Hello,

I'm new here. I've been reading some of the interesting topics. I'd like to ask for some advice.

I first became intrigued by fountain pens when I was late for school one day. I was eleven years old. The teacher had already marked me absent. He called me up to his desk and had me watch what trouble I had created by arriving late and what he had to do to the attendance book. It was fascinating.

He had a bottle of clear liquid. He applied a drop on the "A" that he had written alongside my name in the big book. The ink disappeared. Then he took his green and black fountain pen. I had never seen one before. It was beautiful. I watched him write the letter "P" where the "A" had been. I never forgot Mr. Maxwell's patience and careful attention to keeping neat records. I can still see the blue-green ink writing on the page of attendance journal. I never forgot his lovely pen. I suppose it was a Pelikan.

Years later I bought a black Pelikan 140, a wonderful pen in the 1960s which I had for many years, but which sadly, was stolen. It's become an obsession for me to try to finds one like it. So far I've had no luck. I still have drawings I made with it. The lines are hair-line fine as well as generous. It was a yellow gold 14C, probably EF. I've tried new Pelikans, but nibs today are just not the same.

I am interested in pens no longer made, and there lies a puzzle. I read about flex nibs being much sought after but not knowing how they handle. I've watched some demonstrations on YouTube.

Can you enlighten on the subject of flexible nibs? Someone once gave me a list of nibs to look for:

Sheaffer w nib FF3
Sheaffer w nib BHR 34
Waterman Pink Flexible #7
Waterman 52RRHR
Swan 450 or 4500
Wahl Gold Seal stamped Flexible
Esterbrook 9048 Flexible

If I saw one for sale I wouldn't know the difference between one and another, nor what a realistic price ought to be since they're not made anymore. It's practically impossible to know what they are about. I don't know of any pen shows in the Toronto region.