My Dad gave me his fountain pens 25 years ago. 2 of them were Parker 51's. I've used one of them every day for the last 20 years. Lovely to write with, outstanding pen.
Last edited by wildheart; 2nd June 2021 at 11:45.
I contacted Parker to express my disappointment with the new ‘51, and to my surprise had a very polite reply. They think they’ve conducted the necessary consumer research and chosen the most suitable nib and body for the job. I politely disagreed. It’s not a pen I would recommend anyone buy. A £5 disposal Pilot is better.
If the 51’s on your radar, go vintage.
Otherwise for the same money buy a Kaweco. The Sinn of pens.
My current favourite.
Translation: the average consumer doesn't care, so we went with whatever is cheapest to produce.Originally Posted by OldHooky
To give them the benefit of the doubt, I found steel Parker nibs get much better after a couple of months run-in, so maybe it's that. However, I find the Parker Premier gold nibs to be just "ok" and don't seem to improve much over time either. I tend to use my Premier more often than others because it looks nice, is reliable and is forgiving about cheap paper, not because it's the best writing pen I have.
I believe vintage gold nibs had a lot more flex than modern ones and this is something to do with catering to people who are too used to writing with biros. Those people find vintage gold nibs too squishy.
That's such a shame to read, sometimes the original is as good as its gets. I tried pens 10 times more expensive than my 51 and they come no where near its quality. Just goes to show its all in the nib!
This looks a bargain to me?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224477639...IAAOSwk9Bgq9T5
Last edited by wildheart; 4th June 2021 at 09:28.
Aye.
So, I said I wanted low-key, under the radar.
What I’ve actually bought less than two weeks later is a bright yellow Lamy Safari and a Platinum 3776 Kanazawa-haku in shimmering gold leaf, with an 14k gold nib and a dragon plastered all over it.
Clearly, I talk nonsense. But I do like them very much. One for the Bauhaus-esque form-follows-function design and the other for it’s beauty, hand-applied finish, slip & seal cap and great nib.
Still plan on picking-up a more sombre but equally beautiful Urushi pen at some point.
Ha! Very nice.
I've got the tiger version of that platinum pen. Lovely nib tooAye.
So, I said I wanted low-key, under the radar.
What I’ve actually bought less than two weeks later is a bright yellow Lamy Safari and a Platinum 3776 Kanazawa-haku in shimmering gold leaf, with an 14k gold nib and a dragon plastered all over it.
Clearly, I talk nonsense. But I do like them very much. One for the Bauhaus-esque form-follows-function design and the other for it’s beauty, hand-applied finish, slip & seal cap and great nib.
Still plan on picking-up a more sombre but equally beautiful Urushi pen at some point.
Interesting comment on the Kaweco, never really considered them before but may have to try them out now
Do people nowadays use ink wells or just have bottles littering the place?
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I may have a few bottles of ink "littering the place". They are often things of beauty, a joy forever. Although some are just d*mn*d difficult to get any ink out of once half full, especially with a large nibbed pen. I must admit that I like the vac fill system of TWSBI pens and their ink bottles, not that I have any at present. Mont Blanc and Waterman have decent ink bottles. Mont Blanc this shape.. Waterman bottles have angled flats, which means that you can leave the bottle tilted on a desk and use two hands to fill the pen, especially importnt on piston filler pens where one hand holds the pen, whilst fingers on the other hand manipulate the piston. Viscont are excellent in this shape. Avoid Pelikan Edelstein in this shape. Pelikan more wisely put their basic 4001 ink in bottles not disimilar to Waterman's bottles. Caran d'Ache used similar bottles until recently, but have moved to this shape, which is an improvement. Lamy, in this shaped bottle is great as it has a deep reservoir, and holds a reel of paper with which to clean the excess ink off the nib. Parker's Quink ink has been sold in the same shaped bottles since my days at school a very long time ago.
Last edited by Templogin; 7th June 2021 at 22:32.
Akkerman inks from Den Haag, use this form which contain a "gobstopper" in the upper neck which means you can tip the bottle to fill the reservoir for easy filling. You can then tip it once more to send the ink to the bottom. Stylish and clever.
David
Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations
Yes, my research into the urushi Platinums meant the gold-leaf pens caught my eye, then I spied a cracking second-hand one online and the deal was clinched by your photos and comments in praise of the tiger version.
Really lovely thing. Quite light in hand, being resin/plastic, so maybe not one for those who like reassuringly expensive heft to their pens. (A bit like titanium in watches)
I’m a newbie in this area, so maybe all decorated pens do this, but I like how when screwing on the cap, if you align the clip uppermost and in line with the top of the nib, then the cap and pen screw closed exactly so that the top & bottom halves of the dragon screen print are aligned correctly. A nice little touch. (A bit like the infamous crown/screws/case back alignment concerns in watches).
The gold-leaf effect is very hard to adequately capture in photos, but the hand-applied nature leads to pleasing imperfections in coverage, and it has a crackled, crazed look that changes with the light. Really needs to be appreciated in person (A bit like Grand Seiko...in watches).
Akkerman is not a name I have heard of, but the bottles look interesting.
Arrived in the post today. It really is yet another slippery slope on the decent to madness (or perhaps these are what keep me sane).
Yes I did also get the ink converter and a couple of bottles of ink.
I can see a Kaweco Steel Sport in my future too thanks @Zimmer
Just happy no smudges so far being a lefty (apologies for the handwriting)!! Lovely pen.
Question for owners of multiple fountain pens - can you just switch between them say, on a weekly basis, or does letting them sit for a week or two cause issues getting them writing again?
Currently using a Pilot Capless on a daily basis but fancy adding a Kaweco steel sport and having a rotation.
I usually have 2 or 3 on the go at the same time. Provided that the cap has a good seal, they can be left unused for a week or 3 without any issues.
I picked up a Cross fountain pen that had sat unused for a couple of years at least and it wrote straight away. I would think that is the exception though. If I am not going to be using a pen for a while I usually run it out of ink, wash it out and put it away, but a few weeks should be fine. If it isn't then I dab a tissue on the end of my tongue and rub the nib a couple of times over the dampened bit, which usually draws the ink through quickly. If that doesn't work run the nib under a running tap for a few seconds then dry off the nib once you have seen the water change colour.
Thanks for all the help, have a 2000 and a Safari, plus a proper notebook with good paper and of course some good ink
My work process has improved immeasurably thanks
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I would think the Safari is absolutely fine if I hadn't bought the 2000. I can't use the Safari
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Absolute no brainer bargain for a high quality smaller pen
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...c=1&pldnSite=1
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Platinum Preppy is a nice cheap fountain pen. I have a few of the extra-fine scattered around. Japanese EF really is fine.
Pelikan nibs are beautiful to write with, owned an M1000 in the past which was a magnificent pen with a beautiful nib, but was just a bit too big to be practical.
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Would love one. Once I figure out how to pronounce the name!
I usually have 3 on the go. Some, if not used for a few days do have "starting trouble" but generally are fine. I make sure I clean them before I change to the next set. Platinum 3776 with its rubber seal can be left for a while - Platinum says for up to a month. The most fussy ones are Nakaya. If left unused for more than 2 days the nib tends to dry out.
Also a good buy at this price
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002XZLU...Z2QK4HB8HPX1MD
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Bit cheaper here! Based in the UK.
https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/PL00386...ium-trim-black
I have bought from here, most of the time they are the cheapest.
https://www.iguanasell.co.uk/collect...ium-trim-black
Ah price went back up to £193 on Amazon. Was £133 yesterday!
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Yep. Managed to get one so thx for the heads up.
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