37 replies to this topic

[Jdp2496]

Hello!

 

I'm a 17 year old guy from Michigan who has recently become enamored with fountain pens. I recently mustered up enough cash to buy two LAMY Safari's, a Joy, and a bottle of PR Avacado. Since I picked up the first pen, I couldn't stop writing. I actually enjoy taking notes now, and my handwriting has improved significantly. 

I really like saturated inks from what I've seen and love colors that are strong but subtle. If anyone had any suggestions of inks please let me know! (And if anyone would be willing to send me a few samples or anything, I would be ecstatic...if not I won't be disappointed.)

I've been eyeing the TWSBI mini and Pilot Prera, and am currently saving up enough to buy them. (I'm 1/10th of the way there..wooo).

 

Merry Christmas!

 

Kind regards,

 

JDP

[david i]

Hi John,

 

Welcome to Fountain Pen Board. Michigan seems to turn out some interesting younger pen collectors. But... that is a tale for another day

 

We're not the biggest Board on the block, but do give us a chance, even when the bigger boards are back in play.

 

Lamy makes good pens and has offered some high end series here and there.  Safari is an excellent starter pen, rock solid, with a nice variety of colors.

 

Most of us at FPnuts (Fountain Pen Board) have a bit of bias toward old pens, but chat about any pen of interest is fine.  Who knows, maybe we can bring you over to the dark side: Parker 51, Sheaffer Balance... that sort.  We do have a number of active collectors of old pens who themselves are late teens/early 20's.

 

Do share images and questions. Our GALLERY tab offers hosting of pen images.

 

regards

David

[Frank(Federalist Pens)]

Welcome!

 

Frank

[spotted and speckled]

Welcome!! 

[ac12]

Some advice from what I learned in college

• Separate the school pens (that you take to school), from home pens (that STAYS AT HOME).
  • The school pen is at risk of theft or damage at school.  So my recommendation is this should be your lower cost pens.  Definitely do NOT take an EXPENSIVE pen to school.  While your iPad or phone might be a prime theft target, a pen will easily disappear into a pocket, never to be seen again.
  • The home pen on the other hand can be anything.  It is at home, so there is no risk of theft or damage. 
• About inks.
  • Changing inks can be a real PIA.  I recommend that you do not change inks often, as the cleaning you have to do between different inks is a real pain to do, especially going from a light ink to a darker ink. 
    If you do not have one, get a bulb syringe.  It makes cleaning a LOT easier and faster.
  • Better is to dedicate a pen to a specific color, so you don't have to change inks. 
    Example, use one Safari for blue ink and the other Safari for green ink.
  • For your school pens, I recommend that you top off your ink converter every day, after you do your homework. 
    This way you have a FULL load of ink at school, and are less likely to run out of ink.
  • Don't bother taking ink to school, too much hassle and potential mess. 
    If you run out of ink at school, either switch to a cartidge, or better is to switch to your other pen.
  • A tip from a former grader.  Use an ink that is easy on the eyes when you have to turn in something. 
    Certain colors while neat to look at can be hard on the eyes to read.  Bright and light colors come to mind. 
    Example I do not mind reading a DARK green, but I would hate to have to read a lot of bright green or green/yellow. 
    You want the grader/teacher to give you all the points you can get. 
    Don't give them a reason to not read your stuff as good as they otherwise might.
• nibs
  • I used a Parker Fine nib in college, this is equivalent to a Lamy XF nib. 
    The finer nib let me write more stuff on a page than with a wider nib.
    The finer nibs also uses less ink than the wider nibs, so your ink lasts longer before you need to refill.
  • The problem with a fine nib is that it will make a light ink look lighter, this is due to the thinner ink line, the eye see less ink.
    So you need to use a dark ink for a finer nib.
    You will have to experiment to see what work and does not work for you.

