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Hi~ I've done some looking online but I am quite unsure about this) I am new to Fountain pens and just got my Noodler's HoD ink yesterday (btw, loving it; but haven't received my Lamy F yet) Now, I filled the Preppy and thought "If I end up having to fill my Lamy at school, I don't wan tmy ink to get smashed". You see...My school isn't the best one, People break into lockers all the time and like to take things like that (glass bottle = smashed...or the'll try to get a buzz from it.) ---------- Can anyone suggest a cheap ink that I wouldn't care about as much if it was smashed? It doesn't matter what the bottle is made of (it can be glass), It just has to be a cheap black (picky teachers...uhg) ink that is low enough in price were even I (who is dirt poor xD) can have it in my locker so I can fill my pens in an "emergency" Sorry If this is an odd thing to ask but I really have little money to waste an dI may end up needing to leave a bit there sense I probably won't check the pen too often...

Hi all, I'm interested in looking into stub nibs. I'd love to be able to try them out before buying any, but I live in Australia, which does not have a wide range of choice in FPs... and what is available is sold is 3x the price of buying a pen online. So given that trying stub nibs out in an actual store is unlikely to happen, I'd love to be able to buy a stub online and test it out before deciding to commit to a more expensive pen with a stub nib. So... where can I most cheaply source a pen with a stub nib? Bonus points if you can tell me where to find a range of cheap stubs - from M to BB so I can see what nibs I like best. Thanks!

I'm a incoming college student who in between preparing for move in at the end of this month and sorting out the finances of college is trying to find a quality but economical way to continue using the pens I've grown so fond of. Before I would buy Staples Sustainable Earth notebooks by the cartload when on ridiculous sales but recently the quality of their notebooks have been unforgivable, even the Egypt made ones, and I'm looking for a change that would still work within the reem/10ish dollar budget. Digging around the garage I found an old binding machine, the Ibico EB-19, and thats meant a day full of bookbinding research. My needs are a flat lying, 360 folding, folder pocket sporting, and most importantly hardcover notebook that is forgiving of even the wettest writers like my Lamys. The binding system that covers all of those requirements and is compatible with the EB-19 is spiral-o wire binding. Looking on Ebay, I've found a lot of 100+ wire spines for super cheap and now am looking for a paper that would be suitable for the task of making a notebook between 90-100 sheets, writes both sides, and maintains an acceptable weight to carry sacks full of them. Some candidates include: Staples Sustainable Earth copy paper that seem to be the pick of the month, HP Laserjet paper 24lb, Double A 22lb, and any other cheap, no bleedthrough or feathering paper you've had good experiences with. Tips and tricks for self binding and recommendations for alternatives like prebound books are welcome. Just trying to stay afloat and continue using my longtime companions. Also, finding affordable hard covers for 19 hole notebooks is impossible. Looking into diy solutions for that and pocket folders, editable systems like zipbinding seem tempting for a modular notebook. Staples Arc, I find to be just too fragile for throwing into a backpack and the paper punch alone is so steep.

