Any Fountain Pen Writers?

[Kasimir]

1 minute ago, Slowswift said:

I'm not even letting myself open the tabs. I just looked at the emails and said "Nope".  

Wise move  Same tbh, though I've saved some links for next year.

[Kasimir]

Probably going to try to commit to once a month posts to keep this alive

Favourite pens/inks of the month?

Cosmo Air Light is shutting production, causing consternation in my part of the world. Some of my pen friends really like CAL paper!

[Cyclops]

 

3 hours ago, Kasimir said:

Probably going to try to commit to once a month posts to keep this alive

Favourite pens/inks of the month?

Cosmo Air Light is shutting production, causing consternation in my part of the world. Some of my pen friends really like CAL paper!

The only paper I've ever used that's sold for fountain pen use are a couple of Clairefontaine 3x5-ish notebooks I bought.  Never used Cosmo Air Light, Tomoe River, or anything else like that; can't really justify that kind of purchase at the moment, as much as I like to write.  So I use Hammermill and HP papers that are pretty fountain pen-friendly, and a whole lot more affordable for me right now.

[Coolmint]

14 hours ago, Kasimir said:

Probably going to try to commit to once a month posts to keep this alive

Favourite pens/inks of the month?

Cosmo Air Light is shutting production, causing consternation in my part of the world. Some of my pen friends really like CAL paper!

I'm glad I got some Cosmo when it was still selling.  
 

Pens and inks of the month?  That's tough.  I'm going to need a Christmas red and green.  The green with probably be Monteverde Yosemite, and a Monteverde red to go along.  Both will be in TWSBIs so I can see how much ink's in fhere.   I don't know about other favorites at the moment.
 

Heyyyy.  The font size disappeared, popped up again, and now disappeared.

Thanks for keeping the thread alive!

[+Slowswift]

22 hours ago, Kasimir said:

Probably going to try to commit to once a month posts to keep this alive

Favourite pens/inks of the month?

Cosmo Air Light is shutting production, causing consternation in my part of the world. Some of my pen friends really like CAL paper!

My pen collection is going nowhere, really, which my wallet appreciates.  After the new year I'm gonna try and trim it down a bit, then I'll see about adding the couple I've had my eye on.

Right now I'm using a medium 3776 with Platinum's own Blue-Black, which is great in a fine nib (what I had it in before), but it really shines (literally, it sheens quite a bit) in the medium!

I'm sad, but at least I'd never used it, so I don't know what I'm losing. I've got a handful of Tomoe River I want to work through before I think about trying to experiment with paper anyways.

[Cyclops]

As fat as favorite pens and/or inks of the month, I've never really thought about that.  I just use whatever ink(s) strike my fancy at the moment, or use a pen that's already got a different ink in it.  My go-to writer is my Grey Houndstooth Metropolitan, inked with Noodler's X-Feather Black.  My Eco has Writer's Blood, one Kakuno has Noodler's Bad Black Moccasin, other Kakuno has Noodler's Bad Belted Kingfisher, a Jinhao has Diamine Wild Strawberry, a Wing Sung has Noodler's Marine Green, another with Diamine Aurora Borealis, and a few others with various and sundry inks.

[Coolmint]

13 hours ago, Cyclops said:

As fat as favorite pens and/or inks of the month, I've never really thought about that.  I just use whatever ink(s) strike my fancy at the moment, or use a pen that's already got a different ink in it.  My go-to writer is my Grey Houndstooth Metropolitan, inked with Noodler's X-Feather Black.  My Eco has Writer's Blood, one Kakuno has Noodler's Bad Black Moccasin, other Kakuno has Noodler's Bad Belted Kingfisher, a Jinhao has Diamine Wild Strawberry, a Wing Sung has Noodler's Marine Green, another with Diamine Aurora Borealis, and a few others with various and sundry inks.

Nice array.  Is the Bad Belted Kingfisher waterproof?

[Cyclops]

3 hours ago, Coolmint said:

Nice array.  Is the Bad Belted Kingfisher waterproof?

From wordpress-dot-com

"BBK is a bulletproof ink. An application of water smears enough color to prove the ink was assaulted, but the writing remains legible."

[Coolmint]

18 minutes ago, Cyclops said:

From wordpress-dot-com

"BBK is a bulletproof ink. An application of water smears enough color to prove the ink was assaulted, but the writing remains legible."

Thanks.  I asked because I wanted an ink for sketching, with a watercolor wash.  Oh, well… I do have Evil Green Gator.

[Kasimir]

On 12/3/2023 at 1:19 AM, Coolmint said:

I'm glad I got some Cosmo when it was still selling.  

