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Looking For A Very Robust Pen


KaB

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The relevance of that statement is unclear to me. Does bronze and copper develop a patina from:

  • a beating;
  • excessive wear and tear; and/or
  • undue physical impact or abuse ?

OK, so are you saying that the sanding constitutes deliberate "abuse" which made the pen "nicer", before any/repeated polishing by human skin through usage week after week?

 

I have a Delike Alpha with a brass barrel and cap – courtesy of an Amazon marketplace seller who sold me a Duke pen with a fude nib that doesn't write consistently when in upside-down orientation, in spite of what the item listing stated – and I don't detect any lacquer on the surface of the metal finish.

 

There is a lacquer designed to emulate patina. take a piece of 400 grit sandpaper to it followed by 800, 1600, and 3000 and then polish it on a buffing wheel. You'll see what I'm talking about (a side benefit is it removes the doofy "war and peace" that's laser etched into the lacquer). The lacquer will come off in places with use, I've been literally abusing my alpha (i had to pop a car side window with it a few months ago) and the lacquer was wearing through, showing streaks of raw brass under, so I sanded the lacquer off, filed in a ring for the clip to more robustly secure into, and polished it. The wear and tear, including scratches and dings, is giving it character and personality that a new one just doesn't have. It tells a story about me and what the pen went through. It's part of why you NEVER, EVER polish well patina'd brass on antiques, as doing so will literally slice off 50% or more of its value.

 

I think you and I are just never going to see eye to eye on word choice. I detest semantic arguments. You understood what I and the OP meant, I'm not going to discuss it further because it will result in me saying something rude. But even with your thoughts on "abuse" as "damaging", a lot of people really like nicks and scratches, particularly on raw metal pens, because they tell a story. I have an urusi coated japanese eyedropper that my mother salvaged off of a sunken japanese battleship in the 1970's. It spend over 30 years underwater, it has a cracked cap and lots of "damage" but I find it beautiful because of that damage.

 

Also, Massdrop occasionally lists lamy 2000's for $100 USD.

Edited by Honeybadgers

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

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I think you and I are just never going to see eye to eye on word choice. I detest semantic arguments.

Especially in an online discussion forum, focusing on the minutae and the nuances of semantics is the equivalent to me as sheen-mad folk looking for (and appreciating) sheen and shading from inks in handwriting samples. It's not just the literal information content of what is written, or just the colour of the ink, but everything 'meta' to it is also relevant.

 

You understood what I and the OP meant,

The O.P. talked specifically about tossing the pen around, it taking a beating, and dropping it onto the floor or ground damagingly. That's not normal wear and tear. And I'm confident that sanding off the lacquer applied by the manufacturer to the finish of the barrel is considered abuse sufficient to void warranty.

 

But even with your thoughts on "abuse" as "damaging", a lot of people really like nicks and scratches, particularly on raw metal pens, because they tell a story.

You'll have to ask or get the O.P. to confirm whether he thinks nicks, scratches, chips and dents on the finish of the pen contributes to what he meant by "get nicer"; I cannot speak for him, and don't presume to know his view on that. I certainly wouldn't deem it nicer myself.

 

I have a big slash scar across my face from a childhood "accident" with someone wielding a knife. Yes, many hundreds of people have told me in the thirty-odd years since that it only adds character to my face. I wouldn't recognise myself if I looked into the mirror and it wasn't there any more one day, it is a part of me for most of my life, but that doesn't mean I have to think of it as an attractive or favourable feature. The same goes with scratches on my pens; I just learn to live with them and not notice them day to day any more, but my pens certainly don't "get nicer" because of the imperfections and blemishes introduced post-manufacture.

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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2 suggestions:

 

1. Levenger Isaac Newton (discontinued, but available fairly regularly ... eBay), and being named after Newton, the design takes gravity into account. All metal and nice looking, not light weight, could act as a tactical self defence weapon when posted. I have both black and rust colors. And heeerzzzz one now that I would guess will go for $ 100USD or less:

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Levenger-Sir-Isaac-Newton-Black-Chrome-Trim-Fountain-Pen-Fine-Nib-With-Box/202457408389?hash=item2f2366e385:g:Ja4AAOSwvdxbtPSl:rk:2:pf:0

 

2. Namiki Vanishing Point - Black Matte w/ 18k nib. It's all metal and looks very stealth. I got this one since I didn't want to carry around my plastic (?) faceted one which is far more prone to not surviving a mishap. I think I paid about $100USD.

 

I'm fairly clumsy and both of these have survived many mishaps. Although, they may fall below the more pure penophile palet, I like them. george

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Ooops... I can not say that the Levenger or Nakimi will look nicer/better/whatever ... with age. george

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+1 for the M200, I'll never say enough how much I rely on these pens and how much I toss them around.

 

If you really want a tank proof pen however the brass Kaweco might be an option (the liliput in the picture is however small but I think there is a grown up version)

fpn_1533850194__kaweco_liliput_brass_wav

 

 

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Probably the most ridiculously robust pen I have ever handled is a very early post WW2 British pen called the "Durable" or occasionally "The Gnome" machined out of a solid billet of aircraft aluminium. You could probably fire that thing out of a muzzle loading rifle with no ill effect. If it gets seriously rough, just sand it down and re polish. Nibs aren't great though.

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Kaweco nibs have been hit and miss for me. Babys bottoms. First Sport was great, but the subsequent DIA 2 not so great even after nib swaps.

 

I would suggest something Faber Castell. Basic or Loom should be in your price range. Metal bodies should make them quite robust and nibs are always great writers.

 

TWSBI Precision and Go look pretty robust. Will have to try these sometime for myself.

Edited by max dog
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2. Namiki Vanishing Point - Black Matte w/ 18k nib. It's all metal and looks very stealth.

That's the fountain pen that is closest to an 'everyday carry' in my collection. The barrel is hardy enough, but minor marks from wear and tear show up as shiny against the matte surface. Also, because of the pen's design with the click button and trapdoor mechanisms, I probably wouldn't advocate subjecting it to too much 'tossing around', even if someone doesn't mind the resulting marks on the barrel. Once the trapdoor becomes ineffective in sealing the nib inside the barrel to prevent ink from evaporating, that's more or less the end of that pen, even though of course the nib assembly can easily be transplanted into a different Vanishing Point pen body.

 

Mine has picked up a few nicks and scratches over, um, five years of frequent but reasonably careful use:

fpn_1539309214__nicks_and_scratches_on_m

Edited by A Smug Dill

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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