I kind sorta somehow ended up with 8 pens inked, in part because I forgot that dip testing exists when my little Sheaffer ringtop came in. ^_^; (And I finally figured out how to do it right and everything.) So, I told myself that I couldn't ink the new Taccia until I got two of the existing pens emptied out.
Well, the blue Esterbrook FINALLY ran out yesterday (I swear it's been a day away through a week of use), and to my pleasant surprise, so did the Waterman Kultur. Of course, the Kultur goes right back into the rotation, because it is the pen I use to test samples from Pear Tree. But it counts nonetheless!
Actually, I'm kidding there. The other pen I expected to run out when I made that rule is a green-striped vintage Diamond that I repaired, and I've had filled with Parker Washable Blue Quink to test it out. The damn thing is empty; it just won't admit it. No, really, it is. There is nothing in the sac; I've flipped the bar all the way open checking the level. (Kati lives dangerously with her pens. I have a bad habit of checking the ink level of lever fills but slowly using the lever until extra ink appears on the feed.) All the ink is left in the feed, and I just can't quite get it to admit that. But it can't hold out forever, and then I'm filling my Taccia, dammit.
I feel bad. My pen box has six pens that I have yet to ink. And that's going to get worse this weekend, as I plan to do some *takes appropriate voice* EXTREME PEN REPAIR! My repair box has 19 slots, and 18 of them are filled. I'm wanting to take care of as many of those as possible (which just moves them to my user pen box for testing, but what can you do?) I know I can't empty them all out, though. The remains of the rusted Sheaffer tip dip need to stay until I confirm that the one I cleaned mold out of is really clean. (Otherwise I'm swapping sections to get one good pen from the two.) And I've got two first year Sheaffer touchdowns that need bigger sacks than we currently have.
That was actually a little frustrating. I acquired four Touchdowns for the express purpose of learning to repair the system. Of them, one tipdip off eBay arrived rusted beyond saving, and the two standard ones were the first year "fat" models that require larger sacs. And not knowing this, I only ordered the standard Touchdown sac size. But I'm gonnna pwn that grey tipdip today, darn it.
*glances at pen cup* And I won't be able to ink it for a while yet. ;P
--Bwa ha ha! That green Diamond finally admitted it was dry! W00t! --
Now, I could use a little reassurance on this next bit.
Impressions of the customized Pelikan M200 from Richard Binder. Well, overall it's great. Nice variation and shading, easy to use. But, there's two things I don't like about it. First, the sweet spot is a little high for me. I usually hold my pen around 45° to 60° from horizontal; the sweet spot seems to be more in the 60° to 75° range. And, it's a bit dryer than I'd like. I was thinking I'd like nice average flow, not too wet and not too dry, so I asked for a "5" on a scale from 1 to 10. If this is a five, I'm thinking I actually want a 7 or maybe an 8.
In retrospect, I can't blame Richard for the wetness. The nib lays down a nice flat line. No skipping or skimpiness with the ink, but no extra moisture there. Thinking on it, that is a good place to set your "5". It's more than I misunderstood the range across which fountain pens can act, which means I misinterpreted the midpoint.
I'm thinking about contacting him about the sweet spot's vertical location, though. I feel like I have to hold the pen in a death grip to keep it there. I mean, it wouldn't hurt to ask if he would lower it without a fee, would it? (Someone reassure me here. Believe it or not, I'm shy.) The worst he can do is say no, I asked for the wrong range and that's what I got. And if he does I think I can train myself to use it as-is. But he can't say yes if I don't ask, and I'd be happier if I could use it at my usual angle.
OK, enough pens. Lets talk ink. ^_~
I HATE Parker Washable Blue Quink. We got some specifically to use as a tester ink for newly restored vintage pens, and... I just can't do it. It's so BORING! Waterman Florida Blue has character compared to blue Quink!
I'm switching to the Waterman blue-black and the J. Herbins for testing. Those more expertly than I suggest using one ink consistently for testing, but... That's just not in my nature. And really, the important part is that you be familiar with the properties of the ink so you're just judging the pen, and I feel pretty familiar already with the different types I'd be using.
Also, I got some new samples from Pear Tree, and I have very high hopes for J. Herbin Rose Cyclamen as a better-behaved replacement for my Noodler's Saguaro Wine. I'm madly in love with the Saguaro color, but it dries slowly and smears badly; seems I can't use it without ending up wearing some of it. The Rose Cyclamen is a very bright magenta, possibly brighter than the Saguaro, if you can believe that, and seems better behaved. So once my Kultur's converter deigns to dry out, I'm going to load it up with the Rose Cyclamen and give it a whirl.
I love the Pear Tree sampler program, and it's excellent for screening colors. Unfortunately, I think it may take me several pen fulls to really evaluate an inks full properties, so I'm just going to have to accept the possibility of dud ink bottles now and again. Ah well, every other store makes me try to full bottle right off, so there you are.
No comments:
Post a Comment