I know some of your nerds have way too many pens. Tell me about your favorites. Bonus points if they don't cost $200+, because that's silly.
I have a lamy safari medium nib that is very nice to use, but considering getting something else because they are fun, good for drawing and I'm switching back to paper for notes anyway. Any favorite inks?
I can't remember the brand, but I got a Japanese pen with two ink color nibs and a mechanical pencil (!) cartridge inserted as the third thing. You just spun it to switch between and with the pencil you could click the end to extend it.
ooo, thats cool. I use either my fountain pen or a cheap zebra mechanical pencil. It would be nice to have a two in one.
What’s so good about fountain pens? Last time I used them, I was a literal child. I remember it being so freaking hard to use - at first nothing would come out, you had to hold it a specific way, then suddenly the ink went everywhere including my hand. Haven’t touched it since.
They are really nice to write with and to draw with. You don't really need to put any pressure for the ink to come out, so its quite smooth and less fatiguing than a ballpoint ime. The ink also looks great and flows consistently.
The one I have, the Lamy Safari, has a triangular grip so the nib is always in the right position to use. I've never had it leak.
I also used one as a kid, did not like really it, and perpetually got covered in ink too lol
Maybe I’ll give them another try.
And this unlocked another memory - You couldn’t keep it in one spot on the page because the ink would start pooling there! And the pages in the notebooks were thin so this would cover up the notes on the other side.
So I had to raise the pen if I had to stop for some reason, which meant I had to figure out the correct angle again to continue writing. I also sometimes just tore through the page with the tip because it was quite sharp.
The day I could use ball point pens were a blessing, but even better were gel pens because they were way more comfortable than the ball point pens.
I also sometimes just tore through the page with the tip because it was quite sharp.
You may have been using a calligraphy nib. The one I have, and what most people use now, is far more rounded at the end. They are far easier to write with. You'd have to try to tear through the page.
I used to be really into pens, but one time I went to a pen store in a rich village and the store owner didn’t want to sell to me because I didn’t look like the rich people that lived there. I switched from fountain pen to rollerball because the cartridges are more durable.
Kaweco Sport in brass with a fine nib. I use Noodler's Ink in Brevity Black. Love it.
I don't think I could use a brass pen, but I see they have other metals. hmmm
sorry best I can do is mechanical pencils :pawn-stars-guy:
(but seriously I have been enjoying the couple kuru toga pencils I picked up a while back. Still can't decide if the lead rotating thing is a gimmick but they are nice to use regardless)
I was tempted to get one of those, but I kind of like when the lead gets thicker once its worn down on a side
I got some EDC nonsense because I actually did need a pocket knife and a flashlight and was like, "fine I'll piggyback on the market created by these nerds". My conclusion is that there are very good Chinese brands that reach a nice compromise between quality and cost. For example, a very nice sofirn flashlight from AliExpress for $20 is just as good as random ones on Amazon for $80.
I have no need for fancy pens but if I did I'd start looking at decent Chinese brands.
Edit: based on 10 minutes of screwing around I'd buy a $5 Jinhao X450 or two and that would probably be enough for me forever.
Yeah I've been looking at some Chinese pens, jinhao seems good and so does Asvine. I think I'll eventually order a few from Ali because they are so cheap.
In retrospect I didn't answer your question at all since I don't even own a fountain pen but I'm glad if I was in any way helpful despite this!
I'm probably gonna get one now that I know it's just $5 and I can use it as an excuse to declutter my army of half-used ballpoints. Pretty stoked to have ~3 writing implements instead of several cups full. Gonna donate the cups to organizing supplies. So thanks for reminding me that I can leverage nerd things to organize my spaces!
Lamy 2000. Yes it's $150, but it's the only fountain pen you need. It's perfect. The design hasn't changed in 50+ years. There is no pen better imo. I have used mine for over a decade and it still feels new.
I watched like a 20 minute long video of someone geeking out over how well it is designed lol. I'll keep it in mind.
Everywhere I have looked its like $200+ now though(edit: ah, I see its on amazon for cheaper).
well i was going to recommend you a platinum century because i'm pretty sure i got mine for a hell of a lot cheaper than $200 but apparently that's about what they go for now. if you want something fun with kind of different vibes, TWSBI ecos are quite solid. i'm a sucker for inks that do cool things, so i gravitate towards the flashiest inks made. some favorites are j. herbin emerald of chivor, one of the craziest inks of all time; noodler's baystate blue, which is so vividly blue it's sort of a crime and will stain anything it touches; sailor shikiori yamadori, which is a teal ink with some crazy copper sheening. tomoe river paper is also an interesting thing, ink looks kind of crazy on it. fountain pens were a special interest for a while for me.
I saw the Ecos, they look cool, and so do the TWSBI vacuum filler ones.
I've been pretty boring with the ink I use, just the Lamy black as I still have a bunch of cartridges of it. Gonna go to the pen store close to me and look through some inks some day. I need a converter for my safari too.
I have my grandfather's Parker 51 and it's an utterly amazing pen and looks like I'm writing with a pen from a world where the Soviets won the space race..
Big fan of my Kaweco AL Sport. It’s a small one so not great for big hands but it’s solid aluminum body so fairly heavy and stable in the hand. The cap screws on closed so it doesn’t dry out easily either. Consider buying one size nib bigger than usual, my Fine nib can get scratchy.
