2021 all new Fountain pens, stationery, wax seal etc thread

My go-to pen right now is a Visconti Breeze with a medium nib, and J. Herbin in Amethyste de l’Oural for ink.

I haven't jumped on the fountain pen train yet. I have a couple of disposable types (Pilot Varsity, Zebra no-name disposables) and at least the Pilots seem to bleed and feather too much on "normal" paper to be an everyday kind of pen. With "good" paper the Pilot is more acceptable, still shadows a lot compared to the Zebra (or my Pilot G2 pens, or even my India ink and dip pens...). Meanwhile the Zebra's ink isn't as solid and opaque-looking as the Pilot. I have no idea how the ink in their disposables measures up to the stuff they sell for their "real" fountain pens.

I do have a small assortment of dip pen holders and nibs, though.


In terms of ink, since I use dip pens and mostly for art stuff I stick with India ink. Dr. Ph. Martin's Black Star, matte is my go-to. Extremely stark black, not watery, very high water resistance. I've found one partly-used bottle from 10 years ago an the ink still seems to write well! It scans great due to the high contrast and clean edge, and doesn't have a tendency to bleed or feather. Instead of dipping a nib into the bottle I just use the dropper to fill up the reservoir underneath the nib (up to the breather hole and no higher).

Outside of dip pens, I prefer Faber-Castell Pitt branded fineliners in various sizes. They use India ink whereas some fineliners use a weird proprietary blend that isn't truly black (Staedtler, for exmaple, is kind of greenish and Pigma Microns are kind of warm). Great for illustration, signing the back of credit cards, labels, etc.

I have a Pentel Pocket Brush Pen for some inking tasks, like bolder outlines and feathering techniques. But it tends towards the more watery, "sumi" ink typical of Japanese calligraphy than the thick, solid, highest-contrast black of India ink that I prefer for illustration. And forget writing in English with it, at least for my hands. Always comes out looking like some kind of edgy Goth wannabe font and the curved strokes needed for the Latin lowercase alphabet are especially troublesome; nevermind cursive. Japanese calligraphy is more about short, relatively linear strokes with the brush held vertically, so this kind of tool is really optimized for that style of writing.

As far as paper, my favorite for writing so far are journals by Exceed, sold only through Wal-Mart. They've been compared to Leuchtturm1917, at approximately half the cost. Very smooth, coated, and take even my crappy fountain pens very well with no feathering and minimal shadowing. Note: talking about the "premium journals," not some random spiral-bound school notebook from the Exceed brand. Unfortunately they're only available in an ivory color, and generally the pages don't come pre-numbered.
A close second is the Artist's Loft journals sold in Michael's. The paper isn't as smooth but's thicker, and does take my dip pens without much complaint. Crappy fountain pens still bleed too much.

For illustration (what I originally bought all these pens and ink for!) I don't have a whole lot of experience with different papers. Canson's Pen and Ink sketchpads have been good, if a bit intimidating for someone who used to only work with old printer paper. Speaking of which, I keep reading that HP Premium32 paper is excellent for all kinds of pens, including fountain, but I can't find any locally.

I’m seriously debating about fountain pens being my next ‘thing’. I’m thinking, get something cheap just to see if I’m really interest or just interested in the idea.

Or is this one of those areas where cheap will put you off no matter what, and you need to experience ‘quality’ fairly soon or it won’t appeal?

Both the Lamy Safari and the Pilot Metropolitan are inexpensive, good quality, starter pens. There’s no need to buy cheaper pens which will likely have issues with poor nibs, and the nib makes alllll the difference in how much you like writing with a given pen.

Cool. Picked up a Pilot, will be here tomorrow. Only reason I picked it over the Safari was… um… I searched or it first? I’m excited, branching into a potentially new… hobby? Thing? Snobbery?

Pencils!

My Uni Kuru Toga 0.5 doesn't get much use since I got a Tombow Mono Graph 0.3. The KT requires more pressure than I prefer to activate the lead rotation mechanism, and the Tombow has a great eraser instead of the tiny vestigal ones hiding under the knock button on most mechanical pencils. The shake mechanism on the Tombow "works", but it requires too sharp of a motion so I never really use it.

I'm also using lead holders, specifically a Kitaboshi and a Staedtler that have lead advance mechanisms instead of the more traditional drop clutch. Using a good rotary sharpener (the only real choice is the Alvin EP17, since all the others are either discontinued or are the little portable drum ones that won't fit anything but the slimmest drafting lead holders), you can get a 2mm lead sharp, like around 0.1mm.

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I'm trying out a Uni EMOTT right now. It's a style of pen that doesn't really have a name, as it has a plastic nib like a fineliner, but the nib is conical so you don't have to worry about damaging the nib if you put too much pressure on it (easy with most fineliners) and it doesn't quite feel like a fineliner to write with. The EMOTT is almost as fine as a fine gel pen like a 0.35mm Uni Signo DX.

