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Favourite Cartridges?


restlesscourage

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Hello all,

 

So I just started a new job (yay!), and I'm trying to figure out the best pen/ink setup to use at work. I've been using my Lamy Safari with a converter filled with Diamine Bilberry. However, the way my desk/office is set up, I don't really have the space or desire to be storing ink bottles and refilling pens (I currently have a little sample vial in my desk drawer, but really, if I could avoid ending up with colourful hands whenever I run out of ink, that'd be helpful). I decided cartridges would be a better option, but...I'm not terribly fond of Lamy inks (aside from the bottle of Lamy Green that I keep around to fill a Preppy eyedropper marker), as they strike me as being kind of washed-out. So, to make a long story longer, I just ordered a Nemosine Singularity from xfountainpens with a .6mm nib and a box of Diamine Blue-Black carts from JetPens (no affiliation with either company). I'm wondering, though, what other folks love/hate in the cartridge world.

 

tldr: I have and use bottled ink at home, but want to use cartridges in my office. A .6mm nib Nemosine Singularity and Diamine Blue-Black carts are coming my way. What other cartridged inks do folks recommend?

You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should've behaved better. ~ Anne Lamott (This is where I tell my stories.)

 

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Why not try a pen with a huge reservoir, f.e. A Conid Bulkfiller, I don't think you write a complete book in your office every day.

 

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I do not recommend not buying ink cartridges at all. Just buy one pack if cartridges, along with some wax and a syringe. After all of the ink is gone from the cartridges, fill them with your favorite ink at home with the syringe and seal the top of the cartridges with wax to make it easier to bring them to work. If you do this, you will save money and you will be able to use a wider selection of ink in your cartridge-filling pens.

Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

 

—Oscar Wilde

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I would keep maybe one or two bottles of ink in my desk if I could.(my current desk has no drawers and is small enough I don't have room on top) I have been known to keep a few Goulet sized vials in my bag though.

Brad

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind" - Rudyard Kipling
"None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try." - Mark Twain

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Why not try a pen with a huge reservoir, f.e. A Conid Bulkfiller, I don't think you write a complete book in your office every day.

 

Because I cannot justify spending that kind of money on much of anything, particularly a pen. Nothing against anyone who would, I just don't make that kind of money and my spending priorities are elsewhere.

 

I do not recommend not buying ink cartridges at all. Just buy one pack if cartridges, along with some wax and a syringe. After all of the ink is gone from the cartridges, fill them with your favorite ink at home with the syringe and seal the top of the cartridges with wax to make it easier to bring them to work. If you do this, you will save money and you will be able to use a wider selection of ink in your cartridge-filling pens.

I do have a syringe, and I may look into getting wax and refilling carts.

 

I would keep maybe one or two bottles of ink in my desk if I could.(my current desk has no drawers and is small enough I don't have room on top) I have been known to keep a few Goulet sized vials in my bag though.

I have one desk drawer that's approximately an inch deep, and there's already too much on top, so yeah, keeping a bottle or two in the desk just isn't an option. And I do have an ink vial at work right now. But, try as I might, I seem incapable of refilling a pen with bottled ink without getting at least some on my hands, and I'd like to avoid that at work.

Edited by restlesscourage

You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should've behaved better. ~ Anne Lamott (This is where I tell my stories.)

 

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/606/letterji9.png

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Because I cannot justify spending that kind of money on much of anything, particularly a pen. Nothing against anyone who would, I just don't make that kind of money and my spending priorities are elsewhere.

 

 

I do have a syringe, and I may look into getting wax and refilling carts.

 

 

I have one desk drawer that's approximately an inch deep, and there's already too much on top, so yeah, keeping a bottle or two in the desk just isn't an option. And I do have an ink vial at work right now. But, try as I might, I seem incapable of refilling a pen with bottled ink without getting at least some on my hands, and I'd like to avoid that at work.

one could use a pair of surgical gloves.
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If you're not fond of Lamy inks, I rather like the black, blue black and blue myself - even the cartridge colours, you could try Monteverde cartridges which are available in Lamy format or Aurora and Parker cartridges which work well in Lamy pens, I don't care much for the Parker Quink myself but Aurora is pretty good though limited to blue and black.

