A Good Beginner Pen And Accessories?

[Space_Elf]

So once upon a time a friend heard I was interested in fountain pens and got me the Art Alternatives Tin. I'm not sure I count it because it's such a terrible pen... Now I have a Lamy Safari with an extra fine nib which by comparison is wonderful.

 

Where do I go from here? I've only just started working on teaching myself handwriting (never learned it properly in the first place), so I'm not sure what sort of pen would really suit my handwriting.

 

I really like the Safari, though the lines a tad thicker than I like. However, I can't be sure that's not just my own handwriting as I currently write slowly and inconsistently.

 

Any suggestions on good beginner pens? Also I'm not sure what all I ought to have for care and maintinence of a fountain pen. I've got a bottle of Waterman's Inspired Blue and the Lamy converter in attion to pen and default cartridge. Any advice is welcome.

[MattD]

What do you like about your Safari? What are you dissatisfied about or wish was different? Too thick? Too thin? Too long/short/heavy/light? Do you wish it wrote with a wider/narrower/wetter/dryer line?

 

Go somewhere like the Goulet web store and browse through their online ink samples. If you see some interesting colors, get samples and see how you like them in the Safari. Different inks act differently in different pens. If a particular ink you really like is too wet or dry in the Safari, then you know you need a pen/nib combo that is dryer or wetter than you have.

 

A Pilot Metropolitan is a nice inexpensive pen to give you some points of comparison with your Safari. The fine is probably about like the Safari Extra Fine, so maybe get a medium for perspective. The Pilots are much nicer than their price point suggests.

[Tresconik]

A Safari is a great beginner pen. One of it's best features is that of nib swapping. Buy nibs of different widths and try them out. You can also experiment with calligraphy nibs. From the reviews I've read, they're quite smooth and so you should be able to use them easily.

Don't buy new pens until you really learn how to maintain your pen and you see what else is out there. You may discover a better pen with every passing day.

[Buzz_130]

In addition to understanding what you like about the Safari (weight, girth, length, posted, unposted, etc), you need to define your pen, ink, and paper budget.

 

Other great, affordable pens include the Pilot Metropolitan and Prera. The Japanese pen nibs lay down a thinner line than a Western nib of the same labeled size (F, M, EF). In other words, a Japanese F is going to be a thinner line than a Western F.

 

In the vintage isle, you can also find great pens for very reasonable prices. Finding a good Parker 45 or Esterbrook J will cost near your Safari and give you the ability to swap nibs, take apart for cleaning, and use a wide array of ink. With a vintage pen, you'll also experience the different feel of a vintage nib.

 

If you are happy with your pen, then think about heading over to the Inky Thoughts forum and do some research on some new ink. In general, you are going to be able to afford more ink than new pens. Akkerman and Iroshizuku are well-regarded but expensive in relation to Diamine, Waterman, and Pelikan. You should find some colors that you would enjoy. After all, without ink, your fountain pen is just a display piece.

 

The final part of the equation is getting the right paper. You want to find fountain-pen friendly paper that you can both afford and find easily. Rhodia and Clairefontaine are both always recommended. I'll also speak very highly of the Black N Red brand as it's cheap, readily available, and very fountain pen friendly for most nib and ink combinations. I use one of the hardback Black N Red notebooks for my pen log.

 

For cleaning, you just need water and patience. If you are using only one ink, then every four or five fillings, give your Safari a good flush by placing the nib in water and running your converter up and down with water until it runs clear. Refill with your ink and write. You should flush if you are planning on changing ink colors, and I'm much more thorough in my cleaning to make sure I don't contaminate my new ink or alter the color of the new ink as it flows through the feed.

 

Finally, as you are working on your handwriting, remember to relax your fingers. Your pen will be able to lay down a line just by the weight of the pen if you drag it across paper. No pressure is required as a downward force or on the barrel of the pen. Also consider your writing angle. If you hold your pen perpendicular to the paper, you aren't getting a good contact with the nib to the paper. Hold the pen between a 30 to 60 angle, make sure both tines are on the paper, and let the pen glide across the paper. You'll get an instant improvement in your writing and increase your enjoyment of your favorite pen.

