I am debating a new pen. A Platinum Preppy EF (and maybe a medium too) in my fountain pens I pretty much only use Platinum Carbon Black (the only exception is my hooded Writech that I use for sketching specifically because its ink cartridges are very fluid when they get wet and I use a water wash to do shading by lifting the ink) because it is waterproof and BLACK. I love the ink, but it is a pain in the ass and needs so much maintenance. And honestly I just suck at filling converters, and I hate cleaning them.
But Platinum makes surprisingly affordable cartridges of my beloved Carbon Black, and supposedly their Preppy pens 'slip and seal' lids that will keep the ink from drying out 'even after a year' All my other pens dry out if I don't use them at least once a day because Carbon Black is just like that, it is such a fussy ink. I want to try some other waterproof drawing inks, really want a gray for sketching, or I dunno, use any of my other inks in my other pens.
I mean, I like my ef Kakuno...mostly...compared to my other ef pens it is so scratchy and only really good if I am using it on smooth paper, I cannot use it on watercolor paper unless it is hot press.
Update, got a Preppy EF, F, and M and they are so much better than anything else I have used. Even with my more textured watercolor paper they just glide, the EF is roughly the same thickness as an 01 micron, my Kakuna EF was more like an 005 Micron and I like a little more meat on my linework. I did a real sloppy comparison on some very textured cold press and then did the linework for my current piece I am working on and I am thrilled.
