Ah, wonderful, I'll check it out. Hopefully one of the craft/hobby stores around here has that (or something similar) in stock so I can look before buying.
Thank you!
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An Intro to Fountain Pens
- Thread starter Bagels
- Start date
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Ah, wonderful, I'll check it out. Hopefully one of the craft/hobby stores around here has that (or something similar) in stock so I can look before buying.
Thank you!
Thanks Bagels, I am going to see if I can track down any Sailor ink when I'm in Asia. I think it's actually easier to order rather than hunt down and bring back myself, considering the liquid allowances in hand-baggage. . .
Fiiiiinally I found my connecting cable. Ink fiending imminent - here are my long-delayed pics of the Sailor Kobe inks, a couple of J. Herbins and my current fave, R&K Alt Goldgrun:
Rhodia papers are bright white and super smooth. If you want a bit more of a handmade, old-fashioned feel (or have a hard time finding rhodia), I recommend some G. Lalo or Crown Mill. The paper is a bit heavier and has texture. It comes in a few different colours, and is sold in pads, with matching envelopes sold separately.
It's what I would use for a classy thank-you note, and works great with fountain pens.
Fiiiiinally I found my connecting cable. Ink fiending imminent - here are my long-delayed pics of the Sailor Kobe inks, a couple of J. Herbins and my current fave, R&K Alt Goldgrun:
The Rouille D'Ancre is actually really nice. Kind of a dusty pink - way more usable IMO than the Okamoto pink above. I gotta say though I really dislike the J. Herbin ink bottles. Way too shallow to be practical.
I love this ink and it feels lovely to write with, too. This is the exact colour of this weird '70s footstool that I gave away when clearing my mom's place out and have pined for ever since.
Rhodia papers are bright white and super smooth. If you want a bit more of a handmade, old-fashioned feel (or have a hard time finding rhodia), I recommend some G. Lalo or Crown Mill. The paper is a bit heavier and has texture. It comes in a few different colours, and is sold in pads, with matching envelopes sold separately.
It's what I would use for a classy thank-you note, and works great with fountain pens.
Ah, thank you as well! I'll definitely check out all of the suggestions. Appreciate the feedback!
I wanted to toss out another beginner fountain pen recommendation - the Pilot Kakuno!
Jetpens has the Kakuno in a variety of colors, in F or M nib, for $16.50.
It's a pen aimed at children, hence the smiley face engraved on the nib. But come on! No Montblanc pen will give you that feature, no matter how much you spend! And look at it! Look at how happy he is! It's a chunky, hexagonal body, plastic pen, but it's a Pilot, so it writes ridiculously well for something that costs less than 20 bucks. I picked up an F nib for once and I'm very happy with it. It's a bit scratchier than most of my non-italic nib pens, but it's very very minimal. It doesn't feel cheap at all. Coming from writing mainly with mechanical pencils, I find that I often like a bit more "feel" between nib and paper than you'll get with the smoothest, most luxurious fountain pen.
It comes with one standard Pilot cartridge and it will take Pilot converters, too. As always, Pilot cartridges are super easy to rinse and refill. The capacity is higher than the standard converter, so I really recommend this. Goulet pens sells a set of two syringes with blunt needles which are super handy, particularly for Lamy or Kaweco carts, which have smaller openings.
It just makes me happy to write with my Kakuno! The silly nib is obviously part of that - I'm a sucker for things like that - but it just feels great in your hand, I like the colorful cap, the weight is perfect...it all comes together to make for a really nice experience. And maybe there's some psychological effect from it being a chunky plastic pen aimed at kids. It's great if you get hung up on writing with a fountain pen being this super serious thing, only for your most super serious thoughts. This is just FUN. And, at $16.50 each, it may become the pen I give tot people who are interested in trying a fountain pen.
Jetpens' images:
Jetpens has the Kakuno in a variety of colors, in F or M nib, for $16.50.
