Since my last post I've done a ton of research on fountain pens notebooks paper and so forth. Today I used my friends [FONT=arial, sans-serif]Calligraphy pen this was my first experience and will not base this on the pen ill get Im assuming a few things . One it was a set thats loosely based on on every day Fountain pens but also used for something different it also had a very fine point it will also from a box set . I'm trying to get discouraged because I feel as though this will be completely different experience then using regular fountain keep in mind that the encourage came undone after that it was very blotchy into begin with it was a very wet when it did write. I was just eager to try it so I did and I'm not deterred in the slightest bit also keep in mind I was using regular paper just to playing around[/FONT]
questions
- Thread starter cardsfan28
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So what are your questions?
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- #3
will each fountain pen experience be different like how oc de's are different from closed comb de's?
What do you want to do with your fountain pens? Are you looking to use one daily, are you only going to use a fountain pen for signatures, do you want things to stay in a certain budget, etc?
Blotch on a first experience with a calligraphy pen is pretty good. Even getting any marks at first is pretty good.
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- #6
I was hoping to use the Fountain pen for writing in my daily journal or just general notes letters signing envelopes with my address that sort of thing
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- #7
I also wrote my name several times but it went through because the paper wasn't the right type but it was interesting to say the least
I'm in no way the authority on fountain pens, but for $3, you can get a Platinum Preppy. Fine every day writer. Good way to evaluate a fountain pen. If you don't like it, you only spent $3.
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- #9
I just wish I could several different ones which in essence I can I was thinking of a pilot Metropolitan lamay Safari the knockoff one on eBay from China and a few others I'm just unsure I know I'm at least waiting till after Christmas so I can stock up on gift cards lol
be careful of knock offs, they are never as good as the real thing. ink is also a consideration. if you want to dip your toes into fountain pens, get a pilot metro, good ink, and a rhodia notebook. remember that it takes a light touch. i prefer goulet pens myself for my supplies. it takes a bit of practice, but you should enjoy the hobby.
It's funny. I have owned a bunch of fountain pens, ranging from cheap Chinese ones up to one that nearly cost $1k.
Yesterday I dug out my childhood calligraphy pen, because my wife expressed an interest in calligraphy. I cleaned it, inked it, and wrote some notes on some nice paper.
It wrote really well! I kind of don't want to give it to her now.
Yesterday I dug out my childhood calligraphy pen, because my wife expressed an interest in calligraphy. I cleaned it, inked it, and wrote some notes on some nice paper.
It wrote really well! I kind of don't want to give it to her now.
One thing that we (myself and the wife) do when trying something new is to never "go cheap". It may seem logical to reduce your initial cost in case what ever you are trying isn't for you. BUT, if you "go cheap" on the initial cost, you may get sub par equipment/supplies and not get a fair assessment. I am not saying to go all out either. Try to stay on the mid lower range. Spend enough to get decent stuff. If you like it, them start looking to better quality. If it isn't for you, sell it as a "beginner kit" or give it away.
Example (not NIB related) is when I wanted to start making beer and wine back in 2008. We got some decent equipment which cost us around $150. If it wasn't for us, we could have sold the stuff back (it was from a local store) for around $100. Well, we have spent around 600 or 700 on equipment so far and are still doing it today. A friend started and "went cheap" spending around $40 and hated it. I told him afterwards he could have used my stuff and maybe would still be brewing today.
NIB related, I purchased a fountain pen a few weeks ago for around $20 to start getting back into writing.
Example (not NIB related) is when I wanted to start making beer and wine back in 2008. We got some decent equipment which cost us around $150. If it wasn't for us, we could have sold the stuff back (it was from a local store) for around $100. Well, we have spent around 600 or 700 on equipment so far and are still doing it today. A friend started and "went cheap" spending around $40 and hated it. I told him afterwards he could have used my stuff and maybe would still be brewing today.
NIB related, I purchased a fountain pen a few weeks ago for around $20 to start getting back into writing.
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- #13
Well it's the end of the semester classes are over and I sold my books back I think I'm decided on a Lamy Safari gift I'm still debating I like blue better but also need the converter and ink and a Journal
Nice! Congrats, on the end of the semester! My final are all this week.
