Fountain pen users, rejoice!

[SandboxGeneral]

Sure ya can! Though I'm inclined to make a joke that I use them solely to sign my name to checks. But everything's electronic nowadays.

Which is why I like to use pens. I'm a novelist. And a publisher. I write a lot in Pages using my Mac mini or an iPad, but I've found if that's slow going or I'm too distracted by the internet, I switch over to pen and paper for a while. It doesn't take too long to transcribe a chapter (or three).

As a publisher, I lay out books and then use a pen to edit. Usually in a nice teal. It's less jarring to see suggestions in blue than to see swaths of edits so deep they look like the story started bleeding.

Thanks for the reply.

I did some writing on my iPad with a wireless keyboard before and actually got a lot done that way, too. I surprised myself at how much I was able to do on a small screen and did that for a while. But now, I'm using the new MacBook Air with its butterfly keyboard style and I quite enjoy it.

Using teal to edit a work would seem less jarring for sure; that beats having a felt tip red pen ripping across the pages! hahaha

On the topic of pens, today was my first day back in the office after an extended holiday break. I brought my fine nib Cross with me and used it a few times. But on standard copier paper, it didn't look at all impressive. Then a couple of other times I grabbed my ballpoint pen to sign some stuff and wow, the feeling was quite noticeable. I used to think the particular ballpoint I was using was nice and I liked it. It was just a certain model from Papermate - but I like it for what it is. However, when comparing it to the fountain pens, what a world of difference it was. The smoothness was totally missing on my ballpoint pen.

It's amazing what we can get used to and even enjoy. That is until we find something better by an order of magnitude and then wonder how we ever lived before it.

 

[Ollé]

May I inquire as to what sort of things you write while using fountains?

I use mine nearly every day as it was a combined 30th/discharge/going back to study gift.
I've used it to take notes through all my lectures, as I find that actually writing something down helps me digest the information as opposed to simply typing it.

I also use it in my job fairly regularly to either for meeting notes or signing documents.
[doublepost=1546907088][/doublepost]Actually, whilst I'm here - can anyone recommend a permanent, rich, deep black ink?

So far, all I've found is Montblanc's Permanent Black and was wondering what some alternatives might be.

 

[SandboxGeneral]

I find that actually writing something down helps me digest the information as opposed to simply typing it.

That is quite the same experience I find as well. As one with a more introverted personality, I do a lot of thinking and quickly too. Many thoughts race through my mind all the time and I have a time catching them all, too. But I am finding as I write in my daily journal, by hand now, that I can, too, digest the activities and thoughts of the day much better than typing them into a computer program.

There is something quite nostalgic, in 2019, about writing in a journal by hand every day I am finding. It's very enjoyable and I look forward to it each evening.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Sure ya can! Though I'm inclined to make a joke that I use them solely to sign my name to checks. But everything's electronic nowadays.

Which is why I like to use pens. I'm a novelist. And a publisher. I write a lot in Pages using my Mac mini or an iPad, but I've found if that's slow going or I'm too distracted by the internet, I switch over to pen and paper for a while. It doesn't take too long to transcribe a chapter (or three).

As a publisher, I lay out books and then use a pen to edit. Usually in a nice teal. It's less jarring to see suggestions in blue than to see swaths of edits so deep they look like the story started bleeding.

When I was teaching, I used to use either blue, blue/black or black ink when correcting and grading student appears and assignments; I had long loathed the use of that screaming red marker on student papers, and vowed that I would never use any ink I would not normally use for writing, when grading or correcting student papers.

I use mine nearly every day as it was a combined 30th/discharge/going back to study gift.
I've used it to take notes through all my lectures, as I find that actually writing something down helps me digest the information as opposed to simply typing it.

I also use it in my job fairly regularly to either for meeting notes or signing documents.
[doublepost=1546907088][/doublepost]Actually, whilst I'm here - can anyone recommend a permanent, rich, deep black ink?

So far, all I've found is Montblanc's Permanent Black and was wondering what some alternatives might be.

I use Mont Blanc's Permanent Black myself.

