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Hey there Ichiro, I have both the Platinum Preppy and the Pilot Varsity and there is no comparison on the nibs, the Platinum is sooooo much smoother than the Varsity. Also the Varsity is disposable unless you know how to fill it, which is not something new users will be comfortable doing. I will have to check out the x750 as I like slightly weightier thin pens. See you tomorrow for HJ's stream.

@@arcboy2011 Yeah the whole point of recommending the Varsity is that you can try it without having to fill it.

From the stock nibs available for this pen, you won’t find a calligraphy nib. I can’t say this for certain, as I’ve never done it, but some say that these pens have the exact same internal parts as PenBBS pens. You might be able to get one of their calligraphy pens to fit, but again, I have not tested this. Also PenBBs calligraphy nibs (if I’m not mistaken) aren’t available in the traditional stub nib varieties, but have more exotic styles like architect and long knife nibs. Another option (which would be expensive I’m sure) would be to contact a good nibsmith, and see if they can attach or grind down a nib into a stub for you.

Yes, I have since learned that there are several varieties of this pen. Really like the one that I got. I recommend it highly. I’ll have to look into the other ones sometime.

I kind of got that impression. Not really necessary to have a pen do that anyway. I recently looked at another pen that does the same thing, also probably not on purpose.

Again converter size eludes me. I have been thinking about doing a deep dive on converter sizing, and this might just push me over to actually do it.

I don’t have one of these pens, but I have heard from people who watch my videos and own both, and apparently they are the same size. I didn’t know Sailor made pens in this size when I made this video.

lol. This is the best argument I have heard as of yet to completely disregard pronunciation.

Thanks! I’m glad to see my rambling videos do some good somewhere!

I fully respect people’s right to like it, but it also seems there has been a reduction in quality towards the end of the life of this pen, meaning that you might have one of the “good” ones while I have a “bad” one. I wish I liked it too.

Hi! This is still one of my favorite pens after all this time! If you’re thinking about getting it (or any pen with a piston, for that matter) I highly recommend you get a small vial of silicone grease (usually about 5USD) that you can use to lubricate the inner parts when you clean it. They will start to wear out if the lubrication gets washed out.

Haha. Good idea.

I still love mine! They make it in so many colors now as well!

I’m genuinely glad that it works for you. It was just too much upkeep for me, and I constantly found the nib out of alignment with the feed, needing adjustment, etc. maybe I got a bad one, but I think it just represents a lane of the one world that isn’t for me. From the looks of this comment section, it seems like this pen has split the community. I still feel like this is a good place to have this conversation, as long as we can be cool to each other when we don’t agree.

@@stepheninks They definitely aren't for everyone. You can get a pen well above what you paid for them in terms of performance but it does require some work. I've seen expensive pens that require nib tuning and such but a lot of people would be pissed at a 300+ dollar high end pen needing work (myself included) and yeah with Noodlers I just kind of expect it. I haven't had the negative experiences with them that others have had because I knew what I was getting into when I bought them, not finding out after and I didn't even try to write with them prior to cleaning and heat setting. I will say the Charlie (The free one with 4.5oz bottles) is one of my every day pens. I just love the simple little thing and mine happens to write great. Because it was literally free I don't baby it at all. I put whatever inks in it I want, I will just toss it in a bag etc. The stinky veg plastic is quite shock resistant and doesn't tend to crack. I might be one of the people that has a problem with them if my first experience had been going in blind expecting a perfect pen out of the box. One thing if the feed misaligns it might be that it isn't pressed in far enough or the nib isn't pressed in far enough, it's kinda finicky and takes a couple tries to get everything lined up and such. Yours could also just be defective if it isn't staying put. There are ways to fix that but it's probably not worth it since you're already not a fan of the pen and I doubt fixing that on issue would really change your feelings towards them. They definitely aren't perfect by a long shot, and aren't my most favoritist pens in the whole wide world but I do enjoy them for multiple reasons. One of which being the huge color variety for the Ahab, another being the multiple filling options and the nice posting caps on basically all of them. They also tend to not have dryout issues like other inexpensive pens often do if left to sit for a while. One other point I will make is because they are so cheap, and parts are easy to replace, one might not care as much about messing something up learning to work on them. Want to cut the feed to experiment with different flow characteristics? No problem. Want to make your own ink and test it in a pen that you won't mind if it destroys? Want to try grinding your own nib tips? Stuff like that. But if all you want is a pen that you can just fill with ink and take to paper, it's definitely not the pen for you.

While this is very good advice, I feel like I can’t treat my pens so delicately. I do wash them out often, and wipe them clean of oil from time to time, but I also don’t think that this is the reason for the poor flow of this pen. For every minute of fooling around on the screen, there is about an hour of tinkering, trying to troubleshoot, cleaning, flushing, refilling, etc. I haven’t treated this pen any more roughly than I treat my other pens, and I think it’s a QC issue for this model.

Still going strong many years later. Also, kuretake makes replacement tips for these pens, so if the worst happened, you could still get your pen back.

@@stepheninks Would really consider getting the fancy looking one now... Thank you.

I don’t have a Vanishing Point myself to test it on, but from what I can understand, and other TH-cam channels have shown (you can easily find a comparison video on here), the pens are identical and the parts are interchangeable. The only difference is that the VP has a gold nib. By that logic, I see no reason why this converter wouldn’t fit on a VP, as it also fits on all of my Pilot pens.

