Acronyms Or Am I Oblivious?

[TXKat]

Okay, so my ignorance is really starting to show and I'm quickly discovering that I know far less than I would like to think I do.

 

Anyone can get old pens from a relative, buy a pen because it's pretty, dole out for gorgeous colored ink, but I'm learning that it's almost the entire extent of my fountain pen knowledge!!

 

I have bought a few third tier pens, some new from Levenger and over paid dearly for a Sheaffer on flea bay, so I ask you this:

 

Is it just me or are all of the acronyms thrown around here confusing to anyone else or am I just so uneducated that they don't make sense to me? I finally had to ask someone what TWSBI stood for as I thoutht it was an acronym...no clue it was a brand!! There are many more, but I didn't find a place here that would describe such things. Did I miss something?

 

Guess I am still a neophyte.

 

Any suggestions?

[PabloAU]

Hi TXKat,

 

We're all newbies at one point or another, and I still consider myself so. I found Google helpful to find other threads that contained the acronym, and naturally there were often posts where someone typed or wrote the term in full.

 

Search queries such as the following have worked for me:

bsiar site:fountainpennetwork.com

dcssb site:fountainpennetwork.com

 

When in doubt, just ask. The folks in these parts are quite friendly.

 

Paul

[zaddick]

Have no fear... knowledge will come with exposure, by doing research on things that interest you, or by just asking.

 

I agree people here are friendly. I personally, however, get annoyed when people ask questions without even making a cursory attempt to search for an answer. If I sense an attempt was made and I know the answer, I am happy to share my thoughts. I guess other people are just nicer than I am.

[ISW_Kaputnik]

I've made a rule for myself that I usually remember to follow. The first time I mention something in a post, or in the title of a thread that I started, I'll spell out whatever it is, say La Reine Mauve (a Noodler's ink). After that, I may just use "LRM" through the rest of the post. If I'm in too much of a hurry to spell it out at least once, I probably ought to find a better time to post on Internet forums.

 

On the other hand, I don't think it's just hurry. Members of an in group like to have their private terms. People who stick with it long enough generally pick up on most of them.

[tendollarword]

You are not alone. It took me ages to figure out what ESSRI meant.

[Lou Erickson]

If you're struggling, Brian Goulet has his Fountain Pen 101 series of videos that might explain some of the things you're seeing.

 

... and I have no idea what an ESSRI is. I finally got the nib sizes and BCHR, but still bump into ones I have to wonder about and struggle with context to get.

[tendollarword]

 

... and I have no idea what an ESSRI is.

 

Ecclesiastical Stationary Supply Registrar's Ink.

 

Maybe I should have put that in my previous post.

[donwinn]

 

Ecclesiastical Stationary Supply Registrar's Ink.

 

Maybe I should have put that in my previous post.

An archaic term for Noodler's bulletproof ink?

[Icywolfe]

TWSBI means:

 

(From the TWSBI site)

 

 

 

TWSBI's name stands for the phrase "Hall of Three Cultures" or "San Wen Tong" in Chinese. The character "Wen" translates into language and culture. The phrase "San Wen Tong" also brings to mind the Hall of the Three Rare Treasures created by Emperor Qianlong as a memorial to three great masterpieces of Chinese calligraphy. The initials of the phrase "San Wen Tong" was reversed and thus turned into "TWS". The last letters "Bi" was added with its literal meaning of "writing instruments". Thus combining the two segments, creating TWSBI.

[TXKat]

Just had a huge reply typed and it went away....the Universe is now editing, lol!!

 

I appreciate the responses, snarky comments (love), and suggestions. Google isn't always that helpful, lol. I also appreciate you explaining what ESSRI is!

 

There is a term I see here often that I ran across when researching a Sheaffer pen that mean something about a "man" pen. Can't remember, so better go look it up to stay in the loop. It would be so much easier if there were a place that gave the acronym and then the description as hearing the long version doesn't always register with the acronym if they aren't given together. Now, if somewhere in a forum someone is kind enough to spell out, just once, what y'all are talking about, I'm golden!

 

Thanks for your help and suggesions and letting me know it's not just meeeeeeee.......

 

 

Glad I'm not the only one.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Gee knowing everything would remove the thrill and fun of non-test studying.

you need a good second hand copy of Labrou's Fountain pens.

I didn't know a thing, until I got that book.

