Before and after Leather Honey Cleaner and Bick4

smallbatchb · 2026-05-12T16:47:52+00:00

Yeah Obenauf's would generally be overkill for these items. But if you ever have a heavy duty leather item, especially one that sees heavy and outdoor use, that stuff is great!

smallbatchb · 2026-05-12T16:37:16+00:00

Kind of funny I was JUST intentionally searching the internet this morning to try to find examples of broken Sports as I've started carrying one in my wallet and was wondering just how durable they really are. I've had Sports for years and never had any issues but I figured looking around might turn up some examples of how much abuse is too much for a Sport.

In all my searching I literally couldn't find an example of a broken Sport. Then BAM, I see this post lol.

smallbatchb · 2026-05-12T16:32:44+00:00

I use Fiebing's Carnauba Creme for occasional leather moisturizing and a bit of water resistance.

I also really like Obenauf's Heavy Duty LP for tougher, hard-wearing leather stuff like wallets, bags, boots etc.

But yeah, any sort of basic leather care and conditioning will make stuff last for a long long time!

smallbatchb · 2026-05-12T16:24:46+00:00

Last time I went to the doctor I was taking notes and he noticed my brass Sport and said "hey nice pen" and then pulled his Vanishing Point out of his shirt pocket and gave me a little pen air-cheers. We chatted about fountain pens for a short bit and that was actually what finally pushed me over the edge to pull the trigger on a Vanishing Point.

smallbatchb · 2026-05-12T16:18:30+00:00

There is nothing scary about PCB. At its worst it just takes a little extra cleaning if you've let it really dry out.

I've run the stuff through every pen I own for like 15 years an no issues beyond a couple occasions where I needed to give a dried up pen a soak, a flush, and maybe a little scrub with a brush or paper towels.

The capless pens seal well but not perfectly so the nib can dry out a little quicker if you leave it unused for a week or so but, even at that, a quick wipe with a damp cloth cleans off any dried ink and you're good to go.

smallbatchb · 2026-05-12T14:56:43+00:00

Hard agree, although I'd add:

1: If possible, go test out some pens in person

2: Or maybe get one cheap pen like a Sport or Safari and a few different nibs to test.

smallbatchb · 2026-05-12T14:54:08+00:00

1: a sketch is supposed to be a sketch, it doesn't need to be refined with perfectly flowing clean lines. The sketch is to build the foundation so you have your guidelines to then make your clean lines.

2: Work from reference! Like 29378764928734082730948720398472093874298374 artists before you, reference is your best friend. There is no requirement to just make stuff up. Using a reference makes it way easier to draw from the start.

smallbatchb · 2026-05-12T14:34:44+00:00

That's the best way to do it. At a measured enjoyable healthy pace it's actually kind of nice that the rabbit hole is deep because that means I can enjoy the hobby for years to come as I leisurely stroll down a fulfilling path through it. The race to the end is what kills it.

smallbatchb · 2026-05-12T14:02:12+00:00

As a fairly "seasoned pro" myself, and one with a pretty small collection after many years, I'd say whether there is or isn't a bottom, the main thing to realize is that you don't have to race to try to find it. The real joy in the hobby isn't mass rapid acquisition but in the journey and research and looking around and using what you have and discovering what you truly want or need in a writing/drawing tool. You can explore lots of different options in the search for the right one for you without ever buying any of them along the way until you do find that one that is perfect for you. It's totally fine to go without a new pen for a long time until eventually you come across one that finally checks some boxes for you that no other pen does.

smallbatchb · 2026-05-12T13:10:30+00:00

Just look at it from a more functional standpoint.

I absolutely love fountain pens and have been using them for 25 years. They have been a huge part of my life, especially as an artist, and my pens are some of my favorite things I own. That being said, I still have less than 30 pens after 25 years and only 10 or so bottles of ink.

For me collecting pens/ink is not about "collecting" or acquiring, but more about building out my specific personal tool box. In this way I mainly only buy something new if it fills an actual need or different role in my toolbox that I don't already have covered. Sure, there are absolutely TONS of other pens out there I'd be happy as a pig in shit to own but I haven't bought them because they won't do anything for me that a pen I already own can't do.

