Looking to upgrade to a higher quality pen

[Scooby921]

Organics Studio inks are excessively dry.

[Medieval]

Lamy inks are dry too

[carrolljc]

Lamy inks are dry too

I found some old forum threads on dry and wet inks, and a couple of blog postings. On the basis of the most frequent recommendations, I ordered samples of Pelikan 4001 (royal blue and sapphire), Lamy, Rohrer and Klinger (Salix, Scabiosa, and Konigsblau), and Diamine Presidential Blue. I couldn't find samples of some suggested inks, so went ahead and ordered as small a bottle as I could find of Mont Blanc Royal Blue, Sheaffer Skrip. I'll be very interested to try these out in the Sailor 1911 L. I'll also try them in the Lamy 2000. The Pilot pens I own and the Platinum 3776 already produce the thin line I prefer. They don't seem at all temperamental about the ink that's put into them. But then, perhaps if I put a dry ink into them, they'd get temperamental about that.

[Medieval]

They don't seem at all temperamental about the ink that's put into them.

You've made two good purchasing decisions then

[carrolljc]

Organics Studio inks are excessively dry.

I had not heard of Organics Studio inks (I'm pretty new to fountain pens). But I looked them up and ordered a bottle of the Nitrogen Royal Blue. Thanks for the tip!

[welch]

I'm seeking some advice on getting a new pen.

I already have a Pilot Custom 823 and and a Platinum Century 3776. I'd like to branch out to a European pen, something other than a Japanese pen. I'd want either a pump or piston filler (not cartridge/converter).

I'd like to get a pen of the quality of the Pelikan M600, but I'd like to get a nib that is equivalent in size to a Japanese fine. I would have gotten the Pelikan M600 except that I read somewhere that even the extra fine Pelikan nib is broader than a Japanese fine point.

Any thoughts on a German or other European pen that be equivalent in quality and size of the Pelikan M600 but that would have a point as fine as a Pilot fine?

If you are happy with the Custom 823 and the Century 3776, save your money. It is hard to find a pen that is "just right". If you have found one (or two!), why guess at a Pelikan? I have a Pelikan 600 and I like it, and especially like being ably to swap other Pelikan nibs, but I bought it when I was searching for "just right".

Why search for a Pelikan nib that writes like your 823 and 3776 fine nibs? As mentioned above, a good nib "meister" can trip a nib down, but why not try another Japanese pen? Sailor also makes narrow nibs, and Sailor offers a piston filling pen. John Mottishaw sells Sailors, and John is among the best.

Incidentally, I have a fine nib for my Pel 600. It is about the same gauge as my Sailor medium (on a 911).

[carrolljc]

[QUOTE=welch;242110]

Sailor also makes narrow nibs, and Sailor offers a piston filling pen.).

A couple of days ago, my new Sailor 1911 L Realo came in the mail. At first, I thought that the pen wrote a suprisingly broad line. But then I realized that if I hold the pen upright, with the end of the pen almost vertical to the paper, the line is just what I want it to be. I've had to adjust to each of my new pens, get the right angle for that pen, and get the muscles of my hand attuned to that particular angle.

The 1911 L has a relatively fat section. I've been wondering if the circumference of the section was not designed to correlate with the upright angle necessary to produce the fine line.

In any case, I'm very happy with this pen now. I went ahead and ordered some dry inks to try out in it, to reduce the width of the line, but I don't really need those. Still, not a bad thing to learn something about the difference in viscosity among different ink brands. I suspect that my Pilot and Platinum fine points will do best with a relatively wet ink.

[azkid]

Maybe this is just me being new to all this, and I realize everyone's different, but I wouldn't enjoy having to change my grip for each pen. I doubt this would even be possible for me, personally. I have a hard enough time writing legibly as it is without adding another challenge.

[Pterodactylus]

You are right this is neither realistic nor practicable, nobody does that.


Claiming: “holding the pen upright almost vertical and everything is fine” is ridiculous.

In the same category somebody could also claim writing with the nib upside down gives me the desired line width so everything is fine.


You should accept the line width the pen gives you.

You still can try a dry ink, but if this also gives you not the desired width up to a tenth of a mm you have 4 options left:

- sell the pen
- change the nib with a finer one
- send the nib to a nib Meister to change it
- accept the width the pen gives you

I would recommend the latter option

Exploring and owning different nibs from XF to BBB is fun and will enrich your user experience.

[carrolljc]

You still can try a dry ink, but if this also gives you not the desired width up to a tenth of a mm you have 4 options left:

- sell the pen
- change the nib with a finer one
- send the nib to a nib Meister to change it
- accept the width the pen gives you.

Actually, I'm very comfortable with adjusting my grip to suit the pen. I enjoy writing with it, now that I've learned how to hold it. To each his own.

[TAYLORPUPPY]

I'm seeking some advice on getting a new pen.

