First Fountain

[trentr]

I got a cheap Jinhao to see how I might like a fountain. I have been using a dip pen for a short while and enjoy it. It however does not carry well Anyway, the Higgins Eternal Black ink says for fountain or dip. I am using fine or extra fine nibs in my dip pen and the Higgins ink. I can use the same piece of paper/ink and the dip pen writes nice and bright black. The fountain pen however is a light faded grey/black. The fountain has a very large looking gold colored nib (said it came in medium or fine but I did not notice a place to chose which) with quite a ball on the end. It writes super smooth but the line is wide (obviously from the nib) and light. One would think perhaps low ink flow. But in pauses or with pressure, it will put out a bright black "puddle", but it still soaks in and dries to the light grey. Any ideas here? I have only written a few short notes just to play with it. Internet searching has me deciding to just use it a while and see what develops. I did try to flush it before use, per internet instruction.

 

[BigFoot]

" cheap Jinhao" is part of the problem. These pens IMO feed very inconsistently, so that is part of the problem. Too much pressure also sounds like part of the problem as that will cause a blob. On the other side of things the Jinhao is doing exactly what it is made to do and provide you with a fountain pen writing experience without spending much money.

Work on keeping a light touch when you are writing and see if that helps. If you fall down the rabbit hole like the rest of us the sky will be the limit for your next pens. (note I said pens)

 

[trentr]

" cheap Jinhao" is part of the problem. These pens IMO feed very inconsistently, so that is part of the problem. Too much pressure also sounds like part of the problem as that will cause a blob. On the other side of things the Jinhao is doing exactly what it is made to do and provide you with a fountain pen writing experience without spending much money.

Work on keeping a light touch when you are writing and see if that helps. If you fall down the rabbit hole like the rest of us the sky will be the limit for your next pens. (note I said pens)

I tend to lean toward the vintage side of things, but having zero foutnatin pen experience, I had no idea what I could be getting into. The pen does look nice, feels nice in the hand, and writes super smooth....but I much prefer my dip pens so far.

Thanks for the advice

 

[BigFoot]

I tend to lean toward the vintage side of things, but having zero foutnatin pen experience, I had no idea what I could be getting into. The pen does look nice, feels nice in the hand, and writes super smooth....but I much prefer my dip pens so far.

Thanks for the advice

I have a combination of vintage and modern. I am currently using a Schaefer Touchdown that I restored. (My 1st restore and it still writes. )

 

[trentr]

I have a combination of vintage and modern. I am currently using a Schaefer Touchdown that I restored. (My 1st restore and it still writes. )

I am interested in vintage pens, but have just gotten a decent collection of vintage double edge, moved on to straight razors and hope to find some of them to restore, and am just not ready to move into restoring pens yet. I would like to have a vintage that works, but just cannot learn 2 new skills at once LOL. Now googling schaefer touchdown......

are the touchdowns all that "hooded" nib or whatever that cone looking end is? For some reason I like the looks of the plain nib sticking out there. No idea which I prefer to write with yet haha. Good looking pen though. Congrats, I bet you will have some satisfaction from your efforts.

 

[Doc4]

..but I much prefer my dip pens so far.

You can also use your fountain pen as a dip pen as well. This can help confirm that the "light grey ink" problem is due to ink flow to the nib rather than the nib itself.

I am interested in vintage pens, but ... am just not ready to move into restoring pens yet.

You can also buy fully-restored vintage pens so you can avoid that skillset being needed.

The other-other option, of course, is more modern pens of a higher quality level. You can hit just about any price level with these, starting with a Platinum Preppy.

 

[trentr]

You can also use your fountain pen as a dip pen as well. This can help confirm that the "light grey ink" problem is due to ink flow to the nib rather than the nib itself.



You can also buy fully-restored vintage pens so you can avoid that skillset being needed.

The other-other option, of course, is more modern pens of a higher quality level. You can hit just about any price level with these, starting with a Platinum Preppy.

Someone mentioned using a nonfunctional fountain as a dip but it never crossed my mind to diagnose the feed system by using it as a dip. You are a genius! <- Not even sarcasm, I feel stoopid LOL

I will have a look at this Platinum Preppy. I have eyeballed the Lamy Safari and maybe a few others after a bit of research and found them to be within a justifiable price range.

 

[trentr]

Platinum preppy seems to be cheaper yet....

 

[Doc4]

Platinum preppy seems to be cheaper yet....

The converter will cost more than the pen if you get the Preppy!

