Thornton Disposable Fountain Pens

[phillieskjk]

Has anyone had any experience with these? They seem to be very similar to pilot varsities but I haven't found a picture of their nibs anywhere online. I'm thinking of getting a pack to try out and review, but I'd love to here what you all have to say about them first.

[LizEF]

Amazon includes photos of the nib. And reviews wherein the reviewer compares them to Varsities. I have them in my shopping cart and plan to use them as give-aways.

[virgilio]

Apparently they are true disposables, with no cartridges. Not my cup of tea, but a pity, as the reviews on amazon are generally pretty favorable. Rather spiffy look too. Wonder if they have potential as eyedroppers... There seems to be a lot of companies toying with low-end fountain pens lately, which is always nice to see.

[mhpr262]

Apparently they are true disposables, with no cartridges. Not my cup of tea,

 

Eh, "true" disposables ... the Pilot "Varsity" pens are also supposed to be "disposable", whereas they can be refilled easily in a matter of seconds.

 

Wrap a bit of leather round the nib and the ink feed supporting it,

pull the whole part out of the section with some pliers,

squirt new ink into the barrel with a syringe,

reinsert nib and ink feed,

done.

 

It's almost quicker and easier than refilling standard plastic cartridges.

Edited November 27, 2016 by mhpr262

[virgilio]

You know, that is very interesting, I'd heard you can do that with the Varsity. I wonder how easy it is to pull the nib and feed on the Thorntons? Anybody have any experience with that? With some pens it is easy to pull the feed/nib, with others very hard. Where do the Thorntons lie along that continuum?

 

In the case of my beloved Universal Scolastica pens, for instance, you can pull out the nib/feed with your fingers, using almost no pressure. With other pens it is not so easy... I am tempted to get some Thorntons just to see for myself.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Go ahead...you know you want to.

 

The problem with refilling Varsities is that I've never written one dry since finding FPN.

[virgilio]

Maybe I should make it clear that my Scolasticas are not eyedroppers, but piston-fillers. I have to fill them almost every day, even tho they hold a LOT of ink.

 

If it's too hard to get the nib/feed out of the Thorntons, you would eventually ruin the nib or feed if you needed to fill the pen fairly often. I write about 3 hours a day, so even with the extra ink capacity of an eyedropper, the Thornton wouldn't be very practical unless the nib/feed can be pulled very easily.

[WaskiSquirrel]

I bought a pack of Thorntons both to try and as giveaways or traveling pens when I can't carry ink. I have been quite impressed. They look nicer than the Varsity and write just as well. I have not written one dry yet, though in fairness they only arrived 3 days ago. I do plan to try refilling, so I'll try to remember to report back.

[virgilio]

Thanks, I would really appreciate it. They look sorta cute, don't they? I always like to give new stuff a chance, and I enjoy tinkering with a new kind of nib.

[DaveBj]

I bought a pack, fine-point nib, and I agree with Waski that they are good writers. One of them has a pale yellow ink that is unreadable, so it became the victim for my experimental surgery.

 

My attempts to remove the nib and feed with just fingers were unsuccessful, so I attacked it from the other end, and found out that the "jewel" (really, just a plastic plug with a hole in it) can be pulled out with only moderate effort. When I examined the barrel, I found out that it has a barrier that limits the ink chamber to about 1/3 the length of the barrel, perhaps to minimize burping. I drilled thru the barrier to make it a full-length ED and plugged the hole in the plug with some superglue. The plug fits firmly with a double-click, but I also put a little silicone grease on it to ensure that it would have a seal. I transferred the remainder of my Blue Ghost, about half a barrel. The bottom line is that the Thornton works as a full-barrel ED, but it does burp, unless it is pre-warmed.

 

I am currently working on writing the black one dry, so I can see if I'll be able to refill it with the siphon method of reloading that has worked so well with my Varsities. Even if that doesn't work, $1.50-ish for a good-writing disposable FP isn't bad. Watch this space for an update.

[rwilsonedn]

As DaveBj mentions, there is a rather elegant method of refilling Varsity pens using vacuum rather than removing the nib. The same should work with Thorntons, I would expect. But I don't know first-hand. I, too, have yet to empty a Varsity.

ron

[Sailor Kenshin]

I just ordered the multicolor pack. You people are EVULZ.

[mbankirer]

This place is full of enablers! I just ordered the multi-color pack, too.

[DaveBj]

I just ordered the multicolor pack. You people are EVULZ.

 

 

This place is full of enablers! I just ordered the multi-color pack, too.

 

It's a tough job, but one does what one can

[LizEF]

My variety pack, fine nib, arrived today. I tried each one on Rhodia paper. All nibs were smooth enough that I felt no need to use micromesh, and I often do that on the Pilot Varsities. I would describe the nibs as: the black & brown were what I expected in line width, the light green and orange were dry and needed the nib adjusted, everything else was wetter and had a wider line (than the brown and black). Thoughts on colors:

• Black: Not the blackest black, but still black.
• Brown: Nice shade of brown.
• Dark blue: is more like royal blue (which I consider medium). The shade leans slightly purple (I think).
• Dark green: more like medium green (to me).
• Light green: I've flossed the tines a little¹ and used a bit of pressure to spread them out, and it's writing better now.
• Yellow: Holy I can't read this, Batman! It's very bright. Excellent for drawing a picture of the sun.
• Orange: This was not as bad as the light green. I used downward pressure on the tines to spread them a little and that seems to have helped, though it may need a little more of that. It's a pale orange, more like the coating on a Dreamsicle than like an orange peel.
• Pink: really pink, bit pale, like baby pink.
• Purple: middle of the road purple color

¹ Note that the "wick" or whatever you call it that pulls the color up to the nib is visible above the top of the feed, on the under side of the tines. I didn't notice this until after I'd started flossing, so I may have messed that thing up a little... Here's a photo of the yellow wick (figured yellow would be easier to see).

 

 

Here's writing samples:

 

[LizEF]

Forgot to add: the yellow is transparent, so you can't use it to write on a dark background (or at least, it won't look yellow on a dark background). I tried it on a black sticky note, and I could see discoloration while it was still wet, but now it's the same as invisible ink (but don't ask me how to see what was there before ).

 

The colors in the above image look pretty true to life on my screen. The purple is a little more purple. That bottom color is magenta or dark pink, or something.

 

The light green is still hard starting, so it looks like I'll need to work on him a little more before drawing pictures of Granny Smith apples (which is about his color).

 

And there was something else I forgot to mention, but I can't remember what! Maybe I'll remember later.

[LizEF]

These are only $12.99 on Amazon right now. Though that could change in 2 seconds.... In case someone needs a little nudge over the edge...

[Sailor Kenshin]

And to think I got mine at 'full' price! Waaaaahhh....

 

So far, though, so good. Sooo many colors! One for every mood swing!

 

 

PS: Many thanks, Liz, for the writing samples.

Edited December 14, 2016 by Sailor Kenshin

[LizEF]

And to think I got mine at 'full' price! Waaaaahhh....

 

Me too. <sniff>

 

PS: Many thanks, Liz, for the writing samples.

 

Gladly. (Turns out color from my microscope is somewhat accurate, just not from my phone...)

[DaveBj]

I still haven't written the black one dry, but I have the ink level down to the point where there's a lot of air in the ink chamber, so I did a burp test. I put the pen in the fridge with the nib up, so it could suck more cold air in as the air already in the chamber chilled and condensed. Then I held it, nib down, clenched in my hot little fist, and over a multi-folded napkin, just to be safe.

 

Under those conditions, the Thornton does not burp. I was impressed.