I also have a Pilot Petit1 I refilled with R&K Salix on my desk at work. Cheap, writes very well, and I don't care if the Salix happens to eat the nib (it's an iron gall ink, which are permanent but achieve permanence via a chemical reaction instead of just soaking into the paper) because I never bothered to clean it regularly.

SunRaven01 said:

Both the Lamy Safari and the Pilot Metropolitan are inexpensive, good quality, starter pens. There’s no need to buy cheaper pens which will likely have issues with poor nibs, and the nib makes alllll the difference in how much you like writing with a given pen.

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You can go below that and still be quality as long as you stay Japanese. For example, Pilot Kakuno (same nibs as the Metro, though with different engraving), Pilot Petit1, or Platinum Preppy. The chinese stuff, though, is really hit-or-miss in terms of nib quality, so not a good choice for a first fountain pen.

Diabolical said:

Cool. Picked up a Pilot, will be here tomorrow. Only reason I picked it over the Safari was… um… I searched or it first? I’m excited, branching into a potentially new… hobby? Thing? Snobbery?

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You've got two ways to go overboard: inks, or into what amounts to jewelry filled with ink (expensive pens). You can buy a lot of varieties of ink for the cost of one expensive pen, and if you stick with cheaper pens you won't care as much if you forgot to clean out that shimmering ink and now you've got nano-glitter dried inside the pen that won't come out easily.

3) "Hey guys, I heard that some pens have this flexible nib thing..."

Wheels Of Confusion said:

3) "Hey guys, I heard that some pens have this flexible nib thing..."

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That counts as expensive pens if you're talking fountain pens and not dip pens.

Though I guess you're technically right in that not all flex is jewelery-level showy.

I started collecting and using fountain pens about eleven years ago because of the predecessor of this thread. I started with a Wing Sung X450, then a Pilot Metropolitan, then a Lamy Vista. By then my fate was sealed, and over the years I have collected about 80 of them. Many are inexpensive Chinese pens, but I've also bought a dozen that cost over $100. MY daily driver is my Pilot Custom 823 with a fine nib. But I also have:

• Platinum 3776 - The best entry-level gold nibbed pen with a classic design
• Lamy 2000 - You either love or hate it, but I am meh on it.
• Pilot Elite - Really nice little pocket pen, but it leaks around the nib unless stored nib up
• Pilot Custom Heritage 932 - Love the Falcon nib design and it feels great in the hand
• Leonardo Momento Zero Grande - Great all-around oversized pen with a huge capacity
• Franklin Cristoph Model 66 in Antique Glass - Beautiful desk pen with a customized needlepoint nib that still writes smoothly
• Diplomat Excellence - The best steel nib I have ever used. Super smooth
• Pilot Myu 701 - Retro futuristic unibody nib construction. A wonder of design and function.
• Pilot Decimo - Thinner version of the Vanishing Point. Super convenient for work since the nib is a click away.
• Pillot Fermo - Twist knob design alternative to the Vanishing Point. Just something a little different.
• Opus 88 Demonstrator - I love clear pens, and this one is a purpose made safety eyedropper filler with a huge capacity
• Pilot Stargazer - Just a great little pen
• Omas Paragon - Italian design perfected in pen form. My latest pen

I used to journal daily, take all my work notes, and do some fiction or short essays with them, so having a dozen inked up at a time was fun. But now, with two little kids, I can barely journal once a week, and my work notes are in EverNote for linking, attachments, and tagging. I'll probably still buy one a year for the sake of collecting, but I don't watch pen videos anymore, and will probably empty and clean the ten or so pens I have inked now. I'll probably keep the 824 inked all the time, just because it's the ideal of a fountain pen for me. I'll also p[probably keep either the Decimo or Fermo inked at all times as well for their convenience, and then rotate another in as I use and empty them.

I still want to buy a Visconti Homo Sapiens, and Conid Bulkfiller, a Pelikan, and a Sailor to complete the pens that interest me right now that are within reason for a family guy. If I was single, I'd be looking at other brands too.

Part of the reason I'm dipping into this thread/topic/...thing?... (see what I did there? I'm not proud of it...) is because I want to start writing a page a day. Doesn't matter what is on that page, just a page of writing. Thoughts, journal entries, fiction, etc. Much like you said you were doing, papadage. No work stuff though, at least nothing specific - that would be, um, what's the word. Bad? Spillage? Yeah, let's not.

But I want to do a page a day. I enjoy writing. And other than work notes and emails and posting on Ars, I don't do it enough. And I think making it a little special, a little different, might help keep some creative juices flowing instead of just arriving in bursts of frantically pounded keys on a keyboard.

Sending dazd the thread. She's really into all the things mentioned here.

She and I need to do an ink or something else swap again. Plus, I have an extra bottle of Iroshizuku Kiri Same sahe may want that I ordered by mistake.

