Geekhack Handwriting Thread and Fountain Pen Thread

[graefeln]

Here's a picture of said TWSBI with the entire FC nib unit. You can see an extra black line between the metal collar and the pen body itself; that's the O-Ring I had to add, as without it, there was some play between the collar and the rest of the pen.

Any idea what size o-ring you had to use? If not, I am sure I can figure it out. I am assuming it won't be difficult to figure out how to position the o-ring onto the nib set when I go to try it out?
Thank you again for all the help/advice.

[Larken]

I used o-rings I already had from keyboard mods in the past. Forgot what size they were, but they weren't a perfect fit (its stretched slightly around the barrel end, so something slightly bigger might be better; though screwing the pen cap on with a bigger o-ring might be a problem, so I'd stick with the keycap mod size). Not hard to figure out where it goes, so no worries.

[Syribo]

GUYS!! Very important, hope some people see the in time.
http://www.isellpens.com/Ink-Sample-s/1860.htm?searching=Y&sort=1&cat=1860&show=100&page=1

Isellpens.com is having a sale on ink samples big time. 25 to 50 cents for 3ml of ink. Various companies. There's more for 75 cents too. I literally bought thirty samples all for $19 shipped. $19 for thirty 3ml vials of ink! Crazy! Some are sold out, it will tell you when you try to add to cart, but I got almost everyone I wanted. Hurry up!

[THSdrummer]

GUYS!! Very important, hope some people see the in time.
http://www.isellpens.com/Ink-Sample-s/1860.htm?searching=Y&sort=1&cat=1860&show=100&page=1

Isellpens.com is having a sale on ink samples big time. 25 to 50 cents for 3ml of ink. Various companies. There's more for 75 cents too. I literally bought thirty samples all for $19 shipped. $19 for thirty 3ml vials of ink! Crazy! Some are sold out, it will tell you when you try to add to cart, but I got almost everyone I wanted. Hurry up!

Dang!! I'm headed to class right now. Hopefully some good stuff is still up in two hours.

[graefeln]

Tracking was wrong, the pen came today instead.


When I was writing, two drops plopped onto the paper, but  that all... hopefully it won't be a continuing problem.

[FrostyToast]

May I ask why you capitalize every word? It's an odd choice.

[graefeln]

May I ask why you capitalize every word? It's an odd choice.

I honestly couldn't tell you. I have been doing it since elementary school and it just looks "right" to me at this point...
Maybe since I have a tendency to write on the smaller side, it allows me to easily distinguish separate words?

[Binge]

Thanks for the heads up on this ink sale Syribo.

[Syribo]

Thanks for the heads up on this ink sale Syribo.

(Attachment Link)

ohh another penpal. I will message you too Have about three others from here too, loving this so far

So I may have gone overboard with that ink sample sale from Isellpens... I may or may not have gotten like 30 samples.. then went back and got 30 more samples.... I couldn't help it! 50 cents for 3ml of Noodlers, Diamine, etc.. I COULD NOT RESIST!! Plus, I love samples more than full bottles. I like having a ton of different colors

I got myself my first vintage pen. An Esterbrook I got from eBay. I wasn't going to get one at all, but I saw this one had a 9788 nib, flexible medium, and usually that nib sells for as much alone as the pen and nib together did. It should be in perfect shape and writing condition. Should get it in a few days.

Also, hopefully Goulet will send me a replacement 1.1mm Lamy stub nib. I measured out my first Lamy nib, and the new one.. the new one is DEFINITELY bigger than 1.1mm. So it must have been mislabeled as a 1.1, but is actually a 1.5. Man I have bad luck with random crap like that lol

[terrpn]

Thanks for the heads up on this ink sale Syribo.

(Attachment Link)

ohh another penpal. I will message you too Have about three others from here too, loving this so far

So I may have gone overboard with that ink sample sale from Isellpens... I may or may not have gotten like 30 samples.. then went back and got 30 more samples.... I couldn't help it! 50 cents for 3ml of Noodlers, Diamine, etc.. I COULD NOT RESIST!! Plus, I love samples more than full bottles. I like having a ton of different colors

I got myself my first vintage pen. An Esterbrook I got from eBay. I wasn't going to get one at all, but I saw this one had a 9788 nib, flexible medium, and usually that nib sells for as much alone as the pen and nib together did. It should be in perfect shape and writing condition. Should get it in a few days.

Also, hopefully Goulet will send me a replacement 1.1mm Lamy stub nib. I measured out my first Lamy nib, and the new one.. the new one is DEFINITELY bigger than 1.1mm. So it must have been mislabeled as a 1.1, but is actually a 1.5. Man I have bad luck with random crap like that lol

nice writing binge.............

esties are great bang for the buck vintage.............if you get one that has not been abused too much.

pretty much the majority of all the 9XXX series nibs are decent writers- i prefer the 9284, 9788, 9048 and the 9128 somewhat out of that series the best

you are correct though that the 9788 has really went up in value and is a much desired nib. i have a couple and really like them, however would not necessarily call them flexible, springy for sure though. Back in the day I use to pick up Esties from Antique Stores, etc. for .50 cent apiece.............boy have times changed

a decent, no frills vintage pen that is still inexpensive is the Sheaffer Lifetime Balance...............great 14k nibs. I put a a couple on a Noodlers Konrad that accepted it fairly well and writes great. Even if they do not fit the best you can tweak the nib over a ink pen, etc. to fit better (widen) on the feed vs. hacking away at the feed. The only thing is you do not have much feed showing depending on anything snaller than a #5 nib (Konrads or Ahabs)

[Syribo]

Thanks for the heads up on this ink sale Syribo.

