Reply With QuoteThe AD2000 carbon has long been out of production, great pen though.Originally Posted by MattH
If you like Dunhill pens, you may like ST DuPont. Some very good detailing and like Dunhill, well made.
Same as you with a broad nib :)
I could not find a matching AD2000 carbon - and other in the range were more expensive than the Sentryman.
The AD2000 carbon has long been out of production, great pen though.
If you like Dunhill pens, you may like ST DuPont. Some very good detailing and like Dunhill, well made.
I really like celluloid. It's a 'natural' material, structurally strong and full of colour, that suits pen manufacture very well.
It can have a downside, however:
http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/fo...arente-ruined/
I've read various bits from links in here, but have tried to avoid the pen forums as they lead to temptation. I joined HeadFi and bought a portable amp and two pairs of headphones last year, geekhack has me lusting over new keyboards I really don't need (though i'm probably going to order one today) and I have spent more here than I have on holidays in the last 5 years.
But having read this thread a couple of times, I have spent the last few days reading various sites, including paper and pen reviews, I seem to have filled up a basket with CultPens.
So far it's:
- TWSBI Diamond 580 Fountain Pen Clear Medium Nib
- TWSBI Diamond 50 Ink Bottle
- Rhodia Webbie Webnotebook A5 Dot grid
- Rhodia Webbie Rhodiarama A6 Plain
- Rhodia Webbie Webnotebook A7 Plain
- Various 30ml Diamine Inks: Ancient Copper, Blaze Orange, Jade Green, Matador Red, Onyx Black, Sapphire Blue
The ink bottle isn't essential, but looks very handy for its filling method, and as the inks (in 30ml) are only £2.11 each I thought I would get a range of colours.
Assuming that will set me up well, but is a medium nib right for me? I write fairly small, though not tiny, but haven't used a fountain pen in 20 years. I like a thicker stroke from a reading perspective, but don't know the difference when it comes to the feel of writing.
With the CultPens 10% off everything discount, an extra nib for the Diamond 580 is only £14.40 so was contemplating getting a fine nib as well.
I also keep flitting between the Diamond 580 and the Mini, anyone used both and can give pros and cons?
^ If you're unsure about the nib try and find a local shop where you can try one out, or look for an online store that permits nib exchange. Most European pens have fairly similar widths, and in my experience there isn't too much variation between brands.
You haven't stated your intended use, but I would say the same applies to paper and ink. I went through six or seven different blue inks before I settled on one I liked. (Diamine Sapphire Blue, also known as Sulphur Blue as it does have an odd smell). So if possible go somewhere you can try them, as you'll quickly develop an unwanted surplus otherwise.
Last edited by bonzo697; 20th January 2015 at 12:31.
I can't remember CultPens' policy so check with them, but the usual thing is that you can send a nib (or whole pen, even) back as long as its only been dipped in blue ink, because apparently blue ink is more easily washable (haven't really noticed this myself tbh, although some colours can be a special nightmare). If you've actually filled the pen or used some other colour of ink, they won't accept returns. Probably worth investing in a small bottle of "approved" blue ink for testing out nibs and it'll be usable anyway (although, despite having acquired lots of colours, I tend to stick to black, or a nice "burnt" shade of orange-brown for sketches).
Super cheap at the moment, they've got 20% off Platinum, combined with 10% off everything. Ordered a couple to see what they're like :)
Hi Dave.. My experience with TWSBI is that if you like to write with the cap posted on the end of the barrel. the Diamond might be a bit too long. I tried this and settled for the Diamond mini which I found gave perfect balance. I also suggest that you forget the fine nib which is very fine indeed - all Japanese and Chinese nibs seem to be finer than our European ones and I have the broad nib installed so I suggest you get the medium and broad nibs.
My broad TWSBI nib writes just like the medium nib on my 1950's Parker.