 

Buzz

[Ecriveur]

You already have the most commonly recommended beginner pen. The Lamy Safari is relatively inexpensive, has very solid construction and is, overall, a very solid pen. It also has swappable nibs. But if you already have an EF nib and you'd still prefer a thinner line, then you're at the end of the road as far as European pens go. You'll have to go Japanese to get a thinner line, as Japanese pens have finer nibs than their equivalently labeled European counterparts, e.g. a Japanese fine will have a thinner line than a European fine and there is no European equivalent to a Japanese EF.

 

You can see more precise nib sizes here:

 

http://www.nibs.com/TippingSizespage.htm

[Aditya D]

I would recommend a Sheaffer 100 medium nibbed fountain pen.It comes in a bunch of different colored lacquer finishes and some come in brushed steel etc.I don't understand why most people do not recommend this pen as it makes for a really god beginner pen.It is a cartridge converter pen and has a steel nib.Some people complain about the fact that it has a chrome grip and their hand slips,making the grip uncomfortable.However personally that has never happened to me and I find the grip to be perfectly fine.From where I am,it costs USD 36.The nib is a nail with absolutely no flex to it so even if you tend to press down on the paper while writing(you shouldn't be,but the pen can tolerate some amount of it) it should not create much of a problem.

[Arkanabar]

In a Western pen, you aren't going to get finer than the XF Lamy nib. (Lamy uses the same interchangeable form factor nib on nearly every pen they make up to the Studio, in widths from XF to 1.9mm calligraphy/stub.) You'd need a custom ground nib. Alternately, you could write larger, or get an Asian pen. My finest lines come out of my Dad's "51" and my Hero 616s. I can't think of any other beginner's Asian pens with multiple nib widths, or similarly fine points, but I'm sure there are plenty of them.

 

You might get a finer line from your Safari with a different ink. Iron gall inks require more regular cleaning because they tend to precipitate solids, but they do spread, bleed, and feather less. I got a 25ml bottle of Chesterfield Archival Vault (essentially rebottled Diamine Registrar's Ink) and it's doing ok by me. You could probably get a 2ml sample from Goulet or a 3ml sample from Anderson. I'm using it in an Indian eyedropper pen supplied with my 4.5oz bottle of Noodler's Borealis Black. Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black may also help your pen write narrower lines, and I'm sure others can recommend dry inks that lay down finer lines too. Try samples before buying a bottle!

Edited January 24, 2015 by Arkanabar

[Space_Elf]

Wow! Thanks so much for all the advice. I will certainly be waiting a while before I spend more money. From what everyone is saying, it's probably a good idea if I wait for my handwriting to improve a bit more before considering a new pen. I like the idea of getting ink samples to try out.

 

Thanks especially to Buzz_130 because I hadn't really considered the issue of cleaning before changing inks.

 

I'm slightly confused on one point. Can I put any sort of nib on my Safari? I've had the impression that various brand fountain pens could only take nibs of their own brand.... Are they all interchangeable? How would I know what nibs would fit and what wouldn't?

[j.a.j.]

If you do not already have a loupe it might be a good idea to get one so you can check nib tine alignment. It's not absolutely necessary but well aligned nibs are more fun. Some prefer 10x, some 20x and some even 30x.

 

Not all nibs are interchangeable, but some are. For example Pilot Prera, Penmanship, 78g and Metropolitan have interchangeable nibs. Lamy Safari nibs are compatible only with some Lamy pens.

 

Some companies sell for example Knox and JoWo nibs of size #6 and #5. Gouletpens #6 JoWo nibs are one popular option. They fit for example many Jinhao Pens (159, X750 for example) and most Noodlers pens. These pens require a bit of tinkering but the learning curve is not that steep. In comparison switching nib on Lamy Safari is dead simple.

 

If you want to experiment i'd suggest getting some dry ink (for example Pelikan) and wet ink (for example Waterman) and get a feel for their difference. Also a few different kinds of paper. Writing with wet ink on smooth glossy paper is quite different than with dry ink on coarser paper.

 

Have fun!

Edited January 24, 2015 by j.a.j.

