If it isn't a fountain pen...
What would your next choice of writing instrument be?
I have a strange affliction for completeness - if I buy a fountain pen and really like it, I am compelled to search out the matching ballpoint/rollerball and pencil.
I think (note italics) that I prefer the pencil over the ballpoint option, but I'm not always certain.
Pondering this tonight, I got to wondering if I am alone in this behaviour, or do others also hanker after a "set"? If you do, what's your preference for a second item in the set? Pen or pencil, and if it's a pen, which type?
Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
sharpie, or a pricked fingertip.
Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
Matching pencil all the way. I hate ballpoints, although, I guess I could live with a good rollerball.
Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
If it's not a fountain pen, but still needs some kind of permanence/boldness I just use my backup Pilot G2 gel pen (either in black or blue). But if it's not ink, I'll use this (or a Lamy 2000 0.7 mechanical pencil, or the Kuru Toga 0.5)
An Eversharp 1.12mm mechanical pencil in Rosewood (hard rubber pattern)
https://i.imgur.com/CjVzvwh.jpg
PS: The only 'set' I have would be the Lamy 2000 even though I don't often use the L2K fountain pen compared to my other pens (I use the pencil more than I do the fountain pen it seems), the pencil is from before 1991 as it has W.Germany on it, the ballpoint I'm using a M16 to D1 adapter to use other refills rather than Lamy's M16, and the Fountain pen is with a 14K EF nib (post-2012).
https://i.imgur.com/pYDlEya.jpg
I would love having a 'set' for my 1956 Pelikan 400nn, or my Aurora Afrika LE, but that's either going to be uncommon or too rich for me.
Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DickBrowne
I have a strange affliction for completeness - if I buy a fountain pen and really like it, I am compelled to search out the matching ballpoint/rollerball and pencil.
Not strange at all. I love fountain pen and pencil pairings:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/954/41...72e88d01_c.jpg
Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
If not a fountain pen then a clicky ballpoint, preferably with a fine gel refill, or a pencil stub. I usually have all three writing modes about me, depending on the purpose and the paper.
Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
It won’t be a ballpoint, that much you can be sure of!
I keep one rollerball in the quiver for those rare instances in which a fountain pen won’t do. Actually, I bought it before I returned to fountain pens. It’s a Waterman Expert Deluxe in blue, and I liked it so much that my third or fourth fountain pen was a matching Waterman. I’d actually prefer they weren’t a matched set, but I can’t bring myself to get rid of either.
If I didn’t already own the Waterman, given how little I use anything other than a FP these days, I’d probably just forgo anything nice an just stick to Pilot V5 Precise 0.5mm, liquid-ink rollerballs. They are the only disposables I like.
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Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
I take a RB on holiday with me in order to complete immigration forms that can't be completed with a FP.
I'm not a fan of trying to buy "sets" and prefer to just buy FP's on their own. However, I still have a couple of BP's somewhere in boxes, that go unused. Suppose I should consider selling my Mb Verne BP....
Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
I like to mix n' match FP with a BP/RB, just in case I will need a backup . But not always form the same brand. For instance check this combo, Sailor 1911L FP with Aurora Ipsilon BP, both burgundy:
http://i67.tinypic.com/2h6ubll.jpg
Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
Interesting cross-section of opinions, and I can see a leaning away from the mainstream which is an obvious reflection of the community here. Most people are happy to use a 50p throwaway biro if it makes a mark on paper (or, more likely, their telephone keyboard) whereas this thread has a common under-tow of "it's not just writing, it's an experience".
I like the very first response from Manoeuver- a pricked finger, I really get that, even if it isn't my own direction. I do enjoy a proper ink pen but, like Catbert and Kulprit, I always have more than one writing mode - generally at work I will carry a couple of fountain pens, each containing a different coloured ink so I can easily identify my actions in meetings, and another mode of writing - usually a mechanical pencil, just in case I run out of ink (unlikely as I often have a number of small sample bottles of the appropriate colours in my pen case - if you want to raise eyebrows and have people remember you, simply re-fill a fountain pen from an ink bottle in a meeting with people who write software for a living. If you never want to fade from memory, knock the bottle over half-way through the fill. Ahem).
I also like the picture from Usk15 - it reflects my own mindset in a number of ways; in addition to needing the backup of a different method of writing, I am being given a burgundy Parker 51 for Christmas (thank you for helping to sort this out, Chrissy!) and have already found a Parker 51 mechanical pencil in the same burgundy finish. I just need a Parker case for it now!
My other love is vintage watches and I can see similarities on both pen and watch fora - I can go to any jewellers, department store, fashion outlet or even a market and spend a very small amount of money on a watch which will never need winding, never need maintenance (other than a new battery every few years) and will be accurate to within a couple of seconds a year. Instead, I spend a significant amount of money on a watch, which needs hunting down, will need regular maintenance and winding and will be far less accurate, in exactly the same way, we as a community will travel a distance to spend far more money on a far less convenient way of making marks on paper.
