Fountain Pens.

[Mack The Knife]

Pilot fountain pen manufacturing -

Making of a Pelikan Souveran series fountain pen -

The holy grail for many fountain pen afficionados - Hakase hand made fountain pens -

Sailor Pen's pen clinics. They come to India as well.

Maki-e:

Chinkin:

[kshitij]

Mack, few reviews of the stormy grey. I know it is pointless reading on reviews after purchasing the product but i just wanted to check if i completely wasted money, seems not.

http://www.gourmetpens.com/2014/11/revi ... k.html?m=1

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum ... ey-photos/

[Mack The Knife]

It is an interesting ink and a broad nibbed pen would show off the inks characteristics better.

Not for me though. I am the proverbial stick in the mud.

[SMJ]

MTK thanks for bringing back some great memories of fountain pen obsessions during my younger days Inspired by this thread I bought a Parker Vector which was what I used most when younger. And I love the fact that these are probably the only "cartridges" I can "load" Already had a lovely Sheafer ball point with me. Sharing a few pics of the new Parker Vector and the Sheafer. Still trying to locate my treasured Mont Blanc set and the the Cross
Excuse the quality of the pics...

[kshitij]

Sub 2.
Thought i'd write two lines. Turned out to be some really long lines

20151016_235613-1-1.jpg

[xl_target]

I stopped at a local hobby store during my lunch break today.
They just had an assortment of cheap pens.
Also some so-called Calligraphy sets with interchangeable nibs and some ink.

I took Mac's advice and bought one of the Pilot Varsity disposables ($4.49). That worked out pretty good.
I also bough a Sheaffer Viewpoint "Calligraphy" pen ($8.99).
Both are cartridge pens. Neither is too bad but both of them could be a bit smoother. That could also be the result of using cheap copy paper to practice on. They also blot a bit but that is a paper issue and not a pen issue.



The Sheaffer Viewpoint:
When you make your horizontal lines, the line is a fine width but when you make your vertical lines, the line is 1.0mm wide. Some hesitation in the ink flow at first but it seems to be coming along the more I use it. After sitting capped for awhile, you have to give it a few strokes before the ink will flow reliably. It is made in China.



The Pilot Varsity:
It is meant to be a cheap, disposable fountain pen for students. It has a fine nib. The nib flows smoothly across the paper definitely more so than the Shaeffer. The ink flow is immediate and smooth. Doesn't seem to dry up after sitting capped for a while. If I had to write for extended periods of time, I would choose this over the two other fountain pens that I now own. Typical excellent Japanese performance, even in a disposable.

They had two brands of ink there; Dr Ph Martin's "Bombay" India ink in various colors and Higgins ink. Any idea on the viability of those

I wanted a real world test so these lines were written with my normal writing speed.


You can see where the Sheaffer Viewpoint failed to deliver ink at times.

[Mack The Knife]

SMJ, welcome aboard. Do ink up your Parker Vector and let us know how it writes.

Kshitij, was submission 2 written with the No Name or the Lamy?

xl_target: The Sheaffer calligraphy nibs are untipped and may not feel as smooth as a regular nib. Have a look at the nibs' tine alignment. The earlier Sheaffer Calligraphy sets came with a leaflet with some basic calligraphy instructions. Does yours have one too? You could use it to write cursive at normal speeds if the tines are aligned but its better suited for slower writing. You could use it for greeting cards, thank you notes, that sort of thing, as it tends to give the handwriting a little more character. You may get better ink flow if you flush and floss the nib first. Very often pens come with traces of manufacturing debris and/or oil in them that can affect flow.

The Pilot's fine is akin to a Western extra-fine. At the end of the day, a finer tipped nib is not going to glide over the paper the way a broader tipped nib will. Yes, paper quality also plays a part. Try Rhodia or Clairfontaine paper if you can. They are amongst the more economical quality papers.

I haven't heard of either ink. Thanks a lot for your initial thoughts, writing sample and pics.

Do not use India ink in fountain pens, unless the pen manufacturer says you can. They can be used with a dip pen though.

http://www.docmartins.com/collections/bombay-india-ink

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum ... india-ink/

[kshitij]

@MTK, yup same pen and ink as previous one. Havent used the lamy yet. Will do it this weekend. Scribbled last two with same old pens since i am now kind of used to writing with them.

