New year and a new thread to start the acquisitions for 2021.
The Nib Acquisitions for 2021.
- Thread starter ajkel64
- Start date
Wife and kids got me a Parker Jotter fountain pen. Apparently it is a well known ball that transitioned to FP? I really know nothing of it, other than it writes pretty well and does not seem to lose it's "prime" and become hard starting like my Jinhao X450 seems to be. I do enjoy them both. Only 2 fountains I have ever used.
tankerjohn
A little poofier than I prefer
Bravo! I’m glad the Jotter is working well for you. Yes, Jotters are highly regarded ballpoint pens. They are super classy and make just the most satisfying “click-clack” when you use them. I'm not sure when Parker started making a fountain pen version, but they do look nice. Happy writing!
The jotter is smaller and lighter than my x450. And not as "flashy" looking. The x450 is black shiny with "gold" trim and the jotter is dull blue with dull "stainless" color. But the simplicity of the jotter, along with the word France on the side, give it a certain je ne sais quoi. I believe they are supposed to be both medium nibs however the x450 seems to write a bit larger and wetter. Biggest downfall is the cartridges for the jotter. The x450 came with a converter. I really like the idea of not having a cartridge to discard. I looked at converters for the parker but decided to try refilling the disposable cartridge. I mean I already have a bunch of syringe/needles as the youngest is a diabetic. I could just blunt one and see how filling goes. Did I ever mention I am cheap?
Well after much contemplation and research I reached the conclusion that perhaps this rabbit hole finally needed visiting by yours truly. So this beauty (Pilot Metropolitan Retro Pop) has arrived with some accessories. This is my first fountain pen and I wanted some colour. After many years of note taking I would like to reintroduce myself to "writing" again and so improve my penmanship...
Been enjoying this past week very much...
Been enjoying this past week very much...
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Very nice haul! Welcome to the rabbit hole[emoji846]
Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk
Was very fortunate to add the Parker Jotter Fountain pen to my menagerie, so my Parker Jotter bp has some company. Both are in brushed stainless with gold trim.
I'm finding the fountain pen is occasionally hard to start. Not sure why yet.
I'm finding the fountain pen is occasionally hard to start. Not sure why yet.
Hmm. I recently got a Jotter fountain and the fact that it is not hard to start (as my Jinhao is quite finicky on starting) was one of the things I liked about it. Perhaps you will get it lined out. Or like me and my Jinhao.....just deal with it lol.
tankerjohn
A little poofier than I prefer
First pen purchase of 2021 in the house! The Retro 51 “Hubble”, commemorating NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. I’m glad I snapped it up when I saw it; Pen Chalet sold out in a day!
This makes my fifth Retro 51 - four roller balls and a fountain. I’m starting to get to the point where I have way too many. But the aerospace and military designs are just so darn cool.
This makes my fifth Retro 51 - four roller balls and a fountain. I’m starting to get to the point where I have way too many. But the aerospace and military designs are just so darn cool.
Rhody
I'm a Lumberjack.
My first pen of 2021 is the Karas frogman edc. Cute frog. Like how the brass adds a noticeable heft compared to the regular barrel.
I ordered two pens from Ranga, India. Today is the 4CS Ebonite Green ripple
The ebonite is warm and smooth to the touch. The green ripple is very sublte and pleasant to the eye. I went for the medium gold JoWo nib and I must say that it has been a very good choice. Very smooth on paper, Rhodia that I'm testing to understand what is all the hype around it, and doesn't need any pressure at all to write on the page. I chose to use the pen with a converter but can be used as an eye dropper too.
The cap screws on with four and a half turns, is it a lot is it not I don't know and frankly I don't care. Some people do, I wonder why !
Posting makes the pen unbalanced, long and heavy at the back.
Not posted is perfectly balanced. Writing is as if the pen moves by itself on the page.
The pen worked immediately after filling it without any hesitation. Very happy of the service provided by Ranga and the product they make.
Shipping from India to UK, post Brexit, no extra costs / custom fees.
The ebonite is warm and smooth to the touch. The green ripple is very sublte and pleasant to the eye. I went for the medium gold JoWo nib and I must say that it has been a very good choice. Very smooth on paper, Rhodia that I'm testing to understand what is all the hype around it, and doesn't need any pressure at all to write on the page. I chose to use the pen with a converter but can be used as an eye dropper too.
The cap screws on with four and a half turns, is it a lot is it not I don't know and frankly I don't care. Some people do, I wonder why !
Posting makes the pen unbalanced, long and heavy at the back.
Not posted is perfectly balanced. Writing is as if the pen moves by itself on the page.
The pen worked immediately after filling it without any hesitation. Very happy of the service provided by Ranga and the product they make.
Shipping from India to UK, post Brexit, no extra costs / custom fees.
Very nice. Is it not grand when a purchase is as pleasing as we hope for it to be? Enjoy that beauty.
tankerjohn
A little poofier than I prefer
Lovely pen! I am rather fond of green pens myself. I don't know why; its just a nice color for a pen. On the cap screw issue, I think it depends on how I use the pen. If I am sitting down for a long writing session, then a couple extra turns to get the cap off is no big deal. However, when I use a fountain pen at work, I am frequently uncapping and capping the pen for notetaking and the like. There, a quick on and off is much appreciated. It could be that I'm a little OCD about it; I just don't want the nib to dry out or accidently drop the pen and bend the nib.
tankerjohn
A little poofier than I prefer
Here we go, my first new fountain pen of 2021. And it’s a cheapy! Platinum Prefonte with fine nib in “Night Sea”. It came with a cartridge of Platinum Blue-Black, one of my favorite inks.