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I like the ink in Kaweco's cartridges and J. Herbin's. Also very fond of Montblanc's Midnight Blue.

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I like Private Reserve's American Blue ink cartridges. The ink is a nice match for my favorite ink -- Parker Penman Sapphire.

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I like the ink in Kaweco's cartridges and J. Herbin's. Also very fond of Montblanc's Midnight Blue.

I have used a couple of the Herbin cartridge colours before, and I did really like those. Good to know about the others. Thanks!

 

I like Private Reserve's American Blue ink cartridges. The ink is a nice match for my favorite ink -- Parker Penman Sapphire.

The Private Reserve cartridges certainly seem like a good value...thanks for the tip!

You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should've behaved better. ~ Anne Lamott (This is where I tell my stories.)

 

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Why not just take the pen home every night and "top it off" at night. That way you start work with a full converter.

Then keep a couple of wax or tape sealed cartridges in the office as "spares" if you run your converter dry during the day.

 

This way you can use any ink you want to.

 

As for ink, I'm still on the bottom of the learning curve.

I use either Waterman blue or Cross/Pelikan blue. Blue is my current standard ink color for my F and M tip pens.

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

www.SFPenShow.com

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Why not just take the pen home every night and "top it off" at night. That way you start work with a full converter.

Then keep a couple of wax or tape sealed cartridges in the office as "spares" if you run your converter dry during the day.

 

This way you can use any ink you want to.

 

As for ink, I'm still on the bottom of the learning curve.

I use either Waterman blue or Cross/Pelikan blue. Blue is my current standard ink color for my F and M tip pens.

Mostly I'm lazy, and I don't trust myself to remember to bring it back and forth. I'm looking for something I can keep at work, only taking it home occasionally to clean. I do have a handful of bottled inks at home that I use and love in my other pens.

You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should've behaved better. ~ Anne Lamott (This is where I tell my stories.)

 

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/606/letterji9.png

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Mostly I'm lazy, and I don't trust myself to remember to bring it back and forth. I'm looking for something I can keep at work, only taking it home occasionally to clean. I do have a handful of bottled inks at home that I use and love in my other pens.

 

It seems odd that you only have 1 drawer that is essentially the shallow pencil drawer of a desk. Except when I had to work on a work table, I've always had more drawers available to me. Anyway, it is what it is.

 

The problem that I see with an ink vial is that it is too light. You need something to keep it steady, so you do not accidentally tip it over (OK I'm clumsy). Or you should do your reinking in the restroom, where you can make a mess on the sink, and not your desk.

 

I guess you boxed yourself into cartridges.

You could load up a bunch of cartridges at home (from a bottle using an ink syringe), then tape or wax seal them then take the sealed cartridges to work and leave them in your drawer. That gives you the flexibility to use whaterver ink you want, vs being limited to what the mfg put into a cartridge.

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

www.SFPenShow.com

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Cartridges versus bottled ink will always encourage a good thread - I use both happily. At work I prefer cartridges; they're cleaner as well as easier to store - useful in a crowded work space.

 

My Pilot Vanishing Points are among my favorites but the CON 50 converter doesn't hold a lot of ink, so rather than constantly refilling, I use cartridges. Luckily I really like Pilot / Namiki Blue, Red and Purple!

 

Another favorite is my Platinum 2500 - it only takes cartridges and again, Platinum Blue-Black is a great color!

 

There are plenty of good, reasonably cheap international size cartridges; Private Reserve, Diamine and others all have a great selection - my own Nemosine Singularity currently has a Private Reserve DC Supershow Blue cartridge in it - a great working blue.

 

Play around with different combinations and see what works ... and let us know how it goes!

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Rats - I was going to suggest you buy a second Safari - they're comparatively cheap - and rotate them, taking the one you're using home as it runs out for refilling, and so having a full one with you each day.

 

 

 

Mostly I'm lazy, and I don't trust myself to remember to bring it back and forth. I'm looking for something I can keep at work, only taking it home

occasionally to clean. I do have a handful of bottled inks at home that I use and love in my other pens.

