So for a whole collection of reasons, I decided I'd like to try a fountain pen. I'm very picky about my pens, so much so that I find nearly all pens to be ultimately disappointing in some way or another and have no One True Favorite. My only experience with fountain pens was a brief run-in with Schaeffer calligraphy pens as a kid -- I assumed this was comparable (oops). But I'm sick of one thing or another about roller balls, ball points, gel inks, paste inks, felt-tips,... *sigh* So fountain pens were what was left.

After some Googling for fountain pen advice, I ended up here, reading your excellent sticky about good starter pens. I had to double and then redouble my price range after realizing that the majority of my criteria -- non-blotching, fine-pointed, non-scratchy, non-skipping, non-dripping, omnidirectional, and so on -- didn't go well with "cheap". I decided to treat myself to an investment pen -- something I could probably resell for at least almost what I'd paid for it if it turned out I hated it.

So I hunted down a "cheap" Parker 51.

And then realized I had no ink. Couldn't find ink. Never got around to ordering ink. Too tired to drive out for ink. And there my pen sat, in its little box, unused, looking like a big mistake.

And then I ran across a $20 fountain pen in Office Depot (with cartridge), and thought, "This will at least give me an idea." It skips, and blotches a bit, and has a medium nib that almost entirely obliterates my tiny, spidery handwriting. No worse, and maybe a little better, than most other pens, but not really an experience worth what I paid for the 51. Oh, well. The 51 is enough of a cult pen I can find someone to sell it to, surely...

But first, I really ought to give it a fair go. I finally hunted down a tiny bottle of watery red ink that came as part of a dip-pen gift set. I gave the 51 one squeeze of ink, and wasn't honestly sure I'd managed to do more than dampen the nib. I set pen to Moleskine and OOPS.

Now I'm addicted. This is your fault, you good-advice-giving, ink-fanatical, nib-picking, gateway-pen-loaning, obsession-sympathizing...

Um. Which is to say.

Thank you SO much.

I have no idea how much this pen is actually worth, or whether I overpaid, or what condition it's in. I do know I don't want to use anything else now. I have found my One True Pen.

At least until the next fountain pen.

They got me too. Started out looking for ONE pen. Now have over 15.
Just you wait...
It gets better...or worse...

Hahahah. I have so-far remained immune.

I might get sick with penitis this weekend, though. When I go to check out some Parker 51s.

Welcome, and good luck. One thing you will notice is that there isn't really one "true pen". You will find that there are FP's that have flex, that have larger bodies, have interchangeable nibs, etc etc. Your story sounds eerily like my own (and I am sure many other's on here) and the obsession will only grow. My suggestion: find a shop in your area and test-drive many different models and nib sizes. You will notice that I "medium" in one brand is like a "fine" in another and vice versa. So many choices, so little time.

I also found Ricard Binder's website to be an invaluable source of knowledge. Good luck and again, welcome.

John

First post and you've already quoted the FPN motto.

Very entertaining entrance there, eris.

Well, that leaves us to thank YOU--it's always satisfying to see yet another successful assimilation into the collective.
Click to view attachment

Oh and yes, John is right--this won't be your last pen. No indeed... you WILL buy more. Trust me.

Welcome to FPN. It's too bad that you've succumbed to this illness. Please don't think that the "51`" is the "one true pen." I am of the opinion that there are many " true pens" out there. They just have to be found and the finding is the adventure.

Welcome I blame FPN, too.

By the way, you mentioned that the ink you used was from a DIP-pen set, and that the ink is "watery." Just to be safe, I'd double-check to make sure it was designed for use in FOUNTAIN pens. There's a recent thread on here where there was a warning about the dangers of using alternative inks that are not totally water-soluble. I'm just adding this because I'd hate for your One True Pen to be accidentally ruined.

EDITED to add this link:
http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...c=31908&hl=

Read especially Richard's explanation post several replies down the page. In another similar post, I recall that he said that this applies even if the ink bottle says it's safe for fountain pens but is primarily marketed as a drawing ink or for calligraphy pens. I guess that is why he advises to use inks that are designed exclusively for use in fountain pens and aren't marketed for other purposes.

Lots of great fountain pen ink out there to explore!

neener neener neener

Welcome to FPN from Kentucky

Though Fountain Pens are our main addiction, we will also discuss coffee and chocolate with a good beer/wine post thown in for good measure Overall, I would say jd hit the nail on the head.

Welcome from Western Canada!
As Event Horizon said, there are other things to discuss beyond fountain pens -- tea, sports, writing paper, writing journals, other stationery items, uh . . . Event Horizon already mentioned beer. Hmm . . . places to travel to and from, and writing projects.
And the people are pretty friendly.

