pens

[roseyscot]

this kid is a cyclist, a Boston resident, and an overall good guy:

Ian Schon | Portfolio | Pen

buy his pen, it's handmade and badass

[derailer]

I'm sorta into pens, and the only observation I've made worth noting is that to answer "what pen?" you must also ask "what paper?" If you have access to or interest in decent quality paper (Clairefontaine, Tomoe, Maruman, but *not* Moleskine) and are interested in fountain pens and modern art, the Lamy 2000 is a beautiful and well-regarded pen. (If you're feeling spendy and share my aesthetic sensibilities, then go hog wild and buy a Nakaya.) I received a Lamy 2000 for a gift last year, and I love it. Though I carry it with me everywhere, it's not suited for all papers or purposes, so I always carry one of the two pens described below as a backup.

If you want to buy a box of cheap but decent pens, there is simply nothing better than a Uni-Ball Jetstream pen. Heck, even if you don't want a box of cheap but decent pens, I'd say you should get some Jetstreams anyway. They write better than any cheap, and many expensive, pens that I've tried, and I've tried quite a few. The Wirecutter agrees, if that matters to you.

If you want a classy but replaceable daily carry, I think the Parker Jotter is tops. Note, however, that the Jotter's stock ink cartridge is pretty terrible and you'll want to replace it right away. Fortunately, there are plenty of aftermarket options (you can even jerry rig a Jetstream cartridge into the Jotter I've heard). I've had great success with Parker's blue gel refill, which helps the Jotter live up to its name.

[nahtnoj]

Bics for me.

Lucy (one of our cats) steals pens out of my bag. She will open pockets in particular bouts of determination. They mostly wind up under the 'fridge or the oven.

But I love this thread anyway. All you have to do is ask...

[Zimmermanbicycle]

The one in Santa Monica?

I am currently sitting in the old Parker Pen building as our offices have been temporarily moved while an addition is added to our building. Just thought that was relevant somehow.

[rphetteplace]

The one in Santa Monica?

Original plant in Janesville, Wisconsin

I graduated from George S. Parker High School

[sonnybiker]

bic round stic in medium blue. writes great. i love the smell of the ink also.
non grip version, white barrel.

[Crashburn]

Not a pen but you get the idea.
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[dashDustin]

Ordered up a refill for a rollerball pen (Cartier Diabolo) and figured I'd check out my fountain pen, since it had been a while. Apparently it's been a long while. A good amount of the ink had evaporated. So I'm sitting there, twisting the piston converter thing...and you can imagine when it went from there.

luckily the clothes and desk were spared. my hands, however....

[Diablo de Acero]

I've always used a Parker Jotter(since I was 16 in 1978). Same pen. Olive Green.

[RichTheRoadie]

I have one of the Ti pens from Schon - small enough to carry everywhere, but feels beautiful in the hand when the cap is undone and screwed onto the end to make it 'proper pen length' for use.

[dashDustin]

I have one of the Ti pens from Schon - small enough to carry everywhere, but feels beautiful in the hand when the cap is undone and screwed onto the end to make it 'proper pen length' for use.

pic in your hand? how's it write compared to a G2...any idea? i've never used a Space Pen (or refill).

I'm thinking about grabbing one of these: Machined Aluminum Pen because, when push comes to shove, I really like how the G2 cartridges write. Might be a lefty thing, I don't know. Rollerballs and gels are my preferred ways to go.

[dashDustin]

dang, missed the edit window...

how do the threads feel when the cap is posted? snug and solid?

[j44ke]

Ultrasonic jewelry cleaners are great for restoring old or unused fountain pens with dried ink in the nib section.

Don't buy an old Scheaffer Snorkel fountain pen unless it is in perfect condition. They are very frustrating to restore.

I think the best work-a-day fountain pen - and by that I mean one you can carry anywhere, doesn't clog or leak, and has a smooth nib that doesn't grab or skip regardless of paper make - is a Pelikan. The 150's or 200's with piston fill mechanism are bomb proof. I've carried one in my backpack for nearly 15 years. The same one. And I've found Waterman bottled ink to be the best. Clean without need to filter any grit from dried particles out of it and nice flow rate, pleasing pigment consistency and comes in a nice glass fill bottle.