(Attachment Link)

ohh another penpal. I will message you too Have about three others from here too, loving this so far

So I may have gone overboard with that ink sample sale from Isellpens... I may or may not have gotten like 30 samples.. then went back and got 30 more samples.... I couldn't help it! 50 cents for 3ml of Noodlers, Diamine, etc.. I COULD NOT RESIST!! Plus, I love samples more than full bottles. I like having a ton of different colors

I got myself my first vintage pen. An Esterbrook I got from eBay. I wasn't going to get one at all, but I saw this one had a 9788 nib, flexible medium, and usually that nib sells for as much alone as the pen and nib together did. It should be in perfect shape and writing condition. Should get it in a few days.

Also, hopefully Goulet will send me a replacement 1.1mm Lamy stub nib. I measured out my first Lamy nib, and the new one.. the new one is DEFINITELY bigger than 1.1mm. So it must have been mislabeled as a 1.1, but is actually a 1.5. Man I have bad luck with random crap like that lol

nice writing binge.............

esties are great bang for the buck vintage.............if you get one that has not been abused too much.

pretty much the majority of all the 9XXX series nibs are decent writers- i prefer the 9284, 9788, 9048 and the 9128 somewhat out of that series the best

you are correct though that the 9788 has really went up in value and is a much desired nib. i have a couple and really like them, however would not necessarily call them flexible, springy for sure though. Back in the day I use to pick up Esties from Antique Stores, etc. for .50 cent apiece.............boy have times changed

a decent, no frills vintage pen that is still inexpensive is the Sheaffer Lifetime Balance...............great 14k nibs. I put a a couple on a Noodlers Konrad that accepted it fairly well and writes great. Even if they do not fit the best you can tweak the nib over a ink pen, etc. to fit better (widen) on the feed vs. hacking away at the feed. The only thing is you do not have much feed showing depending on anything snaller than a #5 nib (Konrads or Ahabs)

Is the flex on the 9788 nib better than the Ahab's stock nib, at least? Ugh I hope I like it. I actually really like stub nibs more than anything right now. So I may see which Estie stub nibs seem good and try to track one down at some point. By the way, I don't have any pens with sacs in them.. The Esterbrooks have a sac, right? I don't get them really lol. Do they have to be replaced eventually? Is there a special way I need to clean out/flush this pen out compared to my Safaris, Metropolitan, Jinhaos, etc?

[CPTBadAss]

I think the 9788 is a great steel flex nib. Much better than the stock Noodler's nib. The Esterbrook stub nibs are great. I wish I had more haha.

Here's some information on pen sac replacement. Yes they need to be replaced and yes your Esterbrook will have a sac. And you need to flush the pens with the little lever....a lot. It's kind of a pain in the ass to be honest.

[Larken]

And you need to flush the pens with the little lever....a lot. It's kind of a pain in the ass to be honest.

sacs and levers are the main reason why I decided to stick to modern pens instead. I got my first vintage flex a while back, gave it away shortly after; though I gave it away because of how small the pen was for my hand. Working those little levers is a real chore for those who like to change out their inks often.

On a different note, a few additions to my EDC; a Prera I eyedroppered and reground as a left-footed oblique, and the Justus 95 I received a few days ago.

[VinnyCordeiro]

I don't have the skill nor the lighting setup for nice/proper photos, but there it is:







This nib will need some care, it have hard starts even between words and I believe the tines are misaligned. :-/

EDIT: only now I realized that I forgot the horizontal trace on the last T of the word "Amethyst".

[CPTBadAss]

That eye-dropper Prera is awesome Larken. It makes that barrel look so good.

[iri]

I don't have the skill nor the lighting setup for nice/proper photos, but there it is:

(Attachment Link)

(Attachment Link)

(Attachment Link)

This nib will need some care, it have hard starts even between words and I believe the tines are misaligned. :-/

EDIT: only now I realized that I forgot the horizontal trace on the last T of the word "Amethyst".

If only Pelikan Souverain didn't have those screw on caps, I'd already have an M800.

[VinnyCordeiro]

If only Pelikan Souverain didn't have those screw on caps, I'd already have an M800.

I like screw caps.

[Binge]

And you need to flush the pens with the little lever....a lot. It's kind of a pain in the ass to be honest.

sacs and levers are the main reason why I decided to stick to modern pens instead. I got my first vintage flex a while back, gave it away shortly after; though I gave it away because of how small the pen was for my hand. Working those little levers is a real chore for those who like to change out their inks often.