[Runnin_Ute]

I think Buzz hit a lot of the points quite well. The big three: pen (nib), ink, and paper.... will dictate what that line is like.. You put a wet ink (such as Waterman inks) in a wet pen, on crappy paper and you will get a fat line even with a narrow nib.

 

Made in Brazil composition books are decent really cheap papers. (much better than Vietnam, or others), the Red n Black notebooks are also very good. Of course some of the papers I have used are a bit more expensive. (Basildon Bond, Clairfontaine for example) Basildon Bond is a UK made paper. I got my pad from a pen pal who sent it to me.

[Ecriveur]

What they mean is that Lamy sells a range of nibs for the Safari and you can buy the nib separately, swap out your current nib, and put the new one in its place. It's quite simple and there are YouTube videos on how to do it. So if you get tired of EF at some point and want to try a broad nib, you can get the nib without having to get a whole new pen. Also, the Lamy Vista (basically an aluminum Safari) and Lamy Studio pens use the same nibs as the Safari, so all their nibs are interchangeable.

[Ecriveur]

I should also mention that there are practical reasons for having multiple pens. You might want to have multiple nib sizes available at the same time, or multiple ink colors, e.g. so you can mark up things with red ink. There's even a highlighter setup using a Platinum Preppy and translucent yellow ink. You might want to have an inexpensive pen you can carry around so you can leave that expensive pen at home that you'd really hate to lose. But if none of those reasons apply to you and you're happy with your current pen, I wouldn't rush out to get another one. Better to get ink samples, browse web sites, attend pen shows (if there's one near you), read fountain pen reviews and practice your handwriting with your current pen. There will be plenty of time for additional pens once you have reasons to acquire them.

[FOUR X FOUR]

A Safari is a great beginner pen. One of it's best features is that of nib swapping. Buy nibs of different widths and try them out. You can also experiment with calligraphy nibs. From the reviews I've read, they're quite smooth and so you should be able to use them easily.

Don't buy new pens until you really learn how to maintain your pen and you see what else is out there. You may discover a better pen with every passing day.

Great advise.

[sandy101]

I'd get some 90 gsm writing paper and some matching envelopes and start writing letters to folk. Not only is it good practise, but people love getting hand written letters.

 

Rather than pens, it might be worthwhile getting some heavier paper - a Paperblanks journal or 100gsm + equivalent as FP inks work slightly differently on them.

 

I like thick lines - as they show off my shading inks a lot more.

[thatotherguy1]

As has been recommended before, Goulet has some excellent reference sources on their site. If you want a nib that has a different line width than your current Safari nib, go to the Nib Nook at Goulet, enter in your current nib as a standard of reference and start looking at different nibs in comparison to your current nib. Unfortunately, unless you show your handwriting to a handwriting/pen expert, it'll be hard to figure out what size of nibs you like best without experimenting. Paper is a big factor in performance as well.

For example- I prefer fine/extra fine Western nibs. I regularly have to write on horrid quality paper (most of my writing is on horrible paper) and my handwriting is small to medium, so a fine/EF works best for me. I'm willing to take the smoothness tradeoff (in general, the finer the nib, the more tooth or feedback you'll get from it) for my use. You may be able to write predominantly on nice paper, like Rhodia for example, and have large handwriting, which means that a stub, broad or double broad may be the right nib for you. There's no cookie cutter answer for what's best. What I would do is get some Lamy nibs in different sizes and play around with them to see what you like best. It wouldn't hurt to pick up some small notebooks from different makers and ink samples too, just to find your preferences. Good luck and welcome to the hobby!

[EricaTX]

Goulet also has some excellent videos on Youtube.

 

I'd recommend the Pilot Metropolitan. It has a good weight, is under $20, and writes smoothly. My other favorite sort-of-starter pen is my Lamy All-Star. It's a bit more (I think around $45) but also writes smoothly. It has a good grip, too, to help you hold it as you should.

 

Play around with inks, too. Noodler's makes some nice colors.

