An anonymous visitor to my blog read the entry about my love affair with my fountain pen and sent me here. I thought I'd introduce myself by posting my story:

"I dip my pen in the blackest ink, because I'm not afraid of falling into my inkpot."

I miss my fountain pen. In grade school, when most kids were still using pencils, I found fountain pens. I loved the feel of the pen in my hand and the way it fit perfectly in my fingers. It wrote so fluidly, so effortlessly and so beautifully. The first ones I used sucked up ink from a bottle when you pulled the tiny levers. They always made a mess. Well, a bit of a correction there, I always made a mess. Ink got on my hands and everywhere on the pens and sometimes on my clothes though those marks resembled fingerprints rather than interpretive ink blots. Later, the cartridge pen became my favorite. Just pop out the old and pop in the new. Black ink was always my color of choice though I'd used blue rather than do without. My first few pull the lever pens were inexpensive, and I used Schaeffer ink, still have a few of my old bottles with a bit of ink in them. Later, I bought expensive fountain pens, the kind you find in glass cases in jewelry stores or give as gifts on only the most momentous of occasions. I would never lend my pen to anyone. I'd explain that fountain pens took on the writing characteristics of their owners and seldom worked for strangers. When I lost one of my pens, I mourned. Once I dropped my pen right on its nib which then bent in on itself. It was a tragic sight but such were the pitfalls of fountain pen users. We knew what we were getting into from the first.

It wasn't long ago that cheap throwaways began to flood the market. They were deluxe executive styling, convenient, wrote fluidly, were guaranteed smooth and came in too many colors to name. I held fast to my fountain pen and scoffed at these formally dressed ball points, but I admit it wasn't long before I too was taken in by all their tawdriness. When I lost my last fountain pen, I never replaced it. I gave in to the dark side.

It's time for you to buy another fountain pen.

Or maybe you need a couple new fountain pens Welcome Katry!

Welcome, Katry! Fountain pens are such a pleasure to write with. I've newly re-discovered them since playing around with them as a kid when my grandma bought me a cheap cartridge pen from the grocery store. Since I bought my first vintage pens at the beginning of March, I now have pens and ink up the wazoo (is that a word?) and am having a grand ol' time. Mine are mostly vintage. They have a charm all their own. I've found the relatively inexpensive Esterbrook pens pretty and easy to write with. And they come with changeable nibs! And there's a host of ink colors to choose from now.

Have fun here.

Welcome to FPN from Kentucky. The dark side is OK as long as you have some vintage fountain pens with you and we will help you find all the pens you could want.

Ahoyhoy!!

If you don't have a fountain pen, then thou hast no place here! BEGONE!!

If you should return with a fountain pen, then thou shalt be welcomed back with open arms and...bottles of ink.

Welcome to our site.

Welcome back to civilization

Agreed, time to buy a new pen! Welcome to the boards!

Hi Katry,

That was me on your blog. I enjoyed your story and thought you might like this board.
Welcome to the FPN, enjoy the site!

Welcome - get a fountain pen and join again in the fun (and ink blots); the vintage lever fillers are my favorites. It only seems right that filling a fountain pen should carry some risk.

enjoy the site.

Help! I'd love to buy a fountain but am at sea as to what. Suggestions?

Thanks for sending me by here. Thanks to you, I am in the hunt for a fiountain pen to bring me back into the fold. Suggestions?

WATERMAN PHILEAS

Something like:

Ebay item: 130116544463

They are a wonderful way to break back into the world of fountain pens!

Welcome to FPN
Perry

Ah, this does come up from time to time. 2 major considerations: 1) Budget, and 2) Vintage or Modern.

If you want Vintage, I'd say start with a nice aerometric Parker 51 or an Esterbrook.

If you want Modern, I'd say Waterman Phileas, Lamy Studio/Safari, or a Chinese pen (there are dozens of different styles at very affordable prices).

If you want super cheap, start with a Pilot Varsity or a Sailor "Ink Pen" (you can buy directly from Japan from Jared).

Enjoy the hunt!

~Gary

I second the waterman Phileas but NOT the demonstrators or the ones with a clear (demonstrator) section with a fine nib. They are scratchy in my experiance and the ink dries too fast when the pen is capped. These are actually called Waterman Kultur. I find the Phileas to be much better. The Phileas only comes in black, red marbled, green marbled and blue marbled. It has gold trimmings on the cap and the back of the barrel and nib is partly goldplated.

I'm also a fan of the Pelikan Pelikano (is a schoolpen) and the Parker Frontier.

I don't know if you're looking for a fine writing line or something broader like a medium.

This is the pen I'd start with if I were you:
http://cgi.ebay.com/1-Parker-Frontier-Foun...1QQcmdZViewItem

I have bought from this seller several times and am a happy customer.
The reason I link to this pen is because it has a fine nib and they usually come with medium nibs that are very wide. The fine nibs are in between fine and medium so they are a safe bet. I find it to be a very nice pen for the money. This particular pen comes without box I believe but I've got one and it was new. You have to get either cartridges or an inkconverter for it seperately. You can get cartridges from the same seller but for the converter I'd go to an US store to save on shipping. I hope some Americans here can steer you in the right direction.

If you want something more upscale I'd open a thread in writing instruments and state what you are specifically looking for. How large you want the pen the be, if it must be light or heavy weight and what kind of nib you want(fine, medium etc).

Hope this helps!

I've heard lots of people talking about it...what is the deal with the Waterman Phileas? I've seen photos of it, it looks like a beautiful pen...but is that it's only quality?

Oh it writes pretty darn well too !

Welcome to FPN Katry

Hah!! I'll put it on my wishlist next to the Parker Duofold, then.

And yes, welcome to our humble abode, Katry. Look out for the stack of ink-bottles on the stand as you enter the club-house door.

Thank you, the bid is in!

Thanks for the greeting! I'm on the hunt for my pen.

Thanks, it helped a lot. I went and bought the pen on Buy It Now. I am now the poud owner of a fountain pen!

Congratulations! Good choice. Were you able to get the color you wanted? I hope they ship really, really quick.

No doubt this will be a jumping off point for you; I predict there will be others, even many others, to come.

Sorry for being so slow to welcome you to FPN. I'm sure that you will enjoy your pen and that you will have to get it a companion. Oh, don't forget the inks and papers.

I agree -- that's the next adventure, discovering the range of inks and paper available. There are many to choose from and some pens behave quite differently with the same ink. But first things first--getting your pen in hand.

Usually a cartridge filler pen will come with just one or two cartridges, so you will need more ink in the near term.

The Parker Frontier you bought doesn't come with a cartridge. I think the seller is selling them one by one from one of those seller display trays. So no box and no cartridge included. Still Parker cartridges are very easy to get. Depending on how you'll use the pen I'd go for bottled ink. Much cheaper in the long run and more inks to choose from. For travelling cartridges might be handier.
This pen fits both the Parker slide converter and the newest model luxe twist converter (I'm not sure but it seems that some people say there is an older twist converter that is fatter). I'd go for the latter, it fits more ink.

For comparing ink colors you can visit this site.
http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/ink_cat/ink_cat.php?none

Thank you all for the warm welcome. In my hand is my new Waterman pen which arrived today with one cartridge so I can get that fmamiliar feeling back again. Thank you all for the great suggestions and for finding me my first and, yes, second pen. I have another on its way, the Parker. What a lovely feel as my new pen!

Hello Katry:

That blog poster sure sent you in the right direction. Welcome aboard the FPN!