2025 New Year's Resolution Fountain Pen Trilogy

[@texasmom8827]

Love the musical intro and ending!!! Found myself wishing they were longer!

[@InkquiringMinds]

I'm glad you liked the music!

[@creato938]

3 very cool pens, but that Tega Fantasy Snorkel stole the show, that's a very interesting filling mechanism.

[@djryandelap]

LOVE the intro! One of my favorite guitar pieces ❤️

[@InkquiringMinds]

Thanks for watching!

[@kellieashman6908]

Great song at the intro Doug, happy new year

[@InkquiringMinds]

To you as well!

[@NameLikeNobodyElse]

Resolution getting off to a fine start. Enough info on each that they don't feel rushed or cheated. That snorkel looks like it saves the most important features, the vintage gold nib & filling system, and adds modern reliability? Cool start to the new year! 🎉🎉🎉

[@NameLikeNobodyElse]

@Robyn-Lee-Bee I'm sure the new pens will fill a place. I have some inexpensive ones coming in, too. Can't even remember the orders... something from JetPens, maybe? And AliExpress? We'll see.

[@misterinkyfingers]

Love the intro! One of my favorite songs! The Kakuno surprised me, too. Thanks for sharing!

[@InkquiringMinds]

I'm glad you enjoyed the intro!

[@Copperplate_69]

Thank you for the pleasant platinum present surprise! 🥰 I like the shape and the velvety feel of the surface in the hand. Some other colours of this model have a glossier surface, e.g. dark green. And thanks for the Ku-Jaku idea! Just discovered by chance that Ku-Jaku means peacock. - Just like your Sheaffer Script ink! 🤩 The new intro melody suits you and your channel perfectly! 🎶 Is your daughter singing it?

[@InkquiringMinds]

You’re welcome 😊 Thank YOU! No, the vocal is a backing track.

[@ichirofakename]

1. Note that the Pilot Petit1 takes a DIFFERENT proprietary Pilot cartridge than other Pilot pens. They are quite small, maybe just go ahead and eyedrop them like I did. 2. Years ago I had 18 Pilot Petit1s and frankly they were entirely adequate for my needs. For whatever reason, I wasn't satisfied with "adequate", and went on to spend thousands more dollars (US) on fancier pens. Money I could have spent on candy. 3. That Tega is too cool. Thanks for the show.

[@pbnjezly404]

lol!!!

[@InkquiringMinds]

Excellent! Well said, @ichirofakename!

[@judyjacobs5827]

You mean fancy pens are not candy? I must have been mistaken all these years.

[@ichirofakename]

@@judyjacobs5827 hahaha

[@kd5byb]

The Tega Fantasy Snorkel is very intriguing! Looking at their webpage now...some really nice look materials there...

[@lizpilgrim1]

Happy New Year🎉

[@InkquiringMinds]

Happy New Year to you too!

[@13noman1]

Wow! That's a new/old twist -- a snorkel pen reincarnated. I picked up a few of those at the DC Superpenshow eons ago when I was just getting into vintage pens. I really liked how they wrote but discovered the mechanism is finicky and trouble shooting was beyond (likely still is) my so-called abilities. I may have to add the Tega Fantasy to my potentials list for '25!

[@InkquiringMinds]

The Tega Fantasy Snorkel is a great pen!

[@johnsomers8269]

Intriguing stuff. So nice to see the PFM!😍

[@InkquiringMinds]

I think it's a lovely pen too! Thanks, John! ;)

[@archivist17]

I've used Petits for years, and they write really well. You can eyedropper with silicon grease. I did swap the nibs with used V Pens for Mediums.

[@archivist17]

You don't need to swap out the whole feed and wick, you can just change the nib by itself, a bit like a Safari.

[@InkquiringMinds]

Good to know it works! Now I don't have to do it!

[@InkquiringMinds]

Yeah. This one was way to stubborn. So I pulled it.

