I wasn't going to post an introduction, but...

[andyc]

My interest in fountain pens grew out of a discussion on implementing the ideas in David Allen's Getting Things Done book. Many of the disucussions around this were on low tech ideas for keeping organised lists. Since I've not written much other than my signature on a credit card slip for a while (I have an office job!), I decided to try a return to a fountain pen to make notes.

 

Since then I've got a collection of Lamy Safaris with a mixture of EF and M nibs. I find I switch between the EF and M nibs depending on what I'm writing. Small notes, I like the EF nib, and for larger pages I perfer the smooth flow of the wider tip.

 

I also keep two contrasting colours around - making notes in one colour, and checking things off in another saves lots of mucking around with hightlighter pens.

 

I didn't think of myself as a collector, but if I've bought 6 pens in a few months, I guess I must be, especially if I'm now thinking in terms of getting a nicer pen for using in meetings and other "public" writing situations.

 

Then again, I like the efficient functionality of the Safari - perhaps that says more about me than something more "pretty".

 

Andy

[mike1]

Andy, welcome to our pen world. I have found writing with a fountain pen to be relaxing and therapy for me. It lets loose a torrent of thoughts that no other medium has done for me before. It may be that I'm ready to write these things down at this place I am in my life. The fact that I am doing this with a fountain pen may be nothing more than a coincidence or maybe I'm striking back at technology by using a writing instrument from my youth. I'm not sure but whatever the reason I've been using a fountain pen and am enjoying it as well. Use your pens and enjoy aquiring more.

Edited July 1, 2006 by mike1

[aunt rebecca]

hi,

 

lamys are pretty in their own way. fountain pens are meant to be used. for me they make the experience of writting a pleasurable experience. i like to be surrounded by beautiful pens. i am addicted and i enjoy this board. welcome to this fun house!!!

 

:meow: :bunny1: :meow: :bunny1:

 

:)9 :)9 :)9 :)9

 

:ltcapd: :roflmho: :ltcapd: :roflmho:

[southpaw]

Hello Andy, and welcome to the FPNuthouse.

 

Around here we have a term for what you are. You're not a collector, but an accumulator or user/collector. Many of us here are the same. We like to have a variety around, but we put our pens to use as opposed to just storing them.

 

Glad you're here and hope to see you around.

[Dawn]

Hi Andy

 

Welcome to the network! Sure sounds like your an addict like the rest of us

 

Dawn

[Judybug]

Andyc,

 

Welcome to FPN. What a coincidence! I just returned from Barnes & Noble where I bought David Allen's book, Ready for Anything. I looked at Getting Things Done. May buy it later.

 

Judybug

[kenny]

Welcome, Andyc!

 

I myself am a relative newbie. My interest in fountain pens comes in part from my love of writing as a form of communication.

 

My dad is an immigrant to this country and I was introduced at an early age to writing short letters to relatives using these "aerogramme" pages that fold up into envelopes. I also had a pen pal as a kid (something you'd be afraid to let your kid do these days!). When I was in college, I used to write regularly with my best friend who attended college several states away; I looked forward to getting those weekly letters in the afternoon after my chemistry lab.

 

In this day, letter writing is a lost art. To me, the beauty and variety of fountain pens reflect back to those days when the written page was a valued form of human interaction.

 

Kenny

[andyc]

I don't know about letter writing per se, I just think proper written communication is becoming a thing of the past. I don't particularly mind whether it's written or electronic, what's important to me is that someone has taken the time to tell me about something by writing proper sentences, not "kewl txt msgs".

[ballboy]

Yes, ink flow helps slow down my writing to a more thoughtful pace and consider what one should really write. Hope you're enjoying your stay with us.

[smudgy]

I don't know about letter writing per se, I just think proper written communication is becoming a thing of the past. I don't particularly mind whether it's written or electronic, what's important to me is that someone has taken the time to tell me about something by writing proper sentences, not "kewl txt msgs".

I agree. I wish I could get some of my students to see that. I'm tired of seeing

 

LOL

kewl

enuff

4ever

u

nite

B4

n-e-ways

 

and so on in their papers!

 

Anyhow, welcome!

[andyc]

I work in the IT department in our company, and last year I got an e-mailed request to help some one that was written using text abbreviations.

 

I came this close: ----> <---- to deleting it, intending to say I mistook it for spam when them came chasing why it hadn't been done.

 

I must be getting old if I'm complaining about the standards of English in the young. I have to confess, though, that it's been so long since I've written anything other than short notes to people, or for my own consumption, without a word processor, that I'm now utterly dependent on the ability to recast sentences on the page.

 

For anyone who's wondering, I'm 37, and have been using computers since i was 11 years old, and I don't think I've written anything more than half a page (other than for myself) in the last ten years, possibly as much as fifteen.

 

The fountain pen is definitely a "retro" thing for me.

[wdyasq]

I am on sevral "Renewable Energy" forums and an IRC channel. Some of the word selection is terrible. The spelling can be worse. It does make it hard to read and sometimes harder to understand.

 

The sad thing is those using junk language have no idea how bad it is or how it makes them seem more ignorant than they may actually be.

 

It reminds me of a conversation I had one time while working on a ranch. A "suit" had come in from the east coast and I was selected to transport him when needed to meetings. He mentioned the first judgement they were trained to make was "By handshake, shoes and the watch". As we all wore boots and had the sun as a timepiece I said we were similar in style of appraisal. We judged in a similar method. We did contracts by handshake. We expected a man to be on time and not waste ours and could figure out which side of the boots the manure was on.

 

Ron

[GrantC]

Welcome, Andy!

 

Like you, I really came into the fountain pen world because of GTD. I'd owned a FP for years - a wonderful Cross Century - but never really used it. Because of the GTD emphasis on a "ubiquitous capture tool", I needed a pen that would encourage me to write things down. Out came the Cross, and from that point I got hooked.

 

You will buy more pens....and inks. Trust me on this. :ltcapd:

[Mannenhitsu]

Hello Andy and welcome aboard. When it comes to new pens, I have to recommend a Pelikan M400 or M800, but if you want something a little fancy, they also make special collectors editions of pen named after various cities around the world, which are very nice.