Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Classic fountain pens

wallpaper.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 180 posts

Re: Classic fountain pens

#51

Post by dmpk2k »

criddell wrote: post #32
dmpk2k wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A big problem with Safaris is they dry out quickly. There are many great pen varieties nowadays, none of which have this common fountain-pen shortcoming. Safaris are suitable for people who write daily; others should look elsewhere.

A few years ago I bought a Pilot Metropolitan fountain pen. It's decent, but the ink evaporates really quickly. Last year I bought an inexpensive Platinum Preppy and it doesn't have this problem at all. No idea why the Pilot is so bad or if I can fix it, but it basically makes the pen useless to me because I do not write daily. Even if I did use it daily, the disappearing ink means I'd have more maintenance to deal w…

Indeed.

For newcomers: if you get a pen that seals properly (so it won’t dry out), consider getting a fast-drying ink; you won’t end up with streaks across the paper and on your hands. I found Lamy T52 acceptable.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#52

Post by MezzoDelCammin »

foobarian wrote: post #16

What advantages do fountain pens still have over modern gel ballpoints? I like the whole experience of fountain pens, how nice they look and the 'old-school' aspect, but sadly I don't feel they are practical any more.

IMO the biggest advantage isn't really anything objectively measurable. Yes, You can come up with things like smoothness, lack of resistance (my personal first reason to switch), sustainability, but ultimately IMO You end up with "it just feels nice".

To me, the main motivation to use them these days is that it simply feels good to use them. After spending some time tinkering / cleaning / nib polishing, fountain pens give me the same sort of pleasure that one gets from any other good tool - a well sharpened knife that just fits into Your hand, a good screw driver, a nicely worn in shoe, a well maintained / fitted bike... The list goes on. It becomes a sort of a self-sustaining feedback loop. The more You use one, the more You "want" to use one.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#53

Post by BeetleB »

nunuvit wrote: post #2

For anyone with a budding or casual interest in fountain pens, the Lamy Safari is the way to go. They're plentiful, inexpensive, rugged, and have plenty of nibs, cartridges, and refillable cartridges to experiment with. Just pick your color and start using it to figure out what you value in a pen. Don't let the grip shape scare you off, you might like it more than you thought, but if not it won't ruin the value as an…

I preferred the Pilot Metropolitan, with a Medium Nib (equivalent to Fine in Europe). It was my goto pen for a number of years, despite getting more expensive ones.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#56

Post by BeetleB »

dan-robertson wrote: post #7
ziml77 wrote: post #4

I got into fountain pens for a while. One big problem with them is that you really need paper that's designed for them. A lot of common paper ends up wicking out the ink way too fast. But they are still pretty cool writing implements. It's easy to change the nibs in them so I would recommend trying out a few different sizes and styles to find one that suits you. It's a fun experience even if ballpoint pens are overal…

I always got on fine with laser printer paper. But it was never really a hobby – my school required them at one point and at another my parents thought it would help my handwriting. If you have a bunch of school kids made to use fountain pens, they aren’t going to be fussing about paper quality; they’ll just use what they have and be fine with it. I think you don’t really need certain types of paper. People just like…

In my experience, most laser printer papers feather heavily with fountain pen ink. I buy the Target brand ones, and they handle FP ink decently well.

But yes - you definitely need paper that handles the ink well. Most notebooks sold in regular American stores do not. If your city has a Kinokuniya[1] store, likely most stationery sold there will handle it well as fountain pens are still used a lot in Japan.

[1] https://usa.kinokuniya.com/

Re: Classic fountain pens

#57

Post by MezzoDelCammin »

One thing that hasn't been mentioned so far. We've seen comments that "race to the bottom" (Lamy Safari, Pilot Preppy, ...), or that aim for "timeless classics" (basically any gold nib - Sailor 1911, Pilot Falcon, ~$150+ pens).

There's a third way though. The "actual piece of history". In my opinion, no pen is better for this than a Parker 51. This for me is the embodiment (and a parent of) "the consumer fountain pen". Seen and used everywhere from 1940s to about 1960s. The best part - these can now be had for ~$100 and a good portion of them still works beautifully to this day. With minimal maintenance (cleaning, sometimes slight nib polishing to remove the flat spots that come from long time use by their previous owners) one can get a working Parker 51 for under $60.

The best part - these pens can go neck to neck with a lot of modern $150+ pieces. All the while most of these pens are older than majority of HN users. Heck, having a small collection myself, most of my Parker 51s are older than my parents.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#58

Post by quantgenius »

foobarian wrote: post #16

What advantages do fountain pens still have over modern gel ballpoints? I like the whole experience of fountain pens, how nice they look and the 'old-school' aspect, but sadly I don't feel they are practical any more.

Traditionally, you are supposed to write with less pressure and even hold the pen with less pressure. Once you teach yourself to do this, it is much less tiring than writing with a ball point pen. I write a lot. It's how I think. I'm orders of magnitude better at thinking when I use a pen and paper to jot and doodle than when I do not.

I also find that writing to take notes is much better than notes taken electronically. You can't write fast enough to transcribe. So you are forced to pay attention, process the information, compress it into nuggets (that may only make sense to you) and write those down. The notes aren't the point. The process means you retain more and understand better. If I wanted a transcription (which is certainly easier with electronic methods), I'd simply record.

I injured my wrist and hand a few years ago and simply would not be able to write as much as I do if I had to use a ball point pen.

Give fountain pens another try. A lot of the things that make them "impractical" is only an issue with bottom of the barrel, cheap pens.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#59

Post by quantgenius »

MezzoDelCammin wrote: post #57

One thing that hasn't been mentioned so far. We've seen comments that "race to the bottom" (Lamy Safari, Pilot Preppy, ...), or that aim for "timeless classics" (basically any gold nib - Sailor 1911, Pilot Falcon, ~$150+ pens). There's a third way though. The "actual piece of history". In my opinion, no pen is better for this than a Parker 51. This for me is the embodiment (and a parent of) "the consumer fountain pen…

Totally agree. Properly restored vintage pens are absolutely awesome. You don't have to go as high end as a vintage Parker 51. Try an Esterbrook. They were the BIC of their day and are amazing.

Very important warning regarding Parker 51s or any modern Parker. Do not buy the modern Parker 51!! The brand Parker is now owned by a company that is choosing to take advantage of people who remember the Parker brand and foisting total garbage on them.

Re: Classic fountain pens

#60

Post by nunuvit »

Al-Khwarizmi wrote: post #37
nunuvit wrote: post #2

For anyone with a budding or casual interest in fountain pens, the Lamy Safari is the way to go. They're plentiful, inexpensive, rugged, and have plenty of nibs, cartridges, and refillable cartridges to experiment with. Just pick your color and start using it to figure out what you value in a pen. Don't let the grip shape scare you off, you might like it more than you thought, but if not it won't ruin the value as an…

In my view, Lamy Safari is way overrated. Don't get me wrong, it's far from bad, a pretty consistent pen for the price. But the ink dries fast-ish if you don't use it, and especially, the cartridges are proprietary so you're tied to the brand's cartridges and ink colors (there's a piston converter, but converters, meh). A Pilot Metropolitan is approximately the same price and at least in my view, it's better as it us…

Can you also use cartridges with the TWSBI Eco? A first pen should give you the option.

I haven't tried the Pilots, but the standard cartridge could change my recommendation to them.

Post reply on HN