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Thread: Intro to Fountain Pens

  1. #51
    About 15 or 20 years ago I collected a few fountain pens. I don't exactly know why, I very rarely used one even then. I suppose I just liked the old ways.

    I've never posted them up anywhere but looking at the ones on this thread, perhaps I should.

    I think there's some quite nice ones, things that took my fancy at the time. A Wahl-Eversharp Coronet for example, that I bought when I was in love with everything Art deco.

    This thread has rekindled my curiosity and think it's time they came out of their shoebox.

  2. #52
    Master
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    I currently use a Waterman Charleston GT...



    http://www.waterman.com/en/charlesto...170700983.html

    Classic styling and very nice to write with and not daft money (expect to pay maybe £110-120).

    Only problem is I don't have enough opportunity to write!! Too much typing nowadays. Perhaps we need the option so write posts and scan them... Hey that's possible. Then there'll be the discussions re. peoples writing style/technique ;-)

  3. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by gamingdave View Post
    What does everyone use for notepads with a fountain pen?

    Reading about the usually well regarded Moleskine appear to be inconsistent and poor for fountain pens. The Rhodia pads look nice, and I assume the TWSBI pads would behave with their Diamond pens (currently most likely what I will get first).
    +Rhodia

  4. #54
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    Back when I was at school I had very tidy writing, super legible with a nice style. Moving to uni I wrote less and less, and as a computer programer for the last 15 years it's been very little indeed. Moving more into management now and there is more note taking though so time to get back to proper writing.

    At the moment its biro and block capitals, my normal writing is an illegible mess to most people, you certainly wouldn't want to read my posts as scans. My spelling is pretty dire too, but that doesn't matter if its for my eyes only.

    It also doesn't help that I never learned to hold a pen properly, and have stuck with some awful claw grip, which whilst controllable results in me getting cramp if I write for too long. Perhaps I can finally fix what teachers failed to do 30+ years ago.

  5. #55
    I've been using a silver S.T. Dupont Olympio for a few years. It's the one below and I love it - I normally use Dupont ink too, which is very nice.

    For paper, I use Rhodia or Clairefontaine notebooks. I've found Moleskine bleeds quite badly with fountain pen ink.



    Last edited by Tidybeard; 15th January 2015 at 19:10.

  6. #56
    Quote Originally Posted by gamingdave View Post
    What does everyone use for notepads with a fountain pen?

    Reading about the usually well regarded Moleskine appear to be inconsistent and poor for fountain pens. The Rhodia pads look nice, and I assume the TWSBI pads would behave with their Diamond pens (currently most likely what I will get first).
    I use bog standard Black n' Red from the office stationary cupboard. I would say any issues I've had with skipping or bleeding are usually caused by the nib.

  7. #57
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    The Pilot Vanishing Point/Capless pens are excellent if you can cope with the unusual clip placement. It's my everyday pen at work.

  8. #58
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    Hi,

    I would go for a decent piston-filler (Pelikan or TWSBI) as they are good quality and do not leak (unlike cartridge converters, which can easily). The TWSBI Diamond is remarkable vfm if you like a larger pen and you can buy different nib units for it (non of the faffing about sending it back to the manufacturer to change the nib nonsense). Having said that, Mr Pen and Lamy do some excellent vfm pens for under £40 (cartridge converters) and the Lamy's have easily swappable nibs which are cheap to buy. Diamine ink is trouble free and available in every colour you can imagine. I use The Writing Desk, who provide an excellent service.

    No matter how much I like the look of them, I tend to find that metal bodied pens too heavy to write with, so all my pens are plastic (or 'precious resin' if want to be pretentious).

    http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk

  9. #59
    Master Gruntfuttock's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by solwisesteve View Post
    I... Perhaps we need the option so write posts and scan them... Hey that's possible. Then there'll be the discussions re. peoples writing style/technique ;-)
    On a certain pen forum, this is very common. Forum posts consist of pictures of the handwritten post! Makes sense if you are discussing ink colours, nib behaviour and handwriting styles.

  10. #60
    Quote Originally Posted by LuBee View Post
    +Rhodia
    ++

    Moleskine and Leuchtturm 1917 are both OK, but Rhodia/Clairefontaine paper is generally better, and is available in 90gsm (all Rhodia notebooks are 90gsm AFAIK), which is the only thing thick enough to use my Visconti with - it just seeps into Moleskine paper and others. I can get away with other fountain pens on Molekine, but YMMV. It depends partly on the pen and partly on the ink. Stick with Rhodia/Clairefontaine and you won't need to worry about it.
    Last edited by robt; 15th January 2015 at 20:37.

