One Pen One Month Challenge

[sharonspens]

I think I am going to start this for June, using a Pilot Custom 92 with a Binderized ItaliFine nib (writes italic on one side and fine on the other). The ink will be Iroshizuku Asa-Gao. I already have a pen/ink combo that I decided to use for the year - Platinum 3776 Yamanaka, F nib, with Iroshizuku Fugu-Gaki. However, if I am only using one FP for the month, I'd rather have a darker ink that can work a little better in business situations if necessary . I usually keep several pens inked, with different colors of ink, so I often have one playful color and one more serious color when needed.

 

This will also be a test of the 3776 "slip n' seal" mechanism, since I won't be emptying that pen this month. We will see if it writes in July!

 

Sharon in Indiana

 

Just an update. I have continued with the single pen so far this month, though I ended up using BungBox Ink of the Witch instead of Asa-gao because the 92 already had that ink in it and I didn't want to clean it out. The hardest part, honestly, is continuing to read FPN. For example, I just read a thread in which the OP commented on his Stipula Passaporto, which then alerted me that I haven't inked MY FPN Passaporto in forever. But can I go ink it right now - NO, NO, NO. Same thing when reading Inky Thoughts, or noting the colorful inks used by one of my pen pals. Or looking at a picture of the ink testing station at the SF Pen Show. Aaarrgghhh.

 

Otherwise, all is good. I have developed more consistency with the "sweet spot" on the Fine side of this Itali-fine nib. The tis a good thing!

 

Sharon in Indiana

[ncpenfan]

This is been a great project. I have successfully used my vanishing point all month. Thus far, after six feeble attempts to finish this challenge, this is the only pen that has lasted the full month!

[ncpenfan]

The one additional benefit, is that it has kept me from buying new pens!

[Heldin]

This is a really interesting challenge but I think I'll start with one week one pen.... that should already be a challenge for me

[pajaro]

I want to thank the OP for this challenge. As someone said above, it has kept me from buying new pens. Further, as a result of using my first Parker 51 for a month, I have become reacquainted with it more intimately than when flitting between scores of pens. Now I use almost nothing else. This 51 has become so smooth through use that it is sublime.

[wallylynn]

I was using my Creaper for about 4 months, probably longer I don't remember when I started, and just switched to my Ahab for the past 2 weeks since I got new inks. Actually I'm itching to go back to the creaper I'd gotten so used to it even though past memories is that the Ahab is more comfortable. Catch is that I don't write much. I've increased from one journal page each day to two. The primary reason I stick with one pen is because it takes that long to use up the fill of ink.

[windibd]

I'm going in. My pen will be the blue Lamy Safari filled with Asa-Gao. I'm a fan of blue; the blue Safari is my first pen and Asa-Gao performs wonderfully as well as being a lovely deep blue. It'll be interesting to see how I do with this challenge. Though it definitely won't stop me from buying new pens.

[TSherbs]

Considering it.

[sharonspens]

 

Just an update. I have continued with the single pen so far this month, though I ended up using BungBox Ink of the Witch instead of Asa-gao because the 92 already had that ink in it and I didn't want to clean it out. The hardest part, honestly, is continuing to read FPN. For example, I just read a thread in which the OP commented on his Stipula Passaporto, which then alerted me that I haven't inked MY FPN Passaporto in forever. But can I go ink it right now - NO, NO, NO. Same thing when reading Inky Thoughts, or noting the colorful inks used by one of my pen pals. Or looking at a picture of the ink testing station at the SF Pen Show. Aaarrgghhh.

 

Otherwise, all is good. I have developed more consistency with the "sweet spot" on the Fine side of this Itali-fine nib. The tis a good thing!

 

Sharon in Indiana

 

And I am done. Finished the challenge yesterday. I think there is still a bit of ink in that pen, but I will get it cleaned out and put away in the next couple of days. Hopefully that Bungbox has not stained the demonstrator.

 

It was fun to be a purist for a while, but here in the last week I was ready to see some other color on my pages. Today I inked up three pens: Lamy Safari/Diamine Shimmering Red Lustre; Stipula Passporto/Iroshizuku Asa-Gao; vintage Eagle/Iroshizuku Chiku-Rin. Ah, glorious color!

 

Sharon in Indiana

[Laefar]

I'm in. Just enough time to finish up all pens I inked "just to try out".

Think I'm gonna go with either FC Loom or Basic, not sure yet.

[sandy101]

Hello, everyone.

 

Just to remind you, that the One Pen, one month challenge is to stat in August.

 

General guidelines to the challenge.

 

We keep on hearing about the age on the one person one pen. A time before writing machines took over the task of writing and folk had one relatively expensive fountain pen and a bunch of pencils to write with. Some folk hold the view that pens designed in this age (such as the Parker 51) are superior to current pens. This is because these pens were designed to be used all day without giving the user fatigue or failure. There is a view that so much care is not taken with current designs. However, there is very little data to suport these assertions. So, this is our chance to put this to the test, or an oppotunity to focus your attention upon a pen in your possession.

