priced fountain pens from my high school years. It writes well and doesn't leak. All of my ink splatter problems have been due to me excessively experimenting and tinkering with the pen, compounded with a large amount of clumsy oafishness. Are you picking up a Plumix for the Medium Italic nib, too? It is so nice, I think it may actually be a Prera (~40$ pen) nib, because they have the exact same manufacturing marks on them.

The mechanical pencil thread is great, I hate the things, but I did use it to find a gift for an artist, who loves it.

 

[Union Carbine]

...I swapped the feeds from the Plumix and the Metro when swapping the nib - don't do that. The feed from the Plumix fell out of the Metro when I stood up, taking the nib and a good amount of ink with it. (My sock! Better than "my carpet!", though.) Good thing the Metro feed is a lighter color.

I almost did that myself.

Is that an Alice/Jabberwocky reference there? I like your handwriting, it has a unique style while being easy to read at the same time.

Yes it is and thanks. I've let my handwriting skills slip over time. I'm trying to get them back.

I couldn't resist getting a couple of the J. Herbin 1670 inks (Stormy Grey, Emerald of Chivor). Do I need to take special precautions with respect to cleaning out the pen reservoirs after use?

 

[injurai]

So I saw two demonstrations of the twsbi eco. Fine and Extra Fine nibs. I'm having a hard time deciding between the two. I probably tend to write more with an EF myself. Though a cool thing about fountain pens is that variable width. On the other hand the Fine demonstration seemed to not change as much as the EF anyways...

Will one require me to be more careful with my writing technique than the other?

 

[Bagels]

I almost did that myself.

Yes it is and thanks. I've let my handwriting skills slip over time. I'm trying to get them back.

I couldn't resist getting a couple of the J. Herbin 1670 inks (Stormy Grey, Emerald of Chivor). Do I need to take special precautions with respect to cleaning out the pen reservoirs after use?

The gold settles out quickly and it will build up in the ink feed. My pens are going strong with all the gold buildup, but I would not use one of these inks in a fancy pen.

You can clean the feed, reservoir, etc. But I just set aside Parallel Pens, Metros, and one TWSBI Eco (the 1.1 stub makes Emerald of Chivor look great!) for these inks.

 

[Union Carbine]

The gold settles out quickly and it will build up in the ink feed. My pens are going strong with all the gold buildup, but I would not use one of these inks in a fancy pen.

You can clean the feed, reservoir, etc. But I just set aside Parallel Pens, Metros, and one TWSBI Eco (the 1.1 stub makes Emerald of Chivor look great!) for these inks.

Ah, good idea. I actually already ordered a Noodler's Ahab and Creaper pens to mess around with a flex nib. I'll use it with one of those when they arrive.

 

[Ambient80]

I knew this thread was written by Bagels before I even opened it. I love it

I'll check out the Metro!

EDIT: Subscribed

 

[Union Carbine]

Today ended up being pen-pocalypse. Got my Massdrop Stipula Passport and my Goulet Pens order (Noodler's Ahab, Creaper, and inks) all in today.

Pics below (don't read much into the colors, the lighting in my apartment isn't great and I can't figure out how to adjust the light temperature on my iPhone camera images):

Stipula Passport:

Noodler's Creaper:

(Note: here's a few images of the same sheet taken without flash, with flash, and then under natural light. See how the visibility of the gold flecks differs in each. Originally I had thought I'd been unlucky and not got any until I saw the picture with the flash.)

My current working collection:

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

I just got back with my Lamy Safari Vista. The black Lamy branded cardboard box with the cut out slats is very odd. I am not really sure what I shall do with it. I might just leave it flat. The pen itself is a handsome little bugger though . Cartridge now in place I shall have a little play and edit in some pics if I feel sadistic enough to inflict my scrawl on you .

 

[toff74]

So, after much deliberation i went ahead and purchased a Ohto Dude.

I'd never heard of them and knew nothing of them, just went for it. The display was a wash of Lamy's and Kaweco's and this all metal, nicely finished pen just jumped out at me. I gave it a whirl and it was lovaly and smooth. The nib flexed so gave a nice variable width of line. Just remember not to press too hard. Was a good starter for 10.

During this time (and as my previous post) I was also umming and arring over something a little more substantial.. i had my eyes on a few but one jumped out at me.. a Diplomat: The Excellence a Plus. Was a lot more than I wanted to pay, but as a little Valentine treat to myself I thought why not. Ordered yesterday, arrived today.

