Introduction to Fountain Pens

[JimVH]

For dark browns, I have Noodler's Walnut, which is almost black, and Monteverde Brown Sugar. I can send you samples if you want.

Box pass?

You thought pie was messy.

[coco]

For dark browns, I have Noodler's Walnut, which is almost black, and Monteverde Brown Sugar. I can send you samples if you want.

Box pass?

You thought pie was messy.

I would be up for an ink sample box pass. I would be glad to start it and throw in a tin of tobacco.

If someone ever sends me a pie in the mail, I'm eating it. It doesn't matter how badly the Post Office squishes it.

[JudgeRusty]

Alrighty, the paperwork that came with my pen obviously pushes Iroshizuku ink. I've done a little poking around on Amazon, and it appears that the Iroshizuku sells for approximately twice as much as Noodler's, depending on individual color and seller of course. Am I missing something here? I'm looking for a nice dark brown - the Iroshizuku Dark Walnut looks like a great fit, but is $18 for 50ml while the Noodler's Walnut is $16 - 26 (depending on seller) for 3oz.

Is this a quirk of Amazon, or are the Pilot inks just that much more expensive?

Noodlers and Monteverde are among the most affordable per milliliter. Iroshizuku is more expensive, but not as expensive as some others. It isn't necessarily that much better. (Rusty used to have a spreadsheet of price per milliliter for all the different brands.)

For dark browns, I have Noodler's Walnut, which is almost black, and Monteverde Brown Sugar. I can send you samples if you want.

So, $10 for 2 oz bottle of Quink for all these years has been a mistake?

[coco]

Alrighty, the paperwork that came with my pen obviously pushes Iroshizuku ink. I've done a little poking around on Amazon, and it appears that the Iroshizuku sells for approximately twice as much as Noodler's, depending on individual color and seller of course. Am I missing something here? I'm looking for a nice dark brown - the Iroshizuku Dark Walnut looks like a great fit, but is $18 for 50ml while the Noodler's Walnut is $16 - 26 (depending on seller) for 3oz.

Is this a quirk of Amazon, or are the Pilot inks just that much more expensive?

Noodlers and Monteverde are among the most affordable per milliliter. Iroshizuku is more expensive, but not as expensive as some others. It isn't necessarily that much better. (Rusty used to have a spreadsheet of price per milliliter for all the different brands.)

For dark browns, I have Noodler's Walnut, which is almost black, and Monteverde Brown Sugar. I can send you samples if you want.

So, $10 for 2 oz bottle of Quink for all these years has been a mistake?

Yes, 'cause Amazon has it for $7.19.

At $7.19, Quink is 12.6 cents/ml. Noodler's is about 13.9 cents/ml, Pilot Iroshizuku is about 37.6 cents/ml, and Caran D'ache is about 66.4 cents/ml.

Any of the above bottles will last you for a really, really long time, and are probably cheap in comparison with buying disposable gel pens. However, they are all quite expensive when you get a five dozen bottles in different colors due to ink aquisition disorder.

[Gabriel]

Alrighty, the paperwork that came with my pen obviously pushes Iroshizuku ink. I've done a little poking around on Amazon, and it appears that the Iroshizuku sells for approximately twice as much as Noodler's, depending on individual color and seller of course. Am I missing something here? I'm looking for a nice dark brown - the Iroshizuku Dark Walnut looks like a great fit, but is $18 for 50ml while the Noodler's Walnut is $16 - 26 (depending on seller) for 3oz.

Is this a quirk of Amazon, or are the Pilot inks just that much more expensive?

Noodlers and Monteverde are among the most affordable per milliliter. Iroshizuku is more expensive, but not as expensive as some others. It isn't necessarily that much better. (Rusty used to have a spreadsheet of price per milliliter for all the different brands.)

For dark browns, I have Noodler's Walnut, which is almost black, and Monteverde Brown Sugar. I can send you samples if you want.

Heh, I don’t know about samples. I’m really not planning on turning into an ink collector. Sounds like it might be inevitable though. Mainly I only have one pen and don’t want to be changing ink colors all the time. A nice rich brown should look nice in my study journal and still be formal enough for work.

Any idea how many times I should be able to refill my pen with 50ml of ink? Approximately?

[JudgeRusty]

For 12 years I wrote a lot, daily with fountain pens, taking long hand notes in court.
I went through about 3 or 4 bottles I think.