 

Here's some guidelines I have put together from the questions raised through-out this thread. If anyone has anything to add we can put the final version up just before the beginning of August.

 

1/ You try and commit yourself to using one fountain pen for the month of August as much as you can. This does not mean you use an FP exclusively - you can still use pencil, crayon and if that postcard won't take your FP ink then biro is acceptable. Looking at the correspondence from my grandfather's day (30's-60's) as much, or even more things were written in pencil rather than pen. So, you might find yourself picking up pencils more as well as your pens. I don't know, but at the end of the month we can review this and see what happened and maybe think why.

 

 

2/ You can use all the options your pen was designed for. So, if you want to change the ink, go ahead. If you want to change the nib - and your pen allows you to do this - go ahead. Again we are going to think how useful these features are at the end of the month. Did you change ink a lot of times, or did you just settle on one because changing inks was too troublesome. This is where we might start to see some differences with the different filling systems of pens. Those of us with C\C pens can control the amount of ink more than those with sacs, but do we actually use it?

 

3/ No-one loses their job, or anything else over this. If you have to use biro at work - or a red ink and a black ink for accounts or marking then carry on. Of course, many of us have to word process documents too.

 

4/ It is supposed to be fun. If you find yourself unable to live with your choice for a month, then change it. We are not going to come around your house and arrest you. However, do tell us why you felt you have to change. Was it a feature of the pen, or the circumstances of its use that bugged you - and if the dog swallowed it - well, I don't think we need much more detail than that.

 

5/ Choose the pen you want to use. If we end up with 6 P51 users - then so be it. it's for your personal enjoyment. So don't feel that you can't use your MB146 or your Parker Jotter because someone else is also using one.

 

6/ Come back and tell us how it went. Do you have more respect for the writing implement you chose? Has it affected your attitude towards collecting? What features did you like most, and what would you change?

 

7/ You don't have to do this in August. Some folk have completed this already because August wasn't good for them - and if you are on break from education and feel you'd like to try this during term time, by all means put if off until you are ready.

Edited July 2, 2017 by sandy101

[sandy101]

It was fun to be a purist for a while, but here in the last week I was ready to see some other color on my pages.​

 

​​Thank you for coming back to us, and trying this out.

 

​I can understand the frustration about the colour of ink. It's making me think about which ink to start with - probably a nice blue with shading so I get some variety. Diamine Blue Velvet probably.

 

Was there anything you learn about the pen? You said you found it got easier to handle the sweet spot after a month of use. A common complaint is that some find pens with sweet spots hard to live with? Does using it more overcome this issue? I 'm just wondering if perhaps more patience with a new pen might be to the solution to some of our issues. Certainly I've find ink flow to be a problem that solves itself after a couple of weeks of use.

 

Has this affected your thoughts towards buying more pens? Would you make different choices in the future?

[sharonspens]

It was fun to be a purist for a while, but here in the last week I was ready to see some other color on my pages.​

 

​​Thank you for coming back to us, and trying this out.

 

​I can understand the frustration about the colour of ink. It's making me think about which ink to start with - probably a nice blue with shading so I get some variety. Diamine Blue Velvet probably.

 

Was there anything you learn about the pen? You said you found it got easier to handle the sweet spot after a month of use. A common complaint is that some find pens with sweet spots hard to live with? Does using it more overcome this issue? I 'm just wondering if perhaps more patience with a new pen might be to the solution to some of our issues. Certainly I've find ink flow to be a problem that solves itself after a couple of weeks of use.

 

Has this affected your thoughts towards buying more pens? Would you make different choices in the future?

 

Oh, Sandy. I bought a new pen (or ordered one, at least) the day before I finished this challenge. Sight unseen, pen never handled - part of a group buy from the pen blanks up. So, did this dissuade me from buying pens I've never tried? Nope.

 

I have a large variety of nibs, from fine to stub. I was reminded, yet again, that I love, love, love my Japanese pens. If forced, I could keep my Pilots inked all the time, and get rid of my other pens. Between the three, I would have a SFM, a M, and a ItaliFine, so I could cover almost anything writing-wise.

 

I did learn, repeatedly, that some pens work better with one paper or another. There were times that the "sweet spot" for the fine side of that nib simply did not work. I could not get the ink to flow, and it dried up. Other times, I was able to write a full letter using the fine side of the nib. Lesson learned - don't give up; try more than one paper/ink combo to make sure you hit the right one.

 

I also learned that I may not want to use a darker ink in a demonstrator for a long period of time without cleaning it out. I think there might be a ring in the barrel where the piston rests, but I can't be quite sure of it yet. I did come to enjoy the subtlety of the Ink of the Witch; I was pleased to catch the purple undertone from time to time.

 

And, yes, patience is a virtue when it comes to pens. I rarely have just one pen inked, even when I have a new one. I need to give myself more time to fall-in-like with a new pen, to study its nuances, and learn its quirky spots. I have a couple of other pens with difficult sweet spots, and as a result I don't like to use them. I'm now planning to pull them out one-by-one and spend some serious time working with them to learn their tricks.