I liked it, but still prefer TR, Midori MD, or Muji I think. 

On 12/3/2023 at 1:19 AM, Coolmint said:

Pens and inks of the month?  That's tough.  I'm going to need a Christmas red and green.  The green with probably be Monteverde Yosemite, and a Monteverde red to go along.  Both will be in TWSBIs so I can see how much ink's in fhere.   I don't know about other favorites at the moment.

Still that Nakaya for me. I understand now what people mean when they make posts of a Nakaya they've had for 4+ years. I'm actually excited to see this pen age with me and it is a keeper.

Inks-wise, I'm still on Lennon Toolbar Shuise, which is uh, interesting to read

On 12/3/2023 at 9:21 AM, Slowswift said:

My pen collection is going nowhere, really, which my wallet appreciates.  After the new year I'm gonna try and trim it down a bit, then I'll see about adding the couple I've had my eye on.

Reasonable. The Pilot price increase (again!) has been painful but a good reminder to focus on collection right-sizing IMO.

On 12/3/2023 at 9:21 AM, Slowswift said:

Right now I'm using a medium 3776 with Platinum's own Blue-Black, which is great in a fine nib (what I had it in before), but it really shines (literally, it sheens quite a bit) in the medium!

Medium 3776 is a good choice ngl. My first 3776 nib didn't impress me but the Nakaya nib is a 3776 nib and it's great.

On 12/3/2023 at 9:21 AM, Slowswift said:

I'm sad, but at least I'd never used it, so I don't know what I'm losing. I've got a handful of Tomoe River I want to work through before I think about trying to experiment with paper anyways.

Yeah, honestly don't feel you are missing too much but I'm also not the CAL fan here

On 12/2/2023 at 2:40 PM, Cyclops said:

So I use Hammermill and HP papers that are pretty fountain pen-friendly, and a whole lot more affordable for me right now.

Fair, they're not really available here but there's the cost-friendly Herlitz though apparently now they've changed production methods, quality is a bit more inconsistent.

On 12/3/2023 at 9:52 AM, Cyclops said:

My go-to writer is my Grey Houndstooth Metropolitan, inked with Noodler's X-Feather Black.  My Eco has Writer's Blood, one Kakuno has Noodler's Bad Black Moccasin, other Kakuno has Noodler's Bad Belted Kingfisher, a Jinhao has Diamine Wild Strawberry, a Wing Sung has Noodler's Marine Green, another with Diamine Aurora Borealis, and a few others with various and sundry inks.

Wild Strawberry ftw, and the Houndstooth and Kakuno are good shouts!

[+Slowswift]

11 hours ago, Kasimir said:

Reasonable. The Pilot price increase (again!) has been painful but a good reminder to focus on collection right-sizing IMO.

I hadn't heard about that, which makes me even more glad I've already got my Pilot grail.*

11 hours ago, Kasimir said:

Medium 3776 is a good choice ngl. My first 3776 nib didn't impress me but the Nakaya nib is a 3776 nib and it's great.

I've been really happy with it! It honestly might be my favorite nib at this point. It writes perfectly, and the decorations add a lot of character.

11 hours ago, Kasimir said:

Yeah, honestly don't feel you are missing too much but I'm also not the CAL fan here

And let's be real, Tomoe River has ruined many of us for any other kind of paper.  

*I mean, I'd love a Yukari Royale or an Emperor someday, but if the 823 was the only pen I ever owned I'd be happy.

[Kasimir]

16 hours ago, Slowswift said:

I hadn't heard about that, which makes me even more glad I've already got my Pilot grail.*

Yeah, some of the hikes are pretty steep, e.g. an increase of almost $200. Happy to have had my Nakaya grail because I feel like a Pilot hike is weakly indicative the Big Three will soon follow.

16 hours ago, Slowswift said:

I've been really happy with it! It honestly might be my favorite nib at this point. It writes perfectly, and the decorations add a lot of character.

Decorations? Am happy with my elastic broad tbh.

16 hours ago, Slowswift said:

And let's be real, Tomoe River has ruined many of us for any other kind of paper.  

Guilty as charged  

[Coolmint]

I'm almost happy I can't really use it!   

[Kasimir]

13 hours ago, Coolmint said:

I'm almost happy I can't really use it!   

Oh?

[Coolmint]

9 hours ago, Kasimir said:

Oh?

A. It is no longer being made.

B. My Sinister nature precludes the use of slow-drying paper.

C. WHAT happened to my beloved font size selection?  

[+Slowswift]

On 12/5/2023 at 3:43 AM, Kasimir said:

Decorations? Am happy with my elastic broad tbh.

