The master says don't share your pen

[Titivillus]

Latest edtion of Stylus has an article on Sailor and a side bar has some advice from Nobuyoshi Nagahara to quote:

 

"he advises that we not share a fine fountain pen: it is a personal tool that becomes an extension of one's unique writing style"

 

 

 

I guess none of those excellently writing vintage pens are really that good as I'm at least the second person to have used all of them

 

 

Kurt H

[KCat]

yeah... that's a concept I have trouble with also, Kurt.

 

most of my pens are second or third hand. Probably some even more so. while i have seen quite old nibs with what looked like slightly worn spots (notably, in a way that seems to suit the average right-hander quite well), i'm sure it took many years of consistent use to get to that stage. Or it could have been it was originally formed that way. And tipping does wear over time. a looong time.

 

Unless we talk about very cheaply tipped nibs like the Reflex, cheap Heros, etc.

 

anyway - there are good reasons for taking *care* when loaning a pen. But I will still loan my pens now and then to people I trust.

 

Still... I think the Master is basing his opinion on something much less tangible than the Western concept of ownership and use. Something we touched on ever so slightly in the thread re: a pen "telling" us what ink to use and so on. It's a bit of a mystical and perhaps irrational approach to what most see as a completely utilitarian object, but many cultures do place more meaning in such "everyday" things (tea pots, pens, musical instruments) than most of us "Westerners." I'm generalizing a great deal of course and am speaking only from what I've read, not what I "know".

[Leslie J.]

I agree. I have *one* pen that probably almost no one else could use, and that's my Nakaya Koi. But the reason is fairly uncommon, it's a special nib and it's ground to suit my high angle of attack. I think most would find it incredibly difficult to use comfortably, unless someone had the same writing style. Otherwise, none of my pens is proprietary to *me*.

 

On the mystical theory, works for me too.

[Velma]

And I think (here I'm fumbling for words), that for some people -- including us talking lightheartedly about how our pens "talk" to us, or have gender, or call to us from store windows -- that a sort of resonance arises from someone who is mindfully using and owning an object, and the object. People talk about cars and boats that balk at anyone who's not their owner using them, and yes, it's because the owner probably knows, in ways they can't verbalize, and may not even be consciously aware of, how much pressure to put on the brake. My pens respond to me because I respond to them.

 

Pre-coffee noodlings. Hmmm.

 

Your noodlings and fumbling are very well written, IMO.

 

yes, I have a couple of pens that make me a little nervous about handing over. Oddly enough, they're not my most expensive pens. Hubby borrows an FP now and then for special occasions - he's not heavy-handed but I still feel a little tug at my heart if I happen to have my M200 green marble in hand. The nib is springy and it's one I ground and made precisely to my tastes and it's quite fine (.4mm) sharp stub. in the wrong hands, it could easily be sprung I think. or the tine alignment mucked up. The others are my 9128 nibs. I trust them in the hands of other pen folks... but that flex would throw most people off and i'm afraid I'd have a mess.

 

I actually had a Vector nib damaged years ago. Back in high school. The girl behind me in my class asked to try the pen. Ya'll know these are pretty sturdy little pens with quite firm nibs. I grudgingly handed it to her but said "you don't have to press down on it." Completely disregarded my comment and stabbed her paper with it. ACK! At the time I had no idea how to fix tine alignment so I gave up on the nib. I think though that I've gotten fairly good at sizing up a person's capability to take instruction in these areas. through trial and error, unfortunately.

Edited June 25, 2005 by KCat

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

I agree about the soft and cheaply tipped Vectors and Reflexes. Those nibs shape within a year. I seemed to have the same problem with the Parker Arrow and 95. (I do not own those pens). A new Pelikan M200 nib on the other hand, does not suffer the same problems as a new Parker nib with soft ruthenium-tungsten tipping.

 

Dillon

[mr_inky]

Maybe he was talking about the Zen of FP's? You become "one" with yout FP and loaning it to another person disrupts its chi.

 

Well, it sounds good.

[Apollo]

I've often wondered about that question and I'm glad to see the topic brought up. If a fountain pen becomes an extension of one's own personal writing style, why are there so many vintage fountain pens still in use? Does one conform to the way the fountain pen writes or does the pen eventually get molded to one's own writing style no matter how many owner's it's had? Could it be a little bit of both?

[wimg]

Personally, I think writing styles depends on the writer, and possibly of the nib style; they influence each other to a degree.

 

But then, "breaking in" a pen is probably more breaking in the user. After a while you get tuned to the perfect sweet spot of the pen, and somehow memory retains that.

 

Try switching pens after having written with one for several pages. You'll probably find, that is takes at least a few letters or maybe even words before it works really well. It is the readjusting to the other pen's sweet spot.

 

Of course, that is just my opinion .

 

Warm regards, Wim

[ushat]

That's exactly my experience, Wim. Changing pens in mid-flow takes a bit of adjustment.

 

As a corollary, I always hate a new pen for the first few moments. Nothing seems right with it. I am filled with regret at having bought it. Then I hit the sweet spot and everything's fine.

[KCat]

My deepest apologies to Velma for "editing" her post. I meant to "quote" it and therefore we lost some of her wonderful comments on the topic. I really liked what she had to say.

 

One of the hazards of having the admin privileges and diminished brain capacity. I'm very sorry, Velma.

 

:bonk: :bonk:

 

you know, for someone who claims to have been on the 'net for 10 years now.. I'm sure doing a lot of stupid stuff lately.

 

sigh...