On a different note, a few additions to my EDC; a Prera I eyedroppered and reground as a left-footed oblique, and the Justus 95 I received a few days ago.

Show Image

I still want a Justus... hhnnnggg flat tops....

[Rayoui]

I don't have the skill nor the lighting setup for nice/proper photos, but there it is:

(Attachment Link)

(Attachment Link)

(Attachment Link)

This nib will need some care, it have hard starts even between words and I believe the tines are misaligned. :-/

EDIT: only now I realized that I forgot the horizontal trace on the last T of the word "Amethyst".

I have a green M800 with a M nib that had terrible hard starts almost every time I picked up the pen from the page. Turns out the nib had some terrible "baby's bottom" going on. I sent it to Mike Masuyama and he adjusted it so it so it no longer has hard starts. Unfortunately, as nice of a pen as it is, I still don't particularly care for how it handles. I'd actually like to sell it because it's pretty much brand new and it just sits in its box in my desk.

[VinnyCordeiro]

I have a green M800 with a M nib that had terrible hard starts almost every time I picked up the pen from the page. Turns out the nib had some terrible "baby's bottom" going on. I sent it to Mike Masuyama and he adjusted it so it so it no longer has hard starts. Unfortunately, as nice of a pen as it is, I still don't particularly care for how it handles. I'd actually like to sell it because it's pretty much brand new and it just sits in its box in my desk.

I'm planning to go to the USA next year and probably will make it coincide with a pen show. I can't afford anymore paying import taxes when receiving pens through Brazilian postal service.

[suicidal_orange]

Don't suppose anyone knows anything about old Parkers?  I just got this lovely 45 in the mail (after complaining all my pens were dead the other night I went to ebay...) but as described it's stuck closed.  I was expecting the section to be attached to the body in which case I would have heated it and hopefully all good, but actually the section is attached to the black bit on the other end and the gold in the middle spins round it



I have a nice reverse oblique nib to go in it but no point if I can't add ink!

If not any tips on opening it does anyone know what the bit at the bottom is called so I can search better?

[terrpn]

Don't suppose anyone knows anything about old Parkers?  I just got this lovely 45 in the mail (after complaining all my pens were dead the other night I went to ebay...) but as described it's stuck closed.  I was expecting the section to be attached to the body in which case I would have heated it and hopefully all good, but actually the section is attached to the black bit on the other end and the gold in the middle spins round it

Show Image

I have a nice reverse oblique nib to go in it but no point if I can't add ink!

If not any tips on opening it does anyone know what the bit at the bottom is called so I can search better?

Drop that sucker in a warm bath of water with a few drops of dish soap and let it soak over might. If that does not work get you a pair of section pliers, an old bicycle inner tube, cut you out a nice piece, hold the section with the sections pliers and crank down turning the the barrel or vice versa to separate. It does sound like though that someone cross threaded when putting back together and no heat, soaking is going to help that, but maybe some brute force.



I have even heated water in a microwave, set the pen in for a soak till the water is a little past the section, however never do this with HR or celluloid pens :-\

Are you talking about the clutch keeps spinning between the section and the barrel? If the section is tight, will not unscrew from the barrel............, but the clutch ring is spinning that is pretty much a dead give away that is is cross threaded :'(

Worse case scenario is you can always unscrew the nib and put in another 45 if you have to. Looks like a 14k oblique which are very hard to find.

Also if the black section becomes damaged or is damaged they are easy to find and replace.

The 14k plate "cap and barrel" are not cheap, so you might want to be careful.

I have "lots" of Parker 45's and love them. Very under rated pen.

The factory 14k fine italic and obliques are my favorite 45 nibs along with a 14k/BBB. Puts down a gob of ink :cool:

[terrpn]

Thanks for the heads up on this ink sale Syribo.

(Attachment Link)

ohh another penpal. I will message you too Have about three others from here too, loving this so far

So I may have gone overboard with that ink sample sale from Isellpens... I may or may not have gotten like 30 samples.. then went back and got 30 more samples.... I couldn't help it! 50 cents for 3ml of Noodlers, Diamine, etc.. I COULD NOT RESIST!! Plus, I love samples more than full bottles. I like having a ton of different colors

I got myself my first vintage pen. An Esterbrook I got from eBay. I wasn't going to get one at all, but I saw this one had a 9788 nib, flexible medium, and usually that nib sells for as much alone as the pen and nib together did. It should be in perfect shape and writing condition. Should get it in a few days.

