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Machine Era Brass/Stainless Steel Fountain Pen Kit
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cthcostas
3
Sep 16, 2020
I've got this kit in stainless, and I really like it. It's great: good feel, really smooth nib, no skipping, no hard starts, etc. But, yeah, it's definitely a skinny fountain pen. I think I've got... around 30 fountain pens, and this one might be the slimmest -- offhand, I'd say it might even be slimmer than my TiLiner FPs from The Right Choice Painting Co. (Probably not quite the shortest, though; I think the Pilot Prera might be shorter.) Definitely a different feel than most. The lack of a clip (/any rolling inhibitor) can be a bummer, sure -- and I usually want a clip -- but, for this pen, it's pretty minor to me.
Also, I just ordered a brass kit direct from Machine Era. My total wasn't even $5 more than here. ME gives free shipping inside the USA, and I guess they eat the taxes.
Total price via (Mass)Drop = $70.37
Total price via Machine Era = $75.00
Also, I'm guessing ME will ship this month. :-)
JediJon
214
Sep 14, 2020
I might of been on board with this drop, if the had the black DLC model available that was hinted at in the picture of the pen disassembled. Just brass or stainless steel? Na, I'm good, but thanks.
Honeybadgers
371
Sep 11, 2020
I would be very interested in this if it was compatible with a clip from something. FP's need clips or I don't use them.
Also would like to know how many turns of the cap it takes to unscrew and how many it takes to post. Too many metal FP's are killed by those two details.
NCow
1
Sep 14, 2020
I guess I save three seconds by writing without it posted!
It's not unbearable as the threads are very smooth and the heft of the brass adds a little momentum on the uncapping spin of the body.
Granted, it's not my everyday pen.
Honeybadgers
371
Sep 17, 2020
NCoweven four just to uncap is really, really excessive. I'm often finding myself just that tiny bit delayed when I need to write and someone's already started talking and my pen takes three turns to uncap. For a daily, everyday pocket writer (which this claims to be) it really would have been smarter to design it with higby threads and just do a 1.5 turn cap/uncap, a-la the tactile turn gist.
Tzamaz
47
Sep 12, 2020
I agree with you Ray, not that you are seeking affirmation. My experience with solid metal fountain pens is that they are just too heavy and in short order, my hand grows weary of holding them.
(Edited)
Honeybadgers
371
Sep 14, 2020
Also, brass can be relatively lightweight if it's machined thin and the dimensions are kept relatively small. The travelers company brass pen is very nicely balanced.
There are more "mainstream" metal pens that are quite premium and well liked. See the parker 75 sterling silver cisele (one of the most well loved pens of all time, not featherweight) or the faber castell loom, the lamy dialog 3, Pilot metal falcon, pilot vanishing point, waterman carene, all manner of ultra premium pens can be relatively heavy - my visconti divina metropolitan is a relatively heavy bugger that's made of sterling silver and celluloid. Even ebonite pens can be relatively heavy due to needing to be machined relatively thicker.
Even back in the day when the fountain pen was the only way you wrote if it wasn't in pencil, there were oodles of different sizes, styles, and materials, and nibs were even more varied than they are today. Manifold nibs for early carbon paper, accountant nibs, flexible, semiflexible, stubs, broads, obliques, needlepoints, etc. Christ, just look at Esterbrook's nib catalogue. And vintage stuff came in heavier builds too, from the sheaffer statesman with metal cap, to the metal capped eversharp skylines, the ebonite safety pens could be heavy since they had complex internals, vac fillers like the wahl doric had stainless steel internals that upped the mass.
The point I was trying to make is that there is no "correct" fountain pen, and never has been. Some people like slip caps, some people like snap caps. Some like magnetic caps and some like screw caps. Some people like pens that are super thin (lamy cp-1) some like 'em thicc, a-la the monblanc 149 or pelikan m1000 (which has a brass piston rod, making it a hefty boy too). Some like polished metal sections, some greasy handed folks like me despise them. Some people hate pens that have to be posted, others hate pens that can't be.
I've got more than a couple hundred of the things at this point, so I've got a pretty good grasp on the sheer variety of what the hobby has to offer people.
Also, this pen is squarely in the middle of the pack in terms of mass. it's 7g lighter than the visconti divina. it's nearly 10g lighter than the kaweco brass sport, which is a popular pen. And, just like watches, how a pen carries its weight effects greatly how it feels. Backweighted stuff gets tiring fast, front-weighted and middle balance pens don't.
(Edited)
SquirrelPorridge
150
Sep 9, 2020
It feels like using fountain pen ink to fill a ballpoint would lead to flow issues, especially with the variance in ink consistencies across brands. I tend to question small pen maker products because often it seems they market products based on apparently desirable things like metals without regarding the impact on use. I have an old Karas Kustom stainless steel pen with a brass grip and it’s the worst pen I’ve ever used, both for writing and for general carry. It’s much too heavy, the balance is way up the pen barrel, the threads lock poorly, and Bock nibs are no better and more inconvenient than almost any other brand I have.
Lamy makes excellent cheap durable fountain pens with easily replaceable (and widely available) nibs so I’d sooner point people there.
Honeybadgers
371
Sep 11, 2020
SquirrelPorridgesounds like you got one of the early karas pens. They've improved greatly in the fit/finish/quality over time. I have a starliner XL apollo 11 in aluminum with a brass section and titanium bock nib and it's a treat.
But I do still believe tactile turn makes the best "big metal fountain pen". he uses higby threads in the pen so they cap/uncap like a treat.
There are quite a few fountain pen ballpoints out there. as long as you use nonpigmented ink, they tend to keep up just fine. Never noticed any skipping in my monteverde ink rollerball until I was a dunce and tried baystate blue - it wasn't cleaned well enough and terminally clogged it immediately
(Edited)
Optionsguy
37
Sep 9, 2020
So this is a fountain pen that can also use a filled converter or cartridge to feed a rollerball tip? This is something this pen fanatic has never heard of. How long has this been out there and does it work?
ChurchillW
423
Sep 10, 2020
I'm totally one of those people. I'm into fountain pens because of the ink selection.
Optionsguy
37
Sep 15, 2020
ChurchillWI’ll probably stick with fountain pens. Yes, the ability to customize inks is a major reason why I would look at any pen. I may explore some of the refillable markers for that very reason.
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