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I’ve bought too many Chinese pens in the last year at the intro price, so I’ve persuaded myself that I don’t have to have _every_ new pen first! But I agree that both of your grails are wonderful pens—and practically unavailable for most of us. That puts a $50+ purchase in perspective. But I’ll have the pleasure of watching everyone get their pens and react to them. Was there a 149 in white? I don’t know the early MBs well. I’m thinking I’ll get the white with a #6 and the orange Hemingway as the #8. I’m curious about the new #8 and how it will compare to the WS and Jinhao versions. BTW, 365Days Stationery Store on AliX is now offering it as well.

while avoiding raid

That watch is gorgeous! Today I used about 20 strange pens <f> from Amazon (I use the normally for ink testing). I am trying to find a twin/clone for ST Dupont Violet. This ink looks very different in a broad nib, but I had to start somewhere. I also used a Fountainpen Revolution Flex pen and a vintage BCHR Conklin Crescent Filler.

I also noticed that ring on the brown m1000, and agree with pix's assessment, and that it's gaudy. But I am so heartened to hear about them caring about our issue with the barrel transparency! I think I could live with the gaudy rings (though I haven't gotten any like that yet), but I can't live with the transparency becoming obsolete.

Not sure which Noodler’s inks you saw mentioned, but their regular Blue-Black ink gives me some incredibly nice shading, especially with a wider nib size. I also really like the shading from J Herbin’s Ambre de Birmanie

I'm careful about not soaking BHR pens in water, but BHR sections/feed/nibs do need to be cleaned and flushed. Even when they start out looking perfectly black, they always seem to discolor when I try to flush them, even after the slightest contact with water. Ideally, I'd put the sections briefly in the ultrasonic cleaner, but then discoloration seems guaranteed. Is there anything to be done about this problem? I know I can work on the section with micromesh, etc., to restore the color, but it would be nice to avoid the problem in the first place. Besides, sections do have to come into contact with ink, so they seem bound to discolor. Suggestions appreciated.

Just realized it looks like I was correcting your spelling. TBH I didn’t notice you had it misspelled 😆

I have a Norma 4 colour mechanical pencil however it seems that the blue is broken and won't slide up or down. I suspect the pencil rotates as well to extend lead but it seems jammed. Has anyone taken one apart before? Thanks for any help and direction

Well I've read the new LE some sort of copper, is @€130, down from the €160 I paid for this one. These two were about €130 it's been a couple years...but LE's cost more. A few years ago, regular 200's cost €80...then up to 90....so the jump to 100 is not unexpected. I have 7-8 or so 200's counting two W.Germany ones. LE's, also the Amethyst and the Ruby Star. To put it bluntly the 200 is the only Pelikan I can afford new, for those prices had I not had classic semi-flex 400/400nn I could have bought them on German Ebay Auction section....and my 500 cost less than that Pastel blue. I would not have even thought about this new copper something 200 had it been €160...at €130 I can dither, once I see it in real life.

I have several Wing Sung 3003 housing transplanted Pilot CM-type nibs (actually stamped M and B, from Plumix). The 3003 reminds one of a Prera, but it's a bigger pen and seals very well against drying out, far better than the Prera, MR and Kakuno. I would prefer to be using Pilot pens, and do love the comfort of the Kakuno, but the lack of sealing is a problem here (I have a rainbow of the 3 Pilot models so it's not just one dodgy cap). I'm now trying an EX2 Explorer - which promises perfect sealing - but it was double the cost of a Kakuno and, to be honest, feels no more sturdy than a Preppie. Pictures below are Pilot Prera and Wing Sung 3003 (with a Pilot nib).

Unfortunately that's how stuff like Lava Soap works -- taking the top layer of skin off to get rid of the stain. Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

You didn't stain your shirt? Then that doesn't count! I've worked on cars and would rather deal with staining than use Lava Soap (with pumice). That stuff also takes my skin off. I thought there was another non-abrasive product that works just as well, but I'm not sure what the product name is. I'm long overdue for a large ink spill, too. Tommy

M A good nib for classic rough papers; laid or linen effect or even real linen. I like B on those papers also, in I find for me F is too narrow for such papers.

I’m using the Lamy Safari Pink Cliff with 1.1mm italic nib filled with De Atramentis Document ink blue gray.

I couldn’t remember how to spell makrolon, so thank you for that.

For me it's another Parker Vector. I ran across it last week and was watching it (I've bought from the seller before) and this morning I got a notice of an offer from the seller, for basically half off. So even with tax and shipping it's still cheaper than the original price of the pen. Not even sure what the nib width on it is but it was sort of an interesting color -- mostly white with swirls of blue here and there. Supposedly will get it in roughly a week or so. But had to send a note to the seller apologizing for the tardiness in paying -- PayPal was being really wonky today for some reason, and I had to end up putting the purchase on a credit credit card as a (hopefully) one-time occurrence.... Of course now I don't remember if I have any spare twist converters available for it, or will have to (temporarily) harvest one from another pen.... Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Yeah, Makrolon. I like the look of the stainless one but the price is quite steep. I think the best of both worlds would be to buy a stainless cap and put it on my Makrolon 2K. I might do that some day.

Top to bottom: Montblanc Meisterstück Solitaire Doué Silver Barley Classique 164 Ballpoint Pen Ident No. 105223 Montblanc Meisterstück Solitaire Doué Signum Classique 164 Ballpoint Pen Mod No. or Ident No. 8579* Montblanc Meisterstück Montblanc Diamond Classique 164 Ballpoint Pen Ident No. 105980 Montblanc Meisterstück Montblanc Diamond Homage to W. A. Mozart Rollerball Ident No. 106547 Montblanc Meisterstück 90 Years Solitaire Special Edition Classique 163 Rollerball Ident No. 111532 Montblanc Meisterstück Solitaire Doué Blue Hour Classique 163 Rollerball Ident No. 112894 (I would keep the MST 90 Yrs Sol SE RB 111532) ——— * Montblanc switched from highlighting the Model Number to highlighting the Identification Number sometime in the last eighteen to twenty years. I don’t know which number is “8579”.

Of course, Pelikan may just be using up old materials to squeeze every drop out of supply inventory.

I was ecstatic when they came out with the M405 Stresemann. Because not only was it more affordable, but it's a better size for my hand. Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

I’ve never seen these very cool pens by Nahvalur. I particularly like that Classic Spring model with matching nib and hardware. Such a great color. It looks like Nahvalur’s answer to the TWSBI ALs. Please report back on how it writes, especially if you have a TWSBI to compare it to.

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