Wettest Cheapest Pens?

[VegetableFather]

I personally love a wet pen. Not just wet, I'm talking Niagra falls times 10. The main issue I have is finding pens that are a 10 in wetness (or near and around that) for a lower price. Most pens that are true gushers tend to be $300+.

 

If anyone has suggestions on either budget or just not expensively priced gushers I'd love to hear it!

[TheRealMikeDr]

Almost every Jinhao I've purchased has been a gusher. I'm fond of my 159 and X750 - both super cheap and both super wet from my experience. (I have three 159's and one X750)

 

Also note - it's fairly easy, for *most* pens - to make them more wet. A quick one minute adjustment usually does the trick!

 

My favourite method is the one described by John Mottishaw at the bottom of the page: https://www.nibs.com/blog/nibster-writes/smoothing-scratchy-nibs

Edited June 14, 2017 by TheRealMikeDr

[Bo Bo Olson]

Wet, wet ink...is the first step.

In I chase shading inks, I can't help you.....some sort of Private Reserve is reputed to be the wettest ink.

Be careful one of the Private Reserve inks takes a decade to dry.

 

There are some real wet Noodler's inks.

 

 

There are many wet nibs on less than $300 pens...(one don't buy a $300 pen for it's wetness***....I'm sure someone can recommend a wet Chinese pen....or if you have or get one.

And if you have a classic nib (not a spade nib) with shoulders you can spread the tines by pulling with your thumbnails....I'd be careful and do that a tiny bit at a time. It's much easier to spread the tines than it is to shove them back together when you've spread them too far.

 

I hope you don't mind, but I've been here a while and many 'noobie's' want the most vivid wettest line they can find. With a bit of experience, they want less.

Same goes of the nib must be 'butter smooth'...or better........yet I can remember posters coming back after half a year or a year asking how to make a nib a tad rougher, so it didn't slip off the good slicker paper so much.

 

We are living in The Golden Age of Inks....the golden age of papers died in the '70-80, and the golden age of pens in 1965-70.

 

 

Don't widen the nib all your pens to extra wet....in with in a couple of months you'll be wanting a 7-8/10.

 

Someday I hope you can like two toned shading ink too.

 

Writing is 1/3 nib width/flex, 1/3 paper and 1/3 ink, and in that order.

 

*** Pen companies that make their own inks, match the nib and feed, to how wet or dry they make inks.

Pelikans can be wet writers in they are made for a dry ink. Waterman can be a dry writer in it is made for a wetter ink.

I know of a well established poster that sent his nibs off to a nibmeister so every single one of them wrote exactly 8/10.........IMO

What sort of fun could he have with ink?

His pen, his wish.

 

I have a couple of dryer pens.......so I have an excuse to buy wet and well lubricated inks to bring it to my 'golden' middle. I have a few wetter pens, that I might use a dry ink to bend it back to a middle. Of course I can take a dry ink and dry pen....best be a shading ink..because it could write 'toothy'.....like writing with a pencil.....one does eventual need a toothy pen or two.

I can take a wet ink and a wet pen.......well, I could but see no reason to such.....I am not into a thick, slow drying vivid ink.........I want a two-toned Shading ink; which will not shade if the nib is too wet.

 

After decades of free ball points, 200 found when I got into fountain pens some 7-8 years ago. 195 were sold in a flea market or dumped.............over that 8 years another twenty gathered in the house, some were gel pens, some Parker/Schmidt 1/2-1/2 and I was so ignorant of modern day.

I did how ever see why so many noobies want gel pen or better when coming to fountain pens.

 

Never use ink-jet copy paper for your fountain pen use......laser printer is needed and if you ever get into two toned shading inks............in another pen that if not been made wet.....you need 90g or better to have fun with shading. 80g outside of Rhoda just won't do.

 

Go to Richard Binder's com/site, it is the bible of fountain pen: nibs, filling systems, good advice on ink; and ever so many very pretty vintage pens.

He was once one of worlds the best nibmeisters, but is now retired.

In I'd used fountain pens in the late '50-early 60's I knew something. After spending at least three days at Richard's site (There are four or five masters who are first name only.) There is a very good article of how to spring your nib....something you don't want to do....a 100% must to read.

 

Hold your fountain pen, lightly like a baby featherless bird.

Don't make baby bird paste.

 

Hold it after the big knuckle of the index finger like a fountain pen, not before like a ball point.

Held so the fountain pen nib floats on a small puddle of ink and needs no pressure at all.

Held like a ball point before the big index knuckle....you gouge little grand canyons in the paper....have a tendency to have scratchy writing....and you will not have the wet line you want, in you are starving your nib for ink as you plow the paper.

Do not plow the paper, ice skate on it by using the fat part of the tipping.

 

The golden rule of fountain pens....is never hurry.................never ever join The Pen of the Week in the Mail Club....................pen of the month is only 1/2 better. Pen of the quarter is best, in it allows you to gather inks and papers.

I suggest for every three inks you buy, you buy a good to better paper. Good to better paper costs two mechanically delivered cans of Coke or cups of Starbucks coffee.

Good paper makes the ink dance.

[sandy101]

Jinhao x450 - it's an inkhose.

[dcwaites]

The feed on the Jinhao X-450 and X-750 has two slots, so the feed can give you enough ink.

Remove the nib and look at it with a loupe. There should be a tiny gap all the way to the end of the tip. If not, then follow any of the guides around on spreading the tines till there is a gap. A tiny gap. The finest (002" inch) blade of a feeler gauge should pass through with the slightest hint of resistance.

 

I adjust my nibs so the tines are just touching. This makes the pen more economical with ink, and allows the demonstration of shading and sheen, while showing the true colour of the ink.

[eharriett]

I have this rather inexpensive, late model Eversharp (lever filler) that puts on such a thick layer of ink you can actually see the reflection of light on the ink as it lays down on the page for over a minute. Does an awesome job with Aurora black.

[displacermoose]

As others have said, with a cheap pen you can adjust it however you want with very little risk. Making any pen wetter is pretty easy so buy the cheapest pen you want and adjust away.

[Water Ouzel]

I've got a couple Indian pens, Serwex and Indus (by way of Fountain Pen Revolution) that were too wet out of the box for me to use.

 

Very inexpensive, and easy to adjust, to boot.

[KellyMcJ]

My Kaweco sport used as an eyedropper is a firehose. I love it, but it's not great on cheap paper and i wish it were finer/ drier for that reason.