Jump to content

Best Pen For Field Work?


John_David_91

Recommended Posts

 

Interesting thread. The Kaweco Sport fits my bill, since the short length makes snapping it less of an issue.

 

Re. The bottle - does anyone have any experience of decanting the ink into those handy mini size contact lens fluid containers?

You'd just use a syringe after popping off the eyedropper lid. As in chemistry, don't pour something with a wide lipped container into one with a narrow lipped container, if you can avoid it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 87
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • jar

    4

  • Kataphract

    4

  • John_David_91

    3

  • Tanzanite

    3

You'd just use a syringe after popping off the eyedropper lid. As in chemistry, don't pour something with a wide lipped container into one with a narrow lipped container, if you can avoid it.

Oh, yes, that's what I meant with the syringe. I only asked because I wanted to know if any material like e.g non ink compatible plastic would spoil the ink? Having that bottle with you with the dropper top would be great.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I am going into the bush I take a Kaweco Sport. Starts every time even after months of not being used. It's a cartridge pen though, so if you insist on Noodler's inks you will need a syringe, but it seems more sensible if you are in the wilderness to take a few cartridges rather than bottles of ink! Very compact but when posted it's a full-size pen. $23.50 from jetpens. They come with no clip but you can buy a clip if you like.

 

There is a converter for the Kaweco Sport. It looks like this:

http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Kaweco-Sport-Converter.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll throw in a vote for the Lamy 2000, since no one else has yet. Its simple, clean design belies the ruggedness that lies underneath. It should serve you well too.

Tamara

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The answer could easily be pencil, and I've used many of those. For a pen, my combat-tested recommendation is a Fisher Space Pen. You can pick many different body types and different ink colors and widths. You can write in water, through grease, in dust and sand, while unpressurized, and in any temperature condition. You can write on wax paper, napkins, waterproof paper, and even toilet paper.

 

For fountain pens, I like the idea of the Esterbrook J series. I'd throw in the Parker 45 as the other vintage option. They have replaceable nibs, low cost, and fairly rugged designs. I'd give a slight edge to the 45 as everything can be disassembled and cleaned in a few seconds--and be replaced if needed. I've used Noodler's in both (BBH and BBK) with no problems.

 

For a slightly more expensive answer, there's always the Parker "51". Great engineering, incredible design, amazing material, lots of ink, protected and rugged nib, nearly indestructible sac, and amazingly reliable. Field repairs are just about impossible, though. But any pen that was designed with Superchrome ink in mind has no problems churning through Noodlers.

 

Buzz

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another vote for the Parker 45 - you could even go the Flighter route (all stainless except section). Cartridge/converter, partially hooded nib.My Flighter is a 14k nib, you would probably want a steel for your purpose. I have written almost exclusively with it since its arrival Monday evening (1/.27) and am sill using the first cartridge. Mine is a medium and they are the easiest to find.

Brad

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind" - Rudyard Kipling
"None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try." - Mark Twain

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Something that - if you lost it - you wouldn't cry.

^+1 on this post.

 

I am very much against the Pilot Vanishing Point as a field pen because the converters for the VP's hold miniscule amounts of ink.

 

My recommendations are...

  • Charcoal Lamy Safari-You can easily replace the nib, the matte finish makes for a nice grip, and it takes high ink capacity cartridges. Another nice feature is that this pen is very light.
  • Kaigelu 356-Takes cartridges, comes with a converter, and is priced at a cheap cheap cheap $6.
  • A Jinhao pen
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pilot's Vanishing Points/Capless have metal chassises which should be able to take quite a beating :) And they're incredibly convenient as well!

 

+1

I only have two pens - an Aurora Optima and others.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Something that - if you lost it - you wouldn't cry.

 

Exactly what I was thinking. I would take a Pilot Varsity filled with Noodler's Black, but maybe that's just me. :)

"We have only one thing to give up. Our dominion. We don't own the world. We're not kings yet. Not gods. Can we give that up? Too precious, all that control? Too tempting, being a god?"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Vanishing point. Amazing workhorse of a pen. Click open/close is as convenient as a ballpoint. The nib is excellent. Strong and well built body. Nothing else even comes close.

 

The ink capacity is more than enough for field work unless you are writing a novel in a field.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Vanishing point. Amazing workhorse of a pen. Click open/close is as convenient as a ballpoint. The nib is excellent. Strong and well built body. Nothing else even comes close.

 

The ink capacity is more than enough for field work unless you are writing a novel in a field.

 

Well... not a novel per se...

 

I've come up with so many plotlines so far in my life and not one of them I can deliver on...

 

So I decided that I would give creative non-fiction/travelogue a try. Which would require intimate, literary description (which is my favorite part of writing -- I'm a Tolkienite and proud of it and my love of description and detail comes from him). Unfortunately, if I don't have it in front of me while I jot down descriptive ideas then I can't describe it. I will be taking photographs to use for visual description, but for the sounds, smells, the feeling, atmosphere of any particular area I have to be there and write down what it's like then and there. ^_^

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Charcoal Lamy Safari...

+1

 

its worth adding that if you are doing any mountain hiking that an elevation shift of 1000 feet is all thats needed to cause the same problems people have on airplanes

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love carrying and using a fountain pen - have been doing so for many years.

 

I also realize this is a fountain pen forum - but when I do go out in the field I usually take one of my Surefire pens - the SF4. Its a beast, writes in most conditions, and I'm not scared to use it.

 

The FPs are for office and home use. Sweat and rain seem to be my 2 biggest enemies in the outdoors.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33501
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26627
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...