I already have a Pilot Custom 823 and and a Platinum Century 3776. I'd like to branch out to a European pen, something other than a Japanese pen. I'd want either a pump or piston filler (not cartridge/converter).

I'd like to get a pen of the quality of the Pelikan M600, but I'd like to get a nib that is equivalent in size to a Japanese fine. I would have gotten the Pelikan M600 except that I read somewhere that even the extra fine Pelikan nib is broader than a Japanese fine point.

Any thoughts on a German or other European pen that be equivalent in quality and size of the Pelikan M600 but that would have a point as fine as a Pilot fine?

The Justus 95 is a nice pen to consider


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I was just last night looking at the Justus 95. Could you possibly say a little more about what makes this pen an attractive option?

Hey Carol. I love the Justus 95. It has a gold nib and you can adjust the flex. It comes with a con70 converter.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[carrolljc]

I did get the Justus 95. I'm enjoying it quite a lot, but had I to do it over again, I'd get a medium rather than a fine point. Even on the full soft setting, the point is very fine, comparable to the (stiff) fine point on the Platinum Century 3776. It writes a skinnier line than the fine point on my Pilot Custom 823.

Even so, I find myself reaching for it to take notes or mark passages in books. Writing a very fine small script is best for that, and the line is fine enough so that I can even mark articles printed on ordinary printer paper, getting no feathering to speak of.

I'm using Iroshizuku Asa-gao ink in it. That's a "wet" ink, and it's bright and vivid enough to counteract the thinness of the line.

[carrolljc]

Even on the full soft setting, the point is very fine, comparable to the (stiff) fine point on the Platinum Century 3776. It writes a skinnier line than the fine point on my Pilot Custom 823.

My experience has been that I just have to get a pen to find out what the point is going to be like. I have fine nibs in the Sailor 1911L Realo, the Pilot Custom 823, the Pilot Justus 95, and the Platinum Century 3776. I have an extra-fine nib in the Lamy 2000. They all write differently.

The Sailor fine point is a little too wet and broad for my taste. I stick to dry inks for that pen, and even so am not quite happy with it.

The Platinum Century 3776 is a little finer than I'd like. I suspect I'd prefer a medium in that pen.

The Pilot Custom 823 is pretty much just right. I am never anything but satisfied when I use that pen. I use what seems to me a dryish ink in it (Diamine Majestic Blue), and the combination is as close to perfect (for me) as I've yet experienced.

As much as I like the Justus 95, If I had to buy it over again, I'd buy it in a medium point, being able then to adjust down to a finer point when I wanted one. The Lamy 2000 extra-fine is broader than all the fine points except the fine point on the Sailor 1911 L, but when using the Lamy I write with the nib a little angled off center, and it produces a distinctive, sharply angled script that I like a lot.

[carrolljc]

One oddity of the Sailor 1911 L fine point:

I've tried many different inks in it, and compared the results with the same inks used in other pens. The Sailor produces a paler color in any ink than the same ink in any of my other pens. I'm not sure why that is. I wonder if it's because I can't get the pen completely dry inside, so that the inks are watered down in it. Two other of my pens have internal filling mechanisms: the Lamy 2000 and the Pilot Custom 823. The Lamy can be disasembled so that I can fully flush out the section and the barrel and can dry them with compressed air. The Pilot Custom 823 doesn't allow the section to be separated from the barrel, but it has a vacuum pump system that seems easier to clean than the system on the Sailor.

I am at the moment using Colorverse Quasar in both the Sailor 1911 L and the Lamy 2000. That ink is a deep, dark, intense purple blue with a purplish hue. In the Lamy 2000, it is so dark that it resembles the Diamine Majestic Blue that I have in the Pilot Custom 823. In the Sailor 1911 L, the Quasar is just purple, paler than in the Lamy 2000, and more clearly just purple, like a somewhat darker version of Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue, or Lamy Blue.

I like dark-hued blues, so I'm disappointed in getting the paler hues in the Sailor 1911 L.

[Medieval]

The Sailor producing the paler colour could be the feed somehow retaining more water.

[SIR]

The Sailor producing the paler colour could be the feed somehow retaining more water.

Retaining water?

[Medieval]

The Sailor producing the paler colour could be the feed somehow retaining more water.

Retaining water?

After cleaning out. He did mention that it may be because he finds it hard to dry it thoroughly.

[carrolljc]

The Sailor producing the paler colour could be the feed somehow retaining more water.

Retaining water?

After cleaning out. He did mention that it may be because he finds it hard to dry it thoroughly.

I think I found the solution to that problem. After getting a clear dribble from the expelled water in the Sailor (no visible ink residue), I now work the piston in air. That produces a bubble of liquid in the air hole of the nib. I wipe the nib down with a paper towel, then spray it with compressed air. Then I work the piston again in air. If there is any sign of moisture, I again wipe it and spray it with condensed air, and work it again. Once I get no bubble, no sign of moisture, I spray the nib one more time with condensed air, and fill the pen with ink. That procedure produces a color of ink that is not diluted with water.