And I use my fountain pens daily to take notes, draw up lists, jot down stuff when on the phone; actually, the act of writing by hand aids memory, and - as you have already pointed out - helps me digest the the information I am trying to process and note.

That is quite the same experience I find as well. As one with a more introverted personality, I do a lot of thinking and quickly too. Many thoughts race through my mind all the time and I have a time catching them all, too. But I am finding as I write in my daily journal, by hand now, that I can, too, digest the activities and thoughts of the day much better than typing them into a computer program.

There is something quite nostalgic, in 2019, about writing in a journal by hand every day I am finding. It's very enjoyable and I look forward to it each evening.

Agreed.

It is not just nostalgic, but both therapeutic and useful, too.

 

[SandboxGeneral]

Ok, I could use some recommendations on ink cartridges, or whatever it is I need to use ink jars and refill pens.

I bought some Cross cartridges to go with my Cross pens, and after I used up the ones that came with them yesterday, I put one of these refills in. I wanted blue ink, and that's what I bought. But when I write with it, it doesn't feel the same and doesn't look as lovely as the black ink did. Looking at the box again, it mentions "archival ink." I assume that it is a particular type of ink and that I probably didn't order a more standard kind.

What do I get?

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Ok, I could use some recommendations on ink cartridges, or whatever it is I need to use ink jars and refill pens.

I bought some Cross cartridges to go with my Cross pens, and after I used up the ones that came with them yesterday, I put one of these refills in. I wanted blue ink, and that's what I bought. But when I write with it, it doesn't feel the same and doesn't look as lovely as the black ink did. Looking at the box again, it mentions "archival ink." I assume that it is a particular type of ink and that I probably didn't order a more standard kind.

What do I get?

My own preferences have always been the classics: Black, blue and blue/black.

Odd adjectives such as "archival" preceding an ink colour, (or, in the case of Mont Blanc - "oyster grey") hold little appeal.

Yes, I understand originality, and the need to experiment, but I am more than content with timeless classics. There are reasons the trinity of black, blue, and blue/black are classics and one of these is that they just look good on paper.

 

[willentrekin]

My own preferences have always been the classics: Black, blue and blue/black.

Odd adjectives such as "archival" preceding an ink colour, (or, in the case of Mont Blanc - "oyster grey") hold little appeal.

Yes, I understand originality, and the need to experiment, but I am more than content with timeless classics. There are reasons the trinity of black, blue, and blue/black are classics and one of these is that they just look good on paper.

My first thought with "archival" is that it's an ink specially formulated for documents. There are some inks designed to be waterproof, to dry quickly, to not streak . . . oftentimes for use signing legal documents or intended to be archived. I don't know a lot about them, but you might have one of those, Sandbox.

I have a Sailor Jentle in a very deep blue I love. I've found Parker's Quink pretty great, too. I've heard great things about Colorverse, and bought a few, but haven't yet tried them. Lamy and Pelikan both make great inks, as does Visconti.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

My first thought with "archival" is that it's an ink specially formulated for documents. There are some inks designed to be waterproof, to dry quickly, to not streak . . . oftentimes for use signing legal documents or intended to be archived. I don't know a lot about them, but you might have one of those, Sandbox.

I have a Sailor Jentle in a very deep blue I love. I've found Parker's Quink pretty great, too. I've heard great things about Colorverse, and bought a few, but haven't yet tried them. Lamy and Pelikan both make great inks, as does Visconti.

Mont Blanc does, too.

But, your point about what "archaic ink" possibly may be, is a very good one; I hadn't thought of that.

 

[SandboxGeneral]

Still looking for ink and trying to learn about the refilling of them.

While searching around I stumbled upon this fascinating video with Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson. Apparently, he is a huge fountain pen fan. If you have about an hour, watch the video. It's really good.

 

[SandboxGeneral]

I purchased two Cross converter's, one for the medium nib pen and one for the fine nib pen. Also I ordered some royal blue Montblanc ink to go with them. They should arrive on Friday.

Last night I ran out of the original (black) ink that came with the fine nib pen and I didn't want to put in that "archival" blue ink cartirdge, I really don't like how it feels or looks. To finish writing what I was working on I had to grab the gel ink pen, which isn't too bad, but it certainly isn't a fountain pen.

