Pen/Ink/Paper Collecting Thread

Yeah, it's not real arco - ASc does those - but I tried the nib on the base Grande Bellezza model and omg. So soft, it's like writing on clouds, but none of the finishes did anything for me.*

Knowing Dante there's no chance of metal, wood or leather at sane prices, so I went for the arco.

That's an M, I'll have to have it reground.

The Nakaya is a Broad Stub Oblique, from CFP/Nibs.com. In rhodium, because the pen is also the rhodium finish deep gloss model. I'm not a huge fan of gold.

* I really don't like plastic/resin/naked ebonite/celluloid pens.

 

BOOOOOO. (Jk, to each their own as far as aesthetics go, I love the warm stuff myself: https://imgur.com/t9BBm5J)

ASc is lovely, but as much as I love the original Omas their pricing is waaaaaay outta my league. Maybe once I have a decent job or decide I don't really need two kidneys, haha. Congrats again on the new acquisitions, and may they bring you many happy years of writing.

I get first dibs if any of them poop their pants though )

 

Yeah no joke, mine too.

ASc Bologna Extra is pretty enough to make even a plastic-sneerer pay attention, but if I had that much money to spend on a pen, I can get so much more pen from a Nakaya, Namiki, Danitrio, Taccia...

 

As someone who is an absolute urushi pen fanboy... f**k YES. Taccia recently released a pen with three tones of urushi, as if they didn't do enough bonkers bullshit to begin with. This is again out of my league, but maybe you'll pick one up, haha: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt840ang0AT/

 

Impressive technique, though not my colour choices.

I got this for my grandmother as a present: https://nibsmith.com/product/taccia...n-pen-thin-stripe-midnight-red-kuro-tamenuri/

Broad stub, closest thing to the italics she was writing with in her youth, but easier to use for a woman turned 80.

 

I found out she loves fountain pens, italic nibs and urushi when I asked her to help me choose the nakaya briarwood variant.

She was very firmly in the deep gloss lacquered camp.

 

Can’t subsribe to this, my use case is different. I use a fountain pen every day at the office to take notes and sign stuff. Using two Pelikan M200 as workhorses, wanted something a little out of the ordinary yet classic and got me a Pilot Custom 823 with a falcon nib from Japan, which is more affordable than a used classic Montblanc. Due to its size it is very comfy writing unposted, which I prefer. All my pens suck, don’t like cartridges. Writing with a fountain pen is so much more fun than with a ball pen.

That might change in the future. Pens like watches are nice things to hand down to one’s children. You never know whether they will appreciate it, I hope my son will value the Pilot pen more than some bottles of Whisky, but hey you never know

 

I have a Wancher Dream Pen Urushi on the way. This will be my first Urushi pen, though I have a modest collection of around 25 others in ebonite, metal, celluloid, or acrylic. I've found I prefer #6 nibs in gold for standard fine/extrafine and #5 steel for more exotic grinds (stub, italic, SIG).

 

Yep, the faceted Taccias are beautiful! Been wanting a kurotame Decapod myself, but the Nakaya Heki colour is more my speed. Your grandmother is lucky, and you're a kind grandchild. Hope it brings her many years of use

And haha, the deep gloss is addictive. Makes you want to collect more!

I honestly haven't heard much about Wancher on the whole, but the Dream Pen looks interesting! Shape is kinda a mix of a Sailor KoP, Platinum Izumo, and a Namiki Emperor? Please tell me you got the tamenuri, haha. But yeah, urushi is more a Veblen good than a luxury one, appeals more to dyed-in-the-wool pen geeks than to most people who'll likely just think it's shiny plastic. Do keep away from UV lights and you should be good— it's a hardy substance. Would love to see the collection!

P.S.
I'm probably weird for saying this but steel nibs are in some ways better than gold. More durable for one, and as you've noted they take to custom cuts better than gold. The cushioning effect you get from a softer nib is impossible to replicate though, so it's worth having at least one gold one for leisurely writing sessions. And yep, #6 is a great all-around size— people who go for #9s are just compensating

 

Hey, don't nibshame. My Montegrappa Extra 1930 has deep-set #8 and it's lovely.

The dream pen is pretty nice, except the spring-loaded cap. You have to be careful recapping it.

 

I'm not nibshaming, only poking fun. I have an Old Omas with a massive 18K nib that I love the nib on. Sadly it's got a super fincky piston filler system that requires lubrication after every other fill.

I recently picked up a Penwell. The Penwell provides a cap holder where I can then recap the pen like an old fashioned desk pen. I enjoy using the Penwell at work since this gives me a set place to put my pen while I'm working on several different things.

 

If any of you like Midori MD paper, they're now starting to make dot-grid paper.

Just Traveler's refills for now, but presumably notebooks and whatnot to follow.

The Amsterdam store I get mine from is taking preorders and ships in april - their webstore is currently timing out from the load ...

 

Oh boy, am I glad to see a pen thread on SBAF. I'd like some advise from you, FP Jedis. I am hoping to upgrade from a Pilot Metropolitan. I am considering upgrading to one of these:

- Pilot 823
- Sailor Pro Gear Realo
- Platinum 3776

One thing I need is, the ability to change nibs. And for that reason, I was considering the Pelikans (M600 or M800). But I hear the Pelikans are gushers. I do like my nibs to be wet. But not overly so. Given my requirements, which of the 3 would you recommend?

