Detail work - good BP or FP alternative

Not a lot of enthusiasm for BPs here, this I know.

I've tried to be an FP purist, Pelikan, Waterman, etc., Roller balls
seem too imprecise for me. But I have a dilemma. I've been doing a lot
of detail, long form work.

First, FPs, like my M800 in Left Oblique Med, dry up if they're
sitting open for 10-20 mins. on the table. Capping and uncapping makes
you look you're nervous or compulsive. Would a fine point like the
Parker 100/51, say, solve this issue?

Second, drying time. (Maybe first question and second are one FP v. BP
issue.) Bottom line, I have to have no-skip responsiveness, even after
20 mins of the pen lying open on the table, and NO wating-for-drying
fussiness whatsoever, hence, my thoughts about BPs. I've used
Waterman, Cross, Lamy BPs, etc. I like Waterman BP a lot, and I have
my eye on a new slim Exception, although I'm thinking a Pelikan M600
BP, which I've never used, might be quite nice.

But I'd rather stick with FP - cartridge load is fine. Thoughts and
suggestions, please?

bob craig wrote:

First, FPs, like my M800 in Left Oblique Med, dry up
if they're sitting open for 10-20 mins. on the
table. Capping and uncapping makes you look you're
nervous or compulsive. Would a fine point like the
Parker 100/51, say, solve this issue?

No. If there is a fountain pen that can remain uncapped for 10 - 20
minutes without ink drying on the nib, I'm not aware of it. Because of
the design of the feed (collector) of the 51, the nibs of those pens
will remain moist longer... however, 10 minutes is a stretch and 20
minutes is pretty much out of the question. The 100 is not the same as
the 51. The 100 is closer to a 45... traditional nib-feed design with
a hood. Because the 100 lacks a collector, expect ink delivery to be
much less responsive than a true 51.

Second, drying time. (Maybe first question and
second are one FP v. BP issue.) Bottom line, I have
to have no-skip responsiveness, even after
20 mins of the pen lying open on the table, and NO
wating-for-drying fussiness whatsoever, hence, my
thoughts about BPs. I've used Waterman, Cross, Lamy
BPs, etc. I like Waterman BP a lot, and I have
my eye on a new slim Exception, although I'm
thinking a Pelikan M600 BP, which I've never used,
might be quite nice.

But I'd rather stick with FP - cartridge load is
fine. Thoughts and suggestions, please?

Yeah... try a Namiki/Pilot Vanishing Point/Capless. These are fountain
pens with retractable nibs. There's no cap. All you do is click the
button on the cap (just like a ballpoint) and the nib retracts into
the barrel of the pen. As for drying time, some fountain pen inks are
notorious for long drying times. Others, such as Parker Quink, dry
quickly. Buy a Pilot Capless (comes in two sizes, big and small) and
some Quink. Ballpoint pens are just refill holders. Figure out which
refill you like the best, and buy housings that hold those refills.
Parker refills are the European International Standard which means
they'll fit in lots of holders. Also, many refill makers make bp
refills that conform to the standard (e.g., Aurora, Schmidt, Pelikan,
etc.). Aurora of Italy, Pelikan, and other ball point makers conform
to this standard. You'll have to check first to determine which refill
a pen you're interested in holds. I think Waterman's are
proprietary. -- B

On Feb 17, 1:54 am, bob craig wrote:
Not a lot of enthusiasm for BPs here, this I know.

I've tried to be an FP purist, Pelikan, Waterman, etc., Roller balls
seem too imprecise for me. But I have a dilemma. I've been doing a lot
of detail, long form work.

First, FPs, like my M800 in Left Oblique Med, dry up if they're
sitting open for 10-20 mins. on the table. Capping and uncapping makes
you look you're nervous or compulsive. Would a fine point like the
Parker 100/51, say, solve this issue?

Second, drying time. (Maybe first question and second are one FP v. BP
issue.) Bottom line, I have to have no-skip responsiveness, even after
20 mins of the pen lying open on the table, and NO wating-for-drying
fussiness whatsoever, hence, my thoughts about BPs. I've used
Waterman, Cross, Lamy BPs, etc. I like Waterman BP a lot, and I have
my eye on a new slim Exception, although I'm thinking a Pelikan M600
BP, which I've never used, might be quite nice.

But I'd rather stick with FP - cartridge load is fine. Thoughts and
suggestions, please?

Fountain pens are my pens of choice, but sometimes they're not the
right tool.
I always have at least a fp filled with ink, but lately I've been
using a Fisher spacepen bullet (black matte with clip) and a Retro 51
Tornado (with Uniball Signo 207 refills). Both work great with
Moleskines.

