Jump to content

A New Member Who's Always Liked The Fp "style"


icerock57

Recommended Posts

I'd gotten away from actually "hand" writing over the last "x" number of years in this digital age, but had always enjoyed it. I recently started writing more, I didn't like the pushing/pressing feel of the usual ballpoint. I'd always liked the "feel" and the visual elegance of a fountain pen but never used them much...thinking them "messy".

 

That's recently changed and I've been using fountain pens quite a bit. I came by a Daniel Hechter pen set and have purchased a couple inexpensive fountain pens recently. I suspect my wife will be gifting me a premium pen that we'd recently come across.

 

I'd appreciate some tips and insight regarding the finer points of fountain pens, the better inks, and the preferable/recommended paper that will create a smoother writing experience; I don't like a too "scratchy" of a feeling when writing. Comments on the above are welcome.

 

I however, am not here for a "social media" experience. I believe it detracts from "real" social interaction and long ago deleted the few accounts of that type I had...so I'm not here for web-based camaraderie.

 

Again, knowledgeable pointers would be appreciated. Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 14
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • inkstainedruth

    2

  • icerock57

    2

  • Sasha Royale

    1

  • northstar

    1

Hello and Welcome to FPN!! Glad to have you as a member!! Exploration of the various sub forums will yield a large quantity of information on your questions. If you don't find what you need just ask in the appropriate subforum and I'm sure you will be pleased with the information folks will provide. Again welcome to the Forum!

PAKMAN

minibanner.gif                                    Vanness-world-final.png.c1b120b90855ce70a8fd70dd342ebc00.png

                         My Favorite Pen Restorer                                             My Favorite Pen Store

                                                                                                                                Vanness Pens - Selling Online!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

...............................................................

We Are Our Ancestors’ Wildest Dreams

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Greetings from Pittsburgh! :W2FPN:

What you are looking for is going to be very subjective, although I would say (as a ballpark metric) a medium nib is going to be less scratchy than a fine -- but there are lots of factors involved, such as how good the tipping on the tines will be, and whether you need to have the nib "tuned" to combat skipping or whatever -- that's often the result of "baby's bottom" where not all the tipping actually touches the paper. There's also the problem that there is no consistency between brands as to nib widths: generally a Japanese fine might be equivalent to a German brand's extra-fine. And vintage pens tend to have narrower nibs than the same brand's modern counterpart....

As for pens, what I like may be vastly different from what you like (I have small hands, so I don't like overly heavy pens -- a TWSBI 580-AL is the limit for me weight-wise; but I can handle large pens if they're lightweight (my husband's grandfather's old Sheaffer Balance Oversize is good, even posted (i.e., with the cap on the back of the barrel while you're writing -- as opposed holding the cap in your hand or putting the cap on the desk). I tend to like vintage pens -- Parker 51s and the medium sized Vacumatics are a perfect size and weight, as are modern Pelikan M200s and M400s (as are the MUCH less expensive Noodler's Konrads). Also just recently got a Pilot Decimo (the smaller version of the Vanishing Point/Capless model -- because the VPs are just a bit on the heavy/awkward side. Kind of a annoying, really because Pilot has all these cool colors for the VPs, but only sells 4 colors of the Decimos in the US; and when I asked someone at Pilot-USA "Why? -- because I didn't like any of those four colors much -- I got told that it was a *marketing decision*.... :angry: But that's just me....

I also have a bunch of Parker Vectors (I'm a sucker for those) -- but wouldn't use them to write the Great American Novel with because they're a bit skinny for long writing sessions.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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



Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you all for your welcome...and thanks to some of you that offered pointers. I'm quickly learning what a difference variations in paper, ink, and the pen makes in the "feel" and style of my writing.

 

Ruth...don't get mad. Have you tried to purchase outside the "normal" USA chain? FYI...for service dependability with linked interaction (i.e., account, credit card info)...depending on what I'm buying, I used Amazon.ca (Canada), Amazon.de (Germany), and Amazon.co.uk (United Kingdom) in addition to the main .com site. UK and DE charge VAT tax in the price...but sometimes offer a selection that makes the extra expenses worthwhile.

 

Mike, looking at your pic I was taken aback by your SC location...but then it does goes with your "hunter" moniker! I'll assume you've been to Bavaria. While I thought the "Isle of Man" was an appropriate flag to use for myself...it doesn't reflect my location or nationality. I'm an American who's been living in Europe for decades...but those national flags aren't really appropriate. Those video's you mention...yes, I've seen several of them.

 

Pakman, yeah...a comment on your pic's "aloha" shirt...it's a nice one. I like it. You might like the selections available at "uswings.com". I've always been satisfied with their service and products.

 

I'll seldom post...so thanks...and have a great week, month...or whatever.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ruth...don't get mad. Have you tried to purchase outside the "normal" USA chain? FYI...for service dependability with linked interaction (i.e., account, credit card info)...depending on what I'm buying, I used Amazon.ca (Canada), Amazon.de (Germany), and Amazon.co.uk (United Kingdom) in addition to the main .com site. UK and DE charge VAT tax in the price...but sometimes offer a selection that makes the extra expenses worthwhile.

 

Actually that's kinda what I ended up doing. One of the dealers/repairers I've dealt with at pen shows had some contacts in Japan, and basically ordered the pen and resold it to me. He threw in the EF nib I needed (and then said "Don't freak when you see the "m" sticker on the pen!"

I had previously looked at JetPens and eBay but couldn't find what I wanted. A friend of mine had also suggested Rakuten, but I would have needed her to read the website for me (it didn't seem to have an English-language version...).

But it's all good now, I have the pen and love it. And *still* think Pilot's marketing people are idiots -- some guys like smaller pens, and some women (me included) don't necessarily want a "girly" color. The light grey is classy and professional looking (okay, I *have* been filling it with Iroshizuku Yama-budo, which some people think is a "girly" color... :rolleyes:).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

edited for typos

Edited by inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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)

Snailmail3.png Snail Mail 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome !

 

I enjoy writing for many of the same reasons. Also, the recipients seem to like receiving handwritten communications. Personal style, technique, and perception are all part of your writing experience.

Try different papers, inks , and tools.

 

Maybe you will find exactly what you claim to seek. Maybe not. As with most journeys, the best part

is THE GOING .

 

Write with joy.

Auf freiem Grund mit freiem Volke stehn.
Zum Augenblicke dürft ich sagen:
Verweile doch, du bist so schön !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...