Cyclops

Not sure I'm going to mess with it. Maybe just hand it off to someone else who likes more feedback.

It turns out that I'm not as big a fan of the TWSBI Go as I thought I would be. It's got too much feedback for my liking. I'll be going back to my Pilot Metropolitan as my everyday writer. On the plus side, when I inked the Go, it lasted right at 15 days before needing a refill. And that was with constant use. The spring-loaded filler worked great. That nib...I just...no.

I don't have a heavy hand, as I have arthritis; I let the pen write by its own weight. That's why I use fountain pens; ballpoints are killers for me, and rollerballs too, if I'm not careful. And thank you.

If you've not heard from anyone else, I'll put them to use. That is, if they'll work with F and EF nibs.

Understood. No rush.

Can you post a pic of some writing using that ink? I've thought about getting some of it myself. I want to get a lighter blue to contrast with the darker X-Feather Blue that I have from Noodler's.

I think I figured it out. After using the spring converter, I failed to wipe the bottom of the feed. Never needed to when using a piston converter, but apparently it's needed with the spring ones. Did it on the TWSBI and Hong Dian both. Seem to be no more globs. So far anyway.

NPD, NID, and NHD Hong Dian 6016, brown wood, EF nib (left); TWSBI Go, smoke, EF nib Not pictured: Noodler's Bad Black Moccasin, three yellow highlighters from MojiniLine, and a 5-pack of spring-loaded converters for Hong Dian pens. I have mixed emotions about the Go: I like the convenience of the plunger-filler, but for some reason it seems to have a proclivity to drop a big glob of ink with not all that hard of a shake. Then again, maybe it's just my imagination; I just got it yesterday. Not really enough time to make a lot of decisions about it yet. *Edit* Not really sure why the pic uploaded sideways.

Good deal. Glad it was found. It's a real bummer when anything is lost in the mail, but even more when it's a gift.

Almost sounds like someone is playing a high-level game of CYA there.

I like the J. Herbin 1670 Emerald of Chivor, but I'm afraid that my F and EF nibs wouldn't do it justice. And I write too small and tight to justify using a larger nib. Thoughts? Also, late 2020 (November, I think) my wife bought me 4 composition books at Dollar Tree, and I had one already. I was writing with ballpoints at the time, so I wasn't worried about bleeding or even ghosting. The 4 that she bought me (3 JOT, 1 Scholar) all handle fountain pens pretty well. The one I already had (Norcom brand) does not. Not so far, anyway. I tried Noodler's Lexington Gray, Marine Green, and X-Feather Black inks, and Monteverde Horizon Blue, and they ghosted a lot at the very least, to bled through in spots with the gray and blue. But a blue rollerball gel pen seems to be okay on it; I'll just have to take more breaks to shake out the cramp in my hand. Of the notebooks my wife got at DT, one is for book writing prompts-tips-advice, one is for screenwriting stuff, and a third one I'm probably going to use for writing short stories in. Not sure yet about the last one. But I'll figure something out.

Original TR was what I was referring to in my question. Some sites claim to still have some of the original, but I don't know how much to trust that. I'd really like to get some though.

Now I realize that this may be asking to comparing a Rembrandt to a six-month-old chimpanzee's watercolor, but how does TR paper compare to HP Premium32? I have never used TR, and I'm really curious as to what it's like before laying down the money. I love my HP Premium32, by the way, even though it's much thicker and heavier than standard printer paper.

I don't know about a good one, but it's better than it was. You'd think that for what folks pay for a Conklin, they'd get a better pen. It's most likely the last Conklin I'll buy. My Hongdian pens, which cost less than a third what this one cost on sale, write better.

Update on the Conklin. When I first inked it, it took a few to get started good; I expected that. But the next few times I went to write with it, same thing. Hard starter. I thought I was going to have to return it. I even sent the retailer an email to that effect. But then my brain went from neutral into gear, and I had a stupendous and monumental idea: CLEAN THE PEN. Being still a relative newbie to the rabbit hole...um, I mean addiction...no, that's not right either...uh, hobby...I forgot that it's recommended by some to clean each new pen before using. So I did. And it seems to have worked. It takes a second or two to start writing, but I used it most all day a couple of days ago without problem. So I guess I'll be keeping it after all.