[@JohnTravena]

I bought one like 10 years ago and I love that pen. Will try and eyedropper it cause the converter is just about worthless.

[@MissMarilynDarling]

Just so you know the pilot petit 1 2 and 3 only take Pilot Short Cartridges :)

[@InkquiringMinds]

Good to know! Thanks for the tip!

[@paulmchugh1430]

I had the Perit 1 but a bit too small for me. The Prefontaine is very nice and worthwhile getting. As for the Tega Fantasy Snorkel, well, if it wasn't so complicated, I would dive into getting that too. Nice haul for the New Year. Maybe not so interesting I have the penBBS 495, the Monteverde Dakota (their version of a pocket pen) and the Asvine C2000 wood pen with a #8 nib coming soon.

[@InkquiringMinds]

I have two Asvine C2000 pens on the way.

[@robertcalkjr.8325]

Thanks for the video, Doug! That Sheaffer snorkel looks like a fun pen. I haven't decided what vintage pen that I'll buy first. I'll definitely buy a nice Waterman silver overlaid fillagree at some point - that's my grail pen. But I also want to buy different vintage pens to work on and tinker with. I have the book, "Pen Repair Fourth Edition" by Jim Marshall and Laurence Oldfield. I'm 64 and disabled so I have a lot of hobbies and love to tinker with stuff. I have tools that most people don't have like a four-channel oscilloscope and a trinocular microscope w/camera.

[@InkquiringMinds]

It is a very cool hobby for retirement. No big shop, or big tools are required!

[@robertcalkjr.8325]

@@InkquiringMinds That's true. But a good microscope is always handy.

[@InkquiringMinds]

@@robertcalkjr.8325 I got a USB Microscope for cheap. It works for my needs.

[@robertcalkjr.8325]

@@InkquiringMinds I have one of them too and a handheld microscope. I bought the big AmScope for electronics and watchmaking mainly, but it comes in handy for all kinds of things.

[@chuckkolb1270]

I had snorkels as a kid but kept losing them. Yes, I am long in the tooth. P.S. Your video in which you complimented the Nahavlur Pen Co. for replacing the Eclipse motivated me to do the same. WOW! An Eclipse replacement is on the way to be. So KUDOS to Nahvalur and to you. Such customer service does endear one to a particular company.

[@InkquiringMinds]

It’s a great feeling to have that kind of customer service, isn't it?

[@chuckkolb1270]

@@InkquiringMinds Definitely.

[@aag24]

Thanks for the be video sir.

[@InkquiringMinds]

Thank you @aag24. That is much appreciated!

[@tbayless8324]

Please keep this intro as long as you can. It's a very nice song to begin with.

[@InkquiringMinds]

Thank you!

[@tonybinns-er4xi]

There is a Pentel Mini Compact pen that looks very similar to the Pilot mini. Only £1 each off Amazon. They don't post too well but lay down a nice wet F line and remarkably smooth

[@InkquiringMinds]

I'll have to look!

[@nope8535]

Pilot Petit1 I want, i like cute small pens. It just always sold out when I go to get one.

[@archivist17]

Cool Snorkel rehousing!

[@InkquiringMinds]

Indeed! Very interesting.

[@archivist17]

@@InkquiringMinds But very expensive 😢

[@InkquiringMinds]

I can get an original and fix it myself for much less.

[@mollymollie6048]

