What pens are we carrying today?

[moustache]

Here are a couple of my twins today: Omas #1 and #2

Jim

 

[DeaconKC]

Today, I'm gambling with a couple of vintage while working. A Parker 21 Super in Dark Green loaded with Parker Quink Blue and an old Sheaffer cartridge pen, marked Goodyear Tires, loaded with Skrip Black.

 

[DeaconKC]

Tomorrow is gonna be a gamble too! Found a Parker 21 set for $15 in a shop today. Black set and the pen is a great writer! Gonna carry both 21s tomorrow! Woohoo!

 

[Lou]

I have a few vintage fountain pens, but usually carry one of my two modern ones: Waterman Kultur and Lamy Al-Star. I keep the vintage ones for writing at home.

 

[John in Covina]

I have a few vintage fountain pens, but usually carry one of my two modern ones: Waterman Kultur and Lamy Al-Star. I keep the vintage ones for writing at home.

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The Kultur is also known as the Phileas. I just gave my phileas away to the son of a friend of mine.

I do also have Lamy Al-stars which are fine writers, especially for the price.

 

[John in Covina]

Here are a couple of my twins today: Omas #1 and #2

Jim

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Those are sharp looking the body colors are really neat.

 

[Canadave]

Caran d'Ache 849 ball pen. Smooooth.

David

 

[John in Covina]

Conway Stewart

I am using a Conway Stewart "58" with a medium nib. Nice writer but a little dry, it always needs to be moved to get it started, once going it wites pretty nice. I bought it a number of years back when Levenger handled brands of pens other than just their own. If you were lucky at some point they'd put it on sale and it would be a really good deal. It's a fairly small pen just about 3/8's of an inch longer than a Pelikan M200.

It's a really nice bright swirly green color and a really classy classic looking pen.

 

[DeaconKC]

I just opened up a new Sheaffer TRZ from an auction. NOS, never inked and what an incredibly smooth nib. If I didn't know better I would swear it had been to a nibmeister. But what a slim pen, it cannot be over 1/4" in diameter.

 

[John in Covina]

In the black.

I just recently grabbed one of my Esterbrooks I think its a J model in that swirly metallic blue color which has a new 9556 nib (Fine Writing- records and charts) and filled it with Aurora Black.

(Aurora Black was featured in an ink article a few years back in one of the promenant pen magazines. They tested a series of black inks from around the world for use and staying power under torturous conditions. For pre Noodler's Eternal inks time period. Aurora black came in a close 3rd to two Asian inks that you could not get in the US. It performs really well.)

The Ink and Esterbrook are writing like a beautiful dream.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

I am partial to that Aurora Black due to its absolute inky blackness, if I may be redundant. I have it in my Sheaffer.

The Conklin Mark Twain is behaving much better with Vert Reseda by J.Herbin, which I bought solely for its quaint French packaging.

Mustache, those Omas pens are very pretty. I like that Conway Stewart as well.

 

[DeaconKC]

John, how long is your Esterbrook capped? I can tell you model it is then. Love those Esties......

 

[John in Covina]

John, how long is your Esterbrook capped? I can tell you model it is then. Love those Esties......

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With cap closed, from the top of the jewel to the bottom of the other jewel it is a hair under 5 inches. As best I can tell.

 

[DeaconKC]

Sounds like a J, then. I love them,the SJ is a little shorter overall.
http://www.richardspens.com/
Check out the reference link for the Estebrook J

 

[John in Covina]

A little slice of heaven!

Today, I received in the mail a little slice of heaven, a specialized custom ground and magically assembled with loving care nib (with feed and converter assembly) for my Pilot Vanishing Point. I bought my VP with the regular Pilot fine but it just never really was as good as every one else's VP I ever tried. Dry writer, false starts and just not smooth like the ones I have tried. Simple case of bad luck that time, as everyone else I knew loved theirs and they wrote so smooth.

Recently I went on Richard Binder's website to just look around and spotted that he was working up some really interesting specialty nibs for the VP. I ordered the 0.9-cursive italic. It comes as the complete assembly from nib and feed thru the inner body and converter that is the heart of all VP's.

I doubled checked it would fit and it did, (A just in case type thing, there have been some changes to the VP over time.) It slipped in fine and the retraction was right on, so I popped it out and inked it up with my special blend of Private Reseve Blues with the Tanzinite kicker. Put pen to paper and marveled at the buttery smooth response to my swirls. The line variation is clearly there and makes my clunky writing look almost elegant.

I addressed some corespondence and sighed with both satisfacation and blessed relief, my Vanishing Point has become the pen it was always meant to be!

I am considering sending in my original fine point for a work over and that would be about $25 along with the Pelikan 605 I have, it has a triple broad oblique that i simply can't get used to the holding angle. I can get it made into a stub for $40. If shipped together I can also save a little on shipping.

I am hoping 2009 will be a better year and I can consider some neat upgrades for some of my finest fountain pens. He has some cool nibs available that is for sure.

 

[DeaconKC]

Ooh, that sounds so nice John. Congrats, Mr. Binder has certainly lived up to his reputation with you it sounds like. There is just something satisfying about a nib that feels "just right".

 

[yachtsilverswan]

I tried it at Bob Slate in Harvard Square and it wrote beautifully. The clip was not exactly in the way for me; it was more that I didn't like it there, if you know what I mean. Still, the pen is excellent in preformance.

A step-by-step tutorial on removing the Vanishing Point's clip is posted on Nibmeister Richard Binder's website blog:

http://web.me.com/richardspens/PenBlog/Sweepings_from_the_Studio/Entries/2008/12/11_Making_another_one_work.html

The VP is just so convenient for quick stop and start writing. It's true one-handed operation makes the pen my choice for a daily workhorse.

 

[DeaconKC]

I posted this elsewhere, but you guys will like these. A late 30s Sheaffer Balance and a Parker 45 arrived today. The Parker is a very smooth writer and is now loaded with PR American Blue, the Balance needs a new sac, but was dipped and has a very good nib.

 

[John in Covina]

The Sheaffer in red is very nice color which you don't see as often as the other colors, out this way.

 

[John in Covina]

I rinsed out a few pens from the stable of those I have inked,

Time for something different, I put some Caran d'Arche Blue ink in my Black with silver trim Waterman Commando with the 14K Waterman Ideal nib although it is not marked as such it is a great example of what a flex fine is all about.

And the nike sneaker of fountain pens a Rotring Core (silver body /white cap) with a fine point filled with Aurora black.