Pen/Ink/Paper Collecting Thread

Discussion in 'Random Thoughts' started by Dr. Higgs, Feb 22, 2016.

  1. spwath

    spwath Hijinks master cum laudle

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    Hey, I'm looking for a new fountain pen, lost my Lamy Safari. Anyone know something good for like 30 ish USD?
     
  2. Cryptowolf

    Cryptowolf Repping Chi Town - Friend

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    The Platinum Plasiar (sp?) or Preppy might fit the bill. If you can stretch and save a bit more, you might enjoy a Pilot or TWSBI (around $50). My goto supplier is Goulet Pens and they have a nice search tool where you can sort by price.
     
  3. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    Faber-Castel Loom is pretty good. Even cheaper is the Pilot Metropolitan
     
    Last edited: May 2, 2017
  4. Dr. Higgs

    Dr. Higgs Boson - Member

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    For that price I would check out the Kaweco Sport if you don't mind using cartridges and like the pocket pen form factor.
     
  5. Dr. Higgs

    Dr. Higgs Boson - Member

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    [​IMG]

    Just picked up this beauty. It's an Edison Glenmont 2016 Stealth LE with a medium stub italic nib. It's probably my favorite Edison so far, and the italic nib writes like a dream. All inked up with Pelikan Tanzanite, but not sure if I want to pocket it or keep it for home use.
     
  6. Stapsy

    Stapsy Friend

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    The Noodler's pens used to have a bad rep but I bought a bunch of Ahab's on sales and haven't had any probelms with them. You do have to take them apart and re-seat the nib and feed in order to get proper flow because they are not set up well from the factory.
     
  7. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

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    Noodler's is good, but they smell terrible and the nib may need some tinkering out of the box. I'd actually recommend the Platinum Preppy over the Plaisir since the latter doesn't feel too nice in hand. Jinhao pens are also pretty sturdy for cheap, but again, may require tuning out of the box.

    Monteverde Invincia is good for the price, though it's a budget stretch; it'll serve you well for a long time with proper care though. Kaweco Sport is nice, though requires posting and may be too small even then. Pilot Metropolitan is a bit boring, but certainly good value for the price and nib performance. If you don't mind the use of a generic nib, I also recommend Ranga pens, this one in particular since it's not too far over your budget:
    http://www.peytonstreetpens.com/zay...en-ebonite-jowo-nibs-cartridge-converter.html

    Good luck!
     
  8. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    Agree with Kaweco Sport. Although i think you can use a convertor with it.
     
  9. take

    take Friend

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    I'd recommend a TWSBI, the Eco should be right around $30. I've owned and tried many more expensive pens, and my TWSBI 580 beats them all in terms of smoothness and reliability. Plus, I really like the clear aesthetic.

    Noodler's pens really do smell terrible. What's up with that? Especially since their inks smell great.
    I was never able to get mine to work properly, I guess I'm not very good at tinkering with nibs.
     
  10. Daveheart

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    The Kawecos are good pens, and like @take I also enjoy my TWSBI 580. I'm not sure about the Eco. If the nib is the same quality, then it would be a great pick.

    That being said, I've got a charcoal EF Lamy Safari that I don't need if you want it (no charge). It's been inked and tested, but that's it.
     
  11. spwath

    spwath Hijinks master cum laudle

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    that would be nice. I have my charcoal safari still,I just lost the cap, rendering it useless
     
  12. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    One thing about TWSBI is that it's only bottled ink. Which is fine but if you are coming off a Lamy Safari you might want to use cartridges.
     
  13. Daveheart

    Daveheart Friend

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    This Nakaya arrived over the weekend:

    [​IMG]

    The lighting doesn't really show it too well as the pen is really not a particularly dark shade of blue. It's actually looks closer to this (but with Rhodium instead of gold trim):

    [​IMG]
     
  14. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

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    Congrats on the Nakaya! The Neo Standard is a supremely comfortable shape, and the Kikyo (doesn't look like Shobu, but I could be wrong) is a great colour. Still teetering between a nice Omas or another Nakaya for my next pen, haha. Perhaps a Heki-tame Decapod?

    Also, props for the excellent taste in ink. Asa-gao's one of my all-time daily users.
     
  15. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    Just was walking around Costco and I saw that they sell 6 packs of Moleskin notebooks. Seems like a good buy.
     
  16. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    You know you could contact Lamy to get a replacement cap. If they don't have charcoal you could still use a different color.
     
  17. spwath

    spwath Hijinks master cum laudle

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    i found it. It was in my backpack in an inside pocket
     
  18. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

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    Standard knee-jerk response
    : if you're using fountain pens, stay the hell away from Moleskine. In most cases their paper is pretty bad (even more so for those thin cahiers). Anything above a reasonably dry F or EF nib will likely feather and bleed through to the next page— very not cool.

    It's a shame though, since I really want to like them. The Hobbit SE/LE (?)'s cover looks pretty good, and I want one just to show off sometimes. Price though, agh.
     
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  19. Daveheart

    Daveheart Friend

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    I was going to say the same thing. The Rhodia web notebooks are fine with fountain pens. For me personally, I ended up using top-bound Claire-Fontaine notebooks. It usually works out better for me as a lefty.
     
  20. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    I usually use Leuchtterm or Rhodia myself since I like using a minimum of 80 gsm paper. I've avoided Moleskin mainly because I thought it was priced a bit more for what they have, but I won't deny that they look good and have a following.

    Reading the specs of their notebooks I see so far that they all use 70 gsm paper, which is no good for a fountain pen. Still, I would venture to say that the vast majority of Moleskin users are ballpoint or pencil people.
     

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