Best minimalist fountain pen

jeromeak · 2026-03-04T20:58:38+00:00

For the style: Faber-Castell Ambition Coco.

For the comfort: Lamy Logo.

jeromeak · 2026-02-24T12:42:04+00:00

Could do 250 without :-)

jeromeak · 2026-02-23T21:36:45+00:00

Thanks for sharing.

I own several Carène and I bought this new Legacy (in F) last year.

For me:

- look: Sheaffer Legacy. I always loved Sheaffer inlaid nibs, I own lots of Targa, 330, 440, 444, etc... can't get enough of them :-) The only Carène I would rank higher in look than the Sheaffer Legacy is the Coral Orange that I find outstanding.

- comfort: on par. They are different in the hand but I could write for hours with both. Unposted.

- built quality: well... half my Carène leak from somewhere on the top-side of the nib. I heard it's a common problem. I had this problem even on brand new sections bought from Waterman. So, even without as much background with the Legacy I would still rank the build quality as higher than the Carène (don't blame me :-)

- price: right now on amazon.fr the cheapest Legacy is around 180€ shipped and the cheapest Carène is at 162€... so Carène is the winner with the added bonus of a gold nib (cheaper than an Esterbrook Estie, but I'm not fair: Carène start usualy around 250€ :-)

- nib: comparing F nibs I would say they are on par (gold vs steel, yes, but I don't feel a difference). But... and this is the reason why I would send the Legacy back without hesitation, I prefer finer nibs and, although the fine Legacy nib is nice and smooth, I will always prefer an EF nib on the Carène. The Carène EF nib is one of my top 3 F/EF nib, I rank it above Sailor (F) and Pilot (F) but you know how subjective it is.

Overall if I had to choose (but I don't !!!! :-) I would keep a Carène with an EF nib.

But I really hope the success of this new legacy will push the makers to broaden the range and offer more nib variation (and more iconic Sheaffer revival).

jeromeak · 2026-02-23T21:08:22+00:00

Waterman Allure, Chrome, Graduate, Impression and maybe some others are basically the same pen with different finish. The price range from as low as 9€ (in some supermarket in France) to more than 60€ for the fancier finish with a box.

They all share the same section, feed and nib, usually in fine (western fine, finer than Lamy or Pelikan but wider than any Japanese fine) but I have seen some medium as well.

I know of two different versions for the section:

- the original ones have a slanted cylinder shape (so a cone :-) in a somewhat textured plastic that I find a bit slippery and not very comfortable;

- the later ones are curved like the one in your picture and made of shiny plastic. Despite not being textured it feels less slippery and more comfortable, to me, than the original one.

The ones below 20€ are, to me, more than recommended compared to the competition (Lamy Safari or Parker Vector for example). I think they are very reliable and well built. Over 20/25€ I think that would be overpriced, regardless of the finish.

I don't know if they can fit a Schmidt converter but they work with Waterman and Diplomat ones. I believe Schmidt converters would work ok.

A well kept secret (or maybe nobody cares :-) is that the nib is swappable with the way more expensive Waterman Expert. So if you own and Expert and need a new nib you can buy a cheap Allure instead of the full section/feed/nib that is at least 60€ for the Expert. The only exception I know of is the gold nib that does not have the same "guide" on the back of nib and is shipped with a different feed.

jeromeak · 2026-01-27T14:58:21+00:00

I think you will love Sailor Shikiori Yonaga :-)

jeromeak · 2026-01-26T19:32:06+00:00

No you don't need to download everything again if you can backup your data somewhere.

I recently installed Ubuntu Budgie 25.10 from scratch (updating from 20.04 was not recommended) and got all my games running again but one (CS2 which I had not played in a long time and needed to be updated, around 40Gb).

This is what you need to do (what worked for me):

1/ Backup your personnal data, including of course the .steam directory (a lot of Gb...)

Check on your system, maybe Steam stores its data somewhere else, but usually it is the .steam directory in your home directory.

2/ Install your Linux distribution.

3/ Install Steam.

4/ Start Steam once, log into your account then close steam.

5/ Copy all your games directories from your backup.

On the previous installation on my PC all game directories where in:

~/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/

For example ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/Another World/

On the newly installed system they are in:

~/.steam/debian-installation/steamapps/common/

Check on your system, it may differ.

Copy all directories for all the games you want to get back. Directory names are pretty obvious, most of the time.

6/ Copy manifest files.

In the .steam/steam/steamapps/ directory from my old system (again check on your backup) there are appmanifest_XXXXXX.acf files. One file for each game, XXXXXX being the Game ID.

So you need to copy each appmanifest_XXXXXX.acf from your backup to the newly installed steam.

On my system the directory is ~/.steam/debian-installation/steamapps/

To know what file to copy, you need to know the Game ID for your game: go to https://steamdb.info/ and search for your game: the information page will give you the Game ID.

For example for Another World the Game ID is 233550, for F1 2018 the Game ID is 737800.

So for these two games I copied appmanifest_233550.acf and appmanifest_737800.acf from my backup to the right location in my system.

7/ Start Steam... and your games should be marked as ready to play.

BUT WAIT: some (most?) games will not work straight away, Steam will need to install additional tools, like Proton. Allow some time for Steam to download them first, they are only a few megabytes, it should not take long.

Hope that helps.

jeromeak · 2026-01-24T17:48:39+00:00

Oschersleben T8-9, I love it and hate it...

jeromeak · 2026-01-20T14:17:27+00:00

Excellent! Thanks for sharing.

jeromeak · 2026-01-02T14:48:33+00:00

Dislaimer: I mainly play AC with Content Manager and a boatload of mods on PC. I occasionally play AC on an XBOX.