I have a few fountain pens, but the ones that tend to stay on my desk are my Lamy 2000 with a fine nib, and usually one of my Pilot Vanishing Points (currently the carbon fiber one with a medium nib). I typically also have approximately 10,000 TWSBI Ecos inked at any given time, because they're honestly the best value in fountain pens (more on that in a moment) and they come in a zillion colors so it's easy to have one for each of the ink colors I use (my "daily drivers" tend to run only Noodler's Heart of Darkness, because I am the Dethklok of fountain pen users; but I also like to keep things inked with water-resistant reds and blues).

My recommendations for "beginner" fountain pens are...

— Lamy Safari: Great writer, relatively inexpensive, pretty durable, comes in a zillion fun colors. It's a cartridge/converter pen, which I think is a boon for a newbie (it's much easier to clean, and therefore it's easier to quickly change inks as you explore and find out what you like). It loses some points for not typically coming with a converter, but they're relatively inexpensive. It does have that triangular grip though, which some people hate. I don't mind it, but I have a pretty traditional tripod grip. Easily-swappable nib is a nice touch.

— Pilot Metropolitan: Good writer, relatively inexpensive, pretty durable, comes in a zillion fun colors. Also a cartridge/converter pen, but unlike the Safari it does usually come with a converter (although the one they typically ship with it is an opaque bladder-style converter, and you'll likely want to quickly upgrade to the CON-40, a transparent, piston-style converter). The Metro has very a very classic, sort of slender cigar-shaped design — which might be appealing over the more modern style of the Safari. While it does come in fun colors, if you get one in black or whatever it's a nice-looking pen without breaking the bank. I don't find it quite as reliable a writer as the Safari, but that's a high bar. My Safaris basically always work, whereas every Metro that I've ever had will dry out and/or hard start more frequently/often than a Safari. That might be an environmental thing with me, though. They're still very good pens. The grip section is round, unlike the Safari's triangular grip. But it's also crazy thin, at least to my sausage fingers. I don't care to write with them for more than a few minutes at a time. But I've got gorilla hands. Normal people seem to be fine with the grip section.

— Pilot Kakuno: Basically a student version of the Metro. Same nib/feed system, same ink reservoir system. I find them much more comfortable to write with than the Metro, because they're a bit thicker and have a better (for me) grip section. But they're student pens, and they look like student pens. That may or may not be your thing. But they're a good alternative if you find that you like the Pilot nibs in the Metro but don't care for the Metro body for some reason.

— Faber-Castell Loom: Amazing writer, a little more expensive but still pretty reasonable, pretty durable. Also a cartridge/converter pen; may or may not come with a converter. The nibs on these are AMAZING. Lamy and Pilot make their own nibs (and they're really good), but Faber-Castell use Bock nibs (one of the two big companies that make nibs for pen manufacturers that don't make their own; the ther being JoWo) and every one I've had has been a dream to write with right out of the box. They're stiff, but smooth and reliable. I also think the Loom looks great and is a really comfortable pen.

— TWSBI Eco: Basically the only thing going against the Eco is that it's not a cartridge/converter pen. It's a piston filler, which means it holds a lot of ink (great!), but it's marginally more effort to clean (although still not bad; it can be fully disassembled). They're clear-bodied with colored caps. And TWSBI use either Bock or JoWo nibs (I forget which, and I think they've changed once or twice) and they're great writers. Like the F-C, it's a stiff nib but it's smooth and reliable. The Eco is also about the least-expensive piston filler on the market that's not of dodgy quality. If you're not careful, you'll end up owning like 10 of them in different colors and nib widths. I definitely didn't do that.

It's fitting that I would see this thread tonight, as I just cleaned and re-inked some of my "black tie" pens. Not really on purpose or as a theme or anything (I have loads of pens in colorful finishes, I just happened to have a lot of my black ones out), but they all just kind of needed to be cleaned and/or filled.

From left to right: Pelikan Souverän M805 Stresemann, Pelikan Souverän M805 (black), Pilot Custom 912, Pilot Vanishing Point (Carbon Fiber), Lamy 2000, TWSBI Eco

The two Pelikans and the Custom 912 have had their nibs awesome-ified by Dan Smith. Nothing custom, just the "tune and smooth" service he offers complimentary with any nib you buy from him. In the case of the Pelikans, they were standalone replacement nibs that I bought to replace the original two-tone 18k nibs they came with. The FA nib on the Custom 912 is what came on the pen that I bought directly from Dan, who also replaced the feed (stay tuned). The nib on the Vanishing Point is a standard medium, and the nib on the Lamy 2000 is a standard fine (meaning that they're basically the same width ). The TWSBI has a broad nib and ink for daaaaaaaaaays.


The special sauce with the Custom 912 is the combination of the FA nib (which is available from the factory), and an ebonite feed to replace the pen's normal plastic feed. In this case, an awesome red ebonite feed. Dan Smith swapped that new feed in there, and then did the tune-and-smooth job on the nib. And it. Is. Glorious. Some of the best flex I've seen out of a modern pen with some of the least railroading.


I have a bunch of custom wax seals, mostly from Nostalgic Impressions. Most are in a desk drawer in another part of my apartment, but this one happens to be on my desk.


