5 ms·

I still prefer fountain pens because I find good nibs superior to the best rollerballs. Furthermore, they generate virtually no waste. Ink comes in a recyclable

by nextos 6y ago

I still prefer fountain pens because I find good nibs superior to the best rollerballs. Furthermore, they generate virtually no waste. Ink comes in a recyclable bottle and it's water-based, so the paper I write in can be easily recycled without aggressive solvents. The pen itself can easily last a whole lifetime. If maintenance becomes bothersome, maybe you should look into good converters and simple water-based inks. You can easily use a fountain pen like this during many months before you need to go through one cleaning cycle. For cleaning, you can buy some special cleaning agents which you can use just like ink. Some other pen setups like vintage piston fillers and saturated inks can be high maintenance. It makes a big difference to choose a simple ink and a simple pen. The latter can be as easy to use as a rollerball.

bayindirh 6y ago
> If maintenance becomes bothersome, maybe you should look into good converters and simple water-based inks. You can easily use a fountain pen like this during many months before you need to go through one cleaning cycle. For cleaning, you can buy some special cleaning agents which you can use just like ink. Most modern "simple" (or boring) inks contain detergents to keep pens clean too. Waterman, Parker, Lamy and Pelikan (esp. 4001 series) are non-staining inside pens. Most of the standard blues (e.g.: Waterman Serenity Blue and Lamy Blue esp.) self destruct in water while resist time unless left under the sun (4001 blue is explicitly discouraged for archiving). This means you can just put your pen section in a cup of water and wait until all water turns transparent again. Then rinse under the tap, let it dry and re-fill. It's this easy. There are faster methods (I rinse & dry a daily driver pen in 5 minutes tops), but we're at HN and not in FPN[0]. :) P.S.: I'm a fountain pen nut, AMA if you want. [0]: http://www.fountainpennetwork.com http://www.fountainpennetwork.com
- nickdonnelly 6y ago
  > I'm a fountain pen nut, AMA if you want. As am I! Been collecting since childhood. I've spent more money than I care to admit on pens and ink...
- dunefox 6y ago
  > This means you can just put your pen section in a cup of water and wait until all water turns transparent again. Then rinse under the tap, let it dry and re-fill. It's this easy. AFAIK this is only good advice if your tap water isn't too hard as apparently this can damage the nib.
  - bayindirh 6y ago
    Thanks for pointing out. I've never experienced that problem tho. Also, I've seen no warning about it from the veterans in the FPN. In my country, bottled water is very cheap hence it's used a lot in the household. I prefer bottled water for dunking my pens. In any way, a pen doesn't stay in room temperature water more than 24 hours and inks already have cleaners inside. For a frequently used pen, you don't need to clean it more than 3-4 times a year. It's always possible to "power wash" a pen with a bulb syringe and some water in 5 minutes but it needs some experience and willingness.
ThrowawayR2 6y ago
Doesn't one need to be choosy about paper to avoid ink bleed? That was the reason I gave up on fountain pens. IIRC, even with specialized bleed-resistant ink, bleeding was a problem on common (i.e. cheap) notepads and notebooks.
- nextos 6y ago
  It depends a lot on the nib and the ink. With an adequate nib and ink, you may write on any paper. For bad papers, I have had a lot of luck with Pilot F or EF nibs and Herbin Lie de Thé ink. It's a dry setup, but not too dry, and that Herbin has just enough lubrication to make it pleasant.
- u678u 6y ago
  Right, for me bleeding isn't bad, but writing on waxy paper like birthday cards is another problem.
billfruit 6y ago
Normal fountain pen inks tend not to be waterproof, unless one uses some expensive ones, so that makes it not very suitable for using with watercolours, for example.
- bikenaga 6y ago
  I was using Waterman Intense Black, which writes really smoothly but is not waterproof. I've been trying a Noodler's Bulletproof Black which is a bit more water-resistant, and so far it's okay - and the bottle was about the same price as a similar-sized bottle of Waterman. I want to see, however, whether I have any problems cleaning the pens (piston-fill) with the Noodler's.
- chromatin 6y ago
  Noodler’s, which sibling comment mentions, makes some fantastic inks including smudge proof and archivalinks, besides a veritable rainbow of great and imaginative colors. https://noodlersink.com/ https://noodlersink.com/

by nextos 6y ago

bayindirh 6y ago

> If maintenance becomes bothersome, maybe you should look into good converters and simple water-based inks. You can easily use a fountain pen like this during many months before you need to go through one cleaning cycle. For cleaning, you can buy some special cleaning agents which you can use just like ink. Most modern "simple" (or boring) inks contain detergents to keep pens clean too. Waterman, Parker, Lamy and Pelikan (esp. 4001 series) are non-staining inside pens. Most of the standard blues (e.g.: Waterman Serenity Blue and Lamy Blue esp.) self destruct in water while resist time unless left under the sun (4001 blue is explicitly discouraged for archiving). This means you can just put your pen section in a cup of water and wait until all water turns transparent again. Then rinse under the tap, let it dry and re-fill. It's this easy. There are faster methods (I rinse & dry a daily driver pen in 5 minutes tops), but we're at HN and not in FPN[0]. :) P.S.: I'm a fountain pen nut, AMA if you want. [0]: http://www.fountainpennetwork.com http://www.fountainpennetwork.com

nickdonnelly 6y ago
> I'm a fountain pen nut, AMA if you want. As am I! Been collecting since childhood. I've spent more money than I care to admit on pens and ink...
dunefox 6y ago
> This means you can just put your pen section in a cup of water and wait until all water turns transparent again. Then rinse under the tap, let it dry and re-fill. It's this easy. AFAIK this is only good advice if your tap water isn't too hard as apparently this can damage the nib.
- bayindirh 6y ago
  Thanks for pointing out. I've never experienced that problem tho. Also, I've seen no warning about it from the veterans in the FPN. In my country, bottled water is very cheap hence it's used a lot in the household. I prefer bottled water for dunking my pens. In any way, a pen doesn't stay in room temperature water more than 24 hours and inks already have cleaners inside. For a frequently used pen, you don't need to clean it more than 3-4 times a year. It's always possible to "power wash" a pen with a bulb syringe and some water in 5 minutes but it needs some experience and willingness.

ThrowawayR2 6y ago

Doesn't one need to be choosy about paper to avoid ink bleed? That was the reason I gave up on fountain pens. IIRC, even with specialized bleed-resistant ink, bleeding was a problem on common (i.e. cheap) notepads and notebooks.

nextos 6y ago
It depends a lot on the nib and the ink. With an adequate nib and ink, you may write on any paper. For bad papers, I have had a lot of luck with Pilot F or EF nibs and Herbin Lie de Thé ink. It's a dry setup, but not too dry, and that Herbin has just enough lubrication to make it pleasant.
u678u 6y ago
Right, for me bleeding isn't bad, but writing on waxy paper like birthday cards is another problem.

billfruit 6y ago

Normal fountain pen inks tend not to be waterproof, unless one uses some expensive ones, so that makes it not very suitable for using with watercolours, for example.

bikenaga 6y ago
I was using Waterman Intense Black, which writes really smoothly but is not waterproof. I've been trying a Noodler's Bulletproof Black which is a bit more water-resistant, and so far it's okay - and the bottle was about the same price as a similar-sized bottle of Waterman. I want to see, however, whether I have any problems cleaning the pens (piston-fill) with the Noodler's.
chromatin 6y ago
Noodler’s, which sibling comment mentions, makes some fantastic inks including smudge proof and archivalinks, besides a veritable rainbow of great and imaginative colors. https://noodlersink.com/ https://noodlersink.com/