What Pens Do You Have Which Rarely Go Dry Or Have Hard Starts?

[MTHALL720]

I don't have a lot pens right now, but the cheaper ones I have (less than 50.00) all go "dry" on me fairly often. What I mean is, if I don't use one for several days it won't start unless I dip the nib in water.

Right now the pen I love to use is my TWSBI Classic with Broad nib since it Always starts right up even it has not been used for 4 or 5 days.

 

Do you have any pens in a moderate price range (under 140.00 ish) whether new, or used, that tends to start with ease and is very dependable??

 

Thanks very much in advance.

[zaddick]

Platinum Century 3776. The special slip cap is supposed to keep the nib ready to go for up to a month. Used for around $85 to $95. New for $90 to $150 depending on nib, color, and where you buy from.

[The Blue Knight]

most really here are the pens I own

 

Parker; 15 (Red GT), Frontier (Teal, Twilight, Flighter), Sonnet (Matte Black, Dark Grey 18k nib)

rotring; Esprit (Tourmaline), Freeway (Blue)

Lamy Studio (Stainless Steel)

Diplomat: Aero (Pencil)

Peikan M200 (Gt)

Cross; Century II

Edited February 27, 2015 by The Blue Knight

[sandy101]

Platinum Preppy, Italix Parson's Essential, Diplomat Excellence & Platinum make-I & Faber Castell Loom.

 

On cheaper pens, cartridges seem to last longer than converters.

[WaskiSquirrel]

I have several good pens (but do keep in mind that a few inks cause issues: one new one is growing crusties over night).

 

Lamy 2000, Lamy Safari, Platinum 3776, Platinum Preppy, A.G. Spalding, and TWSBI Classic have all been quite good for me. In fact, a few months ago I mentioned a Preppy that wrote right away after sitting around for months.

 

My particularly bad pens for starting after sitting a day are any Jinhao pen, one TWSBI 580 (but not the other one), and that's about it.

 

My much beloved Noodler's pens are pretty good, but not perfect. Edison is also one I would rank with Noodler's in terms of hard starting and not going dry: usually good, but not perfect.

[MTHALL720]

Platinum Preppy, Italix Parson's Essential, Diplomat Excellence & Platinum make-I & Faber Castell Loom.

 

On cheaper pens, cartridges seem to last longer than converters.

Thanks. That is a variable which I had not thought of.

[PolarMoonman]

Parker 21

Parker Sonnet

Watrerman Hemisphere

Parker Esprit

Jinhao 250

Jinhao 599

[Blue_Moon]

Franklin-Christoph 19 & 66, Italix Parson's Essential, most Pilots in my experience.

[Sasha Royale]

My Parker 45 goes dry only when the ink supply is depleted.

Such is the reason the pen in my pocket, since 1967, is a Parker 45.

[Arkanabar]

My Pelikan M200 is easily my most reliable pen. I bought it new over 20 years ago.

[MTHALL720]

My Parker 45 goes dry only when the ink supply is depleted.

Such is the reason the pen in my pocket, since 1967, is a Parker 45.

Does this pen have a hooded nib? That is a great endorsement for it.

[1maddog1]

I have a Rotring Initial and a couple of Freeways that are almost always excellent starters - as are my P51 and P45s.

[AG_ORD]

For me, the pen I own that can go the longest and still start up without problems is my Pilot Vanishing Point....I own both a broad and a medium nib, with no problems with either.

[jar]

Tons of Sheaffer pens from the classic $1.⁰⁰ school pen to my Legacy family pens. All will sit unused for weeks yet start immediately and without any effort beyond taking the cap off.

[amcityink]

For me, My MB LeGrand fine nib with Toffee ink.... A machine of a pen.

 

Worst for me on a high end level is My MB Boheme with Perm Blk ink... everyday needs a dip of water...

[MTHALL720]

For me, the pen I own that can go the longest and still start up without problems is my Pilot Vanishing Point....I own both a broad and a medium nib, with no problems with either.

I see you are in Hawaii. I lived there for 20 years. Aloha and Mahalo

[redisburning]

pretty much any decent modern pen will have zero dry out issues with decent ink.

 

Ive seen air replacement issues and/or poor nib to feed fit with some abused pens off ebay.

 

FWIW my least reliable pen is my favorite 51; an old aero with a plain-ish medium nib. The cap on that one is probably a bit past operating in ideal territory.

[AZBennett]

For vintage pens, the only one that consistently starts NO MATTER WHAT is my Parker 45, and it's a dream to write with. You can grab one for 25 bucks with an empty cartridge and easily refill it with any ink you own. My Sheaffer Snorkel Admiral is nearly that good, but is picky about the ink I use in it.

 

Modern pens that I think fit the bill: Karas Kustoms INK, Pilot Custom Heritage 91, Platinum 3776 Balance Maestro, Pilot Vanishing Point and Pilot Falcon (though the last two are at the top of your range unless you really look on the Japanese sites).

 

I have run across some of the cheaper modern pens (Jinhao, Picasso, Hero) and even a couple of my Sheaffer school pens that hard start or skip badly after a few days rest. Quite a few of my vintage pens run dry after a day or two but they start easily and don't have any problems keeping up once the ink starts.

 

I HIGHLY recommend the Pilot Custom Heritage 91 and Karas Kustoms INK, amazing pens and currently my two favorite modern writers.

 

Paul

[ac12]

 

Does this pen have a hooded nib? That is a great endorsement for it.

 

The P45 does have a hooded nib.

But the nib on the P45 is rather short, so the hood does not really cover a lot of square mm as if it were a full size nib.

[ac12]

All of my desk pens have zero start up problems.

This is because desk pens are positioned nib down, so the nib does not dry out. Any liquid/water evaporating from the nib is replaced by fresh ink from the in reservoir (sac, cartridge, etc).

 

And the ink for the first line or two can look almost BLACK. This is because the water in the ink that evaporates from the nib is replaced by new ink from the in reservoir. So after a while the concentration of ink dye increases to a very high level, and you get a VERY DARK ink line.

 

As for my clip pens, I take it as given that if I don't use them for a few days, they could dry out on me and need a dip in water.

 

But even with identical model pens, you can get different results. I have 2 Esterbrook LJ pens, one has only dried out on me once despite not using it for up to a week or more, the other regularly dries out and needs a dip after only a few days.

Edited February 27, 2015 by ac12