I know what you mean about the shrouded look, they can be a bit love 'em or hate 'em. I kinda like this one but I think the Parker 51 is a little too much. Still need to try one though so i can see what all the hype is about.
Nice get Almighty! Let us know how it performs with the converter. I'm the same at the moment, pen for maths notes in class and pencil in the GCSE exams.
Just be aware that it may not write perfectly for your hand straight away - your great uncle will have worn the nib depending on how he writes, which is probably at a different angle to how you write. I'm guessing the "special ink" he had to use was the special no-fade, long-life ink required for all permanent records? (The reason why most BMD Registrars still use fountain pens)
Yup, that would be it. Still haven't managed to get the residue off my fingers after cleaning it... I'm expecting to have to work on the nib a little with regards to smoothing but that's not a hard thing to do with the right tools (super fine nail polishing sticks...)
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that! But seriously, I love a bog standard biro. I'm too heavy handed for anything else! Generally if I'm writing just for me (notes etc) I'll write in pencil. I really like my handwriting in pencil, and it's never quite as good in pen
Having fully read this thread I now feel bad for posting something so glib! :/ Out of curiosity for people with larger and more loopy handwriting (myself) would you recommend a thicker tip?
Yes, I would. Wider nibs are suited to a cursive, looping style that is reasonably large. My handwriting is tiny and printed for legibility in hospital notes, so I go for EF nibs.
Has anyone tried using Diamine inks? I have been playing around with the 4 that I got a little while back and they are pretty good. I LOVE the colour of the ancient copper but it seems to have developed a nasty little habit in one of my pens. If left for a while, even just over the weekend, the ink dries out in the nib, not a huge problem, a lot of pen ink combinations do that. However when it does try out it kinda fluffs up and I end up with these strange looking growths around the nib. Big shame as the colour is amazing especially in a fatter nib as the shading in that ink brings out all sorts of colours from a weak copper orange to a dark brown. Cleaned out the pen last night (diamine is REALLY easy to clean) and filled it with the purple I got. Hopefully this one will be fine.
So I went to The Pen Shop in The Trafford Centre today and I've come away with some stuff. I've begun the journey in to the world of fountain pens with a Cross at0496-4ms. I need to check how well reviewed it is, but it was on sale at a very nice price and felt fantastic to me! I also bought a never ending pencil. Screw you physics! I normally HATE stuff with thin barrels but this just felt right in my hand. It was perfect. It really does feel as sleek as it looks.
That's a nice looking pen, not too sure on the pencil though, I think I would have to try one of those out and see how I got on with it. What size nib did you go for and what are you going for ink-wise?
The pencil, although looking smooth and slippery which I feared, is beautifully textured and works a charm for me. It's definitely worth trying one in person if you get the chance. That'll do me for things like maths next year as my only gripe is that its quite a thick nib. I still need to get a couple of Rotring 800's for architectural drawing. As for the pen, it's labelled as an MS nib- so medium really. Ink wise, I'm using the cartridges it comes with first. But I did love testing it in store with different cartridges and dipping too. I may have to pick up something with a converter later on.
Pens, eh? It's rather hard to write with, as you can't push. If you try to push, you get a lot of ink spatter as the nib catches on the paper. This means you need to do multiple strokes per character, which I'm not used to doing for most of them.
Kid, do yourself a favor and get a .03 mechanical for drafting. I used them throughout my drafting classes and whenever I had to design anything, all the way up to the armor plating for KR (which I might finally get around to completing.) Pencil sharpeners, lead holders, all these are fine and good, but I've never had any of them unseat an ultrafine lead. Also, pick up an eraser meant specifically for drafting. The one on the pencil is not acceptable. Even if it's meant for drafting. There's not enough and you can't angle it right. I always kept both an eraser stick and kneaded eraser. Ink with whatever you want (I use both Sakura pens and rollerballs, depending on ink color and placement in the design) but I think the pencil is the area where it's made or broken.
Just had a bit of a Chinese pen buying spree. Got a few Jinhao ones on the way. An x450 in blue (£5.40) An x750 in sparkly blue (£4.24) A set of #159 fountain pen and rollerball (£11.06) - these ones I am really looking forward to as the 159 was made as a copy of the Mont Blanc 149, the rollerball will even take the MB refills so at least I know I can get a good writing rollerball out of it. I'll throw up a few pictures when I get them.
Awesome! In less glamorous purchases, I bought this ballpoint: Normally goes for quite a bit but a small stock of them came up on Ebay for 9 quid a pop sop I just had to get one! Made by Caran D'ache and writes absolutely beautifully!