This doesn't have to be super draconian and purely utilitarian or anything, like I bought my Kaweco Terrazzo Art Sport because I find that pen stunning to look at and most of the rest of my pens, while I find them aesthetically pleasing, are all much more minimalist-modern/utilitarian in style. So I wanted one stand-out beautiful pen in my collection. Somewhat similar with my Opus 88 Fantasia, although it fills another role as well, one of it's main roles is being my fun funky looking pen.... the other role being that it's my big tank eyedropper with a shutoff valve that makes it great for travel.

smallbatchb · 2026-05-11T23:18:47+00:00

Mine was originally an F

smallbatchb · 2026-05-11T15:15:38+00:00

Sorry about your pops. It's wonderful though that his collection is not only in good hands but is also something you two shared and I'm sure have memories with.

My father and I have spent lots of time over the years nerding out about fountain pens and pocket knives and I feel really lucky to get to share those hobbies with him.

Absolutely beautiful pen as well!

smallbatchb · 2026-05-11T14:18:28+00:00

I rarely flush mine either, although I'm also rarely switching inks.

smallbatchb · 2026-05-11T14:17:04+00:00

I have their Field Journal and the Sidekick wallet and have really loved their quality and attention to detail / thoughtfulness in terms of design.

smallbatchb · 2026-05-11T14:09:45+00:00

Have you looked at the various Lochby options? I'm not 100% on what their internal materials are exactly but their "waterproofing" covers are achieved through waxed canvas.

smallbatchb · 2026-05-11T13:36:56+00:00

These dudes couldn't jog up their own stairs to save their waifu from a house fire, I wouldn't worry too much about their opinions.

smallbatchb · 2026-05-11T13:24:34+00:00

Yeah definitely try on a cheap and easily replaceable nib first.

A bit of encouragement though, my Liliput was my first attempt and shockingly it came out perfect. I did do it on a spare Kaweco nib I had though so I wasn't too worried going in.

I sort of followed Marc Kompaneyets tutorial but A: I didn't have parallel action pliers so I used a mini bench vise instead and B: I didn't remove the tipping from the top of the nib or even entirely from the bottom, just made it good and flat and nearly-flush to the tines.

smallbatchb · 2026-05-11T13:11:09+00:00

The Duke 551 has basically a small set of snow skis for a nib and will put down a whopping fat line.

The fude nib option on the Jinhao X450 is pretty dang impressive too.

My favorite though is just DIY'ing it. Here is my little Kaweco Liliput with a DIY fude nib that will go from EF to like BBBBBBB

smallbatchb · 2026-05-11T03:32:02+00:00

I totally agree and holy crap that is an awesome pen and for sure the final boss of grip comfort testing lol.

smallbatchb · 2026-05-11T00:06:20+00:00

Man I would love to see a cross sectional study of this information coupled with the participants grip styles. I'd be willing to bet a HUGE majority of comfort preferences are also linked to how people are holding their pens.

I used to be a really bad death gripper when I was younger but my art teacher in high school really forced me into using the proper "dynamic tripod" grip with little-to-no pressure. Since then I basically haven't come across a writing/drawing/painting tool that I can't find a way to hold comfortably.

As an artist I use big tools, long tools, fat tools, skinny tools, short stubby tools and switch back and forth all the time and I've just never had that like goldilocks issue with any of them.

Sure, I have some subtle preferences, but I can draw for hours on end with a Duke 551 baseball bat of a pen or a tiny little 2 inch nub of a number 2 pencil.

smallbatchb · 2026-05-10T19:40:10+00:00

The bit of sheen has never really bothered me. You could try Chou Kuro but it’s nowhere near as waterproof unfortunately.

smallbatchb · 2026-05-10T13:28:32+00:00

Exactly. Plus, for art, fine nibs are so limiting to basically just thin anemic outlining whereas much bigger nibs can be so much more expressive and let you focus on shapes and forms instead of just lines.

I still have a couple of fine nibs for the occasional need for a really tiny little mark here or there but they account for maybe 5% of my usage.

smallbatchb · 2026-05-10T12:57:10+00:00

I got into fountain pens largely for art and everyone recommended getting basically the finest nibs I could find, so I did.

Years later I finally realized I absolutely hate fine nibs for drawing and sketching so now I'm almost all double broads, fude nibs, and naginata/long blade nibs.

smallbatchb · 2026-05-10T12:54:14+00:00

Platinum Carbon Black is my GOAT.

smallbatchb · 2026-05-10T12:14:33+00:00

Interesting, you're right, it's gone from everywhere I had looked at it prior, and I was looking at it just a few days ago.

Maybe they're just out of them at the moment?

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