Pen/Ink/Paper Collecting Thread

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

  1. Cryptowolf

    Cryptowolf Repping Chi Town - Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,450
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Rural Illinois
    If I have to fill out a government form on awful paper, I use a Montblanc fineliner refill in any of the non-Montblanc bodies that take these now.

    For office stuff on regular paper, I use an iron gall ink, such as Salix or Montblanc Permanent Ink Blue. I prefer Japanese fine and extra fine nibs.
     
  2. mitochondrium

    mitochondrium Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2017
    Likes Received:
    1,115
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    A Cell
    Given the fact that I like broad nibs I never had a problem with Herbin, of course broad nibs are no good if you want a short drying time.
     
  3. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    8,200
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Northwest France
    Often I have to write small for forms so either fine or extra-fine nibs, so drying time shouldn’t be an issue.

    Still want to avoid anything too wet due to feathering
     
  4. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    8,200
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Northwest France
    I heard from a reliable source that they use Sailor Seiboku and a pen with an EF nib (TWSBI) for admin forms and general non-fountain pen type paper

    I’m going to try this and report back
     
  5. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2017
    Likes Received:
    10,961
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Philippines, The
    I've had luck with Diamine Registrar's ink. Fair bit more affordable than Sei-boku though the feel isn't as luxe as the Sailor ink. It's what I keep in my beater pens for when I know I'll be writing on cruddy paper. Used to try making my own iron gall-style ink with random crud but uh... that did not go well lmao.
     
  6. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    8,200
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Northwest France
    I’m doing it

    C4A6DF0D-0C48-4D9E-AD83-79FEFD7E15C2.jpeg

    Tried it out with Rhodia, Leuchtturm and regular printer paper (as pictured)

    It didn’t really feel good or flow well on the Rhodia. But this pen/ink combo was ultimately meant to be used with admin paper and it flows a bit better with the printer paper and it doesn’t look so bad too. Performs well with my Leuchtturm A5 notebook as well with 80gsm paper.

    Also important is that it doesn’t really bleed through to the other side like my other water based inks
     
    • Like Like x 1
    • Epic Epic x 1
    • List
  7. loadexfa

    loadexfa MOT: rhythmdevils audio

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Dec 26, 2017
    Likes Received:
    2,543
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    SF Bay Area Peninsula
    Glad the ink worked out. If you're willing to go vintage, the Parker 51 has the added benefit of drying out very slowly (the pen, not the ink on the paper) while uncapped. I'd recommend the aerometric rather than vac filler because the sac lasts WAY longer.
     
    • Like Like x 1
    • Agreed, ditto, +1 Agreed, ditto, +1 x 1
    • List
  8. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    8,200
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Northwest France
    • Agreed, ditto, +1 Agreed, ditto, +1 x 2
    • List
  9. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    8,200
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Northwest France
    I have a very generic looking pen that I have no idea what brand or make it is. Can anyone here help identify it?

    F7BEFEC7-AA71-4656-910B-45A79B6403B0.jpeg 304D38FA-89B6-43DF-96AC-58E8B5EDCA68.jpeg C0C8F423-18D4-4D8C-9700-C596D0EE3DE8.jpeg BF5454A0-6BB7-4ED5-BEC7-984BD93423D1.jpeg

    The only really distinctive part is a V on the clip

    Edit: found it. Read below
     
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2023
  10. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2017
    Likes Received:
    10,961
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Philippines, The
    Looks like a bit of a clone pen. The finial says Sheaffer Prelude but black instead of pearlescent, the clip says 51 era Parker but with modifications to the arrow fletching, and I recall a similar grip-to-barrel stepdown on a bunch of Hero or Baoer pens I've tried, frustrating cuz the cap latching on the end of the grip looks really familiar to me.

    The nib doesn't even have IPG markings which is a bit of a surprise since the lack of a breather hole reminds me of Schmidt bulk nibs?

    Heck that IS a curious pen. "Generic" is almost underselling it.
     
  11. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    8,200
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Northwest France
    Just looked up Parker and it’s very likely to be that. Parker is a common budget fountain pen brand in France along with Waterman. I’m pretty sure I found this pen in my mom’s stuff so might date back to the 70s.
     