The Mt. Fuji outline, the heart-shaped breather hole, and the fancy lettering for #3776. I'm less a fan of the Platinum logo, but that's neither here nor there.

I'm becoming more and more okay with larger nib sizes. It used to be Fine was the largest I would consider getting, but now I'm enjoying some larger sizes.

[Kasimir]

On 12/6/2023 at 9:47 PM, Coolmint said:

B. My Sinister nature precludes the use of slow-drying paper.

RIP yeah, that would be annoying. So much smearing!

23 hours ago, Slowswift said:

The Mt. Fuji outline, the heart-shaped breather hole, and the fancy lettering for #3776. I'm less a fan of the Platinum logo, but that's neither here nor there.

I'm a fan of the old Sailor scrollwork myself  

[Coolmint]

In other fountain pen, writing-related news, I did NOT finish NaNo…but eons ago, on a typewriter, I wrote a Three Day Novel.  It came out about like you'd expect.

Edited December 7, 2023 by Coolmint

[+Slowswift]

4 hours ago, Kasimir said:

I'm a fan of the old Sailor scrollwork myself  

That's another good one! As much as I do love the new design, the old one was iconic. Top of the list for new pens next year is a Pro Gear Realo, and I'm kinda hoping it'll be one that still has the old nib design.

[Kasimir]

14 hours ago, Coolmint said:

In other fountain pen, writing-related news, I did NOT finish NaNo…but eons ago, on a typewriter, I wrote a Three Day Novel.  It came out about like you'd expect.

I feel you - I've been battling RSI on my dominant hand so had to call NaNo off  One day!

11 hours ago, Slowswift said:

That's another good one! As much as I do love the new design, the old one was iconic. Top of the list for new pens next year is a Pro Gear Realo, and I'm kinda hoping it'll be one that still has the old nib design.

Reasonable, the Realo has tempted me although I hear negative things about Sailor and pistons. I'm considering a Kyuseido Kakari at some point but that's solidly FAFO territory by now.

[+Slowswift]

12 hours ago, Kasimir said:

Reasonable, the Realo has tempted me although I hear negative things about Sailor and pistons. I'm considering a Kyuseido Kakari at some point but that's solidly FAFO territory by now.

The things I've heard are more along the lines of "Not perfect" rather than "Actively bad", so we'll see. I'm a ways off yet.

That pen is gorgeous...and terrifyingly expensive. 

[Cyclops]

On 12/7/2023 at 12:54 PM, Coolmint said:

In other fountain pen, writing-related news, I did NOT finish NaNo…but eons ago, on a typewriter, I wrote a Three Day Novel.  It came out about like you'd expect.

I've never even attempted NaNoWriMo.  Ever.  I can't be creative that fast.

[Kasimir]

16 hours ago, Slowswift said:

The things I've heard are more along the lines of "Not perfect" rather than "Actively bad", so we'll see. I'm a ways off yet.

That pen is gorgeous...and terrifyingly expensive. 

Care to share which one you have your eye on? And fair, yeah!

[+Slowswift]

8 hours ago, Kasimir said:

Care to share which one you have your eye on?

If a special edition shows up (either new release or on eBay) between now and then, possibly that, but I quite like the look of the basic maroon one.

In terms of other pens on my list, a Monoc nib from Ian Schon and an Esterbrook Estie are top priority. 

8 hours ago, Kasimir said:

And fair, yeah!

Not to say it isn't worth it; that thing looks amazing. But boy was that some sticker shock! (In all fairness the Monoc gave me the same reaction at fist. )

Edited December 9, 2023 by Slowswift

[Kasimir]

11 hours ago, Slowswift said:

Not to say it isn't worth it; that thing looks amazing. But boy was that some sticker shock! (In all fairness the Monoc gave me the same reaction at fist. )

I missed the second part  The fair yeah was a response to the Realo. Otherwise in general my view of the Kakari is I'd like to try it but metallic pens aren't my jam admittedly. (I guess I've thought about it more since my last post?)

11 hours ago, Slowswift said:

If a special edition shows up (either new release or on eBay) between now and then, possibly that, but I quite like the look of the basic maroon one.

Reasonable  There was a beautiful starry one from Bungubox that had my eye but did not want a Realo.

11 hours ago, Slowswift said:

In terms of other pens on my list, a Monoc nib from Ian Schon and an Esterbrook Estie are top priority. 

Monoc and Estie sound great tbh. The Monoc looks really good, but as you said, sticker shock!

Edited to add:

I really need to reduce pen boxes  

Edited December 10, 2023 by Kasimir