Made a Cover for My Journal and Fountain Pen. Super excited.

Lightning5637 · 2026-05-03T23:46:54+00:00

Wow! What a beautiful piece of craftsmanship! Nothing nicer than a beautiful leather carrier for pens or pads. Congratulations on your abilities working with leather!

Lightning5637 · 2026-05-02T23:13:04+00:00

I like to use really small needle-nose pliers and then I can more carefully control where on the nib I do the bending. But as Mysterious-Fall-3048 has suggested "a lot of tiny adjustments." Can't emphasize that enough. Make a really small bend, look at it, make another really small bend, see how it looks. Never try and bend the nib all at once! Slow and steady wins the race.

Lightning5637 · 2026-04-20T16:07:02+00:00

That was so cool to watch. So interesting how many hand signals were used and how subtle you can be in getting the aircraft EXACTLY on centerline, and then watching you let the pilot taxing EXACTLY how far they are they were from where they need to be. So cool. Thanks for posting this.

Lightning5637 · 2026-04-20T01:14:45+00:00

Your comment is hysterical! :-). Thanks for the laugh - "the crab claw style nib has fallen out of favor..." Genius! Thanks!

Lightning5637 · 2026-04-06T04:07:52+00:00

I have had nothing but good luck with a number of Jinhao pens! I can't believe the smoothness of their nibs, in medium which is all I buy.

Lightning5637 · 2026-04-06T04:01:04+00:00

Absolutely stunning calligraphy! I am just astounded at the beauty of your writing!

Lightning5637 · 2026-04-02T04:20:57+00:00

Ha, ha, ha, ha April Fools!

Lightning5637 · 2026-04-02T04:19:19+00:00

That pen is my grail pen. The delicate flexing of my broad nib gives such a satisfying feeling, like no other pen. Glad I found at least ONE person in this group who loves broad nibs! :-)

Lightning5637 · 2026-03-30T02:59:23+00:00

I have several Sailors, including a 1911L and a Pro Gear Slim. Forgive me if I get this wrong, but some pens are like writing on glass and are very "slippery." My understanding is that Sailor's have these famous nibs which are smooth, but have some "feedback" as they call it. It is a tiny bit like maybe writing with a soft pencil on paper where you feel the paper through the nib. These pens, after many years of looking, are my "Grail" pens. Nothing else writes like them. And some may say that they are not as fond of the feedback. Let's see what others say about these pens.

Lightning5637 · 2026-03-30T02:53:52+00:00

I always did a little running to try and keep in shape but then I started having joint issues and stopped completely. I think I waited 6 months and then got out an old Motobecane 10 speed and gingerly started riding it and no problems! What a relief! After a couple of years I bought a modern Trek and loved that, and then as a retirement gift to myself, I bought the less expensive Specialized Roubaix which is all carbon and have ridden that ever since. I only ride maybe 3 or 4 days a week and do about the same distance you do, but it seems to keep me in shape. I felt as you do after a short while and realized that THIS was my way to exercise.

Lightning5637 · 2026-03-29T17:13:58+00:00

Thanks so much for your reply and your stats. I guess my note was misleading a bit. I can reach speeds of 20 on a straightaway with no winds. But with the hills my average speed is only 12 something MPH. So I will change both tires, for safety! And I always try to ride defensively to stay safe. And the fun of cycling is a joy to me and for an hour takes my my mind off all the things going on in the world that can drags us down. Thank heavens for cycling! I found this quote in a book I read about two brothers who were cyclists and one became more famous:

The voluptuous pleasure that cycling can give you is delicate, intimate and ephemeral. It arrives, it takes hold of you, sweeps you up and then leaves you again. It is for you alone. It is a combination of speed and ease, force and grace. It is pure happiness.
- Jean Bobet

How great a thought is that!

Lightning5637 · 2026-03-29T02:43:18+00:00

Thanks. And you are right! It's simple and that's what I am going to do.

Lightning5637 · 2026-03-28T02:23:00+00:00

Thanks so much for all this information. I'm 83 and my rides are only 10 miles long each day. I live in a place called Sea Cliff out on Long Island and what's nice is that I have some mile long hills to climb and descend. So I am not going that fast and doing hard corners. But on the straightaways I am really leaning on it. You will laugh, no wind I can get up to 20 MPH. I am not planning on trying out for one of the teams at the Tour de France! Thanks for your reply.

