Do you use a fountain pen?

[Sway]

djt100 said:

SystemParanoia said:

Pretend to write with one of your pens upside down with the lid on.

see how it feels

not a show stopper to me... i think

I tried that and my grip naturally misses the clip so no show stopper for me, On these does the end seal when the nib is retracted? how does the ink not dry. I use a Waterman hemisphere for daily use and tend to leave the cap off and let it go dry but a couple scribbles and its back to like. but still annoys me, hence i like the idea of these.

There's a little hinged trapdoor that covers the hole when retracted to prevent drying. Probably not as airtight as a 'proper' screw on cap, but all the reviews indicate it's not a problem.

[Nightmare]

I love stationery generally - no idea why but just love the shops with racks of pens and pencils and paints

I win saddest person ever, however, for having sword mounts made to match my fountain pen



I also won this pen in a raffle a few years ago - bloody lovely but know very little about it....robbo?

[Robbo 27]

Nightmare said:

I love stationery generally - no idea why but just love the shops with racks of pens and pencils and paints

I win saddest person ever, however, for having sword mounts made to match my fountain pen



I also won this pen in a raffle a few years ago - bloody lovely but know very little about it....robbo?

The pen is a Caran D'Ache Varius, the company produced a number of versions with different coloured panels, commonly black or blue, havent seen this colour before but very attractive. You may be able to find a hallmark as I think they were solid silver, if so they had a big bucks price tag.

You have a good eye for the unusual, never seen a Sheaffer in that pattern either.

Edited by Robbo 27 on Friday 20th January 17:59

[craig1912]

Robbo 27 said:

The set is a valuable collectors piece £125- 150 easily and some ebay sellers are asking £300+ , perhaps £160-200 if you can find a correct Parker 75 box and ever wanted to sell it.

Edited by Robbo 27 on Friday 20th January 15:10

Edited by Robbo 27 on Friday 20th January 15:10

Unfortunately the ball point went missing but this is the box and certificate it came with

[Robbo 27]

craig1912 said:

Unfortunately the ball point went missing but this is the box and certificate it came with

Never seen one as nice as that before, tracking down a matching ball point would be a very good idea, just had a look and they are around priced from £50-£100. The refills are standard Parker.

Lovely to pass down the family.

Edited by Robbo 27 on Friday 20th January 18:11

[Fort Jefferson]

I used to use one at school, and a cartridge pen. But that was pre 1970.

[Pints]

My new favourite thread. It even surpasses the Teaspoon thread.

[Vroom101]

Robbo 27 said:

Happy to give advice on pens if anyone needs it, it is one of the very few subjects that I know a little about.

I think this thread shows you do yourself a disservice there, Robbo. It appears you are the PH fountain pen guru


My Pelican violet ink arrived yesterday - hooray!

My Jinhao 599 has yet to arrive, so I can't use it - boo!

Any recommendations for a notebook? I'd like something similar to an A5 Moleskine, but as you say, the Moleskine's paper is no longer good for fountain pens.

[uncinqsix]

Vroom101 said:

Any recommendations for a notebook? I'd like something similar to an A5 Moleskine, but as you say, the Moleskine's paper is no longer good for fountain pens.

Wife has just bought a Leuchtturm, which seems very nice. Paper is thicker than the Moleskines.

[ATG]

I used to use a Parker Sonnet. Had a fine nib for maths and a wider one for general writing. It was great, but sadly it now pisses ink from where the threaded metal section screws into the pen's body.

Parker 51 is just stunning. It is to pens as the Porsche 928 is to cars; understated, completely original design.

[Robbo 27]

Vroom101 said:

I think this thread shows you do yourself a disservice there, Robbo. It appears you are the PH fountain pen guru


My Pelican violet ink arrived yesterday - hooray!

My Jinhao 599 has yet to arrive, so I can't use it - boo!

Any recommendations for a notebook? I'd like something similar to an A5 Moleskine, but as you say, the Moleskine's paper is no longer good for fountain pens.

https://www.thejournalshop.com/

The Journal shop has a huge range, as you suggest Moleskine is not great for pens but you might get away with one using a fine nib and Pelikan ink, Midori is good as is Mnemosyne, I like the indexing on Leuchturn notebooks but ink can bleed through.

Thank you for the kind comments.

[Robbo 27]

ATG said:

Parker 51 is just stunning. It is to pens as the Porsche 928 is to cars; understated, completely original design.

Parker say that they made a million of these every year till around 1970, they are still sought after and fetch £40 upwards. One London legal stationer polishes them up and sells them to lawyers who dont want the brashness of Montblancs.

Buy one today, use it, enjoy it and sell it for a profit in a couple of years, no problem.

Mind you, you could probably do that with a 928 too.

[craig1912]

Vroom101 said:

Any recommendations for a notebook? I'd like something similar to an A5 Moleskine, but as you say, the Moleskine's paper is no longer good for fountain pens.

http://www.clairefontaine.com/subcategory-en-031020-notebooks-and-pads.html

I use these- no bleed through and nice and smooth to write on

[Robbo 27]

Vroom101 said:

I think this thread shows you do yourself a disservice there, Robbo. It appears you are the PH fountain pen guru


My Pelican violet ink arrived yesterday - hooray!

