Help ~ Foutain Pen For Beginner

[xue1012]

Hello

 

I'm just start with fountain pens few months ago ~ still fresh & new ~ I hv Pilot Kakuno F Nib, Pilot Metro M Nib, Platinium Preppy F Nib, Sheaffer 100 M nib, Lamy Safari M nib. The ink i hv now is Pelikan 4001, Diamine 80ml , Sheaffer Skrip ~

 

Almost the time i will writing in chinese. I'm planing to buy 1-2 higher price pens (< $100 ~ $150).

 

Is it any pen suggestion for me ? And also the Ink .

 

 

Edited November 13, 2015 by xue1012

[dylim1]

Faber Castell has many good options. Their nibs are very smooth right out of the box.

You could also try TWSBI. Many nib options for their pens. Big ink capacity and many nice pen designs.

There are many options for Japanese pens, e.g. Platinum 3776, Pilot Custom 74, Pilot Custom Heritage 91 and so on. If you get it directly from Japan, it's much cheaper.

 

For inks, you could try Rohrer & Klinger, Noodler's, Franklin-Christoph, and Pilot.

[MathurinKerbouchard]

dylim1 have excellent suggestions for you!

+1 on Pilot Custom 74 and Pilot Custom Heritage 91

I have several Rohrer and Klingner inks and I really like them a lot. They are well behaved inks with nice colors. Very easy to clean from the pens too.

Pilot regular inks like their Blue, Blue-Black and Black inks are very good inks. Pilot also has a premium line of inks which is the Iroshizuku inks. Diamine inks have a wonderful and extensive range of colors to choose from.

[onetwothree]

Hello

 

I'm just start with fountain pens few months ago ~ still fresh & new ~ I hv Pilot Kakuno F Nib, Pilot Metro M Nib, Platinium Preppy F Nib, Sheaffer 100 M nib, Lamy Safari M nib. The ink i hv now is Pelikan 4001, Diamine 80ml , Sheaffer Skrip ~

 

Almost the time i will writing in chinese. I'm planing to buy 1-2 higher price pens (< $100 ~ $150).

 

Is it any pen suggestion for me ? And also the Ink .

 

 

I second the 3776 Platinum. If i had to choose a single pen in that range that would be the one i'd choose. Medium nib to be specific, mine is nothing short of a work of art. Super juicy (to the point that it can be a detriment in very cheap paper due to feathering), very smooth and medium is a all in all perfect size for everyday work. My falcon in medium is a close second, writes just as good with the added benefit of some flex, which even without trying it still gives a tiny amount character to your writings. Its not my first choice merely because the platinum is significantly cheaper (seen platinums in the $80 range while never seen a new falcon lower than 120). Price being equal, i'd say both pens are equally good (falcon slightly more expressive nib, platinum slightly juicer and smoother).

As for ink, you probably always want to have a black and a blue ink around, once you got those then get the whole rainbow! but blue and blacks are always useful since at some point you will find yourself in a situation where other people either suggest/demand that you do, or you want to do it to avoid been judged as unprofessional. Either way, I got a couple of blacks around, and my pick 90% of the time is Noodlers X-Feather. Its a pitch black, shiny color with the added benefit of being feathering resistant (a big plus if you find yourself using cheap/copier paper often). As for blue Iroshizuku kon-peki (dark blue) seems to be the one i use the most. I've tried almost a dozen blues (counting teals as well) and i like this one the most as a "standard" blue with the benefit of some fading which is always nice. Waterman's Serenity blue is also a worthy mention due to the fact that is significantly cheaper.

Edited November 14, 2015 by onetwothree

[dallard]

The Pelikan 4001, especially the black is very good. It's what I started out with and I think it's still one of the best value for money inks out there. Bleed through resistant, highly saturated, and inexpensive.

[OCArt]

Some good previous posts.

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/93451-your-5-best-pens-for-a-beginner/?hl=%26quot%3Bpen+for+beginners%26quot%3B&do=findComment&comment=917200

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/237934-which-pens-for-beginners/?hl=%26quot%3Bpen+for+beginners%26quot%3B&do=findComment&comment=2571154

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/268371-which-of-the-three-pens-would-be-better-for-first-timers/?hl=%26quot%3Bpen+for+beginners%26quot%3B&do=findComment&comment=3021099

[xue1012]

Faber Castell has many good options. Their nibs are very smooth right out of the box.

You could also try TWSBI. Many nib options for their pens. Big ink capacity and many nice pen designs.

There are many options for Japanese pens, e.g. Platinum 3776, Pilot Custom 74, Pilot Custom Heritage 91 and so on. If you get it directly from Japan, it's much cheaper.

 

For inks, you could try Rohrer & Klinger, Noodler's, Franklin-Christoph, and Pilot.

Thanks dylim1 ~

 

I will take a look of the pens that u recommend ~ Thanks ~

 

For ink, luckily i hv already order 1 R&K to try ~ Thanks

[xue1012]

dylim1 have excellent suggestions for you!

+1 on Pilot Custom 74 and Pilot Custom Heritage 91

I have several Rohrer and Klingner inks and I really like them a lot. They are well behaved inks with nice colors. Very easy to clean from the pens too.

Pilot regular inks like their Blue, Blue-Black and Black inks are very good inks. Pilot also has a premium line of inks which is the Iroshizuku inks. Diamine inks have a wonderful and extensive range of colors to choose from.

Thanks MathurinKerbouchard ,

 

For the Pilot 74 & 91 that u recommend , what nibs better for daily use ? ( various paper quality )

 

Do u know is it quality / writting performance / saturation different between the Pilot Iroshizuku ink & Pilot regular ink ?