And speaking of gorilla hands, of course the first two rings on my right hand are signet rings. The personal rune on my index finger was done by Charmsmith, and the Ferguson non-armigerous clan badge ring was done by Dexter Rings UK.


This is a small sampling of the sealing wax that's currently "in use". I have a bigger stash elsewhere that's not been used yet. My favorite wax was made by Atelier Gargoyle in San Francisco. It was nice and supple, would survive mailing if you used a thin enough seal, and smelled nice to boot. Plus they were a small company, with lots of fun colors, and it was pretty affordable. Sadly, the company does not appear to have survived the pandemic. So I'm making the A. Gargoyle wax I have really last. I also like J. Herbin's supple wax, which makes up the rest of what you see in that box.


The sad demise of A. Gargoyle, plus my inherent laziness, did lead me to recently purchase some "glue gun" flexible sealing wax that Nostalgic Impressions sells. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet.

We hit uwaj today. I totally forgot that brush pens were a thing.

Man, we spent way too much on stationery today.

Jeff3F said:

I went looking for the existing thread (link) and found it locked.

I have been using a Lamy Safari with blue (kon-peki) Pilot iroshizuku bottled ink for years now at work. That pen has mostly been great, though I replaced its fine point nib with a medium version shortly after getting it.

I recently got on a kick because there's a neat Japanese twitter account that's someone stylishly writing characters using different pens, but frequently with an old favorite of mine Pentel energel 0.7 in various colors. That one is machiko798 (link to twitter feed). It's mesmerizing to watch them write.

So this led to a recent kick. My bottle of kon-peki blue is beginning to wind down a bit, and so I made some purchases, all inexpensive.

Pens - I got a blue Pilot Plumix, which is a cheap plastic pen that ships with a cartridge of blue ink. I also bought a box of blue-black ink carts for it. It's not the smoothest writer and while I like the design and twist cap, I'm not a huge fan of its nib. The nib is replaceable though and I will probably try to do that (it's a flat medium nib, not round at the tip like the Lamy I have.

I also got a silver Pilot Metropolitan, which was more expensive but was still about what the safari cost, about $20. This one is much nicer and smoother feeling, and the nib looks fancier and is rounded at the tip. I got a piston converter for it - it ships in a nice metal case with both an ink cartridge and a rubber vacuum type converter. This one I filled up with from a sample of iroshizuku ama-iro (turquoise) ink.

That is all!

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That person has a youtube channel as well.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW93cj ... RY5N-CMT6A

Tonight was my first run with the PiMetro. I like it? Very different writing experience to the ballpoints I’m used to. Also picked up one of the Exceed journals that Wheels recommended - one of the 100 gsm ones. It’s… nice.

I'm also still in the hobby, although it's fits and starts between my fountain pens versus gel pens.

On the fountain pen side, I have a mostly inexpensive collection:

• 2 Lamy Al-Stars, one F and one EF. I don't use these much, though I will say the nibs are butter smooth.
• Pilot Vanishing Point, blue carbonesque, in EF. Basically the same design The Sam has except it's blue instead of black. My most expensive pen - a 40th birthday gift from my wife - and probably my favorite overall, even if the converters suck (I just refill a cartridge with a syringe and shove it back in).
• TWSBI Eco EF. Holds an insane amount of ink. By far my easiest pen to clean.
• Pilot Metropolitan F. Love the nib, but the threads on the pen grip annoy me.
• Platinum Prefounte F. This pen is far better than any $11 pen has a right to be.
• Platinum Procyon F. I love this pen. Feels great in-hand, never dries out even if you don't touch it for six months. It's freakish.
• Hongdian Forest Series matte black, F. This is my most recent acquisition, and it's... interesting. About $15 on Amazon, it's a brand I'd never heard of, and it's actually pretty great. Writes like a western F, very slim, relatively heavy especially when posted. I honestly think it would cost somewhere between $50 and $70 from more mainstream manufacturers. A friend of mine snagged one of these after I mentioned liking mine, and liked it so much he ordered a second one in a different color.

On the ink side, I'd like to flesh out my collection a bit more.

• Herbin Pousserie de Lune - I like dark purples and this one is pleasant but not quite what I was hoping for when I bought it.
• Herbin Bleu Des Profondeurs - one of my favorite blues.
• Iroshizuku Kon-Peki - first bottle of ink I bought. Still have a lot; I like it but find I favor darker colors generally.
• Robert Oster River of Fire - very nice darkish green.
• Iroshizuku Shin-Kai - very nice dark blue.
• Noodler's 54th Massachusetts - just got this one recently, really like the hint of gray to it.

I think my next ink acquisition is going to be a bottle of De Atramentis Alexander Hamilton. I've tried a sample (my mom has a bottle of it) and it's much closer to what I wanted in the first place for a dark purple. What I really want is something that's the same color as the Signo UM-151 lavender black, which is probably the nicest dark purple ink I've ever seen. Aside from that I just need fewer blue inks, and I should get a black at some point.

