Best Pen For Continuous, Even Writing

[BillPorter]

I suppose that everyone who has used a converter has had the experience of seeing their pen starting to run dry and then finding that although there was ink in the converter, the ink was stuck above an air bubble and wasn't reaching the feed. Although this doesn't seem to happen as often with cartridges, I know it can happen at times.

 

So my question is this: If you wanted to write a two page letter without having to open the pen to turn the converter screw a turn or two OR fiddle with a balky cartridge, what pen would you choose? Would you choose a piston filler? Parker 51? Eye dropper? Just asking..... Thanks in advance for your comments!

[AAAndrew]

Some pens are fine for a few lines, some work better for pages of writing. I call these my "long-distance" pens. It does have something to do with ink supply, but even a fairly small ink reservoir should be enough for two pages of writing. For me, it's more about comfort. At about two pages I can really start to not like writing with some pens. I enjoy writing with my Lamy Vista or Joy, but not for long distances.

 

My favorites are:

Pelikan 200 (with 250 nib)

Parker 51, both fine and stub nibs

Aurora Optima

1960's era MB 12

Sheaffer Balance, standard size

 

At least those were the ones I found the best when I did some long-distance writing trials last year on my most commonly used writers. I should get out the less-used pens and see which ones work well. I suspect my Balance Jr. would do well.

 

The ones that didn't do as well were the heavier pens, the metal sections (got too slippery) and the too thin ones. I love my Targa, but I found it too heavy.

 

In the end, you'll have to figure out which pens work best for you for that kind of writing. But the ink supply for even smaller convertors should work for a couple of pages unless you're laying down huge lines of ink.

 

To extend the question, assuming a moderate ink on regular paper, how many pages of writing could you get from a fill from a regular-sized converter? Kind of like how many licks to the center of a Tootsie Pop? The world may never know!

[sandy101]

The Italix Parson's Essential, Faber Castell Loom, any Platinum (even the preppy), Visconti Rembrandt and Diplomat Excellence are up to the job. I've used them all when writing correspondence and have found them to be very good and had no problem with ink flow.

[Mr. Dante]

 

Aurora Optima

+1. Consistent wet flow. Never skips.

My deposition pen when I know I will be furiously scribbling notes for hours.

[torstar]

Aurora Talentums have been very good to me.

[benbot517]

Some converters have an ink agitator built into them that works quite well. It's just a small metal ball or something similar, and it breaks the surface tension of the ink when using the pen. It may drop the ink capacity a tad, but they work quite well.

[DrDebG]

Personally, for long periods of writing, I love my Lamy Studio with gold nib. It is smooth and clean and just glides on the surface of the paper. But, I also love my Delta Capri Marina Grande with broad fusion nib since it is a larger, more comfortable pen for when I have have osteoarthritis flare-ups. This pen also glides along the paper, but uses up ink much faster. For a really long writing session, I will put in a cartridge to avoid running out of ink in my converter.

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

I rarely have such a problem as described. Perhaps it is that I trend away from high dye-load inks that might not play nice with converters. (?)

 

There might be a matter of nuance of just how one fills their pen. I prefer to cycle the converter piston several times to ensure the entire feed+collector is flooded, then lower the piston to drip a few drops back into the bottle, then hold the pen nib upper-most and draw the piston back to seat it. That removes excess ink from the nib+feed, airs-out the feed channel, and leaves air in the converter to provide headroom for ink to slosh about whilst writing.

 

The more obvious thing would be to use a pen that doesn't use a converter: piston, sac, vac-fillers, etc have always given even flow during long haul writing. Or at the end of each [A4] page, give the pen a whirl to dislodge any ink hanging in the converter.

 

Pens with massive feed+collector units, such as the Waterman Carene, would provide even flow but only so long as the reserve ink they hold is not exhausted.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited May 28, 2015 by Sandy1

[deepak23]

My Airmail 69 and 71 any day. Nice wet line, good girth, lightweight. I wrote 16+ pages in 3 hours and repeated it twice more over the next couple of days (quals exams). I write small and mangage 25+ lines in a foolscap paper. My 69EB never skipped, stopped or ran out of ink...

[Glenn Atkins]

Lamy 2000.