Also, hopefully Goulet will send me a replacement 1.1mm Lamy stub nib. I measured out my first Lamy nib, and the new one.. the new one is DEFINITELY bigger than 1.1mm. So it must have been mislabeled as a 1.1, but is actually a 1.5. Man I have bad luck with random crap like that lol

nice writing binge.............

esties are great bang for the buck vintage.............if you get one that has not been abused too much.

pretty much the majority of all the 9XXX series nibs are decent writers- i prefer the 9284, 9788, 9048 and the 9128 somewhat out of that series the best

you are correct though that the 9788 has really went up in value and is a much desired nib. i have a couple and really like them, however would not necessarily call them flexible, springy for sure though. Back in the day I use to pick up Esties from Antique Stores, etc. for .50 cent apiece.............boy have times changed

a decent, no frills vintage pen that is still inexpensive is the Sheaffer Lifetime Balance...............great 14k nibs. I put a a couple on a Noodlers Konrad that accepted it fairly well and writes great. Even if they do not fit the best you can tweak the nib over a ink pen, etc. to fit better (widen) on the feed vs. hacking away at the feed. The only thing is you do not have much feed showing depending on anything snaller than a #5 nib (Konrads or Ahabs)

Is the flex on the 9788 nib better than the Ahab's stock nib, at least? Ugh I hope I like it. I actually really like stub nibs more than anything right now. So I may see which Estie stub nibs seem good and try to track one down at some point. By the way, I don't have any pens with sacs in them.. The Esterbrooks have a sac, right? I don't get them really lol. Do they have to be replaced eventually? Is there a special way I need to clean out/flush this pen out compared to my Safaris, Metropolitan, Jinhaos, etc?

if you like stubs i recommend the estie 9314f or 9314m.............relief stubs i think they are called?



http://www.ebay.com/itm/Esterbrook-Renew-Point-Refill-Medium-Stub-9314M-/301772164379?hash=item464305cd1b:g:vtQAAOSw5ZBWJDuC

great little writers

glad to hear people are scared of sac pens...............more for me, they are easy to change (even with bad hands)

[suicidal_orange]

Thanks terrpn!

The nib fitted is a standard one, I'd guess it's a medium - potato pics are great )  The pen seems really well looked after though and there's no hint of a gap where the parts meet so I'm pretty sure it's not cross threaded.

I don't know what a clutch is but it's the whole of the gold barrel which spins (it's not exactly lose but not hard to spin when trying to undo it with normal force) while the black bit right at the bottom is attached to the black nib section.

I'm going out now but will give it a bath overnight and hopefully that will sort it

[CPTBadAss]

There's a huge difference between scared of sac pens and sac pens being a pain to flush compared to piston or c/c pens. If you like using fun ink colors, cleaning out that sac is a pain because you have to use that little lever to clean the sac out. It would be absurd to replace the sac every time I replaced an ink color.

[THSdrummer]

Just ordered an EF nib for my TWSBI Vac 700, and some red ink samples. Looks like it's time to tune my grading pen, and find the correct ink for the job.

[Syribo]

if you like stubs i recommend the estie 9314f or 9314m.............relief stubs i think they are called?

Show Image

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Esterbrook-Renew-Point-Refill-Medium-Stub-9314M-/301772164379?hash=item464305cd1b:g:vtQAAOSw5ZBWJDuC

great little writers

glad to hear people are scared of sac pens...............more for me, they are easy to change (even with bad hands) ;D

I actually have that 9314m nib on my wishlist on Anderson Pens haha. I loooove me some stub nibs. I need to try an oblique nib too sometime. So far I love stub nibs the most by far.

There's a huge difference between scared of sac pens and sac pens being a pain to flush compared to piston or c/c pens. If you like using fun ink colors, cleaning out that sac is a pain because you have to use that little lever to clean the sac out. It would be absurd to replace the sac every time I replaced an ink color.

See, I'm one of those people that change out my inks A LOT.. My fingers are always covered in ink now. So the thing with the sacs being more annoying to clean out every time you want to change kinda sucks. I'll probably put a color in it that I like more than anything, and use that one color mainly in it. But.. I always have a hard time with that lol.



I can't believe the ink sample sale from Isellpens actually was legit and I got so much stuff... I just got tracking info yesterday, so the ~60 sample vials are on the way. 60 samples for less than $40 holy crap! I don't even remember which colors I picked, some were really random but for 50 cents I couldn't pass it up.

I also am ashamed to admit this but.. I had to make myself a spreadsheet in Excel to keep track of the ink samples I have. They're all sorted alphabetically by brand, and then name.. Now I have to input like 60 new ones, and re-order everything, this is gonna be fun.

I even added a swatch next to each color with the color that it is LOL Yes, I have a lot of time on my hands stuck in bed with a crippled leg. Did anyone else end up getting any ink from that sale? They also had bottles of ink for half price, along with a sale on Rhodia and some FP's.