  11. #61
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    Diamine 'feathers' less than any ink I know. The second best, generally, is Jentle (by Sailor, the Japanese pen company).

  12. #62
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    Quote Originally Posted by MattH View Post
    No I would like some suggestions on where to start - whats a good entry level pen and ink to buy - I may decide I will never use it or hate it now... but it would be good to try.
    Matt
    As has been mentioned - Lamy is your way back into ink pens, cheap cheerful and a very good writing experience. Diamine inks, quality & more colours than you can imagine.
    Done & dusted for a few quid - after which if you enjoy penmanship, you can always upgrade and/or collect better examples.
    Get some decent, non bleed paper to write on too.
    Last edited by langtoft lad; 16th January 2015 at 11:02.

  13. #63
    Completely new in this field, Interested to know views on a Delta Dolce Vita for no other reason than I like the look of them
    any idea on quality? a post above seems to imply old/vintage are almost always better

  14. #64
    Quote Originally Posted by GOAT View Post
    Completely new in this field, Interested to know views on a Delta Dolce Vita for no other reason than I like the look of them
    any idea on quality? a post above seems to imply old/vintage are almost always better
    Old/vintage are better for the money, but only if you can put up with most likely a lot of unreliability and ongoing maintenance. A good modern pen is still going to be good, but it'll cost about 5x (or more) a similarly good vintage pen, for which you're getting a more contemporary look, size (very few oversize vintage pens) and reliability. A lot of vintage pens you can get for £50-80 have very smooth, flexi gold nibs. Again bear in mind that you don't know to what extent this has been worn-in, so in some cases refinishing the tip (or even fixing the tines if it's in a bad way) may be required to get it writing really well. The Parker 51 is considered by many to be the best pen ever made and if you can find a good one, it'll only cost you about £50. There's still a bit of a gamble involved; as I mentioned earlier, my Parker 51 leaks occasionally, at random. Plus, while it is certainly a smooth writer, my Visconti is a far better pen in every respect, albeit one that cost me about 6x as much (and the price has gone up since I bought mine a few years ago). A modern pen costing less than £200 most likely won't have a nib in the same league as a vintage pen costing ~£50. A decent modern nib on its own generally costs about £130+, so add the cost of a pen and you see where my ~£200 cutoff comes from (and few pens at that price will be much better than a £50 Twsbi).

    Hadn't seen the Dolce Vita before, but it has nothing but positive reviews. The size and style are perhaps a bit much for me personally, but I'm sure the orange looks good up-close (the "Oro" is an interesting version). I have a vintage Swan Mabie Todd with a similar effect but in a kind of camo-green & gold tortoiseshell, which looks pretty nice albeit slightly dated. The cool thing is that it's a kind of 3D effect, each coloured "stroke" catches the light at a different angle, so kinda hard to describe and photos don't really do it justice.

  15. #65
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gruntfuttock View Post
    On a certain pen forum, this is very common. Forum posts consist of pictures of the handwritten post! Makes sense if you are discussing ink colours, nib behaviour and handwriting styles.
    My handwriting now is just so appalling I'll need to get some practice before showing it in public. My writing high point was at university. No computers then so you needed to write fast and legibly (lecture note taking and exams). Once I left university then the computer took over and the hand writing went seriously down hill, something I regret. This was one of the reasons two or three years ago I went and purchased a new fountain pen; my old university pen was completely kaput after 20 years sat in a draw (solid with dried ink). I still don't do proper writing but at least any notes etc.. I make I try a little harder to make it look readable. Problem is I try to write as fast as I could 30 years ago and I just can't now.. too much out of practice :-(

  16. #66
    Quote Originally Posted by solwisesteve View Post
    My handwriting now is just so appalling I'll need to get some practice before showing it in public. My writing high point was at university. No computers then so you needed to write fast and legibly (lecture note taking and exams). Once I left university then the computer took over and the hand writing went seriously down hill, something I regret. This was one of the reasons two or three years ago I went and purchased a new fountain pen; my old university pen was completely kaput after 20 years sat in a draw (solid with dried ink). I still don't do proper writing but at least any notes etc.. I make I try a little harder to make it look readable. Problem is I try to write as fast as I could 30 years ago and I just can't now.. too much out of practice :-(
    One thing I find is that a fountain pen forces me to write slower and more carefully. I have similar problems with terrible handwriting, except mine has never been good. Fountain pens (esp the Visconti) definitely improve it a lot. I find that my handwriting is too slow for taking legible notes though, so I often end up taking them on an iPad unless I need to scribble a diagram or something (I can type pretty fast, even one-fingered on an iPad touchscreen). I try to use the pens for other tasks where writing speed isn't so important. Todo lists are one, where something about writing a list on paper helps you focus on doing the stuff and scoring it off the list, far better than any app. There's also a sense of achievement if the list ends up looking neat and tidy (happens less often than I'd like).

