Ballpoint Replacement (Kung Te-Cheng + Platinum Pen Or Safari?)

[creeder14]

I kinda hate ballpoints. I used to love them, until I started using fountain pens. I thought a Bic was the king of writing utensils. Now, I know better, and only use one when I have to.

"Have to" here means anything that I can't use my fountain pen with. Writing cheques, using SUPER bad paper (if I have to write on a napkin or something), anything with glossy paper, etc.

I want to replace my ballpoint with a fountain pen. My idea is to use a Platinum pen with their sealed caps along with Kung Te-Cheng, which has been reported as being able to write and dry on plastic surfaces and actually be waterproof on them. It gets kinda mixed reviews as to bleed and feathering on cheap paper, but I imagine a fine or extra fine nib could make it manageable.

Since the ink is so notorious for drying out, I figured a Platinum would be a good pen choice, so that it'd be ready to write when needed. Maybe even do the thing where you put a bit of sponge in the cap if I needed to, for ink flow's sake.

I was thinking of either a Plasir or a Cool, but then I realized that Platinum nibs tend to be fairly soft, and I'm not sure how the nib would fair if I needed to regularly apply pressure to it to make cheques and such work. I'm worried it'd spring the tines.

So I thought maybe a Lamy would be better, as their nibs tend to be nails. A Lamy EF should be comprable to a Platinum F, I figure. Plus, the dark lilac Safari is a PERFECT match for the ink! I'm just worried that the ink would dry out quickly... I suppose that could be fixed with the sponge trick maybe?

Anyway, what are your thoughts on this? I'd love to be able to stick my Bic in a drawer and forget about it, and use this beautiful ink with a decent pen! (Might do this whether or not it'd work as a ballpoint replacement... I'm loving this idea!)

[Dovucoe]

From what I remember of my Plasir (and Preppy nibs), they're stiff as a nail with no softness at all.

 

In any case, since the Platinium Plasir nibs are the same as the Preppy ones, why not just purchase a much cheaper Preppy and eyedropper it to give it a shot? You'll get a feel of the nib, and the Preppys have the same inner cap as the Plasir that helps prevent drying out as well. If it's to your liking, you could go for a Plasir then.

Edited October 15, 2016 by Dovucoe

[Pickwick]

From what I remember of my Plasir (and Preppy nibs), they're stiff as a nail with no softness at all.

 

In any case, since the Platinium Plasir nibs are the same as the Preppy ones, why not just purchase a much cheaper Preppy and eyedropper it to give it a shot? You'll get a feel of the nib, and the Preppys have the same inner cap as the Plasir that helps prevent drying out as well. If it's too your liking, then you could go for a Plasir then.

 

I recall with my generation before the age of a reliable and consistent ballpoint pen, a fountain pen with a so called nail nib was ideal for coping with handwriting several carbon copies at one time. The ballpoint pen was a liberation!

[sandy101]

The plasir nib is not soft, but it does not take a convertor so it will not solve your problem - the back of Plasir is not big enough to accommodate a convertor.

 

A fine Pilot 78G will probably be a better (and cheaper) solution as it comes with a convertor.

 

The Preppy eye dropper may not be a bad idea, but the plastic on the preppy tends to crack over time. Which is fine if you have a cartridge, but will be messy if used as an eyedropper. All of my preppies still write after 4 years, but half of them contain hairline cracks.

[Buzz_130]

Platinum nibs are general nails (even their soft nibs). A fountain pen should lay down a line of ink from the weight of the pen alone--no pressure required. When a writer begins placing pressure on the nib, you can run the risk of ruining your nib, depending on the amount of pressure and the deisgn of the nib.

 

One solution to your problem may be in the same price range as your proposed solutions. An Esterbrook J with a manifold nib was designed to work with carbon paper. The manifold nib could take the pressure to make good carbon copies and give you the fountain pen experience with the ink of your choice. You'd also be getting a vintage pen with a nib section that can be replaced with ease.

 

Buzz

[inkstainedruth]

The plasir nib is not soft, but it does not take a convertor so it will not solve your problem - the back of Plasir is not big enough to accommodate a convertor.

 

Uh, say what?

I have a Platinum Plaisir. It's one of the first pens I ever bought when I first started looking at fountain pens as something to use for more than just journaling 4-1/2 years ago, and I have a converter in the pen (in fact, part of the reason I bought it where I did was because I could get a deal on ordering the pen with the converter -- as opposed to places where I had to buy the pen and converter separately.

That being said, I'll admit that I limit the use of Kung Te Cheng to a Noodler's Konrad (one of the resin body colors), which is easy to completely disassemble for thorough cleaning. It is an amazing color -- there is nothing like it -- and the only surface I *couldn't* write on with it was the label part of zip-top freezer bags (it does, however, work great on Post-it flags, and unlike iron gall inks is UV resistant). It is the most permanent ink I've ever run across.

And yes, it is ALSO a problem child. It does get bad nib creep, which clogs up the slit between the tines. And it does get cloggy -- I really need to remember to flush between fills (or at least refill with distilled water). Some people said it's more like the consistency of paint than of ink. And it's highly touted permanence means I've got KTC spots on sheets, the box springs, and my grandparents' old dresser.... But I keep looking for something that gets me that amazing dark indigo/blue-violet with purple undertones -- and there is nothing I've found. I've looked for something that permanent, and the closest is Noodler's El Lawrence (which is also an ink I really like but is definitely NOT KTC..., and I don't think NEL writes on plastic).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Water Ouzel]

The plasir nib is not soft, but it does not take a convertor so it will not solve your problem - the back of Plasir is not big enough to accommodate a convertor.

 

Wait, what? I don't have any Plaisir currently, but when I did, they all had a Platinum converter installed. Worked just fine.

[lynxcat]

Kung Te-Cheng drying out is only an issue in pens with caps that don't seal well. i've currently got it loaded in a Pilot 78G, and it's worked fine since the 31st of July this year; it's my journalling pen at the moment, i use it two to three times a week on average, for about a page of journalling each time. (it's still on the same one fill, no less.) starts writing without complaint every time, too.

 

so long as your pen has a quality screw cap i'd not worry about it drying, even with KTC in it. i have neither a Platinum nor a Safari, so i can't speak to them, but the Safari at least has a good enough reputation i'd be surprised if it dried out on you, snap cap or no.