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你好 From Hong Kong


Billingsgate

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My story: I'm an artist and writer based in Hong Kong. I come here from perhaps a different angle than many. In my drawing work, I've always stuck to dip pens. Fountain pens were too "new fangled" for me, lacking the pleasure of a thoughtful, well-aimed dip in the inkwell between strokes, which offered a brief moment of reflection, followed by the carnal pleasure of a quill nib stroking across fine vellum. As for fine-line markers, forget it! A more soulless line cannot be imagined. When I learned, nearly twenty years ago, that Gillott nib company was being sold, with rumors of the demise of their 170 nibs, I bought every last remaining stock of those nibs in Hong Kong, hundreds of them. And glad I did. Subsequent reports confirmed that the new ones lack the same springiness and durability of the originals. Now down to my last 50 or so, real vintage by now, I guess.

 

I'm a writer too. In my youth I was known for writing out neatly-lettered 20-page tomes to friends, sent by post of course. I've always composed first drafts best with a pen. But then the pressure to churn out words became too much and computers too convenient. But a keyboard has never provided the same satisfaction. I even "wrote" my last two books with dictation software. But speaking my prose out loud, surprisingly, did not produce the same "voice" on the page as writing with an implement in hand.

 

Oh, sure, I'd tried fountain pens, mainly for drawing. I have a whole drawer full of abandoned cheap ones, the most expensive a couple of 20-year-old Lamy Safaris, which I always hated for producing artwork. As a side note, Lamy Safaris are a poor investment: after two decades, though stored in my climate-controlled home studio, the various plastic and rubber bits have disintegrated into dust. My first-generation two-dollar Pilot Petit 1, by contrast, writes like a dream after a good cleaning. But I digress.

 

Then one day I happened upon a stylish new shop here selling nothing but fountain pens and ink. Normally I wouldn't have given it a second glance, but I was out for a romantic dinner date with my wife, and a quick browse seemed like a fun diversion. I tried a couple of their Lamy Safaris, because that was the only pen I knew, and it only confirmed how much I dislike their feel. I inquired about a more flexible nib, was directed to a Pilot Metal Falcon. What lascivious pleasure it offered. Then a black and gold Waterman Carène seduced my eye. When it touched paper, it was love at first stroke. Such a difference a nib makes!

 

Well, not to belabor your patience, I've rediscovered my old way of writing. And, as I'm sure everyone here can relate, have become kind of hooked. Now I'm eager to step back in time and explore the classic experience of writing with fine implements from the golden age. I'm not interested in collecting for collecting's sake, but my new fascination for the workings and history of fountain pens has led me to this forum. Along the way, I hope to receive wise council in helping me to get started on this road.

 

If you've gotten this far, thanks for your patience in reading.

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

PAKMAN

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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)

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

To sit at one's table on a sunny morning, with four clear hours of uninterruptible security, plenty of nice white paper, and a [fountain] pen - that is true happiness!


- Winston Churchill



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Welcome....

I am ready to hear more of your stories related to pens .... and even related to other things

vaibhav mehandiratta

architect & fountain pen connoisseur

 

blog | instagram | twitter

 

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You have successfully entered a rabbit hole, who knows what it'll yield and where it'll lead.

Enjoy the fascinating journey and feel free to ask/share... thumbup.gif

 

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Someone who does precision guesswork based on unreliable data provided by those of questionable knowledge.

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  • 5 months later...

I am new and I am from Hong Kong as well.

 

 

bill-ho:

 

Welcome to Fountain Pen Network!

This site offers a great variety of helpful information.

I was at the Hong Kong Wetland Park (香港濕地公園) two days ago with two of my students.

Happy Writing in 2019!

Tom K.

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Then one day I happened upon a stylish new shop here selling nothing but fountain pens and ink. Normally I wouldn't have given it a second glance, but I was out for a romantic dinner date with my wife, and a quick browse seemed like a fun diversion. I tried a couple of their Lamy Safaris, because that was the only pen I knew, and it only confirmed how much I dislike their feel. I inquired about a more flexible nib, was directed to a Pilot Metal Falcon. What lascivious pleasure it offered. Then a black and gold Waterman Carène seduced my eye. When it touched paper, it was love at first stroke. Such a difference a nib makes!

 

~ Billingsgate:

 

Welcome to Fountain Pen Network!

You're so right about the value of a high quality nib.

Happy Writing in 2020!

Tom K.

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