  17. #67
    I definitely recommend TWSBI, they are a great reliable daily writer. If you fancy trying out a fountain pen you can't go wrong with a Lamy.

    Alternatively for something a bit different and affordable give some of the Indian pens a go. There's a good site here which have regular sales:

    http://www.fountainpenrevolution.com/index.html

  18. #68
    Master Ian_O's Avatar
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    I'm always keen to try out a new reasonably priced fountain pen and with all the positive comments I've read recently about the TWSBI Diamond I just did a search for one. As far as I can see, it's only available with a clear barrel. Is that correct? I rather like the black and rose gold version, but it's spoilt (in my view obviously) by the clear barrel. I've never been a big fan of demonstrator pens, for that reason.

  19. #69
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    Quote Originally Posted by dowsing View Post
    I definitely recommend TWSBI, they are a great reliable daily writer. If you fancy trying out a fountain pen you can't go wrong with a Lamy.

    Alternatively for something a bit different and affordable give some of the Indian pens a go. There's a good site here which have regular sales:

    http://www.fountainpenrevolution.com/index.html
    Have you tried any of the pens on their site? Any you would particularly recommend?

  20. #70
    Quote Originally Posted by Ian_O View Post
    I'm always keen to try out a new reasonably priced fountain pen and with all the positive comments I've read recently about the TWSBI Diamond I just did a search for one. As far as I can see, it's only available with a clear barrel. Is that correct? I rather like the black and rose gold version, but it's spoilt (in my view obviously) by the clear barrel. I've never been a big fan of demonstrator pens, for that reason.
    Full range here:
    http://www.twsbi.com/collections/fountain-pens

    Looks like the Classic or the Diamond Mini are available in opaque black. I've got the original clear Diamond (can't remember if it's the 580; I think it's an earlier model that's nearly identical). Looks really good in clear (non-coloured), although the ink eventually tends to get in places it isn't really supposed to and that ruins the look a bit. I don't much like other demonstrators either, but the completely clear Diamond is rather different. In much the same way that a glass of wine looks good, a mug of coffee looks good, but a mug with a clear window just looks weird. Similarly I don't like the transparent colours much, as they conflict with the colour of the ink.

    The Diamond is a really good size IMO, but I don't know about the others. Looks like the Diamond Mini is still chunky, but shorter, whereas the Classic is thinner.

  21. #71
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    Quote Originally Posted by robt View Post
    Full range here:
    http://www.twsbi.com/collections/fountain-pens

    Looks like the Classic or the Diamond Mini are available in opaque black. I've got the original clear Diamond (can't remember if it's the 580; I think it's an earlier model that's nearly identical). Looks really good in clear (non-coloured), although the ink eventually tends to get in places it isn't really supposed to and that ruins the look a bit. I don't much like other demonstrators either, but the completely clear Diamond is rather different. In much the same way that a glass of wine looks good, a mug of coffee looks good, but a mug with a clear window just looks weird. Similarly I don't like the transparent colours much, as they conflict with the colour of the ink.

    The Diamond is a really good size IMO, but I don't know about the others. Looks like the Diamond Mini is still chunky, but shorter, whereas the Classic is thinner.
    Many thanks for that. I was attracted to the size and shape of the Diamond as I have fairly large hands and a larger pen is more comfortable for me. That rules out the Classic, but maybe I should consider the Diamond Mini, or just take a chance and try the clear Diamond as you say it looks good. How do you find their nib sizes compared to others? My writing is small and I go for a fine nib usually. The only exception is my Sailor 1911 where fine was just too fine and I changed it for a medium. The reason I ask is that the website suggests EF may be more appropriate, suggesting their nibs write slightly heavier than average.

  22. #72
    Quote Originally Posted by Ian_O View Post
    Have you tried any of the pens on their site? Any you would particularly recommend?
    I've only tried the Serwex MB Fountain Pen so far, it was on offer and reduced to $12.50 ($15.50 with P&P). I like the weight, that it's brass, the design and it writes quite well.