[terrpn]

There's a huge difference between scared of sac pens and sac pens being a pain to flush compared to piston or c/c pens. If you like using fun ink colors, cleaning out that sac is a pain because you have to use that little lever to clean the sac out. It would be absurd to replace the sac every time I replaced an ink color.

i am from a different generation.....................and i did not say a better generation-- we did not swap out inks in-out sac pens like people do today. i have never seen people swap out inks in vintage sac pens like people do today

a lot of these new, exotic inks will melt a rubber sac over time unless you have installed a newer silicone sac, however saying that there are still black-blue, traditional colors that will melt a rubber sac

if you are changing inks that often get a dip nib and a holder.............nothing more fun than using a vintage, steel dip pen in a holder for little money; flex writing at its best

i pretty much keep black-blue in my sac pens and like CPTBadAss pointed out use my PF, AF, CC fillers for pens i swap out inks more often

9788's are fairly flexible for what they are, noodlers flex not so much unless you mod them.

i have a couple vintage japanese ED from'40's-'50's that are pretty flexy though

[Syribo]

There's a huge difference between scared of sac pens and sac pens being a pain to flush compared to piston or c/c pens. If you like using fun ink colors, cleaning out that sac is a pain because you have to use that little lever to clean the sac out. It would be absurd to replace the sac every time I replaced an ink color.

i am from a different generation.....................and i did not say a better generation-- we did not swap out inks in-out sac pens like people do today. i have never seen people swap out inks in vintage sac pens like people do today

a lot of these new, exotic inks will melt a rubber sac over time unless you have installed a newer silicone sac, however saying that there are still black-blue, traditional colors that will melt a rubber sac

if you are changing inks that often get a dip nib and a holder.............nothing more fun than using a vintage, steel dip pen in a holder for little money; flex writing at its best

i pretty much keep black-blue in my sac pens and like CPTBadAss pointed out use my PF, AF, CC fillers for pens i swap out inks more often

9788's are fairly flexible for what they are, noodlers flex not so much unless you mod them.

i have a couple vintage japanese ED from'40's-'50's that are pretty flexy though

Hm, so I wonder if any of these inks that I have and use a lot will be bad for the sac in the Esterbrook when I get it.. now I'm a little nervous haha. Maybe I'll keep something simple in it.  But I have a hard time holding myself back from switching out inks often... I just think it's so fun to be able to use a different color whenever I want.

I've actually been kinda interested in dip pens for that reason.. but I imagine they take a little bit of a learning curve to use right? I keep seeing sets of these Zebra nibs for pretty cheap, and people seem to like them... hmm, maybe some day!

[Syribo]

Oh I'm also a little worried about just how tiny the Esterbrook is going to be. It's an SJ so I know that it's smaller than the other pens.. and I have really really long fingers (I have hands proportionate to being a 6'1" female).. so this will be an interesting pen to hold compared to the giant Jinhaos and stuff that I have right now.

I really wanted a pink or purple one lol of course.. but I only saw like one purple Esterbrook and it was either insanely expensive or it was just for parts.

I actually did find a pink Jinhao that I like a lot... but I'm not sure if the specific model of it lets you swap out the nib or not.. and I'd like to switch it out with a Goulet nib or something. I have to say, my cheap Jinhao with a Goulet nib on it is like.. the smoothest writer I have.

[iri]

I have 22.5cm hands and Esties are fine for me.

[terrpn]

i have fairly large hands........with my SJ and cap posted no issues

as far as ink.............just ink up with your favorite and try to stay in the same color family.

when switching up just do a couple repeated cool water fills with the lever pulling water in the sac, rinsing and on the last fill give it a couple seconds so any ink will dissolve and go for it. life is to short.

if it fries the sac we'll show you how to r/r a new one. have fun with it and enjoy

i have not used it for a long time, but diamine seems to be ok in older pens

[Larken]

That eye-dropper Prera is awesome Larken. It makes that barrel look so good.

  that was what I thought when I decided to eyedropper it; didn't look quite as good with a con-50 inside. I had lots of Sailor Souten and figured it would look good in the light blue prera that I got from a giveaway. I'm surprised that it's about 1/3 empty already, given it doesn't see as much use as my other pens.

I still want a Justus... hhnnnggg flat tops....

Its a really nice pen, but if you're looking at it for flex, you might be disappointed. Contrary to the few reviews out there on the web, it is still stiffer than the Soft Fine on a Custom 74 at the softest setting, and no where near the flexibility of a FA nib on a 912 (which is a really nice flat top as well ). The pen's size, balance, and the tension bar function however, makes for a perfect everyday writer for me, so much so that I added flex and reground my 912FA to needlepoint-ish to serve as a fancy writing pen.

There's a huge difference between scared of sac pens and sac pens being a pain to flush compared to piston or c/c pens. If you like using fun ink colors, cleaning out that sac is a pain because you have to use that little lever to clean the sac out. It would be absurd to replace the sac every time I replaced an ink color.

i am from a different generation.....................and i did not say a better generation-- we did not swap out inks in-out sac pens like people do today. i have never seen people swap out inks in vintage sac pens like people do today

a lot of these new, exotic inks will melt a rubber sac over time unless you have installed a newer silicone sac, however saying that there are still black-blue, traditional colors that will melt a rubber sac

if you are changing inks that often get a dip nib and a holder.............nothing more fun than using a vintage, steel dip pen in a holder for little money; flex writing at its best

i pretty much keep black-blue in my sac pens and like CPTBadAss pointed out use my PF, AF, CC fillers for pens i swap out inks more often

9788's are fairly flexible for what they are, noodlers flex not so much unless you mod them.

i have a couple vintage japanese ED from'40's-'50's that are pretty flexy though

Hm, so I wonder if any of these inks that I have and use a lot will be bad for the sac in the Esterbrook when I get it.. now I'm a little nervous haha. Maybe I'll keep something simple in it.  But I have a hard time holding myself back from switching out inks often... I just think it's so fun to be able to use a different color whenever I want.

