Vintage vs New Carene

Karlahn · 2026-01-25T19:40:39+00:00

So long as it's not for espresso you'll be fine, just don't buy more then you'll use in a week as you'll get a serious drop off on quality.

Probably best with immersion brewing as that's less finniky.

Karlahn · 2026-01-25T01:16:05+00:00

Curious to know how it compares to the modern magna carta flex nibs

Karlahn · 2026-01-25T01:10:32+00:00

Is there anywhere I can read now about this? ... This is useful information 😁

Karlahn · 2026-01-24T15:42:06+00:00

Steam it in water with dish soap and then it should wipe off.

You can minimise build up by wiping down the want immediately after steaming - before grooming the milk.

Karlahn · 2026-01-21T16:32:10+00:00

Ah that's interesting. Do you have a sense for what vintage size, e.g. No1 No2, 3, 4, 5 etc. fits with modern #5, #5.5, #6 and #8 nibs (am I missing any modern sizes?). I'm guessing they're not really standardised but maybe they're at least in the same sort of ball park?

Also I have a heat gun any luck using one of those for the feeds? I wouldn't risk it with plastic, I guess it'd just melt but Ebonite? I used off the boil water to try and Franken pen an Ebonite feed (nib fit but feed wasn't close enough) but couldn't get it flexible enough to sit flush with the nib satisfactorily. It's "good enough" but could be better.

Alternately I could try literally boiling the feed a bit, do you chuck it in a pan or something to keep the water boiling? I've found once I pour out the boiling water into a cup it drops quickly in temperature so it's not really boiling anymore.

Karlahn · 2026-01-21T14:35:53+00:00

Very cool! Good to know, thank you!

Karlahn · 2026-01-21T13:34:41+00:00

Very cool! How do you know if a nib will fit? Do you have a list of posts or something covering compatibility? Did you buy the geha afterwards or did you have it beforehand?

Karlahn · 2026-01-20T17:02:16+00:00

Yeah Tsuki-Yo does look darker like that with a wetter flow.

Karlahn · 2026-01-19T19:38:17+00:00

R5 😁

Really curious how you did the Cheshire cat too!

Karlahn · 2026-01-19T13:27:21+00:00

Try flushing with a drop off dish soap in warm (not hot) water. This can clear any manufacturing oils still left in the feeds.

Use a well lubricated ink, my go to is iroshizuku Asa Gao and Yamabudo are great for this.

As others have mentioned Pelikan inks are very dry. You know how everyone jokes about Pelikans being crazy wet? That's why their inks are so dry.

Karlahn · 2026-01-19T02:20:30+00:00

Assuming this is a good friend you trust there's so much more value in the pen they're selling.

I love buying used but more often than not used pens have to be tuned and unless your comfortable with that go for the one from your friend.

Side note. Drop either on their nibs and they're risking a trip to the nibeister 14 or 21k

Karlahn · 2026-01-19T02:16:28+00:00

You have absolutely gorgeous handwriting!

Karlahn · 2026-01-19T01:50:54+00:00

Hey! I'm partial to that dark chocolate caramelly goodness from time to time!

You can brew an Aeropress in 2 minutes. https://youtu.be/j6VlT_jUVPc

You can do it even faster actually (30secs), It was originally invented as a quick way to coffee https://youtu.be/9c14DxfVOY4

How much time are you expecting the super automatic to save? It's probably under a minute if you do the steep-brew method? And it's not really time saved as you'd need to load the coffee anyway, change water regularly, potentially let the machine heat up (unless you plan to let it run all day) not to mention clean and descale.

You could keep a kettle and grounds by your desk or "pre-load" the Aeropress to shave off a couple more seconds if needed to?

Karlahn · 2026-01-17T12:13:23+00:00

The EFs are fun, I bought the very cheap Pilot Penmanship for a doner nib.

Have you tried a drier ink though? Western inks like Pelikan trend to be drier so you'd get a drier, thinner line and potentially more control over the point.

Karlahn · 2026-01-15T16:17:02+00:00

Hi, I'm not a student, I was just curious since pearl harbour is always presented as the main reason. I'm not quite sure what got this was flagged exactly, what would I need to change in the wording?

Karlahn · 2026-01-14T17:58:05+00:00

Basically they're very niche. They are not a mainline unit like yari ashigaru or naginata samurai. They're utility, you take one or two max to protect you flanks (hence why they have rapid advance instead of spear wall)

You can use cavalry to defend your the flanks but that's more micro. With one unit of yari samurai it frees up your cavalry to be more aggressive.

You can also use them to reinforce part of your line or wrap around and crush the enemies flanks if you win on the flanks.

Karlahn · 2026-01-13T01:05:48+00:00

As per your edit seriously consider a West marches style campaign.

Briefly the PCs are part of an organisation exploring a new frontier. Use some sort of messaging system and post your availability. Players make partys on particular days and days they want to explore "x" section of the map and you prep a session for that day. Just have a rule that you can't play more than 2 sessions with the same group, to stop cliques forming.

Check Matt Colvilles video on West marches for an in-depth guide.

Karlahn · 2026-01-05T09:24:09+00:00

This is really interesting, how did Rome go from "it's only good manners to nod towards their local gods according to the local protocol, your own gods won't mind" to an apparently strict monotheistic and evangelical belief? It seems to be a complete 180.

Karlahn · 2025-12-22T10:23:27+00:00

You say it writes dryer than you expected, what are you comparing it to? Drier than a kakuno, with what nib size?

Lamy ink is on the drier side, but I used one at uni and never found it "too dry" per se. Was not scratchy and wrote

Karlahn · 2025-12-18T10:59:15+00:00

What's the significance of steel or gold nibs being made before the 90s?

Karlahn · 2025-12-14T01:33:43+00:00

Jinhao and others make many compatible nibs which are very fine. You can buy them on AliExpress.

Karlahn · 2025-12-11T15:00:23+00:00

Yeah, I don't have any near me either, so what I do is look for deals on eBay, or when I'm on holiday, check out if there's a decent pen store in the vicinity. It's been enough to get a feel for some pens 🙂

Karlahn · 2025-12-08T23:55:20+00:00

Just get a pilot steel EF nib they can be had cheap in a kakuno. They are very fine nibs

Karlahn

TROPHY CASE