I've been considering some 51s since my father's is for at home use
only.

PS: The Uniball refills have to be cut short to fit the Tornado.

Juan

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 00:54:55 GMT, bob craig
wrote:

Waterman, Cross, Lamy BPs, etc. I like Waterman BP a lot, and I have
my eye on a new slim Exception, although I'm thinking a Pelikan M600
BP, which I've never used, might be quite nice.

When I have to use a ballpoint the best I've found is the Parker
Jotter. I got a dozen on eBay for $25. Cheaper than the refills
alone and it writes great.
Richard

BL wrote:
Ballpoint pens are just refill holders. Figure out which
refill you like the best, and buy housings that hold those refills.
Parker refills are the European International Standard which means
they'll fit in lots of holders. Also, many refill makers make bp
refills that conform to the standard...

I like the Parker-compatible Itoya Advanced Gel in fine. It writes very
nicely, and can go uncapped for months (and counting -- I have one in a
twist-retract "holder", and it writes as soon as it touches paper).

Brian
--

bob craig writes:

Thoughts and suggestions, please?

Somebody suggested Namiki/Pilot Vanishing Point, already and it seems
sensible suggestion. In addition, this might be good idea: Buy some
fountain pen and then some suitable pen stand for it. Maybe you'd like
to buy ball point pen of that series, too. If so, then you need pen
stand that takes two pens. When you are sitting in front of your own
table, you can use those pens in your pen stand. When you are somewhere
else, you'd better use that Vanishing Point.

You can use fountain pen with pen stand this way: When you come to your
work place, you post cap of that pen and then you put that pen to that
pen stand. Whenever need arises, you just take that fountain from that
stand and start to write or draw. When going home, you cap that pen.
Then you can refill your pen in your home.

How about Pelikan Celebry -fountain pen and then some suitable pen stand
for it? Pelikan makes that pen stand for one and two pens of Celebry
-series. First you must buy that base of pen stand, for one or two pens.
Then you need to choose right socket(s) for pen(s). There are two kind
of sockets: for fountain pens and ball point pens. So called ink ball
pens fit into fountain pen socket and mechanical pencils fit into ball
pen sockets.

Here is direct link to pens of Celebry -series:

http://www.pelikan.de/en/docs/pro_vi...&fid=2&sid=120

I can not find that pen stand for Celebry pens from that website, but I
have Pelikan -catalogue for year 2006 and it says they still manufacture
such products.

Pelikan makes pen stand also for all pens of their Souverän -line:

http://www.hochwertige-schreibgeraet...a957043b985d14

That stand looks just like that pen stand for Celebry -series. Maybe it
is exactly the same product. Maybe that same pen stand is suitable for
pens of both Celebry- and Souverän -line. I am not sure.

Also Lamy makes some pen stands for one or two pens, for series called
2000 and Accent:

http://www.lamy.com/en/endverbrauche...?shownavi=true

Pens of Lamy have just one drawback: Their ball point pens use their own
proprietary refills. "Parker-style" refills do not fit.

* * *

I would also suggest some kind of (ringtop) fountain pen hanging on
cord, chain or lanyard around your neck. I use fountain pen called
Herlitz Tornado. Also Laban makes some fountain pens hanging on chain.

* * *

You needed some ink that dries quickly. Noodler's Ink has made whole
series of them. It is called Swishmix. They are sold exclusively by
Swisherpens (sp).


--
Juhapekka "naula" Tolvanen * * http colon slash slash iki dot fi slash juhtolv
"Sex ist ein Schlacht. Liebe ist Krieg. Wollt ihr das Bett in Flammen sehen?
Wollt ihr in Haut und Haaren untergehen? Ihr wollt doch auch den Dolch ins
Laken stecken. Ihr wollt doch auch das Blut vom Degen lecken." Rammstein

"bob craig" wrote in message
...
Not a lot of enthusiasm for BPs here, this I know.

I've tried to be an FP purist, Pelikan, Waterman, etc., Roller balls
seem too imprecise for me.

Faber-Castell/Uni-Ball makes wonderfully thin-lined, micro-fine, rbs. Some
have permanent, waterproof ink. They are, however, disposable.

Parker also makes a fine rb refill that draws a finer line than that of
others like Cross and Waterman. It's been harder for me to find in local
stores, however, just as Parker's fine gel refills are harder to find.

But I have a dilemma. I've been doing a lot
of detail, long form work.

