dave lackey
Veteran
Sug, another beautiful pen! Absolutely gorgeous...
May I ask you and others who are more talented a question about matching pens? Not as a set, mind you, but with a camera of choice.
Bobkonos has wisely set my mind to matching two German Pelikan pens with my Leica M cameras. Green for my M3 and black for my M6. Now I am thinking of another pen for when I am carrying around a Nikon F6, a modern design rather than retro like my FM3a.
What Japanese pens would you recommend for a match with a Nikon?
I am leaning toward a Nakaya Aka-tamenuri that would require the sale of some gear to fund. Any cheaper alternatives?
Yes, I know, I have lost it! True. Years ago...
May I ask you and others who are more talented a question about matching pens? Not as a set, mind you, but with a camera of choice.
Bobkonos has wisely set my mind to matching two German Pelikan pens with my Leica M cameras. Green for my M3 and black for my M6. Now I am thinking of another pen for when I am carrying around a Nikon F6, a modern design rather than retro like my FM3a.
What Japanese pens would you recommend for a match with a Nikon?
I am leaning toward a Nakaya Aka-tamenuri that would require the sale of some gear to fund. Any cheaper alternatives?
Yes, I know, I have lost it! True. Years ago...
blue4130
Well-known
A couple more. The tree has since been colored with Hero red and J. Herbin Lierre sauvage green. The pens are my Hero and Picasso (which is soon to be retired and possible thrown out the window)
urban_alchemist
Well-known
A few of my favourite nibs...
Conid Kingsize w/ 1970s MB 149 nib.
Romillo Nervion.
Romillo, Nakaya custom, and two Hakases.
And their nibs...
(Sorry, the only pen photos I could find...)
Conid Kingsize w/ 1970s MB 149 nib.
Romillo Nervion.
Romillo, Nakaya custom, and two Hakases.
And their nibs...
(Sorry, the only pen photos I could find...)
dave lackey
Veteran
Someone earlier thought he had found Fountain Pen Heaven... These photos all make it seem that way. Beautiful pens, beautiful drawings, all around!
I wonder if our ancestors felt the same way about their quill pens? They all work the same using capillary action to dispense ink on paper... so I think the magic of gear was alive and well many years ago.
I have spent two months diligently working with sole fountain pen, and it has been very hard getting used to writing. I am unsure if it is harder on the mind or on the body but it takes both so it has been therapeutic! My handwriting still did not impress me. But last night I think I passed a significant milestone. I loosened my grip and just let it flow naturally. It actually became fun as I went through several refills of Irish Green ink. I am rejuvenated!
I wonder if our ancestors felt the same way about their quill pens? They all work the same using capillary action to dispense ink on paper... so I think the magic of gear was alive and well many years ago.
I have spent two months diligently working with sole fountain pen, and it has been very hard getting used to writing. I am unsure if it is harder on the mind or on the body but it takes both so it has been therapeutic! My handwriting still did not impress me. But last night I think I passed a significant milestone. I loosened my grip and just let it flow naturally. It actually became fun as I went through several refills of Irish Green ink. I am rejuvenated!
Monz
Monz
shadowfox
Darkroom printing lives
Gorgeous seems inadequate to describe the above!
shadowfox
Darkroom printing lives
Another $1.50 pen from Daiso.
The ink cartridge that came with the pen dried up after drawing the doodle on the background
Good thing I bought the additional cartridges (another $1.50 for a pack of 3)
The ink cartridge that came with the pen dried up after drawing the doodle on the background
Good thing I bought the additional cartridges (another $1.50 for a pack of 3)
Larry Cloetta
Veteran
There have been at least a couple, if not more, similar things I've noticed posted in the course of this thread, relating to the idea of unduly expensive Mont Blanc service. I just got a pen back from Mont Blanc service here in the States two days ago, and my experience was pretty much the opposite of expensive, IMO. Thought it worth mentioning.
Somewhere between 25 and 30 years ago I bought a Mont Blanc 149 as a present for my dad. He passed away 21 years ago, and the pen eventually ended up back with me. It had sustained what I can only guess was trauma of some sort when he had it, and the feeder was split in two, the nib was loose, and the barrel was cracked in multiple places. He had apparently tried to repair it with some epoxy, with less than perfect results. I put it away until a month ago, when I decided I should try to resurrect it, for sentimental reasons.