That being said, you can do an "eyedropper conversion" to the Preppy so you don't need the converter. You need the O-ring, though, to keep it leaking (and put some Vaseline on the pen threads where the two halves screw together.)

The Preppy has a very good nib and feed for its price level. Where it falls short is the "quality" of the plastic for the body ... it's more fragile than most other pens so you have to be careful with it. (Well, you have to be careful with all pens, but this one more than most.)

Any inexpensive pen will have a trade-off on *something* that results in the manufacturer being able to sell it that cheap.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

When I first got back into fountain pens with my ebay cheapies, I had inconsistent flow problems too. Or so I thought.

The first think I needed to correct was me. I wasn't holding the pen consistently enough for the nib to work properly. Too many years of being used to more forgiving pencils and ballpoints. More applicable with wider nibs in my (limited) experience.

Some needed the nib fine tuning, which consisted of me "writing" on a sheet of fine emery. I then polished the nib tip back up with one of those multigrade spongy nail buffer things, again, with a writing motion. Finally, I did have to score a penknife down the feed channel on one of them (I forget which).

Start with searching for operator error issues first, before you do any pen tweaks, would be my suggestion.

 

[BigFoot]

I am interested in vintage pens, but have just gotten a decent collection of vintage double edge, moved on to straight razors and hope to find some of them to restore, and am just not ready to move into restoring pens yet. I would like to have a vintage that works, but just cannot learn 2 new skills at once LOL. Now googling schaefer touchdown......

are the touchdowns all that "hooded" nib or whatever that cone looking end is? For some reason I like the looks of the plain nib sticking out there. No idea which I prefer to write with yet haha. Good looking pen though. Congrats, I bet you will have some satisfaction from your efforts.

This one is a Tip Dip it came out in the early 50’s. After Schaeffer introduced the Snorkel, the Touchdown Tip Dip became cheap entry level pens.

 

[trentr]

This one is a Tip Dip it came out in the early 50’s. After Schaeffer introduced the Snorkel, the Touchdown Tip Dip became cheap entry level pens. View attachment 1180151

Very nice. That tip looks more like what my "instincts?" say a fountain pen should look like.

 

[Rudy Vey]

Life is too short for cheap pens....

 

[gwsmallwood]

I've experimented with quite 3 Jinhaos, 4 Wing Sung's, and 2 Baoers, as well as a couple of unbranded Chinese pens. It's about 50/50 on getting a good flowing pen with a defect-free nib. The only one I bought vagain was the Wing Sung 3008, but I bought 5 at a time.

You really can't beat the Pilot Metro for a good, reliable starter pen.

 

[trentr]

Life is too short for cheap pens....

"I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound"
I live on both ends of life's spectrum. Jinhao now.... monte blanc later LOL

 

[Rudy Vey]

"I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound"
I live on both ends of life's spectrum. Jinhao now.... monte blanc later LOL

Good, but do not forget the kings of fountain pens: Pelikan!!

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I've experimented with quite 3 Jinhaos, 4 Wing Sung's, and 2 Baoers, as well as a couple of unbranded Chinese pens. It's about 50/50 on getting a good flowing pen with a defect-free nib. The only one I bought vagain was the Wing Sung 3008, but I bought 5 at a time.

You really can't beat the Pilot Metro for a good, reliable starter pen.

I bought a couple in multiples to have spares too. Some clear piston thing, and a stainless bodied pen. 8 pens total for less than £20. Maybe less than £15. After a little settling in, the first one of each worked great. That was a couple of years ago I think, and they've worked fine ever since.

 

[trentr]

I've experimented with quite 3 Jinhaos, 4 Wing Sung's, and 2 Baoers, as well as a couple of unbranded Chinese pens. It's about 50/50 on getting a good flowing pen with a defect-free nib. The only one I bought vagain was the Wing Sung 3008, but I bought 5 at a time.

You really can't beat the Pilot Metro for a good, reliable starter pen.

Just had a look, that is quite a nice looking pen. And a good price too, it seems to someone who knows nothing about them (that would be me)

 

[trentr]

Good, but do not forget the kings of fountain pens: Pelikan!!

Roger that, placing it on the list now. writing....monte blanc....and pelikan on wish list.....with a Jinhao

 

[gwsmallwood]

Just had a look, that is quite a nice looking pen. And a good price too, it seems to someone who knows nothing about them (that would be me)

I have a couple of them, a Medium nib and a stub, and they're probably my two favorite pens.