Howdy

[DilettanteG]

I've been lurking in the shadows now for a couple of years now, benefiting from the expert knowledge here. I wish I could say it's curbed my pen, ink, and paper obsessive spending, but sadly, no...

 

If any one has any advice on the best 'off the rack' fountain pen bets for Spenserian writing I'd love to hear it. In other words, please stop me before I order a Pelikan M805 XF, extra-flexible from Mr. Mottishaw. I know I shouldn't, I have four horses to support, but it just looks so good on the website. Help! :bonk:

[wdyasq]

Get an 80 year old 'off the rack', restored. Just my attitude.

 

One of the good nibmeisters, and Mr. Mottishaw is one, should be able to make a new pen of your choice write as you desire it.

 

Ron

[Judybug]

Welcome to FPN!

 

Glad to know I'm not the only horse person who is addicted to fountain pens. It seems like a strange combination of hobbies, but I enjoy both ---- and, with careful planning, it IS possible to support both horses and fountain pens.

 

Judybug

[DilettanteG]

Hi wdyasq,

 

Catchy name

 

The m800 I have now fits perfectly in my hand, plus Chartpak has been a dream to work with, so I almost don't mind the price of the pen. It’s the modification, the need to install a14K nib, plus tax and shipping which gives me pause.

 

I've bought several NOS Bexley, Pelikans, and Sheaffers, plus one blue and one burgundy Nakimi Falcons which I love, but my vintage pen luck hasn't been good. My one real restored vintage pen, a ring top Moore, should probably find a new home. It's just too finicky (dries out well before it's emptied, leaks, ect.) well before I use up it's supply of ink. Perhaps there's a more rugged model you or someone else can suggest?

 

Thanks,

Kate

[DilettanteG]

Hi Judybug,

 

Horses and Fountain pens are both a tad archaic, so maybe not such strange bedfellows after all It's always lovely to hear from someone else with the same hobbies.

 

Are your horses those lovely Peruvian Pasos? My neighbor has two jet black ones, utterly adorable when those little gaited legs get going. Her pony sized mare can keep up with my 16.2 hand warm blood no problem.

 

Fountain pens are my cheap hobby, so no complaints there. Plus writing is wonderfully relaxing after a day of grooming, feeding, mucking, and exercising my four girls. My mares wouldn't be too unbearably expensive but this last month they seem to determined to injure themselves. Sammy, my six year old, got bored in her stall last week and diverted herself by twisting the steel blanket bar beneath her dutch stall door almost in half gashing her chin open in the process. The bar is cheap to replace; the emergency vet call, stitches, sedative, anesthesia, and antibiotics aren't. Still, like the commercial says: walking down to your own pastures filled with gorgeous, well bred Hanoverians? Priceless!

 

-Kate

[andyr7]

Hi Kate and welcome,

 

I live in Newmarket UK, home of the horse racing world, so there's plenty of expensive horse flesh on view here every day and our house backs onto one of the many stud farms, so we get classic winners walking past the end of our garden quite frequently!

 

Perhaps there's a more rugged model you or someone else can suggest?

 

Has to be the P51. Though I'm not a collector of these myself, I do have one as a regular using pen, as does every fountain pen user that I know! Make sure you get a well adjusted one with the right nib for you and it will probably last forever. If you want a really flexible nib, though, I suppose it may not be for you. Premature drying in a pen can be the function of the ink as well as the pen (I find Noodlers especially bad in this respect). It might be worth trying something more forgiving, like Diamine, in the Moore before you move it along.

 

Best wishes,

Andy

[Bill D]

Welcome to FPN!

 

Glad to know I'm not the only horse person who is addicted to fountain pens. It seems like a strange combination of hobbies, but I enjoy both ---- and, with careful planning, it IS possible to support both horses and fountain pens.

 

Judybug

Welcome, Kate

 

I don't ride, but I support my daughter's horse addiction... does that count?

 

Bill

[Ruaidhri]

Hi Kate,

 

Welcome.

 

Andy's right - you can't go far wrong with a "51" as a day-to-day workhorse (apologies for pun)

 

Regards,

Ruaidhrí

[DilettanteG]

Hi Bill,

 

Being a horse Dad definitely counts, especially if you're picking up the tab.

 

-Kate

[DilettanteG]

Hi Ruaidhri,

 

I should probably mosey on over to the Parker forum. A stiff nib would be fine for me if it were a stub or italic. I never seem to find broad nibs on the Parkers I see for sale though. Maybe those that have them are hoarding them?