It's a pen aimed at children, hence the smiley face engraved on the nib. But come on! No Montblanc pen will give you that feature, no matter how much you spend! And look at it! Look at how happy he is! It's a chunky, hexagonal body, plastic pen, but it's a Pilot, so it writes ridiculously well for something that costs less than 20 bucks. I picked up an F nib for once and I'm very happy with it. It's a bit scratchier than most of my non-italic nib pens, but it's very very minimal. It doesn't feel cheap at all. Coming from writing mainly with mechanical pencils, I find that I often like a bit more "feel" between nib and paper than you'll get with the smoothest, most luxurious fountain pen.
It comes with one standard Pilot cartridge and it will take Pilot converters, too. As always, Pilot cartridges are super easy to rinse and refill. The capacity is higher than the standard converter, so I really recommend this. Goulet pens sells a set of two syringes with blunt needles which are super handy, particularly for Lamy or Kaweco carts, which have smaller openings.
It just makes me happy to write with my Kakuno! The silly nib is obviously part of that - I'm a sucker for things like that - but it just feels great in your hand, I like the colorful cap, the weight is perfect...it all comes together to make for a really nice experience. And maybe there's some psychological effect from it being a chunky plastic pen aimed at kids. It's great if you get hung up on writing with a fountain pen being this super serious thing, only for your most super serious thoughts. This is just FUN. And, at $16.50 each, it may become the pen I give tot people who are interested in trying a fountain pen.
Jetpens' images:
Nappuccino
Member
I really want to try that color and I'm red-green colorblind.
Puts me in a weird predicament, as far as explaining the appeal, I think.
Cheesecakerecipe and I were talking and one thing we LOVE about great inks is the way they shade. Even without getting the full impact of the color, the variation in shading is just so pleasing! For example, I never thought I'd want a grey ink when there are so many amazing colors, but damn if the two Iroshizuku greys I've tried aren't some of my absolute favorites. The shading is just so cool!
Nappuccino
Member
So far the only ink I've tried is Noodler's black (I write a bunch and I'm still not halfway through the bottle lol) and yes, the variations in color is one of my favorite things when it comes to writing with my fountain pen.
I've been browsing around for a good red ink to try (Gonna be teaching a class next semester, I need to mark their papers up good) and the consensus seems to be red inks don't do shading all that well? Well, that ancient copper looks mighty pleasing. Shame I cannot find a place that sells it with free shipping when shipping is nearly half the price of the bottle
Are you in the US? If you haven't discovered Gouletpens ink samples yet, then you are in for a treat! Each one is 2mL (which is actually a good amount of ink) and the most expensive samples are $2.50(!). It beats the heck out of committing to a full bottle before you know if you'll like it! And having a collection of samples to try out makes me insanely happy. I have a case full of them. I'll buy a bunch to try out different brands and colors and I also subscribe to ink drop, which gives me another 5 samples, chosen around some theme, every month. It is so damn fun!
Nappuccino
Member
Yes I am . . . and this looks awesome.
Thanks for the heads up!
It is seriously the best thing ever. Just, in general, Gouletpens is a wonderful company to shop from. Jetpens has the wider selection of pens, paper, and office supplies, and more cheap stuff - Goulet tends towards the premium a bit more - but both have great prices and phenomenal customer service. And Goulet is THE place to look for inks. It's like being a kid looking at penny candy - you can spend an afternoon browsing samples, fill your shopping cart, and end up with a bill for $20. They have some collections pre-made, too. You can get a selection of reds, for example, or a complete set of Iroshizuku.
The brilliant Sera O got my hooked on Pilot Iroshizuku Momiji, which is the closest to a straight-up red they make (Iroshizuku is Pilot's super premium line of inks. They seem to be universally loved among FP people. They write beautifully and the shading you get from them is insane!) . It goes on a little more pink, but shades to a rich red, with little hints of gold. It's such a gorgeous ink! I used a diluted wash of momiji for the card I made for my mum:
The standard Pilot red is the one color that disappoints me from the Mixable Colours line. The colo(u)r is fine, but it's waterier than the other colors and tends to feather for me. Also, like you said, some reds just do not shade.