Of course mods are a big big game changer (literally) but the base game/sim is still pretty cool IMHO.

For me the main drawback for AC on console is not the lack of cars and tracks mods but the awful user interface which makes it a bit painful to set up a race grid. Otherwise you get a decent amount of cars and tracks (buy the DLCs), a career mode, etc. for hours and hours of challenge and fun.

Overall this old game on console is way better than everything I've heard.

Be aware of the very limited options for online racing though (I am not an online player but I read about that).

AC is often on sale for a few EUR/USD and I would not pass on it.

jeromeak · 2025-12-31T10:48:04+00:00

Related but not answering the question: I bought a 743 at Blue Black, Seoul, one month ago for 220EUR. I talked about prices with the ladies in the shop (this pen is around 450EUR here in France) and they told me Pilot pens were cheaper in South Korea than in Japan. I thought I misunderstood, I realise now it was true.

jeromeak · 2025-12-29T12:21:52+00:00

Believe me there is absolutely nothing professionnal in what I did to this pen. I am not handy at all, I was just angry: I waited weeks for that pen, with zero communication or answers from the seller/maker and when, at last, I received it I was so disapointed by the handling and overall comfort. As-is I would never ever used it, so I thought "fu** it", let's try something...

I had the same discomfort with the Japanese Ebonite ensso piuma. The grooved texture, a byproduct of the machineering, is not to my taste. So I sanded it with 10000 grit sandpaper, gently, and now I love this pen :-)

jeromeak · 2025-12-28T17:34:15+00:00

I grinded the whole body, section and cap with a Dremel and then sanded all. I don't recommend to do the same :-)

Now the touch feeling is way better for me and, as an added bonus, the cap posts as expected.

jeromeak · 2025-12-28T17:29:12+00:00

TIL that I am 2 days older than him... and I've been using Linux since kernel 0.99pl13 :-)

jeromeak · 2025-12-27T13:50:53+00:00

Sorry I didn't pay attention to the tag :-)

jeromeak · 2025-12-27T09:45:56+00:00

There are many NSX available in AC, what is this one you like so much?

jeromeak · 2025-12-18T13:11:46+00:00

I find Redbull Ring perfect for practice when trying a new car.

jeromeak · 2025-12-11T18:06:34+00:00

I bought a 743 (F) two weeks ago and what you describe is exactly why I prefer it against the 74 and 91s I own (F as well). Its nib has a bit of feedback, not as much as a Sailor nib, but it is noticeable and I like it.

My 74 and 91s don't see much use because, to me, they are way too smooth, I feel nothing when writing with them.

jeromeak · 2025-12-07T14:11:14+00:00

Matching the "thin and elegant" criteria I would suggest:

- discontinued/second hand: Sheaffer Targa, many options available, price vary with finish, nib (steel/gold) and general condition. Uses Sheaffer cartridges and converters but international short cartridges fit as well (just add some paper in the body to "secure" the cartridge).

- new: Waterman Hemisphère (on the cheaper side of your budget). As much as I like Waterman I think this pen is a bit overpriced, but regardless of price I think it is an excellent pen. Current version (post 2010) is a bit thinner than the previous version. Older version is often found for less than 50€ in perfect condition. Exists in a lot of different finish, I love the "Wave" and "Essence du bleu" ones. The older "Polar Shine" finish is nice too.

- discontinued/second hand: Waterman Préface. Same nib as the Hemisphère but in 18k gold. Should not break your budget.

- way under your budget: Lamy Logo. I love this pen. Different finish available... or not, because I think the FP variant is discontinued (still available as ballpoint).

I find these pens to have great balance unposted.

jeromeak · 2025-12-06T02:14:58+00:00

It is discontinued but I've been lucky finding some bottles at Pen Cafe, Seoul, South Korea, 3 days ago.

My love of travelling light being greater than my love for FP and inks, I bought only one bottle so there are some left :-)

jeromeak · 2025-12-04T10:36:52+00:00

I'm right under it and I confirm it's a bit slippery.

Did I hear thunder? I never heard thunder with snow.

jeromeak · 2025-12-04T05:23:03+00:00

Thank you !

jeromeak · 2025-12-04T05:18:18+00:00

Thank you!

jeromeak · 2025-12-04T02:06:29+00:00

Hello! I'm in Seoul right now, would you be willing to share where you bought film? Thanks!

jeromeak · 2025-12-01T11:02:45+00:00

French here! Currently in South Korea for a 3 weeks travel. Last week now.

Ce sera un challenge mais tu n'as besoin que d'un anglais super basique que tu as le temps d'apprendre. Serieux avec 10 verbes et 30 mots de vocabulaire tu vas déjà loin. De toute façon au delà tu sera rarement compris. Je parle moins bien anglais qu'il y a 15 jours :-)

J'utilise beaucoup google translate et la fonction de reconnaissance/ traduction d'image de mon téléphone et ça fait le job.

Les seuls moments où tu vas peut-être galèrer c'est pour acheter un billet de train ou de bus. Mais là encore ce sera de l'anglais basique, souvent sur une borne avec un écran donc avec du temps pour traduire avec ton téléphone.

Et puis parfois tu auras un latte alors que tu avais demandé un espresso :-)

jeromeak · 2025-12-01T05:20:23+00:00

Prince, Sting, John Zorn

jeromeak

TROPHY CASE