A brief walk down Oxford Street at lunch and a visit to Selfridges got my the ink - Caran d'Ache Chromatics Infinite Grey.

Its been quite a non-productive afternnon (from an occupation POV) but I'm in luuuuurve.

The pen is the Guilloch version and what i couldn't see from the VDU's is that its quite a dark grey in colour. Matched with the silky smooth ink its an absolute delight. Lovely to write with and a pleasure to look down on. The nib is smooth, not much line variation. The ink is a lovely grey with a moody dark outline. Cant wait to start writing now...

Anyhows, for a leftie like me its just perfect!!!!

 

[Nymerio]

I've always loved to write but at some point I just stopped. I've had the opportunity to write some letters last year and thought I'd just keep at it this time. So I've started writing one of these 5 year books where you write a couple of lines every day and I've also started writing a journal. I started with my old Parker Vector that I still had from school:

I also got a Lamy Safari with a M nib but I'm not that big of a fan. I figured the M nib would be about as broad as my Vector M nib but it's a lot thinner. I've also got two Lamy Joy sets with three nib sizes (1.1mm, 1.5mm and 1.9mm) that I usually use to write my journal. I also just ordered a Lamy cp1 because I love the way it looks, this time I went straight for the B nib though, hope it's similar to my Vector. Just got to get myself one these sexy black nibs.

 

[Grakl]

Hilarious OP

 

[Savitar]

Damnit people, I didn't want one.

Then I looked at this thread and I find myself wanting, nay needing one.

I'll have to go look some up.

 

[Bagels]

So, after much deliberation i went ahead and purchased a Ohto Dude.

I'd never heard of them and knew nothing of them, just went for it. The display was a wash of Lamy's and Kaweco's and this all metal, nicely finished pen just jumped out at me. I gave it a whirl and it was lovaly and smooth. The nib flexed so gave a nice variable width of line. Just remember not to press too hard. Was a good starter for 10.

During this time (and as my previous post) I was also umming and arring over something a little more substantial.. i had my eyes on a few but one jumped out at me.. a Diplomat: The Excellence a Plus. Was a lot more than I wanted to pay, but as a little Valentine treat to myself I thought why not. Ordered yesterday, arrived today.

A brief walk down Oxford Street at lunch and a visit to Selfridges got my the ink - Caran d'Ache Chromatics Infinite Grey.

Its been quite a non-productive afternnon (from an occupation POV) but I'm in luuuuurve.

The pen is the Guilloch version and what i couldn't see from the VDU's is that its quite a dark grey in colour. Matched with the silky smooth ink its an absolute delight. Lovely to write with and a pleasure to look down on. The nib is smooth, not much line variation. The ink is a lovely grey with a moody dark outline. Cant wait to start writing now...

Anyhows, for a leftie like me its just perfect!!!!

Gorgeous pen and that ink looks so good! Caran d'Ache bottles are so cool!

Hilarious OP

Thank you!

 

[pdog128]

I'm a relative newcomer to fountain pens, using a (cheap) Waterman and a (cheap) Lamy in the course of my professional life.

For Christmas, I got a (cheap) Pilot Metropolitan

and paired it with some Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo ink (Moonlit Night)

Dead sexy.

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

:/

 

[Union Carbine]

Lamy Safari, Lamy ink, on Rhodia paper:

 

[CheesecakeRecipe]

I'm a relative newcomer to fountain pens, using a (cheap) Waterman and a (cheap) Lamy in the course of my professional life.

For Christmas, I got a (cheap) Pilot Metropolitan


and paired it with some Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo ink (Moonlit Night)


Dead sexy.

Good choices! The lizard bronze Metro was my first serious fountain pen, and Tsuki-yo became my signature color the moment I used the sample I ordered from Goulet. Fell in love with its blue-teal base and deep blue shades on the more saturated strokes. If I had to write with a single ink from here on out, it'd still be Tsuki-yo by a long shot!

 

[Bboy AJ]

I got my Lamy 1.1 nib yesterday. Ah, much better. Also, it came with like five nibs. I don't need that many!

I also got my TWSBI Eco 1.1. What a cool pen. I love it. It looks awesome. I wish I had just bought this one from the start.

Also got my Storm Grey ink. It looks great and the gold shimmer is really apparent if you're looking for it.

Yesterday was a huge day for me.

 

[Teriyaki Blues]

I got my second Metro today, so now I have three pens with interchangeable nibs and already too much ink!

