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Hello From Snohomish, Wa

Merlin2

By Merlin2
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Merlin2

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Hello everyone from Snohomish, WA. I’m very happy to be joining the FPN. Like many others, I am fairly new to the use of fountain pens. What recently motivated me was the fact I haven’t written in cursive since my early grade school days (a long time ago), and I had forgotten how to do it. Because of my profession as a structural engineering designer, I had solely written in block upper case lettering for the last 38 years. Until the advent of the computer and computer aided design, we spent a great deal of time practicing and perfecting our hand lettering, and took great pride in it. But after switching to computers; handwriting and lettering was banished to jotting notes in meetings and grocery lists. I didn’t realize how much I really missed handwriting until I started to reteach myself cursive a few months ago. After searching the internet for resources on cursive writing, I kept running across sites on fountain pens, and I was hooked after buying my first pen. What an amazing joy it is to write with a fountain pen just because it brings you pleasure. Pens, inks, paper, etc. has opened up a fun new hobby for me. I look forward to learning and sharing with all of you here on the FPN.

 

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PAKMAN Ancient Artifact

PAKMAN

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Hello and Welcome to FPN!! Glad to have you as a member!!

PAKMAN

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northstar Donor Pen

northstar

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Hello and welcome to FPN.

Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous  Who taught by the pen

Taught man that which he knew not (96/3-5)

Snailmail3.png Snail Mail 

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OCArt Donor Pen

OCArt

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Welcome to our little corner of the universe from a pen user in San Diego. I'm sure you will enjoy your time here Merlin2.

...............................................................

We Are Our Ancestors’ Wildest Dreams

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ehemem Vintage

ehemem

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:W2FPN:

 

Snohomish? Is that anywhere near Seattle? Do you know about the Seattle Pen Club which meets monthly (third Sat of every month) at the Lake Forest Towne Center? Even has a few engineers that show up now and then. And what pen did you get?

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Merlin2 New

Merlin2

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Wow; thanks for the great tip, I live about 15 minutes from the Towne Center, I will check them out right away. This is exactly what I was hoping to get from joining the FPN.

 

 

Because I knew nothing about fountain pens, I tried finding some local stores that carried them, but I couldn’t find any. So I looked on the net and started with a few very cheap Jinhoa's purchased from China. Then I picked up a couple Lamy Safari’s with different nibs, a Pilot Metropolitan and a Platinum balance. But as I practiced with these; curiosity of higher end pens got the best of me. I then ordered a Sailor King of Pen Pro Gear, and was so happy with that, I picked up a Sailor King of Pen standard and two Sailor LB5's. I guess I dove in a little fast, but I am having so much fun. The Sailor LB5's are hands down my favorites. So far. . . At this point I can’t imagine wanting more from a pen than the LB5’s, but I’m sure that’s what everyone says right before they buy the next pen on their wish list.

 

 

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Sasha Royale Museum Piece

Sasha Royale

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What an amazing joy it is to write with a fountain pen just because it brings you pleasure.

For this revelation, I have the pleasure of welcoming you home.

Writing by hand engages a different area of the brain, than using a keyboard. Health mind, healthy body. Take your pick ! :lticaptd:

Auf freiem Grund mit freiem Volke stehn.
Zum Augenblicke dürft ich sagen:
Verweile doch, du bist so schön !

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Joe in Seattle Antique

Joe in Seattle

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Welcome

"how do I know what I think until I write it down?"

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ehemem Vintage

ehemem

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Wow; thanks for the great tip, I live about 15 minutes from the Towne Center, I will check them out right away. This is exactly what I was hoping to get from joining the FPN.

 

 

 

Because I knew nothing about fountain pens, I tried finding some local stores that carried them, but I couldn’t find any. So I looked on the net and started with a few very cheap Jinhoa's purchased from China. Then I picked up a couple Lamy Safari’s with different nibs, a Pilot Metropolitan and a Platinum balance. But as I practiced with these; curiosity of higher end pens got the best of me. I then ordered a Sailor King of Pen Pro Gear, and was so happy with that, I picked up a Sailor King of Pen standard and two Sailor LB5's. I guess I dove in a little fast, but I am having so much fun. The Sailor LB5's are hands down my favorites. So far. . . At this point I can’t imagine wanting more from a pen than the LB5’s, but I’m sure that’s what everyone says right before they buy the next pen on their wish list.

 

 

 

Ha! You have barely dipped the tip of your right hallux into the fathomless deep! The good thing about the SPC is that you can fondle other people's pens and get some ideas about what you find interesting. If you get yourself on the mailing list or give a shout out to George, you can even ask ahead of a meeting to ask members to bring specific stuff. And then there is the vintage aspect. Not to mention inks and papers, but I would advise against dual or multiple addictions...

 

Japanese pens in general are very good. The Sailor LB5s are good pens (I like large pens), but limited in terms of ink capacity. Have you considered a Pilot 823? Or even one of the Japanese eyedroppers? And then there are urushi and maki-e and wood and horn and...well, the list goes on. Have you looked at the Pilot Capless/Vanishing Point?

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Merlin2 New

Merlin2

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Thanks again for all your help; I sent George an email this morning.

 

All of the pens I have so far, are all cartridge converters and don't really hold much ink like you said. But for now that doesn't bother me to much, it just lets me futz with the pens more by refilling, or changing colors. I also enjoy being able to completely disassemble the pens for cleaning and care, but I am a bit leery of taking the nibs and feed apart on my Sailors. The difficulty and cost in replacing them is prohibitive from what I have researched, and sending a pen back and forth to a Nib Smith can be very time consuming and costly. I have had to do this with one of my KOP's already, for an issue that wasn't my fault.

 

I took a peek at your two recommendations. I really like the Pilot 823, and it has great reviews too. Even though the Vanishing Point has good reviews also, I am not quite sure how I like the looks of that one? That would definitely be one I would want to test drive before placing an order online.

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mreich1964 Rare

mreich1964

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Hello and welcome from Idaho! Enjoy your time here.

 

:W2FPN:

"You want to be a writer, don't know how or when? Find a quiet place, use a humble pen." ---Paul Simon

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