Felt-Tip That Takes Standard Internation Cartridges

[SoulSamurai]

So I just stumbled onto these guys: https://yookers-shop.com/

 

They make a range of felt-tip pens that take standard international fp cartridges. Seems their cheapest pens (in their "youth" range) start at $12. I just ordered a couple in different tip sizes (0.8 and 1.4mm) to try out; shipping was free (from HK). I know that the Platinum Preppy comes in felt-tip and highlighter versions, but those use different tips. I haven't personally seen a fine-tipped felt tip pen that uses fp ink before.

 

 

 

[Astronymus]

Interesting. Didn't know these exist.

[doriath19]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing! The only thing that makes me hesitant to try one is the price of a replacement tip. At some point a felt tip is going to wear out. $5-17 per replacement seems a little steep. Still it seems like a cool idea, and the pens look great. Please post some pictures with your review when your pens come. I would love to see more.

[SoulSamurai]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing! The only thing that makes me hesitant to try one is the price of a replacement tip. At some point a felt tip is going to wear out. $5-17 per replacement seems a little steep. Still it seems like a cool idea, and the pens look great. Please post some pictures with your review when your pens come. I would love to see more.

 

Yeah; $5 might not be that bad depending on how long the tip lasts (at least compared to buying a whole new pen every time you run out of ink with a regular felt tip), but it's certainly less economical than a fountain pen nib.

 

I don't actually use felt tips myself, so I don't imagine I'll be wearing one out anytime soon, but we'll see. My more immediate concern is about changing inks; I wonder how hard that would be? I suspect these are best used as "one colour" pens.

[BaronWulfraed]

Is that actually a "felt" tip, though... It looks a lot like a porous nylon type tip -- similar to Pigma Micron or a Fine point Sharpie (vs the markers or conical tip of a Flair). Microns are made for precise line sizes so should not get "mushy" in use -- though some wear can be expected.

 

At one time, Flair actually sold a model using a plastic tip. It had thin channels cut through the inside (sort of a * shape), exposed by the taper of the conical point. Heavy pressure could crush the point, but in normal use it was more resilient than common felt tip -- closer to a roller-ball of the era.

[SoulSamurai]

Is that actually a "felt" tip, though... It looks a lot like a porous nylon type tip -- similar to Pigma Micron or a Fine point Sharpie (vs the markers or conical tip of a Flair). Microns are made for precise line sizes so should not get "mushy" in use -- though some wear can be expected.

 

At one time, Flair actually sold a model using a plastic tip. It had thin channels cut through the inside (sort of a * shape), exposed by the taper of the conical point. Heavy pressure could crush the point, but in normal use it was more resilient than common felt tip -- closer to a roller-ball of the era.

I think you're right. I never knew what the tips on fineliners and the like were made of; I thought they were also called felt-tips for some reason.

[doriath19]

I wonder if these will be a good alternative for those looking for rollerballs that take fountain pen ink. Refillable rollerballs also need to have the tips replaced every so often, so these felt tips would not be at a disadvantage there. Also rollerballs are prone to be scratchy and have line widths that are too wide (Im looking at you Noodlers Konrad).

[SoulSamurai]

My pens arrived a few days ago. Overall the quality is pretty good. I tried one with a converter full of blue Dollar ink (which I find very similar in performance to Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue). It works well, putting down a solid line with minimal effort. It's certainly not as smooth as a good fountain pen, but the feedback is not too bad either.

 

I did notice that after a few days unused the pen wrote very dark for a line, then had lightened up to the "normal" ink colour by the third line. This makes me think that there's a significant amount of evaporation happening, causing the ink to become more concentrated. I'm going to leave the pen unused for a week or so to see what happens.

 

I regret filling the converter, as while it seems to be working well enough so far I don't really have a use for this pen personally at the moment, and I don't see myself using up the fill anytime soon. I guess we'll see how the pen holds up long-term; if it seems reliable after a long period of neglect I might leave it at work as a backup pen or something (sometimes people ask to borrow a pen then get scared when I offer them a fountain pen for some reason).

[doriath19]

Thanks for the update on your experience with these. I kind of want to try one but am also in a position where I probably would not use it much. Let us know how it goes if you leave it unused for a while.

[Honeybadgers]

Interesting. I'd be interested in a highlighter tipped model. Right now, only the preppy offers that (and the plaisir - the preppy felt tip pulls out and fits inside the feed slot of the plaisir. The sections are also interchangeable.)

Edited April 11, 2019 by Honeybadgers