Genital Pictures....oh, and pens

[BradC]

I have just noticed that I am out of fountain pen ink.  Any recommendations or favorites you all have?  I am looking for bottles of ink not cartridges.

 

Thank you for any suggestions.

So I'm 10 days late on this but I do like a nice ink...

In addition to the other great inks people have mentioned, I would recommend checking out the Pilots iroshizuku inks as well. They clean up easily, and offer a lot of colours, but they are a bit pricey....  I'm using some shin-ryoku (forest green) right now.  I'm also a fan of MontBlanc bottled inks as well, which are surprisingly affordable by brand standards.

[postjack]

So I'm 10 days late on this but I do like a nice ink...

In addition to the other great inks people have mentioned, I would recommend checking out the Pilots iroshizuku inks as well. They clean up easily, and offer a lot of colours, but they are a bit pricey....  I'm using some shin-ryoku (forest green) right now.  I'm also a fan of MontBlanc bottled inks as well, which are surprisingly affordable by brand standards.

 

never tried the iroshizuku inks but they look fantastic. i'm generally a big fan of Pilot stuff, a Custom 823 has been on my wishlist for a long time. Just wish they offered one with silver furniture, i'm not a fan of gold.

[BradC]

never tried the iroshizuku inks but they look fantastic. i'm generally a big fan of Pilot stuff, a Custom 823 has been on my wishlist for a long time. Just wish they offered one with silver furniture, i'm not a fan of gold.

I hadn't seen the 823 before. That's one sharp looking demonstrator with an impressively reviewed nib, the amber one is moving onto my wish list (this forum will bankrupt me on more than just headphones). Odd that it's only in gold finish given that silver predominates the rest of the customs (74 and 92)...

[nikongod]

Does anyone out there in TV land have any experience with a Fisher AG7 pen? 

 

I'm kind of curious to try one, but my last experience with a Fisher pen was kind of blah. At one time (when I had it, apparently) the ink cartridges were very skippy and generally required way too much downforce... 

 

OK, so not even an edit... I just left the window open. 

I bought a Fisher refill from work, and put it into my Zebra F701 (remove the little plastic sleeve in the tip, and its a perfect fit!) and OMFG! Why did I wait so long to try this ink? wow. The old ones were really shitty Writes very smoothly, with very little pressure. So nice! 

[Salt Peanuts]

Just realized my favorite pen - Pilot Precise V5 - comes in retractable/refillable version.  Much to my annoyance, each refill cost at least as much as the disposable version of the pen.

[nikongod]

I just ordered a Caran D'ache 849 pen. I will tell you all all about it when it comes. 

 

The pen I bought 3 weeks ago is working out just fine. Because Head-Case. 

 

Edited:

The Fisher refill I have now does take about an inch of writing to get "up to speed" and writing at full darkness if it has not been used for more than about 20min, but it requires very little downforce. Once it is writing properly it just keeeeeps on going. Still no skipping & quite smooth considering its utilitarian origins. 

Edited September 29, 2014 by nikongod

[blessingx]

It arrived! It feels great in my hand so far and I really like the retraction twist motion. Note taking tomorrow

uploadfromtaptalk1366750811042.jpg

uploadfromtaptalk1366750842852.jpg

 

Just curious - did you debate about the 600 v. 800? 

[Dreadhead]

I did, but only a little bit. I like having a retractable tip.

[Sherwood]

I like having a retractable tip.

 

That's what Moses said.

[nikongod]

I just ordered a Caran D'ache 849 pen. I will tell you all all about it when it comes. 

 

 

So I have had this pen for just under 3 weeks now, and have been using it as my primary pen, with the Zebra F-701 with Fisher refill as a backup. 

 

My impressions are as follows. 

The good:

The pen its self is great. I was not sure how I would take to the hexagonal barrel, but I find it quite comfortable. It is slightly slimmer than the barrel of the 701, which I knew going into this, and was also a little apprehensive - the 701 was always quite comfortable to write with and this pen is too. I have had Rotrings and the 701, which are both on the heavy side since just about forever and really got used to them. After a few days writing with the 849 it became pretty easy. Although the Rotrings & F701 have a more substantial feel, I think they kind of develop momentum and "get away from you" moving whichever way they feel like... The lighter pen is very controllable. 

 

The "silent" clicker is pretty cool. "Silent" is in quotes, because you know, but if you are a habitual pen clicker this pen will probably save your co-workers some aggravation. 

 

This pen has what could be the most badass pocket clip EVER put on a $25 pen. Like wow. I'm not sure how durable it is (I don't use pocket clips) but the way the angular band wraps around the hexagonal barrel is really cool. 

 

The pen will take a Parker style refill. I got them both to work without any mods (fisher with the little adapter thingy they include) although some reports on the internet say the plastic tops need to be filed down a few mm to fit.

 

The bad: 

The Goliath refill that the pen comes with is kind of blah. It does not write as dark as the Fisher refill without serious downforce (it might work better in a heavier pen) and it has more drag than the Fisher - which is about the highest I'm willing to put up with. They claim it will run 8000M (600 pages!), but if it writes like this who cares?...

 

The finish on the pen does not feel quite as durable as my old Rotrings. It has not scratched through (yet) but it went from flat black to shiny black in spots within a day of putting it in my pocket with more spots getting shiny since. The pen would look great in gloss black - if it were uniform, but of course since this is wear it's not. The pen is apparently available in "raw" aluminum which may look nicer. 

