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Ooo, fountain pens, pricey hobby!

Behold, a $7 pen that writes as well as anything, purchased from a local stationery shop.
Original ink cartridge re-filled using a re-usable $4 pack of ink syringes, filled from a $20 bottle of ink that lasts for weeks of heavy writing or months/years of casual writing.

#FountainPens #FountainPen #ReadTheAltText

in reply to Back To Analog

They really are! My first FP was a Platinum Plaisir (same core, aluminum shell and cap). Platinums are quite nice and underrated. And for fat nib fans, their EF is a lot broader than your typical Japanese pen. It's actually a teensy bit italic.
in reply to R.L. Dane 🍵

And yet, I have spent over $300 on pens, ink, and notebooks since getting into fountain pens. 😱
in reply to Amin Hollon 🏳

True, there is no upper limit.

Dang, I think you might have spent more than me, and I've been doing this for a decade. 😄

#ImCheapYo

in reply to R.L. Dane 🍵

Okay, so most of that was notebooks. XD

The Traveler's Notebook, particularly, was pricey but definitely worth it to me.

in reply to R.L. Dane 🍵

Four, but two are the cheap Chinese brand my mom got me for my birthday. (She knew they wouldn't be fantastic but with the number of inks she got me it's nice to be able to have more active at once.) The other two are the TWSBI Eco and TWSBI GO, which I bought myself.
This entry was edited (3 months ago)
in reply to R.L. Dane 🍵

Fountain pens is only a pricey hobby if you buy pricey pens. Unfortunately, many pricey pens are very very desirable. And so, you will want pricey pens.
in reply to R.L. Dane 🍵

@amin I have three pens on my side for around ... 440euros I think.

Inks probably around 60/70 euros.

And notebooks, since 2019, 10 x an average of $25 each 😬

Another pricey hobby ... #photography gear 😅

in reply to R.L. Dane 🍵

@R.L. Dane 🍵 @Tallastro 🇺🇦 I have one pen above that price point (a TWSBI Diamond 580) which is an EDC for me, but other than that, probably the same (if we're talking USD as opposed to CAD).

I'd rather spend my money on several bottles of ink than a single pen.

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gotosocial - Link to source
R.L. Dane 🍵
  1. Local stationery store
  2. Pen-specific online merchants like Goulet Pens and Jetpens
  3. LexCorp
in reply to R.L. Dane 🍵

Platinum preppy fountain pen. Better than the much more expensive pilot fountain pen i have.
People don't like fountain pens and can't even write correctly with them but for me they are awesome.
in reply to Jason123santa

It's a lost art.

I was given a gold nib FP as a gift when I was a teenager, and I had no appreciation for it, and no idea what to do with it.

in reply to R.L. Dane 🍵

Agreed that less and less people know how to use one and don't care if there pen is bad. Then they think the fountain pen is bad when its actually much better.

I feel like the expensive nibs like gold nibs are better but also the rest of the pen the cheaper ones are better

in reply to Jason123santa

I actually like the cheap pens because they tend to be less temperamental than the really pricey ones (or so I've heard), and if it goes bad (or you drop it on the nib, OWWWW!!!), it's cheap enough to get replacement parts.

My #TWSBI Eco is on its second nib. The nib was about half the price of the pen, but the pen was $30, so.. .;)

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gotosocial - Link to source
R.L. Dane 🍵
Pilot Metros are really nice pens, particularly if you have smaller hands and/or like a really needle fine EF point. 😁
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Hyde 📷 🖋

carandache.com/us/en/fountain-…

And, I thought that Namiki were expensive 😅

@amin @rl_dane

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gotosocial - Link to source
R.L. Dane 🍵

I'm going to get some Lamy green when I run out of purple.

I also have some J. Herbin Emeraude de Chivor for my refillable pens. Gorgeous ink.

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Amin Hollon 🏳
I love green ink
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gotosocial - Link to source
R.L. Dane 🍵
Wow, that's very green.
in reply to R.L. Dane 🍵

I have Herbin's Lierre Sauvage, which I rather like. Goes well with my favorite, Lie de Thé. 😀
in reply to Amin Hollon 🏳

I should have checked that page before buying ...

jetpens.com/blog/Herbin-Inks-A…

@rl_dane @kotrcka_peter

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in reply to R.L. Dane 🍵

I love my Preppies. I just wish I could get the fancy Wa editions for that price - they're double that in the UK.

