Thoughts On Demonstrators

[Dillo]

Demonstrators are fun, if aesthetically no problem for you and never intended to use staining inks there will be no problem.

 

 

How a Noodler's BSB ink can soften the feed? is that possible? I've used it without any problem or am I misunderstanding something?

Some Lamy feeds were affected by the ink. Some Pilot feeds can be damaged as well.

 

Dillon

Edited October 11, 2013 by Dillo

[fpconverted]

Cant beat the 60$us price tag for a TWSBI diamond 530 clear demonstrator. Looks great and the ink tank is a classic piston and can hold up to 2 weeks worth of ink.

[Eduardo]

Cant beat the 60$us price tag for a TWSBI diamond 530 clear demonstrator. Looks great and the ink tank is a classic piston and can hold up to 2 weeks worth of ink.

 

Piston fillers just hold lots of ink when they are FAT... A slim P.F., holds less ink than a C/C...

[rochester21]

Demonstrator-type pens are like a man without skin: interesting to study, but not very appealing.

[cbaytan]

Demonstrator-type pens are like a man without skin: interesting to study, but not very appealing.

 

Nope, non-demonstrator pens are like in the hot summer time a beautiful woman on the beach wearing a very thick winter coat, mostly in black.

[fpconverted]

ALTHOUGH the Visconti opera special edition clear demonstrator is a gorgeous pen, (here"s my two cents!) for the 1000$ price tag id rather have other brands to add to a collection. That kind of funding id prolly reserve for the high end pens like Mont Blanc's.

 

A few great clear demo's I have are:

twsbi clear demo approx. 60$

Lamy vista demo approx. 50$

and a pilot prera approx. 60$

 

all three write beautifully and a great work horse pens as well>

[Penne Stilografiche]

 

Any chance you might post a couple of pictures of this pen? I'd love to see one.

I haven't received the Parker 51 Vacumatic demonstrator back from Ron Zorn yet, although I will be receiving a rare Parker Jack Knife demonstrator tomorrow and will certainly try to post some pictures of it.

[Jadie]

Demonstrators...I like the idea of being able to see a pen's inner workings. But once you add ink---ack. Stained caps and sections? No thanks, they drive me crazy. >_<

 

I do like transparent barrels, or long ink windows, or what OMAS did with their Extra Lucens pens---use a kind of celluloid with semi-transparent parts so you can see parts of the inside without staining anywhere obvious. The design is also more organic and varied than regular ol' transparent demos, IMHO. I remember seeing MissElderberry's blog post of her Extra Lucens and just thinking how much the ink looked like spring water flowing beneath the fissures of gold-lined granite...<3

 

http://thesebeautifulpens.blogspot.de/2013/09/celluloid-goodness-omas-extra-lucens.html

[Moshe ben David]

 

I think it is wholly material and nothing to do with engineering, because TWSBI use polycarbonate, whereas most other manufacturers use acrylic. Unfortunately, polycarbonates can be tricky to mould (hence the cracking problems) and have unproven service life in fountain pen applications.

 

I know what you are intending by your comments, but I think it fair to say that choice of materials is part of the engineer's portfolio of responsibility! (yes I'm being pedantic, but...!)

[Moshe ben David]

There are many demonstrators that I've seen and liked, but this one is pretty cool (from businessinsider.com):

 

 

 

[Moshe ben David]

ALTHOUGH the Visconti opera special edition clear demonstrator is a gorgeous pen, (here"s my two cents!) for the 1000$ price tag id rather have other brands to add to a collection. That kind of funding id prolly reserve for the high end pens like Mont Blanc's.

 

A few great clear demo's I have are:

twsbi clear demo approx. 60$

Lamy vista demo approx. 50$

and a pilot prera approx. 60$

 

all three write beautifully and a great work horse pens as well>

 

ummm. I rather thought that Visconti were high end pens?

[ebearius]

would you ever whip out a VISCONTI Opera clear demo ever?, destpite 900$ pricetag!? Im tempted but id rather dedicate that kinda of funding to a MB meisterstuck Solitaire instead. I love my Lamy Vista and I think that is a great clear demo to have in ones collection.

I carried one every day this week. They write great, handle beautifully, and tend to be interesting conversation starters. The attention could be considered a positive or a negative, but it certainly does not go unnoticed.

[adyf]

I haven't received the Parker 51 Vacumatic demonstrator back from Ron Zorn yet, although I will be receiving a rare Parker Jack Knife demonstrator tomorrow and will certainly try to post some pictures of it.

 

Is the 51 an original? I have an original which is in excellent condition and have decided not to ink it. It's only one of two pens that I have that I won't use. The other is a mint NOS Sheaffer PFM I in grey.

Edited November 30, 2013 by adyf

[amk]

If demonstrator - sexy, then skeleton = sexy cubed :-)

[lynxcat]

i like the ability to keep easy track of how much ink remains in the pen, and i don't much care about traces of ink remaining in the feed and section being visible --- proof i've used my working tools, that's what they're for. that said, i wouldn't pay very much for a demonstrator, knowing that it WOULD get stained by the inks i prefer --- my Ahab's piston insides are already sepia from Noodler's Black. i'm even leery of buying a TWSBI for this very reason.

[Penne Stilografiche]

 

Is the 51 an original?

Yes, as is the Jack Knife demonstrator.

[Penne Stilografiche]

Yes, as is the Jack Knife demonstrator.

Here is a link to a thread that has pictures of my new demonstrator.

[Mike_Dowling]

Demonstrators are awesome, they dress the pen down a bit and make it really interesting. A TWSBI 580 is a must buy for anyone who wants a good demonstrator cheap.

 

However if I'm going expensive I don't buy demonstrators because I do feel it cheapens the pen a bit. But for budget pens they're really fantastic.

 

However the CC demonstrators I just don't get.

[MarkTrain]

I do not have any high end clear demostrators and it is not clear if they are worth the extra price. I rather spend the extra money on a pen that is nicer looking. I do have two transparent Pelikan M200's. You can see things inside only if you look closely in bright light, so no need to worry about trapped ink and they get a lot of use.

 

Mark

[Rubicon]

I absolutely adore demonstrators but against all odds I still find them "cheap". They look like they have no weight to them, literally or figuratively, compared to celluloid or ebonite. I'm looking for a nice, substantial pen for my next purchase and in spite of how much I like demos I will not be considering one... seriously. But I'm still infatuated with them and I hope no demo will steal my attention away from what I really should be focusing on. That said, my favorite pen is still a demo.

 

http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m495/Caesaris/photo1-2.jpg

 

But if I want to look classy this is the wrong way to go. THIS, on the other hand...

http://www.fahrneyspens.com/Galleria/1/193513S_green-Large.jpg

Edited December 5, 2013 by Rubicon