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I like Diamine's sapphire blue, which comes in cartridges. It's a blue with a hint of violet. Yu can get Diamine's cartridges in 18 packs.

 

In addition, there's J Herbin's Violette Pense which is a restful violet and Waterman's South Sea Blue which is a kind of turquoise.

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The largest cartridges i`ve seen are the parker and waterman long ones. The waterman type has the advantage of being the standard. The parker ones have a bigger opening, which facilitates good flow. I`ve been refilling the same parker cartridge for years and never had a problem, leak etc.

Edited by rochester21
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I've always liked Platinum cartridges, simply because they have an agitator that actually bloody works.

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BTW, since you are going to leave the pen in your desk overnight, you should consider the pen "expendable."

 

As unfortunate as it may seem, the reality is a pen left unguarded or not locked up may be stolen.

See this thread on "office pens."

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/249304-office-pens/

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

www.SFPenShow.com

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It seems odd that you only have 1 drawer that is essentially the shallow pencil drawer of a desk. Except when I had to work on a work table, I've always had more drawers available to me. Anyway, it is what it is.

 

The problem that I see with an ink vial is that it is too light. You need something to keep it steady, so you do not accidentally tip it over (OK I'm clumsy). Or you should do your reinking in the restroom, where you can make a mess on the sink, and not your desk.

 

I guess you boxed yourself into cartridges.

You could load up a bunch of cartridges at home (from a bottle using an ink syringe), then tape or wax seal them then take the sealed cartridges to work and leave them in your drawer. That gives you the flexibility to use whaterver ink you want, vs being limited to what the mfg put into a cartridge.

 

-----

 

 

BTW, since you are going to leave the pen in your desk overnight, you should consider the pen "expendable."

 

As unfortunate as it may seem, the reality is a pen left unguarded or not locked up may be stolen.

 

I may end up with a better desk situation eventually. Huge work surface that's covered in stuff already, and one tiny drawer. It is odd. I'm a new position and we're still working out the bugs, so hopefully I can get more storage (and more secure storage -- this is why I went with a cheap pen) eventually.

 

Cartridges versus bottled ink will always encourage a good thread - I use both happily. At work I prefer cartridges; they're cleaner as well as easier to store - useful in a crowded work space.

 

My Pilot Vanishing Points are among my favorites but the CON 50 converter doesn't hold a lot of ink, so rather than constantly refilling, I use cartridges. Luckily I really like Pilot / Namiki Blue, Red and Purple!

 

Another favorite is my Platinum 2500 - it only takes cartridges and again, Platinum Blue-Black is a great color!

 

There are plenty of good, reasonably cheap international size cartridges; Private Reserve, Diamine and others all have a great selection - my own Nemosine Singularity currently has a Private Reserve DC Supershow Blue cartridge in it - a great working blue.

 

Play around with different combinations and see what works ... and let us know how it goes!

One of the reasons I went for the Singularity rather than a cheaper Platinum or Pilot or another Lamy Safari was that I didn't want to get locked into proprietary cartridges. :) I hadn't actually realized until later yesterday that PR made cartridges...I've not used any of their inks but their colour selection is intriguing. It's good to know they work well. I love my Diamine bottled inks, so I'm assuming the carts are of similar quality, but I know I could be wrong.

 

I like Diamine's sapphire blue, which comes in cartridges. It's a blue with a hint of violet. Yu can get Diamine's cartridges in 18 packs.

 

In addition, there's J Herbin's Violette Pense which is a restful violet and Waterman's South Sea Blue which is a kind of turquoise.

I keep eyeing the Diamine Sapphire Blue. I may have to go for that. From what I remember of my first month with fountain pens (when I just had a tiny little Ohto Rook that only took short international carts), those J. Herbin colours are quite lovely. They're not as cost effective as some of the other options, which is kind of holding me back at the moment (and I'm well aware that cartridges in general are not as cost effective as bottled ink; that's why for the bulk of my writing I use bottles and converters). But I may take the plunge again soon.

 

Thanks all for the tips!

 

 

You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should've behaved better. ~ Anne Lamott (This is where I tell my stories.)

 

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/606/letterji9.png

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