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Mountain of Ink

mountainofink.com

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Re: Mountain of Ink

#81

Post by _pigpen__ »

bayindirh wrote: post #77
jszymborski wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always kinda hated the cartridges and the ink that came in them from day 1. My second pen was filled by piston and I bought some cheap Diamine samplers, and it was both simple to use and cheap. I found converters to be often hard to use which results in messes.

You don’t fill a “converted” different from a piston one. Both operate exactly the same. Why the mess?

They’re sort of similar, but also opposite. A convertor twists up the pen pulling ink into the chamber. A piston twists down the pen creating a vacuum first. When it gets to the bottom the vacuum is exposed to the nib and the ink is rapidly sucked up. I definitely find the piston less messy.

Re: Mountain of Ink

#82

Post by munificent »

ofalkaed wrote: post #23
Pinus wrote: post #22

Handwriting seems to be becoming more and more of a niche phenomenon, actually paying attention to what one writes with even more so, and actually using fountain pens yet more so. Still, there seems to be an absurd number of ink makers around, producing an absurd number of inks. I suppose dyes and water are relatively cheap, and can be mixed in buckets...

A good number of the inks are because of artists, hence the wide variety of colors including colors which are not particularly useful for writing. The water based inks used in fountain pens are the primary inks for pen and ink drawing because they allow all of the classic techniques like washes and water brushes which do not work with other sorts of inks. Many of the makers of these inks have started to exploit the f…

> A good number of the inks are because of artists

I actually think you have it backwards. Hobbyists drive the economics of almost all gear used for creative pursuits. For every artist making meaningful objects and sharing them with the world, there are a 100 dabblers who fantasize about being that, buy a bunch of stuff, but never really use it.

This is a strange but ultimately harmonious economic arrangement. Hobbyists increase scale, which helps gear producers lower costs, which benefit actual artists.

Re: Mountain of Ink

#83

Post by jszymborski »

bayindirh wrote: post #77
jszymborski wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always kinda hated the cartridges and the ink that came in them from day 1. My second pen was filled by piston and I bought some cheap Diamine samplers, and it was both simple to use and cheap. I found converters to be often hard to use which results in messes.

You don’t fill a “converted” different from a piston one. Both operate exactly the same. Why the mess?

Piston pens have the filling system fully contained. The only place ink can come out is the nib. Converters, in my limited experience, don't always have a perfect fit or come loose during the filling process.

More deft hands probably don't have this problem. I would come out with inky hands no matter the filling system when I first started using fountain pens. Look ma', no (stained) hands!

Re: Mountain of Ink

#84

Post by thrawa8387336 »

bayindirh wrote: post #54
kromo888 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are putting rationale and practical thinking up against a classic irrational hobby. The best hobbies are usually both irrational and completely unnecessary.

I mean, if using an "irrational" tool to write allows me to write longer, better and helps me think clearer, I'll only call this hobby "irrationally rational" :)

That's a good story but people know good hobbies are not about the tools but the skill.

Re: Mountain of Ink

#85

Post by glitchc »

throwanem wrote: post #66
glitchc wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been buying from Goulet for years, but lately their service has taken a major nosedive. I recommend people stay away from them now. The last pen I received from them was broken. They would not take it back, asked me to deal with the manufacturer directly. Horrible customer service. After so many expensive pens (Pelikan, Pilot and Visconti), I won't be buying from them again.

Which pen?

It was a Visconti Opera Master. Comes with a power reservoir filler that detached from the nib assembly within five days of purchase. Turned out the threads were completely mismatched, that pen should have never been sold. Now, granted Visconti has serious QC issues, but this was a limited edition and not only did Goulet fail to catch the issue during testing but they also refused to do anything about it except refer me to the manufacturer.

I ended up fixing the pen myself. It works well now, but after that experience, I am done with Goulet.

Re: Mountain of Ink

#86

Post by throwanem »

glitchc wrote: post #85
throwanem wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which pen?