 

-Kate

[CelticBhoy]

Hi kate, As you so kindly welcomed me on my first post, I thought I'd return the favour. WELCOME! As a Pelikan adddict I'd go for the M805. My prized pocession is a blue/black/silver 805 with an OM nib - writes with a beautifully smooth, wet line.

 

Graham

[mike1]

Welcome to FPN. Always someone here to give advice and answer your questions as you can well see. Very friendly group.

[Nihontochicken]

Perhaps there's a more rugged model you or someone else can suggest?

Has to be the P51.

Andy's right - you can't go far wrong with a "51" as a day-to-day workhorse (apologies for pun)

 

Wow, doesn't take long for the 51 pushers to get into the act and spread the infection. Anyway, welcome aboard. My wife is the horse lover in the family, rides her quarterhorse every weekend. But her only inky conviction is to tell me to "stop buying all those stupid pens." You may as well get a 51 if only as a right of passage. I'd advise an Aerometric filler as opposed to a Vacumatic, as the former is more bullet proof, but a Vac is okay if you can determine beforehand it is working well and doesn't need overhaul. Note that according to the 51 set here, if you're a wierdo who doesn't appreciate how your 51 writes, you can still get good service using it as a sewing stiletto, wood awl or nail set. :roflmho:

[southpaw]

Hi and welcome aboard! Vintage flex is great and less pricey most of the time. You might try posting a WTB (Wanting To Buy) ad in the Marketplace and see what happens. Hope to see you around.

[KendallJ]

Perhaps there's a more rugged model you or someone else can suggest?

 

Has to be the P51.

Not!!

 

Try a Snorkel instead. Beautifully smooth Triumph nibs.

 

For a flex pen, I'd recommend a Pelikan 200 with custom nib from Richard Binder. he make a flex, and for the money it is probably the best value.

[DilettanteG]

Hi Graham,

 

I envy you your M805; I've had my eye on one for awhile. I've a black M800 with a factory OB nib that I wrote with so much it actually fell apart. Thank goodness for Chartpak, their US distributor. They had it back in my hot little hands pretty much in the time it took to ship it back and forth. I love those people.

 

My cursive is pretty vertical, so I don't notice any line width variation unless start drawing diagonal lines with it. Still, I've probably used it more than any other of my 30 or so other fountain pens.

 

-Kate

[DilettanteG]

Thanks for the welcome Mike1.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one with a snap of myself as my 'avatar.' I was being to worry it looked a bit egomaniacal. Which I am, but I try not to advertise it.

[DilettanteG]

Hi Nihonto Chicken,

 

Man, I hope I don't have to say that three times fast or anything.

 

We're pretty much up to our eyeballs in quarter horses in my neighborhood. I'm the oddball with my weird German girls. You gotta love those cowboy Palominos and Buckskins, though.

 

My husband has the same response, "Don't you have enough pens?!?!" Alternately, the he makes the same complaint, but substituting ink, journals, and my massive shoe collection. It’s hard to come up with a good comeback, as I don't actually need a different pen for everyday of the month. I'll have to scour this board for some good rationalizations.

 

I'll keep in mind the aerometric recommendation. If it doesn't suit my writing style, a spare leather punch is always handy to have in the tack room.

[DilettanteG]

Thanks Kendall and Southpaw, I'm giving some serious thought to another vintage pen. Of course I have three of Jim Gaston's old stock Sheaffers winging their way to me at the moment, plus a double fountain pen vintage Sheaffer desk set. Ebay: a blessing or a curse?

 

Still I need something to use the four new bottles of ink that arrived from Pendemonium yesterday in. And then there's that new Clairefontaine notebook to fill. Man, I need a twelve step.

 

Must now go and give the remaining contents of my wallet to the farrier. Good bye money, our relationship was fleeting, but oh so satisfying.

[Kalessin]

Hello, and welcome to FPN!

 

From what I can gather, many Spencerian writers use dipped pens, especially because the offset penholder (or zigzag offset nib) allows for easier work and a better view of the work in progress. Penholders and nibs also have the advantage of being relatively inexpensive.

 

I'm still working on cleaning up my cursive (I'm a lefty, and had left cursive behind for all-caps printing in junior high school), and teaching myself right-hand cursive before attempting to learn right-hand Spencerian.

 

I thought I'd be satisfied with just ordinary fountain pen writing, but then I started looking at some of the examples on http://www.iampeth.com, the home site of the international ornamental penmanship association. Amazing stuff...