  12. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2017
    Likes Received:
    10,961
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Philippines, The
    the clip design does give strong arrow vibes but yeah, I haven't heard of a Parker pen without branding on their nibs (unless it's the hooded 51 and relatives thereof). Could it be an aftermarket one?
     
  13. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    8,200
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Northwest France
  14. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    8,200
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Northwest France
    Mystery solved. In fact not a vintage pen but a recent pen I bought that I totally forgot about. It’s a generic supermarket branded pen.
    8D178C9A-DE03-4935-B09F-BD00318EF920.jpeg

    Likely something mass produced from China and rebranded for local markets.
     
  15. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    8,200
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Northwest France
    Bought a bottle of J Herbin Bleu Azur at Perreyon 1884 when I recently visited Lyon.
    B6B623FB-449A-49B9-AD45-B8AB6666FFAF.jpeg

    The front of the bottle is supposed to be a pen holder but I find it’s not great if you have a bigger pen. Also since the bottle is wide and shallow, it’s also not great for filling your pen with ink. I needed to tilt the bottle to completely submerge the nib. However I like the colors that J Herbin has.

    Speaking of which here is the store:
    6DA0955D-0BEB-44FC-B02E-B4D0BECA0110.jpeg
    272DDFB7-EF4F-4DD8-8E80-23F7D15CF886.jpeg
    Yes. That is an actual ink bar where you can refill your bottles of ink. This is the only store outside of Paris that I know of with J Herbin ink like this.

    BAE72DB8-4F20-4816-B0A9-4D8CAED007F8.jpeg
    BDFB95ED-8098-4DB9-AAFB-7092E6137CD8.jpeg
    The kids were with me and impatient so I couldn’t hang out as long as I wanted. But I did spot ‘real’ pen brands like TWSBI and Sailor and not just Montblanc. My wife was shocked to see that Pilot made a 1400€ pen.

    Along with the Herbin I picked up some cartridges of Pelikan Edelstein Amethyst and traveler notebook filler. It’s a great store if you are in the area
     
    • Like Like x 2
    • Epic Epic x 2
    • List
    Last edited: Mar 2, 2023
  16. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    8,200
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Northwest France
    Came across this page while I was browsing for some inks

    https://www.fountainpencompanion.com/

    While I’ve never used discogs I have a feeling what it’s supposed to be. Is this like discogs for ink?
     
    Last edited: Apr 3, 2023
  17. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2016
    Likes Received:
    12,569
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Just started dipping my toe in the fountain pen water (based inks). Got a TWSBI 580ALR in nickel with a M tip and have two Asvine V126s coming to try out vacuum fillers. I know I’m limiting myself a lot but to start I don’t want to have to mess with converters or eye droppers, so I’m only looking at pens with built in filling systems. Not even interested in carts.

    I got a Platinum Carbon ink for black and have a Noodler’s Baystate Blue and R&K Old Green Gold coming as well. Three pens, three inks to start. I fell into this because I needed a planner for work and found the Common Planner, which uses Tomoe River paper, and as I was looking at pens for it, it became clear that fountain pens really were the best match. So now I also have a Hobonichi notebook coming to journal with.
     
  18. MrChinaCat

    MrChinaCat New

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2018
    Likes Received:
    81
    Trophy Points:
    13
    Location:
    Rochester
    Sounds like a good start; have fun!
    One word of warning... Baystate Blue has a reputation for being difficult to clean and/or staining the internals of a demonstrator pen. Consider either dedicating a pen to that ink, or getting yourself a good cleaning kit ( bulb syringe, ink flush, ink syringe) for purging a pen of the remnants. This ink is actually a good one to use with a converter, which can be cheaply replaced if it can't be cleaned. TWSBI comes with tools and instructions for disassembling and cleaning thoroughly; be prepared.
     
    • Agreed, ditto, +1 Agreed, ditto, +1 x 2
    • List
  19. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2016
    Likes Received:
    12,569
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Portland, OR
    I’m aware of the reputation—one of the Asvine’s (the blue one appropriately), will be dedicated to BSB. Thank you for the warning!
     
  20. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2016
    Likes Received:
    12,569
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Actually that’s a good point about using a pen with a converter for the BSB. I’m have to get some supplies at Office Depot later, I’ll see if they have any Metropolitans in stock.
     

Share This Page