I’m all for the varsity. Not for writing but drawing. I think what your missing is all the different lines you can create with the varsity without having to worry about ruining your fav pen. Works great at weird angles, degrees, and speeds for any kind of line work. As far as writing a letter it sucks I think but unique enough that in my everyday lineup it’s usually in between a Coptic and a Pentel sign pen.
I've used and own both. You can remove those garish graphics from the Preppy with denatured ethyl alcohol. You can remove the paint and graphics from the Varsity (and the fine nibbed Vpen) with acetone. The cleaned Varsity has a mostly transparent body in which you can clearly see the 2 ml reservoir. The Varsity is made from a softer plastic, which I prefer. I find the Varsity to be a wetter writer, which I prefer, than a medium nibbed Preppy. However, the Preppy is a longer pen and fits my medium-large hands a little better. Refilling the Varsity is not difficult with minimal equipment and practice. I currently have three Varsities filled with Iroshizuku Asa-gao, Private Reserve Tropical Blue, and Private Reserve Electric DC Blue. Having said that, I actually like the Varsity Blue, a nice, medium-dark, saturated blue. The Varsity Black, not so much - it's a pretty meh black. Of course you can always refill a Platinum cartridge or converter with whatever ink you like. I don't care for eye-dropper pens, but if you need maximum ink capacity converting a Preppy to an eye-dropper fill will provide you with a massive volume of ink. Just look for the o-ring and grease kits to use when doing so. And be ready to deal with eye-dropper burps when the ink starts getting low. Mostly I use a Varsity or VPen as a quick pick it up and carry pen. If I lose it or it disappears, I shed no tears (maybe a tear for the expensive ink I've lost.) Losing one of my pretty-much irreplaceable $75 to $200 pens would cause some teeth-gnashing for sure. richard -- “Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But since no one was listening, everything must be said again.” - André Gide
I'm trying to get interested in fountain pens. So far, I only have the Pilot Metropolitan, Varsity, and Preppy, and the Zebra V-301. * How do you use a fountain pen in the real world, when so few papers don't bleed the ink? ... * How is it that people with less than beautiful handwriting get so interested in pens? (Asked with love.) ... * What paper do you recommend for fountain pens? ... * What ink do you recommend for fountain pens? ... * LOL. Do you do Q&A videos? ... I love your videos.
Hey Tana :D Fountain pens are a great hobby! You would have found luck with the Metropolitan, Varsity and Preppy, but the Zebra V301 might have given you more issues. It uses a wick as a feed, and I have found that it is not very consistent at all. To answer your questions: 1. Using fountain pens in the real world is very subjective. I have found that some people tend to use F nibs or EF nibs to work on less than ideal paper. For me personally, that is not my forte, and I have found the B nibs (though they leave more ink on the page) tend to not dig into the paper as much as M, F, or EF nibs. Ink is also a significant factor. I have found luck with Pelikan 4001 Königsblau, Lamy T52 Blue, Parker Blue, Parker Black and Waterman Serenity Blue. In summary, to answer your question, you will have to try for yourself. Just try a few things out. Get a few samples of the inks I mentioned above from Goulet or JetPens and try them out with paper you have lying around. 2. I was into fountain pens when I was in middle school, but parents thought it would be cheaper (and better) to switch to mechanical pencils, which I still love. I got back into fountain pens in college because of how much I wrote, and using a mechanical pencil usually didn't cut it. Plus my hands started to cramp a lot when I used a ball-point or gel pen. I used to write about 30-45 sheets a day (double sided), and found that B nibbed fountain pens worked best because they were smooth enough for me to not worry about having to slow down for my pen to catch up. I have terribly handwriting too, and fountain pens really helped me be more intentional with how I write. 3. Personally, I would recommend Clairefontaine or Rhodia paper. Those are the best for writing if you have a little money to spend. If you really don't have a limit on your budget, I would suggest Tomoe River paper. I have a notebook, which was a little expensive that I use to only log what inks I have in pens. If you're on a budget like I am and write a bunch, I've found a sweet spot with W.B. Mason Copy Paper, 92 Bright, 20 lb. It is pretty good and holds up well to most standard inks (maybe not Iroshizukus). 4. Ink is also a very personal thing. If you are starting out, I would suggest a standard ink that is washable, such as either the Lamy T52 Blue, Pelikan 4001 Konigsblau, or even Waterman Serenity Blue. There are more inks with other properties that make them desirable. I personally like Noodlers Black Eel because it flows really wet and is also permanent, but find your own way. Anyone can suggest inks to you, but you have to find out which works best for you, in terms of color, and how well it works on the paper you plan to use it on. I also have a TH-cam channel called "The Pendit", where I talk mostly about pens. I started that my senior year of college, and was being a little too ambitious. If you would like, I could host a live Q&A session where you can ask any questions you may have and we as a community can talk about them. Let me know what you think and if just talking about pens would be something that interests you. Stay safe! CR The Pendit
The Preppy Crystal on eBay appears to be the least expensive at $2.99 + $2.99 shipping for 1 to 4 (maybe more), compared to $5 + approximately $5 shipping from Goulet, Jet Pens, etc.. Is there a good reason to buy from the well-known companies, instead?