Emptying a bottle of ink is a landmark life event almost.

[coco]

Any idea how many times I should be able to refill my pen with 50ml of ink? Approximately?

A standard international cartridge converter holds an absolute maximum of 0.86 ml, so a 50 ml bottle would fill it about 58 times, assuming no losses, etc. Like Judge said, a bottle will probably last you more than a week or two.

[Gabriel]

Ok, I’ll admit, I succumbed to the allure of the shiny packaging and the whatnot.

My ink arrived today.




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[Bloodhound]

I have resisted reading this thread topic....till today. I was sucked into the Fountain Pen usage just after I graduated. I bought a really cheap pen and made lots of mess and decided it wasn't for me. But old school stuff is my weakness...I love classic and I am an equipment guy...the more equipment/tools it takes, the more I could be interested.

I am currently resisting...I have been slowly over the last 6 months de-cluttering...I am resisting...

[Eruannu]

Do Engineering drafting pens and brush pens count as fountain pens? If that's the case I entered the pond years ago without realizing it? I used them almost exclusively for drawing for years and occasionally pull them out from time to time.

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[durangopipe]

I have resisted reading this thread topic....till today. I was sucked into the Fountain Pen usage just after I graduated. I bought a really cheap pen and made lots of mess and decided it wasn't for me. But old school stuff is my weakness...I love classic and I am an equipment guy...the more equipment/tools it takes, the more I could be interested.

I am currently resisting...I have been slowly over the last 6 months de-cluttering...I am resisting...

It’s just like PAD.
It’s just like FRAD (fly rod acquisition disorder).
It’s just like MFAFBD (must fill another fly box disorder)
It’s just like TAESIMGSD (there’s an empty space in my gun safe disorder)

I hope, pray I recognized the is illness in the early stages and won’t catch a fatal case.

Confession time?
I have three more bottles of ink on the way.

NEVER look at this thread again, BH.
Run now while there’s still time.

[durangopipe]

Ok, I’ll admit, I succumbed to the allure of the shiny packaging and the whatnot.

My ink arrived today.




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Man, that bottle is so pretty I’d be reluctant to open it!

[Jocose]

These pens, inks and info are great.

Who wants to be pen pals if I get a pen?

[coco]

These pens, inks and info are great.

Who wants to be pen pals if I get a pen?

me

[Bloodhound]

These pens, inks and info are great.

Who wants to be pen pals if I get a pen?

me

Me too....oh wait...I am resisting...........

[JimVH]

These pens, inks and info are great.

Who wants to be pen pals if I get a pen?

me

Me too....oh wait...I am resisting...........

I would, but I can't read or write.

[rgcurrey]

Prometheus (4Sevens Flashlights) has a kick starter going for a pretty cool looking fountain pen. I am not getting one (though I have a flashlight from them and they are top notch) as I have a pipe coming down the pike. That said I though you guys might be interested.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/da ... 058bc2cf21

[JohnnyMcPiperson]

Great thread idea, Coco. Unfortunately it caused me to spend way too much time on Amazon this morning adding things to my wish list...

I like that Pilot. I'm starting to do a lot more handwriting for my job and currently use the Pilot V5 pens. I do like them, but fountain pens are always fascinating.

Pilot has impressive manufacturing tolerances, even in their cheaper pens. Of course, I'm something of a Japanophile, so I'm biased.

The Pilot Prera is a nice option!




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[sweetandsour]

Well alright.


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Nice!
Mine is supposed to arrive tomorrow.

Love the Metropolitan. It's a great value and is the one modern pen I never have any problems with. I love the body and Pilot nibs just can't be beat for the price.

The Plumix has a medium italic nib that makes just about any chicken scratch look good. I take the Plumix nibs and put them my Metropolitan. Great combo. Great writer.

I ordered a pilot metropolitan retro yesterday, for roughly $12, along with some black ink. Now I need a good quailty journal. I was looking at vintage Parker's in a shop last week that ran from $100 on up, and I said uh, no thanks.

[Bloodhound]

DRAT...I am here again...OK I have read and re-read the posts. If I decide to do this, I will be doing it for the nostalgia part of it...to write in my hunting journal (at least that is what I am telling myself). So I will not want to get a new fountain pen, but rather a vintage pen. I am guessing the auction site is the best place to start or is there a better option...what brand am I looking for if I was going to keep it around the $50 mark or is that too low?