Yes indeed. I repeat my real respect and liking for the PenBBS quality and joy they give me and I think others also. I’m glad that you emphasise this again Doug. Best to all. Tim Marshall
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
Thank you, Tim! It is like a great secret. You want everyone to know, but you don’t want to let the secret out so millions of people will spoil it! LOL
@agradoville4 жыл бұрын
Attention to detail! Wouldn’t expect anything less from an old drafting teacher. Great review and Instruction for us fountain pen noobs. Fascinating ink bottle and genius design. Love it. Sharp looking pen here. Starting to really like the PenBBS line of pens. Something for everyone and with your reviews I always know which ones to look closer at and which ones to shy away from. Thank you for that.
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
Much appreciated! :D
@chrisrap524 жыл бұрын
I 've had many 308s for a while. No matter what I did piston would stick after a day on most of them. I disassembled, thoroughly cleaned & greased, still got stuck. My theory is that the position turns on the rod, which allows you to reassemble & have piston fully move without having to align threads like on a Pelikan. As you've seen with 492 these positions can stick. I keep piston down 1/2 turn so I always pull it up before pushing it down. This frees the position & it moves easily after that for a day. Some owners have frozen the piston on the rod to fix this. I suggest a Dark Paint for your enjoyment, Smog style with very dark veins, not white.
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
Thanks, Chris! I enjoyed your 355 (improved) video review very much. And thanks for the shout-out! :) After tinkering with the 309 for a couple weeks now, I found the very solution you mention where I keep the piston with travel room backwards to unlock it. The 492 can spin (as you demonstrated) and the 355 (old style) just requires a soft touch with turning the rod into the piston. I've looked at dark paint before. Very interesting finish.
@AdamGoodson3 жыл бұрын
PenBBS just posted up the 308 in Smog!!! It looks so awesome! I had to get it! And then I came here to comment about it and to let everyone know about it!
@InkquiringMinds3 жыл бұрын
Awesome! Thanks, Sam! I've got a 309 in Smog.
@AdamGoodson3 жыл бұрын
@@InkquiringMinds the 309 looks freaking awesome but as I know PENBBS, they will take their time making more Blue Galaxy Resin pens for a while. But I will settle for a Smog! It made me pretty excited
@santauxia3 жыл бұрын
Great tutorial, very much appreciated.
@InkquiringMinds3 жыл бұрын
Glad it was helpful!
@merlinuwe14 жыл бұрын
One of your best videos.
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
Wow, thanks!
@JoelTurrell4 жыл бұрын
Prof.Fill, I feel duty-bound to call to your attention that a Montblanc Meisterstuck 146 or 149 can be easily opened from either end of the barrel to service the piston. Now, it is true that you will need to purchase a different tool for each end of the barrel, at a cost of at least $50 each, and that you must expect to destroy beyond repair the first two pens upon which you hone your talents. Can anything beat the thrill of this experience? Perhaps dropping your Leica M3 into Lake Champlain.
@ichirofakename4 жыл бұрын
I dropped my Widelux F8 on the sidewalk on the Boulevard Saint-Germain.
@danielste-marie7794 жыл бұрын
Joel, years ago I used to do magnet fishing in Lake Champlain never found a camera though.
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
Back in 1979, I was running across the street with my Minolta XD-11 and 200mm tele lens slung over one shoulder. Half way across the street the strap broke and I was in a sprint, so it dropped and hit my foot just as I was taking a long stride and I drop-kicked it about 20 feet across the road. It was scraped up but worked fine until I sold it to get my Nikon D7100 just a few years back.
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
LOL. How many magnets did you catch?
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
Ugh! Been there.
@Claudia_CG_Garza Жыл бұрын
I just got a 309 and found this video helpful! I got mine for the beautiful body (51SF Pink Ice) and not for the F nib because I am a Broad nib lover! Now, I have a few questions - can I put any #6 nib in it? Does PenBBS make a broad nib? and #2 - the grease that came with my TWSBI is NOT cutting it as far as getting the piston to move smoothly. What kind of silicone grease do I need to buy? I am very sorry if these questions seem stupid but I am VERY new to the wonderful world of fountain pens and I am trying to learn as much as I can as quickly as possible. Thanks in advance for any help and advice that anyone can give me.
