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Wality 69L? (and questions about pump fillers)


Jeremy

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I'm looking for a good pen for every day office use. My criteria are:

 

1) Cheap. I don't want to have to worry about theft, loss or breakage.

2) Fine to Medium nib. Not to fine, but not too broad. I have small handwriting, but it needs to be visible on a fax. (once it's dry, of course :P)

3) Capacity. The more the merrier.

4) Bottle ink. I can find cheap Skrip bottled ink locally, and black is all I need. I'm not a big fan of cartridges

 

The Wality 69L, from what I can see, is pretty inexpensive, holds a lot of ink, and the medium nib is "more like a medium-fine." On the down side, I've seen a lot of people write about the drip incidents they have with them, and some of them can be scratchy. Despite this, I still see them suggested quite a bit, so the problems must not be too bad. Specifically there was a thread about someone asking about a long lasting pen for a day of taking notes at college, and this one was suggested heavily, although I cannot find that thread now. <_<

 

I like the idea of an eye dropper filler because at work I don't want to be messing around with trying to get ink from one bottle to another just to get enough to cover a nib so it will fill properly.

 

So my main question is: Is this pen reliable enough to be used on a daily basis at work?

 

I'm also considering a Hero 508. From what I've read, most give it rave reviews. I don't know about the nib sizes, though. Also, I noticed that it has a "removable pump filler", but to be honest, I'm not really sure what that means. I'm guessing it's a converter? :unsure: I'm new to FPs in general, and I've never used a converter before. Are they a lot of trouble?

 

And for a REALLY stupid question. :blush: When one fills a converter, does it get filled by itself (ie, "alone"), or does the nib have to be attached to it in some way? Will a converter be able to empty the ink bottle more easily than dipping the nib?

 

I appreciate any pointers, suggestions and such. Thanks for helping out a noob. :P

 

Jeremy

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Welcome Jeremy- and there are no stupid questions- well, almost none- can't help you on the Wality, but your last query- the converter can be used with or without section (nib and section)- if using without on a regular basis, you must be careful not to "stretch" the converter's mouth because it needs to fit snugly into the section. In my experience, converters do not hold as much ink as one would like- but to each his own.

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Ihave no experience with Wallity, but am a recent convert to Hero pens. The 82-1 is a very nice utilitarian work horse. It appears to be slightly smaller than the 508. I just bought 2, and they are extremely comfortable for rapid note taking at work. They flow well enough to be used as signature pens. They came with slide style converters which hold about the same amount of ink as a short international cartridge. I bought these because the 3 Hero 329's, a 110, and a 200 I bought before are really great. I find myself using them in preference to my name brand pens. The 82-1 nib is fine to medium, closer to fine. It is not as fine as the 329 nib. Photocopied black ink is super sharp.

 

I fill converter pens both ways. With nib on it is faster, and the feed is automatically inked, but there's a bunch of ink to wipe off. Off nib is less messy, but you have to put the filled converter on the nib, and then push ink into the feed (unless you want to wait). It is really just preference.

 

(Added) I bought all of the Hero's at isellpens.com. My only affiliation is as a very satisfied customer.

Edited by jsonewald
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I like the two Wality pens I have and one of them is the 69L. It's a huge pen, by the way, and it has a "classic" look. I've never experienced any leaks. And, even though it's "cheap," it gets a lot more compliments than my more expensive pens. The nib description of fine-medium is accurate -- not too fine, not too broad, and not quite medium. As far as ink capacity, given that the pen is huge, it has ample ink capacity. With respect to reliability, the 69L would constantly be in my rotation if it weren't for the size. I like my pens just a bit smaller/thinner, but when I feel like reaching for a "jumbo" pen I use it without posting the cap, and it writes like a dream. Hope that helps.

 

Oh, I bought the 69L at isellpens.com -- no affiliation, just a very happy customer.

 

Edited for typo.

Edited by girlieg33k

Talking about fountain pens is like dancing about architecture.

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I have a wality 69, and I have been having problems with the dripping. I'll be writing and I'll notice a drip forming on the feed, and if I don't do anything about it it will drip on the page. It is pretty annoying. I have tried a few different inks, and it seems like it makes a little difference. I have messed around pulling the nib, reseating it and trying again, bit without any luck. I'd love to find a solution, I hope someone has some ideas.

The Danitrio Fellowship

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I am waiting to try out the big 69L Wality piston filler. Paid a little over $17 shipped and if it writes and fills well; it's a bargain in my mind. It's a big pen and should hold tons of ink. I went with the piston filler because it's much more convenient to fill, and also avoid a potential leakage issue.

http://home.att.net/~explorer16550/wsb/media/161920/site1951.jpg

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My Hero 237-1 'Accountant's pen' writes well and very fine. With the fine line it seldom needs refilling. At $8, I don't worry too much about loosing it.

 

Ron

"Adventure is just bad planning." -- Roald Amundsen

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Wality 69's are prone to leak, both the piston and the eyedropper version. I think it's the ebonite feed that is causing the trouble. But the nib is absolutely smooth and superb. So if you don't mind occasional drops of ink, it's a nice pen for the price.

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I have the Wality #52 and to my mind its a great pen. The only time it has leaked was when I forgetfully posted the cap and had to twist it to get it off - this turned the piston plunger and ink squirted out! Oooops!

 

The day it arrived I also took receipt of a Pelikan M805 - 20x the price but dare I say it not 20x the pen? I gave my friends the 69L to look at (after having bored them stupid with details of the 805 I was getting) and they thought it was the £200 pen :ltcapd:

 

For the price - get one and try it (the Wality I mean). It does have a fine wet line, holds a fair amount of ink, isn't too big at all, and being plastic its lightweight. The piston fill just tops it off! I have 2 of the eyedropper pens that I haven't yet got around to inking.