 

Go to Richard Binder's com, and read for three days on the basic's of fountain pen filling systems, nibs and good advice on inks.

At first here I was learning something new every hour, then every day....then every week.

Then came inks.

If I got around to it, I could be learning something about paper every day too.

 

I copied many, many megs of info from here into my Pen notes.

Should go back and re-read...in one gets forgetful.

 

Just Remember Los Angles was not built in a day.

Edited August 29, 2014 by Bo Bo Olson

[TXKat]

Are you one of THOSE that intentionally has cryptic acronyms for things just to drive us noobs crazy??? *grin* Yes, the hunt is half the experience, but you need some knowledge to be able to advance!

[Christi0469]

 

There is a term I see here often that I ran across when researching a Sheaffer pen that mean something about a "man" pen. Can't remember, so better go look it up to stay in the loop.

Sheaffer PFM (Pen for Men) perhaps. It is a desirable pen so it pops up here quite often. I have googled acronyms a lot to decipher posts and learned a lot in the process, although some are harder to figure out than others.

[TXKat]

That was the one!!!! Some come up in Google, others are bit more obscure. You just have to luck into the right web page. It can be quite overwhelming!

[WaskiSquirrel]

Last year, one of my Physics students joined the National Guard between his junior and senior years. It was funny to hear him talk when he returned his senior year because, suddenly, he threw out acronyms with no abandon.

 

Acronyms are useful for shortening communication. I find that the best thing to do is to ask if one doesn't understand. I'll start by using Google. I recently had to look up "smh". But, if I don't understand, I'll ask.

[Sasha Royale]

None of these is life-critical. You can learn some of them. You can enjoy the challenge of figuring out some of them.

You can give up and ask. You can also discount some.

 

I don't feel like a lesser person because I don't care what "TOD" means.

 

On the other hand, wrote to the company in Taipei, and asked. However, that is another story.

[Icywolfe]

None of these is life-critical. You can learn some of them. You can enjoy the challenge of figuring out some of them.

You can give up and ask. You can also discount some.

 

I don't feel like a lesser person because I don't care what "TOD" means.

 

On the other hand, wrote to the company in Taipei, and asked. However, that is another story.

I think it's "Topic of the Day" or "Thought of the Day."

[alexander_k]

We have too many acronyms everywhere. It's becoming an old joke: one person in a dialogue uses a lot of acronyms and the other one bewildered keeps asking for explanations, which are promptly given. At the end, the second person says "I see" and the first one slightly alarmed asks "IC? What does this stand for?"

[TXKat]

Lol! All good points! The veil is lifting, although slowly!

(Off to look up SMH)

Edited August 30, 2014 by TXKat

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

It is not uncommon for pens that have numeric names to be referred to by the initial/s of the pen Co. and the number. e.g. MB149 ~ Montblanc 149. P51 ~ Parker 51. PS21 or P21S ~ Parker 21 Super.

 

Some pens are charismatic, so have monikers. e.g. Snorkie ~ any Sheaffer pen that uses the Snorkel filling system, other than the PFM. Tuckie ~ the absolutely charming Sheaffer Tuckaway. Estie ~ the Esterbrook pens.

 

Abbreviations for ink names generally follow the convention of the ink Co. name initial/s + ink name initial/s. However, the ink hue Blue-Black can be abbreviated as BlBk or BB; and Blue as B or Bl.

 

The ink ingredient iron-gall may appear as ig, i-g, or I-G, and sometimes even http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110127075724/ideas/images/3/3c/Asterix.png

 

Members of Noodler's family of inks with cellulose-reactive dyes are referred to as Bulletproof inks (BP), though Noodler's does some hairsplitting, so offer a table of their inks' properties: http://noodlersink.com/noodlers-ink-properties/

 

Also, some ink Co.s have different series, so that might be evident in an abbreviation. e.g. PET ~ Pelikan Edelstein Topaz. P4RBl ~ Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue.

 

In addition, abbreviations may be abbreviated. e.g. PBlBk, which could refer to Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black or Parker Quink Blue-Black - two very different inks.

 

Just to keep things interesting, sometimes the ink Co. name is dropped, and only the series name is used. e.g. Skrip BlBk ~ Sheaffer Skrip Blue-Black.

 

As mentioned, never hesitate to ask.

 

OBTW, should you find a definitive definition of 'vintage', please share.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited August 30, 2014 by Sandy1