I could not resist trying the Yama-dori in my calligraphy pens. I only had a 1.5mm ready to go (it's my least favorite size to work with, for whatever reason), but even the smallest Pilot Parallel nib writes very wet. The upside is that it brings out the red sheen, Sera O:
This ink is just so incredibly good! Jetpens has the normal Jentle ink line and I'm thinking I may need some more colors!
(that Rohrer and Klinger you posted is gorgeous, too!)
So I have a Sheaffer pen with a wide calligraphy nib attached and filled with Noodler's Bulletproof black.
I've been practicing doodling on cheap notecards which is really scratchy, but at least I'm not wasting any good paper.
Would it be better on me or the pen to switch to printer paper or something else? Just worried about doing long term damage to the nib if that makes any sense.
I've been practicing doodling on cheap notecards which is really scratchy, but at least I'm not wasting any good paper.
Would it be better on me or the pen to switch to printer paper or something else? Just worried about doing long term damage to the nib if that makes any sense.
CheesecakeRecipe
Stormy Grey
I wanted to toss out another beginner fountain pen recommendation - the Pilot Kakuno!
Totally going to get one of these for my little sister. She really loved when I let her mess around with the Metropolitan and TWSBI Mini so I think for a nice "going back to school" present I'll have one of these at her spot at the table that morning.
Speaking of TWSBI Mini and awesome (and the incredible breakfast-bread, Bagels), late last week I had this lovely thing show up at my doorstep:
Bagels, under the guise of sending me one of his BagelGram messages, had sent me a TWSBI Mini 1.1 Stub! I was just... floored. Like, I don't think I have ever had someone go out of their way to send me a physical item like that. I'm still kinda just like... damn. This Bagels guy!
I still prefer a certain style with my pens but the demonstrator model for this pen still manages to look fairly professional and feels great in the hand. Unfortunately it had some ink flow issues and I had to send it in to TWSBI for repairs but within 4 days it was back home and writing as smoothly as possible:
I enjoy the line variation between the vertical and horizontal lines, though the pen requires angles that are a bit wider than I would use for daily writing. Also featured are some handwriting practice at extending my ascenders and descenders, which had been given to me by Bagels earlier that day.
tl;dr, Bagels is a super awesome dude who sent me a super awesome pen!
I don't know if you'll damage the nib, but it's no fun writing on crappy paper. If you're going to use a fountain pen, especially one with a calligraphy nib, you'll want some paper that will hold the ink and not feather it all over the place. You don't want to lose those thick to thins!
We've hinted at it before - MR4001 and I are working together on a paper thread. I've been busy with other stuff, so I'm holding up the works. I'll try to get my part done and get this thing out the door soon.
For now, printer paper may be a step up (notecards just suck), but it will be a crapshoot. You might luck out and find something that holds fountain pen ink perfectly, or it might be total crap.
If you really want the best writing experience, buy a decent pad of paper to work with. You can't go wrong with Rhodia.
Lined for $9
Grid for $9
Smaller pad for $6.50
Dotpad for $10.60
Giant dotpad for $13.25
This last one is a great value if what you really want is paper to practice on. The paper size is like having two legal pads side-by-side. It's a whopping 16.5" x 12.5". I like using it to compose my OMEGA BagelGrams, which people seem to get a kick out of. Or, you can actually get a lot of very practical use out of the paper by simply folding in half for four book-page-like leaves.
Horse Detective
Why the long case?
Thank you! I will look over all of these.
Oh my... that pink! - I WANT IT.
Some - not here, though - will look down at anything that isn't perfect Spencerian or whatever - fuck them. As long as your handwriting is readable it's good - don't feel conscious about it. Just write, write and write and you'll find a style of hand that suits you to a T. (I hate it on FPN when they're all like it's the end of the world because children arn't taught 'proper' cursive, and so on...)
