Off Topic Knives and fountain pens

The Zieg said:
An unknown (to me) Chinese company produced this "tactical" fountain pen, which I purchased a while back to replace my missing Shrade "tactical" fountain pen. Like its predecessor, this one has an aluminum barrel, screw off cap, a nib that writes and feeds flawlessly in all temperatures, a good adapter for bottled ink, and runs well on all brands of ink. It never leaks and features a nifty Lamy-knockoff pocket clip. Also stolen from Lamy, the grip area is triangular in cross section. It also has a surprise in its tail, a glass breaker/scribe. I never post the caps on my pens, so I do not need to remove the scribe cover at the end of the barrel, which is the only way to post the cap. I have yet to try out the glassbreaker as such, but it will scratch glass and metal.

I miss the bronze finish and smaller dimensions on that Schrade pen, but this one works just fine.

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And a full pocket dump for the afternoon ...

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Zieg
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Nice Breitling. I have an Aerospace, besides the quartz movement I’m a big fan of it.
 
The Parker T-1 Titanium pens were brought out in 1970 to commemorate the moon landing. They encountered some unexpected manufacturing problems when they tried to deep draw the Titanium (think Aluminum beer cans). I am missing the pencil and the felt tip. Short lived program. William Henry B-12.1E0DDD63-FB3D-4005-BF19-99924955280D.jpeg
 
K.O.D. said:
Being a lefty, fountain pens don't work for me. However, after spraining and straining my left wrist, I taught myself to write with my right hand. It's very legible, but slow. Maybe 3-6 months practice it will be more natural, and maybe get into fountain pens.

For now, I just had new Cross Ion arrive today. I love the triangular grip. I had 2 of these years ago, and missed it.


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Ink matters also. Look at an iron gal like R&K Salix or one of the carbon inks from Sailor. They dry quickly and may help in not smudging.
 
K.O.D. said:
Being a lefty, fountain pens don't work for me. However, after spraining and straining my left wrist, I taught myself to write with my right hand. It's very legible, but slow. Maybe 3-6 months practice it will be more natural, and maybe get into fountain pens.

For now, I just had new Cross Ion arrive today. I love the triangular grip. I had 2 of these years ago, and missed it.


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Another option that might help is to have a medium or broad nib ground to 'reverse oblique' which, looking at the nib face, would taper down slightly from left to right. It would help reduce tearing of the paper, and, in combo with a faster drying ink (as has been suggested) might make it less frustrating. If you're interested send me a pm and I can give you the name and website of a well-respected nibsmith who could help. Good luck!
 
Y'all are terrible enablers, got me looking at left handed pens now...

I found some inexpensive lefties by Lamy, but what ink to use?
 
There's just a zillion types, colors, etc. But you could start with a Lamy ink of your color preference. Another option is to Google 'quick drying ink', but read the reviews, you don't want something like iron gall or similar (or anything with particles like glitter) that could plug up your feed/nib.
 
I've been reading that a left handed one may not be necessary. Not sure, guess I'll think and do more research.
 
Yeah there's really no such thing as a perfect left hand nib, just because of the way the ink is dispensed from the nib. You can choose differently ground nibs that might be beneficial depending on how you hold the pen, but it'll mostly be by trial and error. John Mottishaw is a very well-known nibsmith who has a business nibs.com. he custom grinds nibs to suit his clientele. He has some very affordable pens that he could adjust to meet your needs. I'd email him for his suggestions. Hope this helps!
 
I bought a Lamy Safari with left handed nib and some blue ink to start with.

I shall see how it goes. Wasn't much money so if it doesn't work out I may give it to someone.
 
K.O.D. said:
I bought a Lamy Safari with left handed nib and some blue ink to start with.

I shall see how it goes. Wasn't much money so if it doesn't work out I may give it to someone.
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Awesome! Let us know how it works.
 
K.O.D. said:
I bought a Lamy Safari with left handed nib and some blue ink to start with.

I shall see how it goes. Wasn't much money so if it doesn't work out I may give it to someone.
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Another way to go is the Pilot Varsity. Disposable but very adequate pen. I use them frequently.

Zieg
 
K.O.D. said:
I bought a Lamy Safari with left handed nib and some blue ink to start with.

I shall see how it goes. Wasn't much money so if it doesn't work out I may give it to someone.
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I'm a lefty. Drop me a line if it doesn't work out, I'll reimburse you for it.
 
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