My Jinhao 599 has yet to arrive, so I can't use it - boo!

Any recommendations for a notebook? I'd like something similar to an A5 Moleskine, but as you say, the Moleskine's paper is no longer good for fountain pens.

If the pen doesnt arrive today, let me know and I will put a pen in the mail on Monday.

[williredale]

Vroom101 said:

Any recommendations for a notebook? I'd like something similar to an A5 Moleskine, but as you say, the Moleskine's paper is no longer good for fountain pens.

I have Clairefontaine and Black n' Red. The Black n' Red came from Home Bargains (council!) a year or so ago when I spotted a shelf full amongst the cheap tat and bought the lot!

I must try and get some photos of my pens now that everyone else is posting theirs.

[AndrewCrown]

AlexC1981 said:

I'm still waiting for my 126 to arrive!

Very Nice Harlequin Alex, I had two of those at school... the black version.... stolen with my mums car.. i was so upset (14 yr old) my father managed to find the version similar to yours.... It was a real status symbol in those days... well at my school anyway!

[Vroom101]

Robbo 27 said:

Vroom101 said:

My Pelican violet ink arrived yesterday - hooray!

My Jinhao 599 has yet to arrive, so I can't use it - boo!

If the pen doesnt arrive today, let me know and I will put a pen in the mail on Monday.

That's very kind of you Robbo, thanks . However there is no need as the pen was waiting for me when I got home from work - hooray!

I spent nearly an hour fiddling with it and just writing a load of old nonsense just to get back in the rhythm of using a fountain pen. I've got to say, I'm very impressed with the performance of the Jinhao 599, especially considering its modest price (admittedly I have nothing to compare it to). My 11 year old son was interested too, and had a go. Now he wants one for himself, so I ordered him one from eBay. Another convert!

I can see this ending up as a little collection. Don't think I'll get near your 350 though, Robbo


Oh, and the Pelican Violet is lovely.

[Robbo 27]

Vroom101 said:

That's very kind of you Robbo, thanks . However there is no need as the pen was waiting for me when I got home from work - hooray!

I spent nearly an hour fiddling with it and just writing a load of old nonsense just to get back in the rhythm of using a fountain pen. I've got to say, I'm very impressed with the performance of the Jinhao 599, especially considering its modest price (admittedly I have nothing to compare it to). My 11 year old son was interested too, and had a go. Now he wants one for himself, so I ordered him one from eBay. Another convert!

I can see this ending up as a little collection. Don't think I'll get near your 350 though, Robbo


Oh, and the Pelican Violet is lovely.

Very good news, and good to see that Son Vroom is also interested. Good neat handwriting will be in his favour for years to come, looks smart and other people notice.

These Jinhao pens work well and perform well above their price, you have to spend much more money to find a pen that works significantly better.

Good result

[Vroom101]

Robbo 27 said:

Vroom101 said:

That's very kind of you Robbo, thanks . However there is no need as the pen was waiting for me when I got home from work - hooray!

I spent nearly an hour fiddling with it and just writing a load of old nonsense just to get back in the rhythm of using a fountain pen. I've got to say, I'm very impressed with the performance of the Jinhao 599, especially considering its modest price (admittedly I have nothing to compare it to). My 11 year old son was interested too, and had a go. Now he wants one for himself, so I ordered him one from eBay. Another convert!

I can see this ending up as a little collection. Don't think I'll get near your 350 though, Robbo


Oh, and the Pelican Violet is lovely.

Very good news, and good to see that Son Vroom is also interested. Good neat handwriting will be in his favour for years to come, looks smart and other people notice.

These Jinhao pens work well and perform well above their price, you have to spend much more money to find a pen that works significantly better.

Good result

Blimey! You're up early. Or are you up late counting pens?

I've just ordered a Midori World Meister notebook in orange, with gridlines. Thanks to my odd writing technique I've decided that a grid is best, as it will allow me to write 'up' the page.

[AlexC1981]

williredale said:

When you say unbranded cartridge do you mean a long Parker cartridge like this one:
[pic]

Or an international standard one like this:
[pic]

The harlequin pen looks great.

It was a little international one, which I know now is the wrong one. Do not worry, I've ordered a converter

AndrewCrown said:

Very Nice Harlequin Alex, I had two of those at school... the black version.... stolen with my mums car.. i was so upset (14 yr old) my father managed to find the version similar to yours.... It was a real status symbol in those days... well at my school anyway!

Thanks. Dad had no interest in cars or watches, but as well as the Harlequin he had a few nice Parker Jotter ballpoints, gold and textured silver colours, which mum still uses. Also a fat gold plate Sheaffer fountain with a broad inlaid nib, which is far too blingy to use day to day.

Robbo 27 said:

In terms of a converter, I would suggest that you only fit a Parker converter such as this:
[pic]
There is a cheaper all plastic version which doesnt work so well and rattles in use. The metal converter should cost around £6.

Cheers, I've ordered the metal version with the gold trim (was slightly cheaper on ebay). I imagine the gold colour is not so popular as hardly anyone has gold pens these days. I assume these things don't get faked.....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151768647313?_trksid=p20...