It was a Visconti Opera Master. Comes with a power reservoir filler that detached from the nib assembly within five days of purchase. Turned out the threads were completely mismatched, that pen should have never been sold. Now, granted Visconti has serious QC issues, but this was a limited edition and not only did Goulet fail to catch the issue during testing but they also refused to do anything about it except refer…

Eh, it's a thousand-dollar Italian statement pen. If the guy doesn't really want to run a Lambo dealership, I get it, and I can see where you might be annoyed to have helped find that out. For those of us with less rarefied tastes, I think things are probably pretty different on a lot of axes, but all it takes to spend money is money.

As I said nearby [1], when I had Decimo trouble, he not only got hold of Pilot to find out they don't sell an OEM o-ring, but after that spent the day back and forth with me via email, making and giving accurate measurements of an intact part, all kinds of things. The end result is still the first pen I reach for all day, every day. I don't know what was really so different between your case and mine, but I doubt it had that much to do with Brian.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44757775

Re: Mountain of Ink

#87

Post by bayindirh »

_pigpen__ wrote: post #81
bayindirh wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don’t fill a “converted” different from a piston one. Both operate exactly the same. Why the mess?

They’re sort of similar, but also opposite. A convertor twists up the pen pulling ink into the chamber. A piston twists down the pen creating a vacuum first. When it gets to the bottom the vacuum is exposed to the nib and the ink is rapidly sucked up. I definitely find the piston less messy.

Vacuum based filling systems are called “vacuum fillers”, like Pilot Custom 823.

A piston pen is exactly same as a converter one. For example Pelikan M605, Twsbi Eco, Lamy 2000, etc.

Vacuum pens are nice, but need more care during filling and need deeper bottles since the process is somewhat more violent.

Re: Mountain of Ink

#88

Post by bayindirh »

thrawa8387336 wrote: post #84
bayindirh wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, if using an "irrational" tool to write allows me to write longer, better and helps me think clearer, I'll only call this hobby "irrationally rational" :)

That's a good story but people know good hobbies are not about the tools but the skill.

I also write way more legible with fountain pens and can also maintain/repair my pens, too.

I also take photos and dance. Does this fulfill your criteria for good hobbies? :)

Re: Mountain of Ink

#89

Post by m01 »

cropher wrote: post #52

When it comes to fountain pens and inks, I went down a rabbit hole more than once in the past. Noodlers makes some unique pens and inks. I have a Noodlers Ahab, for example, that has a very flexible nib. Different than any of the more conventional pens I used before. But one thing that bothers me about fountain pens is that they are messy. Some of it can be avoided. You don't need a piston filler to dip into your spe…

> But one thing that seems unavoidable is that the "section" (the part where you hold the pen) gets messy when you put the cap on it. I wonder why every fountain pen seems to have this design.

FYI, there are fountain pens with a retractable nib that don't have a cap, including for example the:

- Pilot Vanishing Point/Capless/Decimo (there's a cheaper Japanese "Special Alloy" version as well)

- LAMY dialog

- Platinum Curidas

I don't know if they fix your inky fingers issue but if taking the cap on and off is a hassle then these might be worth looking into.

EDIT: formatting

Re: Mountain of Ink

#90

Post by ofalkaed »

munificent wrote: post #82
ofalkaed wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A good number of the inks are because of artists, hence the wide variety of colors including colors which are not particularly useful for writing. The water based inks used in fountain pens are the primary inks for pen and ink drawing because they allow all of the classic techniques like washes and water brushes which do not work with other sorts of inks. Many of the makers of these inks have started to exploit the f…

> A good number of the inks are because of artists I actually think you have it backwards. Hobbyists drive the economics of almost all gear used for creative pursuits. For every artist making meaningful objects and sharing them with the world, there are a 100 dabblers who fantasize about being that, buy a bunch of stuff, but never really use it. This is a strange but ultimately harmonious economic arrangement. Hobbyi…

I did not say "professional artists," I said "artists" which includes the dabblers with the dreams of becoming professional artists but does not include pen collectors with a cabinet full of ink whose lifetime of ink purchases might reach the yearly ink purchase of anyone remotely serious about their art.
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