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Newbie's First Pens Review (Waterman, Picasso, Shaeffer, Noodlers)


tandaina

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I got hooked by a lovely silver Waterman earlier this month. And I mean hooked BAD. I'm subscribed to the Ink Drop club, and I've got a couple pens to share. Nothing out of the ordinary but thought the totally blank slate of a newbie might be interesting? Here goes.

 

(Sorry topic got cut offer. Trying again!)

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8325/8109952122_e47d65de0d_b.jpg

 

I really wanted to try a flex nib, but kept losing Ebay auctions for the silver flex Waterman overlay pen of my dreams. So I settled for a Noodler's Creaper. Granted I'm used to the Waterman I started with which is HEAVY (though small). The Noodler's is VERY light. Feels like it cost what it cost. (Fraction of the Waterman). But it writes beautifully. The flex isn't huge as some have said. But it is fun to start with. I haven't a clue what i'm doing with a flex pen but I already like the possibilities. I need a class or tutorial. ;) And to slow down. This is not a pen for jotting notes in a meeting. (Well it could be, but the flex wouldn't really come into play in that setting.)

 

Overall? A winner. I like the mottled color (I went with the black and white heart of darkness after watching the creator's video about his encounter with whales. Had to, too cool a story.)

 

Ink I was allowed (graciously) to swap in for something else in the Ink Drop. Love it. I'll be buying a bottle. Even my husband really likes it. Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses.

 

Second pen I bought after reading a number of the "cheap pen" threads. After all, I want a number of pens inked with fun different colors but I'm a newbie, I do NOT want to spend $80 on every pen I buy. So I hit ebay and found this beautiful little Picasso. Small (I have SMALL lady hands, big pens kill me), and the white was just so clean and classy. The little gem in the clip is a nice touch.

 

It came in a gorgeous box, all silked and nestled in. I really felt like I'd spent more than $20 (including shipping) on this baby. It is HEAVY. The pen casing is, I think ceramic? It feels like it. Very nice heft in the hand. It is small, I think certainly a ladies pen. Posted it might work for a guy, but posted it is TOO heavy for me. I will be using it sans cap. The ink is another Ink Drop surprise. I'm going to write this pen out and try another go round. I cleaned the pen with soap and water and when I loaded the ink I got tons of tiny bubbles. Yup, soap. So the ink wasn't given a fair shake here. Fairly nice blue, but following BSAR frankly it was doomed to just "nice."

 

Last one for a lark. This is an old Shaeffer I found in a drawer. It came in a calligraphy kit I got once for Christmas. Since it is cheap (plain ole plastic) and takes cartridges I used it for our recent trip. The nib is labeled "italic f" but the thing is HUGE. Seriously, fun for writing in our friend's guestbook, but not an everyday pen if I could help it. Certainly not now that I have two cheap solid writers.

 

The Waterman will live at work where I (hopefully) won't lose it. (At $80 it is the most expensive pen I imagine I'm every likely to buy). But quite happy with these three.

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8325/8109964136_1a3dc1f520_b.jpg

Edited by tandaina
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Welcome to the FPN. Thanks for the nice review. You might hear the Sheaffer calligraphy pen referred to as a No Nonsense. Sorry to hear it is too big for your hand. The Noodlers are fun pens. The best way to learn flex is to keep writing and playing around until you find your hand. There are references and tutorials to review for ideas but ultimately it will be your hand. Again welcome and thank you.

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You and I are in the same boat! $20 is about the most I will spend on a pen now. I used Shaeffers NN when I was in high school over thirty years ago and have used Pilot Varsities on and off for the last few years. Just became fascinated with Chinese pens and received a Jinhao that I've yet to ink. I also just caved and bought a rubberized Stypen. I picked up Stypens in France a few years ago. They are fun and reliable. Also LOVE Goulet Pen Company despite the fact that the owners attended a school that is the rival of mine.

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