So here's that 2nd part of the review that I promised. I'll include the other pens that I meant to in the first review, as well as some others that I have purchased since. I'm doing my best to keep the reviews a fair comparison between the two groups (a rating of 7 in this review will deserve it just as much as in the previous review). Baoer 519: A: 7, F: 8, V: 8, D: 7 On the recommendation of another user in Pt. 1 of this shootout, I purchased one of these in FP for myself and one RB for my brother. Both are very nice pens, slightly thinner/smaller than I expected (for some reason). They're a good size though, and a well built pen. The cap clicks firmly, and the metal/laquer is all very nice. I immediately polished the gold off of the top of the nib because I don't think it matches, but to each his or her own. I will say two things about posting the cap on this: the cap is a bit overly heavy (not as bad as the Jinhao 159), and it's difficult to physically push the cap down on the rear post. It won't go all the way down on either pen. Still, it holds firmly. Also, very much to my liking, the top of the cap screws off, allowing the clip to be bent back in case it is bent away from the cap body. For a cheap stamped steel clip, this is a farily nicely built one with a good level of spring to it. Oh yeah, writing: it writes well. Quite smooth from the box, with a slightly too-dry line (easily fixed). reliable, and it writes with little to no pressure. Overall, can't beat $6 just to have a spare around. Parker Vector: A: 6, F: 4, V: 4, D: 5 This was one of two middle school pens. The other was a clear blue and chrome Sheaffer that was also poor. Yeah, this isn't going to be a great review. I really do like the look of the pen and nib, but the plastic is way too cheap and prone to breaking if even slightly over-tightening the barrel. The medium is way too thick for me, but writes ok when it writes. I admit, this was a better writing pen back in middle school, but I can't clean it up and make it write at all anymore. For the price, it's not bad, but I've had two barrels and a cap crack on me, and the writing experience was never wonderful. Man would I love this pen, this nib shape, if it were only relaible and the plastic were a bit nicer. Picasso 916 Malange: A: 8, F: 6, V: 6, D: 7 This is a really great looking pen, somewhat in the same class (though not as nice) as the Pilot Prera. It's modern, gets looks (namely in the brighter colors), but doesn't look too Wall Street. This is what would go with a Banana Republic outfit. The metal body has a good weight to it, but it's still fairly light, and the cap is not too heavy. The laquer is well applied. The nib is pretty, and with a little adjustment can write pretty well, but seems to suffer from possible baby's bottoming as it takes a small amount of pressure to write. The clip is difficult to remove and quite stiff, but not terrible, and I can't imagine it being bent away from the pen easily. One more thing, the cap does not post easily. It seems secure, then pops because of the air pressure built while posting the cap. It seems to take a twist forward and back under pressure to make the cap stay, and when it does, it's very secure. Clicking the cap over the nib is also a great feeling, not like any other pen I have (though not necessarily better). That said, I got the orange pen, and am kicking myself for it. The color in reality is this awful light pastel carrot color, bad enough that I limit my exposure out of the house. The 'Carolina blue" RB that I got for my brother is much nicer (although I wouldn't use it since UNC is my school's rival). I imagine the white and black versions would escape this problem, and the red, pink, and green look like they'd be better picks. Sailor HighAce: A: 7, F: 9, V: 8, D: 6 I don't know how I missed this in my last review. This was the first new fountain pen that I purchased since middle school (and since inheriting my grandfather's collection). This is a wonderful writer, for those of us who like fine nibbed pens. There's a feedback that this one gives that no other pen gives, it's wonderful. It's a very light weight pen, but the slightly heavier aluminum cap feels really great posted on the back. The pen is very simple, unassuming, clean, but still attractive. The plastic doesn't feel cheap. The converter is excessively expensive in comparison to the price of the pen, and it has to be a Sailor converter, but the normal ink cartridge writes for so long with the fine, slightly dry nib that I really don't mind refilling it by syringe. This pen has become my go-to BSB pen, and has held up to almost a year of the ink in the pen solid. This and the 78G offer very similar writing experiences. The barrel has a hole in it, so no ED conversions, although I'm sure you could epoxy that hole shut easily if you really wanted to (no real need though). Noodler's Ahab: A: 6, F: 5, V: 7, D: 7 This is a great pen, but it's a specialty item, and one that needs more intensive care. A medium flex pen at this price is impossible to find, especially one that writes a proper fine under low pressure. But I have trouble keeping ink in the pen (1 week capped on its side or nib up and the ink is gone) and also with ink bombs (leaking into the cap), and this is a big problem as a daily writer. The nib and feed will definitely need fiddling. All that said, it's still a wonderful pen at this price, but you must seriously need it for flex writing (or at least write daily with the pen). The size is very comfortable even posted, the piston mechanism is quality, and it's an easy ED converter, which is good because this will drink ink. Also, some people have figured out where to grind the nib to make this a much easier flex pen. Definitely worth having in a collection, but I don't trust it enough to keep with me on business. On a side(ish) note, this plastic, as you know, smells. I still like the idea of using renewable materials, and there's a nice "softness?" to it. You're best COMPLETELY disassembling the pen and washing all plastic components many times in soapy water and leaving them out to air dry for a week or 4. Eventually the smell will go away, and you'll be happy you bought the thing. So yeah, 5 more affordable pens. Of this pack, I think I'd have to go with the Sailor. It's one of the few pens I'd take to a job interview with me because it's dead reliable, unassuming, professional but not executive, flies well, and because it handles BSB like an absolute pro. FYI, the other pens I've taken to interviews include: Safari (Kung Te Cheng), Parker 51 (Lexington Gray). That's a pretty short list of a lot of trust. Hope you enjoy and can make use of these reviews. Greg