On the gel pen side, aside from the UM-151s in general and that lavender black in particular, I'm a big fan of the Pilot Juice 0.38. The Juice Up 0.4 is also nice, but I think the Juice is still a touch smoother.

I still write a fair amount (couple of pages a week in an A5 journal), but I just started a new job recently and my work note-taking has kind of been migrating into Dendron/VS Code since I'm trying to compile that stuff into a knowledge base. We'll see if it sticks or not; I typically find that when I'm thinking through a problem or trying to learn something, writing it down on paper in cursive helps quite a lot.

Oh - I picked up an Apica rain-guard notebook. Seems a little nicer than rite-in-the-rain, but I haven't used it wet yet.

Oranging. I like to make things on a lathe and think I'll learn a lot here. I'll try and wait a bit before asking dumb questions.

If antiques or living history is your thing, Townsends has a decent assortment of reproduction Colonial era writing implements and accessories for sale: old-style sealing wax and seals, India ink, laid paper, pounce pot refills (soapstone flour type), a small variety of inkwells or glass bottles, a travel set, etc. Disappointed not to find a bone folder, though.


At the opposite end of the timeline, I was curious about Sharpie's recently launched set of rollerball and gel pens. Reviews I find, however, are all over the place. Not just as a "personal preference" kind of thing, but they can't seem to agree if the rollerballs are good and gel pens bad or vice versa, and some call out inconsistent performance within the same package. Kinda disappointing, it would have been nice to see someone breakup the usual grip of G2/Signo in the gel space.

I'm hit or miss on gels these days. When I had fresh ones and were using them constantly, yeah, awesome.

With the current-lack-of-use, I've shifted back to drafting mechanical pencils .. the Staedtler Mars 780 is still the bomb for rough use. That and a block of the ole Mars plastic.

This is where I get to share an obsession .....

Back in the early 1970's, my school required that all handwriting was to be done using a fountain or dip pen and was to be done in black/blue or blue-black ink only.

The very first pen that I remember was a Platignum with an external filler lever - it leaked pretty much constantly and young me got into a lot of trouble over it - and used a lot of blotting paper.

At home I was permitted to use either my fathers. Parker 45 or my mothers Sheaffer, which was always a huge treat.

In 1976, I was given a Parker 25. This was the start of a long, long obsession with Parker pens that has endured ever since

https://parkerpens.net/parker25.html

That first Parker 25 was a space age miracle, its stainless-steel body, blue trim and ability to use both regular 'Quink' and cartridges was amazing.

I kept that first Parker in wonderful condition, it was either in. its box or in use, there was never any in-between for me.

My aunt gave me a Silver and Green Parker 25 one year and, well, I hated it, I was also gifted a silver / black version too, which saw a little use, but then......

In 1978, I got the all-black version and the original silver ones were put away in a box in the loft - oddly without the original boxes, but hey.....

That matte black one was used for all of GCSE O'levels then later degree too, and beaten up heavily - it wears its scars well though....

Unfortunately my mother died in 1981, one of the few things I inherited was her fountain pens and a matching ball-point - one of those become my letter writing pen of choice for the next 40 years.....

Post school I got another Parker a '180' and also a Falcon 50 - both of which were stolen at some point. My father gave me a beautiful but slightly unwieldy Cross as a present when I got my BSc, but those old Parkers still draw my attention and demand use.

I retrieved my original 25's from my fathers when I moved back to the UK and have hunted down many more on eBay and in local second hand shops, most years I get pens as presents. But the core of my collection remains, he also gave my his old 45 and another that I had gifted to him in later years.

You guys are trying to get me to join your Fountain Pen cult.

But it won't work! I don't need the hassle.

Now let me close this shopping tab full of Lamy Al Star options... (profuse sweating)

Wheels Of Confusion said:

You guys are trying to get me to join your Fountain Pen cult.

But it won't work! I don't need the hassle.

Now let me close shopping tab full of Lamy Al Star options... (profuse sweating)

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How much would it help if I said that The Sam's six pen photo represented over $1500?

The first two rows in my test tube holder, plus two pens in the third row, are over $2,000.

The rest of my collection combined, is under $300, for over 50 additional pens.

I know Sam also has a few more pretty expensive pens as well.

I probably have more of an ink collection compulsion than he does.

Yeah, not happening here. I figure if I can fight off the "watch geek" urge to the point that I don't really want anything beyond my $100 G-shock, I can reign in a "pen geek" urge just as well. Besides, to be honest a lot of those expensive pens hold no draw for me; not a fan of the styling.
I'm considering the Lamy Al Star, but also thinking of going for a Waterman Allure (Googling reveals it's the same as the Graduate but with a matte finish). It would come down to which is the better writer and least hassle to clean. For all that I never see entry-level Waterman pens in any enthused pen geek's Top 10 For Beginners list, I also never really see anyone decrying their faults either.