As promised, here's my new Conklin All American, in olive wood, EF nib. Inked it with Bad Black Moccasin from Noodler's. I decided that because it's made of olive wood, I'm going to use it fairly exclusively for sermon prep. Sorry about the pix, they uploaded upside down and I don't know how to rotate them. It was on special with a free bottle of Private Reserve ink, but there weren't any that did anything for me, so I got some Tanzanite for my wife instead.

Back in August I got a Nebula notebook by Colorverse. Just last night I got around to doing something with it. I have Noodler's X-Feather Black in my Hongdian/Hong Dian Silver Birch Forest EF pen. It's the only ink I've used in it so far. The paper is fairly thick, so it ghosts very little. It hasn't bled through so far, although all I've done at this point is number some pages. That being said, I will either have to write slow, or keep my blotter handy at all times. Or handier than it already is, as it's always on my desk anyway. But the ink takes a bit to dry, which I suppose would be great for shimmering inks, if I actually used any. But so far, that's all the use I've gotten out of bit. I'll revisit this at a later date after I've used it more extensively. And I'll also show off my hopefully-arriving-soon Conklin Olive Wood All American in EF when it gets here. It was in sale, and paired with a free bottle of ink. Details later. *Edit* I finished out numbering the pages using Bad Black Moccasin. Much quicker drying time on the Nebula paper. Now I know to use the BBM ink instead of the X-Feather Black. At least if I want to not have to wait for it to dry.

I started around the same time. I've got slightly north of a dozen pen, maybe 20-ish inks (counting sample vials), and a small assortment of papers. It's a great addiction...I mean hobby...to get in to. Nice arrangement. I've been wanting a roll-top desk so bad I can almost taste the varnish on it. Welcome to the rabbit hole. We're all mad here.

I actually will not have a Tomoe River replacement, because I've never used TR paper before. I never could justify the expense with my income. I'm getting a little more now, so if I happen to come across some TR, I might get some of it. But that's a big IF. I'd really like to get a Kaweco at some point, but I'll most likely have to shell out the extra 3-6 bucks for the pocket clip. I need my pens to have a clip.

No, I still haven't used the Nebula yet. I need to think of the perfect use for it. I don't know if I want to use it as a journal, or use it to write another book in. Decisions, decisions...

Apparently I'm allowed only one photo per comment. So here's the other one I tried to upload. It's also the first time I have ever used any fountain pen specialty paper. I have a few reams of HP Premium32 paper which works great, but the Clairefontaine notebook is good too. I still haven't tried that Colorverse Nebula notebook yet. But I'll get to it.

Yes, the Jinhao. The one gripe I have (if you want to call it a gripe) is that I'm a lefty, and for me to hold the Shark and still write with it, I have to angle it in such a way that the indentations aren't under my fingers. It's not a deal breaker for me, but it is slightly awkward. Other than that I'm fine with it. It's currently inked with Lexington Gray, which I use for some underlining in my sermon notes. Along with a few other colors.

I've been getting a few more things here and there (okay, a lot more things), feeding my habit...I mean building up my collection. I bought X-Feather blue and black inks, a Black and Dark Blue Forest Hong Dian pens, and a leather-bound journal for a specific story I'm going to write. My favorite everyday-use ink so far is Noodler's Bad Black Mocassin. I keep my Metropolitan in my office inked with it for writing my sermons and manuscripts, and a Wing Sung 3008 filled with it in the living room for jotting down notes and such. I guess now I need the Green Forest to finish out the collection of Hong Dian pens. I'm waiting to get either a TWSBI Swipe or a Go. I also recently got a grey Share-a-Shark set from Goulet Pens, and a Nebula notebook by Colorverse. Not used it yet, but I'm looking forward to it. Sorry for the long post. I lost the link to post here, so I had to wait until someone else did.

I found a set FP-friendly highlighters at JetPens. They work pretty well. So far, anyway.

My "grail" pen is a Montegrappa Hemingway Fisherman. I'll never ever be able to afford one. I just placed an order for a bottle of Noodler's X-Feather Blue and some silicone grease from Goulet. And for the leather-bound, deckle-edged paper journal that I bought a few weeks ago I ordered two Hong Dian pens in EF, a Matte Black Forest and a Dark Blue Forest. I have the Silver Forest already. Aye, 'tis madness, though there be method to it. The black and blue pens will have the X-Feather black and blue inks, respectively. I'm going to borrow a page from Neil Gaiman's book and use alternating inks for alternating days of writing. I'm saving that particular journal for a particular story. For other writing projects, HP Premium32 paper works great with fountain pens. I'll be buying more.