[Emooze]

Nice to hear your thoughts on the 849, Ari. It's been on my hit list for a bit, and I still might by one based on your comments. The F-701 is still a pen I keep on permanent use though.

 

Thursday, I got my Karas Kustoms Ink and I'm still a little mixed on my opinions of it. The machining is clearly beautiful but the fit and finish is a little lacking in terms of what I got vs. what I paid. Not super happy with it at the moment.

[morphsci]

Have to agree that the Zebra F-701 with the Fisher refill mod is quite the nice pen for the price.

[crappyjones123]

So purty. I love Rotring gear. 

[Salt Peanuts]

Nice. I like their mechanical pencils but I wish their fountain pen caps were better designed

[crappyjones123]

The rotring FP that I wanted was well out of my range when I was considering it. Then I ended up spending far too much money on a Delta Taureg. Great pen - I just couldn't find the use for it back when I was in the math program. Mostly I used pencils. Now, I can't remember the last time I had to do any writing. Everything is typed. The pen is nice for taking notes though for board studying. I was hating the cheap plastic BIC pens which were far too light. The rotring has a nice heft to it. I wouldn't mind it being heavier in fact. The knurled grip keeps me loyal to them but if something similar with a knurled grip were to appear that were heavier, I'd like go for it. 

[shellylh]

So purty. I love Rotring gear.

Nice!

I live my Rotrings!

[nikongod]

Because Headcase, I bought a Fisher AG-7 "spacepen" and a 400G Bullet Pen. 

 

I have not actually used either *much* seeing as how I only received them a few days ago, but here are some quick first impressions. 

 

I realllllly wanted to like the AG-7, but I'm finding it too lacking. I'm not a big fan of the balance of this pen. The center of gravity is a bit closer to the clicker than the tip than I'm comfy with, and I'm not really a fan. I think I am just used to neutrally balanced or tip weighted pens and this just feels weird. The grip of the pen is also thinner than I like. I guess with no gravity pulling the pen around it might not matter. It is heavier than the 849 I have gotten used to, but still lighter than a Rotring although both have better subjective balance than this. The clicker definitely has some metal on metal contact, and scrapes as it goes down but seats with a very positive click. The button release is pretty neat. Ignoring the scraping clicker, the fit and finish of this pen actually feels quite good. It is all metal, and will probably outlast me. 

 

I also got the 400G Lacquered Brass bullet pen. 

I was not sure how I would like the bullet pen, but I must admit it is growing on me quickly. I had previously used HALF of a bullet pen - with no idea what to do with the cap. Whoda known, but with the cap on the back of the pen, it handles like any other full sized pen! The balance is biased towards the tip of the pen, which I like and the weight is nice. Like the AG7, this pen is on the slim side for my tastes, but I see it as a backup for my primary pen, or something to jot quick notes in the car. My only other complaint about this pen is that it tends to sit in the EXACT bottom of my pockets perpendicular to my leg where a full size pen stays more or less straight up & down parallel to my leg. It is probably better suited to being tucked into a wallet, or left in a cup holder in your car which is where mine will live. 

 

Seeing as how I am me, I removed the Lacquer from the pen within 12hours of receiving it. I will not be able to comment on the durability of the lacquer, as about 2 minutes soaking in acetone and another 30seconds with a scouring pad made short work of it... The patina of naked brass, combined with the unusual spiral decoration is giving my modified pen a nice well loved look. 

Edited March 7, 2015 by nikongod

[Dusty Chalk]

Be careful.  If it is truly NOS, the rubber seal may have dry-rotted, and perhaps even the bladder if it has one.  I may be wrong, feel free to check with Hirsch directly.  He did a lot of things with a lot of pens -- replaced barrels, nibs, bladders...pretty much everything, he even had enough parts to make frankenpens.  Or perhaps just google around.

[Dusty Chalk]

Oh, yeah, look at that, you said "cartridge" and I didn't even notice.  Shows how much I know.

[aardvark baguette]

[nikongod]

you got a pretty nice pen for a guy who does not know what he is doing. 

Just saying... 

 

On a happier note, the AG-7 is "breaking in" a bit. The clicker has gotten a bit smoother with a liberal application of graphite lube, and some fairly obsessive clicking. I still wish it were smoother.

[aardvark baguette]

if you're still selling in a month or so i might pick it up.  

 

i have the medium, and its my first and only fountain pen that was delivered today.

 

i dont have plans to get lots of them, but one more won't kill me.

[acidbasement]

Dammit you guys, I'm getting stylus envy from reading this thread.
Just dug out the fountain pen my dad brought back from China a few years ago, and put in a fresh cartridge.





I also found a nice looking Scheaffer fountain pen, which Eleanor recognised as hers. Apparently I've been hiding it from her for quite a few years. She thought she had lost it. Don't think I'm getting that one back.

 

Update: the Chinese pen actually seems to write very nicely, after flushing out the nib with water to get things moving. I suspect the "Iridium tip - Germany" stamp may not be authentic, but oh well.

Edited March 10, 2015 by acidbasement

[acidbasement]

Then there's this: Lamy 2000 fountain pen on Massdrop for $115.

[postjack]

Then there's this: Lamy 2000 fountain pen on Massdrop for $115.

 

massdrop has really been awesome with fountain pens lately. they had a good deal on a Pelikan M800/M805 a couple weeks back, but I missed out on the design/nib I wanted. I did manage to get a Pelikan M405 on massdrop though. Great little pen. Still overpriced, but I remember when Pelikan prices were WAY lower than they are now, so to me they'll always seem overpriced.

Edited March 10, 2015 by postjack