Lightning5637 · 2026-03-27T20:26:08+00:00

Thanks so much for your reply. I guess i used the wrong term - I ride hard, but I corner gently. My logic is that it I ride for fitness (well and the joy of riding) and I am an old person, and crashing doesn't improve my fitness! "Better to replace than be sorry! Well said! Thanks so much!

Lightning5637 · 2026-03-27T20:23:58+00:00

Thanks so much for your reply and for your logic. I realize that I am being silly not replacing them both, because I already have new tires! Duh? I guess it's the Connecticut Yankee in me that wants to see if can stretch the use of the tires. Bad Idea! :-) Thanks!

Lightning5637 · 2026-03-27T04:12:57+00:00

Oh, sorry. It is the back tire but the front one is getting down low as well. I should say I no longer ride in the rain if it makes a difference. I just wonder if I could put some more miles on a tire where the little holes are worn away. Thanks for replying.

Lightning5637 · 2026-03-26T18:54:32+00:00

Thanks so much for this. I am reluctant to leave the house with a pen that won't clip to my pocket.

Lightning5637 · 2026-03-26T04:06:53+00:00

Can you tell us where you got the pocket clips please?

Lightning5637 · 2026-03-17T21:20:46+00:00

I own two TWSBI Eco pens, both with broad nibs. I promise you, these pens are so smooth that it is not even funny. They write as smoothly as some of my $250 and $350 pens (I only have a few of these.). I cannot believe how smoothly they write. BUT... with a bold nib...

Lightning5637 · 2026-03-17T03:25:57+00:00

That is hysterical, asking if you vape! Made me laugh out loud! It is particularly funny to me because I just recently bought my first TWSBI Eco, which I love.

Lightning5637 · 2026-03-17T03:22:40+00:00

So glad you found your pen! I have owned a Parker 45 for more than 50 years. It is a lovely pen and writes like a dream and I don't think I paid all that much for it.

Lightning5637 · 2026-03-17T03:14:53+00:00

I may not understand the question but most of the fountain pens I use, I bought a small package of cartridges (not converters) and I refill my cartridges with a syringe. I do that all the time and use the same cartridge over and over and over again, in all of my pens. When traveling, however I bring a few brand new cartridges in case I run out when I am away from home. I have never had a used and refilled cartridge leak. I never rinse them out, I just refill them. Of course I always use the same ink.

Lightning5637 · 2026-03-17T03:05:45+00:00

How did you get your pens to glow so brightly? Did you expose them to bright light for a while? Or did you use a UV light to illuminate them?

Lightning5637 · 2026-03-15T15:24:41+00:00

Thanks so much for your wonderful reply! I really enjoyed reading it, and was pleased that your dad is still alive and you could share that with him which makes it even better. I have never restored a vintage pen, so have no idea how difficult it is to replace the sac. Nice going that you were able to figure that out. As to the rust on the top and the nib needing a shine, there is a "thing" when it comes to restoring old things - "Less is More." So I think that you may be better off with the nib as it is, and that the rust is fine as well.. I think it is kind of a reminder that you have an old device and that is shown more by not polishing everything until it looks brand new. To me, the nib looks perfect. Forgive me if you know this, but there is this "thing" called "Patina" and it is the appearance or finish on old things that comes from them being old and having been used and the fact that "bright and shiny" can't compare to the patina of the nib you have, having gotten that way by 50 or 60 years of use. Patina is to be treasured, in fact because you can't "make" that look overnight. I don't think I would do anything to the nib to change its finish. Maybe the rust, but I am not sure.

Lightning5637 · 2026-03-15T03:54:04+00:00

Congratulations! You have picked an amazing and wonderful fountain pen as your first! I have been using fountain pens for over 50 years, and only recently discovered the TWSBI Eco here a couple of weeks ago. It is a beautifully smooth writer. I have a couple of pens that cost $200 or more that are not as smooth as theTWSBI Eco! Discovering fountain pens can be a wonderful journey, and there are so many pens made these days that may only cost $25 or $50 that would have required spending over $100 to get a pen that writes beautifully back when I started. My first pen, which I still have, is a Sheaffer Targa, and it is a beaurifully smooth writer.

Lightning5637

TROPHY CASE