I sent it to Mont Blanc service, and they could not possibly have been more courteous, professional, or helpful. I got the pen back two days ago, and everything on the pen has been replaced, with the exception of the cap, and possibly, the nib. The total cost was $94, for what is essentially a brand new 149. And the cap had been polished. It writes beautifully as well.
If others have had different experiences, I can't dispute those, but perhaps it was just assumed that because the pens were expensive the service would be as well. My experience, though, was extremely positive and way beyond anything I could have reasonably expected.
shadowfox
Darkroom printing lives
Ok, you guys have done me in.
I registered at the FPGeek forum, I know Monz is there also, who else?
I registered at the FPGeek forum, I know Monz is there also, who else?
kermaier
Well-known
Pelikan M400 Brown Tortoise from 1990s. A recent score at SF Pen Show. Semi-modern construction with a classic touch, and this 14k nib got a full vintage level flex and just dreamy to write with. Currently in Canada with me for work.
Ah, there it is! That really grabs me. Now I know which pen I'm going to look for. Thanks, Sug!
::Ari
Ron (Netherlands)
Well-known
Pelikan M400 Brown Tortoise from 1990s. A recent score at SF Pen Show. Semi-modern construction with a classic touch, and this 14k nib got a full vintage level flex and just dreamy to write with. Currently in Canada with me for work.
Watching this wonderful thread I was looking in an old box here in the house and found 3 'old' fountain pens, one of my wife and two of mine. The oldest one was a present from friends when I graduated: yes it seems to be the Graduate pen from Waterman. Further there are two Parker classics - a matt black one and - the one from my wife - a red/brownish one.
This thread made me want to try the pens again (the Waterman is about 35 years old and both the Parkers are from the 1990's). So I did clean them - like we did never before! And since a week I have the Waterman up and running. It is still writing smooth after all these years - but my handwriting got quite worse....
Question: Looking at all these old pens that our fellow members seem to collect - are they writing with them with the old nibs still in or are they putting new nibs in (I always learned that you cannot write with a fountain pen that belonged to someone else since the pens are drawn/shaped to the writers hand)
telenous
Well-known
What a dangerous thread. Something tells me I shouldn't have clicked on it.
I've been afflicted with FP lust since I was a kid. They were discouraged at school and, naturally, that made them all the more desirable. My first pen, a run-of-the-mill German school pen, met a grisly end in the hands of a rather unpleasant teacher. Perhaps he thought FPs were a little *too* much fun to write with at school. Writing was first and foremost a means to carry content, anything else was superfluous.
My next FP encounter was when I was eight or nine and I caught glimpse of a shiny object strategically positioned in the window of the local stationary shop. Bait for small fish as they were leaving school, no doubt. And did I take that bait. Hook, line and sinker. It was a brushed steel, absolutely no-nonsense pen with a hard steel nail for a nib and a thin red circle as a solitary embellishment at the end of the cap. (This must give away the make of the pen.)
I must have pestered my mother for close to a year. She wasn't thrilled with the idea. The school didn't want us to use one so what good was it for. It was too expensive, pens were too messy. She resisted, predicting (correctly) an ink stained future for me. But you can resist many things, not a fixation. In the end, she relented and got me this most prized of objects as a birthday gift.
I was over the moon.
I inked the pen with Parker Blue Black, an ink that had a very particular smell, one which I can still bring to my nostrils today. And then I started writing whatever it is 8-9 year olds write about. Long divisions and bad prose about the proud history of one's own nation, probably.
I also remember my father looking at the pen with distinctive disinterest. "How can that be", I thought. But he was from a time that couldn't leave FPs behind fast enough. Also, he was a Parker man anyway, and the pen with the red circle, well, it wasn't a match for Parker pens. My grandfather, on the other hand, understood. He'd also transitioned to a Pelikan ballpoint but he'd kept in a drawer numerous nibs for a dipping pen which he used in his time. He had a fluid style of writing that was pleasant to look at but never baroque or ornate. He told me Pelikans were the best pens and that when I'd grow up I'd get one. Today I think he'd have wanted to say also that he'd buy that pen for me when time came. But being as old as he was, he knew his numbers didn't stack up.
