Starter pen

De 2 said:
I am not really sure what I am looking at there Ebber, are they really short pens.

The question is often asked, 'I don't use a fountain pen, can you suggest something', I used to offer something new and cheap, plenty to chose from starting with the Pilot V pen at under £4, but so damn boring, there is nothing to do, nothing to clean or fiddle about with, although they can be refilled.


Another option may be to try and borrow something older, such as a Parker 45 or one of the cartridge Parkers from the 1990s, bullet proof and good to use and will still have a value when you have used it for 10 years, a value probably more than you paid for it today.

So a good starter pen may be a Parker 51, increased in value over the past 50 years and will probably continue to do so, a great pen to use and a gentleman's pen. I have heard that they are popular with solicitors who dont want to produce a Montblanc in front of someone who has just done some despicable crime and is now looking at an £800 Montblanc being held by his fee earning solicitor, it could be the last straw.
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The pens are not as short as appears, although a little shorter than the Zebra.

When I was young I paid half a week's wages for a S/S Parker with Italic nib, then bought a Sheaffer. Looking back, I was foolish with money. Now I know a bit more, the important things are: Does the nib write smoothly, does the pen dry out, and does it leak? The brand name no longer has a meaning since it's all made in China. The old Parkers are terrible because the rubber has perished. The new Parkers are cheap and nasty. The Parker 51? The new copies are better than the original, and converters are a blessing and easily replaced for £1.
With fountain pens, the antique ones are there only to show primitive functional design which has been superseded long ago.
A Montblanc is valueless to me, just overpriced bollocks.
 
I've given my grandsons Japanese Platinum pens as starters. The Preppy and slightly better Plaisir models are in the £10-£13 range for the basic models. They do have a couple of minor downsides, in my view. Firstly, they use proprietary ink cartridges, although I think they can handle an adapter for standard international cartridges. This limits the ink choices, but empty cartridges can easily be refilled with bottled inks, using an eyedropper or syringe.

Secondly, although they offer Fine and Medium nibs, Japanese nibs tend to be finer than these in Western pens. Personally, I think a good, free-flowing and non-scratchy Medium is a reasonable choice, but, then again, the nib size and type is really whatever suits the individual. That's where the relatively inexpensive, widely obtainable and easily-swapped Lamy nibs for their Safari and Al-Star models really come into their own, as any unsatisfactory choice of nib can be put right with another, and you still have a quality pen.
 
Ferrum said:
I've given my grandsons Japanese Platinum pens as starters. The Preppy and slightly better Plaisir models are in the £10-£13 range for the basic models. They do have a couple of minor downsides, in my view. Firstly, they use proprietary ink cartridges, although I think they can handle an adapter for standard international cartridges. This limits the ink choices, but empty cartridges can easily be refilled with bottled inks, using an eyedropper or syringe.

Secondly, although they offer Fine and Medium nibs, Japanese nibs tend to be finer than these in Western pens. Personally, I think a good, free-flowing and non-scratchy Medium is a reasonable choice, but, then again, the nib size and type is really whatever suits the individual. That's where the relatively inexpensive, widely obtainable and easily-swapped Lamy nibs for their Safari and Al-Star models really come into their own, as any unsatisfactory choice of nib can be put right with another, and you still have a quality pen.
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Good choice.

Must admit. it would put a smile on my face to sit down at the dining table with grandchildren on a wet Sunday afternoon and write with the new pens, draw and play games like Jacks, tabletop cricket and dominos and all the other stuff from childhood.
 
De 2 said:
Good choice.

Must admit. it would put a smile on my face to sit down at the dining table with grandchildren on a wet Sunday afternoon and write with the new pens, draw and play games like Jacks, tabletop cricket and dominos and all the other stuff from childhood.
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They like playing marbles solitaire, although I'm not sure whether that's for the love of the game itself, or the ability to mess about with the marbles generally, and squabble over them.
 
Ferrum said:
I've given my grandsons Japanese Platinum pens as starters. The Preppy and slightly better Plaisir models are in the £10-£13 range for the basic models. They do have a couple of minor downsides, in my view. Firstly, they use proprietary ink cartridges, although I think they can handle an adapter for standard international cartridges. This limits the ink choices, but empty cartridges can easily be refilled with bottled inks, using an eyedropper or syringe.

Secondly, although they offer Fine and Medium nibs, Japanese nibs tend to be finer than these in Western pens. Personally, I think a good, free-flowing and non-scratchy Medium is a reasonable choice, but, then again, the nib size and type is really whatever suits the individual. That's where the relatively inexpensive, widely obtainable and easily-swapped Lamy nibs for their Safari and Al-Star models really come into their own, as any unsatisfactory choice of nib can be put right with another, and you still have a quality pen.
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Regarding the proprietary cartridges for Platinum pens, that is the best thing about them and why they are so good.
Pens have a habit of drying out if left unused, and a lot of people think it's a poorly fitting cap. Not so. All modern pens have a silicone cap inside the main cap. Look at a Preppy. You see through the cap. The inner cap rests on the nib housing, and is kept there with a spring in the cap at the top. This cap seals the nib, and the nib will not dry out, or evaporation take place. The Zebra pens have the same.
Imagine, a £1 pen has it, and 50 years ago expensive pens did not. So how can a pen dry out? The other end. The cartridge or convertor can be made by anybody, and to fit a pen made by someone else. The fitting is frequently out of tolerance and fits loosely. Ink doesn't come out, but water vapour does. Six months later you'll find the cartridge/convertor is dry. The ink hasn't disappeared, the water in it has.
Not so with Platinum. Platinum makes the pens and cartridges. They fit properly, plus they are designed better. Nothing escapes, and after a year of non use the pen is ready to write.
Don't waste money on cartridges, simply refill them. They are big and last ages on one refill.

