Pens, Paper & Ink - Offical OCAU club/thread

I've got the beginnings of a pen collection started. Ok, I have one good pen. Its a Country Comm pen from the USA. Its impossible to kill which is what I was after for work.

Got it through www.watchuseek.com and still actively looking at pens and watches.

Anyone else into pens? Theres already a thread for watches so lets see about pens.

EDIT as of 25th August 2012

Title changed to "Pens, paper & Ink"

Useful links:

Australian sites:
www.notemaker.com.au
justwrite.com.au

International Sites:
The Writing Desk - UK

 

I like Parkers.

I've one or two Duofolds, like this http://www.montgomerypens.com/product_detail.asp?product_id=3265

also mechanical pencils like the Lamy 2000

 

Definitely interested in pens and do enjoy a smooth write but haven't really looked into it as a hobby or things to collect.

I got these a few years back after when a customer left them behind, didn't claim it for a few months so boss let me have them.


No idea what they are besides a parker, there's an IIIL Marker on the top bit which from a bit research shows they're from 1993. Other than that, no idea.

 

Nice selection of pens there guys.

I believe there are a lot of sites dedicated to pens and watches. There seem to be literally hundreds of different pens around, with their own characteristics.

If the mods are happy, I wouldnt mind setting up a pen club in OCAU with a dedicated thread, but first thing would be to see what sort of interest there would be in a club like that.

 

Sent an image of these to these guys for identification

Turns out they're Duofold mk1 centennials, the guy offered to buy them off me for $550 Maybe i shouldn't use them as uni pens anymore...

 

Oh man, I'm so bad when it comes to pens. I can't help but buy a new one whenever I'm in a newsagent.
My EDC is a cheapy Parker that I got in Primary school when I had my Catholic Confirmation. I like the weight and feel of it.
I put Fischer Space pen ink refills inside it for easy flowing awesomeness.

I also have a Lamy Safari fountain pen that I keep next to my keyboard.

My absolute FAVOURITE pen I've ever come across is one of these bad boys:
http://vwrlabshop.com/vwr-lab-markers/p/0011283/
It's a laboratory marker. Writes on glass, oily surfaces, metal, underwater (sometimes), and smells just like spray paint

 

If anyone comes across a copper contry com pen let me know. Been drooling over them but cost new is prohibitive.

Anyone used the Smith and Wesson tactical pens?

 

I've thought of getting a tactical pen, but i travel a lot and i wouldn't think they'd be flight friendly

 

There's a big selection which I am wading through on ebay.

 

I go on FPN for my pen fix. Looking at getting a parker 51 or lamy 2000 sometime soon (hopefully )



only have 3 FP's atm. top is a lamy safari with a black nib, mid is a 1983 parker arrow flighter with a gold nib and bottom is just a parker jotter

 

I'm more a mechanical pencil guy, though I have a small obsession with pens as well.

My current loadout is:

Pilot Dr. Grip 0.5
Pilot G2 0.5 Pencil
Stadler 2mm clutch
Generals Woodless Graphite 8B
Zebra M-301 series (Blue, Black, Green, Red)
Pilot G2 Limited in Ultra Fine (0.5)
Pilot G2 Series (Red Black Blue) in Ultra Fine
Fisher Bullet Space Pen Black with Fine black refill.

I cant stand broad pens, very fine lines for the win. I have a waterman fountain, but it's not in my pack.

Mario.

 

My everyday is a lamy safari rollerball, super neat.

 

Everyday pens: Lalex Linea fountain in sterling silver, Sheaffer roller.

But I've also got a Parker 51 - THE king of pens - Flighter model, all stainless.

 

This is cool



i like signing with it
Not bad for the price I think...$485 inc. shipping and free rollerball refill

 

Some nice looking selections coming through.

Opinions and prices on each?

 

My 20 buck parker just blew up on me.

It happens with every pen. If it's in my pocket it'll start leaking somehow.

 

Nice!!!!!!

 

I'm a bit partial to Cross. Dad bought me one a few years ago on a trip through an airport, apparently was cheap. beautiful to write with and good weight. I lost it last year and can't bring myself to buy the cheapest one that I have seen in Singapore Airport, about $70AUD. I think it's a 'Classic Century' style, very thin barrel and single clip.

Maybe one day when I'm feeling rich

 

Maybe we can all put in a small precice of our favourite pens.....(did I spell that right?).

 

Maybe you mean précis?

I only use a small number of regular pens, generally the slim metal Parkers I like the balance and feel using gel refills. I had a nice gold and matte black pen/pencil set years ago until some (&*% in Surrey Hills stole my bag which had them in it.

I prefer fountain pens though, don't know why since most of them I think are just plain ugly: too bulky, too gaudy and the few people I know with those types of pens are really snobby about them too (boasting how expensive they are, or rare to find, or customised etc.)

I have a bunch of Lamy Safari FPs which I find are nice and plain enough (still a little bulky but I can live with that). With the ink converters I can easily change the inks to the colours I like. Mostly I use Noodlers Inks just because they seem to be popular, but I'm not blown away by them...the "permanent" inks still run and writing on the back of my hand the regular inks are more permanent. Still it takes ages to go through a bottle of ink so it'll be years before I look for a better ink. I have a couple of different nibs with my Safaris but my day to day pen that sits in my pocket is a fine and works nicely for me. They are only plastic and cheap looking which means I'm not going to get mugged for them, they are only around $30 so as an entry level workhorse pen they are great. Because they aren't $3,000 works of art I don't have to worry about scratching them or anything, its just a pen and it functions very nicely as one. They write smooth and there's something about writing with a fountain pen that I find myself being a bit more careful with my penmanship. I've used (and own) a bunch of other fountain pens under $150 and I think the Lamy Safari is hard to beat for how good the quality is for the price.

I've also got a caligraphy set just to play with from time to time (and sometimes nice to write on paper labels with). I've also got a nice Maki-e pens which writes very nicely but I did buy it because of the beautiful Japanese artwork. I don't see myself ever buying a really expensive pen though (the Maki-e is at the cheapest end of the market, pen snobs would say its not a "true" maki-e), I want my pens to be practical and usable on a daily basis rather than something to put in a display cabinet to be admired. Though I am considering a Lamy 2000 too, by all accounts its a fantastic pen and great value for money.