Lessons I've learned so far: Not interchangeable refillable cartridges, don't put a con-20 or con-50 into a Plumix body! Not interchangeable feeds either, keep that Plumix feed with the Plumix! And finally, ink goes everywhere. You can't stop it, don't even try. Steel your resolve and do extra laundry.

My greedy cat was fighting me while I was writing and doing the "photo shoot". You would think the 30 minute brushing session and the 30 minute petting session would be enough!

Anyway, I think this illustrates well the problem I have with the calligraphy nib, it is way harder for me to maintain the "sweet spot" contact and keep the tines level when printing, whereas cursive is nice and wet.

The Pilot Iroshizuku "Ajisai" ink makes me wish I liked blue ink. I kind of view Blue, Red, and Black as "boring office colors". Like, they are necessary to have around, but not fun, if that makes any sense.

Very impressed by Goulet's packing job, and I'm a sucker for tiny papers, so getting that notebook sampler with the InkDrop membership discount was a no-brainer, and I picked up a couple of basic maintenance tools as well.

 

[Bagels]

I got my Lamy 1.1 nib yesterday. Ah, much better. Also, it came with like five nibs. I don't need that many!

I also got my TWSBI Eco 1.1. What a cool pen. I love it. It looks awesome. I wish I had just bought this one from the start.

Also got my Storm Grey ink. It looks great and the gold shimmer is really apparent if you're looking for it.

Yesterday was a huge day for me.

Very nice! Glad you're liking what you've picked up! Stormy Grey is a killer ink.

I plopped a new F nib on my orange Lamy Al-Star. It's already writing better! Lamys take a bit of breaking in for me, but this is a huge improvement over the M already.

I got my second Metro today, so now I have three pens with interchangeable nibs and already too much ink!

Lessons I've learned so far: Not interchangeable refillable cartridges, don't put a con-20 or con-50 into a Plumix body! Not interchangeable feeds either, keep that Plumix feed with the Plumix! And finally, ink goes everywhere. You can't stop it, don't even try. Steel your resolve and do extra laundry.



My greedy cat was fighting me while I was writing and doing the "photo shoot". You would think the 30 minute brushing session and the 30 minute petting session would be enough!

Anyway, I think this illustrates well the problem I have with the calligraphy nib, it is way harder for me to maintain the "sweet spot" contact and keep the tines level when printing, whereas cursive is nice and wet.

The Pilot Iroshizuku "Ajisai" ink makes me wish I liked blue ink. I kind of view Blue, Red, and Black as "boring office colors". Like, they are necessary to have around, but not fun, if that makes any sense.

Very impressed by Goulet's packing job, and I'm a sucker for tiny papers, so getting that notebook sampler with the InkDrop membership discount was a no-brainer, and I picked up a couple of basic maintenance tools as well.

Sweet! I've sort of learned to live with perpetually ink-stained hands. It's only a problem with my more blood-like reds.

Most blues are a bit boring, in that office kinda way, but I like blue so much that I stick with blue inks in a few pens. The Iroshizuku blues are all killer. I use a lot of Kon-peki. Sailor Yama-dori is another favorite, moving away from a straight-up true blue. A more turquoise or teal color will pop off the page more, so I love those.

I now have a few purple inks around and they seem nice as

edit: I just realized I left that last sentence hanging like that.

 

[Teriyaki Blues]

Ajisai is a cursed ink. Tried to use it three times, in two different converters, across three pens. I used the last bit to try the con-20 out in the new Metro with the Medium Nib... put the black Metro down. Picked it up. Converter wasn't secured enough, and was rattling around in there. I waited until I was over a sink to take the pen apart this time. Pen is having a quick bath in my empty maraschino cherry jar.

My hand is sky-blue now, though. And my sink is very clean. Perks! (Paste of baking soda + liquid soap will take ink right out of non-porous surfaces, test for scratch resistance first.)

I do love a good turquoise, so maybe I'll look for one. I love yellow too, but it generally isn't a great ink or art supply. A perfect yellow is too light, and if you get darker it goes too much toward chartreuse or gold/amber.

Speaking of Oranges, nice pen/ink combo there, Bagels! I'm glad the new nib is writing better for you.

 

[Bagels]

Thanks! I have a real weakness for orange. Lamy released the orange Al-Star alongside a great orange ink. I love the combo!

 

[injurai]

That lamy orange looks really nice. I kinda want to buy the new charged green color. I'm trying to decide between that and the TWSBI Eco right now...