@InkquiringMinds Жыл бұрын
Hi Claudia. You have to use the same feed and collar that came with the 309. Pull the Penbbs nib and insert the #6 replacement. The 309 has a good amount of cap clearance so you should be okay. Penbbs does NOT has a broad nib but they do have some very interesting calligraphy nibs. As to the silicone grease, you might need something with a little more viscosity than the TWSBI. I use silicone oil that is made for lubricating treadmills for pistons. You can get it at most hardware stores and on Amazon. tinyurl.com/4p5wxevb
@Claudia_CG_Garza Жыл бұрын
@@InkquiringMinds - THANK YOU *very* much for your quick and helpful response! I greatly appreciate it!
@beemrb4 жыл бұрын
Great video Doug, thank you. Happy holidays!
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
Thanks, Beemrb1 Beemrb!
@ichirofakename4 жыл бұрын
Slightly Off Topic: Can you recommend a Spark Plug Gap Tool? Specifically, is a .005" smallest blade small enough, or would a .0015" be useful. For working on making nibs wetter. TIA.
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
I’ve never used more than .002, .003, .004, .005
@houghwhite4112 жыл бұрын
Looks like a nicely designed pen, From the scale from one to no, which worthwhile pen would you recommend me to look at?
@InkquiringMinds2 жыл бұрын
Are you talking Penbbs? Because there are literally thousands of brands and models and types of pens out there. In Penbbs, for a pen that will take a good deal of ink, like the 309, I would recomment the 456 vacuum-filler as Penbbs' best model.
@Kenjiro57754 жыл бұрын
I think Ranga of India competes well with PenBBS. Came back to say I really appreciated the tuning you showed in this video.
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
Thank you, Kenjiro5775!
@Seefood734 жыл бұрын
Lovely as ever. I love those PenBBS cuties. I never went for a 309 because I have other piston fillers, but it did set a standard in serviceability that I was disappointed when other pens could not compete with. The other day I actually tried to clean a cheap-O Indian pen from FPR (I think it's an old version of the Indus), expecting to screw it out all the way and be left with the individual parts in my hands. I ended up discovering that most of the barrel was actually two barrels glued together, one slipping inside the other, which both meant I had to glue it back after the cleaning (Bondic worked very decently) plus I knew now why the inner cylinder was so thin, and that I'll never try cleaning the inside again (so lots of extra grease went in there). I doubt they will stop making piston pens altogether, it's a very popular mechanism. I bet they make a new version or a replacement.
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
I feel your FPR pain. I'm guessing that the new Penbbs 487 will be a magnetic piston filler and will replace the 309.
@Seefood734 жыл бұрын
@@InkquiringMinds well, my 492 has not left China yet, if the tracking is to be trusted (it's not) so I'm trying to postpone judgement on the magnetic piston idea, seeing Chris' issues with it and yours. Is it a legit option or a one-off novelty really?
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
@@Seefood73 Time will tell. If the 492 IS a limited edition then we won't see them again. Beini mentioned on Instagram that the new 487 will involve a "magnetic filling system". So, there's that.
@stephanfeinen39234 жыл бұрын
Hi Doug, I have a 309 and it also has the stuck-piston-syndrom. Next time it's empty I'll apply some silicon grease and then we'll see. I also have a Moonman M800 (in purple). I had to open the tines a little bit with the brass sheet as it was very dry and suffered from ink starvation. After that procedure it writes perfectly and I'm so impressed with the pen that I'm seriously considering buying one of its ancestors, the Leonardo Momento Zero 8-) Their version has a gorgous non-translucent material in a turquoise color that Moonman doesn't offer.
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
I bit the bullet on a Leonardo Officina Italiana Momento Zero Blue Hawaii just this week. :D
@misswoodhouse57204 жыл бұрын
Happy Birthday for when or if I missed your birthday. One day I have to write you a letter, I just posted Chris's letter off on friday from Australia. I hope it gets to him quickly. PS. great pen I never had this on my list. My latest is a Fine Writing International when it arrives :)
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
Thank you, Ethel!