Murdoch

I really think it is irresponsible to blame FPN for anyone's overspending on pens. We make our own choices and should take responsibility for our actions. It is nobody's fault but your own if you find yourself addicted to getting more and more beautiful pens.

I do not blame FPN for my pen addiction. The blame for that lies squarely in the hands of JIM MAMOULIDES! If he hadn't posted all those beautiful Sheaffers, Parkers, Conklins, Swans, etc. on the PenHero.com web page, I would never have gotten into this whole mess. He was the one who recommended Richard Binder for snorkel restoration for goodness sake. It's all Jim's Fault!

[Voice from the back]: But didn't you find Jim's website when you were googling Sheaffer Snorkels?

Uhm, well . . . maybe. Hey - who let you in!

[Voice from the back]: and weren't you googling Snorkels after seeing them on Ebay while you were looking for a Parker 51?

Quiet! - get this guy out of here. . .





But blaming FPN is just denial.



John

Wait until you get REAL ink.

Oh, I don't doubt it. Now I have to find my One True Ink. Of the month.

I hope you will collectively provide with plenty more opportunities for denial!

My husband has promised to take me Noodler's hunting this weekend. Meanwhile, some passable fountain-pen specific ink is UPSing its way to me.



Thanks for this warning! I really only meant to use a tiny sample to test the pen, and then maybe just one squeeze-full to see if it was really as fantastic as it seemed, and then I got so addicted I forgot I had intended not to use much of that ink or leave it in too long. Since you directed me to this warning and my concerns are a bit more solidified now, I'll go ahead and clean it out and try to wait patiently for a nice, safe concoction to do my new pretty thing justice.

No, it won't be the One True Pen for more than a week, a month at most. Then I'll have found something else to marvel at. It's so much fun to be me.

The Parker 51, or at least the one I got, is a great first fountain pen, though.* I'm sure I'll eventually decide I want a softer or springier or smaller nib, or a more-secure cap, or something heavier or lighter or longer or shorter or bluer or redder or gravity-defying or with a laser pointer in the end or possibly with a built-in teleportation device. And then after that, it'll be something even pickier. But this pen blew away a lot of my unfortunate perconceptions about fountain pens -- that they're messy, that a filling doesn't last very long, that they're scratchy or only write in one direction or that they blob ink all over. And some fountain pens may well do any or all of these things -- but this one doesn't and that proves that those aren't inherent qualities of all fountain pens, just incidental qualities of specific ones. And that's what will keep me addicted to trying out other fountain pens.

* Actually, it's an even better second fountain pen. I wouldn't appreciate this one nearly as much if I hadn't first spent an hour with a $20 Office Depot sale-rack fountain pen, learning about all the potential flaws that were engineered out of the Parker.

Uh-oh.......you might enjoy the blog Inkquest. One man's search for THE ink!

Welcome to FPN!

Welcome, eris. You'll fit right in here. Addicts, all of us.

Great entrance!

I loved being blamed for stuff, it gives me a sense of self importance!

That said, I didn't do it, whatever it was.

Eris, you MUST get Noodler's Red-Black if you like Brown/Red inks at all. Such a wonderful color.

Welcome to FPN Eris523!

I take full responsibility. Especially since it turned out so well.

I love my P51's. There is something gratifying about running some vintage Quink through it, too. I don't recall you mentioning where you are, but if there there is a Staples nearby, they may have a bottle of black Quink.

Let us know what that next pen is, should you ever stray from THE pen!

Ah! Fountain pen junkies pointing fingers at each other. This is so much fun.

Ditto the InkQuest Blog! Then you'll have yet another person to blame!

_{Poor Ged, not really his fault you know. Dropped on his head as a baby or something}.


Anyway, BEEN TO A PEN SHOW YET.............................????????? There is soooooo much temptation and soooooo many FPNers that feed it....

Welcome to the FPN, where having only one, no make that ... 1,000 pens is never enough.

Sir, there's no such thing as a cheap 51. These are relics of an era gone by.
You are fortunate to have one. Now get some FP only ink and get some more pens.
No dip pen ink please.

Welcome to FPN.

I first became interested in fountain pens in 1974 as a USAF medic in Alaska. I wanted a good pen and found a Parker in sterling silver with the "cross hatched design". New at $25.00 that was a lot of money to spend on a pen at the time. I eventually bought an extra one and literally wore out the nibs writing in patient charts. I eventually sold them for double the price with the worn out nibs. The price on that model has quadrupled x 2 since then.

I have a collection of fountain pens now which include Montblanc, Cross, Diplomat and Waterford. I have several good ball points and roller balls also. Soon to have a Montblanc sterling silver BP. And a collection of over 700 antique dip pen nibs and a box full of handles.

Hooked ever since 1974.

Bob