Here it is next to its big brother, 3776. Fairly comparable in size. I don’t know why, but I expected the Prefonte to be smaller.
So as you can see, it basically just a fancied up Preppy. But I like it. I got it because 1) I needed a Japanese fine nib for taking notes in books and 2) I needed to add a cheap something to the cart to get free shipping. The Prefonte fit the bill. The section and nib from the Preppy are kind of fugly, but it looks decent with the cap on. Plus, it writes beautifully, as a Platinum should.
Here it is next to its big brother, 3776. Fairly comparable in size. I don’t know why, but I expected the Prefonte to be smaller.
So as you can see, it basically just a fancied up Preppy. But I like it. I got it because 1) I needed a Japanese fine nib for taking notes in books and 2) I needed to add a cheap something to the cart to get free shipping. The Prefonte fit the bill. The section and nib from the Preppy are kind of fugly, but it looks decent with the cap on. Plus, it writes beautifully, as a Platinum should.
Leonardo Officina Italiana - Momento Zero Regular - Coral red
I ordered and received my first, and maybe last Leonardo, Momento Zero Regular in Coral Red. The body is in a nicely made resin. It feels cold at first and warms up while you write, which is nice. The shiny veneered Coral red is stunning. You can opt only for a steel nib and I chose the medium one.
Comparing thie nib to Ranga's medium nibs I have, JoWo, the MZ writes like, IMO, a fine nib.
The nib, read somewhere that Leonardo uses Bock's nibs, is very stiff but at least is smooth on the Rhodia pages I'm using and doesn't scratch.
I like writing with it, although this nib is not as flexible as the Ranga ones.
Before inking it I flushed the nib and feed, so the whole section, with plain water and all went well.
There is no instruction booklet in the box so, just by chance, I discovered that you can unscrew the end bit of the barrell and you have access to the converter, so you can either ink the pen in the classic way, unscrew the barrell and twist the converter once the nib is immersed in the ink bottle or just remove the end of the barrell and ink it without having to take it apart. Cool. This is also why, and I thought about it, the converter is finished in polished aluminium
I bought it directly from Italy as I could not find any of the usual UK sellers I use that stocked it.
Price was affordable, 112 Pounds, from Italy. Ordered it on the 15th and arrived the afternoon of the 16th, so very quick with UPS.
UK Custom duties, 70 Pounds, were a pain.
Amount was computed on the euro amount printed on the waybill, so remember to ask seller to always indicate actual cost of pen and no fancy amounts. Customs look at waybill don't care about the invoice in the package.
Overall an interesting pen. Nice to look at and hold in my hand. Stiff nib, have to get used to it. Maybe a broad nib would have been more appropriate.
Attached some comparison photos with an Aurora, unknown model, a Platinum 3776 Century and the MZ.
The MZ is similar to the Aurora in size, the Platinum is slightly slimmer.
I ordered and received my first, and maybe last Leonardo, Momento Zero Regular in Coral Red. The body is in a nicely made resin. It feels cold at first and warms up while you write, which is nice. The shiny veneered Coral red is stunning. You can opt only for a steel nib and I chose the medium one.
Comparing thie nib to Ranga's medium nibs I have, JoWo, the MZ writes like, IMO, a fine nib.
The nib, read somewhere that Leonardo uses Bock's nibs, is very stiff but at least is smooth on the Rhodia pages I'm using and doesn't scratch.
I like writing with it, although this nib is not as flexible as the Ranga ones.
Before inking it I flushed the nib and feed, so the whole section, with plain water and all went well.
There is no instruction booklet in the box so, just by chance, I discovered that you can unscrew the end bit of the barrell and you have access to the converter, so you can either ink the pen in the classic way, unscrew the barrell and twist the converter once the nib is immersed in the ink bottle or just remove the end of the barrell and ink it without having to take it apart. Cool. This is also why, and I thought about it, the converter is finished in polished aluminium
I bought it directly from Italy as I could not find any of the usual UK sellers I use that stocked it.
Price was affordable, 112 Pounds, from Italy. Ordered it on the 15th and arrived the afternoon of the 16th, so very quick with UPS.
UK Custom duties, 70 Pounds, were a pain.
Amount was computed on the euro amount printed on the waybill, so remember to ask seller to always indicate actual cost of pen and no fancy amounts. Customs look at waybill don't care about the invoice in the package.
Overall an interesting pen. Nice to look at and hold in my hand. Stiff nib, have to get used to it. Maybe a broad nib would have been more appropriate.
Attached some comparison photos with an Aurora, unknown model, a Platinum 3776 Century and the MZ.
The MZ is similar to the Aurora in size, the Platinum is slightly slimmer.
Attachments
Glad your liking it. I have the Momento Grand Sand 1.1mm Stub. I love the Acrylic, to me it screams quality. The Nib is juicy with a bit of give to it. I do love mine.
They do write well, but my experience has been that the claim made about them not drying out after sitting is GREATLY exaggerated. lol 3-4 weeks and mine needed a bit of water on the nib and some wiping with a tissue to get it flowing again. Meanwhile, I found a Pilot Varsity I had forgotten I even had and it wrote with no issues after not being touched for at least a year. lol
tankerjohn
A little poofier than I prefer
Yeah, we’ll see. I’m not expecting top performance from a $10 pen. The “slip and seal” does work pretty good on the 3776, though I don’t plan to test the 2-year claim.
I picked one up with the purpose being to set it in the pen mug on my desk for the inexpensive knock around that may not get any use for even several months sort of role. Still a solid enough of a writing pen for the knock around type use.
