Hmm, I wonder how much those pens are going to cost us nowadays if we're going to buy one with that kind of look? lol.
From what I can find, you need to use an international style converter. Thankfully these are very easy to get hold of. Another option I have seen is to use a Pelikan converter which is supposed to be a bit of a tighter fit than even the standard Rotring cartridge. Parker, Waterman, Mont Blanc, Monteverde, all these use a very similar international style converter. There may be slight variations but converters are so cheap that it shouldn't be too much of a hardship if you have to try a couple. Another option is to see if you can find a tame pen shop and try a few in as a dry fit. I have taken some odd-ball pens into a shop here in Nottingham and they bring out a tray with loads of different ones in to try. Which pens are you looking at?
So my Rotring 600s have arrived. Got the fountain pen working well with a converter and picked up some Diamine Jet Black ink. The ballpen however I'm having issues with. It looks like I'm missing a spring or something to keep the refill in place when depressed?
Problem sorted! Modded a old Zebra F301 spring to fit the Rotring Now my next question the FP has a nib that's a little broad for me, has anyone ever tried slimming a nib down? I'm thinking a little dremal action could do it. Since the nib isn't replaceable. Also what is a some good entry level fountain pen paper to get me started on?
Don't do it yourself. Either try and source a replacement in the width you want or send it to someone with a good amount of experience in regrinding nibs. If you really have to do it yourself then stay well away from the dremel and use sharpening stones to hand grind it to the width and shape you want before polishing back to a smooth tip. As for paper, get a Rhodia pad and use that for practice, super smooth with a very strong surface. Inks take a little bit longer to dry on it as it is not that absorbant but the writing feel more than makes up for it.
Ah thanks for the advice. Will give it a couple of weeks before deciding as it might just be not used to writing with a FP (been about 15 years since I last did!)
Writes very wet, but it's a very nice. Better than it was in the original cross pen, which is kinda sad since that was a £55 pen. Temped to try grinding the nib into a italic stub.
Finally got a Rhodia on the way, sick of my ink bleeding like buggery through the moleskine. I need a different diamine ink - the claret I bought is just too pinky/purple. Any recommended colours? It ideally needs to be a colour that I can use professionally. Blues are fine, IMO.
Midnight or Sargasso would be my preference for blues, I prefer that bit of dark body to them. I definitely need to get myself another Rhodia pad!
If it just needs to be dark then I'm a massive fan of Oxblood. Teal and Evergreen are also nice. Prussian Blue is my workhorse ink, greyish blue, very much an "accounting ink".
I'll just put a vote for "Sherwood Green" in here - it follows Oxblood et al in that it's a good dark colour.
Thanks guys. This is starting to sound like a good plan to buy a selection. I mean, how else can I figure out what I like?
I was going to read the thread to see if my advice/input will be a repost, but the thread is huge. So here it is anyway. I have a particular problem that not many people have, the result of two factors. The first is that I write with my hand crabbed up around the pen, not below the pen pointing upwards, so the edge of my hand rests on the paper alongside the writing, not below it. The second is that I'm left-handed. The upshot of these two particulars is that the edge of my hand smears the ink as I write. Very fine, very light fountain pens are acceptable (the ink dries fast enough for it not to be a problem) but biros, gel pens, normal fountain pens and the rest are out. My stupid hand posture smudges them all. The solution is the Uniball Micro Deluxe. It's very fine and very accurate, which means it's brilliant for small handwriting or maths. It's hopeless for large handwriting. But because it traces such fine lines of very fast-drying ink, it doesn't smudge at all: it's dry in moments. It's also available in multipacks on amazon and ebay for next-to-nothing. Just my 2¢. edit - and no, I don't work for Mitsubishi
These are fantastic pens. My dad loves them, I'm pretty sure he's hiding one in every jacket he wears!
My TWSBI 580 1.1 stub arrived today. Nice enough pen. Nib is kinda mehh. I think I prefer sharp italics to stubs. Really liking the additions to my ink collection though. Also can't wait for my Falcon to arrive. The Platinum Belage(1970 NOS) is great fun. Very smooth white gold springy nib. Absolute bargain imo for £31 shipped from Japan. Here's some pen porn of the Platinum. Didn't bother with the TWSBI, lots of photos of those already.
Ooooooo, Ancient Copper. I LOVE that ink. Be careful with leaving it in a pen for any length of time, I used it with a Noodler's Ahab and some strange fluffy growths started happening, they wiped off and everything was fine but they looked more than a bit odd. I also gave a bottle to a local artist and he's been using it with a brush for little cards as well as some larger stuff and they have been selling like crazy. I need to get another bottle to play around with some mega flexible dip nibs I have, the shading is awesome.
