What pens are we carrying today?

[DeaconKC]

The Cross ATX's i have owned have all been medium nibs and very smooth writers. It is a very heavy pen, so be warned!

 

[John in Covina]

So I received my new pen today. It feels good in my hand and the limited writing I have done with it it seems very smooth and nice. My only knock is it very light. I tend to like a more substantial weight.

What you will find is that the pens that are plastic ("special resin") will be much lighter than pens that are made out of metal. Some metal ones are made out of Aluminum at the lighter end of the scale and others are mad from brass which has been metal plated. Caran De ache makes some and Laban has some heavy pens. The other makers will often have a mix of metal models and plastic.

If you can find one (try ebay) look for a Rotring 600. A pilot knight has good heft.

 

[Luscombe]

Every day carry is a Pelikan 600 Green Roller Ball. I modified the inside of the end, very carefully, so it would allow the G2 gel refills to fit. The Pelikan roller ball refills were way too dry. Now it writes well with an off the shelf Gel refill. The Pelikan Roller ball in my shirt pocket is the pen I use the most. It competes against all the folks with their Mont Blac roller balls and the white star in their pockets. Usually see more of the, than the Pelikans. I think the Pelikans would be more popular if they fixed their dry ink cartridges.

If you have a couple of smaller size drill bits you can do this mod by hand. If you screw it up, you can send the pen to chartpak and they will usually replace the tip for free. I tried to purchase a spare tip as I wanted to mod one up for a gift to another fella I saw using the same Pelikan roller ball but Chartpak will not sell replacement parts.

Other favorite is my P51 stainless steel Flighter and P51 Signet. Picked them up at a pen show in Chicago about 15 years ago.

Also have my Grand Dad's Vac Shaeffer with his name on it. I think it is from the 30's. It never leaves the house.

 

[DeaconKC]

This morning I decided to start carrying my Pelikan 150 FP to work again. I hadn't touched it in a couple of months at least, so i expected it to be dried out. There was still ink in the reservoir and just out of masochism, I tried it out. After about 3 or 4 little loops it started writing like I had used it yesterday. I was extremely surprised and pleased to say the least.

 

[Steven180]

I have a Bexley Elegancia (w/Noodlers 54th Massachusetts), Scheaffer Valor (Noodlers Eel Black), and a Waterman's Kulture (w/Diamine Eclipse) inked right now...

Best to all,
M.

 

[David Conwill]

I just received a bottle of Noodler's Eel Red and a Noodler's Orange-Red, Piston Fill. I loaded the former into the latter and must say I'm quite pleased. Yes, the pen is very lightweight, but it feels well made and writes very nicely - sort of an intermediate step between the disposable Pilot Varsity and my Waterman Phileas. And the red ink sure does stand out when I'm editing documents!

 

[DeaconKC]

David, how is the size on that pen? I have large hands and some are just too small for me.

 

[David Conwill]

David, how is the size on that pen? I have large hands and some are just too small for me.

I don’t think it’s too bad, and I have a 9 1/4" hand span. For comparison, here are my most-commonly used pens laid out:

Left to right:

1) Pentel Rolling Writer - I don’t actually use these, but it’s what the Noodler reminds me of.
2) Noodler - a wee bit smaller than the Pentel.
3) Zebra Orbitz - the best throw-away ballpoint pen for my money.
4) Waterman Phileas - great for making notes in margins.
5) Sheaffer Prelude - great for signing things and general writing.
6) Esterbrook SJ - great nib, but just too small for general writing. Would be great for a check register with a finer nib, and if I can locate a full-size J someday with a fine nib, I will probably switch them.

 

[DeaconKC]

Thanks! I've got a couple of HD Phileas' so that showed me exactly what i needed to know.

 

[dmdmorris]

Today I receive a new Delta Dolcevita Oversize with an Extra Fine Nib. It can be used as a cartridge converter, an eye dropper, or refills.

This is a very big pen.

https://www.google.com/search?q=del...AQ&biw=1024&bih=644#biv=i|0;d|qzaliuxRzustBM:

https://www.google.com/search?q=del...AQ&biw=1024&bih=644#biv=i|4;d|-aJ3N1K-DfDQ2M:

 

[dmdmorris]

Sailor, 21K nib. A very thoughtful gift from my room parents. I'm actually hesitant to even ink it...:eusa_doh:

Please please ink it up and use it you will love it.

I have the same pen in my weekly rotation. My Sailor has a Fine nib but really writes like an EF.

It is one of the smoothest writers I have next to my Delta Fusion 82.

I ink it with Noodler's Q'Ternity Blue Black (love that ink).

 

[Kirk H.]

Every day carry is a Pelikan 600 Green Roller Ball. I modified the inside of the end, very carefully, so it would allow the G2 gel refills to fit. The Pelikan roller ball refills were way too dry. Now it writes well with an off the shelf Gel refill. The Pelikan Roller ball in my shirt pocket is the pen I use the most. It competes against all the folks with their Mont Blac roller balls and the white star in their pockets. Usually see more of the, than the Pelikans. I think the Pelikans would be more popular if they fixed their dry ink cartridges.