What size of nib did you go with? A Safari is a solid fountain pen to start with. It was my first one (along with a Pilot Metropolitan and a Noodler's Nib Creaper that I got all together). The converter is proprietary, so you'll have to get the Lamy Z24 converter.As far as ink goes, do you have any specific properties that you had in-mind (waterproof, permanent, shading qualities, etc.)? For daily writing, I seem to favor J. Herbin, Pelikan, and Pilot (Namiki and Iroshizuku) inks. There are many good inks out there though. Just stay away from India ink and non-fountain pen specific ink.
Rhodia, Clairefontaine, Apica, and Leuchtturm1917 are some good brands of notebooks to pick from. Trial and error is always helpful with paper choices. I have had a few notebooks that I didn't think leaflets would be any good for fountain pens and inks. But, they turned out to work well.
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- #15
i will be getting the medium nib Safari I was looking at the gift set it also comes with ink and the converter but that's it in red. But I personally like blue. My question is should I just buy the pen and add the converter along with the noodlers blue is $12 it's 3 ounces though it should last me along time I think? for the paper I need a decent journal because I like to write down my daily thoughts I'm also looking for lined paper because I don't want end up uneven lines. I also like decent sized notebooks.
regular noodlers bottle will go a really long way, check out rhodia, they have many sizes, lined, graph, dot, spiral and stapled. great paper for a good price.
FYI regarding the Lamy Safari Gift Set: It's a nice value, because you get the pen, a bottle of ink, a converter, and a box of cartridges. It saves about $7 or so off the cost of buying separately. But the red Lamy ink in that set is kind of light, half-way between red and pink I would say. If you prefer blue ink, I'd buy the pen and ink separately if you can't get the Lamy Set in blue anymore. And you might consider just getting that Lamy Safari and a box of Lamy blue cartridges. It's plug-and-play on the cheap (a converter + ink costs more than a box of cartridges), and you could get a feel for the pen and then get a converter and bottle(s) of ink later.
Or for the same price as the Lamy Safari set, you could get one of the Lamy Al Star sets. Instead of a bottle of ink, you get a bunch of Lamy cartridges in 6 or 7 different colors plus a converter for later when you want to get bottled ink. And the Al Star is the same pen as the Safari, just a little nicer because it's aluminum instead of plastic. Goulet has both those Lamy sets.
Or for the same price as the Lamy Safari set, you could get one of the Lamy Al Star sets. Instead of a bottle of ink, you get a bunch of Lamy cartridges in 6 or 7 different colors plus a converter for later when you want to get bottled ink. And the Al Star is the same pen as the Safari, just a little nicer because it's aluminum instead of plastic. Goulet has both those Lamy sets.
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- #18
I was doing some more research and I thought to myself the two pens that I'm looking at one being the lamay Safari the only downside is it seems as though you have to use two hands for the converter and I only use one arm so every time I want to fill up the pen I would have to ask my wife to help me unless I can find another way around that the Metropolitan pilot it's a $15 pen but it has a squeeze converter which I can use with one hand but my grandpa always told me when I was younger you get what you pay for although it's only $15 I really don't want to go out and buy a new pen every time something happens so have what would be really awesome as if I could use the converter in the metropolitan pilot for the safari that would be my ideal solution but that's probably not going to happen I also know that you can use cartridges but to me that kind of takes fun of it
The best one handed converter out there today is the Pilot Con-70 converter. Pilot also makes some very good pens. Contact Goulet Pens and ask them which Pilot fountain pens will accept the Con-70 converter.
But filling such pens will still likely take two hand, to open the bottle, open the pen, close the bottle.
But filling such pens will still likely take two hand, to open the bottle, open the pen, close the bottle.
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- #20
I can stabilize the bottle to get it open and put the vacuum converter in there and go from there. But I'm not going to pay that much for a pen especially if I'm just trying things out as for the lamay I don't think I would be able to twist the converter and you kind have to to do that for the pen the work. I could always try to figure out something it's kind of a downer because my whole fascination with Fountain pens is the fact that you can fill them with ink and write with them. I'm not knocking cartridges doesn't really appeal to me . The reason why some vacuum or the pilot custom 74 is because I can basically hold the converter/pen while I filled it but I'm just not going to pay that much
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