Ew! Not one for ornate pens. Pelikans're about as fancy as I like. Beauty is simplicity, I think.
My heart skips when someone brings up Rhodia paper.... specifically R -
NOTHING like it. Worth every cent.
Bagels - That Yama-dori is breathtaking. How "bullet-proof" is it? I've had to lean away from inks without waterproof properties based on the fact that I get very clammy, sweaty hands. Unfortunately - my pads and paper will see significant smudges if I don't use "bullet" inks.
NOTHING like it. Worth every cent.
Bagels - That Yama-dori is breathtaking. How "bullet-proof" is it? I've had to lean away from inks without waterproof properties based on the fact that I get very clammy, sweaty hands. Unfortunately - my pads and paper will see significant smudges if I don't use "bullet" inks.
phxxBullet
Banned
Same goes for Austria. Had to use that damn thing for ~8 years. Most annoying time of my life. It took ages for the ink to dry, and I often had to write something twice because I'd put my hand down the wet ink by accident and everything blurred.
It's hard to capture the neon quality it has in a photo, but it is really bright!
Look at theeeeese!! I want them all immediately. Apparently they're handmade though, so $$$$$$$$$$$$
Good lord, the cogs/gears piece and the spider web piece are wonderful!
Can't believe I haven't seen this thread until now - I look forward to perusing it in full later on tonight.
(Proud owner of a lim. ed. Mozart Mont Blanc)
I'd love to see it. Does it also have an italic nib? That's my middle name - "Does it also have an italic nib?" It's...Dutch.
If a FEW people want some Yama-dori, I can send it along! Or...trade?!?!?!?
Horse Detective
Why the long case?
Just got my fine nib metropolitan in the mail. I am very satisfied, perfect transition from the platinum preppy.
Just got my fine nib metropolitan in the mail. I am very satisfied, perfect transition from the platinum preppy.
Oh man! Amazing! So glad you like it! Go to gouletpens, check out the ink samples, and find some you like! Either get a converter or wash out the Pilot carts!
You have serious talent!
Horse Detective
Why the long case?
Hey, thanks! I would like to find some darker, glossy inks.
This is the best thing ever - gouletpens samples. The most expensive are $2.50 (for the premium stuff. Most are $1.50). They are 2mL each. Most pens hold 1mL or less.
And they are the best company to deal with. Love them so much!Keep posting your artwork! I love it!
Here is my latest illuminated triumph:
Goulet has the Metropolitan in F nib.
More colors available. $15, but some are out of stock. Other places have the M nib.
Jetpens has the happy Pilot Kakuno for $16.50 in F nib.
I love them both, especially at that price! Pilot is my brand of choice - they both take the Pilot Mixable Colours carts, converters, or you can refill the carts! Great buys!
Sorry for the double post.
Any advice on HOLDING a pen properly? Windam keeps BUGGING ME about it. Unfortunately, my grip is idiosyncratic because of the surgery I had on my hand. I needed no adjustment for fountain pen use, but I'm not going to suggest having your bones pinned back together after a slight oopsy with a large rock.
Any advice on HOLDING a pen properly? Windam keeps BUGGING ME about it. Unfortunately, my grip is idiosyncratic because of the surgery I had on my hand. I needed no adjustment for fountain pen use, but I'm not going to suggest having your bones pinned back together after a slight oopsy with a large rock.
It was ONE PM, goddammit!
Horse Detective
Why the long case?
And 5000 steam messages.
Get on Steam and do my math homework for me.
Thanks! I assume this will work with pencils and regular pens, too. Never understood how people write angled like that. I hold pencils/pens straight down, so the lead of my mechanical pencils always has a round head. Leads to the area on my hand underneath my pinky getting smudged up. :/
Jetpens has the happy Pilot Kakuno for $16.50 in F nib.
I love them both, especially at that price! Pilot is my brand of choice - they both take the Pilot Mixable Colours carts, converters, or you can refill the carts! Great buys!
Hmmm, thanks! After reading so many good reviews of the Kakuno, and I need a new everyday pen, I went and ordered one - can't wait to try it out!