OTOH, they're so cheap that I have aaaall the colours for the plain ones. 😀 Plus some Crystal for using with Platinum's carbon ink.

in reply to JulesJones

Oops, I didn't realize the preppy I had was one of the fancy, more expensive ones. XD
in reply to R.L. Dane 🍵

Says something that the fancy one with the decorative print is that price (or £10 in the UK). 😀

Of course, the really fancy one is the Plaisir, which is basically a Preppy upgraded with an aluminium body and cap. That will set you back a whopping £14 here (unless you're daft enough to buy one of the limited edition graduated colour schemes, which I very nearly did for one I loved even though it was a daft price).

in reply to JulesJones

My very first FP was a green plaisir I bought a decade ago.

I actually like the Preppy Wa better. ;)

in reply to R.L. Dane 🍵

I bought a Plaisir a while back and still haven't gotten around to using it. I may... just may... possibly have too many Very Cheap Pens. I blame AliExpress.
in reply to JulesJones

I was never really impressed with the super-cheap pens I got (Wing Sung 698 or Jinhao).

I've had better luck with Japanese than Chinese pens, so far. Better (extant???) QC. ;)

in reply to R.L. Dane 🍵

QC is hit and miss, but improving, and I've had some really nice Chinese pens. And some horrible ones. 😀

I love my WS 3008s, but they're known for having a rust problem with the screw in the cap. Since they're even cheaper than a Preppy and they write just as well if you have a good one, I don't mind. But current love of my life is a Moonman/Majohn A1 retractable.

in reply to JulesJones

Ah, I recall many ebullient odes to the Moonman on r/FountainPens back in the day. ;)
in reply to R.L. Dane 🍵

I have some really old, classic fountain pens lying around that I got as a gift from a hoarder and have no intention on using. I think he said they were over 50 years old? Maybe I could send them to you depending where you're located because they're just kind of collecting dust. You can email me about it at xerxes@persrex.xyz if you're interested.
in reply to Xerxes

I'm getting close to FP hoarder status, myself 😂

Maybe @amin would like them?

in reply to R.L. Dane 🍵

I'm amazed you even have a local stationary shop locally. Where I live they have long ago shutdown with if you want to stretch it having only Staples left.
in reply to Adam

God bless the Asians.
If there's a Chinatown near you (and I mean even a Chinatown-like strip mall), there may very well be an awesome stationery store there.

The one I go to is called Kinokuniya. It's literally located inside of an Asian supermarket. ;)

P.S., It's not strictly a stationery shop, they have comic books and, uh, weeabo-wares(?!?) and things like that, too. But their stationery is legit.

This entry was edited (3 months ago)
Unknown parent

gotosocial - Link to source
R.L. Dane 🍵

I actually kinda love the smell of Noodler's Black.

It's kinda of... appealingly chemical???

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gotosocial - Link to source
R.L. Dane 🍵
I used to love the smell of gasoline when I was younger. Don't tell my nose what it can do.
in reply to R.L. Dane 🍵

I used to love the smell of gasoline when I was younger.


That can't possibly be true, can it?

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gotosocial - Link to source
R.L. Dane 🍵
Mmm, kool-aid. 😂
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gotosocial - Link to source
sotolf
People's Liberation Army?
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mastodon - Link to source
OpenComputeDesign
I thought it was tree sap?
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OpenComputeDesign
That's exactly where I solder
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OpenComputeDesign

I _abhor_ unleaded solder. It's _ruining the world_

I just have an alternate strategy where I try to avoid very long term goals

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OpenComputeDesign

I have a simple solution:

FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY DON'T THROW ELECTRONICS AWAY

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OpenComputeDesign
I appreciate it, but no
Unknown parent

mastodon - Link to source
OpenComputeDesign
Well, I can't decide for other people not to do all kinds of terrible things. But the fact remains that leadless solder makes electronics worse. And throwing electronics in the landfill is _objectively_ a bad thing no matter what.
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mastodon - Link to source
OpenComputeDesign
Makes worse connections, requires higher temperatures, much harder to repair, lasts less long, more susceptible to cold temperatures, etc. Virtually every single metric, the majority of leadless solder is worse in every single way.
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mastodon - Link to source
OpenComputeDesign
Counter point, the world is an awful place that doesn't need me, and won't remember me anyway. Because every complaint about myself is true. Because "value" is fake. And because I was always gonna die, anyway.
in reply to OpenComputeDesign

Machines were all I ever had. I'm going to be consumed, they might as well consume me.
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mastodon - Link to source
OpenComputeDesign

Well yeah, but the ash trays don't make the plane less durable.

