Pen Tracks II
Remember I said I was going to get back to this, well I am getting back to it.
It has been almost 6 months now that I have used the Parker IM fountain pen, and Noodler's Black ink, and I thought I would just update my readers on my quest to find a good pen.
First let me say when I got the pen I was pretty dam impressed with it. It wrote well, when I first took it out of the package and put the ink cartage in it. What I did not expect was how heavy it would be on the end when I posted the cap.
The pen has a good heft to it, I like that, it feels good and feels real. Unfortunately I was not prepared for that weight in my hand, and it sent the pen diving to the floor. Of course it hit the floor nib first, and I have spent the rest of my time using the pen trying to get that original feel back again, to no avail. I have come close a couple of times, but it is still not quite the same. I am going to try to pull the nib and see if I can adjust it out of the pen.
Still it is a decent pen, and as long as you do not drop it, like I do quite often, it should service quite nicely. I still do not know how it compares to the Lamy pen, but right now I am not in a financial position to make that comparison.
Noodler's ink is nice. It is not as black as inks I have used in the past, being used to the India blacks of the mid eighties, but it does flow decent, and produces a good flat blackish result. This suits me well, and I like that it is relatively permanent. I say relatively permanent, as I haven't tested that aspect yet, and everything I have written with it is still as when I wrote it, so I assume it will be that way for at least the time that I will be around to read it.
The ink converter that allows me to use bottled ink with the Parker IM is alright at best. It does allow me to use the Noodler's ink, but it also is prone to air lock. I often have to take the pen apart and push the air out of the converter so the ink will continue to flow adequately. Now I wonder is that because of the ink or the converter, but I have no way of making a comparison, as I only have the Noodler's ink and the Parker IM pen, so I can not make much in the way of comparison there.
In conclusion it all works, and with some tweaking I may yet get it to work like it did originally. It has its issues, it sometimes skips when I am writing really fast, and I put that up to the converter not keeping up the flow as it should, but it may also be the ink or nib. I will try to save up some money and buy a Lamy pen and maybe some other converter, and ink, just to be able to make a good comparison of the pens and other parts, but for now, it does its job, even with its little quirks.
I am used to quirks from fountain pens. Back in the days when I used to use them a lot I had several of them that were quite old. Most of them were not name brands, just pens and quite a few of them were quite quirky in their actions. I remember one that had a bladder in it, but you could only fill it about half way or it would bind up the bladder and push ink out the nib. Funny that even though that was a bad part, the pen which I do not remember the name of, wrote really, really well, otherwise. I remember picking it up at a flea market one day, it was in a few pieces, and I put it back together, and it was one of the best writing pens I have ever owned, even with the quirky bladder. I think I paid two dollars for it, even with the 18k gold nib, and funky art deco resin body.
Remember I said I would say something about why I use a pen, when I have a computer, well I will, but that will have to wait until next time.
Thank you for stopping by, it has been a pleasure to talk with you all, and maybe we can talk again someday soon.
JD
It has been almost 6 months now that I have used the Parker IM fountain pen, and Noodler's Black ink, and I thought I would just update my readers on my quest to find a good pen.
First let me say when I got the pen I was pretty dam impressed with it. It wrote well, when I first took it out of the package and put the ink cartage in it. What I did not expect was how heavy it would be on the end when I posted the cap.
The pen has a good heft to it, I like that, it feels good and feels real. Unfortunately I was not prepared for that weight in my hand, and it sent the pen diving to the floor. Of course it hit the floor nib first, and I have spent the rest of my time using the pen trying to get that original feel back again, to no avail. I have come close a couple of times, but it is still not quite the same. I am going to try to pull the nib and see if I can adjust it out of the pen.
Still it is a decent pen, and as long as you do not drop it, like I do quite often, it should service quite nicely. I still do not know how it compares to the Lamy pen, but right now I am not in a financial position to make that comparison.
Noodler's ink is nice. It is not as black as inks I have used in the past, being used to the India blacks of the mid eighties, but it does flow decent, and produces a good flat blackish result. This suits me well, and I like that it is relatively permanent. I say relatively permanent, as I haven't tested that aspect yet, and everything I have written with it is still as when I wrote it, so I assume it will be that way for at least the time that I will be around to read it.
The ink converter that allows me to use bottled ink with the Parker IM is alright at best. It does allow me to use the Noodler's ink, but it also is prone to air lock. I often have to take the pen apart and push the air out of the converter so the ink will continue to flow adequately. Now I wonder is that because of the ink or the converter, but I have no way of making a comparison, as I only have the Noodler's ink and the Parker IM pen, so I can not make much in the way of comparison there.
In conclusion it all works, and with some tweaking I may yet get it to work like it did originally. It has its issues, it sometimes skips when I am writing really fast, and I put that up to the converter not keeping up the flow as it should, but it may also be the ink or nib. I will try to save up some money and buy a Lamy pen and maybe some other converter, and ink, just to be able to make a good comparison of the pens and other parts, but for now, it does its job, even with its little quirks.
I am used to quirks from fountain pens. Back in the days when I used to use them a lot I had several of them that were quite old. Most of them were not name brands, just pens and quite a few of them were quite quirky in their actions. I remember one that had a bladder in it, but you could only fill it about half way or it would bind up the bladder and push ink out the nib. Funny that even though that was a bad part, the pen which I do not remember the name of, wrote really, really well, otherwise. I remember picking it up at a flea market one day, it was in a few pieces, and I put it back together, and it was one of the best writing pens I have ever owned, even with the quirky bladder. I think I paid two dollars for it, even with the 18k gold nib, and funky art deco resin body.
Remember I said I would say something about why I use a pen, when I have a computer, well I will, but that will have to wait until next time.
Thank you for stopping by, it has been a pleasure to talk with you all, and maybe we can talk again someday soon.
JD
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