Lamy Vista For Taking Notes In High School?

[John12]

can you keep the cartridges from leaking tho after refilling them?

[savingbirds]

can you keep the cartridges from leaking tho after refilling them?

unless you have plastic, rubber, wax, or silicone sealing, the answer is no.

[pen2paper]

can you keep the cartridges from leaking tho after refilling them?

 

yes, recent experimentation by one of FPN's own, found that if you use a Low Temp, craft glue gun, a drop/bead over the hole, will stay, until you pop it off to insert onto the nib.

Couple of thoughts here - have yet to try this - Lamy carts are quite tough, but, Low Temp glue may/may not cause the plastic to fatigue after a few times. Be careful the cart fits snug. Were it me, I'd apply the glue when Just hot enough to melt a bead on. Not at its hottest temp. Be Careful, even the low temp version gets hot.

edited to add:

"never mind"

Just cleaned out old carts today - proprietary, or not, Lamy carts are sturdy, and hold a lot of ink.

You may want to use the converter, with a cart as backup, G2 after that.

 

 

Edited May 28, 2012 by pen2paper

[John12]

hmm i dont have glue gun nor do i have a syringe...and if i had an ink explosion inside my backpack....

 

...goodbye laptop :S

 

i guess i'll just have to buy proprietary cartridges from lamy -.-

 

curse you apple and sony for popularizing proprietary marketing

[Pippin60]

is the lamy vista a good pen for a first fountain pen?

 

YES, I often use a fine point Vista or Safari for note-taking at work, I think it's great.

 

and would it be a satisfactory experience to use it with regular cheap lined paper (b/c i've heard of feathering and that stuff and i'd rather that not happen)?

 

Feathering and bleed through depend very much on the ink. The fine nib on a Vista will get along well with a wide variety of inks.

 

totally agree, and I'll add if you stick to Lamy ink maybe even cartridges its pretty good on bad paper. I use a fine and an extra fine to keep in my planner. XF black and a fine Vista filled with Levenger Fireball red. Lamy red is too orange for me.

 

 

 

[Lyutsin21]

I had a Lamy Vista with a fine nib I bought in June 2009. Then a crack developed at the base of the part of the front piece that the converter or a cartridge fits into. But I think if you are reasonably careful with your pen it should be fine since I have had a Lamy All Star pen fountain pen with an extra fine tip since April 2010 so far it is not cracked. The All Star is similar to the Lamy Vista/Safari models except that teh All star's cap and barrel is aluminum and the cap seems to have little strips of metal on the inside that help the cap stay posted to the barrel better than the Vista/Safari. With the Vista I would worry that if you press the cap too hard into the end of the barrel the cap might break, although the pen is supposed to be made of ABS plastic. So far I have only ever used Lamy ink. I bought 3 bottles of Lamy black ink in June 2009 from the Lamy USA website to save money, although not I wish I had bought just one bottle so I could have tried another ink. The lamy ink disolves away instantly if you spill water on it.

 

I have never used an expensive notebook. I have had good results with certain Mead notebook paper, but I have also tried certain cheap paper on which the ink feathered badly or spread out too much and forced my writing to be too big. I find the best paper is one that is smooth but not at all glossy, and thick enough so the ink can absorb into it more than spreading out on the surface. I have also had good results with 24 pound computer paper. I mainly write when I write notes to myself for what I plan to do in the upcoming day and sometimes greeting cards using blank note cards.

 

When I started to write with a fountain pen, I had to reteach myself to write so that I would only grip the pen loosly so Iwould not hold nib above the paper, si I would not wipe my hand across the ink on the paper, and so the nib would touch the paper but so I would not apply any downward pressure to the pen other than the weight of the pen itself.

[John12]

When I started to write with a fountain pen, I had to reteach myself to write so that I would only grip the pen loosly so Iwould not hold nib above the paper, si I would not wipe my hand across the ink on the paper, and so the nib would touch the paper but so I would not apply any downward pressure to the pen other than the weight of the pen itself.

