What Things Does A Newbie Need To Discover About Fountain Pens?

March 25, 2015

I'm new to the world of fountain pens having started in January 2015. I'm curious about all the different facets of fountain pens newbies needs to figure out for themselves.

Below are some of my initial thoughts. What else should I consider when evaluating pens? I am okay with getting some more inexpensive pens so I can try out different things, but I would eventually like to start narrowing things down so I can consider a higher-end pen selection.

nib preference - At the moment, I am leaning toward the italics as I like the line variation and the flourishes I can get with them. It seems a bit of a hassle to switch to the semi-flex nibs because I have to change the way I hold the pen and write. The fine nibs are good for work on poor paper though.
pen size (length/weight/thickness) - The Pelikan 140 is the shortest and the Lamy AL-Star & Safari are the longest. So far, I haven't hit a pen that just felt awful. I do notice the smaller size of the vintage pens though.
post/no post - This seems to depend on the pen I am using. Often I don't post the longer Lamy's, but I do the vintage pens; otherwise, the seem too short.
pen construction (metal, acetate, rubber, plastic, etc.) - I haven''t really come across a design I don't like.
pen hold (tri-grip, VP clip, etc.) - so far I don't mind the Lamy tri-grip or the VP clip. I do really like the smaller diameter section on the vintage German Edel pen. That just feels great! Unfortunately, the nib seems a bit rough for me. I figure it is potentially my limited skills with a flex nib.
filling system (cartridge, piston,lever fill, aeromatic, vacumatic, etc.) - I have tried piston, lever, aeromatic, and whatever you call the twist-type converter in the Lamy's (and Con-50), and a whatever you call the Parker converter. I didn't really care for the lever filler, although I haven't worked with it much. I haven't tried a vacumatic (yet).
Ink level checking - does the pen have a window to check ink levels? I find this handy in the pens that have them as it lets me know when I am getting low on ink. I won't start a new letter if I can see I am about to run out of ink; wheras other pens like the Pilot 78g have no visibility.
aesthetics - this is super subjective as people will like what they like aside from how it feels and functions.
vintage v. modern - As a newbie, I am a bit leery of vintage pens unless I am getting a restored pen from a trusted vendor as I have no clue how to work on a pen. As such, modern pens have a certain appeal since they should in theory work out of the box.

My newbie collection:

Pilot Varsity - cheap, throw-away pen, although you can refill them with some effort. It isn't worth it to me.
Pilot 78g broad italic nib - This is a NOS from Petyon Street Pens. I found the scratchiness was due to the way I was holding it.
Pilot Vanishing Point Decimo fine - This is a pen I picked up for work because I liked the retractable idea.
Lamy Safari - I started with a medium nib and switched to a 1.1 to help with the italic printing I'm doing.
Lamy Al-Star fine - I got this in black with a fine nib to use for work.
Parker IM fine - Inexpensive metal pen in fine nib to consider as a work pen.
Baoer 801 fine - in transit, I figured I would try one of the cheap Chinese pens
Sheaffer No Nonsense (2) italic nibs - I picked up a red one and a black one at an estate sale for $0.40. I need to clean them up and try them out. I ordered a modern piston converter for $10 that should work in them. From what I can tell, these were made in the 1980's to 1990's.
Osmiroid italic nib - I picked up at an estate sale for $0.20. It has a squeeze converter
Wahl Eversharp Equi-Poised Gold Seal - This is my first vintage pen from Peyton Street Pens.
Pelikan 140 fine semi-flex - I got this from Rick Propas
German "Edel" with flex nib - I got this from a guy on Fountain Pen Geeks. It is an unbranded German piston filler with a flex nib that he thinks was from 1935.