Work of caution on the Zebra G nib: make sure you clean the pen and feed often, because those nibs are prone to rusting, since they aren’t made to remain in a pen. I had to learn that lesson the hard way.

You’re the second person to mention this happening. I guess I need to be careful with my clip!

I appreciate the offer of help. I wouldn’t want to request the employ of someone without compensation, but if you want to look at my designs, I’ll gladly send you a PDF to play with. I do think though, that I really need to get a better printer (someday I hope), so that’s what I think the main culprit is.

1. Famous last words. Watch me set up another event and have another freakout of the exact same magnitude. 2. Same for me as well. Also, I’ve made plenty of things that no one wants. Haha. 3. What is that SO true? 4. Single color is fun. Don’t know how to do multiple colors. Maybe I’ll just stop here? Also, low expectations help. I have very low expectations. 6. I admire that. I’ll bet working at that level is the only way you can really get to that level. Like, you’re not making the work as much as the work is making you?

Yeah, I resonate with all of that. I think that having a TH-cam channel might seem like it comes with a deadline, but I find I can slack off a surprising amount when I’m just not “feeling it.” I feel like the deadline gets on my nerves so much more than forcing myself to be creative when I don’t want to. (even though, in reality, forcing myself to do a thing that I love is one of the weirdest things I have to do to be an artist)

@@stepheninks If it helps, know that the well known fantasy artist Frank Frazetta was notorious for goofing off, playing sports and just doing anything but painting until the last minute, when he'd have to stay up all night and knock out a painting. So it's not like it doesn't happen! 😂

Appreciate that! I think I actually found a local artists collective that I’m going to try and reach out to in my local area. I think they have monthly events as well! It’s funny, I didn’t hear about them until I mentioned this event to a co-worker who I have worked closely with for almost a decade now… I guess I already had the connections I needed to plug myself in. I suppose you just have to make yourself an available for the opportunities before you can take advantage of them.

@stepheninks yes, you never know what is right in your own back yard until you ask. Glad you've got those connections, and I look forward to seeing how it goes for you 😀

Thank you!

Thank you!

Appreciate the info. I might work with a professional printer in the near future if I find that I have regular opportunities to sell. I definitely feel that if I want to sell things through this channel, I really want it to be viable for international delivery, and I want to ensure high quality. My reputation is so much more important to me than any dollar amount. That’s why I’m an artist with a day job! I definitely wanted to do everything DIY this time because I had built so many designs that, as the artist, I have a sort of complicated relationship with. I have no idea what people are going to like. I could see myself getting professional printing services when I’m sure what designs and products I want to focus on.

@@stepheninks good plan!

Thanks for the kind words! I feel like I had to do this weather or not it was successful. This channel has helped me grow a lot, and this challenge pushed me even further. I’m glad I could share it!

@@stepheninks It's always good to push yourself and even better to talk about it to total strangers (TH-cam viewers).....it would have been perfectly ok to promote your showing on your channel and turn it into a 2 part video...before and getting ready and then the results and maybe some footage of the event. Invite your followers to come meet you then maybe think about offering a one day workshop.....I have a few more ideas if interested......

A children's book is a great idea. You are quite the idea man, so I am sure you could come up with something good. Though many such books are the product of two people, a writer and an artist.

Your pen reviews and sketches rock shout out from New Zealand

I’ve toyed with the idea of making something like this as a digital download on my website. It would be interesting to see if others are interested as well. I absolutely dream of doing nature sketching in New Zealand someday.

I wish it wasn’t. Haha.

@@stepheninks me tooooo!!!!

These were the most sped up timelapses I’ve ever used. It took me weeks to pull all this off.

Platinum Carbon Black. There’s a link in the video description if you want to pick some up. That’s what I usually use for blacks, though I sometimes use de atramentis document Brown and Urban Grey, which both have excellent waterproof properties.

Another vote for De Atramentis. I use their Artist Ink series, that come in about 15 colors or so. Also another vote for Carbon Black, completely reliable.

@@ichirofakename Thank you sir! I will try to see if I can grab samples of both from the interweb sellers and try them. Have a great weekend and will see you Tuesday for HJ"s live stream.

Glad to be your enabler! Anything for a fellow lefty!

So, I looked into this, and the only thing I could find was a rose gold plated steel nib for HongDian N8. Is that what you meant? Is it really very different from the stock nib?

@@stepheninks hi, yes! Well. Maybe I was very lucky. But my rose gold steel plated nibs (f and ef) write as well as my gold nibs (lamy, MB, pilot, sheaffer…). And, they match the pen and look quite awesome.

You can just buy nibs and screw them in. Hongdian is an amazing brand in my honest opinion.

@@nccastro653 thanks for the tip! I’ll check them out!

Actually, this year, I am planning to do a tier list by price. So, several videos at the three different price points that I own pens at. I’ve almost completely filmed the under $20 list, so that will probably come out first. I’m also going to do a series on recommended fountain pen art setups for different types of artists (budget, perfectionist, big spender, aesthetic, etc) where I recommend ink and paper to go with a pen. So, in effect, yes… but I’m doing more with it, so it’s taking me some time.

@@stepheninks looking forward to it

Thank you!

Yeah you can see physical differences between the architect and the long knife up close as well. I think I prefer this to the architect.