Waterman made my favorite roller ball, but at some point their QC slipped, glue joints failed, and their pens started falling apart. However, the ink in their rollerball refills is just as good as their fountain ink.

Cheap pen? Muji makes a plastic stick pen in translucent (frosted?) white that has a roller nib and ink that is super smooth. Great sketch pen. Or travel pen. They come in 0.5, 0.7 and I think 0.3(?) I usually get a handful of 0.5 & 0.7's for each long trip, wrap them in a rubber band and toss them in my backpack. Their "plain brown wrapper" notebooks also contain really great paper.

Japan is the land of ink and paper, so I have found some of their everyday pens to be really great. A lot have highly flexible nibs that I like for writing. Prevents hand cramps. I have an older (1960's) Namiki Pilot with a flexible nib that writes like a dream. Unfortunately the bladder rotted, and I haven't been able to find the right diameter to fix it, nor figured out how to get the assembly out of the pen. I think it wasn't such an expensive pen to begin with, so it possibly wasn't meant to be repairable. The current Namiki Pilot is a super trick retractable fountain pen (!) and I'll have to get one at some point.

A great resource for pens is the Fountain Pen Hospital here in NYC. If you come to NYC and you like pens, definitely visit. And bring your non-functioning old pens with you. They have all the parts that are currently available and can offer suggestions or fix it for you. Fountain Pen Hospital - Celebrating 65 years as the world's showcase of fine writing instruments.

[t-hoe]

My Namiki has been in constant use for over a decade. Love it...
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[RichTheRoadie]

pic in your hand?

Here you go:

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how's it write compared to a G2...any idea?

No idea I'm afraid, sorry.

how do the threads feel when the cap is posted? snug and solid?

Yes, very much so.

[andrew flowers]

i have a parker '51 fighter I've been using for 10 years now, no idea how long the people before me had it.. pen is double my age plus some

pencil duty is a rotring 600

[RichTheRoadie]

I had an almost-complete set of Rotring Newtons too, but I lost the one I used the most (slim rollerball), I keep forgetting to get leads for the pencil and the big rollerball (which is a *lovely* weight in the hand and *beautiful* to write with) is too bulky to carry in my pocket.

This thread is making me want to put it back into daily use though...

[jeff56]

I can't believe these haven't been mentioned yet, which makes me happy that I may be able to open a new door for pen lovers.

Home page
Tactile Turn

I have a Karas Render K in copper and it brings me absolute joy to write with it. If you want a machined pen, your choice of refill is going to be the big driver for what direction you go. Personally, I'm a huge fan of Japanese pens. My favorites are the HiTec C (actually I go with the Maica version - same refill different body) in .4. On the retractable side, I go with Uniball Jetstreams in .7. Jetpens is my go to place for these and the great thing is that most are super cheap so you can experiment to your heart's content.

I use Hi-Tec C refills in my Render K. I loved writing with these in the Maica plastic body, but combining that pen with the machined copper Render K body gives me a jolt of happiness every time I get to write with it. I don't yet have a Tactile Turn, but am looking to purchase a TT Mover when he does another round of anodized aluminum. The Mover can accept the Jetstream refills, so then my pen world will be complete. Though, that Schon looks really great, too!

Pens are great - lots of crossovers between bikes in my opinion. Check out NockCo. for some great pen accessories, too. I have a few Nomadic pen cases (love their tag line: "For budget and save money") but I carry my Render K in a NockCo. XL Fodderstack. Holds my pen and a Field Notes memo book. I'm not a fountain pen fan - that's a door best not opened for sake of my wallet - but I love seeing what's out there.

[jeff56]

Actually, I see now that Dustin mentioned the Render K. Dustin, now's a good time to grab one if you are on the fence - I received an e-mail blast from them the other day - apparently they are going to do some subtle design changes to the Render K (I think to allow them to use the same bodies as their fountain pens) and are selling off current stock for (I think it was) about $15 off.

[Spookyload]

I use to this day a pencil/pen set my step-son gave me for my wedding. Carried wi me on the plane for 22 years. Nice and heavy, so if it fell out of my pocket, I would hear it. This time mine, but is the same set. Somehow never managed to lose it in all those years of flying.
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