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@stonster - as shops will be closing today for at least a month, it's probably best to read a few blogs on this. Look at beginner pens and also the next step up pens. There's loads of info out there but it's all subjective
I’ve been really impressed with this. Fantastic ergonomics and soooo smooth...
BUT, the body of the pen is manufactured from the same kind of cheap plastic that’s found on waiting-room chairs.
I’m pretty sure that the nibs body must unscrew and possibly fit into some kind of generic bamboo pen body.
Re: platinum preppy, kind of a psa...
visit cultpens.com
Dear
You requested a stock alert from Cult Pens on
We're sorry to say that Platinum International Adapter has now been discontinued, so we won't be able to get any more.
We don't usually discontinue items ourselves, so it's likely the manufacturer has stopped making them. Check our site to see what's currently available, or reply to this email if you'd like us to help you find an alternative. If you let us know what you liked about this product, we may know of something similar.
So, you will still be able use bottled ink as well as platinums cartridges in their pens.
But these adaptors gave you access to a broader range of international standard ink cartridges without the potential mess of bottled ink.
Purepens.co.uk might have some adapters left.
Nows your chance to corner that market📐
Thanks for that. I've been waiting for them to come back into stock
This thread continues to cost me £, in a good way of course. A Kaweco Sport Al is with Santa 😃. Anyway, I bought one of the bronze Lamy Al a little while ago, however the ink rarely flows freely and takes lots of faffing to get it to. Any idea from the fountain pen users collective?
I envy people with good handwriting. One of my nieces and also a young lady at work have amazing handwriting that I've admitted to being jealous of.
My handwriting at best is a scrawl. I've written things and thought WTF does that say, so any decent pen is completely wasted on me even though I do like the looks of a nice pen.
I've been getting back into writing and illustration and I bought a Monami Olika - it seemed quite impressive at first for the price but seems to have dried up after not much use (there's still plenty of ink in the cartridge). Is there anything I can do to get it going again?
You have to use fountain pens regularly to stop the ink drying inside them. There's a few yt Vids on cleaning, you just flush them through with warm water.
My cross townsend, which I love, but rarely use, dried up I tried everything and it was still scratchy. Cross offer a lifetime guarantee so I sent it back, they cleaned it for me, charged 6 quid.
I use the rollerball daily, not the fp. Problem is I bought the set, brio, fp, rollerball, so I use the most user friendly one, the rollerball.
Try squeezing the cartridge to get the ink following through the capillaries and the nib - do it somewhere that ink won't damage or leave enormous stains.
For the money, this is pretty impressive...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283104169692
Maybe it’s the iridium tip?
They also make one called the ‘tanker’ with an even broader nib. However, it seems that you can only swap cartridges by screwing on a new body to the nib.
Just got into pens myself. Currently got a pilot capless and a Lamy Dialog 3. And a few bottles of Diamine ink. I can see how this hobby can spiral...., currently got my eye on yet more ink 😬
It doesn't have to cost a huge amount to get a decent pen
I've recently been using a Platinum Preppy £4 fountain pen. It's very good for £4. If you buy the international cartridge converter for £1.50 you can use much cheaper ink in it.
Use a fountain pen quite frequently, decided that since I was writing by hand less and less, when I did I'd use a nice pen rather than some shite disposable biro. Plus they look nice with a nice notebook in meetings haha.
I used to swear by Parker, until I bough a Lamy and now I won't go back, much more reliable, don't go dry and clog all the time and the nibs are better. I've got a Safari AL-star in a pleasing anodised purple colour, my taste in fountain pens is the same as bike components!
That said, I still want a Mont Blanc! Someday, the long wait in Geneva Airport will get expensive!
Well I succumbed to the new ink, one bottle of Robert Oster Fire and Ice on its way.
Day to day - Pilot Decimo Vanishing Point
Travel - Cult Pens mini, by Kaweco
Different Colour - Parker 75 - but this needs a nib repair..
