I have always talked about getting a nicer pen for myself. To my suprise I was gifted a new Waterman Phileas Black Fountain pen yesterday and I dont have a clue where to start because i have never owned a fountain pen before. All I have is a pen that wont mark on a page and I would like to turn it into a usable instrument. Thank you soo much for your help!!

Wonderful! I have three Waterman Phileas and they are all great writers. Have you filled the pen with ink yet? It should just start writing after that... or that plus giving the pen a shake. What have you tried so far?

One of my Phileas was a bit scratchy at first -- that's fixable too... just let us know.

The basics, you probably know most of this but you say you're a noob and want help so just to make sure:

Ink the pen. Either put in the ink cartridge or fill with bottled ink using the converter.
How to do this is described in the warrenty papers you got with the pen.

hold the pen something like this:

(pic from google images)

And write. Don't press too hard. Simply touching the paper so the ink flows should do.

The Phileas is a nice pen. Mine is one of my favorite everyday writers.

I figured everything mostly out on my own...
I figured out how to fill the pen with ink and i used it at school today. It was a lot of fun to use. A lot of people were making fun of me because I bought a nice pen..Ha Ha. Little do they realize how much crap they buy that is not useful and a total waist of money. A pen however, can be used over and over again. Thanks for the help....Queston...
I'm not looking into pen collecting as I am just a senior in high school. However, I would like to have a couple of every day pens. What would be another good next pen purchase for everyday use? Lamy Safari?

Thanks again!!

The Lamy Safari certainly is a favourite, so is the Rotring Core - though the shape is not for everyone.

You're right - a pen isn't a waste of money, it's a reliable tool you can keep on using!

You might want to take a quick look at ISellPens.com (standard disclaimer, no affiliation) and see what they have in the line of inexpensive pens. I've gone there, purchased some different sized pens for gifts for others. As Christmas is a long way off, I've also tested these pens, and by doing so found what nib/pen size works best for my hand. Another option is a visit to a brick and mortar store.

No cheap shots from the cheap seats please. I'm just doing market research. That's all. Just market research.

There is no requirement that you actually buy even if you are ahem, drooling into your shoes and about to float the display counter as you hold the "Gee, could this be THE PERFECT PEN?!?!?" in your hot little hands. it happens. The sales people at fountain pen counters, by and large, understand this. If they don't, size up the character with the name tag on his/her shirt and drop the name of the hottest person, object of lust, or other matter that would get their little old hearts going pitter-patter and they will, the gods willing, understand.

Word of advice. Take cash when entering the fountain pen shop danger zone. Never take a credit card.

Well, almost never.

Oh fugeddabuddit, you're going to buy another pen. You are one of us, from that fateful moment when you hit "enter" on the sign-up page. We have the secret to the whole addiction thing. That is, simply, lie to yourself early, constantly or often about the difference between need and want. Want wins.

Buy 12 fountain pens. Buy 12 more. You get the idea.

I said we had teh secret, not the cure.

And welcome.

For a really cheap pen, I found the current Parker Reflex (in a blister pack, no less) surprisingly good. The one I got is a medium point, and it's not too chunky. I've just come from the Parker forum, where some fun was being poked at it, but the one I got is almost as nice to write with as the Phileas I got last Christmas (they are nice, aren't they), and the Reflex is so damn inexpensive you're not so concerned about taking it around all the time.

...so the Reflex is my "writing crap at the job I hate" pen, and the Phileas is my "writing for pleasure" pen.

Oh, and advice to a noob from someone who killed a lot of pens in his early days of fountain pennery (back in the 70's, when a grade school kid might be tempted by a Sheaffer cartridge pen at the drug-store) is make sure of cleaning the works regularly-- with the Phileas, running cool water from a cup in and out until the thing runs clear. I'm so worried about gumming it up, I do this monthly, which I suspect sensible people will view as obsessive.