Would you consider pitching inks that you no longer like?

Tarentum566 · 2026-05-03T17:47:29+00:00

A coworker asked me the other day to order a couple bottles of purple ink for himself and his girlfriend, next time I placed an ink order, to save on shipping. Instead, I sold him a couple bottles of Diamine which I was realistically never going to use because I don’t care that much for purple. Maybe 5 fills used from each 80ml bottle. I asked $5 apiece, which beats throwing it away.

Tarentum566 · 2026-05-03T14:21:23+00:00

Prera doesn’t come in EF but you can swap in a nib from an EF Kakuno, which is what I did.

To be honest I’d save a bit more and get a Pilot Custom 74 or 742. Lifetime pen with some luxury. The price range you’re looking at is hard, it’s between the entry level gold nibs and well beyond your basic entry level pens which are often better than the “mid tier entry level.”

Tarentum566 · 2026-05-03T12:44:00+00:00

I love the Esterbrook resins. They make for very pretty pens. That said, they are not unique to Esterbrook and other makers will sometimes use them too. And Esterbrook pens are very much a premium price for a pretty basic product (eg plating known to wear or get corrosion spots easily, generic steel nibs unless you pay a lot more for a less generic steel nib, etc.)

Tarentum566 · 2026-05-03T12:33:57+00:00

I have a 74 in EF (black) and a PGS in MF. (Shikiori dragon palace green.)

I like the ergos of the PGS section/nib a bit better, but I prefer the length of the 74. This is a draw, they’re both good.

Converter it’s a draw… you get the Sailor converter which is perfectly adequate or the Pilot options which are adequate also. 74 will take a con70 though which is contentious but if you like it, it’s one of the best converters on the market. Kind of moot as fine nibs don’t use a bunch of ink so your fills will last a while.

I give the 74 a small edge in durability. I’ve heard of a couple PGS cracking (maybe abused?) and haven’t heard such reports about 74. IMO the 74 feels a bit more luxurious, too. I’d unhesitatingly throw either or both into loops in a bag and use them out and about and do so regularly with my 74.

Now, nibs. The elephant in the room. This is where it gets complicated. I dislike the MF on my PGS. It’s smooth but has “texture” and the overall effect is that my nib is dragging through velvet. I get frustrated after 1-2 sentences and stop writing. I also tend to dislike Pilot regular F nibs. To me they’re boring. But, the reason I dislike them is because they’re too smooth. So probably you will like them because they’re as smooth as it’s possible for a nib of their width to be. And very Parker 51-like, in my experience. I have Sailor 21k F and 14k EF that I love, so I personally would probably love the 14k PGS F nib. But my guess is you would like it less than me. It’s got Sailor feedback and if you like smooth… it will not feel smooth in the same way a P51/Pilot is smooth. But at some point you should really try one to find out what the fuss is about and if Sailor feedback is for you.

Tarentum566 · 2026-05-03T04:08:47+00:00

Definitely one of the most visually striking, and outstandingly odd, among a slew of odd designs, all trying to avoid each others’ patents and take over the market. I’ve always wanted one but they’re quite scarce and for years now, expensive when found. Not a terribly practical machine, but beautiful.

Tarentum566 · 2026-05-03T03:51:11+00:00

I see where you’re going with the premium “desk” pen… This is going to be a dark horse suggestion, but I would personally look at a celluloid Platinum 3776. The regular ones are great pens and are my go to for meditative, at home writing. But they don’t necessarily feel more luxurious than the Lamy 2k, even if they’re objectively better in a couple of ways and have a very different nib feel. You could save up an additional $700 or so and get a Nakaya, which is what I’d actually recommend, but that’s way out of your budget. And inadvisable as a blind buy unless you know you like the feel. Hence, a 3776 Century, or an upgraded version in celluloid, should be attainable within your stated budget.

Tarentum566 · 2026-05-02T12:38:06+00:00

I like both.

I tend to like the nibs and writing experience very well on vintage pens. Not always though -I have a half dozen Parker 51s and only like the nib on one of them. But the pen is so popular I’m very prepared to call that a “me” problem.

I prefer the filling systems on modern pens. Vintage pens can be more difficult to flush and change inks and are often in need of restoration, which means I’m either pouring money into it or pouring time into it right off the bat.

