There is another Pen Posse this Sunday

Pen Posse Post PPPC Meeting March 16th

Since the PPPC is on March 15th, I figure we'll have another Pen Posse the day after for pen overload. I think we will have more SF Pen Show discussions at this one.

This one is back to our normal place and time.

Sunday March 16th   1:00pm

Peter's Cafe
10 El Camino Real
Millbrae, CA 94030

Ray,

There are 2 groups that you may be interested in:

There is a Pen Posse that meets in Millbrae.

Next meet up will be

Post-LA Pen Show Pen Posse

This is the annual post-LA recap pen posse.

Sunday Feb. 23rd @ 1:00 pm
Peter's Cafe
10 El Camino Real, Millbrae
CA 94030

There is the Pan Pacific Pen club

Next meeting/mini-show is Saturday, March 15, in Pacifica

I can't find the details of specific location and time.

Ryan

Wait till August and the SF Pen show.

It will be a lot closer than LA.

BTW there is a Pen Posse that meets in Millbrae.

Next meet up will be

Post-LA Pen Show Pen Posse

This is the annual post-LA recap pen posse.

Sunday Feb. 23rd @ 1:00 pm
Peter's Cafe
10 El Camino Real, Millbrae
CA 94030

Hi Greg

What kind of trouble are you having?

My 180 in college was a hard starter, and I had to widen the slit in the nib, then it became a nice reliable writer.

As for current pens, the section and feed could be clogged up with old dry ink.  I've had some used pens that were so clogged that you could not force water thru with a bulb syringe.  I put these in an ultrasonic cleaner to blast out the old ink and clear the ink channels.

I think it is a group mentality, someone says you need waterproof/bulletproof, then everyone jumps on the bandwagon.

I used Parker washable ink all thru college, undergrad and grad and never once had a situation where my papers got soaked so I could not read the ink.

Then again, I wrote my on filler paper, came home and put the notes into a ring binder.  So I was not carrying my entire semesters notes with me to school. 

If it rains, there is something called a zip-loc plastic bag that you can put your notes into.

Heck you better have a plastic bag for your iPad or laptop.

If you are not fixed on a flighter, I would take David up on his offer.

Good idea Bruce,

That way I'm not tied to the USC and I can do other things.

thanks

....drooooool . . . . . . .

David you are bad for my bank account.

It is hard enough concentrating on 180s and you put more eye candy in front of me.

Was that pen etched by Parker, or is it an aftermarket etching?

WOW

As a new 180 collector, that IS serious eye candy.   ...drooool...

I have never seen some of them mentioned in the various places I researched on the web, so some of the models are completely new to me.

Thanks for the pictures.

Well maybe not, cuz now there is even more that I know I can't afford. 

As a very new Esterbrook collector of only a few months, it was the J series (J, LJ, SJ) clip pens that I first recognized as an Esterbrook.  I did not even know of the other models.

The only other Estebrook that I was aware of was the desk pen in the 8-ball holder, and that was because my mother had one.

@Penmex

I made the mistake for you 

As for holding the pen in the USC, I hold the pen with my hand, so the pen does not touch any part of the USC.  Only the nib/feed and section are in the water/cleaner in the USC.  I have not tried it, but a recommendation was given to use an old womans stocking as a bag to hold the pen part (ie feed) to be cleaned.

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

I have a few Esti desk sets, mostly the dipless, but no space at home to set them up to use. 

Except for the 2 on the kitchen table (Parker and Sheaffer), I am restricted to what fits into my pen cup.

I do like the convenience of using a desk pen.  Just pull it out of the holder and start writing.  Much more convenient than a capped pen.  As long as you have the desk space to set up and use it.

You did well.

In my book, almost any Esti for $10 is a good deal.

Even if you have to replace the J-bar, that is only a $5 part.

In fact that is my target, to see if I can buy them for about $10.  As a result, I end up loosing much more than I win.  I think I only got 1 at $10, and a LOT of misses.

Does anyone have a spare Morriset Constant Flow BROAD nib available, at a reasonable price?

Thanks

Good find.

Most of the ones I see do not have the ink jar inside.

Look for the Morriset pen.

I like them to test new inks.  The nib is VERY easy to clean ink out of.  And unlike a glass pen, the Morriset pen puts down ink just like a normal fountain pen, which is good for ink testing.  Unfortunately, I do not have a permanent desk space to setup the inkwell, so I just dip the pen directly into an ink bottle or vial.

If you can put up with the winters in Wisconsin it would be a nice place for a Parker collector to live.

Having been to my sisters graduation in Madison, in the winter, no thanks...BRRRRRR  TOOOOOO COLD.

This is an old thread, but I want to say that an Ultrasonic Cleaner (USC) CAN and WILL remove the gold plating from a gold plated nib.

I have deplated a few nibs myself, so I know this for a fact; one completely deplated, and 3 partially deplated.

• My theory is, IF the gold plating was not bonded well to the base metal, the USC would vibrate the plating loose and off. 
  The problem here is I don't know what plating is well bonded and what isn't.  I would suspect that the old plating is more likely to deplate than the newer stuff, but I am not about to deplate any more of my nibs to test this theory.

• A second idea is from a plated nib that I saw that was deplating from corrossion.  I could see the plating bloom like a flower around spots of old ink and corrossion.  In cases like that the gold plating is already damaged and ripe for being peeled off.

• Finally if the plated nib is in contact with the metal tank of the USC itself or maybe a HARD plastic basket, the friction/abrasion could wear through the thin plating.

If a gold colored nib is NOT clearly a gold nib, I presume (or ass-u-me) that it is plated.

My first option is to soak the nib, and let the water disolve the ink.  Soaking is slow, but better slow than sorry.

I am very cautious about cleaning a plated nib in an USC.  If a USC is neccessary, I use a few 1 min cycles, and inspect the nib after each cycle to check for evidence of deplating.  The idea is minimal use of the USC, then complete the cleaning by soaking.

Gary

I don't know where you work, but I would be scared to take those pens to work.

I keep my good stuff at home, and I have a small pool of inexpensive "office pens" that I take into the office.

PS, nice pens.  None of my pens are up to the level of yours.

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Hopefully, joining another FP forum won't lead to further depletion of my savings.  

Hopeless cause.

We will just help you find more pens to collect.

My wife is on my case for just that reason.  It is a slippery slope and it gets steeper.

But at least you have fun along the way.

Pickwick

Those pens from your wifes cousin seem to be the best pens, to me.

It is the sentimental connection that makes it feel nice to use old family pens.

I have that feeling when I use my mothers fountain pens.

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

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Oh, at the time of this post, I noticed the Fountain Pen Network is "down" again; must be those hackers that got into the Target store credit card system. 

 

Sorry to interrupt your fantasy.  FPN is in the process of moving to a new service provider with better service and faster servers.

 

No fantasy, just an observation with some humor; I know sometimes humor is not tolerated by some folks, but I wish them well and hopefully they will be up and running soon.

 

It is funny how addicted I was to checking out FPN and reading the various posts.

Now that they are down, it is like something is missing from my day. 

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.

Paul

Get a box of examination gloves.

I use them a lot when I am cleaning pens, and it keeps the ink off my hands.

Sometimes you just can't use it but the more you use the gloves, the less ink stains on your hand.