 

[willentrekin]

Neat interview. Figboot has some great videos on YouTube. Also check out SBRE Brown, the now-defunct Pen Habit, Pens and Tea, and Goulet Pens. It's a great community, truly.

I think you said you weren't interested in Instagram, but there are some great folks there, as well. Figboot is on Instagram, for example, and posts a lot of pictures of new acquisitions.

I think I have a bottle of Mont Blanc ink in Midnight Blue. Great product.

Are you aware of Massdrop? They have a fountain pen community and often have great deals on pens, inks, and paper. I've gotten lots of ink from them, as well as a Pelikan M605 and a Lamy Studio in palladium (which I've since sold, because palladium gets COLD).

 

[SandboxGeneral]

Are you aware of Massdrop? They have a fountain pen community and often have great deals on pens, inks, and paper. I've gotten lots of ink from them, as well as a Pelikan M605 and a Lamy Studio in palladium (which I've since sold, because palladium gets COLD).

Yes, I know about Massdrop, but I've never bought anything there. I also didn't know they had pens too, so I will definitely check that out later on. Thanks!

 

[SandboxGeneral]

The Montblanc non-permanent royal blue ink arrived today as well as the two converters for the Cross pens I have. The ink is much better than the "archival" ink I ended up with the cartridges earlier.

However, does anyone know or notice a difference in the feel of the flow and smoothness between a blue ink and black ink? The blue ink, from Montblanc, feels less smooth and less flowy than the original Cross black ink that came with the pens when I bought them. This is especially true in the fine nib pen, but the medium nib feels a little better since it, obviously, allows more ink to flow.

I'm just trying to discern how I might be noticing the different feels between the inks. I did place an order tonight for Montblanc permanent black ink which should arrive next week. I'm looking forward to seeing if I notice a difference between both Montblanc inks of differing color.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

The Montblanc non-permanent royal blue ink arrived today as well as the two converters for the Cross pens I have. The ink is much better than the "archival" ink I ended up with the cartridges earlier.

However, does anyone know or notice a difference in the feel of the flow and smoothness between a blue ink and black ink? The blue ink, from Montblanc, feels less smooth and less flowy than the original Cross black ink that came with the pens when I bought them. This is especially true in the fine nib pen, but the medium nib feels a little better since it, obviously, allows more ink to flow.

I'm just trying to discern how I might be noticing the different feels between the inks. I did place an order tonight for Montblanc permanent black ink which should arrive next week. I'm looking forward to seeing if I notice a difference between both Montblanc inks of differing color.

Fascinating.

Now, I had thought that this may have been a function of their nibs, rather than their ink.

(Over time, I have had to exchange some medium nibs for finer ones).

Inexplicably, it had never occurred to me that their ink may have different qualities (which allowed for easier or less easy writing experiences) based on the colour of individual inks. This is something I must explore further. Thank you for drawing my attention to this.

I will be fascinated to read what you have to say about you identify as the differences between Mont Blanc blue and Mont Blanc black.

For some reason, in general, I have preferred their black ink, (to their blue ink, although I do use the latter) and use it whenever I can.

They also have a navy blue (midnight navy) ink which I quite like.

 

[0388631]

Have any of you played with inks that have additives in them, such as metal flake?

 

[SandboxGeneral]

Fascinating.

Now, I had thought that this may have been a function of their nibs, rather than their ink.

(Over time, I have had to exchange some medium nibs for finer ones).

Inexplicably, it had never occurred to me that their ink may have different qualities (which allowed for easier or less easy writing experiences) based on the colour of individual inks. This is something I must explore further. Thank you for drawing my attention to this.

I will be fascinated to read what you have to say about you identify as the differences between Mont Blanc blue and Mont Blanc black.

For some reason, in general, I have preferred their black ink, (to their blue ink, although I do use the latter) and use it whenever I can.

They also have a navy blue (midnight navy) ink which I quite like.

I'll be sure to write back next week with my findings. I'm sure @willentrekin might have some intersting insight into this phenomenon I am experiencing.

