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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)

#161

Post by zarex »

rukuu001 wrote: post #113
ecspike wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Amazing. I'd expect it to be clogged. Nothing a thorough rinse cannot fix, but just a quick wipe? What ink was in it?

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

#162

Post by _pfxa »

JohnJamesRambo wrote: post #19

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

I've been using a fountain pen since when I started uni (nearly 4 years ago), first used a local brand for some months, then found the Pelikan I bought second hand from a pens repairsman, which I still use. I write quite a bit on paper and almost exclusively with my fountain pen, and to this day, I've only been through one bottle of ink, a Lamy Black I bought for TRY15 back in the day (~$3,5 currently). All I ever do to that pen is fill it up when it needs a filling up. And very infrequently I switch from black ink to blue or viceversa.

A usable ballpoint or rollerball pen costs at least ~TRY5-10, and it does not last me more than a couple months. Cheaper stuff tends to not be reliable. And it may be hard to find that particular pen again, with the same tip and same feel, whereas with my fountain pen I always know what will happen when I put the thing on some paper.

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

#163

Post by abritinthebay »

epx wrote: post #119
gpm wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I’m curious - what makes the nib “better”?

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

#164

Post by thaumasiotes »

kerkeslager wrote: post #145
gpm wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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).

For what it's worth, those Sharpie felt tip pens also draw ink with capillary action. This is what I use and it definitely reduces fatigue as compared with a ballpoint.

Sharpies have pretty powerful fumes...

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

#165

Post by andrei_says_ »

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).

What ink did you choose?

I am having trouble with ink drying up in my pilot pen.

The pilot cartridges don’t dry up. Only the bottle ink.

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

#166

Post by bambax »

hungrynerd wrote: post #117
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.

Thanks!

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

#167

Post by Doxin »

freosam wrote: post #34

This articles says that inkjet ink "frequently uses pigment, not dye," but my understanding is that most inkjet inks are actually dye-based, and that you have to somewhat go out of your way to find pigment-based ones (and they cost more). The latter are usually recommended for archival printing purposes (e.g. Epson's "Dura Brite" inks), because they are less likely to fade over time and are better bonded with the pap…

There's a fair number of inkjets that use a 5-cartridge system. There's the usual cymk, but then there's an additional pigment black cartridge. Cheap ink to print photos, more expensive ink to print text. Works great in my experience.

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

#168

Post by Philomath »

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…

Agree with all, but I would add a really important one that in itself could already justify using a FP.

- because (good) fountain pens are like good watches. You love your FP, you take care of it and you enjoy every moment you see it and use it.

Mechanical watches also have downsides, but a mechanical watch owner just loves the watch for a lot of other reasons that compensate by far the downsides.

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

#169

Post by hungrynerd »

epx wrote: post #119
gpm wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Sometimes just flushing the chinese pens out with a little water and maybe a drop of detergent will do the trick.

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

#170

Post by hungrynerd »

rukuu001 wrote: post #112
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.

Huuuge communities online exist though. You might be surprised - check out fpgeeks forums or fountain pen network - both forums list local gatherings and pen shows.
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