I like the screw cap and large reservoir of the TWSBI but the Lamy seems like it might be better to shove in my pocket...

 

[deadeye]

It was delivered last night.

 

[Teriyaki Blues]

It was delivered last night.

Looks great! Don't worry about the paper, I've been doing my casual writing on something very similar with the purple Metro with the Plumix nib and purple ink. Doesn't bleed through or feather (or beaver lol) excessively unless I rest the nib on the paper too long, and that's with the nib (the Calligraphy Medium, I guess is the official name) that digs up paper. The F(ine) nib is even better, but like I said before, black ink is just too sober for me to use recreationally.

 

[Union Carbine]

Trying my hand at some black lettering:

 

[Bagels]

That lamy orange looks really nice. I kinda want to buy the new charged green color. I'm trying to decide between that and the TWSBI Eco right now...

I like the screw cap and large reservoir of the TWSBI but the Lamy seems like it might be better to shove in my pocket...

The Lamy is a nice sturdy pen if you need something that will survive banging around in a pocket. I'd pick up a Safari with a plastic body over the metal Al-Star, though. The metal will scratch over time.

It was delivered last night.

Yay!

Looks great! Don't worry about the paper, I've been doing my casual writing on something very similar with the purple Metro with the Plumix nib and purple ink. Doesn't bleed through or feather (or beaver lol) excessively unless I rest the nib on the paper too long, and that's with the nib (the Calligraphy Medium, I guess is the official name) that digs up paper. The F(ine) nib is even better, but like I said before, black ink is just too sober for me to use recreationally.

Good paper make a huge difference, but you can get away with those finer nibs on cheap paper (but do beware of beavering! And also Linguini-ation of the ligatures! It's a epidemic.)

Trying my hand at some black lettering:

Yay! I have a ton of good calligraphy books if you want a recommendation!

 

[Union Carbine]

Yay! I have a ton of good calligraphy books if you want a recommendation!

Would love some!

 

[Teriyaki Blues]

Would love some!

Me too! Perhaps a little section added to the OP with some pen/advice (Parallels siren song), preferred paper & ink (too much overlap?) and some beginner/intermediate/advanced book recommendations?

 

[EdwardTivrusky]

Oh, you dog, bagels! Curse you! I thought i was free!

I ADORE the finish on those Burnt Orange Al-Stars but they're £30+ now, grrrrr! So instead i'll have to buy a Charge Green one with an F nib, converter and some bottled inks. Browns and Blue-greens i fancy.

Any recommended online stores in the UK? I've been using Cult Pens and they've been great but i feel like having a look at what else is about.

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

Oh, you dog, bagels! Curse you! I thought i was free!

I ADORE the finish on those Burnt Orange Al-Stars but they're £30+ now, grrrrr! So instead i'll have to buy a Charge Green one with an F nib, converter and some bottled inks. Browns and Blue-greens i fancy.

Any recommended online stores in the UK? I've been using Cult Pens and they've been great but i feel like having a look at what else is about.

I'm pretty sure that at least a couple of UK friendly sites have been mentioned in the thread. Worth a quick ctrl+f. Have you tried eBay UK? I saved a few quid t'other day doing that on my Lamy.

 

[MiszMasz]

Oh, you dog, bagels! Curse you! I thought i was free!

I ADORE the finish on those Burnt Orange Al-Stars but they're £30+ now, grrrrr! So instead i'll have to buy a Charge Green one with an F nib, converter and some bottled inks. Browns and Blue-greens i fancy.

Any recommended online stores in the UK? I've been using Cult Pens and they've been great but i feel like having a look at what else is about.

UK too, i've used Cult Pens and found them to be pretty great, my last order even got an indelible, fine marker and some Haribo thrown in for free. Amazon's an obvious thing to check for price comparisons too.

I've also made an order from each of these and had no problems at all:
The Writing Desk.
Pen And Paper.

Pen and Paper sometimes have pretty good discounts (i got a Lamy Nexx M with an italic nib for around £10 a little while ago), and The Writing Desk has a really good range of brands and models.

Edit: Something to keep in mind, Cult Pens and PandP have free delivery over £10, WDesk over £20.

 

[EdwardTivrusky]

Yeah, i'll go back through the thread and Bagel's other thread for store links for future reference but i got impatient and impulsive after dithering for a few weeks so i went and splurged!

