Jump to content

"mini" Fountain Pens


wastelanded

Recommended Posts

I am developing a serious like for this genre. Does anyone collect them as a specialization? I of course have a Kaweco Sport, but I am looking at pocket pens from Ohto, Rosetta, and older pens from Pilot, etc. Even the super cheap Chinese jobs from Hero, Lanbitou. The Passaporto and mini Sapporo are of course delovely, but out of my range. Any others?

"I was cut off from the world. There was no one to confuse or torment me, and I was forced to become original." - Franz Joseph Haydn 1732 - 1809
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 58
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • wastelanded

    6

  • clickiechick

    3

  • WayTooManyHobbies

    2

  • Mesu

    2

The Pilot Birdie, which is not available in Canada anymore as far as I know but still sold in some countries; the Stypen Up, with a nib that twists out of the body so closed it's pretty small; the Tombow "Egg" fountain pen - rollerball versions of it are still sold in places; and my current favourite, the Pilot Prera which I think is small enough to count as a mini pen. Not sure how it compares to the forthcoming TWSBI minis in size. That's my list!

"Life would split asunder without letters." Virginia Woolf

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the tips, PD! Yes, cream coloured Prera, I like. Would be perfect filled with Diamine Damson!

"I was cut off from the world. There was no one to confuse or torment me, and I was forced to become original." - Franz Joseph Haydn 1732 - 1809
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought a Pilot Petit1 from Jetpens a while back. It's small and cute but wrote surprisingly well :) In fact, it's the pen that convinced me that I needed more (and better) fountain pens!

[url="http://i-think-ink.tumblr.com/"]thINK[/url]: my pen & paper blog :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kaweco Liliput! I bought mine (black) from Jet Pens about two weeks ago, and it's been wonderful. A nice writer, very robust in construction, and absolutely tiny - I keep it in my cell phone case.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My two cents: stop purchasing "cheap" fountain pens and save up for the Sailor Sapporo mini. Given enough time and enough impulse, you'll probably end up spending the $150 or so on a few so-so pens. Save yourself the hassle and just invest in a Sapporo mini!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My two cents: stop purchasing "cheap" fountain pens and save up for the Sailor Sapporo mini. Given enough time and enough impulse, you'll probably end up spending the $150 or so on a few so-so pens. Save yourself the hassle and just invest in a Sapporo mini!

 

Yes indeed, I have thought of that. And I do want a Sapporo, but a full-size one, not a mini. I have already told myself not to impulse-buy any more. I've only bought a couple of cheaper pens since getting back into this, and they were more of an experiment; if they didn't work, I would take them apart and apply some of the knowledge I've picked up here. As it turns out, both of them work surprisingly well. Oh yes, a Sapporo, in white, rhodium trimmings...as Homer would say, arrgghhnnnnnn

 

Kaweco Liliput, I wouldn't mind one of those either. Actually, one of everything from them would do me nicely!

"I was cut off from the world. There was no one to confuse or torment me, and I was forced to become original." - Franz Joseph Haydn 1732 - 1809
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Vintage ringtops. Also, Guider makes a really small fountain pen.

"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination."

Oscar Wilde

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sailor makes a beauty (well the myu and the sapporo) and also pelikan m300. If you wantto get into vintage why not keep an eye out for the smaller vacumatics by parker. Not quite as small as the kaweco but very nice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tucky anyone?

 

Gotta love any pen that looks like the nib is half the length of the pen!

 

Tucky!

Increase your IQ, use Linux AND a Fountain pen!!http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk11/79spitfire/Neko_animated.gif
http://fedoraproject.org/w/uploads/5/50/Fedorabutton-iusefedora.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My two cents: stop purchasing "cheap" fountain pens and save up for the Sailor Sapporo mini. Given enough time and enough impulse, you'll probably end up spending the $150 or so on a few so-so pens. Save yourself the hassle and just invest in a Sapporo mini!

 

Yes indeed, I have thought of that. And I do want a Sapporo, but a full-size one, not a mini. I have already told myself not to impulse-buy any more. I've only bought a couple of cheaper pens since getting back into this, and they were more of an experiment; if they didn't work, I would take them apart and apply some of the knowledge I've picked up here. As it turns out, both of them work surprisingly well. Oh yes, a Sapporo, in white, rhodium trimmings...as Homer would say, arrgghhnnnnnn

 

Kaweco Liliput, I wouldn't mind one of those either. Actually, one of everything from them would do me nicely!

 

A Liliput will put you almost halfway to a Sapporo... And a Kaweco steel nib won't provide nearly as much awesomeness as a 14k gold Sailor nib...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A Liliput will put you almost halfway to a Sapporo... And a Kaweco steel nib won't provide nearly as much awesomeness as a 14k gold Sailor nib...

 

The Sailor certainly looks nice, but wouldn't tuck into my cell phone case as neatly. It would be nice to have a gold nib, but I've been very satisfied with the smoothness of my Liliput, particularly at 1/3 the price of the Sailor.

 

Either way, it's great to have choices!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Conway Stewart made a line of fountain pens called the "Dinkie" gold nibs and level filling , they write very nicely indeed

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Modern pens:

 

Aurora Mini Optima and Aurea Optima Minima. Piston and gold nibs (14K on standard, 18K on LE).

 

Omas old-style (pre-2005) faceted 1930 and Dama (piston, gold nibs) and the 620/630 (piston, plated niba). These pens are now out of production. There's also a limited run (made last year) of Ogiva minis (piston, gold nibs).

Edited by eric47

Anyone becomes mannered if you think too much about what other people think. (Kim Gordon)

 

Avatar photography by Kate

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just discovered that I have an Eversharp Bantam (well, I knew I had the pen, just didn't know what it was.) It is definitely a mini-pen and I think it is very nice looking. Unfortunately, mine is not in working order (the fill bulb has disintegrated) so I can't tell you how it writes. I am hoping to get it restored and it is most certainly a keeper.

 

Here is a link to some information about the Bantam: Wahl-Eversharp Bantams

 

Holly

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I found a pair of unnamed lever fillers that are only 3.5 inches long, capped. They have gold plated stainless steel butterfly nibs with the "Welsharp" name. Cute little things. They write well, but the ink capacity is necessarily small.

Can a calculator understand a cash register?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33559
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26744
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...