Question, though - will the Kakuno take the IC-P3 ink cartridges that come in a myriad of colours?
I had to look up "IC-P3" - my guess was that it would be the Pilot Mixable Colours (or the individual colo(u)rs from the series. Yes indeedy! Every Pilot pen I own - and I've come to love Pilot - from the Vanishing Point, to the Parallel Pen, to the Metropolitan, to the Kakuno - takes the same cartridges/converters. It's wonderful. The carts are a good size and they have a little ball bearing to mix the ink around. I keep saying that I rinse them out, dry them, and refill them with different inks. The standard Mixable Colours are all very nice, but once you see the other inks out there, it's hard no to go a little nuts.
I have 2 Kakunos now (I get given pens as gifts pretty regularly now. I'm up to three Metropolitans...), an F nib and an M nib. I like them both a lot. I give the edge to the F nib. It writes so nicely! It's just a happy little pen and I love using it. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine!
Wonderful, cheers! The IC-P3 listing does specify 'Parallel Pen', and it looked the same - but as you know, with cartridges any differences can render them unusable in a pen!
That's made me happy - going to order some turquoise ink right now! ^_^ (just seems, right for the look, somehow)
That's made me happy - going to order some turquoise ink right now! ^_^ (just seems, right for the look, somehow)
Stannis Baratheon
Banned
Why are Fountain pens so expensive?
I really like the turquoise, actually! If you want to try some other inks in that color, Gouletpens has 51 different samples listed!
It's listed under blue, but the Iroshizuku Ama-iro is a beautiful turquoise shade.
Of course tonight it started skipping like crazy and drove me nuts, but it has generally been really good for such a cheaply priced pen. The note card under it has handwriting from the pen (I don't have the best penmanship).
Oh, and no Italic nib. Or, I should say, none that came with my pen. I'm not sure if they offer them through the manufacturer or not.
EDIT: Link to much more thorough review than I could write, lol. Sadly, he had same issues as me. It would work for a while, but then it would get very touchy and only work maybe a third of the time. Unfortunate.
http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/185653-zebra-v-301/
iamcool388
Member
My fountain pen collection:
Currently have:
Lamy Safari (F steel nib, charcoal gray) inked with Lamy Black
Waterman Carene (M nib, black and gold) inked with Lamy Blue
Lamy 2000 (M nib, makrolon) inked with Lamy Turquoise
Platinum Preppy (F nib, Blue) inked with Baystate Blue, converted to eyedropper.
On order:
Pilot Metropolitan (M nib, Black Zig-Zag)
Pilot Vanishing Point (M nib, Black Matte)
TWSBI Diamond 580 (M nib, Clear)
Noodlers Black
Need recommendations on which of these three pens should I ink with Baystate Blue. My Preppy doesnt really work well. If anyone has any experience with Baystate Blue, please let me know!
There are LOTS of fountain pens that are quite reasonably priced, and some that are downright cheap.
Platinum Preppy is a great starter pen. Can be had for 3-4 dollars and writes well. I would say that the Preppy I have has not performed optimally and there is a lot of skipping in the beginning, plus it tends to dry out the longer you write, however they are usually quite reliable.
Pilot Metropolitan is a great value for money pen. It can be had for 15 dollars in either F or an M nib. I have heard nothing but good things about it.
Lamy Safari is a champion. I love its grip (other people have differing opinions), love how smooth and reliable its steel nib is, and it gives me a great, wet line. It was my first fountain pen purchase and I have never had a problem with it.
There are tons more (Jinhao, Noodlers, Pilot have pens that are quite light on the wallet), but these are the ones I have researched well.
Currently have:
Lamy Safari (F steel nib, charcoal gray) inked with Lamy Black
Waterman Carene (M nib, black and gold) inked with Lamy Blue
Lamy 2000 (M nib, makrolon) inked with Lamy Turquoise
Platinum Preppy (F nib, Blue) inked with Baystate Blue, converted to eyedropper.