• Paper:
  • If you have not figured it out yet, you will need fountain pen friendly paper and notebooks. 
    The best low cost papers that I found have been spiral bound note books and filler paper that is Made in Brazil.

gud luk

[Rocco P]

The primary risk of taking your pens to work (school too, I'd say) is not theft, at least not in my experience, as much as it is simple carelessness from your coworkers, who can hardly believe that there are pens that are not cheap throwaway BICs, that can be "borrowed" with no one taking offense.

[Jdp2496]

I forgot to mention: one of my Safari's was actually stolen. My EF Umbra Safari was pocketed by someone else. I left it in my pencil pouch, and someone "had to have it." I learned quickly that FPs STAY WITH ME. So now I'm down to just one.

Also, David i: You might be able to bring me over to the dark side once I can afford those pens! (I can't even afford a mini right now, or a replacement Safari! Hah)

[Rick Krantz]

yes, welcome to FPB

 

[welch]

Hello!

 

I'm a 17 year old guy from Michigan who has recently become enamored with fountain pens. I recently mustered up enough cash to buy two LAMY Safari's, a Joy, and a bottle of PR Avacado. Since I picked up the first pen, I couldn't stop writing. I actually enjoy taking notes now, and my handwriting has improved significantly. 

I really like saturated inks from what I've seen and love colors that are strong but subtle. If anyone had any suggestions of inks please let me know! (And if anyone would be willing to send me a few samples or anything, I would be ecstatic...if not I won't be disappointed.)

I've been eyeing the TWSBI mini and Pilot Prera, and am currently saving up enough to buy them. (I'm 1/10th of the way there..wooo).

 

Merry Christmas!

 

Kind regards,

 

JDP

 

Some older school pens are available at Lamy Safari prices, or better, and are better pens. I used a Parker 45 all from 7th grade until my first year in college. EBay has them for about $25. Some sellers have begun to list P45s at $40 or $50 "buy it now", but that seems a silly price. About three years ago, a 45 did not sell for much more than $15, and often did not sell at $5, except for the all brushed steel (?) "flighter" model.

 

The 45 is a cartridge/converter pen, and was among the first pens that could be taken apart by its owner...every part unscrews and can be replaced. A nib from a 1995 45 will fit the section of a 1970 P45. And so on.

 

Incidentally, I used to refill the converter every morning, just as suggested above. That's one reason I dislike "bulletproof" inks: I am much more likely to spill a drop on myself, my clothes, or a rug during a refill, than to spill a pail of water on something I have written.

 

This is really a great place. Many of the people who post are the best pen restorers; others are some of the most dedicated pen collectors. The suprising thing is that the experts will share knowledge generously. I work in computers, and it is not uncommon to meet a techie who thinks he knows everything but who sneers and laughs at someone who asks a question.

 

Pen people seem to be the reverse: those who know the most are  most eager to share what they know. And "those who know the most" are here.

 

(And, no, David I did NOT pay me to write this...but he did once sell me a marbled Parker Vacumatic that exactly matched a pen my mother saved and saved to give to my father when Dad was sent to the Pacific during WW2. I smashed that pen when I was two or three. Dad teared up when I gave him the replacement.)

[Wahl]

Welcome to the Board, JDP !

[ac12]

Sorry that you had one of your pens stolen.  That is a bummer, but it is something to remember.  That is why NONE of my nice/expensive pens leave the house.

 

There are a lot of low priced Chinese fountain pens on eBay.  Many are less than $10 delivered to your mail box.

Some of them will work fine out of the box, others may require a bit of tweaking of the nib to get the ink flow just right.

I have a Baoer 388, which is a close copy of the Parker Sonnet.  I had to tweak the nib and now it is a nice writer. I think it is about $8 shipped.

One thing to watch for with Chinese pens is the nib size.  Most Chinese nibs run small (and remember that your Lamy nibs run wide). The Chinese Fine is probably equivalent to a XXF Lamy nib, and unless you like really fine nibs, I would not get a Chinese F nib.  I think the Chinese Medium is a more practical size, and would be between a Lamy XF and F nib.