[Mari1013]

Welcome to our wonderful world of pens, inks, papers, and all things writing. I second the suggestions offered already (Goulet Pens, Pilot Metropolitan, different inks and papers), and would add the following:

 

Do you happen to live near a brick-and-mortar pen store? I was lucky that way when I fell into this hobby (thank you always, Bromfield Pen Shop) and it was a great way to start. At most stores, you can try out different pens and inks and get good advice and suggestions (and of course, enjoy lots of eye candy). Also, look for a pen collectors' club somewhere near you -- that's a wonderful way to meet knowledgeable, generous people who can tell you about different brands of pens and their properties.

 

Tell people you know that you like and are beginning to collect pens; sometimes people with no interest in our obsession come across a pen their father or grandmother left behind and are happy to pass it on to someone they know will care for it. I've gotten a few usable pens this way, as well as a larger number of pens that will serve me well as fixer-uppers or for parts, when I finally take up that aspect of the hobby. And keep working on your handwriting at the same time -- that's what this is all about. One more thing -- whatever the color, shape, material or price of the pen, it's all about the nib.

[Space_Elf]

I can't find a store within reasonable driving distance, so I'll have to go around to the various art supply stores to see which ones carry fountain pens and accessories. If anyone does know of any good resources in my area, I'd love to hear about it.

 

I posted on my Facebook about my new hobby and hopefully, I can drop some hints about what might be a good present.

[ac12]

OK, Sonoma is WAY north of the SF Peninusula.

The San Francisco Pen Posse meets in Millbrae. But we have been known to have meetings elsewhere, and there has been talk of having one in the north bay area. Check out the club section of FPN and watch for the SF Pen Posse postings.

Some of the folks in Sacramento were talking about forming a Sacramento Pen Posse.

 

Put on your calendar, August 28,29,30, the San Fransicso Pen Show, in Redwood City.

Start saving your money for the show.

- Last year, I bought 11 bottles of ink, and a few pens.

 

The Safari is a GOOD pen. The thing I like about the Safari is the interchangeable nibs. You have 7 different nibs that you can experiment with; EF,F,M,B,1.1,1.5,1.9. Example, I use EF or F for most of my writing, but I also use the 1.1 italic nib for the different look it gives to my writing. I keep a Lamy joy with a 1.1 nib constantly inked.

 

As has been said, ink and paper are the other 2 parts of this hobby, which can be every bit as consuming as pens, and maybe even more so.

 

Inks: There are sooooo many inks and colors. The desire to have and use several inks, could be the driver for more pens. One pen for each color. Example, I currently have 9 different inks in my pens, and I use most of them regularly. I also use a dip pen so I can use even more inks, without the hassle of inking up a fountain pen.

 

Paper: Paper can make a BIG difference in how your writing looks. Some paper are JUNK, and your ink will blot, feather and bleed though. Others a OK, and others are GOOD. Here are the papers that I use:

• Notebook, Staples single subject wire bound, made in BRAZIL (it is really cheap in the 'back to school sale' in July/Aug, I bought 30 notebooks for 17 cents each.)
• Filler paper, Staples, made in BRAZIL
• blank paper:
  • Staples, Sustainable Earth, sugar cane paper, 20#
  • Hammermill, Color Copy Digital, 28#
  • HP, Premium, 32#

This is a good place to start to learn about fountain pens.

• http://blog.gouletpens.com/p/fountain-pen-101.html

About learning to write, take a look at these 2 links. On each page there is a link to a download page to download the book so that you can read it.

• http://www.iampeth.com/pdf/modern-business-penmanship
• http://www.iampeth.com/pdf/champion-method-practical-business-writing

[Space_Elf]

Sacramento and Millbrae are equally far away from me, especially since I don't have a car. I'll definitely try to make the show in August, even if I have to badger someone into driving me. Does anyone know if a store called Corrick's Stationary in Santa Rosa has a good selection of fountain pens and/or fountain pen supplies?

 

Thanks so much for the paper recommendations, though I have been having fun tracking down odd packages of paper hiding in cabinets and drawers and testing my pens on them.

 

For my handwriting I've perused IAMPETH pretty thoroughly. I'm happy with my current books on handwriting.

 

As far as inks go, once I start to run low I'll order a set of samples from Goulet. That should keep me entertained for a while.