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Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)

richardspens.com

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Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)

#111

Post by bunderbunder »

projektir wrote: post #80
willspoke wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The good thing about noodlers is that they carry a waterproof range. I think they are called "bulletproof". A good resource for fountain pen lovers is https://www.nibs.com/ They do repair and custom work too.

...what is a reasonable price for a decent fountain pen?

If you're just looking to dip a toe in the water, Pilot Varsity is a disposable fountain pen that can be had for $2-3 in the US, though it's usually sold in multi packs. IMO, it's a decent writer for the price (and the only disposable I've tried and would recommend), and lasts long enough to see whether you'll get comfortable with the way a fountain pen behaves.

Refillable pens can be had for not a whole lot more, but the ink reservoir will be smaller, so, even though they usually come with a free cartridge or two, you may end up wanting to buy a few extra cartridges or a bottle of ink in order to get enough writing time to really get a feel for the pen.

Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)

#112

Post by rukuu001 »

saspiesas wrote: post #68

To all the people who keep asking why we would bother write with a fountain pen, a few reasons I do: People are less likely to walk away or accidentally steal your fountain pen I can write in the exact colour I want I know scribbles or notes are mine without even looking at the writing My colleagues know which pieces of notes are mine without asking My notebooks never wander far I don't feel like I'm constantly killi…

Just want to say I'm so happy to see other fountain-pen users here on HN.

There isn't a single other person in my life who uses them.

Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)

#113

Post by rukuu001 »

ecspike wrote: post #87
JohnJamesRambo wrote: post #19

I think I'll stick with my beloved Bic Cristals, this looks like an incredible amount of trouble.

The guy uses a lot of vintage pens. Most modern pens are very low maintenance. I can refill a pen in less than 30 secs if using a converter, 5 secs if I'm popping in a new cartridge. For those that want to go the disposable route, there are several options. The guy is making it sound more involved than it is for 99% of the FP using community.

> Most modern pens are very low maintenance.

And very forgiving. I dragged out a Pelikan I hadn't used in a couple years and found it was half-full of ink, dried ink all over the nib.

Gave it a quick wipe, worked perfectly.

Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)

#114

Post by kuon »

It's been years since I wrote something on a paper using rudimentary hardware, but my wife is a great fan of fountain pens and spend a great deal of time taking care of them. She writes into her notebook and calendar with series of vivid colors, it is really a joy to the eyes. She explained me in great details how the ink for the pen to write japanese was flowing differently than the ink to write roman characters. It's geeky in its own way :)

Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)

#115

Post by TheSleeprAwakns »

notananthem wrote: post #66

Dude hates Noodler's ink, but Noodler's brought back fountain pen interest. I still only use Noodler's inks, including Baystate but not the weird ones.

Yes, he absolutely does hate Noodler’s. I have a friend that has been into fountain pens for a long time. He recommended to go with Noodler’s since so many have archival and waterproof properties. Other inks were referred to as expensive food coloring.

If you are writing notes that won’t matter in a few months then a dye based ink is just fine. If you’re writing something that you still want read in 50 years then you want something more permanent than a dye based ink. Each case is fine, but the author is definitely pushing an agenda rather than providing a holistic view.

Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)

#116

Post by olympus »

nimbius wrote: post #93

I went through a fountain pen phase for about a year and finally gave up on it after a few notable incidents. - going through the airport was hit or miss. Bristol? Stuttgart? things are perfect. interstate travel in the US? id lost two pens to the TSA. My flight to calgary started perfectly, and ended after a half full fountain pen quietly burst in my jacket pocket. not fun. - No one seems to know what these things a…

In the US most notaries will not allow you to sign official documents with a fountain pen- it seems to be part of the training, and many realtors and attorneys are notaries for convenience. As great as they are to write with, many FP inks cannot withstand tampering, so they don't allow any FP inks because it's hard to track which of the thousands of brand/color combos are safe. A cheapo ballpoint is better for official documents- although in this era I'd trust a cryptographic signature more than a handwritten one.

Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)

#117

Post by hungrynerd »

bambax wrote: post #5

I love fountain pens! I've been using them all my life and try to have my kids use them too (with some success so far). But, so called "rocking" (or rocker) blotters are increasingly hard to find, so much so that I decided to design and produce my own. (It's a beautiful sheet of metal with a bent plastic part to hold the blotting paper). But I wonder if there really is a market for it? Do people still use fountain pe…

There's a HUGE market. In fact the Japanese market alone is large enough that Pilot/Sailor/Platinum don't even release all their new pens to the US market.

Try going to the forums - fountainpennetwork.com or fpgeeks.com to get interest in your blotters. I've seen rocking blotters sold by J. Herbin, so they still exist.

Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)

#118

Post by hungrynerd »

balladeer wrote: post #82
Al-Khwarizmi wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can write faster, for longer periods and getting less tired with a fountain pen. When I was a student I always took notes with a fountain pen, and I was the only one in the class who could log pretty much everything that was said, and with relatively good handwriting for the speed. A lot of people photocopied my notes! Maintenance depends on the pen. Some require frequent cleaning, but for example, I have a Platinu…

Hey, I would be interested in knowing about pens that do not need regular service and caring especially when not used for longer periods. Could you please suggest some good resources on it (preferably not very costly, if at all) or suggest such fountain pens?

Platinum 3776 are good and designed for this use case - the inner cap is supposed to keep inks from drying out even with long periods of no usage. If you buy a restored Parker 51, they're nearly indestructible. Just dip it in a little water to get it flowing again.

Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)

#119

Post by epx »

gpm wrote: post #78
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It feels better in my hand than a biro Ballpoints require one to constantly press down to keep the ink flowing. This makes writing tiring. (Fountain pens draw ink with capillary action.)

This is the main reason I use one, keeps my RSI from acting up when I have to write a lot. Best $25 I've ever spent ($5 on a pen, jinhao x750, the rest on ink).

Put a JoWo #6 nib on it ($15) and it will write like a $150 pen.

Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)

#120

Post by dredmorbius »

nimbius wrote: post #93

I went through a fountain pen phase for about a year and finally gave up on it after a few notable incidents. - going through the airport was hit or miss. Bristol? Stuttgart? things are perfect. interstate travel in the US? id lost two pens to the TSA. My flight to calgary started perfectly, and ended after a half full fountain pen quietly burst in my jacket pocket. not fun. - No one seems to know what these things a…

The fact that fountain pen inks are usually (always?) water-soluble does make them a poor choice for permanent documents which risk being altered.

I like my fountain pen, but use a more robust ink for many standard tasks.

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