Do you use a fountain pen?

[Robbo 27]

Pints said:

Am I correct in thinking this is the Parker IM? It's not identical to the images I've seen on parkerpens.net and I feel certain that I've had it for longer than the indicated period of production.

Your pen is the first generation of the Parker IM, also called the Profile in some markets.

[Pints]

Robbo 27 said:

Your pen is the first generation of the Parker IM, also called the Profile in some markets.

Thanks. Being the first generation would explain why I feel like I've had it for so long. And yes, a red pen does look great with green ink. I think I'll also fill this IM with green ink when the blue is done.

[Prohibiting]

More unnecessary purchases

TWSBI Diamond AL
Nooder's Prime of the Commons blue/black ink (waterproof)
Rhondia no. 12 dot pad
Rhondia lined A4 workbook

[Robbo 27]

Prohibiting said:

More unnecessary purchases

TWSBI Diamond AL
Nooder's Prime of the Commons blue/black ink (waterproof)
Rhondia no. 12 dot pad
Rhondia lined A4 workbook

I think that you also have a TWSBI Eco, I would be interested to hear of whether there is a value in buying the more expensive Twsbi Diamond. The ink is unusual, is it almost black with a hint of green?

Up until 10 years ago there was a dark green produced by Montblanc called Racing Green, if you want to try and find a bottle of that now you will be lucky and also it could cost you £50 for a 60ml bottle. Your ink may be a close alternative.

[Prohibiting]

It's like a dark teal colour which is what I wanted. The ink you've posted above looks very green! It has undertones of green and blue making a dark teal colour on paper.

I bought it because I wanted to hold another colour of ink without having to keep on flushing another pen out but I wish I'd gone for a fine nib now. It feels weightier to hold so definitely more suited to slighter larger writing and good for letter writing. In general it's just "less plasticy" to hold than the Eco.

I have a TWSBI Eco (medium nib) with the white cap and top if anyone wants to buy it from me? I think I'll replace the Eco with a nicer fine as I've realised that fine nibs suit my writing style better than a medium.

£29 RRP but will sell for £20 inc. postage if anyone wants? Flows very well and is very smooth but as said, I could do with 2x fines and 1x medium instead of 2x medium and 1x fine.

Edited by Prohibiting on Sunday 19th February 12:13

[Robbo 27]

Prohibiting said:

It's like a dark teal colour to be honest which is what I wanted. It has undertones of green and blue making a dark teal colour on paper.

I bought it because I wanted to hold another colour of ink without having to keep on flushing another pen out but I wish I'd gone for a fine nib now. It feels weightier to hold so definitely more suited to slighter larger writing and good for letter writing.

I have a TWSBI Eco (medium nib) with the white cap and top if anyone wants to buy it from me? I think I'll replace the Eco with a nicer fine as I've realised that fine nibs suit my writing style better than a medium.

£29 RRP but will sell for £20 inc. postage if anyone wants? Flows very well but as said, I could do with 2x fines and 1x medium instead of 2x medium and 1x fine.

I would buy your eco myself but that is the same spec and colour as one I already have. This is a good opportunity for someone to have a great pen at a bargain price.

[ClockworkCupcake]

I was at an Antiques and Collectors fair at Ripley in Surrey today, and one of the sellers had some fountain pens.

He had several Jinhaos and also some Chinese knock-off versions of the Parker 51, which he invited me to try and they were impressively smooth I have to say. They were marked 661, along with some Chinese writing, if that means anything to anyone.
We had a chat and I told him about the Jinhao X750 I have on order, and we chatted for a while about pens and how these cheap Chinese imports are such good value for money. It was a nice little chat.

I then noticed he had a Sheaffer, and asked if it was a Chinese copy too but he said it was genuine. He didn't know the provenance or age, as it had come from a job lot from a house clearance. He was asking £15 for it so I decided to take a punt. I didn't even haggle him on price as I thought £15 was fair.

The barrel is very lightly scuffed in one place, but the cap isn't dented and it seems in fairly good nick. The nib is medium to broad, and is italic, and is rather scratchy but it flows well enough.