I've actually been kinda interested in dip pens for that reason.. but I imagine they take a little bit of a learning curve to use right? I keep seeing sets of these Zebra nibs for pretty cheap, and people seem to like them... hmm, maybe some day!

Like CBA said, its not so much daunting than tedious to flush a sac pen, and I'm not really the type of user who'd switch out inks often either, except for the phase that I go through a few for each new pen where I try to decide which ink I want to use for that pen/nib by testing it on my usual paper, before committing to one permanently. Even that is rather time consuming, given how many flushes it takes to completely (if even possible) clean the ink out from the sac.   )

There are some inks with bad rep for melting sacs on their own, but keep in mind that even a safe ink might give problems if it's mixed and reacts with the residue of another safe ink left in the sac. For that reason alone, I'm inclined to stick with just one ink for such pens, and I do the ink switching mostly on C/C pens that can be flushed easily with a bulb syringe.

I agree with giving dip pens a try too. Like terrpn said, flex at its best, for little money. I found that its a good way to up your game with flex writing given how less forgiving such nibs are on your pressure control. After an hour or two acclimatising to a dip pen, it conditions your muscle memory enough to exert pressure at the right strokes that it carries over fountain pen use; I was very surprised to find how much easier it is to use my 912FA in comparison after that.

The ZebraG are fairly nice; their popularity is mostly due to how they can be fitted into Jinhaos and Noodlers to make frankenpens, but they will corrode after a short while and will need to be replaced. I haven't had much experience with other dip nibs, other that the brause ef66, which is fairly decent as well.

[Binge]

That eye-dropper Prera is awesome Larken. It makes that barrel look so good.

  that was what I thought when I decided to eyedropper it; didn't look quite as good with a con-50 inside. I had lots of Sailor Souten and figured it would look good in the light blue prera that I got from a giveaway. I'm surprised that it's about 1/3 empty already, given it doesn't see as much use as my other pens.

I still want a Justus... hhnnnggg flat tops....

Its a really nice pen, but if you're looking at it for flex, you might be disappointed. Contrary to the few reviews out there on the web, it is still stiffer than the Soft Fine on a Custom 74 at the softest setting, and no where near the flexibility of a FA nib on a 912 (which is a really nice flat top as well ). The pen's size, balance, and the tension bar function however, makes for a perfect everyday writer for me, so much so that I added flex and reground my 912FA to needlepoint-ish to serve as a fancy writing pen.

There's a huge difference between scared of sac pens and sac pens being a pain to flush compared to piston or c/c pens. If you like using fun ink colors, cleaning out that sac is a pain because you have to use that little lever to clean the sac out. It would be absurd to replace the sac every time I replaced an ink color.

i am from a different generation.....................and i did not say a better generation-- we did not swap out inks in-out sac pens like people do today. i have never seen people swap out inks in vintage sac pens like people do today

a lot of these new, exotic inks will melt a rubber sac over time unless you have installed a newer silicone sac, however saying that there are still black-blue, traditional colors that will melt a rubber sac

if you are changing inks that often get a dip nib and a holder.............nothing more fun than using a vintage, steel dip pen in a holder for little money; flex writing at its best

i pretty much keep black-blue in my sac pens and like CPTBadAss pointed out use my PF, AF, CC fillers for pens i swap out inks more often

9788's are fairly flexible for what they are, noodlers flex not so much unless you mod them.

i have a couple vintage japanese ED from'40's-'50's that are pretty flexy though

Hm, so I wonder if any of these inks that I have and use a lot will be bad for the sac in the Esterbrook when I get it.. now I'm a little nervous haha. Maybe I'll keep something simple in it.  But I have a hard time holding myself back from switching out inks often... I just think it's so fun to be able to use a different color whenever I want.

I've actually been kinda interested in dip pens for that reason.. but I imagine they take a little bit of a learning curve to use right? I keep seeing sets of these Zebra nibs for pretty cheap, and people seem to like them... hmm, maybe some day!

Like CBA said, its not so much daunting than tedious to flush a sac pen, and I'm not really the type of user who'd switch out inks often either, except for the phase that I go through a few for each new pen where I try to decide which ink I want to use for that pen/nib by testing it on my usual paper, before committing to one permanently. Even that is rather time consuming, given how many flushes it takes to completely (if even possible) clean the ink out from the sac.   )

There are some inks with bad rep for melting sacs on their own, but keep in mind that even a safe ink might give problems if it's mixed and reacts with the residue of another safe ink left in the sac. For that reason alone, I'm inclined to stick with just one ink for such pens, and I do the ink switching mostly on C/C pens that can be flushed easily with a bulb syringe.

