Birthday Musing Round 1

When asked about what I might desire for my birthday, something leaped immediately to mind. I am not going to pretend it is the only thing, but it was the first. Before I get into it, though, I would like to note that the large sums being disseminated toward travel expenses to help our family are much appreciated and my highest priority. Please don't spend even more on presents if the travel is already a financial burden. 

What I thought about first of all was my desire to get a pen as a vehicle for some Pelikan Edelstein Aventurine ink into my life. I've already tried (and failed) to make this happen with cartridges and a Pilot Metropolitan Pop pen. Esther can attest to some of the general frustrations caused (read: ink everywhere).

I think the Pilot Metropolitan is a great fountain pen as an entry point into the "oh there are still fountain pens in the world" realization. These pens are about $14 and they are good writers for the price. However, they aren't phenomenal. They have some issues with leakage, drying and poor starts. Once the pen dries out, it can be frustrating to get it working again. On top of these natural concerns is the fact that the Pelikan cartridge system is in no way compatible with Pilot pens. The cartridges are too long. To overcome this, I pierce the cartridge and empty it into the Pilot converter. This tends to make a gigantic mess and although the ink is water soluble it still leaves a vague stain wherever it lands. I can't imagine Esther is a huge fan. Although I love the ink, the current system can't and won't continue.

I'd prefer to work with the bottled version:

Pelikan Edelstein Aventurine Green Ink 

I would need a piston filling or vacuum filling pen to put the ink in. My current pen interests are as follows:

Lamy 2000 Fine Nib

Pilot Vanishing Point Fine Nib

TWSBI Vac Mini Extra Fine Nib

TWSBI Diamond 580AL Extra Fine Nib

Sadly, none of these pens is particularly inexpensive, ranging from the $150 Pilot Vanishing Point to the $60 TWSBI Diamond 580AL. Currently, I would say I am most interested in the TWSBI Vac Mini, as I have become fascinated by the vacuum filling mechanism employed by this pen. It's still a $70 pen. I have long been interested in the Lamy 2000, which has a very understated but beautiful "German" design and is relatively inexpensive for a 14k gold nib, which I am really interested in trying out. However, any pen over $100 is a bit of a stretch.

I also really enjoy the Pilot Juice Up ballpoint gel pens. They are the best I've used to date, however, the 0.3mm variety I am currently using are like needles and are surprisingly unpleasant to write with when compared to the 0.4mm version I originally tested. I'd love to get a variety of the larger tip
Pilot Juice Up 0.4mm Variety