Fountain pen frenzy thread

[anatess2]

1 hour ago, zil said:

What is "granite ink"?

Also, fair warning, there's a serious chance fountain pen ink won't work well on the usual journals from Deseret Book and such - the paper tends to be rough and really absorbent.   But we can hope that's not the case with this one.

I wanted to know what granite ink looks like too!  That's why I bought it.  I was wanting to go to the store again but the family has different ideas so I get to wait a while.

[mirkwood]

@zil

 

https://www.amazon.com/ColorIt-Pens-Adult-Coloring-Books/dp/B01K5E3372/ref=sr_1_5_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1514510448&sr=8-5-spons&keywords=bic+pen+colored+refills&psc=1

 

[zil]

20 minutes ago, mirkwood said:

@zil

https://www.amazon.com/ColorIt-Pens-Adult-Coloring-Books/dp/B01K5E3372/ref=sr_1_5_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1514510448&sr=8-5-spons&keywords=bic+pen+colored+refills&psc=1

Right, I'll add this and a nice flowery (or maybe My Little Pony) coloring book to your Christmas list for next year.  I'm sure it's therapeutic for you after a hard day at work, all those nice pretty colors and patterns.  Very zen.

[zil]

On 12/28/2017 at 4:02 AM, LiterateParakeet said:

@NeuroTypical welcome to the Dark Side, LOL!   Which pen are you using?  I'm a Lamy Safari fan myself, but I do have others that I love too.  

NT has a silver Jinhao x750, with the stock nib (though I polished the nib so it would be really smooth).

[Guest LiterateParakeet]

22 hours ago, zil said:

Never heard of Dryden.  Googling.  Looks like fancified Jinhaos to me - I do like the look of the bamboo wood.    Enjoy it!   You and your Noodler's inks.  I don't really like a lot of the ones I've tried - many tend to behave badly in some way - I should probably dilute them a bit.  I wonder if they like humid environments (or dislike dry ones), and that explains the difference.

I had never heard of Dryden either.  My son found it...so sweet.  He doesn't know much about fountain pens, but he took a chance.  I find the nib a little scratchy, but otherwise I love the pen.  It's beautiful and has a nice light weight that I love.  I'm trying it out for art...the scratchiness isn't even noticeable on watercolor paper.    
 

I bet you are right about Noodler's ink...it is really humid here.  I've never had any trouble with my Noodler's inks, they perform just like Pilot or De Atramentis.  

[zil]

6 minutes ago, LiterateParakeet said:

I had never heard of Dryden either.  My son found it...so sweet.  He doesn't know much about fountain pens, but he took a chance.  I find the nib a little scratchy, but otherwise I love the pen.  It's beautiful and has a nice light weight that I love.  I'm trying it out for art...the scratchiness isn't even noticeable on watercolor paper.    

This is your opportunity to buy some micromesh (I strongly recommend sheets rather than pads) and a loupe, and have a go at (1) aligning the tines (if not aligned already) and (2) smoothing the nib.

I like this loupe - they're not all so good as they claim, but this one is.  You'll just need a very bright light to use it under.  Depending on your eyesight, you may not need one so powerful.

And I prefer the micromesh sheets like Goulet and Anderson Pens sell.

SBRE Brown, Brian Goulet, and The Pen Habit all have nib-tuning videos.

[zil]

Oh, if your cell phone has a magnifier app, you could use that instead of a loupe.

[Guest LiterateParakeet]

6 minutes ago, zil said:

This is your opportunity to buy some micromesh (I strongly recommend sheets rather than pads) and a loupe, and have a go at (1) aligning the tines (if not aligned already) and (2) smoothing the nib.

I like this loupe - they're not all so good as they claim, but this one is.  You'll just need a very bright light to use it under.  Depending on your eyesight, you may not need one so powerful.

And I prefer the micromesh sheets like Goulet and Anderson Pens sell.

SBRE Brown, Brian Goulet, and The Pen Habit all have nib-tuning videos.

Great idea!  I'll give that a shot.   

If I'm very careful, I won't ruin the nib will I?  I like this pen.   

[zil]

23 minutes ago, LiterateParakeet said:

Great idea!  I'll give that a shot.   

If I'm very careful, I won't ruin the nib will I?  I like this pen.   

Watch the videos - as many and as many times as needed.  Don't start if you're rushed for time, cramped for space, feeling frustrated or impatient.  Go very slowly and you'll be fine.  Aligning tines will not ruin a thing unless you're the hulk or something and just bend the steel in half or something.  For polishing, if needed, less is more (make 2 figure 8s, then 2 infinity signs and try writing, then another 2).  The nib is likely a medium, so it has a lot of tipping.  It's actually pretty hard to ruin a steel nib, especially if you go slow.

Step one is to spend a lot of time writing with and looking at the nib, so you know where and what the problem is, how to test whether it's fixed.  For example, if it scratches going left or going right - that's probably tine misalignment - you should be able to see one tine higher or lower than the other - be sure to look at the point where nib touches paper - the other side may or may not align and it doesn't matter.  Or maybe it's not really scratchy, it's just not smooth - in this case, it's probably just that you want the tipping polished a little.

Make sure you check the tines first - if you have a good enough magnifier, you need no special equipment for this, and it can be done without ink in the pen - so no mess.  Here's a cell phone magnifier picture of badly misaligned tines - looking head on at the tip of the nib - the tine on the right is lower than the one  the left.  (See the videos for instruction and demos of aligning - let me know if you need links to good videos.)