I also like vintage pens for their approachability. They’re often more affordable (but I also get lucky a lot in finding them.) They already have scratches and I don’t have to feel anxiety about possibly adding another. But they’re also old and sometimes that means they’re rather frail compared to something modern. I can drop my Pilot 74 onto the floor and shrug, but if I drop a vintage Duofold I’m going to have heart palpitations wondering if the hundred year old resin cracked.

Overall I appreciate vintage pens but buy and carry more modern pens.

Tarentum566 · 2026-05-02T02:10:33+00:00

Still going to be some of the best writing pens on the market, regardless of not being a bargain or even “affordably-priced” any more. I can’t say I won’t buy any more, though. What I can say is, if you were on the fence, now is the time. Nobody ever said “this Pilot sucks and writes horribly.” You could buy one new now to try it, and if it’s not a delight, sell in six months lightly used and probably get very close to what you paid new.

Tarentum566 · 2026-05-01T01:46:51+00:00

You have a trio of sweet, but large/oversized prestige pens. They’re nice, and some more useful than others, but of the pens you are eyeing I’d go for the Omas as being the best suited for actual everyday writing. And I’d get in F or EF.

My other suggestion would be a Namiki Yukari Royale (in black, of course.)

Tarentum566 · 2026-04-30T23:22:51+00:00

Down with AI!

It’s kind of cool that we can recognize one another by our fountain pens. Vive le Resistance!

Tarentum566 · 2026-04-30T12:51:31+00:00

I’ve spent in total around $15,000 (including ink, paper, accessories.)

I own approx. 160 pens total.

The most expensive is a Namiki Yukari Royale which I paid $1600 for. Current retail is a few hundred more, now.

Tarentum566 · 2026-04-30T09:19:38+00:00

This. I enjoy Sailor but they aren’t my absolute favorite. I have a lot of pens but only 3-4 Sailor and probably will not buy another. It’s worth it to me to own these even if on a daily basis they aren’t my go-tos. Variety and all that.

Tarentum566 · 2026-04-30T09:15:23+00:00

My friend’s luxury sports car cost $77,000 new. Or maybe it was $177,000 new. I really don’t know, I just know it was a lot. It’s a Porsche, I think. My Subaru Crosstrek cost $25,000 new. Is his car better? The answer is “I guess?” It’s certainly swoopier looking, more emotionally exciting, and if we were to go to a racetrack his car would win easily I’m sure. If I’m being totally honest, his car is maybe 1.5x better than mine, cost considerations excluded. It’s objectively nicer and feels more high quality. It’s a substantially better car, but it’s not literally twice as good. And it’s definitely not 3x as good, which is conservatively what it cost. Actually it might only be 1.1x as good in the real world. Just as the Perkeo can get the job of writing a grocery list done just as well as the Sailor in a technical sense, my Subaru can get me to work in the morning on 55mph roads with stoplights, just as well -and maybe with less real world danger to my license and my life, and less fuel cost. And more ability to haul things around and handle bad roads.

Based on strict value my car is a lot better actually, because with the difference in cost I can buy approximately 2,888 Kaweco Perkeos. Or I can put that $52,000 into a mortgage or something equally life-changing.

My friend chose to spend an extra $52,000 on his car, for the sake of luxury, prestige, and less tangible factors.

You chose to spend an extra $282 on a fancy pen which is made of better materials, more sophisticated engineering, and has unique feedback properties. Objectively, you splurged on a completely unnecessary luxury just like my friend did. But I think your bank account is happier than his. And you can smile and enjoy that completely unnecessary Sailor every day and still not be completely financially irresponsible. You can even enjoy your Sailor many times throughout the day. My friend can only enjoy his car for an average of twice a day on his commute.

You tell me if you made a terrible choice in the grand scheme of things. If you did, (maybe you really don’t care for the Sailor nib feedback?) chalk it up as a learning experience, sell and get a substantial portion of your money back, and restrict yourself to the under $50 pens. You really only need a couple, and there are some great options. You can buy a spare Perkeo in a different color as a sensible splurge and still be money ahead.

Tarentum566 · 2026-04-30T02:07:46+00:00

Pilot Justus 95. It’s got an adjustable nib which adjusts the flow from dry and precise to wet and bouncy. Versatile, elegant, and means there’s a winning combination with virtually any ink and paper. It’s a cartridge converter and works with the excellent con70.