Ink- J.Herbin - Brown
Lamy - Blue
What the flippety flip did I come in here for...? At least the Lamy Al-Star pen and converter to propa ink is only £20.
In other news, my Mont Blanc Le Grand fountain and ballpoint pens appear to be appreciating at an alarming rate...
I like the ballpoint, platinum accents are a bit less 'common' and it has a nice thick point for smoothness. The fountain jobbie dunt get much use. I find it a bit scratchy even though it's been off to the nib whisperer...
I've gone full niche and started using dip pens, although mostly for illustration. It's really satisfying and easy/cheap to use different nibs etc
The power and influence of the Singletrack Forum! Been lusting after a Pelikan M800 for over a year and after reading through this thread, thought, sod it! and ordered my grail pen! Many thanks for the push I needed! 🤗
Oh, and the Kaweco Al Sport is my current writing implement and posted it's a superb writer. And I'm a leftie with large hands. I also use Diamine ink which has also been great, with a wonderful colour choice.
Excellent work @badgerbater. I quite fancy a Visconti Home Sapiens Bronze Age, and could almost convince myself to do it if the quality control on them wasn’t so variable. All these nice pens are fully wasted on me anyway, my handwriting is small and ugly, but there’s just something much more enjoyable about writing with a nice fountain pen.
@kneebiscuit I'm not a particularly neat writer. I always seem to want to think faster than I can write and especially when I'm using a ballpoint, I sometimes can't read back my own writing! However, having rediscovered the fountain pen during lockdown, I find that the very act of using a fountain pen, even for desk work, is a more enjoyable experience and almost makes me want to write more legibly. Hard to explain, but I just enjoy the experience more. I've also taken up penning my thoughts in a journal. It's amazing what lockdown is doing to us all, in hopefully a positive way.
I find that the very act of using a fountain pen, even for desk work, is a more enjoyable experience and almost makes me want to write more legibly. Hard to explain, but I just enjoy the experience more. I’ve also taken up penning my thoughts in a journal. It’s amazing what lockdown is doing to us all, in hopefully a positive way.
I find this sums up certain experiences for me.
A casual decision to learn to eat comfortably with chopsticks has lead to me changing how and what I cook, making large swathes of a previously ingrained process more considered. Just by adopting something considered normal by one third of the world’s population.
Chopsticks for writing?
😉
Its all a process.
Changing tools changes the method and ultimately affects the result.
When you look past the chopstick being at the end of the process and realise its effects during the process you find a new level of connection.
Find the quiet moments in Korean street food preparation for example. Look beyond the performance of the cooking and notice the almost hidden perfection of technique that is not there for the show, just for the artist's benefit.
And of course there's less washing up if you use your chopsticks instead of a whisk.
I love nice pens. I used to have about 5 on the go at the same time, all with different colour ink. But I found I wasn't using them as often so I slowly reduced the number in rotation. Mix of pilot, rotring and twsbi.
I now use a Pilot Fermo with black pilot cartridges as my main pen with a rotring mechanical pencil. Use Rhodia webnotebooks as my work notebook
Simple pleasures 🙂
There's a lack of photos on this thread....
I assume you don’t want chopsticks pix.
Porsche TecFlex It was bought as part of a payoff from house related finance out of nowhere. I have the match propelling pencil and rollerball bought by my ex. They are in “silver”/“gold” though.
Nice
Go on... Show us your chopsticks 😉
Thread bump!
This came last week, always wanted one and saw it at a decent price.
Nice and weighty, feels good to write and fiddle with, makes you hands smell of brass like the handrail on a pub bar! Can Chuck it in a bag with my keys and it won’t suffer. Nib is broad, I’m left handed and fine nibs get a bit scratchy at the angle I write at.
The suction filler holds about 1ml of ink, so cartridges are probably a better plan. The lid needs to be on the end to write with otherwise it’s too short, and it’s not brass/brass contact - there’s a nylon bush inside to give a nice sliding fit. I think the thread in the cap is nylon too though, so over tightening would strip it fairly easily.
