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Handwritten Sentiments


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Equally encouraging to see the pictures feature a Falcon!

 

 

I wonder which pen is used for the title pic.

In a world where there are no eyes the sun would not be light, and in a world where there were no soft skins rocks would not be hard, nor in a world where there were no muscles would they be heavy. Existence is relationship and you're smack in the middle of it.

- Alan Watts

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Very nice article that points to the attachment of thoughts to paper as it reflects a commitment to the other person that electronic medium just can't match.

 

I find it interesting that the article centers around paper and only mentions fountain pens, I'd be curious to see if those high end papers with exceptional design would be able to handle the flow of a fountain pen. And if you are going to talk about $200 paper, why not mention a few $100-200 fountain pens? Great read, though!

 

Buzz

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Buzz, they only mention fountain pens because they had a completely different article entirely about FPs. Instead of doing a cursory job here, they link to a much more in-depth discussion elsewhere. I appreciate the approach, but I must say that the quality of the discussion of FPs makes me suspicious about what they say regarding stationery. Here is a list of the questionable statements that caught my eye:

 

1. They basically say that the best, purest, safest inks are Montblanc and Pelikan 4001 and Edelstein, and lump all other inks together with art store india inks that will destroy your pen.

2, They suggest that all iron gall inks are a disaster.

3. They repeat that canard about nibs adjusting themselves to the style of the writer, which I believe has been either disputed or debunked on this forum.

4. They seem to suggest that fountain pens are different than other pens because you can flex the nibs a little (certainly not always true), and they say that the purer the gold, the more flexible the nib. (As I understand it, gold is actually less elastic than steel, and springs back less readily when flexed, although it is softer and can be bent more easily.)

 

5. Also, this is just wrong, pointless nostalgia that is inaccurate: "Most of the fine writing companies now offer lifetime warranties on their pens which mean that the better quality nibs can no longer be supported financially. A fountain pen should glide over the paper without the use of any pressure, however, most nibs today feel similar to that of a hardware nail scraping against the paper."

 

Sure, old nibs were great and all. However, modern nibs are also great, and I have never had any difficulty finding an inexpensive modern pen gliding over the paper without the use of any pressure. Both my Pilot Metros and my TWSBI 580 were like that out of the box. Heck, a Pilot Varsity writes the way this author describes. It's fine to be nostalgic for some of the great qualities of the old pens, but not at the expense of the great qualities of modern pens.

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Buzz, they only mention fountain pens because they had a completely different article entirely about FPs. Instead of doing a cursory job here, they link to a much more in-depth discussion elsewhere. I appreciate the approach, but I must say that the quality of the discussion of FPs makes me suspicious about what they say regarding stationery. Here is a list of the questionable statements that caught my eye:

 

1. They basically say that the best, purest, safest inks are Montblanc and Pelikan 4001 and Edelstein, and lump all other inks together with art store india inks that will destroy your pen.

2, They suggest that all iron gall inks are a disaster.

3. They repeat that canard about nibs adjusting themselves to the style of the writer, which I believe has been either disputed or debunked on this forum.

4. They seem to suggest that fountain pens are different than other pens because you can flex the nibs a little (certainly not always true), and they say that the purer the gold, the more flexible the nib. (As I understand it, gold is actually less elastic than steel, and springs back less readily when flexed, although it is softer and can be bent more easily.)

 

5. Also, this is just wrong, pointless nostalgia that is inaccurate: "Most of the fine writing companies now offer lifetime warranties on their pens which mean that the better quality nibs can no longer be supported financially. A fountain pen should glide over the paper without the use of any pressure, however, most nibs today feel similar to that of a hardware nail scraping against the paper."

 

Sure, old nibs were great and all. However, modern nibs are also great, and I have never had any difficulty finding an inexpensive modern pen gliding over the paper without the use of any pressure. Both my Pilot Metros and my TWSBI 580 were like that out of the box. Heck, a Pilot Varsity writes the way this author describes. It's fine to be nostalgic for some of the great qualities of the old pens, but not at the expense of the great qualities of modern pens.

 

You missed my favorite, their constant reference to Shaeffer as a high quality pen manufacturer.

 

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You missed my favorite, their constant reference to Shaeffer as a high quality pen manufacturer.

 

 

*giggle* :P

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You missed my favorite, their constant reference to Shaeffer as a high quality pen manufacturer.

 

Next to Noodlers, Hero are high quality pen manufacturers, and they didn't make the PFM or Targa back in the day.

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Next to Noodlers, Hero are high quality pen manufacturers, and they didn't make the PFM or Targa back in the day.

Neither did Shaeffer.

 

My Website

 

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Buzz, they only mention fountain pens because they had a completely different article entirely about FPs. Instead of doing a cursory job here, they link to a much more in-depth discussion elsewhere. I appreciate the approach, but I must say that the quality of the discussion of FPs makes me suspicious about what they say regarding stationery. Here is a list of the questionable statements that caught my eye:

 

1. They basically say that the best, purest, safest inks are Montblanc and Pelikan 4001 and Edelstein, and lump all other inks together with art store india inks that will destroy your pen.

2, They suggest that all iron gall inks are a disaster.

3. They repeat that canard about nibs adjusting themselves to the style of the writer, which I believe has been either disputed or debunked on this forum.

4. They seem to suggest that fountain pens are different than other pens because you can flex the nibs a little (certainly not always true), and they say that the purer the gold, the more flexible the nib. (As I understand it, gold is actually less elastic than steel, and springs back less readily when flexed, although it is softer and can be bent more easily.)

