Design Your Own Pen! I Want To Hear Your Thoughts!

[Mkim]

so... whats the verdict here Bry?

 

Anything that tickles your fancy?

[Bryant]

Thanks everyone for the ideas. Im still digesting all of them. But keep them coming.

A few of the ideas I have similar pens already in the works.

 

How does everyone like the new Delta Fusion nib? Thinking of doing a piston sized resin pen with this nib. Under 300 I hope.

[bluejay]

You should also do some orange rubber that was done on the hemingway. Black and orange look would be great on any pen(with matching inkwell)

[GRJP]

A few of the ideas I have similar pens already in the works.

 

Now you are just being cruel and unusual! And I love it!

[haldane3]

Not crazy about steel nibs, even with gold cap on it... Though truth be told I have not tried the fusion nibs.

[MCWB]

How does everyone like the new Delta Fusion nib? Thinking of doing a piston sized resin pen with this nib. Under 300 I hope.

Despite all the marketing rubbish, it seems to perform well. The stub has certainly had good reviews.

[paolino_paperino]

Thanks everyone for the ideas. Im still digesting all of them. But keep them coming.

A few of the ideas I have similar pens already in the works.

 

How does everyone like the new Delta Fusion nib? Thinking of doing a piston sized resin pen with this nib. Under 300 I hope.

 

My fusion 1.3 stub is lovely. It exhibits great line variation while being wonderfully smooth.

 

For the pen, personally I'd like a price of 300 or less, arco celluloid and a piston filler.

 

Oh, and a shape similar to a MB 138 would be great.

[Ghost Plane]

Size and weight of the MB 149

No steps in the barrel

ink view window

silver colored trim

Length of the MB 149 when posted--sometimes larger pens do not take into consideration their posted length and if it is too log it is unbalanced and no good.

Ebonite

I love a Chased pattern

Should hold a good amount of ink.

14k nib a must so I can add flex if I so choose.

Something more minimal like a Danitrio or Sailor King of Pen would be nice-less is more!--less of a price then a Dani or KOP would also be nice!

Eyedropper filler with shut off valve

 

Bryant the Delta that I bought at the Philly show has most these things going for it--I got 18/23 of a very dark blue, piston filler--silver trim--I never got the name of the pen from you though--you had them in many colors.

 

This is fun!

 

WOW ... I like the way you think !!!!

 

Ill add that with the ink view window could be something more then just a section of clear... maybe something like the Visconti Divina Springs LE but not as in your face so it wont detract from the whole pen.

As the owner of an obscene number [8] of the colorful Delta piston fillers Bry's offered of late these are pretty close to my perfect pens. Colorful, hold a bomb of ink, sturdy, good length and diameter, nice juicy stubs. I love the smooth ink windows as they fall about where I hold my pens, so there's no lumps or threads under my fingers.

 

The only improvement I could think of would be OB and OBB nibs. Love the Delta nibs and something with the softness of those they offered on the old Profili pens [14k?] would be awesome.

 

I love the pistons with the ratchets that don't overfill. Best of all is the relatively affordable price point and awesome functionality of the Delta designs.

 

Frankly I avoid Stipula for the awkward for me shapes and nibs that don't aproach the performance of Delta or visconti. While I enjoy the 52 nib on my FPN pen, the body shape is too narrow and awkward for me while the piston is awkward to use, nor do the other nibs offered have anything comparable to the Delta or Visconti stub.

 

While I love the Visconti Skeletons, their extreme pricing of late and current trend of designs as art rather than pens for years of extended daily use pretty much stopped me buying. The old Van Gogh Maxi was the apex of fantastic pen at a reasonable price and the Ripples approached nirvana, which is why I own one in ever color. But when I get very similar performance from the Deltas without having to leave the back end of the pen unscrewed to write more than a few lines, there's a reason I switched over.

Edited February 9, 2013 by Ghost Plane

[Namo]

Since I do have the pens I need and enjoy using, my "dream pens" would be kind of a mix of what I already like.

 

- Nib: something like the 1st and snd generation of Waterman super 6. Incredible nibs, I think I like them even more than vintage Pelikans... but it doesn't have to be in gold. Steel is ok, titanium is too.

- Shape: I really like long pens with a long grip section. Something like the Nakaya Long, without the step, would be very nice. Not too fat, in the m800 area is good.

- Filling mecanism: I love ED with shutting valve for its simplicity and ink capacity. I also like piston fillers - not too complicated and decent ink capacity. My main concern is surface tension. I thought I was over c/c fillers phobia, but I am not. Unless you can design a pen than would allow the CON-70 convertor, of course.

- Trim and so on: not important. An in window would be nice, but not mandatory.