@Xl_target, of the four writing samles, i liked the one written with the sheaffer the best. If I had to rate the samples in order of my liking, i'd say - sheaffer, cross, the pilot varsity and pilot roller ball.
*my 2 cents of unasked for opinion

[Mack The Knife]

Improving your cursive handwriting:

Incidentally, that's a $15.00 Pilot Metropolitan / MR. Comes with a convertor.

[kshitij]

MTK,
do watch this when you have the time...

[Mack The Knife]

Thanks. I have seen it before but am taking another look.

[Mack The Knife]

Have any of you started looking for unused fountain pens at home or amongst relatives and friends?

One of our silent members (in real life he can't stop talking) must have mentioned this subject to his mother and was rewarded with his mother giving him two old Parkers, from the 1930s. The term 'lucky sod' is an understatement and you will understand why when he posts his pics.

[kshitij]

Okay so here is the first decent fountain pen i picked up in recent times.

The Lamy safari in matte black.

20151018_112607-1-1.jpg

20151018_112245-1-1.jpg

Things i liked about it:
Really really smooth compared to regular fountain pens i picked up from the stationery.
The angular cuts in the grip area are spot on perfect for the way i hold the pen.
Using it is as convenient as say using a roller ball pen. No worries about inky fingers etc. (I invariably had those every single time i used the other regular pens)
Comes with a converter.
Liked this particular colour and the black clip it comes with.

Things i am not a fan of:
The cartridge supplied free with the pen was the standard blue colour. It is too light for my taste.

All in all, it is a pretty decent pen for its price. The ABS body looks like it will last a while with no problem. But for me the grip section has to be the best part about this pen. Liked it enough to order another Lamy (joy calligraphy set) and two knock offs of the Lamy safari.

The knock offs i got were
The Hero summer colours:

$_57-3.jpeg

IMG_3272.jpg

IMG_3265.jpg

In comparison to the Lamy safari:

IMG_3277.jpg

What i liked about this pen:
It is a perfect knock off the lamy, including the grip and the hold.
It came with three nib sets, 8 cartridges and a converter
The nibs are perfectly interchangeable with lamy.
Fits standard ink cartridges.
Costed me about 750 rs. for the whole thing.



The second knock off is the Jinhao 599. Picked up one in translucent black and one in translucent orange. This too came with a converter. Both together costed about 200 bucks. Again this too is almost identical to the safari save for small things like the clip.

$_57-4.jpeg

P.s. Not a big fan of knock offs. Their price only justifies the shortcomings in their quality. But nonetheless, they make fun little things to play with and try out things you wouldnt want to do with a pen you paid decent money for. As for the knock offs that i got here, they are not bad writers themselves and can be an option for people who dont really care about brands or intellectual theft

P.p.s: the images for the knockoffs arent mine. Didnt find the drive to click them myself so picked up images from the net.

Added in 32 minutes 44 seconds:
Missed out adding in the previous post,
Since i wasnt really impressed with the blue ink the safari came with, i also picked up lamys blue-black ink and a couple of cartridges in turquoise colour.

20151018_113926-1.jpg

Have few other inks along with another Lamy and platinum preppy coming in, will share once they are here.

[Mack The Knife]

Kshitij,

Thanks for the detailed write up.

Do mention the nib size you got with the Lamy Safari. Safari nibs can be a bit iffy where smoothness is concerned, so I am glad you got a good one. If the next one isn't, just have it changed at the shop.

Whilst I don't use it, Lamy's turquoise coloured ink is highly regarded.

Looking forward to writing samples with all the pens and further opinions on the pens and inks.

Thanks and have fun.

P.S.: Just saw the M on the nib after clicking on the pic. Safe choice.

P.P.S.: Wolfgang Fabian deliberately designed the section that way so as to teach children how to hold a pen correctly. However, such a section is also made by other manufacturers. The first time I came across such a section was on my Parker 75 in the 70's or 80's. The 75 was Richard Nixon's favourite. Those who have an unconventional grip, dislike the Safari.

[brihacharan]

Managed to unearth a few more of my collection of pens
Am rather fond of the slim shape of the 'CROSS' - Neat & Elegant



ENTRY 4
Written with 14K Cross Ball Point
This entry is my own composition!!!!!

Briha

Added in 35 minutes 35 seconds:
I bought this Pen thinking it was a PILOT....
But it turned out to be branded as 'LEZING'.....made in China!
So much of a look a like (acquired almost 20 years ago for Rs.120/-)


ENTRY 5
Written with the above pen using Camlin Black Ink.....

Briha