Have any of you played with inks that have additives in them, such as metal flake?

I'm new to fountain pens as of 2 or 3 weeks ago, so I have not had any experience with those sort of inks. I'm still learning about all the different sorts of pens, nibs, inks and writing papers for this niche.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Have any of you played with inks that have additives in them, such as metal flake?

No, I can't say that I have.

I just prefer inks "that work". That also means the sue of good quality paper; last year, in an incredibly humid (and politically dysfunctional) environment, the paper supplied by the mission I worked for turned disgustingly soggy within a horrifyingly short space of time (obviously, they had never assume that this would happen).

In Nairobi, and in western Europe (on leave), I was able to buy very good quality German paper, which is what I used until my deployment came to an end last summer, and which held the ink properly and didn't turn disgustingly soggy.

 

[willentrekin]

Have any of you played with inks that have additives in them, such as metal flake?

I have several bottles, and have used a couple of the colors a few times. I want to say it was from J. Herbin, but I know I also have a couple shimmer inks from Diamine. I discovered I'm not a huge fan for a couple of reasons.
1) You have to shake them up pretty well prior to inking to ensure that it's properly mixed; otherwise you get a layer of shimmer/powder/flake sediment at the bottom and barely anything in the fill, because the metal settles.
2) Because the metal settles, it can also settle within whatever pen you have inked. So you might get an extra-heavy shimmer when you first start (which will look like a so-called "hard start," where the nib doesn't seem to write when it first touches the paper and needs to "warm up," so to speak) and then much less shimmer.
3) If you're going to ink a pen with it, plan to use that pen a lot and fairly quickly, because you don't want to store a pen for much longer than a week, as the metal can be not great for the interior mechanisms of the pen and REALLY DIFFICULT to clean. It's not like iron gall inks, which I know very little about except that they could be (I think) corrosive to older pens (I've never used any), but it's still not something you want to let sit.

I haven't noticed a difference between shades within brands, Sandbox, and as for Montblanc have only ever used a midnight blue. I usually use blue-blacks: Parker Quink, Sailor Jentle Yama-Dori, and Pilot Iroshizuku (I can't remember the exact shade). For Sailor and Pilot I have a few other colors of the same Jentle and Iroshizuku "line," but I haven't noticed a difference in the ink itself in my pens.

I've found Parker Quink and Waterman Mysterious Blue to be great, as well. I was writing a lot with Quink in a Sonnet for a while.

 

[0388631]

3) If you're going to ink a pen with it, plan to use that pen a lot and fairly quickly, because you don't want to store a pen for much longer than a week, as the metal can be not great for the interior mechanisms of the pen and REALLY DIFFICULT to clean. It's not like iron gall inks, which I know very little about except that they could be (I think) corrosive to older pens (I've never used any), but it's still not something you want to let sit.

Yep, this is why I inquired about it. Might be better off buying something good and cheap (and disposable if it's bad) from Goulet. I'm curious as to what's used for the additives. Likely nothing toxic. I don't know if you recall the process in which cadmium was being pushed to be removed out of paints years ago because of its toxicity. Think it kicked off due to some people who weren't bright and using it as body paint in art shows.

 

[Altis]

I've mostly switched away from fountain pens entirely. I have kept a Lamy Al-Star in the Copper limited edition run, as well as two Pilot Metropolitans, along with various nibs and inks for them.

I find that certain gel pens, particularly the Uni-ball Signo DX (UM-151) and Pilot Juice pens work much, much better for regular use. The former writes about as well as I can expect any pen to, with the smoothest and most consistent lines I've experienced and come in some very nice colors. The Juice is extremely practical with the spring-operated clip and the retractable tip, though they don't write quite as nicely as the UM-151.

One of the reasons I've moved to gel pens is that they write very smoothly right down to the 0.28mm tips, though I usually use 0.38mm, and do so on any paper you have. Writing fine with fountain pens gets pretty scratchy pretty quick and all but requires premium paper when doing so. They're also far more practical in that I don't have to maintain them, I always have all the colors available that I want to use, and I can keep them all over (though they certainly add up quickly in cost when you're buying a variety). I don't have to worry about losing them or even giving them away, and the retractable tip of the Juice is great for use in shirt pockets and one-handed use.