Rob
Heh, their "small print" is brilliant:
http://www.cultpens.com/news/offers/...13/winter-sale
I really don't need any more pens but I'm tempted to pick up a few Preppies in M just because most of my pens are F or finer and I wouldn't mind a matching set of red, blue and black. Although they don't have a plain blue (in any nib size, in fact; must have all sold out), so I'd have to throw away the blue-black cartridge because that stuff is the hybrid spawn of satan and the indecisive. I can't remember if they come preinstalled and with the feed inked, but I'd probably run it all through anyway to break the nibs in properly this time.
With all the discounts it works out at £2.15 per pen (it's actually 28% off in total, not 30% off), although you need to pay at least £1.50 postage on top of that unless you spend at least £10 (although it's far too easy to get carried away on that site, so that shouldn't be difficult). Lots of colours available in the fine nib, but it might be a bit scratchy. Mine certainly was, although I never really gave it enough time to run in so, they may improve with time. The medium should be smoother, but they only have 3 colours available at the moment.
Also, with the money off Platinum, for anyone interested in something a bit different, Platinum make some really nice "Fude" brush pens. I've got two of the CF-2000 pens, and gave a third one away to a friend studying art. These are really cool if you are interested in artwork (especially watercolour or pen & ink) or Japanese / Zen calligraphy. I much prefer them to the Sailor brush pens, which feel a bit cheap in comparison (or, are trying too hard to look like a more expensive pen when they are clearly quite plasticky and not in a "precious resin" sort of a way) and, I find are harder to control the stroke width. I notice that there's now also a much cheaper CFTR-250, which is probably good too. Note that you can use these brush pens with "carbon ink" which is waterproof, or you can use a water soluble ink, perhaps along with a water brush and/or watercolour paints to get special effects. Or get more than one pen and use a mixture of both for both hard and soft lines. If you get the convertor, you can use any ink you like in these, same as a fountain pen. Lots of possibilities. Similarly, there is a special nib pen designed for carbon ink, which will clog a normal fountain pen (normal ink is water soluble, carbon ink isn't).
I can also recommend the #3776 in ultra-extra-fine if you like really fine nibs, this is one of the smoothest needlepoints you'll find (although there are no truly smooth needlepoints) and the price isn't bad. You are paying almost exclusively for the nib & feed on these, the pen definitely feels like it cost £20 rather than £100. Definitely a bargain at £72 with a 14ct gold nib though. I haven't tried the thicker nibs but they generally get good reviews and the more expensive "music nib" in particular is worth a look, as it is rather unique.
I find it OK, but this is one of those things that's best to try out in a shop if at all possible. But there is one major gotcha with using the Twsbi "posted", which is that if you aren't careful, you can end up unscrewing the piston and causing ink to squirt out. After I did that by mistake once, I now make sure the end is screwed down really firmly. Hasn't happened again.
This place is nuts, I joined the forums to learn more about watches, with an obvious view to investing in a few more pieces over the coming years, only to find this thread!! Which has since led me to ordering a Lamy Safari, ink convertor and several bottles of Diamine ink in various shades of black and grey. Obviously I have had to invest in a new notebook as well......its like being back at school!!
Like most people on here it is easy to blame the forum for our addictive nature, but I suspect that is an underlying tendency that exists in most of the people that are drawn to TZ-UK!!
Anyway, bring on the improvement in handwriting!!
Thanks for all the replies.
I had noted that difference between the Mini and the 580, the Mini having a threaded base so it can be (and I think intended to be) posted without that possibility of activating the piston and accidently squirting out ink as could happen on the 580.
In the office and at meetings leaving the cap on a desk is fine, but I can see the advantage of the Mini for out and about. Considering the volume of writing I will be doing the Mini will also hold more than enough ink, so I am now leaning towards that one.
My intended use is for taking notes at my desk and in meetings, and possibly out and about. Hence the various pad sizes. Rhodia consistently crops up as a top quality paper, and I like the style of their webnotebooks.
I'm not too fussed about buying excess ink, at less than the price of a pint of beer for a 30ml bottle I can experiment without worry.
Looking at more pics, and based on the advice i'll get it with medium nib, and pick up a broad as well.
We do have a nice independant pen shop in town, but they don't stock TWSBI, so no real point checking out the nibs there.
