Hello out there !!!

March 29, 2005

I have been reading the FPN forums for a while. After marveling at how nice and helpful you folks are, I decided it was high time to register and participate a little more.

I can't remember what triggered me to become a born again FP enthusiast. I hadn't used a fountain pen for almost 4 decades (hmmm, guess that kind of hints that I am getting older that I like to think). Anyway, a bit ago I purchased an assortment of inexpensive pens from Pam Braun (wonderful lady) to try out different nibs and manufacturers and see what I like. I picked up a Lami Safari XF, Waterman Expert II med, and Pelikan 200 fine. I must say that I like them all, although I discovered that I really need a fine or XF nib for most of the writing that I do.

I am going to be getting an xf nib for the Pelikan shortly, and also think about a few more expensive additions to the stable. I seem to have been cursed with the "collector gene" or something, which I bet will elicit a great deal of empathy on this board. At least pens are quite a bit cheaper than most other things that I collect.

Well, I am looking forward to getting acquainted better with you all.

Cheers, MikeB

March 29, 2005

Pleased to make your aquaintance Mike. There are a few of us out here that are having the same trouble with birthdays. I like to think of it as 'experience'.

I'll have to live my Modern FP life vicariously through your purchases though. I am mostly into Esterbrooks, with a few Parkers (couple of vac's and a 51), and assorted lesser brand names.

C'mon down to the third tier sometime and lets chat about those Esties

Gerry

March 29, 2005

Thanks for the kind words Gerry. It doesn't sound to me like you are using anything "third tier" !!! I am enamored with the notion of geting a nice vintage Parker 51 or Vacumatic to try.

Cheers, Mike

March 29, 2005

You should have been here when Rob was yankin' my chain about Esties. He had them in the Fourth tier, and occasionally just to get a response he'd list them in the 'fifth' tier

Always good for a response from me, Keith or Elaine. I think our resident Esterbrook expert - Brian Anderson just sort of stayed above those discussions ...

My Parker Vac's come from my dad, and mother in law, so they are family connections. I also have an earlier Eclipse that belonged to my GGF. As I remember him well, that connection is very strong.

But - there I go, talking about my pens in your intro thread... <_<

Do you have any with special connections / significance or meaning?

What were you using those four decades ago?

Gerry

March 29, 2005

Greetings Earthling..

uh.. Mike.

Welcome to our little nutty group.

You started off with some of the best values IMO. I'm a 200 fanatic.

You really should venture into Esterbrook territory.

Take care and look forward to reading more from you.

kcat

March 30, 2005

I have read that the Sailor EF nib is really amazing. I am a medium nib person, myself.

From nibs.com:

"Available in EF, F, MF, M, B, Zoom and Music, Sailor solid 21K nibs explore a subtle range not seen in other manufacturers. The MF (Medium Fine) designation is similar to the Fine of a Pelikan, making the Fine even finer and the Extra-Fine similar the those found in pens of the 1920's. From our experience this nib is the hardest of all to make, and still get reasonably smooth. The Sailor Extra-Fine is the finest we have seen."

I want to try one sometime soon just to see if it has that Nib Zen of other Sailor pens I have used. The medium nib I have seems to just float across the page and on a variety of papers. Sweet!!

http://members.shaw.ca/feynn/ · March 30, 2005

I have one Sailor pen and it just happens to have one amazingly smooth fine nib.. I use this and a few others as a baseline for how smooth a nib like this should be.

Another manufacturer that excels in making extremely smooth fine and extra fine nibs is Sheaffer.

I base these observations on my own thoughts on whether or not there is any way I can improve the nib.

March 30, 2005

Thanks all for the words of welcome and the advice.

Gerry,

Nothing I use has the least bit of connection or significance. The last I RECALL using a fountain pen was in high school.. I couldn't even begin to guess what kind it was. I think I finally gave up because it was a bit messy. Since we were pretty poor, I am assuming that I was using something really cheap.

I will indeed try one of the Esterbrooks as soon as I get the chance. Kcat, anything you would recommend in particular?

Hmmm, now Keith and T-Rex have me intrigued with the Sailor x-fine nibs. I really like smooth and fine.

Hey NoShow, I figure buying pens will actually save me money. It really IS a lot less expensive than things I would otherwise be collecting. You can quote MikeB on that: "collecting pens saves money" No kidding.

Cheers all,

Mike

March 30, 2005

Welcome!

If you like extra-fine nibs, I would recommend Sheaffer pens. I adore my Legacy with the extra-fine nib, and some of the vintage ones are amazing.

You might also look into the Hero pens (such as the 329), and the Parker Eversharps, as well.

March 30, 2005

Hi Mike,

Welcome to the FPN house !

I fully agree that pens do indeed save money. I once told my wife that the hobby budget would be much different if I ever decided to start golfing. She suddenly found my pens pretty cheap...