 

Glenn

[Bex66]

I agree with Glenn - Lamy 2000

 

Pilot decimo, too, if you start off with a full reservoir

[ac12]

If you know the converter in your pen develops the situation where ink gets stuck in the back, like some of mine, the first thing that I do when I pick up the pen is,

- position the pen vertical, nib down.

- tap the side of the pen, about where the converter is

This usually breaks the surface tension and the ink falls to the front of the converter.

I do this every time I pick up my Sheaffer calligraphy pens, and my Lamy Safari with the Z24 converter.

 

My choices

Types of pen:

- lever filler/ink sac

- piston filler. However, the slim piston fillers (such as Reform 1745) will also get ink stuck in the back, and you have to tap it to break the surface tension.

- cartridge pens, using a cartridge.

 

Specific pens:

- Esterbrook J series

- Lamy cartridge pen with the Z26 converter (for some reason, the ink does not get stuck in the back of the Z26 converter)

- Parker 51

- Pelikan M1xx, M2xx

- Pilot cartridge pen with the Con50 converter (this converter has a piece of metal that will fall through the surface tension, preventing the ink from sticking to the back of the converter, at least mine does)

- Sheaffer Touchdown or Snorkel

- TWSBI 5xx

- Any of my cartridge pens with a cartridge; Parker 45, Parker Classic, Lamy joy, etc.

Edited May 28, 2015 by ac12

[Renfield]

If a pen can't write for a few pages without running dry then it is a defective pen.

 

I am thinking of all my pens (around 50) and none of them run dry after a few pages, in fact they will all keep going until they run out of ink.

 

I did have an issue with some pens initially. A Parsons Essential and Parker IM, but I hacked the feed, opened the tines, and now they do that they are supposed to do,

 

Its all about the flow

[ac12]

BTW a converter with an air bubble/ink stuck in the back of the converter is a totally different issue than a feed/nib problem. The converter I can easily deal with, a feed/nib problem is a little more difficult.

 

I will give you the total opposite. How about a pen so wet that it starts to drool.

[arcadeflow]

I have noticed that the ink plays a part in this too. I filled my Safari with J. Herbin Terre de Feu (I figure out I don't like this ink, by the way) and I could see the ink sloshing around by the ink window. When I fill with Diamine inks, the ink kind of sticks to the window and the top of the converter, the surface tension acting out. I can't say that I have any trouble keeping the feed wet because I don't write a full page at a time, but the flow seems great when I am using my wet Lamy nibs, I don't see signs of the feed not keeping up with the demand. This kind of problem can show at different times, with an emptying converter or things like that. Each converter will probably prefer some inks. I am not sure if this is an issue with piston pens, but I feel since their tank is larger, the surface tension problem won't appear. I like the ink sloshing around freely.

[edebill]

 

I will give you the total opposite. How about a pen so wet that it starts to drool.

 

After my first attempt to wedge a dip nib into it, my Noodler's Konrad would suddenly drool even after I swapped the original nib back in. I thought I'd destroyed it. I can't really blame the pen for that, though. I was trying to use a Hunt 99 nib, which has the wrong radius and I must have mucked up the inside of the section. Eventually I went back and got it working really well with a Zebra G.

[Renfield]

BTW a converter with an air bubble/ink stuck in the back of the converter is a totally different issue than a feed/nib problem. The converter I can easily deal with, a feed/nib problem is a little more difficult.

 

I will give you the total opposite. How about a pen so wet that it starts to drool.

 

For a pen that is too wet, trying closing the tines a little of pushing the nib slightly closer tot he feed. The gap is usually small, but sometimes it is too wide.

 

After youhave done that, then it is using a drier ink. Pelikan Blue Black is the driest non IG ink I have used.

[savingbirds]

I've spent the entirety of a four-hour essay exam with just a Pelikan M600. I can honestly write with than pen for hours on end without hand fatigue, and the wet nib, thick feed, and huge ink reservoir make it a perfect distance writer. The Lamy 2000 is also a good choice, but I find the section a bit slippery and the balance a bit off for my hand.

[EricaTX]

My Parker Sonnet is one of my favorites - it writes beautifully and doesn't give my any issue until the ink is almost out.

[delano]

Lamy 2000 is my first choice for long distance writing. My Franklin-Christoph 02 is my second.