anatess2 Posted January 26, 2018 Report Share Posted January 26, 2018 4 minutes ago, zil said: The finer the nib, the less problematic any given paper (because it's putting down less ink), but: 1) Black n' Red (comes in various sizes), $6.48 for the 8 1/2 x 11 is a good price; I'm told you can also find these at Staples, but I never saw that. 2) Roaring Spring (ridiculously expensive at the moment) and Mead 5 Star aren't hideous. You can get the Mead at Target, but it's hard to find actual 8.5 x 11 (usually it's 8x10). Only buy 1 and try it out first, then, if good, buy a zillion more. 3) You're looking for paper that feels really smooth, super, duper smooth. If lined / gridded, the lines will be crisp, not fuzzy. Thicker is usually better, but not an indicator alone. Staples sugar cane paper is said by some to be good - I wouldn't know, haven't used it. 4) HP 24lb LaserJet paper (not inkjet, not copy, not multipurpose, must be Laser); if, by fluke, the 32lb version is cheaper, get that 5) Actual fountain pen paper. I find that unless they're on sale, no one has better prices than Goulet (several have the same prices): Rhodia is my preferred paper. You want the "classic" (white) not the "premium" (cream) Clairefontaine (LP's favorite; same company as Rhodia, different product line) is slicker and more expensive (generally) than Rhodia Apica and Mnemosyne would be my next recommendations The other brands don't have products suitable for school use (IMO) OK, after seeing your Kokuyo post - Midori (also from Japan) is also good paper. You should be able to get that from Amazon, but I don't think it's any cheaper than the above. Oh oh oh... I did see Sustainable Earth. Gotta try it! You know, you give me an idea on that Laser Jet paper. It is cheap and I can always punch the thing and print the lines... zil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anatess2 Posted January 26, 2018 Report Share Posted January 26, 2018 (edited) 2 minutes ago, zil said: NOTE: Some inks are well-behaved on crappy paper and some behave poorly, and some are in between. Finding the right nib-ink-paper combination is an art. (In other words, if they want to keep using crappy paper, there are inks that will work better than others on said crappy paper.) I know what you mean. My blue-black ink doesn't feather on my journal whereas the blue ink does! The EF and F nibs are on the way. I have a feeling the EF nib can use any ink on el-cheapo paper and be just fine. Edited January 26, 2018 by anatess2 zil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zil Posted January 26, 2018 Report Share Posted January 26, 2018 1 minute ago, anatess2 said: Oh oh oh... I did see Sustainable Earth. Gotta try it! You know, you give me an idea on that Laser Jet paper. It is cheap and I can always punch the thing and print the lines... IMO, go down to Target, get a pack of the Mead 5 Star lined paper and try that first (take your FPs with you and scribble on a page - if it works, buy more, if not, order a 5-pack of the HP paper). anatess2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anatess2 Posted January 26, 2018 Report Share Posted January 26, 2018 Just now, zil said: IMO, go down to Target, get a pack of the Mead 5 Star lined paper and try that first (take your FPs with you and scribble on a page - if it works, buy more, if not, order a 5-pack of the HP paper). Headed there now! I'll get the Sustainable Earth too. So @Godless will love me. zil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anatess2 Posted January 26, 2018 Report Share Posted January 26, 2018 6 minutes ago, zil said: NOTE: Some inks are well-behaved on crappy paper and some behave poorly, and some are in between. Finding the right nib-ink-paper combination is an art. (In other words, if they want to keep using crappy paper, there are inks that will work better than others on said crappy paper.) I forgot to mention... I bought the Spring, Summer, and Fall sampler sets of the Private Reserve brand ink. That's 12 colors in all. I heard some stuff about it being more saturated than noodlers which I thought is a good thing but the reviews are saying it's not a good thing for the nib. Anyway... it's on the way so I'll find out soon enough. zil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zil Posted January 26, 2018 Report Share Posted January 26, 2018 Just now, anatess2 said: I forgot to mention... I bought the Spring, Summer, and Fall sampler sets of the Private Reserve brand ink. That's 12 colors in all. I heard some stuff about it being more saturated than noodlers which I thought is a good thing but the reviews are saying it's not a good thing for the nib. Anyway... it's on the way so I'll find out soon enough. More saturated = more likely to dry and clog the nib & feed. This can be tempered by adding a bit of distilled (very important - distilled, not tap) water. anatess2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anatess2 Posted January 26, 2018 Report Share Posted January 26, 2018 Just now, zil said: More saturated = more likely to dry and clog the nib & feed. This can be tempered by adding a bit of distilled (very important - distilled, not tap) water. Ohh... you're trying to help me save money... you're a great friend. zil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 27, 2018 Report Share Posted January 27, 2018 I have a special pen that @zil had sent me. It has become my favorite pen. I seriously call it my "super cool pen" and my family knows which one I'm talking about. Yesterday I took it with me on an inspection. I had to go into a darkened area and was reaching into my pockets for my flashlight. In the process I dropped the pen which went into the floorboards. As I was heading out I realized I was missing the pen. I went back and retraced my steps. I'm not going to explicitly say it was a spiritual prompting. So, I did NOT say that. But I felt curious about a slit in the floor. I shined my flashlight in that slit. There it was. Crisis averted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroTypical Posted January 27, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2018 Ok then, in the latest episode of The Simpsons (It's Season 29 Episode 11 if anyone still counts), Homer gets the lowest score on the "Personal Value Quotient" test (Sort of a beefed-up IQ test that measures your overall value as a person). Marge and Homer decide to focus on something to improve his score, and select penmanship. He eventually improves to the point of writing several romantic notes to her in longhand using a fountain pen. zil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroTypical Posted January 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 Harrumph. So, my continued downfall into the bottomless pit of fountain pen addiction continues. Today it threatened to disrupt my sacrament meeting experience, as I pulled out my notebook to