Here are some photos:


http://datahamster.com/2017-02-19-14-52-42/


http://datahamster.com/2017-02-19-14-53-04/


http://datahamster.com/2017-02-19-16-29-55/


http://datahamster.com/2017-02-19-14-50-42/


http://datahamster.com/2017-02-19-14-49-39/

[Robbo 27]

ClockworkCupcake said:

I was at an Antiques and Collectors fair at Ripley in Surrey today, and one of the sellers had some fountain pens.

He had several Jinhaos and also some Chinese knock-off versions of the Parker 51, which he invited me to try and they were impressively smooth I have to say. They were marked 661, along with some Chinese writing, if that means anything to anyone.

We had a chat and I told him about the Jinhao X750 I have on order, and we chatted for a while about pens and how these cheap Chinese pens are such good value for money. It was a nice little chat.

I then noticed he had a Sheaffer, and asked if it was a Chinese copy too but he said it was genuine. He didn't know the provenance or age, as he had it had come from a job lot from a house clearance. He was asking £15 for it so I decided to take a punt. I didn't even haggle him on price as I thought £15 was fair.

The barrel is very lightly scuffed in one, but the cap isn't dented and it seems in fairly good nick. The nib is medium to broad, and is italic, and is rather scratchy but it flows well enough.
[

I dont know the 661 pen, the most popular 51 clone is the Hero 616, usually fine nibbed, some dont work at all well and blob ink, for the money they are pretty good.

My best guess on the Sheaffer is late 60s and you did very well in terms of what you paid. The box alone is worth £10, the pen at least £25. I cannot see the scuffs you mention but if they bother you I suggest that you find a nail blocks, there is a 4 sided one with different levels of abbrasiveness starting at File through to Polish. Dont use the File side, its too rough, but work your way through the others. Finally, you could use a plastic polish or a metal polish for aluminium, Solvol Autosol for example. The pen will look like new.

The pic may be misleading but I think that you have an oblique nib, some pics below of an oblique and a Sheaffer itallic for you to compare. This is a real find, you may need to alter your writing style to get the most out of this nib but you have done very well, not only financially but also for finding something special.

Edited by Robbo 27 on Sunday 19th February 17:07

[ClockworkCupcake]

Robbo 27 said:

I dont know the 661 pen, the most popular 51 clone is the Hero 616, usually fine nibbed, some dont work at all well and blob ink, for the money they are pretty good.

Perhaps I misread and it was 616.

Robbo 27 said:

I cannot see the scuffs you mention but if they bother you I suggest that you find one of the nail blocks, there is a 4 sided one with different levels of abbrasiveness starting at File through to Polish.

Thanks for the info. The scuff is very light and doesn't bother me, so I will leave it as it is. But thank you for the tip.

Robbo 27 said:

The pic may be misleading but I think that this is an oblique nib, some pics below of an oblique and a Sheaffer itallic for you to compare.

I stand corrected. In that case, it is an oblique nib. It gives an italic effect when I write with it, which is what made me think it was italic. Having done a little research and read this primer on nibs it would appear it is a left foot oblique nib.

Robbo 27 said:

This is a real find, you may need to alter your writing style to get the most out of this nib but you have done very well, not only financially but also for find something special.

Thanks!

[Robbo 27]

Its a good tip from Richard Binder to rotate the nib slightly to the left as the pen touches the paper, your nib is a 35 degree oblique - most are only 15 degrees, I think that you will enjoy it.

[williredale]

Prohibiting said:

It's like a dark teal colour which is what I wanted. The ink you've posted above looks very green! It has undertones of green and blue making a dark teal colour on paper.

I bought it because I wanted to hold another colour of ink without having to keep on flushing another pen out but I wish I'd gone for a fine nib now. It feels weightier to hold so definitely more suited to slighter larger writing and good for letter writing. In general it's just "less plasticy" to hold than the Eco.

I have a TWSBI Eco (medium nib) with the white cap and top if anyone wants to buy it from me? I think I'll replace the Eco with a nicer fine as I've realised that fine nibs suit my writing style better than a medium.

£29 RRP but will sell for £20 inc. postage if anyone wants? Flows very well and is very smooth but as said, I could do with 2x fines and 1x medium instead of 2x medium and 1x fine.