I've got a Platinum 3776 in a medium, and it's very close to a German medium. £71 with their discount is a good price, although I think their RRP is a bit high. I paid £80 with Amazon Prime and they can be had for £55 from Japan.
As a first pen I think I would go for one over a TWSBI, as I'm not keen on their designs.
I have a Lamy Studio which I love using. As I have a tendency to lose pens, I have decided that this one never leaves the house and is always put back in the box. I have lost and washed far too many good pens which ends up quite expensive. It's not an expensive pen by any stretch but it looks pretty cool and writes nicely and is all the pen I need.
Well the Dunhill has arrived - very nice it is too.. seems brand new - quite scratchy at the moment I guess it needs to be used for a while.
It was quite humorous trying to fill the convertor with ink from the pot.. I probably did not have the nib in the pot far enough...
Cheers
Matt
^What type of converter does it use?
erm the dunhill one which was in the pen - standard twist one - sorry if I am being vague :)
I'd like to try something different. Has anyone experience of the Conklin Mark Twain Crescent Filler?
Jiimnic... For God's sake stay out of the HiFi threads then.... You think watches are expensivee??
Rob
I've yet to find a fountain pen with which I can write as well as a Pilot disposable. Bloody shame that they don't make a refillable version. I hold a pen almost vertically which has a detrimental effect on flow and nib motion, and so I continue to search. If anyone knows of a similar nib to the Pilot please give me a shout.
+1 for sidecar FP nib. Build quality, however is awful
My cross Townsend from 1995 (lost in 2006) was the best pen I ever had. Lovely nib and superb build quality
If this is the pen I'm thinking of, there are several ways of refilling them! My son has a few of them and for the money (i.e. dirt cheap) the nib is rather good. We refilled it by carefully pulling out the nib unit, filling the body, then clicking the nib unit back into place. Another way is to put the body in hot water for 5 minutes, then leave the pen with nib submersed in an ink container. As the air inside cools down, it contracts and sucks up the ink. Have a look on youtube for some videos demonstrating how to do it.
Any idea where to buy one of these ?If I were going to buy a fountain pen tomorrow, I'd look for a Pilot 'Bamboo'.
^ I don't believe they make them any more, so you'd have to look for a second hand one or try one of the Japanese eBay sellers.
My CultPens order arrived, and I must say I am very impressed. The TWSBI mini is a delight in the hand, and the nib flows like silk, and that's just on a cheap notepad, not started on the Rhodia yet!
I also got the TWSBI filling bottle which makes things very mess free, and loads of different Diamine inks. Looking forward to doing some proper writing, though I really need to develop a proper pen grip as my crab claw holding gives me cramp after writing half a page.
I could easily see myself buying more pens in the future!
I'd put a Wanted To Buy on Pentrace and Fountain Pen Network.Any idea where to buy one of these ?
p.s. It is actually a version of the Dunhill AD2000
Last edited by Tinker; 27th January 2015 at 23:56.
Very many thanks for these tips, I'll give them a go at the weekend.
Thanks for that.I'd put a Wanted To Buy on Pentrace and Fountain Pen Network.
p.s. It is actually a version of the Dunhill AD2000
I'm intrigued to know what we're all suddenly handwriting with our new collection of fountain pens, in our new plethora of notebooks, in a colourful rainbow of inks ???
I do a lot of writing, largely for white papers, blog posts, reports etc. But it all starts with handwritten notes, sketches and diagrams, so I'm locked into this stuff as a part of my daily work.
^^ I write the same stuff as I did with a Biro, the difference is that I can read it now.
The same as before, but I enjoy it more.I'm intrigued to know what we're all suddenly handwriting with our new collection of fountain pens, in our new plethora of notebooks, in a colourful rainbow of inks ???
I know TWSBI are very popular, but I've never been keen due to the 'demonstrator pen' design. The new classic looks better, does anyone have any experience?
http://thewritingdesk.co.uk/showprod...assic&cat=pens
Just picked up this from Amazon as I wanted a smaller American pen:http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...ilpage_o00_s00
I like the finish on them which is generally brighter than Japanese and German pens. I just need another American pen to pair with it now. (I've posted a WTB for Bexley, Edison or Conklin).