The Tega vintage/modern pen is really cool! Also, I don’t think I’ve ever seen (or heard of) a Platinum Plaisir (not that I’m any kind of fountain pen expert, but I certainly was watching a lot of “entry level pens” in the past 6 months and amassing a collection of 6 or 7 different ones…and about 40 ink samples…) and I probably would have given that considerable thought! I love my Platinum Preppy’s and you get a really decent pen for $6! What I’m most surprised about is that the 3 main pens I see recommended for newbies are: Lamy Safari (ugh, the horror of that tripod grip!! It should come with a warning label) the Kaweco Sport (first ‘real’ fountain pen I bought in 15 years, and I really enjoy it) and the Pilot Metropolitan. I’ve never heard the (less expensive) Platinum Plaisir ever mentioned! And, it is about 1000x’s more attractive looking than the Pilot Metropolitan (imo) which, to me, is just nothing I would ever buy…I’ll leave it at that. Plus, the Plaisir looks more upscale, and has a really cool band on it, and is about $8 cheaper US (on Amazon) and the nib is great (based on loving the Preppy nib. That’s a cool looking pen, and I figured it was going to be something new and expensive from Platinum that just came out or something. The little Pilot One is just so fun! I’d want that M nib in it as well. I recently got a Pilot Prera Demonstrator (pretty!) with the CM nib (fun, fun, fun!) I paid $3 more for the Prera from the Pilot store on Amazon than the cost of the Metropolitan…and it came with a converter (the much hated CON-40, but I don’t have enough experience with converters to have developed a hatred for it yet, lol.) So…any thoughts on why that Metropolitan (ugly) and Lamy Safari (with such a forced grip) would be recommended so much more over the similarly sized and less expensive (but equal quality) Plaisir?

[@InkquiringMinds]

Thanks, Molly. The Metro and Safari have just held that ground in the market for decades. The more it is repeated, the more people believe it without actually seeing them for what they are.

[@mollymollie6048]

@ Well, you’re a good voice of reason for trying other things! I never would have bought a Chinese knock off fountain pen if I hadn’t seen all of the reviews you and a few other channels do (and thanks for pointing out the duds and the good ones!) I have a nice little collection of Jinhao’s now, along with the Prera and the Kaweco. I like that you can really dive into the hobby and have a lot of fun without breaking the bank…or getting turned off from fountain pens like I was with that awful Lamy I bought fifteen years ago because “It’s a great pen to start with!!” (And there was minimal info on pens…and $40 was a lot to begin with!) Hopefully more and more reviewers will point people at other options. There’s so many out there!

[@InkquiringMinds]

@@mollymollie6048 Thank you! :)

[@ibpopp]

The Tega is very interesting. What are its dimensions? The Sheaffer's original is a wee bit too small for my aging hand, so a larger body would be suitable. All the best from Bruce of Booligal.

[@InkquiringMinds]

140mm long capped, 13.5mm thick top of the barrel, 14.7mm thick at the cap band. 168mm long posted. 26.5 grams.

[@davidjefferis5832]

I am enjoying your reviews. Everything I wanted to know, but was afraid to ask. Great job. In one of your older posts you talk about PenBBS pens, specifically the 323. You demonstrated many different nibs, but alas not what I am looking for. I know the 323 uses a #6 nib and feed. I have been intrigued with the nibs offered by 'Tom's Studio'. However, no one seems to know if his nibs will work in the 323. It appears the nib section won't, but maybe the nib and feed will fit the 323. Do you have any understanding of this. I have asked Tom's Studio, but he just tells me to contact the pen mfg. I don't know how to contact PenBBS. If you have any suggestions, I am all ears.

[@InkquiringMinds]

Contact with PenBBS is through the Etsy Shop owner Beini Zheng. Message her on Etsy. Many have had success using #6 size nibs on many models of Penbbs pens. However, the Penbbs nib is shorter than most standards and you have to ensure you have enough cap clearance on the pen!

[@davidjefferis5832]

@@InkquiringMinds Thank you very much.

[@philippebarillecavalier9275]

Tried the preppy. Amazing nib. For some reason, my writing looks bad with a preppy. Something about me and the section. This unremovable steel ball in the cartridge makes the experience feel cheap and noisy.

[@InkquiringMinds]

Thanks for sharing!

[@johndevault9030]

You will need to get moving on your backlog of reviews, since 2025 has already started with Asvine releasing their newest model, the C2000. I wonder what new models other pen manufacturers will be releasing?

[@InkquiringMinds]

I have two C2000s on the way.