17 replies to this topic

[Johane]

Hello,

My name is Johane. I'm from a little bit all over the place, but mostly from New Brunswick Canada. Like my Acadian ancestors, I've lived a life of migration - though in my case it was usually due to employment rather than anything else.

I'm very novice in the fountain pen world. I'm in the process of doing some research for buying a fountain pen as a gift for my husband. He has never had one before, but he has an appreciation for nice pens... I have previously owned a Sheaffer fountain pen some 25+ years ago, but it was scratchy and small, and it used proprietary cartridges only that were often difficult to find. Let's just say that it wasn't what I had in mind when I thought of a fountain pen. After years of moving it around from one place to another and never using it, I just chucked it and kind of gave up on having a fountain pen. Even so, my penchant for the versatility of fountain pens didn't die, especially in inks. Although I never used a fountain pen again, I continued to seek out uncommon pens but most especially uncommon pen ink colours - even if they were in the "typical" ballpoint or roller point pens.

About a year ago a friend came by for a visit and showed me her nascent collection of fountain pens. To be honest, I was a little jealous. They were nice... But they're still impossible to find locally, so I didn't think much of it. Personally, I like to see & feel a pen in my hand. I have sensory perception issues, so it's hard for me to invest in something like a fountain pen bought online because it's such a subjective and personal item.

We'll see how things go, in the meantime though, I appreciate being able to turn to this website for research & a lot of invaluable information. Thank you for being here. I certainly would have appreciated something like this all of those years ago when I had my first fountain pen!

À la prochaine!

Johane








 

[torstar]

Welcome!!!  I did not know that about the incorporation, weird wild stuff... 

 

There should be no end of potential advice of purchasing a good and modestly price pen for another.

[mitto]

Greetings and welcome to FPN.

[Wahl]

Soyez la bienvenue, Johane

 

[tbickiii]

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

[jar]

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

[OCArt]

Welcome to our little corner of the universe from a pen user in San Diego. 

[Chrissy]

Hello and welcome to FPN. 

[Herrjaeger]

Welcome aboard, from Charleston, SC. By the way, I don’t seem to be able to see the name of the oldest incorporated city in Canada in your post. Would that be St. John’s?

[PAKMAN]

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

[Johane]

Welcome aboard, from Charleston, SC. By the way, I don’t seem to be able to see the name of the oldest incorporated city in Canada in your post. Would that be St. John’s?

Actually, it's Saint John New Brunswick. You're thinking St. John's Newfoundland... Both cities are often confused one for the other. At least it's not half-way around the world like Sydney Nova Scotia and Sydney Australia! It happens at least a few times a year where someone ends up here instead of there or vice versa. 

Thank you all for the warm welcome! I see that I have still very much to learn, but I've finally settled on buying a Ratnam Supreme with a carbon steel nib for my husband... I'm hoping that he'll enjoy it.

Johane

[apatience]

Hello and welcome from Melbourne, Australia

[MalcolmH]

Bonjour, Johane!

[Sasha Royale]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/RPC123-Pilot-Metropolitan-Collection-Fountain-Pen-Silver-Barrel-Classic-Fine-Blk/292087669236?hash=item4401c821f4:g:DlkAAOSwWWxY86~c 

 

Welcome, Johane !  

 

Why not postpone getting your husband a "nice" fountain pen, until you can determine whether 

he likes to use an fp ?  You might save everybody injured feelings.  The above is a Pilot Metropolitan, which is my first choice for college use.  AT under 20 CAD, your risk is minor. Get one for yourself,  (You ACTUALLY want a fountain pen.)  Try it.  What do you like about it ?  What would you change ?  Such information is valuable in choosing future pens.  Your husband can borrow, and try it.  You can ask the same questions about HIS preferences.  

 

 He might hate writing with fountain pens, and has no interest whatsoever.  Would it not be good to know BEFORE buying him a NICE one ?   

[Henricum_Tropen]

Hello and welcome to FPN, from Cape Town, South Africa.

[Johane]

 

Welcome, Johane !  

 

Why not postpone getting your husband a "nice" fountain pen, until you can determine whether 

he likes to use an fp ?  You might save everybody injured feelings.  The above is a Pilot Metropolitan, which is my first choice for college use.  AT under 20 CAD, your risk is minor. Get one for yourself,  (You ACTUALLY want a fountain pen.)  Try it.  What do you like about it ?  What would you change ?  Such information is valuable in choosing future pens.  Your husband can borrow, and try it.  You can ask the same questions about HIS preferences.  

 

 He might hate writing with fountain pens, and has no interest whatsoever.  Would it not be good to know BEFORE buying him a NICE one ?   

Actually, I know that he loves unique pens, so even if he ends up not using it, I'm sure that he'll still enjoy having it as a unique gift, especially considering that this particular pen has a special significance to us. However, I'm sure that he'll still enjoy learning about fountain pens over the next little while.

 

The reason that I chose to not go with a more "economical" fountain pen option is that I had other considerations to keep in mind. His current favourite pen has a grip diameter of 14mm and it's still too small for his hand. Unfortunately, most pens that have a larger grip diameter are significantly more expensive.

I am looking at getting a fountain pen for myself as well and, considering that I have a significantly smaller hand, I'm thankful that I have more economical option in fountain pens! Funny thing is, once we start having fountain pens coming into our home, I have a sneaky suspicion that our daughters will be looking for some too, so I am still "pricing" pens out for upcoming birthdays as gifts.  Thanks for the link!

And to everyone, thank you for the warm welcome!

Johane

[Johane]

Finally broke down & got a pen for myself... Noodler's Ahab with a 10 ml bottle of Herbin Bleu Pervenche... We'll see how this goes! Wish me luck! Should be here in a week.

[SergioAA]

Welcome !