Stepping Into the Void

[Kaivon772]

Looking to expand my knowledge of pens, and would love to get more information on new inks, and maybe start repairing some if I can.

 

Name is Kaivon (pronounced like Avon with a K). Just started collecting again, that's what happens when you lose it all. Got to start somewhere.

 

I am looking to gaining more information.

[Elaine]

Welcome Kaivon!

 

What pens do you have so far?

 

For repairs, the first thing to do is get a copy of Frank Dubiel's "Fountain Pens - The Complete Guide to Repair & Restoration" otherwise known as "Da Book". There are a few places to get it such as www. pendemonium.com. Another good resource is www.richardspens.com Lots of great repair advice with step-by-step instructions for replacing a sac. (sac instructions are better than Da Book in my opinion) Start with cheap pens since you're likely to break some in the beginning. Esterbrook lever fillers are great pens for starter repairing since the mechanisms are simple and the pens themselves are relatively industructible. The way I've been learning repairs is on an "as needed" basis. In the begining I wouldn't work on a pen that I wasn't willing to trash. I usually have a short period of "I can't do that", and then I get over it and say "sure I can". Repairing pens is great for several reasons. It opens up a whole world of pens that you wouldn't normally buy because they need more. Speaking for myself, I buy less pens because the repair work satisfies part of the pen mania. It's fun to see the guts and learn how the pen works.

 

Elaine

[Keith with a capital K]

Greetings and welcome to FPN !

 

we seem to have quite a few ink fiends and many posts concerning that topic have been made over the past few days... we could almost start calling this the Fountain Pen Ink network since there have been so many.

 

Frank's book is an excellent resource and if you have questions about repairs and restoration their are a few folks who lurk in the Repair Forum who might be able to provide the enlightenment you seek. (Elaine is one of them).

[Kaivon772]

Pens I have...I will have to check the display case at home. My most prized is a '50s Sailor that I just got from eBay. I use a Rotring 600 daily and love it. I have a Parker from my mother-in-law that she used a while she was in school. I have a Conklin from the late 30s early 40s (from the Chicago plant). Those are the ones that I can remember right off the top of my head.

 

Thanks for the info on Da Book. I will get a hold of that to do a little work on some of my pens.

[KCat]

Welcome to FPN, Kaivon. Glad you are joining us and hope you like our humble abode.

 

Okay - some of us are less humble than others but :meow:

 

Looking forward to hearing more from you.

[Leslie J.]

Welcome Kaivon! I am one of the ink fiends. Hope you enjoy the site.

[Maja]

Welcome to FPN, Kaivon

Sounds like you have some nice pens--both modern and vintage...

 

As Keith mentioned, we have a repair forum here on FPN (it's the "Repair Q & A" forum, in the "Ask the Experts" section) that is extremely useful if you have some questions that "Da Book" cannot answer.

 

Here's a link to a very handy repair thread: Link to "Repair don'ts" thread (click here).

[Doulton]

Welcome, Kaivon. What kinds of inks do you like best? Right now I am all over the place, using color as I've never done before. Sometimes it's good to get away from the blue, black, blue/black habit for a while.

 

Take care,

 

Natalie

[wimg]

Hi Kaivon,

 

Welcome to FPN! I'm sure you're going to enjoy your stay here.

 

In case you have any questions on nib grinding, I'll try to answer them, with pleasure. Anything else I am not really trained in, yet (too little time ).

 

Kind regards,

Wim