    Serwex MB Fountain Pen

  23. #73
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    Quote Originally Posted by dowsing View Post
    I've only tried the Serwex MB Fountain Pen so far, it was on offer and reduced to $12.50 ($15.50 with P&P). I like the weight, that it's brass, the design and it writes quite well.

    Serwex MB Fountain Pen
    Sounds good, and at that price you can't really go wrong. Thanks.

  24. #74
    Quote Originally Posted by Ian_O View Post
    Many thanks for that. I was attracted to the size and shape of the Diamond as I have fairly large hands and a larger pen is more comfortable for me. That rules out the Classic, but maybe I should consider the Diamond Mini, or just take a chance and try the clear Diamond as you say it looks good. How do you find their nib sizes compared to others? My writing is small and I go for a fine nib usually. The only exception is my Sailor 1911 where fine was just too fine and I changed it for a medium. The reason I ask is that the website suggests EF may be more appropriate, suggesting their nibs write slightly heavier than average.
    My Twsbi is EF and I like it. It's not quite as fine as my Cross Townsend XF, but it's not really noticeably different to a Parker XF and is definitely finer than my Parker Premier F. If you are leaning towards F/M rather than XF/F then I'd stick with the F. AFAIK, Sailor pens are considerably finer than the western equivalents, although my Sailor is a Saibi Togi which is insanely fine (it even comes with a special tool to remove bits of paper from between the tines because it's rather blade-like and really chews up the paper if you try to write with it normally).

  25. #75
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    Quote Originally Posted by robt View Post
    My Twsbi is EF and I like it. It's not quite as fine as my Cross Townsend XF, but it's not really noticeably different to a Parker XF and is definitely finer than my Parker Premier F. If you are leaning towards F/M rather than XF/F then I'd stick with the F. AFAIK, Sailor pens are considerably finer than the western equivalents, although my Sailor is a Saibi Togi which is insanely fine (it even comes with a special tool to remove bits of paper from between the tines because it's rather blade-like and really chews up the paper if you try to write with it normally).
    That's handy to know, thanks. Yes, Sailor do have a reputation for VERY fine nibs. I should have known to order an M instead of an F when I got mine. I get the impression it's a Japanese thing though as I'm sure I read somewhere that Platinum are the same. I love the story about the Saibi Togi having a tool to remove bits of your notebook from the nib! That's mad!

    Thanks for the advice on the TWSBI.

  26. #76
    Just for anyone looking for a really cheap but reasonably good fountain pen, I mentioned Platinum. These are the ones:

    http://www.cultpens.com/c/q/brands/p...latinum-preppy

    Great value at £3. Or these:

    http://www.cultpens.com/c/q/brands/p...-fountain-pens

    About £10 but have nice aluminium bodies, although the nib & feed is identical on both. A lot of people seem to prefer these to Lamy, but I haven't used either enough to give a fair comparison. I've got one of each Platinum and they are OK, but certainly not as good as say, a Twsbi, or any other £50+ pen. Much better than you'd expect for about 1/15th the cost though.

    If you want to try something for virtually zero outlay, you can't go wrong with a £3 Preppy, even if it ends up in the bin when you later upgrade to something better. It's actually a refillable pen (takes standard "international" aka Waterman cartridges), but has the build quality of a disposable and should probably be thought of as such. The Aluminium cases on the Plaisir, while made to last longer, can be a bit of a marmite thing (they can be a bit cold to the touch and some find the finish a bit cheap looking). Whereas the Preppy just looks like an ordinary gel pen, so there's not much to hate even if you dislike demonstrators (pens with see-through ink reserves).

    Platinum being Japanese, like Sailor, tend to make their nibs a bit finer than others. It's generally recommended to start off with a least an M nib, because it will be close to an F anyway, and these cheaper nibs can be a bit scratchy in the finer sizes. A wider nib is always going to be smoother than a finer one.

  27. #77
    Quote Originally Posted by Ian_O View Post
    I get the impression it's a Japanese thing though as I'm sure I read somewhere that Platinum are the same.
    That's correct, I just said the same thing in my last post, by complete coincidence. There are variations between all manufacturers, but there's a distinct East/West split in Japanese pens, which I think has to do with Japanese calligraphy. The Saibi Togi is designed for a particular type of calligraphy (whose name I can't recall) that is very tiny characters. I use mine for illustration rather than writing. It's really good at that, but very bad for normal writing. It has a lot to do with the direction of the strokes. In Japanese calligraphy the strokes are very different to English writing, so I guess it works well for that too, since that's what it designed for. Same with the other specialist Sailor nibs, which are mostly designed to be able to vary the line thickness a huge amount by tilting the pen, which is not the same technique that's normally used in English writing so people often find them awkward to use. I haven't tried any of them, but have enjoyed reading about them in the past - the construction methods are crazy complicated, and they are all hand-finished.