Early experiences like these have been formative for my writing preferences later. (Btw the analogies I find with all matters photographic are striking.) I can't say I care about calligraphy (the content-first policy at school left an imprint there) but I keep copious notes for/from seminars and a fountain pen is heaven-sent for that. I still like the same type of no-nonsense pen I liked back then, the kind of workhorse that just does the job without shouting from the rooftops it's a fountain pen. Of course, Rotring is no more so, for me, Lamy has assumed the mantle. I also seem to have a boatload of school pens purchased over the years. Pelikanos, Safaris, Sports, Vectors...the lot. I say to myself that these are now for my daughter but, conveniently, I get to use them too. Oh, and I still have a soft spot for Pelikans. Heck, Parkers too.
Got a quick and dirty pic to post. I see there are a few Pelikans here so the first two are in good company. Will make some more photos later.
.
I've been afflicted with FP lust since I was a kid. They were discouraged at school and, naturally, that made them all the more desirable. My first pen, a run-of-the-mill German school pen, met a grisly end in the hands of a rather unpleasant teacher. Perhaps he thought FPs were a little *too* much fun to write with at school. Writing was first and foremost a means to carry content, anything else was superfluous.
My next FP encounter was when I was eight or nine and I caught glimpse of a shiny object strategically positioned in the window of the local stationary shop. Bait for small fish as they were leaving school, no doubt. And did I take that bait. Hook, line and sinker. It was a brushed steel, absolutely no-nonsense pen with a hard steel nail for a nib and a thin red circle as a solitary embellishment at the end of the cap. (This must give away the make of the pen.)
I must have pestered my mother for close to a year. She wasn't thrilled with the idea. The school didn't want us to use one so what good was it for. It was too expensive, pens were too messy. She resisted, predicting (correctly) an ink stained future for me. But you can resist many things, not a fixation. In the end, she relented and got me this most prized of objects as a birthday gift.
I was over the moon.
I inked the pen with Parker Blue Black, an ink that had a very particular smell, one which I can still bring to my nostrils today. And then I started writing whatever it is 8-9 year olds write about. Long divisions and bad prose about the proud history of one's own nation, probably.
I also remember my father looking at the pen with distinctive disinterest. "How can that be", I thought. But he was from a time that couldn't leave FPs behind fast enough. Also, he was a Parker man anyway, and the pen with the red circle, well, it wasn't a match for Parker pens. My grandfather, on the other hand, understood. He'd also transitioned to a Pelikan ballpoint but he'd kept in a drawer numerous nibs for a dipping pen which he used in his time. He had a fluid style of writing that was pleasant to look at but never baroque or ornate. He told me Pelikans were the best pens and that when I'd grow up I'd get one. Today I think he'd have wanted to say also that he'd buy that pen for me when time came. But being as old as he was, he knew his numbers didn't stack up.
Early experiences like these have been formative for my writing preferences later. (Btw the analogies I find with all matters photographic are striking.) I can't say I care about calligraphy (the content-first policy at school left an imprint there) but I keep copious notes for/from seminars and a fountain pen is heaven-sent for that. I still like the same type of no-nonsense pen I liked back then, the kind of workhorse that just does the job without shouting from the rooftops it's a fountain pen. Of course, Rotring is no more so, for me, Lamy has assumed the mantle. I also seem to have a boatload of school pens purchased over the years. Pelikanos, Safaris, Sports, Vectors...the lot. I say to myself that these are now for my daughter but, conveniently, I get to use them too. Oh, and I still have a soft spot for Pelikans. Heck, Parkers too.
Got a quick and dirty pic to post. I see there are a few Pelikans here so the first two are in good company. Will make some more photos later.
.
telenous
Well-known
OK, forgive the chicken-scratch. (Gotta go back to my old school one day and thank them for that. )
Two Pelikan traditional M205, one in black, the other in semi-transparent Purple (Pelikan calls it Amethyst -- it's supposed to go with their latest ink in the Edelstein line). Both have firmish steel nibs, the black is a Medium, the purple a Fine. Medium nibs are usually buttery smooth (this one is too) but I find Fine ones more suitable for my (smallish) kind of writing. The paper is from a rather pen-unfriendly squared Moleskin. Today I use J.Herbin Poussiere de Lune with the purple pen, although in this case I had the pen inked with Waterman purple. Herbin is an earthier kind of purple which I like better. The black pen is always inked with Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite - a black-blue kind of blue-black, if that makes sense. Both pens are really nice but I use them mostly at home as I prefer hooded nibs or simple school pens for use away from base.
.