They certainly don't have the aesthetics of fountain pens, and can't do italics.

Maybe I'll take a photo of my collection of writing stuff at some point, which includes quite a few mechanical pencils as well.

 

[SandboxGeneral]

I brought out from the back room bookshelf an old college notebook. It's just one of those cheap ones that cost about a dollar. I just wanted to use it to practice writing my cursive handwriting. I used my fine and medium nib pens and my gel ink pen on it and it's laughable. The bleed-through from the fountain pens is rather bad and the gel ink pen comes nearly as close. The paper is quite thin but at least there is no feathering! Really about all it is good for is the standard No. 2 pencil or a cheap Bic ballpoint pen.

But I don't mind because all I am using it for is practicing.

The last time I really ever wrote in cursive was probably at least 30 years ago while I was in grade school. That was when I was introduced to it and the teachers taught us how to do it. But once we learned that and learned to print, we were given the option of using either style. Printing was easier for me and this was the path of least resistance. All through school and to graduation none of my teachers ever required cursive writing in our papers, so I never did it. Then along came the personal computer into our homes, schools, and places of business en masse and changed the art of handwriting forever.

Here I am now some 30 years on and trying to get myself back into the practice of cursive writing and making it legible. With the fountain pens, this is still fun and even with the gel ink pen, the practicing I've been doing is enjoyable.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I brought out from the back room bookshelf an old college notebook. It's just one of those cheap ones that cost about a dollar. I just wanted to use it to practice writing my cursive handwriting. I used my fine and medium nib pens and my gel ink pen on it and it's laughable. The bleed-through from the fountain pens is rather bad and the gel ink pen comes nearly as close. The paper is quite thin but at least there is no feathering! Really about all it is good for is the standard No. 2 pencil or a cheap Bic ballpoint pen.

But I don't mind because all I am using it for is practicing.

The last time I really ever wrote in cursive was probably at least 30 years ago while I was in grade school. That was when I was introduced to it and the teachers taught us how to do it. But once we learned that and learned to print, we were given the option of using either style. Printing was easier for me and this was the path of least resistance. All through school and to graduation none of my teachers ever required cursive writing in our papers, so I never did it. Then along came the personal computer into our homes, schools, and places of business en masse and changed the art of handwriting forever.

Here I am now some 30 years on and trying to get myself back into the practice of cursive writing and making it legible. With the fountain pens, this is still fun and even with the gel ink pen, the practicing I've been doing is enjoyable.

Get yourself some good quality paper (I use Leuchtturm1917, and Tamoe is also excellent, Moleskine used to be excellent but their quality is not as good as it used to be) and you'll see the difference when you write with a fountain pen (even when printing, rather than writing in cursive).

 

[SandboxGeneral]

Get yourself some good quality paper (I use Leuchtturm1917, and Tamoe is also excellent, Moleskine used to be excellent but their quality is not as good as it used to be) and you'll see the difference when you write with a fountain pen (even when printing, rather than writing in cursive).

I have a couple of Leuchtturm1917 notebooks and another one with good quality paper. They're very nice and I write in them daily. The cheap notebook is just for practicing my style.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I have a couple of Leuchtturm1917 notebooks and another one with good quality paper. They're very nice and I write in them daily. The cheap notebook is just for practicing my style.

I write in them daily, as well, and I find that they tend to actually last quite a while.

Likewise, the quality of paper used for printing - even the purportedly good quality stuff - tends not to be sufficiently good to write on with any degree of pleasure with a fountain pen.

 

[SandboxGeneral]

Likewise, the quality of paper used for printing - even the purportedly good quality stuff - tends not to be sufficiently good to write on with any degree of pleasure with a fountain pen.

That is certainly most true. For fun, I used a piece of office copy paper with one of the fountain pens just to see, for myself, how it looked. It bled through really bad and feathered badly as well.

Learning all of this new stuff about pens and paper and writing is enjoyable and rewarding.