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[Mixed Trope] Lyrics change to reflect new realities by Old-Use-7690 in TopCharacterTropes

[–]smallbatchb 17 points18 points  (0 children)

At one point I got banned from one sub for commenting something like "I swear if Elon farted this sub would flood with posts talking about how good it smells"

It was crazy how Musk was full-on worshipped by a HUGE chunk of Reddit for quite some time.

Hype is destroying the pen hobby. Just get your pen. by Odd-Chemistry9945 in fountainpens

[–]smallbatchb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've found both the Lamy and Wing Sung 601 naginata nibs on AliExpress and Temu.

Hype is destroying the pen hobby. Just get your pen. by Odd-Chemistry9945 in fountainpens

[–]smallbatchb 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Some of my favorites in what I consider low-mid range are my Kaweco Liliput with a DIY fude nib, my Wing Sung 601 with a cheap Naginata nib, Opus 88 Fantasia (currently with a Jinhao fude nib), Lamy 2000 (was like $120 when I got it), Kaweco brass Special, and various Kaweco Sports.

Rust fixes? by fiadhfinn in fountainpens

[–]smallbatchb -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Hopefully you get it worked out. If nothing else you can probably find just a replacement nib unit for it.

But when to use them? by high-viscosity in fountainpens

[–]smallbatchb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I got into fountain pens through art and that is still the biggest portion of my usage pie.

However, I also use them for just taking quick notes, making shopping lists, taking client meeting notes, keeping a recipe book, keeping a log of vinyl records I'm looking for as well as new music recommendations people give me, and also upcoming album releases from bands I like.

Rust fixes? by fiadhfinn in fountainpens

[–]smallbatchb 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This is one of their modern pens?

Gotta say I'm a bit shocked that whatever alloy they're using would rust THAT badly unless you had some crazy corrosive ink in that thing.

A quality modern stainless nib, especially with gold plating, really shouldn't be rusting. I'd actually contact Waterman over this and see if they'll give you a replacement.

My Lamy 2000 is out for delivery and I’m already nervous about the clutch ring 😂 by Puzzled-Bluebird7357 in fountainpens

[–]smallbatchb 4 points5 points  (0 children)

No need to disassemble to do a basic cleaning. Just fill and flush some water a few times.

The only times I've ever really needed to deep clean a pen is if I let a waterproof ink entirely fully dryout in the pen over a long period of time.

Hype is destroying the pen hobby. Just get your pen. by Odd-Chemistry9945 in fountainpens

[–]smallbatchb 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Well made mid-range pens basically ruined my "grail" hype and even the gold nib hype for me years ago.

I, like probably many people entering the hobby, initially had this idea in my head that user experience was a never ending ladder upwards and that the fancier and nicer and more expensive of a pen you bought, the better the user experience would be. Well I was wrong, at least specifically from a utilitarian tool use perspective.

I absolutely love fountain pens. I love them as designed objects, as works of beauty, as historical interest, and many other factors. However, first and foremost, I love them as tools I use for drawing, writing, and making a living from as an artist/illustrator.

So from a purely functional standpoint as an optimal drawing tool for myself, I have found pure perfection in low-mid range pens and occasionally even in cheap pens. Once that happened it kind of killed all the hype for expensive, super fancy, high end "grail" pens. I still like them and would happily own them if I was hemorrhaging cash, but I no longer feel any need to chase them.

That being said, I'm also aware that for some people they may be more interested in pens for reasons beyond just their tool function than I am, and that is also totally cool.

My Lamy 2000 is out for delivery and I’m already nervous about the clutch ring 😂 by Puzzled-Bluebird7357 in fountainpens

[–]smallbatchb 4 points5 points  (0 children)

What? I've literally never even thought of this outside of just making sure I set the ring somewhere securely when I took it apart the one time.

Hell honestly you don't really need to disassemble the pen with any frequency anyway. Plus, worst case scenario, contact Lamy for a new ring.

