Hello all. I've been reading through many of the discussions to be found on the site and decided I would like to introduce myself. I absolutely love writing with fountain pens and have been heads over heels for them since I was a teenager. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't use at least 2 of my FPs, and my work as an anthropologist, especially when I'm doing research, requires that I write a lot. Fountain pens never fail to bring extra joy to that pursuit. My pen interests aside, I felt compelled to introduce myself largely as a result of my having been quite struck by the community I sense among some of you, which I gather from my past week of reading through the discussions. I have to say it's really quite amazing to read about the warm gestures that some of you have made to other members. It's been a pleasure to "meet" some of you through reading the discussions and I will look forward to reading further and pehaps occasionally contributing to the discussions. Best,
Jason

Welcome, Jason. Tell us more about your pens: ancient or modern, for instance?

Ray

I bid you welcome too, Jason.

Welcome to the FPNuthouse, Jason. Glad you found us and, even after checking us out, deciding to stay . Please do tell us more about your FPs, but I'd also like to hear more about your occupation. Looking forward to seeing you around the boards.

I realized after the initial post that I said not very much at all about myself and my pen collecting. I live in beautiful Santa Cruz, CA with my wife. I'm currently teaching at the university and writing grants for another year of research in India that I hope to have funded beginning this coming summer. My collection is mostly contemporary offerings, though I do have a 1946 Parker 51 Vacumatic, and a Conklin Nozac from the 1930s (a nice piston filler) that both see regular action - you can probably tell that I like pens that hold a substantial amount of ink - and an Esterbrook (I'm not sure how old it is, but its my only lever filler) and Omas Extra (I don't know that age on this one either) that I only rarely use because, despite loving to write with them, I worry about their durability. My contemporary era pens (are fine points other than a medium Parker Vector and a medium Namiki VP insert) include a few Parker Vectors, 6 Pelikans (a 150, a 200, a White Tortoise, a 600, and an 800, and an 805 - the 800 is one that sees use daily), a Namiki Vanishing Point, a Cross ATX (great writer that I wish I used more), a few Watermans (a Carene - love it, a Hemisphere (also sees almost daily use), a Phileas, and a Liaison), a Parker Sonnet (steel nib, but a super writer that I carry all the time, everywhere), and my most recent addition (last week) is a beautiful Smoke Bronze Parker 100. I also have quite a few no-name pens, some of which are excellent writers, that I've picked up during my travels in India. I only began purchasing more expensive pens about 3 years ago, and in the past 6 months I've slimmed my collection down to only the pens I really love to use or don't feel good about selling on ebay (some of the pens from India are truly horrid writers). Prior to getting the bug for fancy pens I mostly used a Waterman I received as a gift for my 15th birthday from my grandfather and a Cross I received for my high school graduation. I really didn't conceive of my pens as potential collectors items, I just always loved writing with them. It was only when I lost the Cross after years of faithful service and began looking into a replacement that I realized there was a huge pen world beckoning. You'll also note that while some of my pens certainly aren't cheap, I shy away from those above about $300, though for my next purchase I have been giving serious thought to a Nakaya.

Welcome to FPN!

Your initial comment reminded me of another board I used to frequent more often. The BMW Sport Touring board is referred to on some of the other motorcyling boards as MRN, Mister Roger's Neighborhood. While some viewed that as a dispariging remark, I viewed it as a complement. There is a similar feeling of comraderie here that makes it a nice place to hang out, listen to the friendly banter, and put in your own two cents. Enjoy!

welcome jason! next one a nakaya, eh? i'm jealous...

welcome Jason! your name is easy enouhg to remember!

let us know a bit about your collection when you get the chance.

all the best ,
Jason

The Esterbrook you are worried about is probably one of the most hearty pens around hundreds of them survived to today and can be found in the $20-40 range as well all of the different nib possibilities!


Well if you are looking to Nakaya you might also want to look to DaniTrio. Depending on what nib you want even the price of after market tuning may shift your preference.

It's funny that after all of the really great press about Nakaya there was the lesser bad press about their nibs not being what the buyers hoped for and then finally a total lack of talk about them. I guess they went in and out of style in 2 years

Kurt H

And welcome to FPN hope it's as fun for you as it is for me!

Welcome!

Thanks for all the info Kurt. I've read on another forum that many people with Nakaya pens have experienced a great deal of difficulty with ink flow - its both eratic and sometimes ceases altogether for extended periods. At this point my thinking about purchasing one is purely thinking - I haven't yet the funds nor am I too terribly inclined to purchase a pen that I will be unable to try prior to buying. But I had not read of owner dissatisfaction with the performance of the nib itself - hearing that from multiple people would be quite a deterrent. Thanks again,
Jason

Jason,
That is the one unfortunate thing about another site Pentrace in that the discussions are only kept for the time they are one the 5 pages after that they are gone unless you can find a cached version. I would say post a topic asking about Nakaya and you might get some more inforamtion.

Kurt H

Hi Jason (rigo311, that is!) and welcome to FPN!

Thanks for posting your pen biography and also for the nice words about FPN. It really feels like a community here... and it's the good people that post here that make it such a friendly place

You've got some really nice fountain pens there and I admire your philosophy of only keeping what you use. I collect Sheaffers but I haven't used *all* of them for extended periods of time yet

Hello Jason and welcome to the Fountain Pen Nuthouse. I am sure that you will love it here and gain a lot of knowledge about pens, and maybe even attend a few pen shows, which will really make the cash in your wallet vanish quickly.

Welcome aboard and...

Happy New Year!!

Hi,

Welcome!!

Dillon