Okay, starting to get used to this thing. I really like the result on paper, but it takes a lot out of my hand - not used to the whole 'writing with your arm' thing and trying to keep the nib in the right spot for effective ink dispersal.

So I have the Pilot Metropolitan. Medium nib. I'm thinking it's a little too bold (maybe a lot too bold) for what I want to write most of the time. Thinking about picking up a fine or extra fine nib. And a few more cartridges before I start delving into the wonderous world of inks and converters. Any recommendations for a replacement nib, either extra fine or fine, before I start searching for stuff and making horrible decisions based off of reviews on the internet? Pilot is very much, "why buy a replacement nib when you can spend a lot more for a whole 'nother pen!"

As to what I use it for? Three days into 'just one page', and I'm finding it helps me focus. The length of the page on the exceed journal I picked up is just right to get everything out on one page, while leaving me wanting just a wee bit more. It's also taking to the ink fantastically well - no bleeding through, smearing, nothing. Big thanks to Wheels for posting that - wouldn't have thought to look in a Walmart of all places for a journal with decent quality paper. Not sure if I'm a fan of dots instead of lines, how ever - I'm generally not a sketcher. Unless it's campaign maps. In which case, the dots would be brilliant!

A number of once-heralded fountain pen brands (e.g. Cross, Parker, Schaeffer, Waterman) just aren't as popular anymore. I know that many of them have changed hands, and I think some of it is that the modern "pen audience" isn't interested in their styling. But speaking only for myself, there's no modern offering from any of them that really speaks to me. Vintage is a different story. I have a Waterman Commando and a Parker Zephyr that I absolutely adore. But I don't think any of those "classic" companies are known for making particularly bad pens today (at least not that I've heard). I think you'd probably have a fun experience with a Waterman Allure, if it strikes your fancy.

Speaking of which, I get what you mean about the styling of some of the more expensive pens. The sampling I had in my picture (which did also include a <$30 TWSBI Eco, for what it's worth) just happened to all be very conservative pens because that's what I had been using/cleaning/inking that day. Styling and materials at the high end is extremely varied.

All of that being said, fountain pens are a hobby that can be really enriching without breaking the bank. For every expensive pen I have, I have ten that cost me less than $50 and are great pens. And I know plenty of people that I have one "nice" pen (usually something in the entry-level gold nib territory, like a Platinum 3776, Lamy 2000, Pilot Vanishing Point, etc.), then four or five less expensive pens (maybe a Safari, a TWSBI of some flavor, a couple of Metros, and a Platinum Preppy), and then buy a lot of ink samples and really geek out in that direction instead of getting into the "gotta catch 'em all" game with the pens themselves. I also know people that I very much consider knowledgeable pen enthusiast who have one good pen, find one ink and paper combination that they love, and that's it for them.

I know Sam also has a few more pretty expensive pens as well.

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Yeah, I've got a decent assortment. But I tell myself that it's okay because I otherwise live a fairly inexpensive life But I'm also a big fan of more affordable pens, and they make up the bulk of my collection.

Diabolical said:

As to what I use it for? Three days into 'just one page', and I'm finding it helps me focus. The length of the page on the exceed journal I picked up is just right to get everything out on one page, while leaving me wanting just a wee bit more. It's also taking to the ink fantastically well - no bleeding through, smearing, nothing. Big thanks to Wheels for posting that - wouldn't have thought to look in a Walmart of all places for a journal with decent quality paper.

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Took me by surprise too, and total happenstance. Lockdown had me wanting to fill time so I decided to get "back into" handwriting (no calligraphy aspirations, just pedestrian cursive). As part of that, I decided to start journaling, which has been kind of off-and-on since then. But my old composition notebook was a pain in the ass to use. I saw a "nice looking" journal at Wally World, which was cheap, so into the cart it went. Turned out to be night and day versus the old composition book: the texture of the paper actually made me want to write in it more.
Later, I found out the brand had been consulting with a stationery blogger to develop this line and had taken a lot of her feedback into consideration, leaving her very satisfied with the results. With hindsight it's became clear they're basically shooting for "budget Leuchtturm1917." Everyone compares them to Moleskine but honestly I've never like the latter, and think the Leuchtturm is a better match.

I have a few Moleskine books - my password book, and where I document my daily workouts. They are satisfactorily ordinary; nothing truly special, and are in fact waaay overpriced. Also, the construction is… off-putting, if that makes any sense? Teach me to buy stationary in a B&N.

My last couple of journal notebooks, all roughly A5 sized: Moleskine, Leuchtturm1917, and Rhodia. I would say the Leuchtturm was probably my favorite all around - the Rhodia has a better coating on the paper so it's smoother, but it also stretches the drying time just a little bit which is not always optimal for left-handed folks like me.

I haven't gotten into it yet (still have about 20-30 pages to go in my Rhodia) but I recently picked up a Tekukor A5 dotted notebook off of Amazon, it seems to have very good reviews and I'm curious to get some ink on paper and see how well it does. It seems to be about as well constructed as your typical Leuchtturm for a much lower price.