On order:
Pilot Metropolitan (M nib, Black Zig-Zag)
Pilot Vanishing Point (M nib, Black Matte)
TWSBI Diamond 580 (M nib, Clear)
Noodlers Black
Need recommendations on which of these three pens should I ink with Baystate Blue. My Preppy doesnt really work well. If anyone has any experience with Baystate Blue, please let me know!
There are LOTS of fountain pens that are quite reasonably priced, and some that are downright cheap.
Platinum Preppy is a great starter pen. Can be had for 3-4 dollars and writes well. I would say that the Preppy I have has not performed optimally and there is a lot of skipping in the beginning, plus it tends to dry out the longer you write, however they are usually quite reliable.
Pilot Metropolitan is a great value for money pen. It can be had for 15 dollars in either F or an M nib. I have heard nothing but good things about it.
Lamy Safari is a champion. I love its grip (other people have differing opinions), love how smooth and reliable its steel nib is, and it gives me a great, wet line. It was my first fountain pen purchase and I have never had a problem with it.
There are tons more (Jinhao, Noodlers, Pilot have pens that are quite light on the wallet), but these are the ones I have researched well.
Thanks for that post! I really need to make a new post with recommended starter pens. I've learned a lot since making the OP.
Forsete
Member
I am doing an ink fade test.
I gathered together all the FP inks I could find, plus a few extra pens (rollerballs etc.) just for fun.
One paper was placed in storage, the other was hung in the window.
The test has been going on for a few weeks now and I can already see that the FriXion text has started to fade, and that Iroshizuku Chiku-Rin has faded quite a lot.
I gathered together all the FP inks I could find, plus a few extra pens (rollerballs etc.) just for fun.
One paper was placed in storage, the other was hung in the window.
The test has been going on for a few weeks now and I can already see that the FriXion text has started to fade, and that Iroshizuku Chiku-Rin has faded quite a lot.
Risible
Member
I've been lurking in this thread for many months. I am not particularly artistic but have always admired typography and people who can write beautifully. I finally took the plunge and took what seemed to be the most popular suggestion in this thread and got the Lamy Safari. I also ordered three converters, the Noodlers Black and the Noodlers Shah's Rose red inks.
Good God does it feel good to write with it. I pulled an image off the web and started practicing the letters and suddenly realized I had been writing for fifteen minutes straight. I quickly googled "penmanship paper print" and downloaded a PDF of lined paper and printed it on my printer.
It's so tactile - I can sit their for long stretches just practicing letters. I really enjoy it and it's soothing. Looking forward to learning a complete font and then moving on to new ones. So much fun. Thanks for all the info in this thread <3.
Good God does it feel good to write with it. I pulled an image off the web and started practicing the letters and suddenly realized I had been writing for fifteen minutes straight. I quickly googled "penmanship paper print" and downloaded a PDF of lined paper and printed it on my printer.
It's so tactile - I can sit their for long stretches just practicing letters. I really enjoy it and it's soothing. Looking forward to learning a complete font and then moving on to new ones. So much fun
. Thanks for all the info in this thread <3.
Forsete
Member
Here is a progress report on my test. It has been in the window not fully a month, but the sun is merciless non the less.
Pray for our poor inks, brothers!
I pretty much used whatever pens and ink I had access to.
Lamy turquoise has lost its soul, same with Diamine Majestic Blue. Kon-Peki seems to be holding up pretty well, same with Ku-Jaku and Tsuki-Yo. Poor-poor Chiku-Rin, it has turned yellow already and is fading fast. Well you can see for yourselves.
Pray for our poor inks, brothers!
I pretty much used whatever pens and ink I had access to.
Lamy turquoise has lost its soul, same with Diamine Majestic Blue. Kon-Peki seems to be holding up pretty well, same with Ku-Jaku and Tsuki-Yo. Poor-poor Chiku-Rin, it has turned yellow already and is fading fast. Well you can see for yourselves.
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