@Johan-vk5yd4 жыл бұрын
Nice video! The fantastic resin should of course have been named ”Smaug”! Cool! Did you ever try widening tines ever so gently with your finger-nails, by lifting each tine near the shoulders? Your guitar nails reminds me of the nails of a japanese nib master, so you should do fine! You might also want to try the same manipulation done in reverse, to make your ”ruined” nib dry up again. (You need to have the nib without the feed when doing it). I hope the feed has not been damaged in the flossing process demonstrated, so that may be the cause of malfunction. Normally the slit of the feed doesn’t reach all the way to the tip of the feed. A blade- gauge is quite hard and sharp and could create a front breech in the slit. In that case you only need to change the feed to rescue the pen.
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
Thank you, Johan! That's good information. The feed was definitely not the problem. I was over-zealous with the shim and made a V in the front of the tipping material. I doubt it can be reclaimed. But I have another on the way... long long way.
@Seefood734 жыл бұрын
@@InkquiringMinds it can definitely be repaired. If you want to see how badly nibs can get mutilated and still get fixed there is a horror show in the repairs section of nibs.com. don't go there on a full stomach.
@Johan-vk5yd4 жыл бұрын
Douglas Rathbun I see! Sorry I didn’t connect the picture, with your description. My lack of attention! OdE made a video about solving such a problem, though. I have had luck using tweezers, but using an anti-theft shim folded over from the outside of the tine is a safer method. As he demonstrated.
@greatlakescruiser57204 жыл бұрын
Wow! Now that was a nice gift. Waiting on my color to come up before I get another Penbbs, but I have two Moonmans (Moonmen?) on the way.
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
Wonderful!
@WhatIInk4 жыл бұрын
Great, informative video.
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks, Alan!
@PickwickTurtle4 жыл бұрын
I am going to be doing my first pen review some time in the next week or so and 100% I am going to say “Super Fill” now that you have issued a challenge. COME AT ME BRO!! 🤣
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
Please do! Good on ya!
@ichirofakename4 жыл бұрын
You've sold me on the Waverlyesque nib. I went to Etsy and looked at all the 308's, 309's and replacement nibs, and I couldn't detect any upturned nibs. Shopping for this thing is a Baffling Ordeal. Any advice?
@FrankenBeanzzz4 жыл бұрын
Anything on the Etsy store listed as Fine or F is the Waverly nib. The round (normal) nibs are listed as REF, RF and RM.
@ichirofakename4 жыл бұрын
@@FrankenBeanzzz I thank you.
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
I see you have one on the way! That's terrific!
@Adriel-ze6lw4 жыл бұрын
Imagine, Sir Douglas here doing an all Blue ink review, i.e. every single Blue Ink that he has on his shelves and in drawers And by all Blues, I mean every Blue 👏🌑
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
Wow! You don’t ask much Adriel! LOL
@licheenut4 жыл бұрын
Thank you! So educational!!
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
Glad it was helpful!
@pntm20064 жыл бұрын
The 309 is the first PenBBS I fell in love with. When I saw the Galaxy 309 in Beini's IG, the urge to have that pen was so high. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get that batch of 309 and got the Infinite instead. The piston issue is disappointing but I was thankful I got exposed to PenBBS through the 309
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
Thank you, Priya!
@bethanyrich29444 жыл бұрын
Felling a bit jipped....no musical intro. As always so much info. It is reassuring to see you dismantle a pen so others can troubleshoot or fix problems that do not come with instructions for guidence. Happy birthday!
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
LOL My apologizes Bethany! The video was already 37 minutes long! And 50% of viewers switch away when I begin with music. I’ll still do them but not as often. :)
@FrankenBeanzzz4 жыл бұрын
The 309 is a good pen. This was a good video. I wish PenBBS would throw a broad nib in the mix.
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
But putting a Bock or Jowo broad into the pen is fairly simple.