Making things that need to be replaced more often because some people replace them improperly is stupid idea

Unknown parent

gotosocial - Link to source
Amin Hollon 🏳
It's like how airplanes have ashtrays in the bathrooms because they'd rather people who smoke when they shouldn't have a proper disposal spot than setting the plane on fire throwing it somewhere they shouldn't.
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mastodon - Link to source
OpenComputeDesign

Well, too be fair, BGA is probably a bigger issue than leadless solder. But Yes. It's _crap_

BGA tho is seriously one of the single _worst_ inventions of all time. I'm deeply depressed to have grown up in the BGA era, which will be known for the rest of time as the _dumbest_ era in technological history.

in reply to OpenComputeDesign

Ball Grid Array?

There are too many connectors to use pins anymore.

What should they use?

in reply to R.L. Dane 🍵

Pin Grid Array. Or Land Grid Array.

Also seeing as modern devices have fewer ports than ever, I don't believe for a second they need that many pins, anyway.

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OpenComputeDesign
Well, modern ports _do_ also _suck_
in reply to OpenComputeDesign

PGA would basically just be metallic fur at this point.

I can't remember the difference between LGA & BGA

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gotosocial - Link to source
R.L. Dane 🍵
Always has been.
in reply to R.L. Dane 🍵

LGA sits on a bed of springs, essentially.

Also there are still modern CPUs with PGA. BGA balls are typically the same size as PGA pins and LGA pads.

in reply to R.L. Dane 🍵

BGA has probably killed more of my modern devices than anything else. It's not only the most fragile way to solder a chip, it's the hardest to repair. Increasing failure rate with decreased chance of repair and increased cost of repair is objectively bad.
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OpenComputeDesign
Why do companies make cheap fragile unrepeatable stuff? You tell me.
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OpenComputeDesign

*Increases the danger of accidentally bridging ajacent pins

BGA+leadless solder guarantees eventual pin bridging. Not only during manufacture or repair, though there especially. But just in use, especially in cold climates, BGA with leadless solder grows micro whiskers that short adjacent balls.

Also thermals are a weak argument at best. If it really matters that much, there are already vastly better solutions.

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OpenComputeDesign
Also glue is not only _not_ the only way to water proof, it's not even a very good one. Glue seals are often imperfect and degrade quickly in normal use.
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mastodon - Link to source
OpenComputeDesign
Right, but everything is _so expensive_ right now. Cheaper for _who_ exactly??
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OpenComputeDesign
No one pays more because companies charge more for the same crap.
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mastodon - Link to source
OpenComputeDesign
Maybe, although things like QFP should be easier for machines than BGA. Because you can use wave soldering instead of oven soldering, and because it's easier to verify the connections.
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OpenComputeDesign

Believe me, you don't have to convince me that most companies are absolutely _incompetent_

I already _know_ that!

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OpenComputeDesign

PGA is still better than BGA though.

And most things really _don't_ need more than QFP

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OpenComputeDesign
Then we can only hope they'll realize this with BGA
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OpenComputeDesign
And my point is BGA is _never_ a good option and should be ejected from our collective minds so we never have to worry about it again
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OpenComputeDesign
_OR_ they can use PGA
in reply to OpenComputeDesign

But pins get bent, right?

I'm asking. Haven't touched the bottom side of a CPU in over 20 years.

Unknown parent

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OpenComputeDesign
And BGA is indeed incompetent, yes. Exactly
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OpenComputeDesign
I mean, while it is nice not to have to worry so much about damaging the expensive CPU, and both are infinitely better than BGA, I personally prefer PGA to LGA. PGA pins are more durable than LGA pins. And motherboards these days are often more expensive than CPUs, anyway.
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mastodon - Link to source
OpenComputeDesign
Indeed. Much easier with PGA than LGA, possible with either.

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