This is my set up after some tweaks after getting back from a trip.
I moved the closing cord knot to the spine. I am using a pair of craft folders to hold inserts. I don't like the 47 gsm Tomoe River insert as my main journal so much, but I should use it up before searching out something better. The second MD insert is for notes and quotes and scribbles.
This is a ranking of my small collection after a couple months in the hobby:
#1 Lamy 2000: Over all, the writing experience with this pen is my favorite. It's wet, smooth and feels great in my hands.
#2 Pilot Custom 743: This would be closer to number one if I had gotten the broad nib, I think. It writes very well. My only real reservation is the converter will rattle when the ink is low.
#3 Pilot Vanishing Point: The clip under my fingers is a little odd, but this is a great travel writer over-all. This nib has the most bounce of my three gold nibs and I love it.
#4 Majohn P140: A nib swapped saved this from the bin. The weight, grip and over-all look are my favorites in my collection. The steel nib is lively, but not as bouncy as the gold nibs.
#5 Lamy Safari: A solid workhorse that I consider my baseline fountain pen experience. I actually have three of these loaded with different nibs. I love the modularity.
#6 Pilot Kaküno: This is the one that started it all. The medium nib is finer than I prefer, but it still feels nice in the hand and never fails.
Pens in my collection that live in their box:
Asvine V800: I wanted to like this more than I did. It just doesn't put down ink very well compared to the pens above.
Asvine/Hongdian Black Forest x2: My second and third purchases. It's largly the fine and very fine nibs, I think. I just prefer a broader nib. The pen bodies are also very thin.
TWSBI Eco: This nib was the stiffest I've tried and I hated it. Add the stress of worrying about cracking it and it didn't stay in rotation for very long.
I am new to fountain pens. I grabbed a Pilot Kakuno to see how the experience is and I am rapidly falling down the hole.
I picked up a Lamy Safari as pen #2 and while I really like the feel of the nib on the paper, I am not sure what's going with the shading. The included example is on Clairfontaine paper. The Kakuno puts down a thinner line, but it's darker. The Lamy ink is shading quite a bit. It's much more pronounced IRL.
Is this an artifact of the Lamy ink in their cartridge? Or the nib size? I don't have much experience with either and I'd like pointers to try and get the Lamy to put down a more consistent line.