) Two Pelikan traditional M205, one in black, the other in semi-transparent Purple (Pelikan calls it Amethyst -- it's supposed to go with their latest ink in the Edelstein line). Both have firmish steel nibs, the black is a Medium, the purple a Fine. Medium nibs are usually buttery smooth (this one is too) but I find Fine ones more suitable for my (smallish) kind of writing. The paper is from a rather pen-unfriendly squared Moleskin. Today I use J.Herbin Poussiere de Lune with the purple pen, although in this case I had the pen inked with Waterman purple. Herbin is an earthier kind of purple which I like better. The black pen is always inked with Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite - a black-blue kind of blue-black, if that makes sense. Both pens are really nice but I use them mostly at home as I prefer hooded nibs or simple school pens for use away from base.
.
dave lackey
Veteran
OK, forgive the chicken-scratch. (Gotta go back to my old school one day and thank them for that.
Two Pelikan traditional M205, one in black, the other in semi-transparent Purple (Pelikan calls it Amethyst -- it's supposed to go with their latest ink in the Edelstein line). Both have firmish steel nibs, the black is a Medium, the purple a Fine. Medium nibs are usually buttery smooth (this one is too) but I find Fine ones more suitable for my (smallish) kind of writing. The paper is from a rather pen-unfriendly squared Moleskin. Today I use J.Herbin Poussiere de Lune with the purple pen, although in this case I had the pen inked with Waterman purple. Herbin is an earthier kind of purple which I like better. The black pen is always inked with Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite - a black-blue kind of blue-black, if that makes sense. Both pens are really nice but I use them mostly at home as I prefer hooded nibs or simple school pens for use away from base.
Alkis, thank you for that wonderful story!
I have the same M205!! It is the only fountain pen I have and it is wonderful. This pen was selected to match my chrome M6. The next pen I get will match my Nikon F6. So many to choose from...
telenous
Well-known
Thanks, Dave. It's a wonderful pen, isn't it? I can see how it can match the M6. I 've got a couple of M2s so in my case I need to look in the Pelikan back catalogue for a match. Which ink do you use for it and which nib did you go for? I wrote earlier than the nib in mine is Fine but, surprisingly for a European nib, it seems to be more on the Extra Fine side of Fine. It gives a bit more feedback than a Fine, certainly a Medium too, but I love it. It's just a very good nib.
.
Which ink do you use for it and which nib did you go for? I wrote earlier than the nib in mine is Fine but, surprisingly for a European nib, it seems to be more on the Extra Fine side of Fine. It gives a bit more feedback than a Fine, certainly a Medium too, but I love it. It's just a very good nib..
Out to Lunch
Ventor
Well, I sent in the Montblanc Meisterstuck 146 through a local dealer and it came back less than two weeks later from the Montblanc factory in Germany with a new piston at a total cost of USD 100.
I thought it would be worse...
David Hughes
David Hughes
Just curious...
Just curious...
Hi,
Do they still make pens with left handed nibs?
Mind you, I often wondered if I had one in my old green scratchy Parker 51 and that dates me doesn't it?
Regards, David
Just curious...
Hi,
Do they still make pens with left handed nibs?
Mind you, I often wondered if I had one in my old green scratchy Parker 51 and that dates me doesn't it?
Regards, David
telenous
Well-known
There are pens for left-handers for sure. Not being one myself, I just had to check exactly what that means and it appears there are both grips molded for left-hand users and nibs that somehow facilitate writing. See here (no affiliation to seller, etc.) : http://www.cultpens.com/c/q/explore/collections/left-handed-pens
.
telenous
Well-known
This is a recent find from a local stationary shop; I need another fountain pen like a hole in the head but Rotring 600s are getting very expensive these days (in the sense they cost 2x or 3x what they cost new) and this one had a price tag probably from when it was put on display twenty years ago. So I caved (not that it took a lot of convincing). The pen itself is typically overengineered in that familiar way some other German products we know well in these parts are. It is inked with Waterman Florida Blue a.k.a Bleu Serene.
Not sure if the text's legible, I tried writing in cursive, and truth be told I haven't done so for thirty odd years.
.
Not sure if the text's legible, I tried writing in cursive, and truth be told I haven't done so for thirty odd years.
.
David Hughes
David Hughes
Hi,
Thanks: I was curious about the cut of the nib end as often so-called left handed stuff is meant to be held in the left hand but not used by the left hand. Scissors for example...
Regards, David