Vive la difference!
Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
Next to fountain pens, the writing instruments which I find most interesting are mechanical pencils. I have an accumulation of them which doesn't really rival the fountain pens in quantity, but is still larger than I need. If it's a job for ink, then my second choice to a fountain pen would be some sort of gel pen or liquid ink rollerball. But I generally have a fountain pen with me, so the pencils get more use than the other types of pen. I would not be unhappy using a mechanical pencil for journaling, but use them more for notes, drawing, and crosswords.
As for getting a set, fountain pen, ballpoint, rollerball, mechanical pencil..., no, that really doesn't interest me; I'm particularly not interested in matching ballpoints or even rollerballs. I have a couple of vintage Esterbrook mechanical pencils which are a nice match for my J series fountain pens, and one which is a match for the Dollar Pens. The pencils are in my rotation for pocket carry, but they are more likely to share a pocket with one of my Pilots than with an Esterbrook pen. Here's an old picture, not taken for this thread, of one with my Pilot Capless Decimo.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4280/...1f557a4c_b.jpg
1 Attachment(s)
Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
19th-century dip pens, for example:
Attachment 43967
Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
All my FP´s have a matching mechanical pencil.
I also have all kinds of mechanical pencils both modern and vintage.
Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
I prefer pencils as next choice writing device.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4084/...134aa744_o.jpgQuote 009 by Ptero Pterodactylus, auf Flickr
(Staedtler Mars Lumograph - 3B)
We seldom think of what we have, but always of what we lack.
Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
For me it's mostly a mechanical pencil (or a propelling pencil like my Yard-O-Led). I am agnostic, though, and enjoy the different feel and uses of ballpoints, gels, wood pencils and all the rest.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
KBeezie
...the ballpoint I'm using a M16 to D1 adapter to use other refills rather than Lamy's M16
Can you tell me more about the adapter? I've had a quick look on eBay UK and Shapeways but no immediate success. Such an adapter would be useful for my L2K ballpoint. The ballpoint is absolutely fine, but there are other ballpoints I prefer and for the L2K I'd rather use a nice gel instead.
Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
Today if I am not using a fountain pen it is most often my finger on a touchscreen.
Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kaputnik
Next to fountain pens, the writing instruments which I find most interesting are mechanical pencils. I have an accumulation of them which doesn't really rival the fountain pens in quantity, but is still larger than I need. If it's a job for ink, then my second choice to a fountain pen would be some sort of gel pen or liquid ink rollerball. But I generally have a fountain pen with me, so the pencils get more use than the other types of pen. I would not be unhappy using a mechanical pencil for journaling, but use them more for notes, drawing, and crosswords.
As for getting a set, fountain pen, ballpoint, rollerball, mechanical pencil..., no, that really doesn't interest me; I'm particularly not interested in matching ballpoints or even rollerballs. I have a couple of vintage Esterbrook mechanical pencils which are a nice match for my J series fountain pens, and one which is a match for the Dollar Pens. The pencils are in my rotation for pocket carry, but they are more likely to share a pocket with one of my Pilots than with an Esterbrook pen. Here's an old picture, not taken for this thread, of one with my Pilot Capless Decimo.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4280/...1f557a4c_b.jpg
I've wondered though why we haven't seen something equivalent to a Vanishing Point/Capless BP/RP/MP (ie: least in matching styles to their FP counterpart). But I'm guessing there's no market desire for it to their prediction. Usually they're offered (like you can get the Platinum Century 3776 in a non-FP).
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jar
Today if I am not using a fountain pen it is most often my finger on a touchscreen.
This for me... phone or tablet with me, or desktop (laptop on location).
Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
milkb0at
For me it's mostly a mechanical pencil (or a propelling pencil like my Yard-O-Led). I am agnostic, though, and enjoy the different feel and uses of ballpoints, gels, wood pencils and all the rest.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
KBeezie
...the ballpoint I'm using a M16 to D1 adapter to use other refills rather than Lamy's M16
Can you tell me more about the adapter? I've had a quick look on eBay UK and Shapeways but no immediate success. Such an adapter would be useful for my L2K ballpoint. The ballpoint is absolutely fine, but there are other ballpoints I prefer and for the L2K I'd rather use a nice gel instead.
Perhaps this? https://clickypost.squarespace.com/b...refill-adaptor
Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
catbert
Quote:
Originally Posted by
milkb0at
For me it's mostly a mechanical pencil (or a propelling pencil like my Yard-O-Led). I am agnostic, though, and enjoy the different feel and uses of ballpoints, gels, wood pencils and all the rest.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
KBeezie
...the ballpoint I'm using a M16 to D1 adapter to use other refills rather than Lamy's M16
Can you tell me more about the adapter? I've had a quick look on eBay UK and Shapeways but no immediate success. Such an adapter would be useful for my L2K ballpoint. The ballpoint is absolutely fine, but there are other ballpoints I prefer and for the L2K I'd rather use a nice gel instead.
