What Fountain Pen Mimics My Favorite Gel Pen?

[sidthecat]

This will be an interesting experiment, as the characteristics of the ink laid down by a fountain pen are very different from the character of gel pen lines.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue....fades so that's out. So does Lamy Blue.

 

Turquoise; Lamy was the standard all were measured against when I started on this Com some 7 years ago. Pelikan's turquoise is just as good.

Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Brown is a tad red brown.

Pelikan 4001 now has two greens, a lighter one that is a good shading green-green ink. R&K makes the best by a nose in front of MB Irish Green and a neck in front of 4001 brilliant Green.

There is now a brand new 4001 darker green that seems well liked. I've not gotten around to trying my bottle.

I had bought a bottle of 4001 Brilliant Green and went on a green buying binge of 11 greenish inks in the next year, and a few more since.

Pelikan and Lamy has violet, Lamy only in Cartridges.

 

I do find Pelikan's 4001 black to be black enough, but those using real skinny nibs on pss poor paper claim a gray.

Noolders do make a huge assortment of Black Hole Blacks. You will have to clean your pen more often and better in Noodlers is high maintenance inks. Vivid monotone (boring ) inks....in those colors that don't shade. Noodlers are wetter inks.

Once when I started here some 7 years ago before Noodlers became so big, Waterman was considered a wet ink. Now, Noodlers users consider Waterman a dry ink.

 

You have to smuggle Blue Black into the US.....Weak US rats drowned in it. The European rats swam. So in the US is only a nitch market you have to order it single bottle from Europe and hope it gets through US customs. Dogs won't bark at it.

 

I have never tried 4001 Red, in red inks stain the ink windows of Piston pens....and didn't keep paper ledger books nor grade papers. It is listed on Ink Reviews as one of the worst red inks, like Lamy Green is one of the worst Greens.

 

You will have to look up 'best red inks for grading' in the search section.

[Manalto]

I like my FP usage to be in a calm mood with languid writing.

 

Marking papers doesn't sound like my idea of FP fun... our mileage may vary.

 

I mark and grade students' papers with a fountain pen. I use a Platinum 3776 fine or Hero 616 with a variety of red inks, preferring the Japanese fine point for tight-space corrections and insertions and, since it's red*, markings are impossible to miss. I don't know if I'd call it "fun" (but I wouldn't apply that label to any writing) but I prefer it to using a ballpoint and find the performance of both pens pleasurable.

 

*Noodler's 'Antietam' or Skrip 'Red' lately

Edited February 17, 2017 by Manalto

[fpenluver]

I believe Platinum Preppy is good start. The price is cheap. I believe they cost less than $30 for set of 7 colors (7 pens) (might as well try different colors on the go).

I believe Platinum preppy medium nib (0.5) should write similar line thickness to Pentel Energel 0.7, but for low quality paper it is probably better to get the fine nib (0.3mm).

Since the price is so cheap, if you do not like it you could always find an alternative without much loss.

[displacermoose]

I mark student essays with a Hero 616 jumbo loaded with Baystate Blue. The nib is fine enough that even though the ink bleeds, it is still perfectly legible (assuming the students haven't gone completely blind from the eyesearing event that is BSB). Preppies also work great on horrible paper.

[Frank66]

You can have the best of both worlds, rollerball nib thar writes with fountain pen ink. The details of how to do the modification of an inexpensive fountain pen (Jinhao 866) with a Bock rollerball nib (from Beaufort Ink, UK) can be found in this link: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/316355-bock-rollerball-nib-in-jinhao-886-pen-beaufort-ink-converter/ It writes like a western Medium size fountain pen. Ink is Waterman Harmonious Green.

 

http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah12/phzervas/4FF56273-9B69-4ECF-8CA6-4F8A1A5A2136_zpshegu2u9e.jpg

 

http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah12/phzervas/C32FB105-16DA-4C58-9E59-5BAF450A4E0F_zpsfwlpvyvc.jpg

 

http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah12/phzervas/6E6047E8-6A9B-4D4A-8EC0-17FAC0900670_zpsnnphunit.jpg

[Bo Bo Olson]

It was my thought even nails give a softer ride than a Rollerball. A rollerball has a hard ride. I found them to be harder than a gel pen.

[Frank66]

It was my thought even nails give a softer ride than a Rollerball. A rollerball has a hard ride. I found them to be harder than a gel pen.

 

Not necessarily Bo Bo Olson, my experience with the pen I mentioned in my modification above is that the pen writes very smooth and very minimal pressure is needed to write. The pen just glides on the paper. On the other hand, if more pressure is to be used, then you do not have to worry about the nib tines separating as with a regular fountain pen

Edited February 19, 2017 by Frank66

[Bo Bo Olson]

It depends if you want the tines to separate or not.

 

If one is Ham Fisted, and using a 'true' regular flex or semi-flex nibbed pen, then tine separation may be a problem. (It took me three months to lighten my hand from always pressing to hard, making wider letters than necessary, to not. After my Hand lightened up, I could if I wished add some tine expansion, but it was as I wished, not as in the beginning, because I was too heavy handed to to otherwise.

 

If one is not Ham Fisted but has a light Hand, then any tine separation would be intended.

 

To have tine separation with a nail takes three years of power lifting...it is a one time flex.

For Tine separation with semi-nail.....well, I find the old P-75 2 X tine spread to be a lot harder than 'true' regular flex, which if 'mashed' will give 3X tine spread. There is more spring and a bit more tine bend to be had out of old regular flex, vs semi-nail.

 

At first I was very impressed how easy a Roller Ball wrote....but it was hard...one felt the ball more than with a regular ball point, much less a gel pen.

I could well be way out of date in I've not touched a roller ball in over 20 years....they were not given away free.

[ekfritz]

College English Instructor here, and I gave up trying to use fountain pens for grading. I make a fair number of comments in the margins, and with the poopy paper most of my students use, I just couldn't find an ink that didn't feather and/or bleed to the point that I couldn't write small enough to make my usual comments, even with a Pilot EF and a dry ink like Sheaffer Skrip Red.

 

I know this is heresy, but I switched (just for grading!) to a Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto with 0.4mm refills. Lots of good colors to choose from--I especially like the the brown; it's got a reddish undertone that makes it pop without being too "in your face" red.

 

Edit: wow, things are pretty straight-laced around here... I originally typed "cr@p" paper and it bleeped it out. But "poopy" is ok... 'cuz that's just so different, right?

Edited February 19, 2017 by ekfritz

[Bo Bo Olson]

- Anthony is this with chart European or Japanese?

.3 Fine
.4 Fine to Medium
.5 Medium
.6 Medium to Broad
.7 Broad
.8 Broad to Double Broad
.9 Double Broad
1mm Get a Sharpie.

 

 

 

I do like 1.5 Lamy Joy for doing italic in I can see all my mistakes easier. And I'd put that at BB1/2 to BBB.

[ParkerDuofold]

- Anthony is this with chart European or Japanese?

.3 Fine

.4 Fine to Medium

.5 Medium

.6 Medium to Broad

.7 Broad

.8 Broad to Double Broad

.9 Double Broad

1mm Get a Sharpie.

 

 

 

I do like 1.5 Lamy Joy for doing italic in I can see all my mistakes easier. And I'd put that at BB1/2 to BBB.

 

 

Hello BoBo,

 

That chart leans towards Japanese; add a point to a point and a half for Western nibs.

 

I should have clarified that.

 

- Anthony