2016 Lamy Al-Star Charge Green Special Edition - Fine
Kaweco Classic Sport Fountain Pen Dark Brown Special Edition - Medium
Platinum Preppy - Blue/Black - Fine

Some Converters for Platinum and Lamy
30ml Diamine Eclipse
30ml Diamine Deep Dark Brown
Cult Pens International Standard - Short - Regal Colours Assortment

There's a free notebook and Lamy Charge Green inks with that order and i wanted to try some different makers and i'm a complete sucker for special editions - so i went a bit wild. I'll post some pics and a handwriting sample over the weekend if the order turns up tomorrow

edit: Thanks Woo and MiszMasz! I've seen those sites on youtube, Misz so it's good to know they're ok and i'll give them a whirl next time!

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

UK too, i've used Cult Pens and found them to be pretty great, my last order even got an indelible, fine marker and some Haribo thrown in for free. Amazon's an obvious thing to check for price comparisons too.

I've also made an order from each of these and had no problems at all:
The Writing Desk.
Pen And Paper.

Pen and Paper sometimes have pretty good discounts (i got a Lamy Nexx M with an italic nib for around £10 a little while ago), and The Writing Desk has a really good range of brands and models.

Edit: Something to keep in mind, Cult Pens and PandP have free delivery over £10, WDesk over £20.

Bookmarked for future reference; thanks .

Yeah, i'll go back through the thread and Bagel's other thread for store links for future reference but i got impatient and impulsive after dithering for a few weeks so i went and splurged!



There's a free notebook and Lamy Charge Green inks with that order and i wanted to try some different makers and i'm a complete sucker for special editions - so i went a bit wild. I'll post some pics and a handwriting sample over the weekend if the order turns up tomorrow

edit: Thanks Woo and MiszMasz! I've seen those sites on youtube, Misz so it's good to know they're ok and i'll give them a whirl next time!

Well the good news is that you no longer need to dither . Oh and if you're going to splurge you might as well splurge big or go home, or something. I shall look forward to your pics

 

[Nopren]

I'm having a bit of a problem with my TWSBI Eco 1.1.

It is leaking whenever I shake it with the "face" of the nib facing downwards. I've tried to push the nib and feed in tighter but that doesn't seem to help.

Any suggestions?

 

[CheesecakeRecipe]

I'm having a bit of a problem with my TWSBI Eco 1.1.

It is leaking whenever I shake it with the "face" of the nib facing downwards. I've tried to push the nib and feed in tighter but that doesn't seem to help.

Any suggestions?

Fountain pens aren't meant to be shaken like that! The feed mechanism uses capillary action to loosely soak up ink like a sponge and suspend it directly under the nib. Ink suitable for fountain pens is mostly water, so it's already fairly lubricated and capable of leaking everywhere the second you give it a reason to. Holding the pen with the nib pointed towards the ground and shaking it will lob ink out like a really messy slingshot, both a costly and difficult to clean lesson to learn.

This is why fountain pen clips are always angled so that the nib faces upward - ink is less likely to spit out when gravity is keeping the ink pulled towards the reservoir/converter. You still wouldn't want to run a marathon with it in your pocket, but is good enough for everyday activity. Some pens are also a little more leaky than others, which seems to depend heavily on the feed design as well as the ink itself. Some manufacturers add additional lubricants to ensure smooth writing at faster speeds, which exacerbates the amount of ink that would spill out if the pen is shaken. My TWSBI Mini had some ink-burping issues when none of my other pens did, and I suspect the wider fins of the feed are partially to blame for its sensitivity over my Pilot pens.

Is there any reason in particular why you're shaking it? Hard starting? General dryness? Trying to get the gorgeous particles in a shimmery ink evenly mixed in before writing?

 

[Nopren]

Trying to get the gorgeous particles in a shimmery ink evenly mixed in before writing?

Bingo.
I have it filled with Emerald of Chivor. Gotta get dat dust mixed.
But thanks for the detailed answer. I was just worried if I had gotten a defect pen, but I will instead be more careful when mixing the ink in the future.

 

[Union Carbine]

Bingo.
I have it filled with Emerald of Chivor. Gotta get dat dust mixed.
But thanks for the detailed answer. I was just worried if I had gotten a defect pen, but I will instead be more careful when mixing the ink in the future.

Not sure if it's just me but I've gotten great shimmer action without having to shake the pen at all. Maybe I just got a great fill but I've been getting consistent sheen with from my Creaper with that ink without having to do anything special.