 

@EagleWings

Pro Gear Realo is kinda pricey and the ink reservoir isn't the largest, hardly any better than a converter really. Love the aesthetic (but prefer the 1911 series— cigar>flat top), and if you're in the sweet spot Sailor nibs are among the smoothest OOTB writers ever. Some decent bounce to the 21k, but don't abuse them. Speaking from experience, haha. The nibs are lovely and the resin they use is of excellent quality, good feel in hand. Nibs aren't easily swappable though, you'll be hard pressed changing them out.

I don't like the look and feel of the Platinum 3776 as much, but some of the special editions are worth the investment I feel, especially the Lakes series. Nibs are more forgiving of writing at strange angles but they're stiff as nails. More budget friendly than the Realo though, and durable. I just hate how there are visible and tangible flashing marks on the barrels of the ones I've handled, kinda ruins the aesthetic for me. Platinum does a better superfine nib than Sailor IMO, unless you go with the saibi-togi which iirc is out of production.

The 823 is likely your best bet. The ink reservoir is massive compared to the others and is novel to boot, great fun to play with. Pilot nibs are great workhorse ones, the finer nibs aren't scratchy as hell. They write very well OOTB and aren't as finicky about positioning as the Sailor, but I don't like how there's a weird increase in taper near the tipping material. Personal nitpick, might not bother you. Built like a tank, can handle some abuse. Same applies to the Sailor and the Platinum though, Japanese pens are hardy bastards. I'd say 3776>823>>PG Realo for durability, the anchor badge on the Sailor is known to fall out.

Pelikans ARE wet writers whereas none of the three above are really gushers, you'll be fine. Sailor is wetter than the other two by a fair bit, Platinum maybe slightly drier than Pilot. All within manufacturing tolerances and appropriate for less nice paper, plus it's reasonably easy to adjust flow yourself.

I don't think any of the three are easy to find spare nibs for unless you trawl the used market unlike Pelikan (where you can hot swap nibs on the fly almost and spares are an easy pick for just about every model), Japanese makes are weird like that, I'd have to send in my Nakaya or Sailor nibs if I ever want replacements for them, guess they're protective of their products. There's decent availability for Platinum nibs, maybe Pilot, but Sailor ones are scarce. You can maybe buy a Sailor specialty nib if you're feeling fancy and want a fun writer though, point in favour of the Sailor.

You can feasibly reduce flow on Pelikans but their feeds just push significantly more ink through. Adjustment may require nibmeister finagling with the feed, pulling it out slightly from the twist collar to increase distance of nib tip from ink reservoir. Be careful not to pull it out too far though lest you damage the nib when capping your pen.

Check out @flexiblenibfactory on Instagram. He makes custom pen feeds iirc, and is familiar with the Pelikan system. Do note these are ebonite feeds and not plastic so flow will naturally be greater than stock even with similar channel size and dimensions, you'll have to specify that you want a dry feed for Pelikan MX00 (or MX000 ) if you order one from him and I'm not misremembering that he takes commissions, haha.

 

@Lyer25 , thanks bud. That was some wonderful and really helpful info. Bummer that neither of my 3 options allow easy nib changes. I guess I can get a M800 with an EF nib, but the price puts it on another level. Are there any other good writers that you would recommend in the $200 range with nib changing ability? I am really not after gold nibs. But I do like a resin body.

Btw, is it possible to get 3rd party nibs for Waterman Charleston? If it can take 3rd part nibs, then it would kinda fit my bill.

 

Sorry, not too familiar with modern Waterman pens. I THINK you can fit a Bock #5 nib into it but don't quote me on that. As for recommendations under 200 the Edison Production Line stuff comes to mind for easily swappable nibs, they use stock ones that are really easy to source. You also have a decent selection of materials and shapes to suit your hand:

http://edisonpen.com/production-line-main-page

I'm also gonna toss in a recommendation for Newton Pens for the same reasons as above, though their nibs use custom scrollwork if that means anything to you:

https://newtonpens.com/production-runs/

In case it wasn't obvious I'm partial to smaller, more personal companies in pen land too

Any particular reason you need swappable nibs by the by? It's not a feature I'd concern myself with unless I was sure I'd be going through em quickly, haha. The Custom 823 is a great pen, I'd probably recommend it over most others in the price range if you don't have anything against how it looks.

EDIT:
Quick google turns this up. Unfamiliar with the company but they seem to have a decent stock of Charleston nibs. Caveat emptor though, dunno about em, plus they're UK based so may be difficult: https://www.penbox.co.uk/waterman-pen-nibs.htm

 

Yeah, you can swap nibs on the Edisons

 

@Lyer25 , thanks. I’ll look into the Edison and Newton pens.

For the fear of dropping the pen and breaking the nib. During the school days, I have broken countless nibs. Will putting a stopper on the barrel help?

 

Ahhh, the same reason I stick with clipped pens then. If that's the case then you don't have to worry too much, nibs are surprisingly resilient and can be repaired even at the brink of disintegration almost.

Yes I'm speaking from experience )

It's probably rude of me to say this (so apologies in advance) but don't let worries about damage or repair put you off getting something nice for yourself. That said, it's your pen so your specifications are to be respected, a vintage Pelikan might be right up your alley. They're sturdy as f**k and have that excellent piston system. Nib replacements are readily available, too.

Another excellent series would be the vintage Sheaffer flat tops. Lever filling systems might require maintenance every few years but as long as you don't use extremely corrosive ink then modern sacs will last ages. I'd recommend the PFM but those nibs are basically welded to the grip, so no bueno for replacements. A Parker Duofold is a nice respectable workhorse, and they range from daily models to collectors' items, plus some really pretty finishes around the 80s and 90s. The Americans are durable as f**k )