  28. #78
    Well this has turned out to be a very interesting thread :)

    So far I have bought some ink and a notepad.. Not got the pen yet though !

    cheers

    matt

  29. #79
    A whole world of opportunity opening up here!

    There's a pretty good fountain pen forum at http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/ full of tests of pens, papers and inks, with comparisons, side by side ink stuff, detail on pens you've never heard of. If we can be called WIS, they unfortunately are PIS.

    All the stuff noted above is right. For amusement, I've bought all but one fountain pen second hand (up to 5 now), and they've all been fine - a Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze arrived while I was away this week, with something called a stub nib ( a rounded version of italic) which I've been using this morning; mad pen, lovely line.

    The whole paper and ink stuff will get you as well. Starting with just the usual bottle of Parker blue, I've now got of reds, greys, ambers and greens, with a pen for each colour (see, started easily, went mad. Sounds familiar, doesn't it).

    Papers a nightmare too. Notepads, sketch weights, I'm now using a notebook made by a bible manufacturer - incredible thin paper with no feathering or bleed. (Don't ask..)

    Pen cases, pen rolls, travelling inkwells, it's endless. It's cheaper than watches, but I do occasionally think it's even madder.

    Hey ho, keeps me off the streets.

  30. #80
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hubs View Post
    If we can be called WIS, they unfortunately are PIS.
    Still, at least you abbreviated the word "Pen".

  31. #81
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hubs View Post
    A whole world of opportunity opening up here!

    There's a pretty good fountain pen forum at http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/ full of tests of pens, papers and inks, with comparisons, side by side ink stuff, detail on pens you've never heard of. If we can be called WIS, they unfortunately are PIS.

    All the stuff noted above is right. For amusement, I've bought all but one fountain pen second hand (up to 5 now), and they've all been fine - a Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze arrived while I was away this week, with something called a stub nib ( a rounded version of italic) which I've been using this morning; mad pen, lovely line.

    The whole paper and ink stuff will get you as well. Starting with just the usual bottle of Parker blue, I've now got of reds, greys, ambers and greens, with a pen for each colour (see, started easily, went mad. Sounds familiar, doesn't it).

    Papers a nightmare too. Notepads, sketch weights, I'm now using a notebook made by a bible manufacturer - incredible thin paper with no feathering or bleed. (Don't ask..)

    Pen cases, pen rolls, travelling inkwells, it's endless. It's cheaper than watches, but I do occasionally think it's even madder.

    Hey ho, keeps me off the streets.
    I don't think my wife would let me get away with that. My addiction to watches and aviation books is almost too much for her. If my pen addiction started to take up more space in the study than the one shelf it currently does I think I'd be in trouble, especially as my writing's not very good!

  32. #82
    Quote Originally Posted by Hubs View Post
    Papers a nightmare too. Notepads, sketch weights, I'm now using a notebook made by a bible manufacturer - incredible thin paper with no feathering or bleed. (Don't ask..)
    Sorry, I have to ask. Where do I get this stuff? Does it work with your Visconti? I think your use of the word "mad" must be about right for a stub nib. Mine is supposedly an F, which couldn't be further from the truth. It's more like somewhere between M or B depending no how much pressure you use. Absolutely amazing pen though. That's Italians for you.

  33. #83
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    I rekindled life with Fountain Pens by using a Lamy, then i moved to a Parker, then a Mont Blanc but settled for Waterman. Each were different but all served the purpose - to improve 😃 my shockingly bad hand writing.

    Good luck!

    Jim

  34. #84
    Quote Originally Posted by robt View Post
    Sorry, I have to ask. Where do I get this stuff? Does it work with your Visconti? I think your use of the word "mad" must be about right for a stub nib. Mine is supposedly an F, which couldn't be further from the truth. It's more like somewhere between M or B depending no how much pressure you use. Absolutely amazing pen though. That's Italians for you.
    The bible paper notebook is from http://www.bibles-direct.co.uk/products/?c=92

    It works fine even with the amount of ink the Visconti Homo sapiens stub puts down, which is prodigious. This is my first stub nib, and the line variation between fine and broad is great. It is really wet though!