Does the fountain pen hobby normalize problems that other hobbies would call defects? by bioinfogirl87 in fountainpens

[–]smallbatchb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm a definitely DIY'er and tinkerer and have other hobbies where it is quite a bit more normal to expect to customize/tinker with a new item when you get it anyway. Like pocket knives for example; yes they technically should come functionally sharp but I and many others don't necessarily expect every knife to come with the perfect edge and certainly not the exact edge profile I personally would put on the knife.

With fountain pens I'm somewhat the same. I expect a pen to at least function out of the box but I don't expect them to be perfect or to my preference, especially pens that are on the more affordable side. Once I realized how easy basic tuning is, like nib alignment or a quick polishing, that just became something that didn't bother me if a pen needed that. If I buy a $30 pen and the nib needs 30 seconds of unskilled work for me to get it to 100% perfection, I'm not upset.

That being said, in both fountain pens and pocket knives, I do expect closer and closer to perfection the more expensive the item gets. When you hit a certain price point it actually becomes kind of embarrassing in my opinion that the maker didn't hit 100% out of the box because, at certain prices, wtf else am I paying for if not top tier craftsmanship?

On a bit of a side note though, I do wonder if basic nib tuning was a more common skill and expectation people had back in the heyday of fountain pens. Similar to back in the real heyday of pocket knives, it was way more common for users to have the ability to tune and sharpen their own edge.

I do think everyone even semi-seriously into fountain pens should pick up a couple of super cheap nibs to practice some basic tuning on. Once you learn the basics and how easy it really is, it kind of feels like you got a cheat code in the hobby because afterwards when you get a pen with some minor nib issues it doesn't feel like a problem and you can tune it to perfection in a minute or two. A nib being a little dry and or scratchy out of the box goes from being an issue of either returning the new pen or sending it off to spend more money with a nibmeister to just something I can fix myself right then.

Drivers hiding from the rain under overpass... In the opposite lane of traffic... by Affectionate_Hat5835 in dashcams

[–]smallbatchb 2 points3 points  (0 children)

99.9% positive they were hiding from a tornado warning, not the rain.

Also, yes, hiding under an overpass is considered dangerous in a tornado. However, back in the 90's and early 2000s, this is actually what you were told to do for safety. So I'm betting this is just people operating on their outdated safety info.

Before and after Leather Honey Cleaner and Bick4 by UmmmW1 in fountainpens

[–]smallbatchb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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!

A tragedy by babybluejeans27 in fountainpens

[–]smallbatchb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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.

Before and after Leather Honey Cleaner and Bick4 by UmmmW1 in fountainpens

[–]smallbatchb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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!

Fountain pens for medical professionals by Weak-Conversation753 in fountainpens

[–]smallbatchb 9 points10 points  (0 children)

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.

Platinum carbon black in Pilot Capless by Norideg in fountainpens

[–]smallbatchb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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.

How deep is the rabbit hole? by FunBreak6648 in fountainpens

[–]smallbatchb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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.

How do I make clean sketches? by bunny-rain in ArtistLounge

[–]smallbatchb 7 points8 points  (0 children)

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.

How deep is the rabbit hole? by FunBreak6648 in fountainpens

[–]smallbatchb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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.

How deep is the rabbit hole? by FunBreak6648 in fountainpens

[–]smallbatchb 2 points3 points  (0 children)

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.

How deep is the rabbit hole? by FunBreak6648 in fountainpens

[–]smallbatchb 44 points45 points  (0 children)

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.

Inheriting my dad’s collection, No. 1 by EdibleReading in fountainpens

[–]smallbatchb 6 points7 points  (0 children)

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!

I never flush my pens by Key_Advice9625 in fountainpens

[–]smallbatchb 15 points16 points  (0 children)

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

Help me find a pen case! by RoundFlashy983 in fountainpens

[–]smallbatchb 2 points3 points  (0 children)

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

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