doodle, and discovered the thing had run out of ink. So, I've made it through my first "boring black" pre-filled cartridge Zil sent me. So after church I watched the video and did all the cleaning things. I now bear the mark of acceptance into the fountain pen club, which is also the mark of shame for the club of those who aspire to the ranks of fastidious OCD. Harrumph, I say. zil and anatess2 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirkwood Posted January 28, 2018 Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 Some people are so addicted that they can't stop using even at church. I mean really, if you can't even stop while at your church services there is a serious problem. The picture is blurred to protect the not so innocent. NeuroTypical and anatess2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zil Posted January 28, 2018 Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 1 hour ago, NeuroTypical said: Harrumph. So, my continued downfall into the bottomless pit of fountain pen addiction continues. Today it threatened to disrupt my sacrament meeting experience, as I pulled out my notebook to doodle, and discovered the thing had run out of ink. So, I've made it through my first "boring black" pre-filled cartridge Zil sent me. So after church I watched the video and did all the cleaning things. I now bear the mark of acceptance into the fountain pen club, which is also the mark of shame for the club of those who aspire to the ranks of fastidious OCD. ... Harrumph, I say. You know, you could have just pulled the old cartridge out and chucked it, then inserted a new cartridge and called it good. Meanwhile, @mirkwood was apparently so upset by it that he didn't even notice that the cups you used had "Happy Halloween" on the sides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zil Posted January 28, 2018 Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 PS: Windex, Ammonia (1 part in 10 parts water), and/or washing your hair usually cleans ink off your fingers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirkwood Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 3 hours ago, zil said: You know, you could have just pulled the old cartridge out and chucked it, then inserted a new cartridge and called it good. Meanwhile, @mirkwood was apparently so upset by it that he didn't even notice that the cups you used had "Happy Halloween" on the sides. Oh no, I saw that. I was just too simply stunned at open addiction in church. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 4 hours ago, NeuroTypical said: Harrumph. So, my continued downfall into the bottomless pit of fountain pen addiction continues. Today it threatened to disrupt my sacrament meeting experience, as I pulled out my notebook to doodle, and discovered the thing had run out of ink. So, I've made it through my first "boring black" pre-filled cartridge Zil sent me. So after church I watched the video and did all the cleaning things. I now bear the mark of acceptance into the fountain pen club, which is also the mark of shame for the club of those who aspire to the ranks of fastidious OCD. Harrumph, I say. It all looks like drug paraphernalia to me. mirkwood 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroTypical Posted January 29, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 (edited) See, Mirk and Pam both get it! Edited January 29, 2018 by NeuroTypical pam and mirkwood 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zil Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 8 hours ago, NeuroTypical said: See, Mirk and Pam both get it! Actually, they fail (in the same way) to get it. mirkwood and NeuroTypical 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 6 minutes ago, zil said: Actually, they fail (in the same way) to get it. I call it like I see it. mirkwood and NeuroTypical 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anatess2 Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 17 hours ago, mirkwood said: Some people are so addicted that they can't stop using even at church. I mean really, if you can't even stop while at your church services there is a serious problem. The picture is blurred to protect the not so innocent. I love this picture. It's a picture of Godly diligence. Wouldn't be the same with a ballpoint... zil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anatess2 Posted February 7, 2018 Report Share Posted February 7, 2018 (edited) Hiya @zil, so, besides the blow dryer (I'm afraid the heat will bend my nib!), is there a faster way to dry the pen after cleaning? I got my inks today and my kids gave me a "I can't believe this!" look when I asked to borrow their pens for the day, so I only have 4 pens to try out 12 colors and I want to see all of them TODAY! Edit: Uhm... I actually only have 2 pens because I don't have a converter for the other ones. Gah gah gah! Edited February 7, 2018 by anatess2 zil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zil Posted February 7, 2018 Report Share Posted February 7, 2018 (edited) There's no real need for them to be completely dry. Details depend on how you clean them. If you pull the nib and feed out, then just wipe off the nib, and wrap a paper towel around the feed to get the worst off. If you don't pull the nib and feed, stuff the tip (carefully) into a wadded up paper towel so that the towel sucks out the water. Depending on how cautious you are, you can get a good grip with the nib end in your fist and flick water out the back of the feed - where the ink goes in (not my fault if your nib section goes flying and gets damaged!). Or you can use compressed air (can or compressor - hold on tight) to blow the worst of the water out, then a paper towel. The worst thing the water will do is dilute the ink until it's all been pushed out and the only thing still coming out is ink. Clearly, you need more pens - I never have this problem... Edited February 7, 2018 by zil anatess2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentOne Posted February 7, 2018 Report Share Posted February 7, 2018 On 1/28/2018 at 7:42 PM, pam said: It all looks like drug paraphernalia to me. I saw medical supplies... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anatess2 Posted February 7, 2018 Report Share Posted February 7, 2018 1 hour ago, SilentOne said: I saw medical supplies... I bought them too. Straight off of @zil's link. That woman is a drug pusher of the highest order. zil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anatess2 Posted February 10, 2018 Report Share Posted February 10, 2018 @NeuroTypical, time for the next stage! Check these out! NeuroTypical and zil 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirkwood Posted February 10, 2018 Report Share Posted February 10, 2018 crack addicts zil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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