A 68 year old native Texan, I wrote with fountain pens all through school & college, then like most of the rest of the western world abandoned them for ballpoints. About 10 years ago I discovered that there are still lots of fountain pens out there & more remarkably, lots of people who love them. So I began acquiring/accumulating/collecting them, some from Ebay, some from other vendors, some from friends & acquaintances who, while wondering why I was so interested in them, were glad to hand them off to someone who would actually enjoy having them.
I've taken my hand to trying to repair a few, with about a 50 percent success rate. My most prized pen is a 1947 Parker 51 vac which belonged to my late mother [& which has never needed repairing!]. I never carry it with me, lest it get lost, but I have about 20 pens in rotation at any given time, some vintage, some new.
I look forward to meeting new friends here & learning much.
Full Version: Intro
Hi ClintnTx,
I'm glad you found us. Welcome to our little community.
I am always very envious of people who have pens with such an emotional load, such as your mother's 51.
Make yourself at home.
Denis.
I'm glad you found us. Welcome to our little community.
I am always very envious of people who have pens with such an emotional load, such as your mother's 51.
Make yourself at home.
Denis.
Hi ClintnTx,
Welcome to the Fountain Pen Nut house
, where there are plenty of mad people trying their hands at repairing pens.
Most of us probably have rediscovered fountain pens, in one way or another, after a period of ballpoint and rollerball abuse, and I am certainly one of them.
Just like you I have about 20 pens in rotation at any one time, unless I am doing an ink review, where the load goes up to 30 or 35 pens occasionally.
Please feel free to ask any fp-related questions you have, and also to share any of your thoughts on pen- or non-pen-related matters. All is welcome.
Warm regards, Wim
Welcome to the Fountain Pen Nut house
, where there are plenty of mad people trying their hands at repairing pens.Most of us probably have rediscovered fountain pens, in one way or another, after a period of ballpoint and rollerball abuse
, and I am certainly one of them.Just like you I have about 20 pens in rotation at any one time, unless I am doing an ink review, where the load goes up to 30 or 35 pens occasionally
.Please feel free to ask any fp-related questions you have, and also to share any of your thoughts on pen- or non-pen-related matters. All is welcome.
Warm regards, Wim
Welcome ClintnTX,
Sounds like you're already heavily into the hobby, so we hope you will enjoy this site and pass along some knowledge as well as gain some.
I often have 20 pens inked, too, but I'd prefer to keep it down to 16 or less. Somehow, it always seems as though I've got a lot of pens to clean--but then the fun is in using them, trying out new nibs, experimenting with inks & paper, etc. A month or two ago I found myself with 34 to clean at one time and that wasn't much fun!
That's wonderful that friends are passing along pens to you. I keep hoping that friends will pass along pens to me, too, but haven't had much luck with that.
Best regards,
Ann
Sounds like you're already heavily into the hobby, so we hope you will enjoy this site and pass along some knowledge as well as gain some.
I often have 20 pens inked, too, but I'd prefer to keep it down to 16 or less. Somehow, it always seems as though I've got a lot of pens to clean--but then the fun is in using them, trying out new nibs, experimenting with inks & paper, etc. A month or two ago I found myself with 34 to clean at one time and that wasn't much fun!
That's wonderful that friends are passing along pens to you. I keep hoping that friends will pass along pens to me, too, but haven't had much luck with that.
Best regards,
Ann
A HEARTY SOUTHERN WELCOME FROM EASTERN NC!! I'm a newbie to fp's and "battle-hardened fp vets" like yourself are a treasure. I look forward to getting to know you here on FPN! 
From snowy Canada, a big Texas-sized "Welcome to FPN", ClintnTx!
How nice to hear that your mother's Parker 51 is still doing well; the 51s are very durable pens, that's for sure!
Enjoy the site!
(edited to correct the spelling of ClintnTx...
)
How nice to hear that your mother's Parker 51 is still doing well; the 51s are very durable pens, that's for sure!
Enjoy the site!
(edited to correct the spelling of ClintnTx...
)
Greetings from another Texan.
There's a handful of us here, lurking and posting. I'm on the upper TX coast. My area doesn't seem terribly conducive to vintage finds. Either that or the Lone Star Pen Club members have already raided all the antique shops.
We need to make more noise down here - the Houston Pen show has been cancelled 4 years in a row now. Boooo Hiisssss.
Take care,
K
There's a handful of us here, lurking and posting. I'm on the upper TX coast. My area doesn't seem terribly conducive to vintage finds. Either that or the Lone Star Pen Club members have already raided all the antique shops.
We need to make more noise down here - the Houston Pen show has been cancelled 4 years in a row now. Boooo Hiisssss.
Take care,
K
Welcome ClintnTx!
That's amazing that your mother's Parker 51 from 1947 has never needed repair! I wouldn't carry it with me either. Heck, I don't carry most of my pens except for my cute little Kaweco Sport and Waterman Phileas. The pricier ones stay home!
I'm not a Texan, but many of my relatives are. I have kinfolk from both sides of the family in Dallas, College Station, and Georgetown. Me personally, I'm a displaced Southerner from Memphis living in NY state.
Enjoy the forums!
That's amazing that your mother's Parker 51 from 1947 has never needed repair! I wouldn't carry it with me either. Heck, I don't carry most of my pens except for my cute little Kaweco Sport and Waterman Phileas. The pricier ones stay home!
I'm not a Texan, but many of my relatives are. I have kinfolk from both sides of the family in Dallas, College Station, and Georgetown. Me personally, I'm a displaced Southerner from Memphis living in NY state.
Enjoy the forums!
Nice to meet you, ClintnTx!
[QUOTE]I have about 20 pens in rotation at any given time, some vintage, some newQUOTE]
Wow! I was just thinking I need to either use up the ink in some of mine or empty them out... and mine are nowhere near 20! In fact, I don't even own 20 yet. You must do a lot of writing!
[QUOTE]I have about 20 pens in rotation at any given time, some vintage, some newQUOTE]
Wow! I was just thinking I need to either use up the ink in some of mine or empty them out... and mine are nowhere near 20! In fact, I don't even own 20 yet. You must do a lot of writing!
QUOTE (WriterNat @ May 29 2005, 08:34 PM)
That's amazing that your mother's Parker 51 from 1947 has never needed repair!
Proof positive that back then, things were really made to last a lifetime. Today, many, many things have absolutely no lasting value whatsoever. Hearing things like this warm my heart a lot.
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