 

hold the nib above the paper? what do you mean? do you also have to hold the pen at a diff angle than like a gel rollerball pen?

ive never used fps before, all ive heard is that you need to apply a lot less pressure, so the nib is barely touching the page

[P.A.R.]

The syringe and cartridge option might be a good one - you could just refill a bunch of cartridges every few weeks or every month. Here's a decennt set from a great vendor:

http://www.gouletpens.com/Goulet_5ml_Ink_Syringe_Set_p/inksyringe.htm

 

You're on the right track with little to no pressure. Other than that, the only trick to using FPs is that you have to hold them with the nib face up and angle the pen at, with most nibs, about forty five degess with respect to the paper.

[wallylynn]

Just start using the pen and you’ll figure it out.

 

Search the forums for "refilling cartridges " there's lots of info. Wax, blu-tak, hot glue... Wrap in a few tissues, zip bag, and store inside a mint or gum tin.

 

If you make a ritual of refilling after homework, you can probably get by without spare carts.

[MaikeruS]

Honestly, a full fill will last you through the day, unless you do a ridiculous amount of writing. Just fill the pen at night after homework, etc. and you'll be set for the next day.

 

As for cartridges, you are stuck with the proprietary Lamy carts, but I have to say that the Blue ones are very nice. I wouldn't carry around refilled and "sealed" carts in a schoolbag or pencil-case as these aren't exactly treated with care 100% of the time. Given that the carts are really for emergency use only, just buy 5 or so of them and keep one in your bag.

 

Another option I'd favour if you really liked other inks or wanted an iron-gall/bulletproof ink is to get a little plastic vial, fill it with ink, and keep that in your bag. They're tough, hold about 7ml for the ones most of us have, and are large enough to fit the Vista into.

[nickapos]

hmm i dont have glue gun nor do i have a syringe...and if i had an ink explosion inside my backpack....

 

...goodbye laptop :S

 

i guess i'll just have to buy proprietary cartridges from lamy -.-

 

curse you apple and sony for popularizing proprietary marketing

Get a silicone sealant, it is quite cheap.

Also even if though you may feel confident about your cartridges, store them inside a little plastic bag in a metal container (from mints, or chewing gum) just to be sure that you will not have a leak or something.

Edited May 28, 2012 by nickapos

[tomgartin]

It's worth noting that the Lamy Safari/Vista was designed as a school pen. You'll be perfectly fine with the converter to get through a whole school day. If you're really concerned about your backup cartridge spilling, keep it in a ziplock bag and keep it in a safe spot (i.e. not at the bottom of your book bag).

[brandon_mn]

so i'm thinking about getting a fountain pen for high school. i really like the pilot g2 (rollerball), and i thought that if fp's are smoother why not give them a try

 

i've settled on getting the lamy safari vista fine point:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Lamy-Vista-Fountain-Demonstrator-L12F/dp/B0002T405A/ref=lh_ni_t

 

i will be using just regular college-ruled lined filler paper....the stuff that costs like a dollar for 100 sheets

 

the thing is, whenever i read about these fp's, people seem to always be using some really high quality paper like rhodia and clairevosalskdfjasdf...??

theres no way i will buy that type of stuff, as i take LOTS of notes and stapled books of 48 sheets for $5 is just waay overpriced for simply high school notetaking

 

 

so my two main questions are, is the lamy vista a good pen for a first fountain pen? and would it be a satisfactory experience to use it with regular cheap lined paper (b/c i've heard of feathering and that stuff and i'd rather that not happen)?

 

{...]

 

 

 

ps. are there inks that you guys suggest? i'm looking for dark blue or black inks. i will be using a converter so bottled inks are preferred (they're cheaper if i'm correct)

 

 

Hey John!

 

I am also a high-schooler, and I have been using a Safari (as many have said, it's the opaque alternative to the Vista) for the past year and a half in an academic setting.

 

I have literally written hundreds of pages of notes, schedules, essays, lab data, and the like with the same charcoal-black Safari, F nib, and ink with no leaks and minimal hassle.