My favorite paper is actually the "Optik" paper they use in Black'n'Red notebooks, but they're not offered in gridded/dotted form, the medium sized ones are narrower than your typical A5, and the lines are ruled taller than I prefer. I have a hard time not writing to fill the line space available to me, so narrow page and tall lines: relatively few words per line.

Wheels Of Confusion said:

Yeah, not happening here. I figure if I can fight off the "watch geek" urge to the point that I don't really want anything beyond my $100 G-shock, I can reign in a "pen geek" urge just as well. Besides, to be honest a lot of those expensive pens hold no draw for me; not a fan of the styling.

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So then the answer is to be an ink geek. You can have quite a collection without spending a lot of money.

Wheels Of Confusion said:

I'm considering the Lamy Al Star, but also thinking of going for a Waterman Allure (Googling reveals it's the same as the Graduate but with a matte finish). It would come down to which is the better writer and least hassle to clean. For all that I never see entry-level Waterman pens in any enthused pen geek's Top 10 For Beginners list, I also never really see anyone decrying their faults either.

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Waterman has been bought and sold, and is no longer your grandpa's Waterman at all. The cheaper ones at least are now made in India, and they're on par with cheap Chinese pens, including variability and build quality. The reason they're basically ignored is there's no reason to recommend them. They aren't better or cheaper than the Chinese stuff, and inexpensive Japanese pens (Pilot and Platinum's low end) are about the same price or less for significantly better quality.

Diabolical said:

So I have the Pilot Metropolitan. Medium nib. I'm thinking it's a little too bold (maybe a lot too bold) for what I want to write most of the time. Thinking about picking up a fine or extra fine nib. And a few more cartridges before I start delving into the wonderous world of inks and converters. Any recommendations for a replacement nib, either extra fine or fine, before I start searching for stuff and making horrible decisions based off of reviews on the internet? Pilot is very much, "why buy a replacement nib when you can spend a lot more for a whole 'nother pen!"

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One thing to keep in mind is that Japanese nibs are about one size smaller than western nibs (and "western" includes TWSBI, a Taiwanese manufacturer) for a given size description, so your Pilot "medium" is about the same as a Lamy "fine".

Pilot doesn't, AFAIK, sell replacement nibs for their entry level stuff because, as you've noted, the pens are so cheap. I'd probably recommend picking up a Kakuno in a finer nib ("fine" or "extra fine"), since it gives you a different shape barrel and a nib swappable into your Metro for not much money.

Pilot doesn't sell replacement nibs at all. If you want a new nib for your Metro, you can buy a Kakuno or Plumix, and swap nibs. I find that Pilot EF nibs in the low end are scratchy, so stick with a Fine.

I used to love EF nibs, but as I write more, I began to appreciate smoothness more, so I went with more Fine nibs and fewer EF nibs.

Another thing to look at is tools for smoothing and adjusting. Get some micromesh sanding pads and brass shims, and learn to smooth and adjust a little on very cheap pens. I run all but my most expensive pens through three or four very fine pads to get them smooth without developing "baby bottom" which caused them to skip and hard start. The shim opens up the center channel a little to increase flow with dry nibs.

Fountain pens are a nice hobby for people who like to fiddle with their stuff if they want.

Well y'all told me not to buy a cheap-ass Waterman and I Leroy Jenkins'd it.

First, let me say that sadly it seems all the regular locally-owned office supply stores here are out of business since at least the Pandemic. Which was disappointing since Google Maps still lists both as open on weekdays. I should have gotten the hint when I called ahead and nobody picked up at either one (the second one having a scam "give us your credit card info for 1.99 and we'll give you a $100 rebate card!" bullshit). I had to find out at the parking lot of each that they no longer exist. I had even cut and pasted paper samples into a memo pad in case I was able to try something out in-store and wound up not using it until I got home. :facepalm:
I also went to the manufacturer's websites, e.g. Lamy, looking for retail locations and the only one close by is the next county over. Being an authorized Lamy dealer, they're selling for MSRP which means $37.60 for an Al Star. Might be something to check next time.

Second, of the Big Box stores left we've only Office Depot/Max; Staples bowed out also sometime in the last 2 years.

Third, of the arts and crafts chains, Michael's only stocks disposable Pilot or Zebra fountain pens (which I already have), or Speedball + Manuscript calligraphy-nibbed fountain pen sets. I don't shop Hobby Lobby for reasons.

So my brick and mortar options were... OfficeMax/Depot. And they only had Cross, Parker, and Waterman options. Of them all I only cared for the Waterman; either the Allure (matte black finish) or Graduate (chrome finish). I opted for the former. Comes with a cartridge of Waterman Mysterious Blue, which at least seems to be a solid tier ink.