 

5. Also, this is just wrong, pointless nostalgia that is inaccurate: "Most of the fine writing companies now offer lifetime warranties on their pens which mean that the better quality nibs can no longer be supported financially. A fountain pen should glide over the paper without the use of any pressure, however, most nibs today feel similar to that of a hardware nail scraping against the paper."

 

Sure, old nibs were great and all. However, modern nibs are also great, and I have never had any difficulty finding an inexpensive modern pen gliding over the paper without the use of any pressure. Both my Pilot Metros and my TWSBI 580 were like that out of the box. Heck, a Pilot Varsity writes the way this author describes. It's fine to be nostalgic for some of the great qualities of the old pens, but not at the expense of the great qualities of modern pens.

 

I'll have to find the original article on fountain pens as those assertions are certainly interesting! I think many here would contest all of those points to one degree or another. But if you are going to contend that every gentleman should have a fountain pen, why would you then say that the nibs are like hardware nails scraping against the paper? Modern nails are most likely nails (because they don't flex), and they are generally smooth writers.

 

Buzz

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I get tired of forums that suggest the way for a guy to be a 'gentleman' is to have very expensive bespoke stationery, a handful of thousand dollar fountain pens and of course, one of the "one of only two" desks made in 1806 by the world's best craftsmen, built exclusively out of a wood called "Unobtainium" (the other one being in the Musée du Louvre).

 

I always thought the way for a guy to be a gentleman was to make a reasonable effort to not be a puffed-up strutting martinet, walking around like he has a broomstick stuck up his ass, holding his one of a kind 23.75K MontPelikailorverde in a perfumed, manicured hand complete with extended pinky.

Ink has something in common with both money and manure. It's only useful if it's spread around.

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I get tired of forums that suggest the way for a guy to be a 'gentleman' is to have very expensive bespoke stationery, a handful of thousand dollar fountain pens and of course, one of the "one of only two" desks made in 1806 by the world's best craftsmen, built exclusively out of a wood called "Unobtainium" (the other one being in the Musée du Louvre).

 

I always thought the way for a guy to be a gentleman was to make a reasonable effort to not be a puffed-up strutting martinet, walking around like he has a broomstick stuck up his ass, holding his one of a kind 23.75K MontPelikailorverde in a perfumed, manicured hand complete with extended pinky.

Lol! I agree with you. This article should perhaps be titled "How to Be a Pompous Donkey".

 

I have to ask, in all seriousness, how many people use personalized stationary? Outside of business stationary, I would never expect to get a sympathy card, for instance, monogrammed with the sender's initials or logo. It would strike me as being in extremely poor taste, but then... These things aren't exactly part of the blue collar culture that I grew up in, so I really don't know.

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I get tired of forums that suggest the way for a guy to be a 'gentleman' is to have very expensive bespoke stationery, a handful of thousand dollar fountain pens and of course, one of the "one of only two" desks made in 1806 by the world's best craftsmen, built exclusively out of a wood called "Unobtainium" (the other one being in the Musée du Louvre).

 

I always thought the way for a guy to be a gentleman was to make a reasonable effort to not be a puffed-up strutting martinet, walking around like he has a broomstick stuck up his ass, holding his one of a kind 23.75K MontPelikailorverde in a perfumed, manicured hand complete with extended pinky.

 

I think offering any kind of advice on these matters is like walking on a razor's edge. You never know when the line is crossed. There is no ISO standard for being a gentleman, a lot depends on the social and cultural circles one deals with. For instance humility in one culture can be taken for weakness in another.

 

Not to single out this site, but there are some basic tips which I believe apply to anyone, and if not followed, can make for some bad style choices. (Like wearing brown shoes with black trousers).

Edited by proton007

In a world where there are no eyes the sun would not be light, and in a world where there were no soft skins rocks would not be hard, nor in a world where there were no muscles would they be heavy. Existence is relationship and you're smack in the middle of it.

- Alan Watts

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(Like wearing brown shoes with black trousers).

LOL! i'm doing so right now (but it's dark oiled work boots and uniform pants. I don't think it looks bad. But classy isn't really what I'm going for at work.)

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Not to single out this site, but there are some basic tips which I believe apply to anyone, and if not followed, can make for some bad style choices. (Like wearing brown shoes with black trousers).

 

I so seldom wear trousers these days but I have been trying to wear shoes more often. One pair I wear are black, another blue, one brown and the other canvass. But when wearing huaraches they are always brown.

 

My Website

 

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I have to ask, in all seriousness, how many people use personalized stationary? Outside of business stationary, I would never expect to get a sympathy card, for instance, monogrammed with the sender's initials or logo. It would strike me as being in extremely poor taste, but then... These things aren't exactly part of the blue collar culture that I grew up in, so I really don't know.

 

Looks like the stationary in that article was in its day and time designed by and for the aristocratic class.

 

In my experience, even business cards are slowly going out of fashion. They served a purpose when there was no place to store contact information except carrying a little diary to scribble it in.

The only people I know who use these regularly are the Japanese.

 

The rest of the article, I'm afraid, is only applicable to the Gentlemen's Gazette admirers and followers.

 

 

P.S. : "The Pompous Donkey" or "The Pompous Fool" would be an excellent name for a website.

Edited by proton007

In a world where there are no eyes the sun would not be light, and in a world where there were no soft skins rocks would not be hard, nor in a world where there were no muscles would they be heavy. Existence is relationship and you're smack in the middle of it.

- Alan Watts

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A humorous writer from 1830's England, R S Surtees (who wrote the Jorrocks "Sporting Squire" stories) wrote:

 

The only infallible rule we know is, that the man who is always talking about being a gentleman never is one.

 

 

(can I point out that I have never said I am a gentleman?)

 

Owen

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