  35. #85
    Quote Originally Posted by Hubs View Post
    The bible paper notebook is from http://www.bibles-direct.co.uk/products/?c=92
    It's weird how those actually look like bibles. It's a shame the paper only comes with nasty blue lines like a school jotter. Plain would be great. Even so, I'll probably still give one a try at some point if it can withstand the Visconti's squid-like ink dispensing ability. I might even see if I can get the words "Holy Bible" embossed on the front instead of "Journal" so I can take it out at meetings...

  36. #86
    Quote Originally Posted by robt View Post
    It's weird how those actually look like bibles. It's a shame the paper only comes with nasty blue lines like a school jotter. Plain would be great. Even so, I'll probably still give one a try at some point if it can withstand the Visconti's squid-like ink dispensing ability. I might even see if I can get the words "Holy Bible" embossed on the front instead of "Journal" so I can take it out at meetings...
    I thought that about the lines when it arrived, but the paper is so good I don't notice them now. Costly, but a lot better than moleskine for fountain pens

  37. #87
    Agree with the advice about TWSBI. I initially bought a 580 diamond which is a great pen. Good value at this price point.

    My current writer is a dunhill carbon fibre sentryman. Some great pens from dunhill, well engineered.

  38. #88
    How do you find the sentryman to use? I have been very tempted by that model as well....

  39. #89
    Quote Originally Posted by MattH View Post
    How do you find the sentryman to use? I have been very tempted by that model as well....
    Review of the resin model here..

    http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/fo...tryman-review/

  40. #90
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    Quote Originally Posted by MattH View Post
    How do you find the sentryman to use? I have been very tempted by that model as well....
    It's quite a heavy pen, especially with the cap posted, even in carbon fibre. It has a relatively short and manoeuvrable Namiki nib. Indeed, the whole pen is probably made by Namiki, but Dunhill don't say so.

    Very good quality - better than most modern pens - but a characterful one that you should try before you buy.

    Personally, I don't like the metal 'section', which I find cold, but the pen is undeniably a class act.

  41. #91
    The sentryman carbon fire is a great pen that I have enjoyed using. It has a good weight to it and seems to be every well built compared to some offerings from mont blanc which I have owned.

    Try one out, as the design may not suit all. I personally love the design.

    Here are some pictures ( Including the ballpoint)


  42. #92
    Thats what I am trying to find :)

    Theres a couple on ebay (with and without boxes) - I suspect they were picked up when you could buy them for £150 from the Bicester store.
    The outlet store has none.. so the options are limited..

    I have the AD2000 ball point carbon fiber which is lovely - hence I thought I would get one to match!

    Cheers

    Matt

  43. #93
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    Look for a Dunhill AD2000. Silver barrel band, individually numbered to the pen, clip adjustable to pocket material thickness[!], good ink capacity ... a really good pen.


  44. #94
    Master
    Join Date
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    The predecessor to the Sentryman, the Sidecar, is perhaps a better choice, because it has a turned section and is cheaper.


  45. #95
    Hi,

    any my ideas where I can look for secondhand dunhill pens other than eBay ?

    thanks

    matt

  46. #96
    Master
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Leicester, UK
    Posts
    7,993
    Quote Originally Posted by MattH View Post
    Hi,

    any my ideas where I can look for secondhand dunhill pens other than eBay ?

    thanks

    matt
    http://members3.boardhost.com/PenMarket/

    http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/fo...?/classifieds/

    Both in the USA, sadly, but some European sellers use them and, in my experience, UK Customs don't hammer pen imports, anyway.

  47. #97
    This thread has rekindled my interest, and I've just been thinking about some of the pens that I had that got returned.
    There was a Pelikan 215 which a dreadful skipping nib, likewise with a Lamy Studio, which had two skipping/flooding nibs, a Conklin Stylograph, which was a beautiful pen but too heavy when posted, likewise a Cross Apogee, a Laban Large Resin, which was the size of a sausage and a Conway Stewart 388, which I still have somewhere. Probably the best nib I've used, but tiny, difficult to fill and with a very small capacity.

  48. #98
    Well I crumbled and bought a dunhill sentryman should be here tomorrow... First time using a fountain pen and ink ever - I always had cartridges back in school :)

  49. #99
    Quote Originally Posted by MattH View Post
    Well I crumbled and bought a dunhill sentryman should be here tomorrow... First time using a fountain pen and ink ever - I always had cartridges back in school :)
    You'll not be disappointed. Make sure you have decent paper to write on (Rhodia, Clairefontaine, Leuchtturm etc) you'll be sorted

  50. #100
    Great choice, which one did you go for?

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