I agree with giving dip pens a try too. Like terrpn said, flex at its best, for little money. I found that its a good way to up your game with flex writing given how less forgiving such nibs are on your pressure control. After an hour or two acclimatising to a dip pen, it conditions your muscle memory enough to exert pressure at the right strokes that it carries over fountain pen use; I was very surprised to find how much easier it is to use my 912FA in comparison after that.

The ZebraG are fairly nice; their popularity is mostly due to how they can be fitted into Jinhaos and Noodlers to make frankenpens, but they will corrode after a short while and will need to be replaced. I haven't had much experience with other dip nibs, other that the brause ef66, which is fairly decent as well.

Not looking for flex. I don't really dig flex any longer.

[digi]

I was using this pen today, **** was crazy dope:

[Larken]

Not looking for flex. I don't really dig flex any longer.

In that case, its a great pen. Its also the first nib in all the pens I have that I am hesitant to tune, even a little, given how perfect it writes out of the box.

[Syribo]

Oh yeah, I forgot I got this... I got a little owl wax seal stamp and wax to seal envelopes I just thought it would be fun to try. Got pink wax, of course, to go with the pink stationery Anyone else tried it before just for fun?

[iri]

What paper do you guys use?

[THSdrummer]

Oh yeah, I forgot I got this... I got a little owl wax seal stamp and wax to seal envelopes I just thought it would be fun to try. Got pink wax, of course, to go with the pink stationery Anyone else tried it before just for fun?

I was just chatting with someone else about this. I keep thinking I should give it a go. If my new pen pals continue to write me, I might pick up a cheap seal and some wax. The tough part is I use basic business stationary, so I feel like a nice wax seal would be out of place on it. I'm just not sure what sort of stationary would be a good go-to for pen pals, but not kill the bank.

What paper do you guys use?

This is blasphemy around here, but I use the college rule paper you get from Target and such for school. I do have a Rhodia 11.7" X 8.3" top spiral to really test out inks or to write for my pleasure, but otherwise I tend to use cheap stationary. I need to find something to upgrade to, but without killing the bank.

[CPTBadAss]

What paper do you guys use?

This HP printer paper work has is great. For high end papers, I like Rhodia and Clairefontaine.

[terrpn]

Like CBA said, its not so much daunting than tedious to flush a sac pen, and I'm not really the type of user who'd switch out inks often either, except for the phase that I go through a few for each new pen where I try to decide which ink I want to use for that pen/nib by testing it on my usual paper, before committing to one permanently. Even that is rather time consuming, given how many flushes it takes to completely (if even possible) clean the ink out from the sac.   )

There are some inks with bad rep for melting sacs on their own, but keep in mind that even a safe ink might give problems if it's mixed and reacts with the residue of another safe ink left in the sac. For that reason alone, I'm inclined to stick with just one ink for such pens, and I do the ink switching mostly on C/C pens that can be flushed easily with a bulb syringe.

I agree with giving dip pens a try too. Like terrpn said, flex at its best, for little money. I found that its a good way to up your game with flex writing given how less forgiving such nibs are on your pressure control. After an hour or two acclimatising to a dip pen, it conditions your muscle memory enough to exert pressure at the right strokes that it carries over fountain pen use; I was very surprised to find how much easier it is to use my 912FA in comparison after that.

The ZebraG are fairly nice; their popularity is mostly due to how they can be fitted into Jinhaos and Noodlers to make frankenpens, but they will corrode after a short while and will need to be replaced. I haven't had much experience with other dip nibs, other that the brause ef66, which is fairly decent as well.
[/quote]

******************************************************************

great post

staying with one ink is fairly important at least in the older latex sac pens cannot be stressed enough, but please know that i have done "that exact thing" and my old latex sac pens are still pliable after 20 years and hold a fair amount of ink

great point on the zebra chrome/steel nibs.............they will corrode big time. i ordered some of the gold colored (titanium) ones, which are a little more pricey, but hopefully will not corrode?

i have every once in a while do a water rinse with a little silicone lubricant for the sac if i feel it hardening up, but then you have to go back and do a water rinse with a couple drops of soap to remove the lube from the feed.

i wish more people would purchase and use the older-vintage sac pens, but i do understand and respect the reason for being apprehensive or go in another direction.

[Syribo]

At least I now know to just try not to switch out inks and stuff in the Esterbrook when I get it I'm trying to decide on just one ink to stick in there, and stick with it until it's empty. This is exactly why I buy sample bottles and not full bottles, I can't commit haha.

I just fell in love with another color I finally tried for the first time.. J. Herbin Rose Cylcamen. Oh my God it's so pretty.

I have so many damn ink samples now.. I think I need to go down the route of using something to swab samples to keep track of them. I see a lot of people using this: http://www.gouletpens.com/maruman-mnemosyne-word-cards/p/MM-W190 ... And I might get one eventually. They're apparently perfect for swabbing samples of ink onto and to keep track You know what else would probably help me with my obsessive ink trying? A glass dip pen. Every time I want to try a new ink, just to see if I really like it, I go through that whole process of cleaning out the pens, letting them dry overnight, etc.. and a lot of times I want to switch out the ink right away again. So at some point, I think I'll invest in a glass pen and a book to keep track of them. I'm overflowing with ink samples!