- Weight: I'd like some weight.

- Material: I love celluloïd, but Id like to see something in a modern material like carbon maybe.

- Price: well, I could do something stupid up to 300$ (I konow it's not realistic, but hey, you are asking...)

 

To sum it up: a Waterman Man 100 in carbon with a piston filling mecanism would be kind of the perfect pen for me...Or a slighlty longer Bexley Corona in carbon

Edited February 9, 2013 by Namo

[raging.dragon]

How does everyone like the new Delta Fusion nib? Thinking of doing a piston sized resin pen with this nib. Under 300 I hope.

 

I got to try one briefly (a stub if I recall correctly) and it wrote well enough. My biggest complaint is that I find the marketing techno-babble offputting. That and I'm not convinced that the Fusion nib is worth paying a significant premium over a good steel nib (Bock, Jowo, etc.).

 

If that'd be a piston filler for under 300 it would be a good deal. Though I'd probably pass and save my money for a Delta with a #8 nib.

Edited February 11, 2013 by raging.dragon

[raging.dragon]

How about a Visconti based on the Joon LE? Presumably with a different material and maybe a standard Visconti bridge clip too. I think the key design features are the double resevoir power filler and the lens shaped ink window that provides a wider field of view. I like the Joon's paired central silver bands on cap and barrel; however, I think the design could also work with either no trim bands or more traditionally located bands near the cap edge and between the barrel and blind cap. Perhaps with a Smartouch nib to reduce the price a bit.

[Ghost Plane]

I haven't tried a Fusion nib yet, but the Delta stubs I have are awesome, so I'm assuming it's similar in performance?

[Cre8ive]

After making it through a BFA program and being a TA in grad school I discovered fountain pens and wondered why I was stuck using rapidographs and why my students were trying to execute fine line ink drawings with pilot felt tips. How about a pen that gives consistent results absolute control and lays a good even line? Oh yes, at the most reasonable price possible.

 

Form follows function.

 

First, the body must be cream. Dark pens hide ink and gook that might accidentally land on the body, transfer to your hand and then to your paper, all because the body hid the ink smudge.

 

size: I love my plump Visconti Van Gogh, Mont Blanc monte rosa is a bit small, I'd choose a trumpet shape holding grip like the Graf Von faber c. Made of black wood. I'd make the thinnest part of the finger grippy thing pebbled satin and have it turn to perfectly smooth where it flairs out. Tactile feedback on finger position. I'd also make this section out of sterling silver. It holds warmth in a certain way that I feel doesn't suck warmth out of fingers. This is important when you are running on empty and still have 3/4 of a huge assignment to draw and turn in the next morning. Hand cramps suck.

 

The body can be made out of a decent durable plastic, so long as its cream. I'm sure all the manufacturers have a body about the diameter of a nickle. I think that's versatile.

 

The cap snaps onto the pen and once snapped on can screw on a turn and a half. Snap on for when in use. Twist for when in transit. Cap also snaps on when posted- a secure quick posting.

 

Fill system... If you are using this pen you have the eye-hand control to fill a huge fat long cup that fits snugly on the back end of the nib section. Yes, like a monster rapidograph ink cup.

 

The back end of the pen (where you post) can twist off and expose a chamber that is completely secure when closed. The chamber has two sections they each run along the length of the pen. You can fill one or both with tiny silica pebbles or fine sand or whatever you like. This allows you to weight the pen, or not. And you can choose to weight just the underside to give more stability and control.

 

The cap has a basic clip that can be easily removed. It can slide into the spine of a journal but its not designed to stay in your shirt pocket when you skydive.

 

Nib, firm unless pressed a little bit more than needed, then it gives a bit and acts a little like an artists brush.

 

The goal here is a fountain pen made for superb control, suitable for precise line work but also has a nib that can give a bit wider line when desired.

 

Price point: under 200 for the version with the sterling silver grip section. Under 100 for a hard plastic version of the grip section.

 

I think this would be a superb writing instrument and artists tool. I know some people prefer fancy materials and shiny metal, I do too, sometimes. But I really want a pen I can use for fine drawing or elegant writing.

[ZachWasniak]

I'd like a pen made out of:

Volcanic Rock,

Gold Nib,

Fairly Larger,

Initials in the middle of body and top of cap,

and finally a vac filling system.

[raging.dragon]

I'd like a pen made out of:

Volcanic Rock,

Gold Nib,

Fairly Larger,

Initials in the middle of body and top of cap,

and finally a vac filling system.

 

Visonti Homo Sapiens Bronze Age?

[Bryant]

Thank you everyone for all your impute. Keep it coming still if you have any other ideas.

