pens

[Mabouya]

the only place a fountain nib will be 'rougher' than a rollerball is with very fine nibs. A properly tuned medium or even fine nib can be smooth enough to bother almost all writers

I've been fooling around with it some more and you're right. I think when I first wrote that I'd been pressing down on it way more than necessary. I've since let up a bit and it's now noticeably smoother.

[VTMike]

This is what started me down the path...

Now I've got a few different Lamy fountain pens and love 'em all.

[Mabouya]

This is what started me down the path...

Perhaps Pilot should hire some shady characters to hang around outside high schools and colleges dorms handing some of these out for free - "Hey, kid - wanna be cool and try something new? I got just what you need to impress the girls _and_ the teachers!"

BTW, a few days ago I discovered JetPens.com - Japanese Pens and Stationery

What a cool site - with great filtering features to find what you want, lots of information about the products, and awesome variety, up and down the line.

Just for kicks I sent my sister a gift certificate from them so she could dip her toe in that world for a while.

[christian]

I've been using a Pilot Namiki Ageless Future Gel for the last six months. What a delight.

[tbonefitz]

Perfect everyday pen: pilot/namiki vanishing nib. Writes flawlessly (if you're comfortable with a fountain pen) and is perfectly convenient. Love mine, choose it over my Mont blancs, aurora, scheaffers, et cetera.

[DrZRM]

I love retractible fountain pens, I just think it is a cool design. There are only a few designs out there and I think I've now had all three that are actually available. I've had a few of those Namiki vanishing points and love them, and I once had a Mont Blance Bohème Bleu, which i got for a steal when a MB store at a mall in Boston had a final liquidation at ~85% off of remaining stock, but I managed to lose that one. Anyway, my wife recently got me a Lamy Dialogue 3 as a gift, and I love it. The longer I use fountain pens, the more I like the Lamys, at each price point, they are great.

[Shoogs]

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I'm really loving the Schon pen

[miwuksurfer]

For those of you with Karas Kustim pens with caps: does the fact that the cap does not post bother you? I feel that it would drive me nuts if I had to keep track of my pen cap the whole time I'm using it. I suppose the fact that I often have to operate my pens one-handed eliminates the capped pens for me to begin with.

[dashDustin]

Hasn't bothered me. I tend to keep the caps away, anyway. If for no other reason than to keep someone who might borrow it from jamming the cap on and trashing the threads.

Speaking of Karas, my EDC pen has become my go-to. The weight and size (grip diameter) is perfect for me. The alloy Render K (with brass grip) is too light. Both get used daily, but the EDC goes everywhere. The Render K stays at my desk. Don't really ever use my Cartier or Lamy 2000 anymore.

[jeff56]

Same as Dustin, here. I absolutely love my Render K , which I use blue/black ink G-Tec C refills in. However, as I have expanded my collection, I tend to use it primarily as a desk writer as opposed to a carry pen or random jotter because of the cap issue. I don't really prefer to post caps, so I wouldn't want that feature. As much as anything, what's happened is that I picked up one of the new Tactile Turn Gliders in brass and that's become my go-to simply because of the mechanism.

The TT shipped with a G32 refill, which I wasn't really fond of, but I've been experimenting with different refills and have really come to love it. When it comes down to it, I'd rather write with the Render, because I like the end of the pen better and prefer the G-Tec C refills to anything made for retractables. The ink tip of the TT is a touch more shrouded than I would prefer and it just doesn't seem *quite* as tight as the Render, but, the machined grooves on the TT are so nice, the retractable feature is so handy, and the pen over-all is so nicely machined and a joy to use that its slowly relegated my Render to back-up.

I bought an EDC for a friend and wrote with it briefly, but don't own one and can't compare. I have one of the older TT Movers that has that same clicker mechanism, however, and found that it tended to stick occasionally. The EDCs are super nice looking though, and i like the ability to mix and match finishes.

Pens are pretty awesome. A lot of pleasure return without a ton of investment.

[miwuksurfer]

Awesome, thanks guys. Makes sense. Its hard to buy sight unseen on something like this so its nice to get some opinions.

[dashDustin]

and just like that, the EDC will be relegated to desk duty, or notebook duty. i had it in my shirt pocket, and somehow the clicker got pushed. pen leaked in my shirt pocket. doh.

[Matthew Strongin]

I'm loving this pen from Schon as my EDC writing instrument. There's no way it would accidentally open in a pocket.

[dashDustin]

I'm loving this pen from Schon as my EDC writing instrument. There's no way it would accidentally open in a pocket.

Why no pocket clip? That was the first one I looked at after my post. Was surprised that there was no option for a clip.

[Matthew Strongin]

Why no pocket clip? That was the first one I looked at after my post. Was surprised that there was no option for a clip.

There's a kickstarter now for a clip version. I've got another in order with a clip. That said, the lack of clip hasn't bothered me since I already clip my knife.

[dashDustin]

Any smokin’ Black Friday etc deals out there?

[andrew flowers]

yeah, what are you looking for?

since I last posted ive added a 1960s pelikan 400 series, and a UK made parker '51 with a broad nib

[giordana93]

generally prefer vintage pens, just because. Well, actually they are just so cheap for the quality--not to be a made in usa snob, but dang, parker, sheaffer, and esterbrook...and I guess Eversharp... were just pinnacles of manufacturing, so consistent, yada, yada. that said, I do like the japanese pens and even for cheapo throwaways, some chinese pens. so here are a few of my faves, still in possession:

my dad's PFM. has no equal, at least for my budget. it was his high school graduation pen
a Sheaffer touchdown (or 2)
Esterbrook, I've got a few of these. so cheap and fun to get a few different nibs to change; easy-peasy to re-sac; these can be had for under $20 pretty easily
Eversharp skyline--my flexiest nib, and just smooth and gorgeous

sheaffer no-nonsense--cheap but consistently smooth in the M nib, F as well, and easy to find cheap italic (aka calligraphy) nibs to play with

Pilot: 78g, once cheap and plentiful; an absolutely fabulous small one whose name escapes me, but easily one of my best writers, with a modern flex nib, plus a recent workhorse, the cheap and tough kakuno sort of a nicer refillable varsity.love my orange cap version


never had the pleasure of a pelikan and I can no longer justify buying one; and the pilot VP looks like an absolute winner, but again, out of my budget, and I'm pretty much done buying any nicer pens. I suspect it writes much like the older small one I have. nice white gold nib with some spring, and dead smooth

anyway, missed this thread initially when we were talking space pens, but vintage fountain pens are a real treat, especially when you throw in the range of good ink available today. carry on

[andrew flowers]

Late 70's Montblanc 146 in medium added this week

Always wanted a 146 after trying one years ago. This also helped jumpstart my fascination with writing tools

considering a new one is worth several times what I paid, it works pretty well. I think at this point, outside my custom 823, I do prefer German to Japanese pens.

[sonicw]

Skilcraft > Bic. That said, the pen I make sure is always with my workbag is my Messograf Caliper Pen. So handy, and it writes quite well.