Well, my latest leap into the FP world has not gone well at all. I had purchased a 3 pack of Pilot Varsity's a month or so ago, and I loved how smooth and effortless they were to write with. I didn't like that they were too broad for my tastes (I like a very fine line), the ink tended to bleed quite a bit on most of the paper I use, and they're ugly (of course they are - they're cheap disposables). While they had some issues, I loved being able to write smoothly and effortlessly with virtually no pressure. I was sure that spending a bit more would get me something that laid down a finer line and didn't look cheesy. I'm handling the bleeding ink as a separate issue as ink can be changed easily in the pens I planned to purchase.
I couldn't make up my mind what I wanted, so I ordered the following:
2 Hero 616s (for cheap beaters I wouldn't care if I lost - similar to Varsity's but not as ugly)
Noodler's Ahab - because it looked really nice and the flex interested me
Pilot 78G (f) - this was what I expected would be "the one" since it's known for it's more XF nib and for being on the dry side
After cleaning them, loading them, and using them for a few days, I'm more than a little disappointed. None of them write as smoothly, consistently, and effortlessly as the disposable Varsity.
The Heros are actually the best performers, but they are a little scratchy to write with. That may settle down with more use, but for $3 I'm not going to complain much as they actually write pretty well.
The 78G looks nice and feels good in my hand. The problem is that it's so dry it's almost unusable and it's really scratchy to write with (worse than the Heros). When I say dry, I'm not just talking about the writing experience but also the resulting line left on the paper. It's too faint to easily read. I think the scratchiness is likely a product of too little inkflow. Not sure if there's anything I can do about this. I had thought about speading the nib tines a bit, but I think adjusting the feed is more likely the correct solution. I'm not really sure how to do this correctly though, still looking into it.
The Ahab.... Is currently impossible to write with. It skips constantly. This problem appears to be unrelated to the amount or pressure you use (same skipping problem whether you barely touch the paper or really bare down for a broader line). It also doesn't appear to be a feed issue, as the line is quite wet when it isn't skipping. It's particularly bad about skipping when you begin a line or word, but happens intermittenly when writing as well. I thought I had narrowed the cause down to the angle at which I hold the nib, but that hypothesis is probably wrong as I have experienced the skipping some even when holding it at what appeared to be the sweet spot angle. Even if it worked flawlessly at that angle, the margin of error there is too tiny to be of any real use. Forming common letter forms forces you out of that angle at times which would make the skipping worse. I don't really think the angle or the amount of ink being fed is the issue. When it isn't skipping, it can keep up with laying down lots of ink resulting from applying pressure to spread the tines.
I'm more than a little disappointed with this experience to say the least. The $3 Varsity is still provides a far better writing experience than these much more expensive pens. Granted these aren't particularly expensive pens, but they do cost considerably more than the $3 Varsity.
The ink I'm using is Noodler's Bad Belted Kingfisher. It feathers quite a bit with most of the paper I use, but not enough to make it unusable. I'll probably try to find something else that works better for my daily work ink, but it works well enough for now.
Hopefully there is some way to get these pens working for me as I'm very disappointed with them right now.
D
I couldn't make up my mind what I wanted, so I ordered the following:
2 Hero 616s (for cheap beaters I wouldn't care if I lost - similar to Varsity's but not as ugly)
Noodler's Ahab - because it looked really nice and the flex interested me
Pilot 78G (f) - this was what I expected would be "the one" since it's known for it's more XF nib and for being on the dry side
After cleaning them, loading them, and using them for a few days, I'm more than a little disappointed. None of them write as smoothly, consistently, and effortlessly as the disposable Varsity.
The Heros are actually the best performers, but they are a little scratchy to write with. That may settle down with more use, but for $3 I'm not going to complain much as they actually write pretty well.
The 78G looks nice and feels good in my hand. The problem is that it's so dry it's almost unusable and it's really scratchy to write with (worse than the Heros). When I say dry, I'm not just talking about the writing experience but also the resulting line left on the paper. It's too faint to easily read. I think the scratchiness is likely a product of too little inkflow. Not sure if there's anything I can do about this. I had thought about speading the nib tines a bit, but I think adjusting the feed is more likely the correct solution. I'm not really sure how to do this correctly though, still looking into it.
The Ahab.... Is currently impossible to write with. It skips constantly. This problem appears to be unrelated to the amount or pressure you use (same skipping problem whether you barely touch the paper or really bare down for a broader line). It also doesn't appear to be a feed issue, as the line is quite wet when it isn't skipping. It's particularly bad about skipping when you begin a line or word, but happens intermittenly when writing as well. I thought I had narrowed the cause down to the angle at which I hold the nib, but that hypothesis is probably wrong as I have experienced the skipping some even when holding it at what appeared to be the sweet spot angle. Even if it worked flawlessly at that angle, the margin of error there is too tiny to be of any real use. Forming common letter forms forces you out of that angle at times which would make the skipping worse. I don't really think the angle or the amount of ink being fed is the issue. When it isn't skipping, it can keep up with laying down lots of ink resulting from applying pressure to spread the tines.
I'm more than a little disappointed with this experience to say the least. The $3 Varsity is still provides a far better writing experience than these much more expensive pens. Granted these aren't particularly expensive pens, but they do cost considerably more than the $3 Varsity.
The ink I'm using is Noodler's Bad Belted Kingfisher. It feathers quite a bit with most of the paper I use, but not enough to make it unusable. I'll probably try to find something else that works better for my daily work ink, but it works well enough for now.
Hopefully there is some way to get these pens working for me as I'm very disappointed with them right now.
D