I use the standard 100-for-a-dollar college ruled paper, and have had little issue with any ink i've tried [Noodler's Heart of Darkness ($20 most places), Parker Quink Black ($8.50 most places), Diamine Denim or Poppy Red (around $15 most places)]. Heart of Darkness originally scared me, because it's one of the more permanent inks out there, but I've had no issue.

 

To start out though, you should use a Lamy Z24 converter with Parker Quink Black or Waterman Black. My girlfriend, also a FP aficionado, swears by her Waterman Black in her Sheaffers/Platinum Preppy's. I have a "fleet' of two Safaris, a Kaweco Sport (standard, stylish. nice complement to the Safaris in the regular work-setting), a Pilot Vanishing Point (great design, rather pricey), and a Platinum Preppy (super-duper-cheap), all of which have been used on really cheap paper with these four standard inks.

 

Additionally, you won't run out of ink in the Safari/Vista converter for about a week (5 days). I use a refillable cartridge in one of my Safaris, a converter in the other (I do have syringes from the Goulets. My parents, at least, were ok with it, but my sister teased me for a good month. ), and last, at minimum, a week and a half when used concurrently (one black, one blue).

 

I only ever refill my cartridges at home (on the Kaweco and the blue Safari), but they seriously last around a week. Back when I just had the charcoal safari, I would refill Sundays and Thursdays. Now that I have more pens, it's closer to once-a-month.

 

I always keep a vial of Heart of Darkness (my current black ink) in my backpack in case I ever need to refill the black Safari. I've only had to use it twice, when I got really lazy about refilling. My friends/teachers were really interested in how it worked. Not too hard, so long as your teacher has kleenexes about. I occasionally stash napkins from the lunchroom in my backpack if I feel like the pen's about to run out.

 

It's not a terribly good idea to refill cartridges unless you're putting them straight into the pen, in my experience. The moral of the story, it seems, is that you should run a full cartridge or two through your pen, find out how long a cartridge will last you, and then "schedule" some "fountain pen maintenance" around that. It only takes five minutes to refill a safari at home, and it's really clean if you refill the cartridge with a syringe (minimally messy if you use a converter).

 

It's really great to find another HS fountain-pen-enthusiast here! Keep us posted on what you decide to do!

 

Cheers!

Edited May 28, 2012 by brandon_mn

[John12]

You're on the right track with little to no pressure. Other than that, the only trick to using FPs is that you have to hold them with the nib face up and angle the pen at, with most nibs, about forty five degess with respect to the paper.

 

nib face up? do you mean with the inside of the nib (the side with the black block in it) facing the paper, or facing away from the paper?

 

(like does the cup part of the nib face the paper or away?)

[brandon_mn]

You're on the right track with little to no pressure. Other than that, the only trick to using FPs is that you have to hold them with the nib face up and angle the pen at, with most nibs, about forty five degess with respect to the paper.

 

nib face up? do you mean with the inside of the nib (the side with the black block in it) facing the paper, or facing away from the paper?

 

(like does the cup part of the nib face the paper or away?)

 

It usually works best with the silver side facing away from the paper (the black block/inside of the nib facing the paper).

[tomgartin]

You're on the right track with little to no pressure. Other than that, the only trick to using FPs is that you have to hold them with the nib face up and angle the pen at, with most nibs, about forty five degess with respect to the paper.

 

nib face up? do you mean with the inside of the nib (the side with the black block in it) facing the paper, or facing away from the paper?

 

(like does the cup part of the nib face the paper or away?)

 

There is a lot of great information about the anatomy and types of fountain pens available on the "reference pages" section Richard Binder's website www.richardspens.com that should help to clarify these types of questions as you progress further into the world of fountain pens.

[pen2paper]

">My link

[John12]

so i'm thinking about getting a fountain pen for high school. i really like the pilot g2 (rollerball), and i thought that if fp's are smoother why not give them a try

 

i've settled on getting the lamy safari vista fine point:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Lamy-Vista-Fountain-Demonstrator-L12F/dp/B0002T405A/ref=lh_ni_t

 

i will be using just regular college-ruled lined filler paper....the stuff that costs like a dollar for 100 sheets

 

the thing is, whenever i read about these fp's, people seem to always be using some really high quality paper like rhodia and clairevosalskdfjasdf...??

theres no way i will buy that type of stuff, as i take LOTS of notes and stapled books of 48 sheets for $5 is just waay overpriced for simply high school notetaking

 

 

so my two main questions are, is the lamy vista a good pen for a first fountain pen? and would it be a satisfactory experience to use it with regular cheap lined paper (b/c i've heard of feathering and that stuff and i'd rather that not happen)?