👍
Sadly i just can't use brass pens, i get a metallic taste in my mouth. Sad as i have a brass namisu i can't use now
@bobsummers- what’s the weight like? I like a heavy pen. I recently picked up a stainless steel Lamy 2000 which is just lovely to write with, such a nice, balanced weighty thing to hold.
On paper it doesn’t seem heavy, 50grm iirc - balanced even with the cap posted, but you do notice the heft. It’s basically double my Twsbi Eco… Definitely try one if you can before buying.
I like the shape, I’ve never seen the plastic Sports but I’d like to try one too. Interested to see how the patina develops.
To feed my nasty pen habit, I bought a Schneider Easy on Monday. Only about £3.70 for a nice cheap pen that writes well.
Oops, bargain Lamy Al-star and various Diamine inks ordered from Cult Pens....
Just a wee update.
I mentioned these lamy safari knock-offs a while back.
After trying nearly every kind of ink cartridge, and getting a lot of ink spilling out the pen, I decided to try the bundled piston reservoir.
I bought some Waterman ‘intense black’ ink (slippery slope?), and the pen has worked brilliantly. No ink seeping out.
Saying that, the manufacturers describe the nib as ‘EF’.
Comparing it with my lamy EF, I’d say the lamy copy is more ‘EEF’.
The build quality is as good as any lamy safari.
So, if you use bottled ink and good quality paper, then it might be worth a look.
As for the Pelikan ‘Twist’, I still find their ergonomics to be absolutely spot-on.
It’s just a shame that the barrel materials are so cheap that the cap doesn’t stay put.
I’ve remedied this by placing some stickers on the barrel.
Their rollerballs are great too. Biros were never designed for serious (student) note-taking. But Pelikans rollerball system seems to fill that niche.
Oooh, glad this thread popped up.
Last Christmas I got a nice fountain pen and some blue Diamine ink. Lovely thing it is too.
Problem being, the ink never "sets" and touching a note made months ago can still easily smudge it.
Is there a better ink I can drop hints for Santa to buy me for this Christmas?
@scruff9252 - That's strange. I use Diamine ink (bottle and cartridges) and once it's dried it doesn't come up unless I get the paper wet.
That is odd, i am using various diamine inks and they all dry fast. Am a lefty so would notice if it wasn't.
Hmmm. How peculiar.
I've been using these notepads which I've slowly been working my way through since the start of lockdown.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07FD2GLVD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
I wonder if my note pad has the wrong type of paper? Rubbing my thumb over a note from March this year and it still smudges quite easily (I'm not a sweaty mess, honest!).
Yeah it's probably the paper rather than the ink. It'll be coated or something.
Get some Rhodia notepads.
Dry nib Sir?
I've got a Lamy AL Star that I really like with a "F" nib. With Lamy cartridges it works perfectly and doesn't dry out. However, I've been using a Lamy converter (Z28) and Diamine bottled ink for a while now but it keeps drying out on me, sometimes after just an hour or so. Any ideas what the problem could be?
Don't ask our King, he seems to have lots of issues with fountain pens.
Has it been that long since I looked at this thread? Actually hadn’t really thought about it, although I did buy a new pen a little while back, a clear Lamy, saw it in WHSmith, and realised that I had a black one from way back that I’ve mislaid, so bought it, and realised it’s actually a really nice thing to write with. I’ve got it with a little notebook that I write quotes and sayings in. I also came across a Parker that I bought many years ago, 70’s perhaps? Dunno, had it a long time, it was very dried up, so I soaked it in warm water to clean out all the dried ink and got some fresh cartridges and realised just how smooth it writes, just a really nice writing instrument, and not an expensive one by any means. Really glad I found it.
Do fountain pens help improve handwriting. My handwriting is normally a frantic scribbled mess, written in haste. I can produce decipherable handwriting but takes time and effort.
Would one force me to improve?