 

Got mine from ebay - pbachran

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-Model-52-Piston-...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Just happy customer etc.

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Every time I try to reply to this thread, I seem to get side tracked and close the window quite some time later forgetting about the half finished post that lies within... :P

 

Anywho, I've seen some suggestions in other threads for fixes to the Wality, but they don't always seem to work from what I can gather. Things like tweaking or re-seating the nib, or getting the ebonite hot under water and pushing that closer to the nib, and things like that. So... I did some more searching around and decided that I'm doing too much searching around. :lol: I've found so many cheap pens and brands with good reviews that the whole thing has become more difficult to make a choice!

 

I'm still halfway leaning towards the Hero 508, or even the Hero 82-1 that jsonewald suggested. After going through the list with my wife of cheapies I had found, I think her favorite was a Haolilai Red Chrome 363. So I'm leaning in that direction, too. And with a price of $7.99, I'll feel even less bad if it gets lost or breaks. Also, after talking with a couple of people, cartridges probably are a better way to go in an office setting. The boss wouldn't be thrilled to see me "playing" with my bottle of ink. <_<

 

Since I'm still waiting for Paypal to validate me, I still have a little time to decide. Oh decisions decisions... :unsure:

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I just picked up a couple of Wality piston-fillers (52 and 69L), so I thought I'd add my two cents.

 

I smoothed the nibs on kraft paper, and now they write with no problems at all. The line is a little finer than I expected (really a true fine instead of a medium-fine), but it lays down a nice, moderately wet line. So far, I've only loaded them up with Parker Quink blue-black....I'm curious how they'll write with some of the Noodler's inks.

 

Thankfully, my pens show no signs of leaking or weeping at all. Again, I'm curious to see how the nib and nib section will handle Noodler's, which I get a lot of nib creep with on my other pens.

 

I write with my caps posted, and I did accidentally turn the piston and release a blob of ink when I was unposting...this is something I'm going to need to be careful about, I think.

 

In all, I'm really pleased with the Walitys...I got mine both in black, and they have an understated, classic look to them....they look much more expensive than they are. At a price of $35 for the pair, I think they're a steal. I got mine from Retrodesk as well.

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I don't want to be messing around with trying to get ink from one bottle to another just to get enough to cover a nib so it will fill properly.

Then get a nice restored Sheaffer Snorkel, preferably with a Triump nib, from a good ebay seller. It should cost about $50-$80. You'll get one of the best nibs ever made, and the most sophisticated filler - the pen extrudes a a tube past the bottom of the nib to suck up ink, so less mess, and no need to worry about getting the nib into the ink.

 

It's a pen where you have to be especially careful on vetting the seller and asking for an explicit guarantee that the pen is working, because an overhaul for the filing system costs a little more than for a normal pen, but that's the only drawback.

- Jonathan

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I had two Wality 52's that leaked. I don't think anyone could "mind" using them like that. They blobbed ink on the page every few sentences. Terrible.

 

Todd from Isellpens said that he's going to stop selling these because he keeps having these problems. But he's a friendly guy and you might like to email him beforehand and ask him about this.

 

I am continuously preaching the Duke gospel, especially the ones that have gold plated nibs). But you want to hold a lot of ink -- you gotta go eyedropper. You can easily convert some Waterman Phileas/Kulturs to an eyedropper, but you won't get one cheaply if you want a gold nib. I don't use mine anymore, despite the fun of the ED, because the steel, stiff nib lacks the joy of a smoother GP nib.

 

I fill my converters with a syringe, but people say that if you keep the converter attached to the feed and fill through the nib, you can "Clean" out the pen by dislodging particles. I don't know if this is true.

 

The hero's tend to have the push-bar-filler converters (what's the real name for these?). I prefer a piston (the screw-able kind) because you can actually fill those up all the way. It's a challenge to fill the push-bar ones all the way, sometimes, but some of them can hold a lot of ink.

 

Some hero's are a good deal, and some are a risk. They make good "i don't care if i lose it" pens, because they tend to be very inexpensive. Yi Cheng has some really really cheap pens (like we're talking $5 incl shipping from malaysia!) but he also has some complete (bleep).

 

My vote: get a Duke pen for ~$15+shipping (so we're talking under $25). (but some people have had problems with Duke pens, so beware there too). People here have also praised that Gold sparkly Haolilai. I recently dropped a bit more and got a Fuliwen and am very pleased...

Click for Ink Scans!!

 

WTB: (Blemished OK)

CdA Dunas // Stipulas! (esp w/ Titanio nib) // Edison Pearl

 

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This is my first post here and I may be way off in my etiquette. In fact this may well be a "Repair" question/comment. Still...

I'm interested in the ED conversion for the WM Kultur that M.Melnicki mentioned in the post above. I love the idea of ED fillers and by extension ED conversions... Seemingly endless ink supply and seeing the stuff sloshing around inside my Kultur's sparkly, purple demo barrel (it was a present) makes writing all that much more fun - in the privacy of my home.

The Recife Crystal looks like a great pen and I'm on the hunt for a low priced version, Wality demo barrel looks good too but then there's the drip issue that I've encountered. Just got a Wality 69L that weeps uncontrollably.

Also have a Sheaffer vac-fill triumph I'd love to convert, great nib and size but a completely shot and gutted filling mech. Could be the perfect candidate.

What's a good source for info, step by step and general advice on eye dropper conversions? Is it a straight forward as it looks at first glance? I'd like to DIY it since I'm poor and like to "fiddle". And while I'm at it, I'd love to find a fix for the weeping Wality.

Any helpful advice? Thanks in advance.

Edited by K-Lastima

K-Lastima

Hair is the first thing. And teeth the second. Hair and teeth.

A man got those two things he's got it all.

-James Brown

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