 

{...]

 

 

 

ps. are there inks that you guys suggest? i'm looking for dark blue or black inks. i will be using a converter so bottled inks are preferred (they're cheaper if i'm correct)

 

 

Hey John!

 

I am also a high-schooler, and I have been using a Safari (as many have said, it's the opaque alternative to the Vista) for the past year and a half in an academic setting.

 

I have literally written hundreds of pages of notes, schedules, essays, lab data, and the like with the same charcoal-black Safari, F nib, and ink with no leaks and minimal hassle.

I use the standard 100-for-a-dollar college ruled paper, and have had little issue with any ink i've tried [Noodler's Heart of Darkness ($20 most places), Parker Quink Black ($8.50 most places), Diamine Denim or Poppy Red (around $15 most places)]. Heart of Darkness originally scared me, because it's one of the more permanent inks out there, but I've had no issue.

 

To start out though, you should use a Lamy Z24 converter with Parker Quink Black or Waterman Black. My girlfriend, also a FP aficionado, swears by her Waterman Black in her Sheaffers/Platinum Preppy's. I have a "fleet' of two Safaris, a Kaweco Sport (standard, stylish. nice complement to the Safaris in the regular work-setting), a Pilot Vanishing Point (great design, rather pricey), and a Platinum Preppy (super-duper-cheap), all of which have been used on really cheap paper with these four standard inks.

 

Additionally, you won't run out of ink in the Safari/Vista converter for about a week (5 days). I use a refillable cartridge in one of my Safaris, a converter in the other (I do have syringes from the Goulets. My parents, at least, were ok with it, but my sister teased me for a good month. ), and last, at minimum, a week and a half when used concurrently (one black, one blue).

 

I only ever refill my cartridges at home (on the Kaweco and the blue Safari), but they seriously last around a week. Back when I just had the charcoal safari, I would refill Sundays and Thursdays. Now that I have more pens, it's closer to once-a-month.

 

I always keep a vial of Heart of Darkness (my current black ink) in my backpack in case I ever need to refill the black Safari. I've only had to use it twice, when I got really lazy about refilling. My friends/teachers were really interested in how it worked. Not too hard, so long as your teacher has kleenexes about. I occasionally stash napkins from the lunchroom in my backpack if I feel like the pen's about to run out.

 

It's not a terribly good idea to refill cartridges unless you're putting them straight into the pen, in my experience. The moral of the story, it seems, is that you should run a full cartridge or two through your pen, find out how long a cartridge will last you, and then "schedule" some "fountain pen maintenance" around that. It only takes five minutes to refill a safari at home, and it's really clean if you refill the cartridge with a syringe (minimally messy if you use a converter).

 

It's really great to find another HS fountain-pen-enthusiast here! Keep us posted on what you decide to do!

 

Cheers!

 

whoah thanks for all the tips

 

ok awesome...maybe i'll try to convince my parents to get me a couple more pens so i don't have to refill as often...

 

although the only reason i dont really want to use denim or poppy red is because they're not permanent :S....i sometimes have to walk home in the rain and my umbrella is always broken so if rain seeps into my bag and onto my notes..... :'(

[John12]

<a href="<object%20width=" 420"="" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzKVykcNP6M?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzKVykcNP6M?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true">">My link

 

 

??? i think the link is broken it just takes me to an error page

[pen2paper]

<a href="<object%20width=" 420"="" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzKVykcNP6M?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzKVykcNP6M?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true">">My link

 

 

??? i think the link is broken it just takes me to an error page

works for me, you must not have flash ?

it's a YouTube video" how to prepare and fill a new fountain pen", specifically a Safari.