Jump to content

My Boss Wants A Pen


sidthecat

Recommended Posts

My boss is an artist and I let him play with my pens periodically. He recently inherited an MB 149 but it's in the shop. He said to me he should give me two bills and let me find him something that's big, with a broad flexy nib he can use like a brush.

I told him that $200.00 was pathetic. Then I gave him a list of web sites to look at - the usual enablers - and told him he should go to the San Francisco show and handle a few pens...just to see what he likes to hold.

But just for funsies, what pens meet his criteria? I use itty-bitty ringtops; he has big hands and wants something that could double as a baseball bat with a music nib. Does anyone have any suggestions I can pass along?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 36
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • sidthecat

    8

  • zwack

    4

  • pajaro

    2

  • gryphon1911

    2

Music nib or flexy nib?

 

Sailor King of Pens is huge but costs $800.+

OTOH, Jinhao 159, almost as big, cost $1. +

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Delta horsepower is on sale at the fountain pen hospital. It's a decent size pen.

Maybe even the LAMY 2000

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If he wants "flex like a brush", then a brush pen or a proper calligraphy dip nib and holder seem to be in order.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He wants a pen that he can use like a brush...

 

Has he considered a brush pen? Pilot and Platinum make them (among others)...

 

One of our largest pens is an Asa Galactic, another is the Ranga Zeal. Both are well under the $200 limit, but neither comes with a flex or music nib option. You might be able to get someone to swap a different nib in though.

 

The Noodler's Neponset has a music nib but it is also the fiddliest pen that we have.

 

For just over $200 you can buy a platinum pen with a music nib (I have never tried it) or a Pilot... I guess the question is what is he really looking for? Flex, music nib, physical size,...?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah...that's the question, isn't it?

 

I'm not completely certain he knows what he wants, or the limitations of his desires. That's why I recommended he actually get his big-ass hands on some pens.

 

He might actually need a sumi-e brush, but they're hard to carry in one's pocket.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Used to cash those 7 figure investment banker bonus cheques and buy 5 MB limited editions FPs as thank yous to the bosses from the proceeds.

 

Or was that a store owner lamenting the old days when he'd get this kind of client daily?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A baseball bat with a music nib attatched sounds so uncivilised. Try a cricket bat instead. The weapon of a true gentleman.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't get why people want a flexy nib so much.

I have some, and for general writing, I much better prefer a nail.

Flexing the nib while writing slows me down significantly, and my normal writing is NOT fast.

I prefer to use my oblique dip pen holder if I want to do flex writing. Unfortunately they don't make that in a fountain pen.

 

Maybe he does not know about brush pens.

I did not know such existed, until I saw one in the local art supply shop.

Edited by ac12

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

www.SFPenShow.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is there an echo in here?

+1 for a brush pen and him getting his big ass hands on something at a show to try stuff out.

As for flex nibs, it's worth remembering that a lot of the Jinhaos (I think the aforementioned 159 is one) can be fitted with vintage flex nibs. If your boss doesn't want to spend vintage money, he can get one of those for less than a tenth of what he's thinking about spending. (The nib will surely cost more than the pen...)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"The weapon of a true gentleman" - I wonder what Ian Faith wrote with.

 

I suggested a Sailor KOP with the King Cobra nib: it's a savage-looking instrument.

 

He just needs to get used to what these things cost.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Sorry, boss. Fountain pens are very personal tools. I don't know enough about fountain pens to complete this task." For fun, get him a $4 Jinhao 159 and a coffee mug for "bosses day".

Auf freiem Grund mit freiem Volke stehn.
Zum Augenblicke dürft ich sagen:
Verweile doch, du bist so schön !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with the Jinhao 159 suggestions here because it is a "big ass pen" and pleasantly heavy ( not to mention quite inexpensive ). It's not flexy at all but with some nice wet ink like Sailor Jentle Blue he might like it.

 

Or, on another level, I suggest a Pilot Custom 912 with an FA nib available at nibs.com in CA. They call it

"The most flexible solid gold nib we know of on any modern pen". This is listed for $256.00 on the site.

It's not as big and heavy as a 159, but it is a bigger than average size pen.

 

Ask him to give you $250.00 and buy him one of each ( you can sport him the difference ).

Edited by Maurizio

The prizes of life are never to be had without trouble - Horace
Kind words do not cost much, yet they accomplish much - Pascal

You are never too old to set a new goal or dream a new dream - C.S. Lewis

 Favorite shop:https://www.fountainpenhospital.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I gave him a Waterman Commando a couple years ago and now he says he can't uncap it. A man should be allowed to make his own mistakes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He might actually need a sumi-e brush, but they're hard to carry in one's pocket.

Not really... That is basically what a Brush pen is...

 

Have a look here...

 

http://www.jetpens.com/Kuretake-No.-13-Fountain-Brush-Pen-Black-Body/pd/2660?gclid=Cj0KEQjwxLC9BRDb1dP8o7Op68IBEiQAwWggQLh5mkAgg7yWx1-LrhOOpvi8Hu3QJoJiMw7IVxHcfy0aAhxS8P8HAQ

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They're lovely...I have a couple myself.

 

He says he wants to draw like Charles Dana Gibson. I may let him play with my Waterman 52 with the Mottishaw medium nib...just to see how it fits in his hand.

 

He tells me that my ringtops are like Conté crayons in his hand.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They're lovely...I have a couple myself.

 

He says he wants to draw like Charles Dana Gibson. I may let him play with my Waterman 52 with the Mottishaw medium nib...just to see how it fits in his hand.

 

He tells me that my ringtops are like Conté crayons in his hand.

Given that I can use a 452 1/2 V and don't have small hands I think he needs to practice using smaller pens.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I started by favouring larger and heavier pens. Now I find that small light pens are simply a different experience provided the pen over all remains balanced and comfortable to grip. My 52 1/2V (same size as zwack's 452 but lighter) is the only pen I post. With that bit of extra length, it is excellent.

X

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...