Edited by Prohibiting on Sunday 19th February 12:13

I shouldn't as I have too many pens anyway but I do like the look of the Eco. I'll send you a PM about it.

[ClockworkCupcake]

Looks like it must have been the Hero 616 that I saw, and I merely had a dyslexic moment and remembered it as 661.

I've just found a nice red one on Amazon for £1.03 inc postage and ordered one. At that price I can simply throw it in the bin if it is no good.


https://www.amazon.co.uk/TOOGOO-Fountain-Hooded-Go...

[Robbo 27]

ClockworkCupcake said:

Looks like it must have been the Hero 616 that I saw, and I merely had a dyslexic moment and remembered it as 661.

I've just found a nice red one on Amazon for £1.03 inc postage and ordered one. At that price I can simply throw it in the bin if it is no good.


https://www.amazon.co.uk/TOOGOO-Fountain-Hooded-Go...

When you open the barrell there is a metal shield protecting the sac, the shield is not 100% effective, it is better to pull the shield off and simply squeeze the sac to fill the pen, then replace the shield. You will then find it will hold a reasonable quantity of ink.

[ClockworkCupcake]

Just a quick heads up. If you watch Bargain Hunt or Flog It you'll probably have come across Charles Hanson. Hanson's have an auction tomorrow which will be a live Webcast, starting at 10.30am tomorrow (21st Feb), and there are a number of fountain pen lots in it.

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalog...

They all look a bit rich for me, but I will probably 'tune in' (so to speak) and watch what they go for.

Edit: Don't forget to check the Buyer's Premium before bidding on a lot! It can be something like 22.5%

Edited by ClockworkCupcake on Monday 20th February 22:39

[Robbo 27]

ClockworkCupcake said:

Just a quick heads up. If you watch Bargain Hunt or Flog It you'll probably have come across Charles Hanson. Hanson's have an auction tomorrow which will be a live Webcast, starting at 10.30am tomorrow (21st Feb), and there are a number of fountain pen lots in it.

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalog...

They all look a bit rich for me, but I will probably 'tune in' (so to speak) and watch what they go for.

Edit: Don't forget to check the Buyer's Premium before bidding on a lot! It can be something like 22.5%

Edited by ClockworkCupcake on Monday 20th February 22:39

Thanks for the heads up, the prices look about what you would expect, without the buyrers premium, I expect postage and handling is on top of the sale price too.

[Vroom101]

Prohibiting said:

More unnecessary purchases

TWSBI Diamond AL
Nooder's Prime of the Commons blue/black ink (waterproof)
Rhondia no. 12 dot pad
Rhondia lined A4 workbook

I just had a look at the Noodler's range online. Love the names they give the inks - "Noodler's Brexit Royal Blue/Purple"

[Robbo 27]

Vroom101 said:

I just had a look at the Noodler's range online. Love the names they give the inks - "Noodler's Brexit Royal Blue/Purple"

And Noodlers Monkey Hanger, the American owner of the company liked the story of the monkey hanging in the North East so much that he named a UK only ink after it.




One of the few inks I have thrown away as unusable.

[Desiato]

Received a Jinhao 159 fountain and ball point set for my birthday. Very pleased with the finish and quality for the money.
Just need to sort out the way the fountain pen lays down the ink, a little variable at the moment. Possibly needs a flush through first.
Ink is Waterman Absolute Brown from a bottle.

[Desiato]

Received a Jinhao 159 fountain and ball point set for my birthday. Very pleased with the finish and quality for the money.
Just need to sort out the way the fountain pen lays down the ink, a little variable at the moment. Possibly needs a flush through first.
Ink is Waterman Absolute Brown from a bottle.

Edited by Desiato on Thursday 23 February 07:22

[ClockworkCupcake]

Robbo 27 said:

Thanks for the heads up, the prices look about what you would expect, without the buyrers premium, I expect postage and handling is on top of the sale price too.

Bidding is not strong. Most pens are being passed (not meeting their reserve). So looks like they are overpriced.

Edit: And then this happened...


http://datahamster.com/mwsnap-2017-02-21-11_48_24/

Edited by ClockworkCupcake on Tuesday 21st February 12:00