POTD: What pen/pencil are you using today?

smoothshaver · Post by **smoothshaver** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 2:07 pm

smoothshaver wrote: Today's pens are a blue carbonesque VP filled with Waterman Florida blue and a Parker Frontier (XF nib) filled with PR American blue. The XF is a bit finer than I'd like, so I'm trying to find an ink that gives a bit more flow. I also figure PR drying time is less of an issue with a finer nib than I generally use.

I hate to see this thread die off, so I'll pop back to add 2 cents more.
Today I switched to a navy Parker 21 custom with a fine nib. Really a pretty pen, elegant in its simple design and execution. Too bad I don't have a camera.

I think the ink is Florida blue. This pen is a candidate for the Visconti blue I acquired.

My "XF nib/PR ink" experiment is a mixed bag. The ink does dry faster when used with a finer nib, but the nib is still a bit scratchy at times. This may be due to not writing with it enough to keep the feed wet, and using crappy paper part of the time. There are "fixes" for both those conditions.

southpaw · Post by **southpaw** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 7:12 pm

Today's pen is a Platinum Day and Night, one of the Japanese long-shorts from the 1970s.

Capped, it's small enough to fit in any pocket:

Here it is uncapped:

Posted, it's a full-size pen:

Here's the nib:

I've modified a Platinum converter to fit it and it's inked with Diamine Teal.

JohnInPeoria · Post by **JohnInPeoria** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 7:26 pm

I have loved a few of the lovelies here. A lower-end beauty in the "wooden pencil" world is the Mirado Black Warrior... Masculine, simple, lovely... check it out.

smoothshaver · Post by **smoothshaver** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 2:43 pm

Wow! A blast from the past! Back when I used wooden pencils regularly the Black Warrior was my favorite. I'm amazed/surprised to see them mentioned. I didn't know they were still made.

Another beautiful pen, Southpaw.

Do you know if any of the "long-short" pens comes with a wider nib? I like the concept, but Japanese fine nibs are too narrow for my taste.

southpaw · Post by **southpaw** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 7:44 pm

smoothshaver wrote:Wow! A blast from the past! Back when I used wooden pencils regularly the Black Warrior was my favorite. I'm amazed/surprised to see them mentioned. I didn't know they were still made.

Another beautiful pen, Southpaw.
Do you know if any of the "long-short" pens comes with a wider nib? I like the concept, but Japanese fine nibs are too narrow for my taste.

Sorry for the delay in answering, Ed. There are wider nibs out there, but given Japanese writing and the complexity of the characters, they were produced in much smaller numbers and are therefore harder to come by.

jthomas60506 · Post by **jthomas60506** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 7:59 pm

For the first time since summer break began, I broke out the Parker 51 Special Edition with the Epire State cap. Had to comment on a few dissertation drafts.

A friend emailed me early afternoon in panic mode because he had just run out of his special brown ink, and he couldn't find any around town. But all I ever use is green Parker Quink, so, as far as I know, my buddy is still running around, late on a Friday evening in suburban Chicago, looking for a fix of brown ink.

jt

southpaw · Post by **southpaw** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 12:25 pm

Today's pen is a Stipula Novecento Rex with a fine nib. It's a piston filler made of a delightful brown mottled celluloid. I've inked it with one of Pilot's iroshizuku inks, tsuki-yo.

smoothshaver · Post by **smoothshaver** » Sun Jul 20, 2008 3:10 pm

southpaw wrote:
smoothshaver wrote: Do you know if any of the "long-short" pens comes with a wider nib? I like the concept, but Japanese fine nibs are too narrow for my taste.
Sorry for the delay in answering, Ed. There are wider nibs out there, but given Japanese writing and the complexity of the characters, they were produced in much smaller numbers and are therefore harder to come by.

Hi Michael,
Thanks for the response. No problem with the delay. I like the idea of these pens, but haven't been actively looking for one. I didn't recall ever seeing a long-short with anything other than a fine nib, and wondered if such a pen even existed. Your explanation makes sense to me.

BTW, That brown Novecentro is another nice-looking pen.

OOPS! Forgot the POTD part.

Mostly I've been using a Vanishing Point and Parker "21"s (red "21" Mark II, blue "21" Custom) this week, with an occasional ballpoint thrown in. (FPs are filled with Visconti blue.)
Today's shirt pocket called for the clips of Lamy Safaris - a red BP and a yellow FP (M nib; someone's blue ink).

TRBeck · Post by **TRBeck** » Sun Jul 20, 2008 7:38 pm

Gents, I'm enjoying this thread. I'm drawn to fountain pens as I am to many "old-fashioned" implements - that is, implements that are not disposable and do the job in a more than perfunctory fashion. However, I am not interested right now in pursuing fountain pen collecting. Or, to say it better, I am very interested in pursuing fp collecting, but have neither the time nor the money to spend on it, and furthermore have never owned a fountain pen.

so, I'm looking for "the one."