I always carry a note book. So naturally I carry a pen to write with. I like a fountain pen better than a biro. It's no different to deciding which watch to wear when you go out IMHO.I'm intrigued to know what we're all suddenly handwriting with our new collection of fountain pens, in our new plethora of notebooks, in a colourful rainbow of inks ???
I filled my clear TWSBI Diamond 580 up with some lovely "Classic Red" Diamine ink this morning, and now it looks like it's full of blood
Nice colour to write with though.
Good company to buy inks from (Diamine). I bought Asa blue from them and its a bright vibrant blue. I had to send 2 back though as the inks didn't match the colour chart (Ancient Copper and Merlot) and they were very reasonable about it and reimbursed my postage too as they said they wanted me to be 100% happy with their inks.
Yep, Diamine is outstandingly good.
I went through the full range of Diamine blue inks (as well as a few other brands), before settling on Sapphire and Imperial Blue. For me they offer the best colour and ink flow combination. Prior to this I would have said ink is ink, but different inks really do flow more smoothly than others.
This is my experience, too. Imperial Blue is superb, as is Ultra Green, which I use on students' assignments and, actually, most of the time for every purpose.
I experimented with French, Italian, American and Japanese inks and, as I've said elsewhere, the Japanese 'Jentle' was the best of these foreigners.
However, Diamine is at least as good, has a far better range of colours and is much more easily available.
As for paper, I use what I have to.
Just ordered an Edison Herald from here: http://www.lacouronneducomte.nl/webs...in-p-6085.html £15 cheaper than The Writing Desk who are the UK AD. It seems to apply to a number of their other pens too, a steel Lamy 2000 is £55 cheaper.
Been using a Platinum Plaisir medium nib with Diamine Imperial Blue ink for a while now, as an upgrade from my usual gel ink or whatever disposable ballpoint I find in my office. The pen compares very favourably to pens several times the price, although the nib is yet to be broken in, and its smoothness can't compare to an old Parker. Great thread btw!
Last edited by chafer; 31st January 2015 at 22:01.
This week I've picked up the beautiful Tiger Eye Monteverde: http://www.andys-pens.co.uk/prima.shtml
A De Laforet leather case (with some very interesting wooden inserts): http://www.andys-pens.co.uk/delaforet.shtml and the competent but slightly dull TWSBI Classic: http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/show...t.php?id=11409
Yeah, I haven't seen one of those up close, but it seems to be lacking a certain something. A lot of people are put of by the Diamond being fully transparent plastic, but it really is an outstanding piece of design regardless and destined to be seen as a classic years from now.
^ I bought one as so many people rave about them, but when it arrived I was underwhelmed. I inked it, tested it and put it away. Whereas I've had the Monteverde for a few days now and I can't put it down.
Yeah, if someone says Twsbi without qualification they probably mean the Diamond (580) which used to be the only pen they made, so that's the canonical Twsbi. The nibs are pretty good for steel but they do take some time to break in. I wasn't too impressed with mine right away, but I liked the pen so persevered and after a couple of months it became really smooth.
I forget the name of the nib maker they use, IIRC they are German. They supply a lot of other "good" pen makers (in the same sort of price range) and are considered one of the better steel nibs around. A bit like Roland Kemmner with watch cases.
I think the TWSBI will be on the way out once my Edison arrives.
I think you may be wrong! I bought both around the same time but the TWSBI is the only pen I have constantly filled. Why? It doesn't leak, dry out if left for a few days unused, and always starts instantly even if left for a couple of weeks. The Edison is a nicer pen (Beaumont in red) to look at but tends to dry out if left for a few days, so I think the cap seal is not as 100% as it should be, considering it was twice the price of the TWSBI.
^ I've got a Herald coming, hopefully it won't suffer the same problems as yours. Either way the TWSBI will be off, it just doesn't give me any pleasure using it.
My daily companion - makes even my horrible handwriting look good
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