Yet Another Newb

[ShneaSIG]

Hello, FPN!

 

Back when I was in college - 2005, I think - and I was young and dumb, I bought my first fountain pen. It was a cheap, steel nibbed and metal body pen of a brand I cannot remember. The cap wouldn't stay on, but it wrote well enough. I loved it until I lost the cap and the nib dried out to the point where I couldn't possibly clean it out.

 

Then a bunch of years went by, and I'm no longer all that young (probably still as dumb, though). I never tried another fountain pen until last Monday. It was actually a thread on another forum that made me recall how much I enjoyed my fountain pen. It was always something that I'd get around to, intending to do some research, and get another one... I never did it. Well, not until now. I ordered a Pelikan m200 (F) and some Pelikan Royal Blue, and it arrived last Monday.

 

And now I'm beginning to understand just how much I have been missing out. I have been using this m200 exclusively in the office and at home all last week, and it's been such a nice improvement! When you can do something to make work a bit easier, it can make a big difference. It's funny how little things like using a pen that makes handwriting more enjoyable (and which for me eliminates writer's cramp!) can have a significant impact on a work day and the work which I did that day.

 

This one new pen has quickly pulled me into fountain pens as a hobby. I have 3 more pens on order, a small selection of inks, and I'm finding myself intrigued by the arts of handwriting, calligraphy, and the tools used in these pursuits.

 

 

I've spent quite a few hours lurking about on FPN, reading and learning. Thank you for being such a wonderful resource, and I look forward to spending time with you all!

[apatience]

Hello and welcome from Melbourne Australia

[Amory]

Good morning from beautiful sunny Sicily.

[Chrissy]

Hello and welcome to FPN.

[mitto]

Greetings and welcome to FPN.

[Pen Nut]

Hello and welcome to you from a very bleak Manchester UK.....

[jar]

Welcome home. Pull up a stump and set a spell.

[DaveT]

Hello and welcome from Indiana!

[Aysedasi]

Welcome from a wet and dreary New Forest in the UK!

[Wolverine1]

Kyle!!!!!

FPN is a great community of friends from the world over, and we are all enablers here!!!!:)

 

Now go and check out the forum specific to Pelikan pens!! You will love it.

-Sid

[ThomasB]

Hello and welcome from Baton Rouge, Louisiana...Enjoy your time here

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

Bless Pelikan 4001 Konigsblau, it served me very well from the beginning of middle school to the end of my postgraduate studies.

 

Also, welcome!

[ShneaSIG]

Kyle!!!!!

FPN is a great community of friends from the world over, and we are all enablers here!!!! :)

 

Now go and check out the forum specific to Pelikan pens!! You will love it.

-Sid

 

And, here we have my "Enabler-in-Chief" who has been counseling me in all things fountain pens, and who steered me to this forum!

 

 

 

Thank you, all for such a warm welcome - I'm happy to be here! So much to learn!

[Wahl]

[PAKMAN]

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

[Carrau]

Welcome aboard, from Charleston, SC. As you are a newbie, you might look at the Reference Pages on a website called Richard's Pens: it has a wealth of info about the basics of fountain pens, their use and care, and it will help you avoid making some mistakes. A couple of other websites with useful information for newbies include PenChalet, Jetpens and the Goulet Pen Company. Goulet has made quite a few videos available on their website and on YouTube, which are helpful with some procedures related to FP use. There is a series of posts here, called A Newbies Guide to Inks, which is worth reviewing (you’ll find it as the first pinned topic under the Inky Thoughts Subforum). Bear in mind that how your writing appears on the page is a complex interplay of pen, paper, nib, ink, and handwriting, so be patient as you experiment with these variables. Enjoy, and good luck.

Mike

[ShneaSIG]

Welcome aboard, from Charleston, SC. As you are a newbie, you might look at the Reference Pages on a website called Richard's Pens: it has a wealth of info about the basics of fountain pens, their use and care, and it will help you avoid making some mistakes. A couple of other websites with useful information for newbies include PenChalet, Jetpens and the Goulet Pen Company. Goulet has made quite a few videos available on their website and on YouTube, which are helpful with some procedures related to FP use. There is a series of posts here, called A Newbies Guide to Inks, which is worth reviewing (youll find it as the first pinned topic under the Inky Thoughts Subforum). Bear in mind that how your writing appears on the page is a complex interplay of pen, paper, nib, ink, and handwriting, so be patient as you experiment with these variables. Enjoy, and good luck.

Mike

Thank you for all of these tips! I have a whole lot of reading material to get through!

[Sasha Royale]

Welcome !

 

Pelikan 4001 Königsblau (royal blue) is one of my favorite inks. It functions well in 100 of my pens. It is also a permanent ink, that resists water, once dried. I think you will like it.

 

If you find the old pen, long-term soaking to re-liquify the dried ink, might be a remedy.

[ShneaSIG]

Welcome !

 

Pelikan 4001 Königsblau (royal blue) is one of my favorite inks. It functions well in 100 of my pens. It is also a permanent ink, that resists water, once dried. I think you will like it.

 

If you find the old pen, long-term soaking to re-liquify the dried ink, might be a remedy.

 

2 moves and over ten years, I'm sorry to say that old pen is almost certainly long, long gone.

 

I'm running through Königsblau like it's my job. I like blue in general, and it's been performing great on every piece of paper I come across in my day-to-day, from the office bulk copy paper to legal pads and notepads to post-it notes. I have a feeling I will always have at least one pen inked with Königsblau.

[theverdictis]

Hey and Welcome!