If or once the tines are aligned, smoothing will need the micromesh - 12,000 grit - and you'll want the pen inked - the more lubricating the ink, the better (De Atramentis inks tend to be lubricating).  But if misaligned tines was the problem, this may not even be needed.  Try to make sure you hold the pen exactly the same as when writing, and that the paper you're writing on to test it is on the same surface as the micromesh - so the pen angle doesn't change between smoothing and writing.  Otherwise, the videos should give decent instructions.

Let me know if you have questions - I've done lots of this.

Edited December 29, 2017 by zil

[NeuroTypical]

2 hours ago, zil said:

NT has a silver Jinhao x750, with the stock nib (though I polished the nib so it would be really smooth).

I need to print this out and store it with my insurance card, for when someone asks me for this information. 

[zil]

2 hours ago, LiterateParakeet said:

I'm trying it out for art...the scratchiness isn't even noticeable on watercolor paper.

I actually really like the Pilot Penmanship on sketching paper - not that I sketch so much as doodle.  It's a super-fine nib (Japanese extra fine), so it can feel rough anyway, but it goes scritchety-scratch on sketch paper, and I like it.

[zil]

1 minute ago, NeuroTypical said:

I need to print this out and store it with my insurance card, for when someone asks me for this information. 

Erm, just read the text on the silver centerband - it says "Jinhao" [flourishy stuff] "X750" [more flourishy stuff].

[mirkwood]

I don't talk about guns as much as @zil talks about pens.

[zil]

20 hours ago, mirkwood said:

I don't talk about guns as much as @zil talks about pens.

That's just because you never volunteered to send anyone on the forum a free gun and ammo.  Do that, and I'm sure they'd start a thread all about their new target-shooting hobby, and ask you questions about aligning their sights, or which was the best ammo, or something...

Edited December 30, 2017 by zil

[Guest]

6 hours ago, zil said:

That's just because you never volunteered to send anyone on the forum a free gun and ammo.  Do that, and I'm sure they'd start a thread all about their new target-shooting hobby, and ask you questions about aligning their sites, or which was the best ammo, or something...

Hey, once you start sending $1000 fountain pens to us, you can make that argument.  But try to find a $25 gun.

[mirkwood]

7 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

Hey, once you start sending $1000 fountain pens to us, you can make that argument.  But try to find a $25 gun.

Yea @zil so neener neener neener

[the Ogre]

14 hours ago, mirkwood said:

I don't talk about guns as much as @zil talks about pens.

I can dig it. I love good pens. When I lived in Seoul, I used fountain pens everyday, but that was soooooo long ago. I've devolved back to Parkers or the occasional pen I find on the floor: I once wrote a poem about a pen I found in UVU's LA building that lasted nearly a year without ever burbling, burping, flowing unevenly, gleeking, or sputtering out until there was no ink left at all: then I binned it's empty husk and bought the stainless Parker I use now (it's on it's millionth refill since, however).

[zil]

7 hours ago, Carborendum said:

Hey, once you start sending $1000 fountain pens to us, you can make that argument.  But try to find a $25 gun.

The cost of the gift doesn't alter the existence of the stimulus.  (And you can get a gun for a lot less than $1000.)

7 hours ago, mirkwood said:

Yea @zil so neener neener neener

See above.  No one said it would be cheap, only that this would be equivalent stimulus to get people on here talking to you about guns.

[zil]

Welcome, @the Ogre!  How in the world did you make 997 posts overnight?

[the Ogre]

30 minutes ago, zil said:

Welcome, @the Ogre!  How in the world did you make 997 posts overnight?

I type really fast.

[mirkwood]

2 hours ago, the Ogre said:

the stainless Parker I use now (it's on it's millionth refill since, however).

Ahhh good choice.  I use that same pen at work.  I've had the same three since 1999 (and who knows how many refills.)

[mirkwood]

1 hour ago, zil said:

The cost of the gift doesn't alter the existence of the stimulus.  (And you can get a gun for a lot less than $1000.)

See above.  No one said it would be cheap, only that this would be equivalent stimulus to get people on here talking to you about guns.

I'm pretty sure I can get people to talk guns without buying them one.

[SilentOne]

So does that mean my posting around here is not a sure-fire way to receive a free gun and ammo? I guess it's time to create a new action plan.

[NeuroTypical]

So here's something, as I'm gearing up to start writing some letters to my daughters, I do indeed feel a little tickle of -something- in the back of my brain when I think about what to write on, and what to write with.  Not sure how to describe it.  Of course I figure what I'll actually be saying is of top importance, but indeed there is a difference between a hand-written note where I took the time with a fountain pen, and, oh, say, sending a facebook message or a printout from Windows Notepad or something.  These are not considerations of zero importance, and I'm looking forward to the act of writing with this fountain pen Zil sent me.

It is sort of similar to when I'm going shooting, my Glock is more satisfying than shooting my daughter's Crickett rifle:
 = 

and

 

     =    

[NeuroTypical]

So today, I took the fountain pen with me to church, where I used it in performance of my calling as finance clerk.  End of the year chaos in my ward meant over a dozen checks needed to be signed.  Mostly reimbursements for folks buying food for the Christmas party, or gas for the Young Men's thing, but some of them were fast offering related.  Bishops are out there helping the heck out of people and few people know it.   And clerks sometimes struggle with keeping a spiritual mindset as they shuffle paperwork.  The pen did indeed help with that.