Hello From San Francisco

August 26, 2019

Hello all -

I finally joined after lurking for a few months. I’ve been a pen enthusiast for most of my life and have recently been bit by the FP bug. This site and its FB counterpart are a great resource of information and ideas.

I have used fountain pens on and off in the past, sometimes for calligraphy. I’m an architect by profession so writing and sketching are things I enjoy and come naturally. Several years ago I inherited a small collection of vintage pens of various qualities. Some of which need repair or restoration to some degree. Some of them work as is.

I also have a large collection of disposable pens which I liked using. Mostly roller balls, Pilot Precise, Uniball, etc and I figured once I burn through those I’ll start Using fountain pens on a regular basis. Well, after a several years and only getting through about 10% of the disposable pens I couldn’t wait any longer. I pulled out the old Fountain pens and cleaned them. Several write well, a sheafer, waterman, montblanc, others I can’t identify.

In the last few months I’ve bought several relatively inexpensive pens on EBay. Some are fantastic writers for their price, others not so much!?. But, in doing so I got hooked. I got a Monteverde Prima which is very smooth and is a joy to write with.

One of my favorite pens from the past was a Tombow 500 rollerball in gunmetal finish and I just got the same model in fountain pen version. Both fit my hand and weight preferences. Had to order from Amazon UK to get it. This is also a fantastic pen in design, balance and smoothness. I have a preference for metal pens with a minimal aesthetic.

I’m looking forward to getting some of the antique pens I have working again to be able to use them on a daily basis. One of these has my Grandmother’s Uncles name engraved on it and likely from the 1930s-40s. Would very much like to be able to use this pen. Just dipping it in ink it’s a fairly smooth writer but needs a sack replacement. Anyway, look forward to using and leaning more about fountain pens in general. Maybe upgrading to better pens as time and budget allow.

I live/work in the San Francisco Bay Area. Sadly it seems there are very few pen stores around here. But I’m hoping to attend the upcoming San Francisco pen show in a few weeks and see what it has to offer. - very excited! Will there be a gathering of FPN members there?

Thanks all.

PS - wrote this about a week or so ago waiting for my membership to be approved which it just was. I attended the pen show and really enjoyed it. Look forward to more in the future.

August 26, 2019

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!