If you have a couple of smaller size drill bits you can do this mod by hand. If you screw it up, you can send the pen to chartpak and they will usually replace the tip for free. I tried to purchase a spare tip as I wanted to mod one up for a gift to another fella I saw using the same Pelikan roller ball but Chartpak will not sell replacement parts.

Other favorite is my P51 stainless steel Flighter and P51 Signet. Picked them up at a pen show in Chicago about 15 years ago.

Also have my Grand Dad's Vac Shaeffer with his name on it. I think it is from the 30's. It never leaves the house.

Just curious on how you did the modifications on your Pelikan. I too have one of their rollerballs that I picked up on the clearance table at Office Max for 5.00 a couple of years ago. And I agree the refills are not great. I have a Monte Verde ORA pen that takes the G-2 refills with out any modifications. Just curious as I may want to try to do those modifications.

Thanks

Kirk

 

[Master Mason]

So I decided to try the Cross ATX, I ordered it and recieved today. Waiting for the converter so I can use the noodler's eel blue that I got as well. But figured I would use the cartridge to see how it wrote. Answer was it wouldn't. I could get ink on the page if I laid the nib against the paper and it would come out of the hole on the front, but the ink wouldn't go down to the end to write.

Called cross and they suggested cleaning it, which I am trying now, but you would think a new pen would work... Hoping this fixes it and I don't have to send it back or in for repair.

I do like the way it feels in my hand though.

 

[Master Mason]

So I decided to try the Cross ATX, I ordered it and recieved today. Waiting for the converter so I can use the noodler's eel blue that I got as well. But figured I would use the cartridge to see how it wrote. Answer was it wouldn't. I could get ink on the page if I laid the nib against the paper and it would come out of the hole on the front, but the ink wouldn't go down to the end to write.

Called cross and they suggested cleaning it, which I am trying now, but you would think a new pen would work... Hoping this fixes it and I don't have to send it back or in for repair.

I do like the way it feels in my hand though.

well that did the trick, no sure if there was some dust or something pluging it or if there was a clump on the first ink cartrigde but it is writing now. I think I will enjoy this one.

 

[jkingrph]

Today, a silver Rotring 600 FP, with matching ballpoint and pencil

 

[DeaconKC]

What color did you get? I love the ATX

 

[Master Mason]

I went with black. Figure go with a classic. I also went medium tip. So far I really like it. The fine on my other pen seemed a little sharp at times

 

[Luscombe]

Pelikan M600 Rollerball Mods

Kirk,
It's a little tricky but not hard.
You'll need a few drill bits, and maybe a pair of pliers or small pair of vise grips. Also, a caliper is very helpful.

I started with the Gel refills I wanted to use. I like the blue ones from UniBall. Get whatever you like to use as you will drill out your pen to use that brand.
Remove the metal piece at the end of the pen barrel, it unscrews.

You will need to modify the diameter of the pointy end and the interior portion of the tip.
To do the pointy exterior of the tip, take one of the refills and measure the diameter at the tip and find a bit of the same diameter(the caliper helps out here). Drill from the exterior and open up the end with the bit. If you are very careful, you can do this with a dremel. Make sure you can insert the end of the refill into the end of the tip working from the outside. You may need to drill the entire length of the tip with this drill I don't quite remember.

The really tricky part now is to relieve the interior of the pen tip. Look closely at the end of the refill and you will see that the diameter is a little larger as you move up the refill.

Working from the back end of the tip, you will need to drill this out to allow the refill to fit into it. Be very careful you do not go too deep or too large a diameter. The idea is for the refill to fit into the tip of the pen with the roller ball sticking out just a little. You determine the amount by how deeply you drill into the tip. Note the Pelikan refills are smaller in diameter and have a different profile at their end.
The other end of the of the barrel has a spring loaded plunger that will push the refill into the tip as you screw it on. You have to make sure that you provide enough relief in the tip to allow the refill to penetrate far enough out so you don't bottom out on and strip the threads when you screw on the end.

I always wanted a nice Pelikan Roller Ball to compete against all the Mont Blac guys. I am a Pelikan guy and like the fact that the Pelikan has aits logo on the end of the pen like the Mont Blancs. When I bought the pen, I was really disappointed in the refills, they were way to dry and scratchy. Didn't seem right for such an expensive pen. I really love the pen now.

I hope this helps. PM me if you would like some photos to your email.

 

[Master Mason]

I went with black. Figure go with a classic. I also went medium tip. So far I really like it. The fine on my other pen seemed a little sharp at times

 

[dr.velociraptor]

Lamy Safari and a Pelikan m200, both are fountain pens, they've been my go to pens. I have larger pens than the m200 and more expensive ones than the Safari, but I seem to always come back to these two. The m200 fits perfectly in a shirt pocket, and it's light so it doesn't pull your pocket down and look awkward, perfect workhorse everyday pen. Un-posted it's a bit too small for my hands, but posted I don't have any issue writing with it.