cadfael_tex wrote:I"ve started finding good cheap FP's lately. The Best Bar None is the $40 TWSBI Diamond 530 - piston filler with great service that about the same size as a Pelikan M800.
neat pen, only the size of a MB 146 though.
and a recall on the piston seal (yuck...)
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Kent
All the seals now are the redesigned one and speedy (maker of TWSBI) was very proactive in getting replacements to those who had the old ones. I find it cool that I can work on it if anything ever goes wrong.
let me know what you find out in your tinkering with it, $40 is a safe amount to play with.
Julius_Rodman wrote:
you can improve the smoothness yourself with a brown paper bag or a pre-1983 US penny.
Only if it was almost perfect to begin with. If your pen is way out of alignment, home-made fixes such as this will only give you a pen that's both scratchy AND prematurely worn out.
Julius_Rodman wrote:
you can improve the smoothness yourself with a brown paper bag or a pre-1983 US penny.
Only if it was almost perfect to begin with. If your pen is way out of alignment, home-made fixes such as this will only give you a pen that's both scratchy AND prematurely worn out.
I would expect that a legit purchase from a legit seller would not give you such a piece of garbage requiring major adjustments just to make the pen useful.
Known reclamation projects are another matter, one voluntarily assumes risks.
Julius_Rodman wrote:
you can improve the smoothness yourself with a brown paper bag or a pre-1983 US penny.
Only if it was almost perfect to begin with. If your pen is way out of alignment, home-made fixes such as this will only give you a pen that's both scratchy AND prematurely worn out.
I would expect that a legit purchase from a legit seller would not give you such a piece of garbage requiring major adjustments just to make the pen useful.
(I thought we were talking about some fairly old pens, and assumed the possibility that they had been damaged at some point in the past.)
notthesharpest wrote:Only if it was almost perfect to begin with. If your pen is way out of alignment, home-made fixes such as this will only give you a pen that's both scratchy AND prematurely worn out.
I would expect that a legit purchase from a legit seller would not give you such a piece of garbage requiring major adjustments just to make the pen useful.
(I thought we were talking about some fairly old pens, and assumed the possibility that they had been damaged at some point in the past.)
Anyways, the Laban Mento is a very nice large pen for under $100.
When someone tipped me off on another forum about this pen I looked it up, bought it, all the while grateful someone would share good information.
It's writing well and I guess I've found out I will never ever post another fountain pen thread on this board...
I have heard quite a few good reports about the Mento, and glad that yours is working well. Sorry for hijacking your thread. I didn't quite realize that hijacking by me had become part of the problem, but looking back I see that it was. Again, my apologies.
Guys I have a few good ones, out of a collection of forty or so, just use a few modern ones for daily writing and signing, but the best writer of my group is an old Parker Duofold from the mid '20s. A Big Red with an extra fine point, still writes smooth as silk.
Haven't had a problem with leakage personally but just got into FP's about 2 months ago (thanks to this forum). A fountain pen in good working order shouldn't leak as far as I know. There are many different filling methods used in FP's. The cleanest (and most expensive per ml of ink) is a cartridge. This is a small plastic cartridge filled with ink that you just slip into the pen. Most modern pens are this type. The rest of the methods involve putting the nib of the pen in a bottle of ink and drawing it in. The cleanest of these is the Sheaffer snorkels from the 50's that have a little tube that goes down into the ink rather than the nib.
MARKHOLLADAY wrote:I would really like to try a fountain pen. Has anybody had any problems with leakage or troubles refilling them ?
You do have to pay attention more. If you shake a fountain pen violently, ink will almost certainly spray out.
Refilling is not a problem, and actual leakage is a defect in the pen and doesn't happen often - but they are certainly not as care-free to keep in your pocket as a ballpoint.
I had no idea that fountain pens came with cartridges, I always thought you had to fill them from a bottle. I am sure a cartridge would cut down on the chance of leakage, Thanks for the info
Hey Mark, fountain pens have been my daily companions for decades. They write better and are a pleasure to use. Most of the quality modern ones come with a converter which allows filling from an ink bottle.
The term 'leaking' is widely misunderstood. If you carry a fountain pen in your shirt pocket, as I do, over the course of a day body heat will cause some ink to evaporate from the reservoir and collect in the cap. If left unchecked it will build up and eventually get on the pen below the nip and then stain the fingers thus causing the user to mistakenly believe the pen is 'leaking'. A quick daily wipe of the cap with tissue solves the problem.
Do you plan to use a pen regularly or occasionally?
MARKHOLLADAY wrote:I had no idea that fountain pens came with cartridges, I always thought you had to fill them from a bottle. I am sure a cartridge would cut down on the chance of leakage, Thanks for the info
Bottle-fill pens are equally safe and easy, as long as you have the opportunity to re-fill at home on a secure flat surface. Basically you just draw in some ink and wipe the pen a little bit.
If you are constantly re-filling on the road, you would certainly appreciate cartridges.
I've got a Jinhao 321 clone of the Parker 51. Fine nib, steel, sac fill- no converter. I've had it about a year and it writes well considering it cost $10 shipped.
I was a bit surprised that no one mentioned the Retro pens. I have 2 and they both are excellent daily writer pens. I keep black ink in one and blue in the other. They are under $50 and worth every penny.
I see Richard Binder's name mentioned. I met him in person at a pen show in Raleigh NC a couple of years ago. I have three Parker 51's that have been Binderized as they call it and they all write perfectly. Well I should say "They did write perfectly" when I put them in the display case. I started collecting Parker 51's and haven't used them in a few years. Every now and then I consider selling my Parker 51 collection but they look so good ,I just can't get myself to do it. It's a shame I don't use them. So many pens and so little to write....
Hey Tony, good to hear from you. The kids came by from University over the weekend and met me at the office while I was making notes with a fountain pen. John was enthralled when I showed him how to use one, illustrating how thought and personality can flow from ink. Said he would post something about on his blog.
They live in an immediately communicative world of text, Ipods and whatever thingies.
I'll stay with pen and paper. My Son says I'm a dinosaur with a sense of humor.
I know what you mean but I find that if I want to communicate with my children and grand children I had to learn to TEXT and join Facebook. Email is used for LONG conversations of over 50 words. God forbid if they had to write a letter and use a stamp.
Julius_Rodman wrote:
neat pen, only the size of a MB 146 though.
and a recall on the piston seal (yuck...)
----------
Kent
All the seals now are the redesigned one and speedy (maker of TWSBI) was very proactive in getting replacements to those who had the old ones. I find it cool that I can work on it if anything ever goes wrong.
let me know what you find out in your tinkering with it, $40 is a safe amount to play with.
----------
Kent
I'm waiting very patiently for the TWSBI Diamond to be released in solid colors. I love the design and price, but I really don't like transparent pens. As soon as it becomes available in solid colors, I'll have one. Then again, I may get impatient and buy one of the transparent ones anyway.
Tom
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