You can buy a Platinum converter for the preppy; I bought a few, but they hold less than the cartridge. Best to clean out the cartridge, refill with your favorite ink using an ink syringe, and reuse.
Agreed, I don't like the regular checkered pattern at all .. but I just ordered a set of 7 as my first entry into fountain pens. I'll probably also will use them to grade student papers :)
I personally prefer the preppy. The ink that the Varsity comes with isn’t that good and fades out with a weird orangey colour in UV light. I’ve heard of people refilling the Varsity, although it seems like it’d be a lot of faff.
The varsity is Amazing and has a way better nib and nib size (you either get A western medium or a japense fine with preppy), sadly the included ink isn't great with either (preppy still better tho) and varisity can easily break when trying to refill it But it's a pain in the butt to refill. The nib comes smooth out of the box tho, most preppies come with really pencil like or sandpaper ish rough feedback. And polishing them makes them feel slippery without a reshape. Not a big deal tho, I just polish them but not too much and they write really great (just a few swiped on 8000 and maybe 12000 and skip mylar usually Edit; wait all 3 of my mediums are way Larger. Like WAY. Bigger than Lamy M even
Sal I always remove the nib and feed for cleaning, never have any issues, sorry to hear that. Try send twsbi a e-mail, their customer service is quite good, maybe they can help.
preppy is fugly. Check out the plasir. Great thing is if you screw it up you can replace the guts with a preppy since its same pen in different clothes.
The Preppy is the clear winner, but the Varsity is a good start. I used the Varsity through secondary school because it was cheap and my writing was neater. Your medium Preppy comes out finer than mine, of course, likely my pressure and the paper I have.
I’m all for the varsity. Not for writing but drawing. I think what your missing is all the different lines you can create with the varsity without having to worry about ruining your fav pen. Works great at weird angles, degrees, and speeds for any kind of line work. As far as writing a letter it sucks I think but unique enough that in my everyday lineup it’s usually in between a Coptic and a Pentel sign pen.
Ever try taking off the nib on the Pilot varsity? It can be done to refill it and extend its life...just put back the nib with pliers.
I just bought the 7 color bundle Preppy Fountain Pen pack. I can't wait till they arrive. Thank You!
There's a new Crystal version of the Preppy without all the labels on it.
I've used and own both. You can remove those garish graphics from the Preppy with denatured ethyl alcohol. You can remove the paint and graphics from the Varsity (and the fine nibbed Vpen) with acetone. The cleaned Varsity has a mostly transparent body in which you can clearly see the 2 ml reservoir. The Varsity is made from a softer plastic, which I prefer. I find the Varsity to be a wetter writer, which I prefer, than a medium nibbed Preppy. However, the Preppy is a longer pen and fits my medium-large hands a little better. Refilling the Varsity is not difficult with minimal equipment and practice. I currently have three Varsities filled with Iroshizuku Asa-gao, Private Reserve Tropical Blue, and Private Reserve Electric DC Blue. Having said that, I actually like the Varsity Blue, a nice, medium-dark, saturated blue. The Varsity Black, not so much - it's a pretty meh black. Of course you can always refill a Platinum cartridge or converter with whatever ink you like. I don't care for eye-dropper pens, but if you need maximum ink capacity converting a Preppy to an eye-dropper fill will provide you with a massive volume of ink. Just look for the o-ring and grease kits to use when doing so. And be ready to deal with eye-dropper burps when the ink starts getting low. Mostly I use a Varsity or VPen as a quick pick it up and carry pen. If I lose it or it disappears, I shed no tears (maybe a tear for the expensive ink I've lost.) Losing one of my pretty-much irreplaceable $75 to $200 pens would cause some teeth-gnashing for sure.
richard
--
“Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But since no one was listening, everything must be said again.”
- André Gide
I'm trying to get interested in fountain pens. So far, I only have the Pilot Metropolitan, Varsity, and Preppy, and the Zebra V-301.
* How do you use a fountain pen in the real world, when so few papers don't bleed the ink? ...
* How is it that people with less than beautiful handwriting get so interested in pens? (Asked with love.) ...
* What paper do you recommend for fountain pens? ...
* What ink do you recommend for fountain pens? ...
* LOL. Do you do Q&A videos? ...
I love your videos.
@@unsharpen Thank you
Hey Tana :D
Fountain pens are a great hobby! You would have found luck with the Metropolitan, Varsity and Preppy, but the Zebra V301 might have given you more issues. It uses a wick as a feed, and I have found that it is not very consistent at all.
To answer your questions:
1. Using fountain pens in the real world is very subjective. I have found that some people tend to use F nibs or EF nibs to work on less than ideal paper. For me personally, that is not my forte, and I have found the B nibs (though they leave more ink on the page) tend to not dig into the paper as much as M, F, or EF nibs. Ink is also a significant factor. I have found luck with Pelikan 4001 Königsblau, Lamy T52 Blue, Parker Blue, Parker Black and Waterman Serenity Blue. In summary, to answer your question, you will have to try for yourself. Just try a few things out. Get a few samples of the inks I mentioned above from Goulet or JetPens and try them out with paper you have lying around.