The Baoer 801 is another option, but it is a thin pen, about 9mm diameter, a tiny bit larger than a Bic stick.

Both the 388 and 801 can be found in packages; such as 6 Baoer 801 for $20.

[Jdp2496]

Thank you all for the advice! I'll certainly look into the Parker 45's and some other cheaper pens. I am looking to buy a few Jinhao pens like the x750 once i buy my TWSBI mini or Prera. If only money weren't the limiting factor on my pen "collection!" I can't wait till i hit my mark and can buy some more pens and ink.

[ac12]

The Parker 45 is a great pen.  I used 2 of them all through college.  And I have 3 of them inked up right now; green, red, and turquoise inks.

It is just hard to find it with the finish (flighter) and nib size (Fine) I want all together.  So sometimes I buy the pen, then look for another CHEAP P45 with the Fine nib that I want, and move the nib from the CHEAP pen to the flighter.  If you luck out, you will find the finish and nib size that you want in one pen.

 

gud luk

[peecee57]

Hi and welcome to the board

[Greg Minuskin]

Welcome! You will find the folks here at the FP Board wonderful, very helpful, professional, and the best out there.

 

If there is something I can do for you, please let me know, thanks!
 

Greg Minuskin

www.gregminuskin.com

greg@gregminuskin.com

[Jdp2496]

After reading reviews of the Parker 45, it truly does seem like a great pen! The flighter finish with a fine nib is still around $100.00, out of my range for now. Anyway, I've added it to my want list...although it will probably be a while till I can get one! 

 

Thank you all!

[ac12]

After reading reviews of the Parker 45, it truly does seem like a great pen! The flighter finish with a fine nib is still around $100.00, out of my range for now. Anyway, I've added it to my want list...although it will probably be a while till I can get one!

 

$100, no way !

 

Unless it is New Old Stock (NOS). 

 

Be patient and watch eBay.  You can get them for less than $50, maybe even less than $30 if you are patient and lucky.

Just watch the shipping.  There are some nice deals over in Great Brittan, but the shipping to the US can sour the deal.

 

If you are going to a dealer, then the pricing is much different, as you have to pay their overhead.

 

gud luk

[david i]

I'll likely have some 45's (not flighters) for as low as $25.

 

regards

 

d

[Jdp2496]

I may have been looking at some new ones, ac12. The flighter finish fine points were pretty pricey. (For me anyway.)

 

And david i, I'll keep that in mind once I save up enough again after getting a TWSBI mini. Thanks!

 

Happy New Year,

 

John

[Idazle]

Hello!

 

I'm a 17 year old guy from Michigan who has recently become enamored with fountain pens. I recently mustered up enough cash to buy two LAMY Safari's, a Joy, and a bottle of PR Avacado. Since I picked up the first pen, I couldn't stop writing. I actually enjoy taking notes now, and my handwriting has improved significantly. 

I really like saturated inks from what I've seen and love colors that are strong but subtle. If anyone had any suggestions of inks please let me know! (And if anyone would be willing to send me a few samples or anything, I would be ecstatic...if not I won't be disappointed.)

I've been eyeing the TWSBI mini and Pilot Prera, and am currently saving up enough to buy them. (I'm 1/10th of the way there..wooo).

 

Merry Christmas!

 

Kind regards,

 

JDP

 

Though I'm a newcomer too I also want to say welcome :-)

 

I also like saturated inks. In fact I've got my Lamy Joy (1.5mm italic nib) inked with one of those inks, the discontinued Parker Penman Sapphire. By the way, Lamy Joys are great pens. I lernt italic penmanship with them.

 

About the Parker 45, I love them but from the ones I've used I have the impression that when they say they were designed to compete with ballpens in the early sixties they did not refer to marketing aspects only. Thus even medium points lay down dry lines on the fine side, probably what one would expect from a ballpen.

 

Vintage pens are OK, but to me what is really important is to have fun when writing with a fountain pen, and that sensation can be obtained with both old and new pens. Write on!!!

 

Carlos