The Preppy and the Plaisir are the same pen. The Plaisir has aluminium cap and barrel, that is the only difference. They are both wonderful writers, and the nibs are marked 0.3mm or 0.5mm - at least mine are. I have Preppy, Prefounte and Plaisir. Amazon has them as Fine or Medium. I agree that the Fine is finer than we would expect. Usually nibs are 0.38 or 0.5, but Platinum makes 0.3 instead of 0.38.

Don't buy the convertor for using standard cartridges. I wasted money buying two. They are not cheap, and they undo all the magic of the pen that I've just mentioned. Buy a syringe and refill occasionally.
 
Ebberman said:
Regarding the proprietary cartridges for Platinum pens, that is the best thing about them and why they are so good.
Pens have a habit of drying out if left unused, and a lot of people think it's a poorly fitting cap. Not so. All modern pens have a silicone cap inside the main cap. Look at a Preppy. You see through the cap. The inner cap rests on the nib housing, and is kept there with a spring in the cap at the top. This cap seals the nib, and the nib will not dry out, or evaporation take place. The Zebra pens have the same.
Imagine, a £1 pen has it, and 50 years ago expensive pens did not. So how can a pen dry out? The other end. The cartridge or convertor can be made by anybody, and to fit a pen made by someone else. The fitting is frequently out of tolerance and fits loosely. Ink doesn't come out, but water vapour does. Six months later you'll find the cartridge/convertor is dry. The ink hasn't disappeared, the water in it has.
Not so with Platinum. Platinum makes the pens and cartridges. They fit properly, plus they are designed better. Nothing escapes, and after a year of non use the pen is ready to write.
Don't waste money on cartridges, simply refill them. They are big and last ages on one refill.

The Preppy and the Plaisir are the same pen. The Plaisir has aluminium cap and barrel, that is the only difference. They are both wonderful writers, and the nibs are marked 0.3mm or 0.5mm - at least mine are. I have Preppy, Prefounte and Plaisir. Amazon has them as Fine or Medium. I agree that the Fine is finer than we would expect. Usually nibs are 0.38 or 0.5, but Platinum makes 0.3 instead of 0.38.

Don't buy the convertor for using standard cartridges. I wasted money buying two. They are not cheap, and they undo all the magic of the pen that I've just mentioned. Buy a syringe and refill occasionally.
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Excellent commentary on convertors. The quality is extraordinarily variable, and some that might be expected to be good are not, and vice versa. I've had Schmidts (usually good), which weren't, and one of the best and most reliable was a screw-in one for something like Monteverde pens (I forget which). The Pilot CON converters are OK, although a devil to fill, and the Platinum ones aren't too bad i.e. Japanese ones are usually better. The ones that are utterly hopeless are those with the push-rod mechanism.

The drying-out problem is in part down to the ink used. I often find that what works well in a pen/converter combination then has hard starts, dryness, premature evaporation and so on when another is used, after the usual cleaning and flushing rituals. Some will work with a bit of Liquitex added, and others not.

I generally use a hypodermic when refilling cartridges or topping up converters from low ink level bottles, and I find that it works best when combined with a blunted (cut off) needle, rather than a needle-less body, where control of ink delivery can be difficult.

Noted about the Platinum cartridge adapters/converters.
 
Yes, syringes. Expensive to buy one, so I bought several many years ago. Filling printer cartridges was the main thing then. These days I use (see photo) for pen cartridges. Less mess and quicker. Buying more than one brings down the cost per item, doesn't it always? That's why my house is cluttered. You can use this as a syringe; without the needle it's a 3.4mm cartridge.

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10 Packs Fountain Pen Ink Syringe Filler, Spring Converter With Removable Blunt Needle Tip £4.99
 
Ferrum said:
Excellent commentary on convertors. The quality is extraordinarily variable, and some that might be expected to be good are not, and vice versa. I've had Schmidts (usually good), which weren't, and one of the best and most reliable was a screw-in one for something like Monteverde pens (I forget which). The Pilot CON converters are OK, although a devil to fill, and the Platinum ones aren't too bad i.e. Japanese ones are usually better. The ones that are utterly hopeless are those with the push-rod mechanism.

The drying-out problem is in part down to the ink used. I often find that what works well in a pen/converter combination then has hard starts, dryness, premature evaporation and so on when another is used, after the usual cleaning and flushing rituals. Some will work with a bit of Liquitex added, and others not.

I generally use a hypodermic when refilling cartridges or topping up converters from low ink level bottles, and I find that it works best when combined with a blunted (cut off) needle, rather than a needle-less body, where control of ink delivery can be difficult.

Noted about the Platinum cartridge adapters/converters.
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There is a converter that is available on ebay for about £5 for 5, purpose made for filling cartridges

converters.jpg
 
Yes sorry about that, I should have clicked the unignore button before posting.

The only problem I have found with the spring system is that there is some stiction in the piston but YMMV.
 
De 2 said:
Yes sorry about that, I should have clicked the unignore button before posting.

The only problem I have found with the spring system is that there is some stiction in the piston but YMMV.
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When I'm flushing a pen, the spring variety is a godsend. It beats twisting a spindle 5 times up, 5 rimes down, all times 10.
This is a better deal if you don't want 10. £2.48 for 5 from Temu, P&P and VAT included, but minimum spend £10.

You can use an ordinary convertor with the needle as long as the convertor is the 3.4mm variety.

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jimmyc said:
i just use a syringe and dosing neele for filling cartridges. got a box of 100 of each for about a fiver a few years back. (y)
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I also have a pile of syringes and different length needles, they were great for printer cartridges, but they don't help when flushing a pen.
Having a springy thingy is good. It takes up no space and flushes itself easily. Syringes don't, so I used to have one dedicated to each colour.
 
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