I was looking for some paper that was a little more budget friendly than the oft recommended HP Premium 32 lb paper, also something a little lighter weight. I am planning on binding up some books and the 32 lb makes a fat book with too few pages for my current needs. I found the HP LaserJet 24lb paper at my local Staples for $12/ 500 sheets. I tested it out with a variety of my pens, from an EF to M to Noodler's Flex. No feathering, no bleed through, only some show through when I used the Noodler's flex but even that wasn't bad. The writing experience was smooth. Just enough drag to be nice and not feel like the pen was slippery. To me it was the perfect amount of drag. Not as smooth as a Rhodia but way smoother than cheap copy paper. Very pleasant. At 24lb it feels slightly heavier than regular copy paper. It's much lighter weight than the 32lb paper, which feels like cardstock to me. At roughly 2 cents a sheet it's a good deal in my book. I'll post some pictures of the package and a writing sample when I get home. I found the paper on Walmart's website for $8 or $9 plus 97 cent shipping in the US. Wish I'd looked before I went to staples, could have had it delivered to my home for $2 less a package.

Price:11 USD plus shipping to Ireland from Hong Kong Very decent packaging for a 11 dollar pen inclusive of delivery. I mean, could you ask for more? A simple box with both the cover and the container has a nice embossed feel to it, red at the top and grey at the bottom, with the Hero brand splashed across the top. Nice smooth velvety plastic cushion for the pen to rest on. No complaints here. (considering some 3 digit pens have been received in PVC pipes, stuffed with toilet paper...) Comparisons with some common pens, eg the Lamy ( which everyone probably has ) and TWSBI VAC 700. Didn't weight it ,but feels about the same as a fully inked VAC 700, heavier than a Lamy Al Star Pity the nib wasn't bigger, would have given the pen a more majestic feel. It's almost fighting with my Conway Stewart 338 for smallest nib award. Steel nib with erm, pseudo gold coating. Anyhow, pretty cool duo-colored nib for 11 dollars. Barrell is cast in ..okay I'm really bad at telling materials apart to be honest. For its price, plastic I guess, surrounding a steel body. The trimmings are listed as silver but time will tell. The black/blue granite or electric as I'd call it, is a simple design that doesn't particularly catch the eye, and isn't too gaudy. Cartridge converter supplied is the standard international one. Looking into the barrel, it's hollow all the way, and could definitely do with a longer converter, giving us the precious extra maybe 0.5ml? It's described as a medium nib, but I would say it is a western fine. I've seen no broads so far, but maybe you'll have better luck searching than me. Basically , just go up one size for the width you'd like. I've onlytested it with the Noodler's X Feather, but I will say it is a smooth writer, not a Montblanc George Bernard Shaw smooth n or TWSBI medium jowo nib smooth, but very good regardless for its value. If my Montblanc George Bernard Shaw was a 10/10, TWSBI is a 8/10, this would be a 6.8/10. I''m not sure if this pen is a 'dry writer'' or if it;s just the ink as this really is the first time I've used this ink. Have already given the nib etc a little scrub and flush. Personally I like posting as it gives me some ''balance'' that keeps my writing from going to small , especially when I use a fine. But that's just me. Pros- cheap- reliable and simple cartridge converter requiring little maintenance- feels solid, not something that you'd drop and crash into 10 tiny pieces- weight of the pen is quite evenly distributed to the middle of the pen- snap on cap, good for people who take pens in/out all the time every few minutes eg doctors on ward rounds- discrete looking and avoids the akward ''ooh you using a fountain pen, you must be so classy'' conversation you don't want to have. cons- really? for a 11usd pen I have to be critical?- okay fine cartridge converter with small ink reservoir...- I mean seriously...you expect a phoenix, yet offer chicken feed ? ( trivia, anyone knows where this line is from..hint, more likely to know if you were born mid 80s or so )