[terrpn]

i am so embarrassed and forgetful

i forgot to mention....................grab one of these esterbrook dip-less pens, stick your favorite esterbrook nib in and use whatever ink you want

no sac.........just dip away. the feed will hold enough to write at least a decent paragraph vs. just a steel nib which will only give you a couple words.

if you drastically change an ink color just unscrew the "renew" nib, give it a rinse and reinstall in the pen

i forgot i even had these.............





 

[graefeln]

My 1.4mm Franklin-Cristoph nib arrived earlier - it definitely shows off the ink better, but it requires me to write larger than I like. Still, I don't hate it. It's helping me to figure out what I want in a fountain pen.
Thank you again for the recommendation Larken. The nib seems to stick out a little further in my pen than in the picture that you put up, but it works and it's secure, so I am not worried...

[Syribo]

1.4mm must be pretty thick. The one nib I have that is labeled a 1.1mm but it is definitely a 1.5mm, is really really really thick lol .I can't even use it to write in my journal because the lines are so small in it, and the nib is just too thick. I think 1.1mm is pretty perfect.

I would love to get a nib that's smaller than 1.0mm with a stub on it, THAT would be perfect. But I haven't seen anything that wasn't hundreds of dollars in that size, or needing to be customized.

[Larken]

great post

staying with one ink is fairly important at least in the older latex sac pens cannot be stressed enough, but please know that i have done "that exact thing" and my old latex sac pens are still pliable after 20 years and hold a fair amount of ink

great point on the zebra chrome/steel nibs.............they will corrode big time. i ordered some of the gold colored (titanium) ones, which are a little more pricey, but hopefully will not corrode?

i have every once in a while do a water rinse with a little silicone lubricant for the sac if i feel it hardening up, but then you have to go back and do a water rinse with a couple drops of soap to remove the lube from the feed.

i wish more people would purchase and use the older-vintage sac pens, but i do understand and respect the reason for being apprehensive or go in another direction.

Yea, in most cases, the answer is 'it depends.'. I'm guessing most vintage pen users don't have problems with slightly mixing inks/residue, but the horror stories we get on the web are the vocal minority. Personally I haven't had much experience with older pens, but have stained a few demonstrators badly mixing rather safe inks, thinking it was okay; I was dumb .

I probably wouldn't mind the filling system in regular use, as long as it doesn't leak, but as of now I find modern pens to be much more convenient. Can't deny that vintage has its charms though. Any recommendations for a mid to full sized vintage flex pen, say about the size and length of a custom 74 at least? Or does one not exist?

The titanium Zebra Gs will still corrode, but they should last longer than the regular ones. It's mostly due to the ink deposits from the feed (which you can't clean), but with some care, one nib should last 1-2 months of regular use.

My 1.4mm Franklin-Cristoph nib arrived earlier - it definitely shows off the ink better, but it requires me to write larger than I like. Still, I don't hate it. It's helping me to figure out what I want in a fountain pen.
Thank you again for the recommendation Larken. The nib seems to stick out a little further in my pen than in the picture that you put up, but it works and it's secure, so I am not worried...

make sure you don't overtighten the feed unit, its a good way to crack the feed holder part on the barrel. Also, check that it doesn't wobble left to right.

I found the 1.1 from TWSBI to be overly large for my use, so I never bothered with larger nibs; but I tend to write small. For regular writing, I'd probably not go more than 0.8mm (personally prefer 0.6mm ish, and then tweak it to write extremely wet for that shading to show). The Masuyama ground CIs are a treat to use if you're looking at other nib replacements. But do keep in mind that CIs are less forgiving than stubs in use.

[demik]

.

[Syribo]

Has anyone tried the Tomoe River paper yet? I want to try it sometime.. I know it's really thin, but supposed to be good for fountain pens. It's really expensive though, which is why I haven't tried it yet.. but.. I really really want to lol

[Binge]

Has anyone tried the Tomoe River paper yet? I want to try it sometime.. I know it's really thin, but supposed to be good for fountain pens. It's really expensive though, which is why I haven't tried it yet.. but.. I really really want to lol

I love Tomoe River and SN^2 paper.  They are my #2 and #1.

[THSdrummer]

Has anyone tried the Tomoe River paper yet? I want to try it sometime.. I know it's really thin, but supposed to be good for fountain pens. It's really expensive though, which is why I haven't tried it yet.. but.. I really really want to lol

I love Tomoe River and SN^2 paper.  They are my #2 and #1.

What do you typically find is your purpose for writing? What helps you select which paper to use?

Honest questions. I'd love to pick up some better paper, but it would be strictly for pen pals, and I'm not sure how I'd pick one paper over another at this point. On a side note, the stationary at my work is incredibly nice, but it's a grid, so not a great writing paper. Lovely weight though.