First, FPs, like my M800 in Left Oblique Med, dry up if they're
sitting open for 10-20 mins. on the table. Capping and uncapping makes
you look you're nervous or compulsive.

Have you tried merely sliding the pen into the cap without snapping or
screwing it tight? I've noticed that this method of non-formal capping gives
me both convenient access and delays the nib's drying.

Sorry. I don't see why anybody should care about how they look to others
when it comes to functional pens. It's not as though you're trying to use it
to pry a booger out of your nose.

Second, drying time. (Maybe first question and second are one FP v. BP
issue.) Bottom line, I have to have no-skip responsiveness, even after
20 mins of the pen lying open on the table, and NO wating-for-drying
fussiness whatsoever, hence, my thoughts about BPs.

In my experience, fp ink dry times vary with brand of ink and paper. If you
want a sure thing, whatever the circumstances, I'm going to have to
recommend a bp. I'm particularly partial to pens that accept Parker-style
refills because, IMO, Parker bp refills write so smoothly. Another is the
pressurized refill by Fisher. The more widely available (PR4?) fits Fisher,
most Sensa, and with the included plastic adapter, all pens that accept
Parker-style refills. Fisher also makes pressurized refills for Cross,
Montblanc, etc.

How about a nice mechanical pencil? Fine line available for detail work, no
problems leaving the cap off, and no-wait drying time.


--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

I'm in the same boat, here's my solution - Parker 51, any BP that
takes Parker Gel refill and good mechanical pencil.

On Feb 16, 7:54 pm, bob craig wrote:
Not a lot of enthusiasm for BPs here, this I know.

I've tried to be an FP purist, Pelikan, Waterman, etc., Roller balls
seem too imprecise for me. But I have a dilemma. I've been doing a lot
of detail, long form work.

First, FPs, like my M800 in Left Oblique Med, dry up if they're
sitting open for 10-20 mins. on the table. Capping and uncapping makes
you look you're nervous or compulsive. Would a fine point like the
Parker 100/51, say, solve this issue?

Second, drying time. (Maybe first question and second are one FP v. BP
issue.) Bottom line, I have to have no-skip responsiveness, even after
20 mins of the pen lying open on the table, and NO wating-for-drying
fussiness whatsoever, hence, my thoughts about BPs. I've used
Waterman, Cross, Lamy BPs, etc. I like Waterman BP a lot, and I have
my eye on a new slim Exception, although I'm thinking a Pelikan M600
BP, which I've never used, might be quite nice.

But I'd rather stick with FP - cartridge load is fine. Thoughts and
suggestions, please?

I've had great luck with Hero pens, esp. the 329 and 330, when I've needed
to do a lot of writing in
a very small space, e.g., grading papers. The pens are very inexpensive for
fountain pens, hold a large
amount of ink, and don't dry out easily. At times, I've carried a flip-top
eyeglass case that holds 5
different Hero pens, each inked with a different color, so that I can
differentiate comments on
several things (like blue for the amount of points off, or green for
emphasis, etc.), and have been
able to walk away from my desk for several minutes, come back and resume
right away.

Sally

"Juan" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Feb 17, 1:54 am, bob craig wrote:
Not a lot of enthusiasm for BPs here, this I know.

I've tried to be an FP purist, Pelikan, Waterman, etc., Roller balls
seem too imprecise for me. But I have a dilemma. I've been doing a lot
of detail, long form work.

First, FPs, like my M800 in Left Oblique Med, dry up if they're
sitting open for 10-20 mins. on the table. Capping and uncapping makes
you look you're nervous or compulsive. Would a fine point like the
Parker 100/51, say, solve this issue?

Second, drying time. (Maybe first question and second are one FP v. BP
issue.) Bottom line, I have to have no-skip responsiveness, even after
20 mins of the pen lying open on the table, and NO wating-for-drying
fussiness whatsoever, hence, my thoughts about BPs. I've used
Waterman, Cross, Lamy BPs, etc. I like Waterman BP a lot, and I have
my eye on a new slim Exception, although I'm thinking a Pelikan M600
BP, which I've never used, might be quite nice.

But I'd rather stick with FP - cartridge load is fine. Thoughts and
suggestions, please?

Fountain pens are my pens of choice, but sometimes they're not the
right tool.
I always have at least a fp filled with ink, but lately I've been
using a Fisher spacepen bullet (black matte with clip) and a Retro 51
Tornado (with Uniball Signo 207 refills). Both work great with
Moleskines.

I've been considering some 51s since my father's is for at home use
only.

PS: The Uniball refills have to be cut short to fit the Tornado.

Juan