2. I was into fountain pens when I was in middle school, but parents thought it would be cheaper (and better) to switch to mechanical pencils, which I still love. I got back into fountain pens in college because of how much I wrote, and using a mechanical pencil usually didn't cut it. Plus my hands started to cramp a lot when I used a ball-point or gel pen. I used to write about 30-45 sheets a day (double sided), and found that B nibbed fountain pens worked best because they were smooth enough for me to not worry about having to slow down for my pen to catch up. I have terribly handwriting too, and fountain pens really helped me be more intentional with how I write.
3. Personally, I would recommend Clairefontaine or Rhodia paper. Those are the best for writing if you have a little money to spend. If you really don't have a limit on your budget, I would suggest Tomoe River paper. I have a notebook, which was a little expensive that I use to only log what inks I have in pens. If you're on a budget like I am and write a bunch, I've found a sweet spot with W.B. Mason Copy Paper, 92 Bright, 20 lb. It is pretty good and holds up well to most standard inks (maybe not Iroshizukus).
4. Ink is also a very personal thing. If you are starting out, I would suggest a standard ink that is washable, such as either the Lamy T52 Blue, Pelikan 4001 Konigsblau, or even Waterman Serenity Blue. There are more inks with other properties that make them desirable. I personally like Noodlers Black Eel because it flows really wet and is also permanent, but find your own way. Anyone can suggest inks to you, but you have to find out which works best for you, in terms of color, and how well it works on the paper you plan to use it on.
I also have a TH-cam channel called "The Pendit", where I talk mostly about pens. I started that my senior year of college, and was being a little too ambitious. If you would like, I could host a live Q&A session where you can ask any questions you may have and we as a community can talk about them.
Let me know what you think and if just talking about pens would be something that interests you.
Stay safe!
CR
The Pendit
Preppy platinum is a very nice ink pen for writing and drawing
The Preppy Crystal on eBay appears to be the least expensive at $2.99 + $2.99 shipping for 1 to 4 (maybe more), compared to $5 + approximately $5 shipping from Goulet, Jet Pens, etc.. Is there a good reason to buy from the well-known companies, instead?
@@unsharpen Thank you
Thanks for the video. My Varsity lets out a ton of ink. Looking forward to trying the Preppy.
You can buy a Platinum converter for the preppy; I bought a few, but they hold less than the cartridge. Best to clean out the cartridge, refill with your favorite ink using an ink syringe, and reuse.
Agreed. That’s what I do as well
Varsity's plastic is less brittle, but Preppy makes for an excellent office pen.
Consider checking out Baoer 399 if you haven't already.
Would love to find the solid color
varsity fountain pen.
Looks like it's a promotional pen
www.gel2pens.com/promotional-pilot-varsity-fountain-pen.aspx
Agreed, I don't like the regular checkered pattern at all .. but I just ordered a set of 7 as my first entry into fountain pens. I'll probably also will use them to grade student papers :)
@@tanalee229 Awesome. I like varsity. I will order these. I will ask the seller if it is indeed the black one instead of the checkered one.
I personally prefer the preppy. The ink that the Varsity comes with isn’t that good and fades out with a weird orangey colour in UV light.
I’ve heard of people refilling the Varsity, although it seems like it’d be a lot of faff.
The varsity is Amazing and has a way better nib and nib size (you either get A western medium or a japense fine with preppy), sadly the included ink isn't great with either (preppy still better tho) and varisity can easily break when trying to refill it
But it's a pain in the butt to refill. The nib comes smooth out of the box tho, most preppies come with really pencil like or sandpaper ish rough feedback. And polishing them makes them feel slippery without a reshape. Not a big deal tho, I just polish them but not too much and they write really great (just a few swiped on 8000 and maybe 12000 and skip mylar usually
Edit; wait all 3 of my mediums are way Larger. Like WAY. Bigger than Lamy M even
Uh oh! You've opened up the fountain pen can. You're screwed. They're addictive.
Sal TWSBI eco is a fairly robust pen, at least for a demonstrator. How can you destroy one, lol
Sal I always remove the nib and feed for cleaning, never have any issues, sorry to hear that. Try send twsbi a e-mail, their customer service is quite good, maybe they can help.
I find the varsity to be quite demanding and finnicky
preppy is fugly. Check out the plasir. Great thing is if you screw it up you can replace the guts with a preppy since its same pen in different clothes.
The Preppy is the clear winner, but the Varsity is a good start. I used the Varsity through secondary school because it was cheap and my writing was neater.
Your medium Preppy comes out finer than mine, of course, likely my pressure and the paper I have.
Where did you learn to write in chinese?
bruh. holding the pen almost perpendicular to surface should be punished
Wing sung 308 is better than both pens
Sal you can wing sung 618 for u
About $15.00