Perhaps this?
https://clickypost.squarespace.com/b...refill-adaptor
Nope, mine was from ShapeWays because the one you linked doesn't exist on Amazon anymore.
https://www.shapeways.com/product/VJ...ionId=65508247
https://i.imgur.com/LuhmRSg.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/c3b32rm.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/jS3Ks0Y.jpg
Edit: That exact link seems to be gone, but this is the maker : https://www.shapeways.com/marketplac...diy/?tag=tofty
Edit #2 : Seems he's no longer making it by itself but rather as a multi-pen pack at $17 for the usual plastic
https://www.shapeways.com/product/YH...li=marketplace
And $35 for the same plastic one I got individually for $10
https://www.shapeways.com/product/YH...li=marketplace
Quote:
I present my multiple refill adapter model. It contains 10 adapters, which will allow Mini/Multi D1 refills (not included) to be used in pens that take these ballpoint refills:
Caran d'Ache Goliath,
Fisher PR,
Generic Winged Plastic Tube type refill,
Lamy M16,
Lamy M22 (requires cutting the D1 down to 58mm),
Mont Blanc BP,
Parker G2,
Sheaffer K,
Waterman BP,
Zebra F.
Don't know why he would eliminate the individual option though.
Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
KBeezie
The dead link in Dudek's review and where you got yours are unrelated, but no matter.
His adapter appears to be one of several, available via Amazon Japan and Rakuten.
Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
catbert
Quote:
Originally Posted by
KBeezie
The dead link in Dudek's review and where you got yours are unrelated, but no matter.
His adapter appears to be one of
several, available via
Amazon Japan and
Rakuten.
Incidentally, that Shapeways link doesn't seem to work.
Look below at my edits.
Quote:
Edit #2 : Seems he's no longer making it by itself but rather as a multi-pen pack at $17 for the usual plastic
https://www.shapeways.com/product/YH...li=marketplace
And $35 for the same plastic one I got individually for $10
https://www.shapeways.com/product/YH...li=marketplace
Quote:
I present my multiple refill adapter model. It contains 10 adapters, which will allow Mini/Multi D1 refills (not included) to be used in pens that take these ballpoint refills:
Caran d'Ache Goliath,
Fisher PR,
Generic Winged Plastic Tube type refill,
Lamy M16,
Lamy M22 (requires cutting the D1 down to 58mm),
Mont Blanc BP,
Parker G2,
Sheaffer K,
Waterman BP,
Zebra F.
Don't know why he would eliminate the individual option though.
Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
KBeezie
Quote:
Originally Posted by
catbert
Quote:
Originally Posted by
KBeezie
The dead link in Dudek's review and where you got yours are unrelated, but no matter.
His adapter appears to be one of
several, available via
Amazon Japan and
Rakuten.
Incidentally, that Shapeways link doesn't seem to work.
Look below at my edits.
Yup, already edited my post to reflect that. Thanks.
Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
penwash
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DickBrowne
I have a strange affliction for completeness - if I buy a fountain pen and really like it, I am compelled to search out the matching ballpoint/rollerball and pencil.
Not strange at all. I love fountain pen and pencil pairings:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/954/41...72e88d01_c.jpg
Ooooooooooooo!! Pretty!
Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
Thanks KBeezie and catbert. There's hope for me yet despite being in the UK rather than the US.
I've found the Unus products one on Amazon UK with pretty bad reviews (seems it probably doesn't work with L2K). The Tofty Shapeways one looks like it might hold some promise. The multipack is relatively expensive (especially in the nicer plastic) but it would give me options for my Caran D'Ache ballpoints as well as the Lamy.
Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
milkb0at
Thanks KBeezie and catbert. There's hope for me yet despite being in the UK rather than the US.
I've found the Unus products one on
Amazon UK with pretty bad reviews (seems it probably doesn't work with L2K). The Tofty Shapeways one looks like it might hold some promise. The multipack is relatively expensive (especially in the nicer plastic) but it would give me options for my Caran D'Ache ballpoints as well as the Lamy.
I guess the other way to look at it, is if the other molds were popular enough you could sell them at 10-15 a piece. (though seems like that'd go over easier if the mold has duplicates of each one)
Re: If it isn't a fountain pen...
If you prefer a more permanent form of writing or need something that won't smudge or fade easily, a pen is a better choice. Pens provide a more consistent and long-lasting mark on paper, making them ideal for official documents, signatures, or archival purposes.