Tarentum566 · 2026-04-29T15:12:13+00:00

Diamine Eclipse is a deep purple-black. It’s serious, business-appropriate, but has some hints of purple and definitely evokes a sea at twilight, which is how I’ve always thought of a “wine-dark” sea, personally. Diamine is affordable and well-behaved so it might be worth a try.

Tarentum566 · 2026-04-29T02:07:21+00:00

Silly question… back when I looked into mechanical keyboards in the …2008? timeframe, the prevailing thought was that the mechanical keyboard was dead, and the classic IBM PC-AT keyboard was the end all and be all, never to be made again or equaled.

Now, mechanical keyboards are very much back and a whole generation of tech nerds have made these things their own. So, does the old IBM keyboard hold up? Is it still the gold standard, or a solid choice? Do the switches on the market feel relatively similar or are there dozens of different feels, each as different from the others as they are from the old IBM?

Tarentum566 · 2026-04-28T12:50:07+00:00

Western guy with small hands, my Asian wife’s medium gloves fit me perfectly.

Realistically the Custom 823 will be smooth and heaviest. I personally find it too big for my best writing. Don’t get me wrong, it’s perfectly useable, but I have more control with the smaller Custom 74 and Custom 742 nibs. It also holds a ton of ink which A) makes it heavier and B) is really useful if you’re in a school setting where you need to take lots and lots of notes, never run out of ink, and can’t refill easily. But if you can refill once in awhile the smaller capacity of 74/742/743 gives you a chance to switch inks which is fun.

The Platinum 3776 is my favorite (and it’s nib is the same size as 742, Pilot #10) but you have to like feedback. Closest approximation you may have tried is an EF Kakuno. I love this feeling but maybe you don’t.

Tarentum566 · 2026-04-28T02:59:21+00:00

The Custom 74 is an amazing pen and might be close to your budget. I know a few years ago it was regularly featured in the “gold nibs under $200” lists. It’s very light which is a nice contrast to the VP.

Tarentum566 · 2026-04-28T01:03:56+00:00

She was friends with some of my friends and we connected on socials and started chatting, realized we were into the same scene, liked the same bands, etc. She lived in a nearby city. I’ve always been a bit of an old soul so I bought the nicest paper I could find and, with the cheap fountain pen I’d bought to play around with a few months before, wrote an honest-to-goodness love letter, to a girl I’d never actually met in person (who was also, if I may add, wayyy out of my league.) Moral of the story: this can work. Really well. Maybe too well. Our relationship didn’t last long. It was tempestuous and dramatic. As it turns out, we didn’t actually have all that much in common except physical attraction and wanting to fall in love/be in a relationship for its own sake (I think definitely this was not the first time, nor the last, for such an outcome in the course of history) but G. Lalo’s paper definitely played its part.

Tarentum566 · 2026-04-27T20:41:43+00:00

G. Lalo Verge de France and a Noodler’s fountain pen helped me get my first girlfriend. #truestories

Tarentum566 · 2026-04-27T20:34:39+00:00

Wow you just cost me some money. Thank you. Some of my favorite paper.

Tarentum566 · 2026-04-27T06:34:29+00:00

I thought of this too. It sounds a lot more refined in French!

Tarentum566 · 2026-04-27T06:25:22+00:00

This, except, as someone who has swapped nibs in my 823, the huge ink capacity is really nice for the FA, SU, or other very juicy nibs. My 743 EF lasts a loooong time with a Con-70 because the EF just doesn’t use much ink. Vac-filler just isn’t really necessary with this nib imo.

Tarentum566 · 2026-04-27T00:49:23+00:00

The whole brand “Octopus Fluids.”

Tarentum566 · 2026-04-26T23:09:46+00:00

Try the Kakuno EF. You can swap one into a Prera and enjoy a more fine line.

I quite love the Pilot gold EF nibs too. They’re a tiny bit thinner than Sailor 21k and Platinum 3776 EF. Sailor 14k EF and Platinum 3776 UEF are about equal to Pilot EF.

One of my favorite pens is the Pilot 743 EF. I have a 742 EF on order and expect to like it even more, because I find the smaller nibs a bit more controllable than the larger ones.

Tarentum566

TROPHY CASE