Being new to fountain pens I have some questions that perhaps to good folks here can help me with. I only own one that I purchased the other day from an office supply store. It is a 'Staedtler' and was part of a very basic calligraphy kit.

1. I am left handed and write in my note books back to front. Are there any other tips that one knows for left handed use?

2. I would like a new pen with a Nib that is designed for everyday cursive writing. The one I have worked fine for larger writing, but is not so good for fine or smaller handwriting. The catch is I can not afford very much. Does anyone now a solution under $100?

3. I fill note books at work while doing my job. It is how I keep organized. I found a nice one for use that I am considering saving for, has anyone used one of these:

http://www.renaissance-art.com/catg19/category.aspx

Thank you for your help!

.\\itch - "It never does to leave a live Dragon out of the equation"
--The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien

Hi

Welcome to Fountain pens

A lot of people who are fountain pen users today were introduced to Fountain pens through a calligraphy set.

This is a picture of an Italic nib - which I assume is what your calligraphy pen looks like. Not generally suited for everyday writing - not designed for cursive.

It seems to me that what you need is a normal, round-tipped fountain pen. These are the most commonly used type, and the easiest to use.

Unless you are specifically looking for a cursive italic nib, I think a normal round nib is your best bet.

(Images from richardspens.com - my apologies for forgetting to cite my source earlier on :doh: )


Solution under $100?
There are so many suggestions I can make that I don't know where to start :doh:
There are many many pens under $100 that are of high quality and durable for everyday use. On this following link http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=11808
you'll be able see a lot of options listed

Just to mention a few good choices off the top of my head:

-Waterman Phileas, Kultur
-Parker Frontier
-Lamy Safari, Vista
-Pilot Knight
-Hero 100

You may find the "Medium" nib of some of these pens too thick for small writing. You can easily get a "Fine" nib instead


Here are some websites that have pens listed:
www.pendemonium.com
www.swisherpens.com
www.isellpens.com

And here is an extensive reference website for fountain pen info:
richardspens.com


Good luck!

Well Dragon, it looks like Kissing has covered all the bases so all I can say is

Welcome to the Addiction

Thank you folks. I did swing bu the store and pick up a 3 pack of 'Pilot Varsity'. It is medium nip'ed, but is soooo much better then the first one I tried.

I think I know what to look for at think point. Now I need to save my coin and pick up a nice one or two.

.\\itch - "May my last breath be drawn through a pipe, and exhaled in a jest."
-Charles Lamb

It's been 15 years since I played it but I know that avatar!

Dragon Mountain Boxed set from 2nd ed D & D!

That was the BEST boxed set I ever played. Freakin' Kobolds were everywhere!!

You just got 100K cool points in my book.

Welcome to the addiction bud.

Dennis

I want to add a welcome to FPN. I hope you remain a regular contributor.

kissing did cover the bases well for pens under $100. Have fun exploring, and chat with us about what you are experiencing.

Welcome to the pocket-emptying addiction of the never-ending search for the ultimate combination of pen and ink

I'm left-handed too and find no problem writing with a fountain (ie a proper) pen. I think my technique is called 'underwriting' by those who give these things names. In essence, I put the paper, notebook or whatever straight in front of me and then rotate it clockwise anything from 45 to 90 degrees and write downhill .

If this is different to your technique, it might take some getting used to, but I will be bold enough to say it will eventually produce better results that trying to hook your hand over the writing like a pirate with cramp

Cheers, and enjoy the great advice and help the many expert people on this site give so freely. I've learned a great deal from them...

Chris

Fast-drying inks are very handy for left-handed writers. Swisher's Pens has some from Noodler's that are supposed to be good. although they feather on some papers. I would bet there are also several threads on fast-drying inks buried in the Inky Thoughts forum.

Welcome.

Kissing covered the pens well. I'll second the Phileas and Safari without hesitation. The Safari is available with nibs from EF to B if it matters. Both are well under your price limit.

I am also a lefty. As far as pens go, all of mine are out of the box standard nibs. The more important factor is the ink and paper combination. You may need to experiment a bit to find a combination that works for you. I have several Private reserve inks, and love the colors, but as a brand they tend to be the most susceptible to smearing. I don't have a problem with Lamy and Waterman cartridge inks, or with other bottle inks, including several Noodlers inks. Look at some of the Noodlers bulletproof inks or Diamine Registrars if you need a waterprof ink. To experiment with inks easily and cheaply, look at:

peartreepens.com

They have an ink sampling program, so you don't have to commit to a bottle to try a new ink.