Hello From New York

[ScottR]

Hello. I recently rediscovered my father's fountain pen tucked away in a drawer. He passed away eight years ago this coming June, and I have absolutely no idea how long it had been since he used it before that, especially as his last years weren't very good ones.

 

It is a Sheaffer PFM III. Between its inherent relative worth and the incalculable sentimental value I decided to have it rebuilt. I regularly meet a friend fo lunch in NYC, so I took an early train and then headed down to the Fountain Pen Hospital and dropped the pen off to be overhauled; in the meantime I did some research about fountain pens, discovering--as is often true when looking into things on the Internet--that sometimes more information complicates things further.

 

When the pen was ready I went back to the store and picked up some Sheaffer Skrip--which was initially confusing as it seems that the label has been redesigned, dropping the word "Skrip."

 

While there I also picked up a Lamy Safari and a cartridge converter (as I typed that I realize that I have no idea where I put the converter, and so paused for a frantic 15 minute search. Success!). I bought the Safari because I don't dare carry the PFM out of the house--it's too valuable to me, and with my luck it would get lost or damaged.

 

Since I overthink things, I also looked up ways to store pens and came across the thread on stands and ordered one on Etsy.

 

I didn't get TOO distracted from the whole point of this--actually using a fountain pen--and so started using the Lamy and the cartridge it came with to practice penmanship (working slowly and carefully my writing can be called "legible"). I also found a local stationery that carries a very modest selection of Rhodia journals and fountain pens & inks, picking up some J Herbin ink to use with the Lamy after its cartridge runs out.

 

I also found an old Sheaffer italic M in a drawer and bought some cartridges for it.

 

Pen stand delivered, I stopped procrastinating and filled the PFM and began to use it, realizing that aside from signing my name I've used cursive so infrequently over the past couple of decades that I've totally lost the muscle memory of doing so.

 

Gosh, this is getting longer than intended.

 

So, that's basically where I am. I'm going to continue to obsess about minutiae, probably go modestly overboard buying additional items, and try to get in the habit of using the pen(s) regularly.

[northstar]

Hello and welcome to FPN.

[ygv]

Welcome to FPN!

[Pentode]

Welcome from Brooklyn!

[ThomasB]

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

[OCArt]

Hello and welcome to this friendly corner of the universe from a fountain pen user in San Diego. There is such a wealth of information waiting for you to discover on this site. Write On!

[jar]

http://www.fototime.com/7E774F26C7450AC/orig.gif

[PAKMAN]

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

[Wahl]

[Henricum_Tropen]

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

[mitto]

Greetings and welcome to FPN.

[omarcenaro]

Welcome! You will find lots of great information here and many suggestions to expand your collection.

Cheers,

Ozzy

[Inkyways]

greetings from London,

[dinupravin]

Hello and Welcome to FPN.

 

You have created a fire. Now you must know how to control it.

[Triaed]

Welcome to FPN from the Great White North. We're here to enable you