[xue1012]

I second the 3776 Platinum. If i had to choose a single pen in that range that would be the one i'd choose. Medium nib to be specific, mine is nothing short of a work of art. Super juicy (to the point that it can be a detriment in very cheap paper due to feathering), very smooth and medium is a all in all perfect size for everyday work. My falcon in medium is a close second, writes just as good with the added benefit of some flex, which even without trying it still gives a tiny amount character to your writings. Its not my first choice merely because the platinum is significantly cheaper (seen platinums in the $80 range while never seen a new falcon lower than 120). Price being equal, i'd say both pens are equally good (falcon slightly more expressive nib, platinum slightly juicer and smoother).

As for ink, you probably always want to have a black and a blue ink around, once you got those then get the whole rainbow! but blue and blacks are always useful since at some point you will find yourself in a situation where other people either suggest/demand that you do, or you want to do it to avoid been judged as unprofessional. Either way, I got a couple of blacks around, and my pick 90% of the time is Noodlers X-Feather. Its a pitch black, shiny color with the added benefit of being feathering resistant (a big plus if you find yourself using cheap/copier paper often). As for blue Iroshizuku kon-peki (dark blue) seems to be the one i use the most. I've tried almost a dozen blues (counting teals as well) and i like this one the most as a "standard" blue with the benefit of some fading which is always nice. Waterman's Serenity blue is also a worthy mention due to the fact that is significantly cheaper.

 

Thanks onetwothree ,

 

The Platinum 3776 that u recommad is it Platinium 3776 Balance ? ( coz i found that Platinium 3776 got few range ~)

 

Since many of u recommend Noodler's Ink but there is hard to get this brand of ink in our country ~ How about sailor Nano Ink & Jentle Ink ?

[xue1012]

The Pelikan 4001, especially the black is very good. It's what I started out with and I think it's still one of the best value for money inks out there. Bleed through resistant, highly saturated, and inexpensive.

Thanks dallard,

 

I agreed with u, Pelikan 4001 is good quality ink at low price ~ since i hv try few color of this range.

Briliant Black & Brilliant Red is not favorite. Brilliant Black for is not enough black and a bit brownies, but in average is ok. But Brilliant Red is really my night mare ~ terrible color with mess up my pen ~_~"

 

This is some sharing ~

Pelikan 4001

Blue Black - Very beautiful color with smooth writing ~

Turquoise - Good Saturation ( my favorite color)

Violet - Vivid violet color ~ romantic

 

 

Anyway, thanks for yours suggestion ~

Edited November 16, 2015 by xue1012

[MathurinKerbouchard]

Thanks MathurinKerbouchard ,

 

For the Pilot 74 & 91 that u recommend , what nibs better for daily use ? ( various paper quality )

 

Do u know is it quality / writting performance / saturation different between the Pilot Iroshizuku ink & Pilot regular ink ?

Hi xue1012!

 

How are you?

The Pilot Custom 74 and Pilot Custom Heritage 91 are both great as daily writers for they are basically the same. They both use Pilot's #5 14K gold nib and they come in several nib choices: EF, F, SF, MF, SFM, M, SM, B and BB but the Custom 74 comes with an additional C and MS. They are around the same size the difference being that the Custom 74 is more of a cigar/torpedo shape while the Custom Heritage 91 has flat ends. The CH 91 has rhodium plated nib and trimmings while the 74 sports gold. Also the shape of the clip differs on both. I guess it would come down to your personal preferences.

This link will show you what I'm talking about: http://kmpn.blogspot.com/2011/06/pilot-custom.html

 

Both the regular Pilot ink and Pilot Iroshizuku line of inks are high quality inks. They are well-behaved inks with excellent flow, lubrication, works well with any pens, etc. Browse the numerous ink reviews here in FPN and you will learn a lot more. There are great ink reviewers here such as Amberleadavis, Saskia_Madding, Visvamitra, Sandy1, Tas and many, many more! The difference I would say is that Iroshizuku inks are more vibrant and they come in 20 plus colors while the regular inks come in Blue-black, blue, and black. Iroshizuku comes in this gorgeous bottles if that matters to you and they are significantly more expensive. The regular Pilot inks, however, are quite water resistant!

 

Good luck with whatever pen and inks you choose and enjoy!

[ac12]

For Chinese character writing, you want a Japanese XF or F, or a Western XXF or XF. The wider nibs like your Lamy M will put down too wide an ink line. Of course this also depends on how large or small you write.

[onetwothree]

 

Thanks onetwothree ,

 

The Platinum 3776 that u recommad is it Platinium 3776 Balance ? ( coz i found that Platinium 3776 got few range ~)

 

Since many of u recommend Noodler's Ink but there is hard to get this brand of ink in our country ~ How about sailor Nano Ink & Jentle Ink ?

I actually had the 3776 Century in mind. I quick search and it seems the balance uses a steel nib for about half the price of the century give or take as the main difference between the two. Considering even the cheapest platinum pens (the preppys) have very substantially good nibs I would not let that alone scare me away from buying that particular model if you do wish to save the money. On the other hand, in my admittedly small sample, the gold nibs of platinum are to die for and if you can get your hands on a 3776 century with gold nib for less than $100 (which is quite possible) you would be buying a pen that in the hands of any other brand would closer to $200.

[Sergio 46]

I suggest Pilot Prera calligraphy, I suppose it might be helpful to write in chjnese.

[sandy101]

Inks - Diamine Velvet Blue is very nice - probably my favouritist blue coming out of a big broad nib.

 

If you are into greens - Diamine Safari is a nice shading green.

 

A nice violet is J Herbin's Violette Pensee.