30-JUL-2011
Leather carrying pouch
This is the leather pen pouch that I use to carry 3 fountain pens with me: one with black color ink, one with blue color ink, and one with green color ink. That should fit all my needs for colors in writing...
13-AUG-2011
Noodler's large piston rollerball pen
This is Noodler's rollerball pen that uses any fountain pen ink. The tip is user-replaceable at US$ 0.50 (50 cents )a piece. However, the tip was very dry and after letting it sit for a few days, it wouldn't start. So I pulled out the tip, removed the felt and now it writes like an EXTRA-FINE nib fountain pen. I filled it with Noodler's Bulletproof Black ink and use it as an all-purpose pen.
Paper - Last but not least...
While we can write on almost any paper that's smooth enough to not catch or damage the nib, different paper has different colors, different shades of the same color, and even different tint of white, different absorption rate and reacts differently to different types of ink. A sheet of paper may be good for the Parker ink, but not for the Sheaffer ink or vice versa. Or it may be good for either one, but not when mixing the 2 inks together. Selecting the correct paper is really a trial and error process, in addition to our individual preferences and is a purely subjective expression of one's mind.
This is what makes writing with a fountain pen fun and rewarding. After all these selections of fountain pens, colors of inks, brand of inks, nib sizes, paper types and etc...and etc... we better make every word counts when we finally sit down and write with it...
20-AUG-2011
Hero model 3266 - 360 degree pen
I saw this fountain pen on eBay: a Chinese made Hero model 3266 with a 360-degree nib sold by czxwyst for $9.99 included free shipping from China. This pen has a special nib that is divided in 4 quadrants with a cross cut (see the close up picture of the nib below) so that the nib can be written in any position. After filling it with Parker ink for testing, the nib is super smooth and while it has a 'Fine' nib, it was written like the 'Medium' nib of my Pilot Vanishing Point.
The only thing is that it has a non-removable aerometric pump and I don't like it because it's harder to fill ink than a piston converter.
20-AUG-2011
Hero model 3266 nib
This is a close up of the Hero model 3266 360-degree nib. It can be written in any position and is super smooth!
25-AUG-2011
Baoer 500 fountain pen with MEDIUM nib
Just received this from eBay. A Chinese made Baoer 500 with gold plated Medium nib. I like the weight of the pen: not too light and not too heavy. It came with Baoer's own piston converter. Filling it with Private Reserve Daphne Blue ink, it writes very smooth and wet. Even though it has a MEDIUM nib, but it looks like the BROAD nib of my Pilot Vanishing Point fountain pen. The Baoer 500 is a very good pen. I like it.
11-NOV-2011
Baoer 500
This pen is so smooth and wet. It started immediately even after leaving it unused for weeks.
10-SEP-2011
Jinhao X750 Fountain Pen
I got this Chinese Jinhao X750 pen in stainless steel. I just love an all metal body pen. As delivered, the pen did not flow ink very well. After disassembling it, cleaned up the feed channels and moved the feed closer to the tip of the nib, it writes extremely smooth and wet, just the way I like it. All this, for US $8 including shipping from China.
I like it so much that I ordered a 2nd stainless steel and a black metal body Jinhao X750. One can't have too many fountain pens after all...
10-SEP-2011
Jinhao X750 nib and feed
This was how I adjusted the feed. As close to the tip as possible without impeding the writing. Originally the feed was way below the tip and ink flow was insufficient and it ran dry quickly because even though it came with a nib that said 'M' but it wrote like a 'B'road and it needs lots of ink flow.
11-NOV-2011
jinhao_x750_stainless.jpg
11-NOV-2011
Another Jinhao X750
I like my first Jinhao X750 so much that I bought another Jinhao X750 in black metal body. This one is as good as the first one. Smooth and wet.
12-FEB-2012
Jinhao X750 with Knox K35 nib
I found out from fountainpennetwork.com that xfountainpens.com is selling the German made Knox K35 nibs that fits the Jinhao X750 and Noodler's AHAB pen and are very smooth so I ordered a set of 3 for US$18 and that came with a 'M', a 'XF' and a 'F' nibs. Here I fit the 'F' nib on the X750 and it's much smoother than the original (while the original was already very smooth).
No, I don't think that's real gold at US$6 a piece.