 

To touch on a few ideas...

 

 

-Unfortunately the #8 nibbed pens are not going to be possible for a while, as special editions for me. The prices on these nibs are just too much. Ive gotten a few quotes on pens with number 8 nibs and my costs are more than what Im charging for current stock.

For example. The Vespucci Encore. Wood pen, Oversized, with number 8 nib we did (sold out now). I would have to charge 1k+ for this pen now (I did a price request on the same pen but with Silver instead of Vermeil trim). The Retail would be about 2K. Apparently the feeds and nibs are costing quite a bit more now, so with sadness I have to say, I number 8 nibbed pens are on hold for me indefinitely. Even the MSRP on the Dolce OS is going up to 900 next month, and with the dramatic price increase yafa took, they should be going to 1k, but they just didnt want to increase the price on this pen by $200, so they are doing $100 now, and maybe $100 in 6 months o a year.

Its really a bummer, as I really like the number 8 nibs and those Ebonite feeds.

 

-The Fusion Piston is happening for sure. Similar to the star pens in the current line up, but with different colors, even a few celluloids. Price will be very fair, under $300 for Resin, a bit more for the celluloids. Trims will be all Sterling Silver, or Vermeil. Piston of course and Fusion nib.

 

-As for the requests for Montblanc style pens. I couldn't and wouldn't do any like these. Im sorry. I think MB make some great pens, but I would never try to have any of these brands try to make a similar pen than another brand. Not only would they not go for it, but I would like to try to keep the pen in the style of brand thats making it. That coupled with the fact that Richemont frowns down in the form of lawsuits when pens are made similarly to theirs, is an easy reason to stay away.

 

-I do see lots of ideas here that I like though, some mix and matched ideas Ive done.

 

-The main hurdle I see is some of the pricing. Its very hard to get Celluloid pens, piston filled with gold nibs at a price under 5-600. Most celluloids are NOS unless a company commits to a very large number of celluoids. Even the Omas Celluloids are NOS. All those remakes where of materials they had.

 

-Another idea Im playing with a Wall Street LE shape and Celluloid, but with Bronze trim. Not too original, but cost could be the win here considering.

1. They have the celluloid

2. They know the shape

3. They have most of the parts made already for the for WSLE in the current run and HS Bronze bronze is currently still in production.

But we will see. Ive done a price/quantity request and we will see where it lands.

 

 

 

 

 

[raging.dragon]

That's sad news about the #8 nibs. The bronze trimmed WSLE is interesting, would it use the same stacked celluloid as the WSLE's or something different?

[haldane3]

I think resin would be totally OK instead of celluloid.

 

I think the most important aspect of any pen should be styling, none too garish, none too large, understated, stylish and a great writer. Resin material, piston fill, and #6 size nib under $400 dollars would be A-okay with me Bryant!

 

Dan

 

P.S. The Visconti wall street doesn't particularly strike my fancy.

 

(edited for P.S.)

Edited March 5, 2013 by haldane3

[raging.dragon]

Would it be possible for Delta (or any of the other manufacturers for that matter) to offer #8 nibs in Steel or Titanium? Or even a #8 sized Fusion nib? If prices for gold nibs are getting unreasonable I'm happy to consider alternatives.

 

I'm also not a stickler for celluloid. I don't care what type of plastic is used so long as it looks good and feels pleasant, for example: the resins used in the Visconti Van Goghs (both new and old) are really nice. Another option would be ebonite.

[theexpanciluser]

When I make my own little pen company it will use mainly levers and buttons, my first pen would be a 35 dollar range and will be availed in blue, red orange green and yellow swirl, as to yellow having white swirls and darker colors having darker swirls like the blue and red, orange will have both black and white swirling. It will be ebonite or hard rubber or something they used in vintage esterbrooks. You will have a choice of firm fine or medium, and then for 2 dollars you can buy and extra

B or bb nib and flex nibs and semi flex and whatever. All of the nib thing will fit all the pens the company makes and all pens will have friction fit, exept hooded nibs. The company will make accessories like blotters blotting paper seal wax and cleaning accessories, the repair will be free. We will sell sac cement and sacs which will only be in 2 sizes for the long (original size) and the shorter purse(pursette size lol). If you can't change your sac by yourself you can send it for 4 dollars back to the company to change it for you. Most pens will come in a paper box like a esterbrook with instructions and extra sac. Gift editions in the 40-70 dollar range will come in elegant boxes for him and for her. Unlimited additions of the first pen (the 11 model) will come in plain colors and purple gray and black swirls, as the black will have white swirls. There is more to come. Anyone form fp network is able to join me and feel free to suggest anything