I know, much like razors, there's no "one" for everybody. However, I'm seeking something that is both classy and capable of being my daily-use pen. I'd like something that is relatively low-profile, preferably a black-bodied pen though a navy or brown one would work as well. I would prefer a medium to fine nib, I think. As for what type of filling mechanism is best, I'm up in the air. I do know I don't want to go with cartridges.

I would mostly be using the pen for personal communication, some professional communication, note-taking at school, and a great deal of writing at home for personal gratification. I'm not attached to a brand, a place of origin, or anything like that, so long as the pen is low-profile and gimmick-free, as mentioned above.

I could spend something in the $100 range. My hope is that I can postpone any PAD for a few years by having one superb instrument, and I realize I may be lowballing on price, but I'm also trying to be realistic.

So, any suggestions to make?

Regards,

southpaw · Post by **southpaw** » Sun Jul 20, 2008 8:40 pm

TBoner wrote:So, any suggestions to make?

Regards,

PM on the way.

southpaw · Post by **southpaw** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 8:11 am

Today's pen is a Franklin-Christoph IPO filled with Noodlers Aquamarine Contract Ink (a waterproof turquoise ink that's only sold thru Swisher's Pens).

TRBeck · Post by **TRBeck** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 11:03 am

Michael, I very much like the look of today's pen. Not an in-your-face look at all.

Regards,

southpaw · Post by **southpaw** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 3:55 pm

TBoner wrote:Michael, I very much like the look of today's pen. Not an in-your-face look at all.

Regards,

Interesting story about how I came to have that one. I was at the Raleigh Pen Show and was just walking around and saw Scott's table (the owner, Scott Franklin). I'm not big on black pens, and I'm not big on c/c fillers either. Well, the clean, crisp lines if the IPO caught my eye. I would have kept going, but he had several of them inked, each with a different size nib. I grabbed the fine, opened the cap, and the pen just felt like an extension of my arm! It really just felt right and it wrote beautifully. Some chatting later and Scott dealing a bit with me and, before I knew it, I was walking away with a new pen.

TRBeck · Post by **TRBeck** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 4:20 pm

Yeah, I think if there were trade shows for wetshaving I would probably go broke: I can get talked into things pretty easily. Knowing it's a cartridge takes away some of my lust, but still...

Regards,

southpaw · Post by **southpaw** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 4:41 pm

TBoner wrote:Yeah, I think if there were trade shows for wetshaving I would probably go broke: I can get talked into things pretty easily. Knowing it's a cartridge takes away some of my lust, but still...

Regards,

While it IS a c/c filler, I don't ever use carts. I'm using the converter - bottled only here!

smoothshaver · Post by **smoothshaver** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 5:15 pm

southpaw wrote:
While it IS a c/c filler, I don't ever use carts. I'm using the converter - bottled only here!

But is it a piston converter?

When I saw the Franklin-Christoph I thought, "I bet that's one of those unostentatious pens that simply fits his hand perfectly and writes wonderfully." I guess I was right.

Today I returned to my Parker Frontier XF nib/Private Reserve ink experiment. I wasn't happy with how the PR American blue was working, so I flushed the pen and filled it with PR Lake Placid blue (being in the mood for a lighter shade of blue ink). This combination does seem to work better.

southpaw · Post by **southpaw** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 3:42 pm

smoothshaver wrote: But is it a piston converter?

When I saw the Franklin-Christoph I thought, "I bet that's one of those unostentatious pens that simply fits his hand perfectly and writes wonderfully." I guess I was right.

Today I returned to my Parker Frontier XF nib/Private Reserve ink experiment. I wasn't happy with how the PR American blue was working, so I flushed the pen and filled it with PR Lake Placid blue (being in the mood for a lighter shade of blue ink). This combination does seem to work better.

Yes, it's a piston converter.

Glad to hear you found a better combination for your Frontier.

Rufus · Post by **Rufus** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 1:17 pm

I have two loaded and ready to go: a Bexley 2007 Owners' Club in chocolate ebonite with an 18k fine nib and loaded with Waterman's Florida blue; and a Bexley 15th Anniversary in sterling silver with an 18k broad nib and loaded with Parker Quink blue-black.

southpaw · Post by **southpaw** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 7:39 pm

Very nice, Rufus!

Today's pen is a late 30s - early 40s red striated wide cap band Sheaffer Vac-Fil that Richard Binder restored. It's got one of the best nibs I've ever used. The Triumph nib (conical, all one piece of gold) is super smooth. The Vac-Fil system holds a large load of ink. I've filled it with Pilot tsuyu-kusa ink.

smoothshaver · Post by **smoothshaver** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 5:12 pm

Today was time for some letter writing, so I got out my trusty Parker "21" and a Frontier with a Fine nib, two generous writers, both filled with Visconti blue. The Frontier fairly gushed ink onto the page; I think I should give the ink a try in the XF nib Frontier.

I've also been trying a Pelikan Go! (sort of a "student" piston filler pen) with Noodlers American Eel blue ink (supposed to lubricate the piston) and a Pilot 78g I just received. This particular Pilot is a bit unusual in that it's a version that accepts international carts, not Pilot ones. I put a Waterman blue cart in it.