 

I am happy that I did this challenge, and that I did it in June and not August, given my schedule. I wish all comers the best of luck when your turn comes!

 

Sharon in Indiana

[Catrin]

I just started using fountain pens in March. I only have 3 of them (Lamy Al-Star and two TWSBI 580AL (fine and medium) - and hopefully my n+1 will end at 4 - and I've a personal moratorium on buying that 4th one until November unless something happens to one of my three). I have fallen into the habit of using all three of them throughout the day for different purposes.

 

I like this challenge for August and will try it. I would be sunk if I couldn't change ink color (I LOVE color), and I've the entire piston pen cleaning/ink change process for my TWSBI pens down to ~5-7 minutes at most. I will pick one of of my TWSBI pens - which also provides the option of switching nib units if I get too tired of whichever I choose. Will likely start with the fine and see what happens. I do have surgery at the end of July so that will most certainly affect my writing habits as I won't return to the office until Aug 22.

[sandy101]

 

Oh, Sandy. I bought a new pen (or ordered one, at least) the day before I finished this challenge. Sight unseen, pen never handled - part of a group buy from the pen blanks up. So, did this dissuade me from buying pens I've never tried? Nope.

 

I have a large variety of nibs, from fine to stub. I was reminded, yet again, that I love, love, love my Japanese pens. If forced, I could keep my Pilots inked all the time, and get rid of my other pens. Between the three, I would have a SFM, a M, and a ItaliFine, so I could cover almost anything writing-wise.

 

I did learn, repeatedly, that some pens work better with one paper or another. There were times that the "sweet spot" for the fine side of that nib simply did not work. I could not get the ink to flow, and it dried up. Other times, I was able to write a full letter using the fine side of the nib. Lesson learned - don't give up; try more than one paper/ink combo to make sure you hit the right one.

 

I also learned that I may not want to use a darker ink in a demonstrator for a long period of time without cleaning it out. I think there might be a ring in the barrel where the piston rests, but I can't be quite sure of it yet. I did come to enjoy the subtlety of the Ink of the Witch; I was pleased to catch the purple undertone from time to time.

 

And, yes, patience is a virtue when it comes to pens. I rarely have just one pen inked, even when I have a new one. I need to give myself more time to fall-in-like with a new pen, to study its nuances, and learn its quirky spots. I have a couple of other pens with difficult sweet spots, and as a result I don't like to use them. I'm now planning to pull them out one-by-one and spend some serious time working with them to learn their tricks.

 

I am happy that I did this challenge, and that I did it in June and not August, given my schedule. I wish all comers the best of luck when your turn comes!

 

Sharon in Indiana

Thank you for the reply.

 

I've got no idea whether this challenge will influence people's pen buying decisions or even how. Someone might decide that they have enough pens, some might decide they want to buy a new (and totally different pen) and others might do something else. I suppose the question is has it influenced a decision, and how? You never know, someone might decide that FPs are too troublesome and move to something else. I suspect that I'll be using a medium nib and may end up deciding to buy a pen or nib unit with a different nib altogether.

 

I agree with you about paper. For example, Clairefontaine plays nicely with most of my pens, but for some the glossy surface of the paper and the nib seem to counteract each other. The pen glides over the paper without making enough purchase to release a decent amount of ink - and postcards are a law unto themselves. I've found waterman inks on most cards seems to just soak into the paper - and with postcards from galleries, the ink just sits on top of the paper and doesn't dry for ages (annoying for a lefty like me). So sometimes it's just easier to whip out the old Parker ballpoint and get it done without as much fuss. Right tool for the job.

 

I'm glad you've learnt something from this and have passed it on to us, as it makes the idea of the challenge seem valid.

 

It's not about imposing a form of pen puritanism on anyone - it's just an exercise in seeing whether we can learn something by focusing on one pen and see what comes from it.

 

People will come to different conclusions - which is fine, there's no One True Way (at least, I hope not) but by having a go and sharing opinions we might learn something (even if we disagree with it).

[yeepers]

Glad I found this post. I'm in! I'm hoping that this will help me focus because I have a bit of pen ADHD going on Looking forward to August. Unfortunately it won't be possible for me to do ALL my writing every day with the FP simply because work will not allow but certainly will do it for everything outside of work. This is going to be great! Thanks for the challenge.

[mitto]

Impossible for me. I can't be content with less then say 10-15 pens inked at a time.

[Lam1]

Impossible for me. I can't be content with less then say 10-15 pens inked at a time.

 

+1

[Noihvo]

[mwpannell]

One thing I'm wrestling with about this is, if I do it, should I pick a pen I know I will be "safe" with for the whole month or one I'm a little at odds with in hopes of discovery, working things out, learning to adjust-adapt-cope-excell. Wondering if I'm saddled with a less-than-suits-me-dream-pen (as some no doubt were in "olden days" ...) will I still be enamored with using a FP?