@FrankenBeanzzz4 жыл бұрын
@@InkquiringMinds Yeah, that's how I run them now for the most part. At this point it's one of the Bobby Mediums or a Nemosine broad or 0.8mm stub installed before I even ink up the pen.
@cjs_hobbies4 жыл бұрын
Akkerman chose that name because, Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band formed in The Hague in 1967 .
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
Well that’s cool! Good thing I slipped in 5 seconds of “I’m Your Venus” then! :D
@cjs_hobbies4 жыл бұрын
@@InkquiringMinds Btw Flossing the feed is also a good idea on dry pens.
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
CJsHobbies Indeed! But I use an Xacto blade for that.
@jamerelbe4 жыл бұрын
Another great review, Doug - too bad I'm still waiting for my 355! [International delivery to Australia is really constipated right now...]
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
You and me both!
@stargazer13594 жыл бұрын
Sir Doug, those shelves are really filling up back there....BTW, the photo of the young lady reminds me of Rita Hayworth.
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
Thank you Stacy! I just told my red-headed bride that and she says you just made her day! :)
@licheenut4 жыл бұрын
I thought it WAS Rita Hayworth!
@robertreid72214 жыл бұрын
Is it a bird? Is it a plane ? No it's Super Doug and he'll give your pen a bitchin' fill. Brilliant vid Maestro 🤘. ✌❤
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
LOL! Thanks Robert!
@ichirofakename4 жыл бұрын
My 308, inspired by this review, arrived yesterday, in less than a month, from China. I'm not sure why all the excitement over the waverly nib. It seems to be a mini-fude, without the full range of a fullsized fude. Not that that is a bad thing - still useful, just not that unique.
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
That's exactly what the Waverly is - a mini-fude. I just love the feel of that upturned nib on the page. It must fit my writing angle perfectly.
@Detman1014 жыл бұрын
Beauuuutiful!
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
Thank you! Cheers!
@knifenoob54113 жыл бұрын
Thx for vid
@InkquiringMinds3 жыл бұрын
Thank you, Knife Noob!
@Scouzeboy4 жыл бұрын
Greetings from Australia. What happening to your vocal introductions? Great review as usual. The only problem with this pen is if I bought this as a novice, I would have no idea of how to make the pen work and I would be very unhappy. But despite seeing your A1 video I wouldn't buy one. May I invite you to check out Just Turnings on FB that guy is a great penmeister. I have bought 11 pens from him and currently have my third Emporer being made by him. He is an artisan. He hand makes fountain pens from about $40 Aust - $200. Thanks for your tip on the shimming using a engineering tool. I'll adopt that if you don't mind. Love your style Doug. Keep em coming.
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
Thank you, Scouzeboy! This video was already 37 minutes long. Plus the fact that I lose 50% of my audience when I open with music instead of getting right to the review. I'll continue putting musical intros together, but just not every video. I'm glad you enjoyed them! And thanks for the info on Just Turnings!
@Scouzeboy4 жыл бұрын
@@InkquiringMinds It was a great video Doug I learned something. I may even look at PPBS too they must do converter pens too. Inspiring.
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
@@Scouzeboy Yes, most of their pens are converters but you can take the converter out and eyedropper them.
@Lowkster4 жыл бұрын
Penbbs - agile fountain pen makers
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
Thank you, The Lowkster!
@thomasvn4 жыл бұрын
"Floss your nib." sounds a little dirty. I think it would look great on a T-shirt.
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
LOL I like it!! That’s now my idea! ;)
@Brunkvic4 жыл бұрын
they look nice but the nibs dont excite me. when i buy a pen its all about the nib for me
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
Thank you, Brunkvic!
@BC7Bill4 жыл бұрын
Nice review. Gone on Etsy. 🙁 Oh well.
@InkquiringMinds4 жыл бұрын
Yeah the Smog 309 hasn’t been available for a while. This was a gift from a friend.
@sushanart8 ай бұрын
😇🩵🙏🙌
@March220124 жыл бұрын
Ha ha...”smogging pen”...my friends will never understand!