After a couple of scribbles to saturate the nib, I added "Waterman Allure F" to my pre-made paper samples alongside my most commonly-used G2 gel (size indicated in mm) and disposable fountain pens. Results scanned and resized below:

One of my Exceed journals (78 gsm version)

My Canson XL Pen and Ink sketchpad paper

Arist's Loft 100 gsm 5mm dot grid A5 journal

Generic memo pad (with bonus extended writing sample)

Generic copy paper

On the cheap copy paper, it seems to feather less than the Pilot and Zebra disposables but isn't quite as sharp as the gel pens. In terms of fineness, it seems to slot in between a 0.5mm and 0.7mm Pilot G2 pen. Color is a little richer than the Zebra disposables, not quite as dark as the Pilot Varsity/V-pen disposables. Not really visible at this scale but it does have some of that "sheen" people always talk about at the edges.

Checking the reverse sides, in all cases it bleed and shadowed through less than the Pilot disposable pens, about on par with the gel pens and Zebra disposables. And in the case of thinner papers, it left a lighter impression than the gel pens smaller than 1.0mm.

However, the nib doesn't write quite as smoothly as the Pilot Varsity disposables on any of the papers. Comparable smoothness and feedback to the Zebras. It does do reverse writing without any skipping problems and turns out a somewhat finer line, between a G2 0.5 and 0.38mm in general.

I’ve started re-learning cursive because of this! It’s like waking up muscle memory that hasn’t been used in 30 plus years. Still digging the pen and the writing. Thinking about converters vs cartridges, and different colors. I haven’t looked it up yet, but any scary things I should be aware of as far as cleaning?

Here's a simple guide: https://www.jetpens.com/blog/How-to-Cle ... Pen/pt/259

For my dip pens, I just clean the tips after every use with a baby food jar of 70% isopropyl and occasionally during use, and wipe with scraps of paper towel. I've actually damaged a couple of nibs on my first day doing that; the cheaper ones bend out of shape very easily. They're just flakes of steel that you pop out of the nib holder, so it's much simpler to clean but also more important if you're using India ink (don't use that for fountain pens, though! Well, not in most fountain pens...).

Wheels Of Confusion said:

Here's a simple guide: https://www.jetpens.com/blog/How-to-Cle ... Pen/pt/259

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That's a good guide for how, but their when is too simplistic. Here's a better, and somewhat less conservative take:

Are you using modern iron gall inks? If you're using them in a pen you care about (as opposed to the $3 Petit1 I have R&K Salix in), then clean every few months, otherwise whatever.

Are you using shimmering (tiny glitter particles) inks? Clean at least every month, since the shimmer is hard to get out if it dries at all.

Are you using other inks with a reputation for being problematic (Noodler's¹ and Organics Studio² come to mind)? You might want to consider cleaning them as often as weekly, or just not use those inks, or use them in a pen you otherwise consider disposable.

Are you changing inks? Clean, unless you want to mix the inks and you already know the inks won't react with each other.

Does the pen seal well? An example of a well-sealing pen is a TWSBI Eco, which has a screw cap and plenty of rubber seals, and if filled with ink can easily sit in a drawer forgotten for years and write with no problems once found again (yep, this is personal experience. If you're curious, Herbin Eclat de Saphir). An example of a not well sealing pen would be a Lamy Safari, which will have a full converter of ink entirely evaporate if let sitting for a month. For well-sealing pens and good non-shimmering inks, cleaning is more of a "when I feel like it", and if it only happens every year, totally fine. For not-so-well-sealing pens, you'll want to clean them probably every 2-3 months, and otherwise keep the ink topped up so it doesn't dry out.


¹ The problem is that Noodler's inks are handmade with no process controls, so the contents of each batch of a given named ink can be highly variable.
² Some of the OS inks are corrosive enough to eat not only cheap Chinese nibs (where you can't be sure what metal they actually are made of), but quality stainless steel nibs like Pilots.

I'm another person who got into the cheap fountain pens due to the first thread Between kids and covid, I've mostly stopped using them and finally gave them all a good cleaning earlier this year. For me, it was much more about the ink color selection than the pens themselves, so I'm happy with the Pilot Varsity 7-pack (and will probably replace these with Zebras when the time comes, just because I like trying new things and hadn't heard of this brand until WoC mentioned them). I do really like the various Noodler color options - I think I ended up with green and brown ink, along with a blue that I liked a lot more than the typical blue ink found in disposable pens.

I honestly don't remember which pens I bought - I think I have a Pilot Met a Jinhao X750 to go along with several clear plastic plunger pens that I'm pretty sure came in a three pack. Is Goulet still the recommended place to shop for pens and ink? I really liked giving them business, and appreciated the tootsie roll pop that came with every order.

The Varsity pens definitely write smoother than the Zebras, also write a little wetter and have a richer ink color. But they're also a (Japanese) Medium nib, and maybe a little broader than a "real" Japanese Medium nib, whereas the Zebras are a (Japanese?) Fine and usually put down a thinner line.

I've read that you can refill the Varsity pens if you're dedicated enough. Here's a short video on the topic: https://youtu.be/QbnVkVYjWzY?t=150
I think I'm going to try that when one of my Varsities runs out and replace it with the blue Waterman ink.